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Arrests Made for Possible UFC Fight Attack; Iran Agreement Text to be Released; Rep. Adam Smith (D-WA) is Interviewed about the Iran Agreement; DOJ Investigating Gov. Newsom's Wife. Aired 9-9:30a ET

Aired June 16, 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]

SARA SIDNER, CNN ANCHOR: Hornet went down. Fire crews deployed a helicopter to put out the flames. The Marine Corps says it is investigating this incident.

Also, a dramatic rescue off the Georgia coast. The Coast Guard airlifting a man from a fishing boat, look at this, nearly 100 miles offshore near Brunswick. Officials say the 56-year-old was dealing with a medical issue. A helicopter crew was sent in because of just how far out the boat was. Rescuers flew him to a nearby airport, where emergency crews then flew him to a hospital. Wow. Pretty cool scenes there. Good job, guys, on that crew.

A new hour of CNN NEWS CENTRAL starts right now.

JOHN BERMAN, CNN ANCHOR: All right, the breaking news, multiple people arrested for allegedly discussing an attack on the UFC fight at the White House. Reported talk of armed drones and gunmen. We're getting new details just in.

And millions of Americans facing major flood risk from a severe storm system that already caused all kinds of damage in overnight rescues.

And then a lot of singers are terrified that A.I. might come for their voice and songs. Not Boy George.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Karma, karma, karma, karma, karma chameleon.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BERMAN: Why he says A.I. in this version of "Karma Chameleon" is giving him power back.

I'm John Berman, with Sara Sidner and Kate Bolduan. This is CNN NEWS CENTRAL.

ANNOUNCER: This is CNN breaking news.

SIDNER: Breaking just moments ago, sources telling CNN that multiple people have been arrested for discussing plans to attack the UFC fight night at the White House, including using drones and a gunman. The officials say a team, including the Secret Service and FBI, uncovered messages discussing the plot.

CNN's Brian Todd is looking at this story and getting details, joining us now this morning.

What are you learning about all of this? This is, by the way, one of the big fears of one of the commentators for UFC that everyone knows, Joe Rogan. He was worried about some sort of attack with all of the people that would be there. What have you learned about what the FBI is up to?

BRIAN TODD, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Right. Sara. This is new reporting this morning from our colleagues Holmes Lybrand, Kaanita Iyer, and Hannah Rabinowitz. This comes from a federal law enforcement official who spoke to CNN. This official says that federal officials have arrested multiple people who they say discussed plots to attack that UFC event at the White House on Sunday, including by using drones and by using gunmen. The official says a law enforcement team, including Secret Service and FBI personnel, uncovered messages. Messages discussing this plot between multiple individuals. The FBI director, Kash Patel, confirmed the arrests in a post on X this morning. Patel saying that law -- that the law enforcement effort to actually disrupt, to thwart this allegedly planned plot was a, quote, "multi-state operation" and involved actors from outside the Washington, D.C. area.

Our source, our law enforcement source, said that this group of people discussed in messages attaching deadly payloads to drones in order to cause panic at the UFC event, and then to use gunmen to shoot at the crowds. But it is not clear, this is an important detail here, it is not clear right now how far this group was in the planning before law enforcement became aware of these messages allegedly sent between these people. Another person familiar with the situation says charges are expected to be revealed -- or, excuse me, unsealed sometime this morning. So, hopefully we'll be learning some more details about this alleged plot.

Arrests have been made across four federal districts. And, you know, that's what we can tell you so far. The FBI has declined to provide additional details to CNN about this alleged plot. Fox News was first to report on this plot. And, you know, we -- I've covered the event this weekend on Saturday and on Sunday. There was a massive security presence there on Sunday, Sara, for this, with multiple law enforcement agencies. Not clear how far this alleged plot may have gotten had it really unfolded the way these people allegedly planned it.

This event drew about 100,000 people to the grounds of the ellipse next to the White House, and about 4,000 people inside the event itself. So, you can imagine the scene that could have unfolded there had this alleged plot really unfolded the way we're learning some of the details of it.

SIDNER: Yes, there were certainly different law enforcement agencies all over the place. We saw everything from police to marshals to Secret Service in large numbers. Brian Todd, thank you so much. We will be back to you when you get new

details. Really do appreciate it.

Kate.

KATE BOLDUAN, CNN ANCHOR: All right, we are keeping an eye on France and the G7 Summit.

[09:05:00]

Very soon -- we're kind of standing by for what they always call the class photo. That's when all the world leaders gather and stand around, somewhat awkwardly sometimes, but it's always fun to watch as they take kind of their formal photo, an acknowledgment of gathering together. Their show of force, if you will, for the G7 Summit. We're standing by for that. We'll bring that to you.

Kind of hanging over in this central focus of this entire summit has very clearly become the war -- the U.S. war with Iran and what kind of agreement framework endgame there possibly is now that the president -- that President Trump is talking so much about what he believes is now moving to a second stage of negotiations regarding Iran's nuclear agreement.

Right now what is known -- nuclear program.

Right now what's known about the framework is very little. We were just talking about it with Amos Hochstein. What is known is that with this framework the Strait of Hormuz will reopen, U.S. will lift its blockade on Iran's ports, and then the 60 days, they believe, of negotiations around Iran's nuclear program. But Iran has made no clear commitment or concrete commitment about its nuclear program or its uranium stockpiles. All of that very technical, very fraught. That still has to be hammered out.

President Trump, though, believes the next phase of these negotiations will be, quote/unquote, easier.

CNN's Alayna Treene is live in Geneva for us this morning.

What is the latest that you're hearing from there in terms of the president has now talked several times just this morning about how he's going to reveal what is in this memorandum of understanding and then what comes next.

ALAYNA TREENE, CNN WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT: Yes. As you mentioned, Kate, I think this memorandum of understanding has really been hanging over this entire summit. The president had a number of different bilateral meetings today, including with middle eastern leaders, the emir of Qatar, where he mentioned that he believes that 60 day negotiating period could perhaps be easier and also just recently met with the leaders of the UAE for another meeting.

Look, I think part of the reason there are so many questions is, one, you are hearing these contradictory statements from U.S. officials and the president himself, but also, of course, what you're hearing from the Iranians. And the main question is also, why has no one seen the text of this yet? Now, in the president's word, he argues that he wants there to be a formal setting to release this text. We know there is going to be this signing ceremony on Friday that the vice president is expected to attend here in Switzerland. But the president is arguing that, you know, once he does -- he is ready to reveal this text he actually said, perhaps I'll do a press conference on it and read it word by word.

But I think the reason, and I'm hearing this in my conversations with sources back home, Kate, that people want to see this text is because they really want to know what is in it and if there is, for some reason, you know, questions about, why doesn't the administration want people to see it at this point. It was already signed. We know it was signed on Sunday digitally by the president, the vice president and one of the chief negotiators for Iran. And so, people very concerned about, you know, is this going to be enough to really make sure that Iran is able to hold up to their commitments and enough to try and end this war?

Now, what we have heard from administration officials is that really the thorniest issues about the nuclear program are going to be discussed in this 60-day period. The president argued he thinks this part could be easier. That's what he said this morning when talking with reporters. That is not at all the indication I am getting with my conversations with Trump administration officials. They think that so much of the nuclear program, their aim to dismantle it, what's going to happen with the highly enriched uranium in Iran's possession, the specifics of that still need to be hammered out. And, of course, that is really the point of this agreement.

What we have heard about this 1.5 memorandum -- this 1.5 page memorandum of understanding, Kate, is that really it seeks to reopen the Strait, something that was not a problem before this war, and it would lift the blockade on Iranian ports. And so, a lot of questions around that, that aren't really going to get answered until we actually see this text.

BOLDUAN: And then some. It's great to see you, Alayna. Thank you so much.

And, John, it looks like that class photo is about to get underway.

BERMAN: Yes, you can see the leaders of the G7 arrayed there with Lake Geneva behind them. There is President Trump. Ursula van der Leyen right there, the commission president of the E.U. A beautiful day. Never a bad day to be near Lake Geneva, I have to say. Emmanuel Macron there, ostensibly the host. It is in France. Geneva, the city of Geneva, right over the lake there. And they are all gathered there, shaking hands, warm embraces, despite whatever tension may exist between these leaders. Obviously, the leaders in Europe have been concerned about the U.S. war effort in Iran. And I know they have a lot of questions about whatever the deal is or agreement is, better word there, to end the fighting. An agreement I don't believe that they have seen the text of. We certainly haven't.

With us now is Congressman Adam Smith from Washington. [09:10:02]

He is the top Democrat on the House Armed Services Committee.

Congressman, always great to see you.

Why don't you think that the administration has released the text of the agreement that's already been signed digitally with Iran?

REP. ADAM SMITH (D-WA): Well, because based on what President Trump said would be accomplished in this war, he's going to have a hard time selling the idea that those things were accomplished based on this agreement. What this agreement basically is, is just an effort to stop the war and open up the Strait because of the incredible pressure on the global economy that the disruptions of the Strait of Hormuz have had. It's certainly impacting us, but it's impacting the entire globe. And the president wants that to stop. So, that's what the focus of this is.

But what about the nuclear program? What about the ballistic missile program? What about the support for terrorist groups? All the things that President Trump promised us were going to be accomplished by this war, which very clearly have not been accomplished by this war. So, he's trying to keep it vague so he can spin.

But the goal here is, get the Strait back opened. And one big question is, Iran wants some amount of money for doing that. And I'd be really curious to see if this agreement specifies what that amount of money is and where it comes from. This is mostly frozen -- Iranian frozen assets. The vice president's correct. It's not America giving the money, it's just unfreezing their assets. That's something that Trump was adamantly opposed to doing. So, I think he's keeping it vague because the results show that this war was a colossal mistake, did not -- did not come close to accomplishing what he claimed it would accomplish.

BERMAN: What ways could there be of transferring money to the Iranians that might not be part of this deal, because the vice president and others have been adamant, oh, there's no money up front here. It's only based on their behavior. But money is fungible. Money is a quirky thing sometimes.

SMITH: Yes. Well, a couple things. One, I mean, just lifting the sanctions on Iranian oil is, and I'm not -- I'm not sure, I think it's billions of dollars that that would accomplish. So that would be one way of freeing up money.

And then, and I don't know all the details of this, but this is something that the Obama administration got involved in, and there are frozen Iranian assets from the sanctions that were put in place that are, frankly, all over the world, also totaling in the billions of dollars. So, that money could be released. It's not -- it's not a payment per se. It's not like we're paying the dreaded toll for ships to go through the Strait of Hormuz, but it is freeing up billions of dollars that Iran did not have access -- would not have access to if, you know, but for an agreement that gives them access to it. BERMAN: The president earlier was asked about whether he would send

this text that really very few people, if any, have seen to Congress. And I just want to read to you what he said. He goes, "yes, I would. I never thought about sending it. Never even thought about it. But I will. I will send it to Congress. I like the idea. Send it to Congress, please," he said.

SMITH: Yes.

BERMAN: So, what does that tell you about how he thinks about this?

SMITH: Well, there's two important parts to that. One, obviously, we should see it. I mean the American people should see it. So, just having some transparency around it.

But the second piece that's implied in that question is, does Congress have to approve this deal? I'm not sure. I don't think that question is clear.

So, I think the way President Trump answered that question just sort of points out the fact that he really doesn't think about Congress that much. He likes to act unilaterally, not within the bounds of our system of checks and balances. So, he doesn't pay a lot of attention to Congress. He acts on his own, which is, of course, how we stumbled into this war in the first place, him acting on his own, thinking that a four week bombing campaign could break the Iranian regime when instead what it did is it caused chaos throughout the Middle East, cost thousands of lives, disrupted the global economy, and left us in a weaker position with regard to negotiations with Iran.

So, yes, tends to act unilaterally I think is what that -- that answer makes clear.

BERMAN: What -- very quickly, what happens if this is it, if this agreement is the final deal, that nothing further is agreed to after 60 days. What would the status quo be for the region and the world?

SMITH: Well, I think the biggest thing, we have to come up with a different way to deter Iran. That the fantasy that Trump engaged in for the last three months was to somehow, if we just applied enough force, that would break Iran, we'd get everything we want. People knew that wasn't going to happen. And Trump stumbled into it anyway. We need a different strategy for how to deter Iran that is not based on the fantasy that military force can eliminate them. And their options -- our option, no time to get into it here, there are options to do that. But that's what we're going to have to do. And, frankly, that's what we should have done before we launched this disastrous and incredibly costly war.

BERMAN: Congressman Adam Smith, thanks for being with us this morning.

[09:15:02]

Kate.

BOLDUAN: An investigation is underway right now after eight crew members were killed when a B-52 bomber went down. Look at that horrible black plume of smoke. Investigation into what happened now happening.

Also, California's governor, Gavin Newsom, says that President Trump and the Justice Department is now investigating him and his wife. What the Justice Department is saying this morning.

Plus, the New York Knicks take their NBA title and brand-new big trophy, very big trophy, to late night TV.

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[09:20:08]

BOLDUAN: As "Politico" put it this morning, "Gavin Newsom received what might just be the ultimate boost for any 2028 wannabe -- the coveted Trump DOJ investigation." A source tells CNN the Justice Department is investigating the wife of the governor, Gavin Newsom. Newsom, for his part, responding forcefully, blasting the move as politically motivated.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

GOV. GAVIN NEWSOM (D-CA): One by one, anyone who has challenged Donald Trump has ended up on his hit list. And today, I proudly join that list.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BOLDUAN: CNN's Katelyn Polantz joins us with more. She's got more reporting on this.

Katelyn, where are we with this? What is behind all of this? There's a lot of angles to it.

KATELYN POLANTZ, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, Kate, this is an active investigation. It has been going on for several months from what we understand from our sources. And the investigation, Gavin Newsom, the California governor, he's saying that he's being targeted. But we have learned it is not into him. There is an investigation around his wife.

And an investigation being done around tax-related issues or taxes, potentially. We know that there are IRS agents that are involved in questioning people around the governor and his family over the past week. But this is something that is looking into his wife. The investigation, as far as we know, out of one of the U.S. attorney's offices in California.

Newsom addressed this yesterday, specifically speaking about how he felt his wife was being targeted, as well as he was. This is what he said at a press conference.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

GOV. GAVIN NEWSOM (D-CA): Put my name on every and any enemies list you have, but leave my wife and family out of your personal vendetta. I'd like to say something to my wife. These times are not normal. They're not ordinary. I love you. And I'm sorry he's doing this. You have not earned a single one of the indignities that he's trying to inflict on you and our children.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

POLANTZ: Now, Kate, we were asking the governor's office yesterday for a little bit more clarity on what those indignities Newsom says have arisen. He says -- or his office has said that there have been inquiries around his family, things about his wife and his family, potentially her non-profits or businesses that she is associated with. She's a documentary filmmaker in California.

We also know that people that are in contact with the family have been asked questions by the FBI and IRS agents. And those questions have revealed to the governor's office that his accounts have been accessed in some way, very likely by subpoena, where a federal investigation would get information about accounts that Newsom and his family would have.

But we're still learning details about this. And the governor of California clearly is making this a political opportunity, saying that he is being targeted because he's considering running for president, and he indeed is putting himself on that same list as others who say they have been weaponized or that the Justice Department has been weaponized against them to try and investigate them.

Kate.

BOLDUAN: Katelyn Polantz. Thank you so much for your reporting, Katelyn.

Sara.

SIDNER: All right, joining me now is CNN legal analyst and criminal defense attorney Joey Jackson.

When you look at this, just a couple of questions here. When it comes to something like a tax investigation, what would you expect to be done? And do the banks have to tell you that they are giving, you know, that they've been subpoenaed and they're giving the information to the government, or do they have to get this from friends who were being asked questions and the friends were like, hey, just so you know, the FBI just called.

JOEY JACKSON, CNN LEGAL ANALYST: Yes. So, Sara, good morning again.

SIDNER: Good morning.

JACKSON: So, what happens is, there's two ways that this is being looked at, right? The framing by the governor of California is that it's political weaponization.

SIDNER: Right.

JACKSON: And that has nothing to do with the merits. And though it's not about him, it's closely connected, right? Mob behavior is, just saying, they don't go after you, they go after those you love. Hence his wife. And so, if it is weaponization, it's concerning. And I think there's reason to believe it could be just based upon what we've seen as it relates to Tisha James, as it relates to Comey, as it relates to Jerome Powell, as it relates to E. Jean Carroll, as it relates. And so, I think there's a sense of, this may be it.

On the other hand, to your question, there's some sense from sources that there was a whistleblower who indicated that there could be some improprieties. Now, when there's an investigation, investigations are not done, right, on Pennsylvania Avenue or are they done in Grand Central Station? They're done in secret.

You'd convene a grand jury. Grand juries would subpoena various documents and records. You'd have no idea, as the subject of that investigation, what's happening. And they would get, that is the grand jury, through prosecutors specifically what we need, documentation, financial statements, et cetera. And depending upon where they lead, then it would show that there's a crime or not.

[09:25:02]

If it is weaponization, boy are we in a different time. Tough.

SIDNER: I think one of the difficulties here is, because of the perception now, because of what happened with Trump being involved in pressuring the DOJ to go after, for example, the FBI, former FBI Director Comey, going after the A.G. of New Tork, Letitia James, this is very easy, right, for Newsom to use politically. Is that kind of how you see it?

JACKSON: It's exactly how I see it, because it has to be about trust. We have to trust the process. And historically, the Department of Justice has been so disconnected from the White House. And it seems as though Trump is controlling the DOJ to go after those who he does not like, despises, and who are enemies. And so, it might be fair for people to say, hmm, you know, is this really about wrongdoing or is it about politics?

SIDNER: And the thing about politics is, perception is often reality for a lot of people.

Joey Jackson, it is a pleasure to have you back again.

JACKSON: The pleasure is mine.

SIDNER: Twice in a day. Wow. How did we deserve this?

JACKSON: Aren't I lucky? Aren't I lucky?

SIDNER: John Berman, he's also here every day.

BERMAN: All right, you know one of the most certain ways to tell someone is running for president, they write a book. Vice President J.D. Vance just happens to have a new book. Also, Kate Bolduan writing a book. The first ever drone scoreboard. That's right, a scoreboard made of

drones. What could possibly go wrong?

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