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Trump Says Ceasefire is Over; Rep. Greg Stanton (D-AZ) is Interviewed about Iran; DNA Evidence Dispute in Charlie Kirk Murder Trial; Former Assistant U.S. Attorney Sarah Krissoff is Interviewed about the Charlie Kirk Murder Trial; Idaho Mom Charged in Twin Toddler's Deaths; Trump and Zelenskyy Talk at NATO Summit. Aired 8:30- 9a ET

Aired July 08, 2026 - 08:30   ET

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

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[08:31:35]

JOHN BERMAN, CNN ANCHOR: All right, we are standing by to hear from the president this morning after he declared the ceasefire with Iran over. The U.S. and Iran traded strikes overnight. The U.S. has reimposed sanctions on Iranian oil.

Let's get right to CNN international diplomatic editor Nic Robertson, who is at the NATO Summit in Ankara, in Turkey, where we are going to hear from the president shortly.

Nic, a lot's been going on.

NIC ROBERTSON, CNN INTERNATIONAL DIPLOMATIC EDITOR: Yes, the president's had Iran sort of front and center on his agenda since he got here. He was chastising NATO allies just yesterday for not contributing and supporting the United States in Epic Fury a few months ago. Now, of course, real front burner stuff. Secretary general at NATO saying expect for it to be discussed here. The president, when he was having that meeting with Mark Rutte earlier on, very, very clear this MOU is over. Very harsh words for the Iranian leadership.

Look, I think let's take a little step back from this if we can here. Undoubtedly, the Pakistani-Qatari mediators in this will be wanting to continue to do what they've done, which is every time there's a breakdown in conversation is try to restart the process. The president himself hinted that negotiators want to continue. We know there were sort of technical level negotiations going on in the background. But the incentive for Iran to comply that waiver so that they can sell the oil products, energy products around the world, that's gone.

And really it is down to what we hear from the president in the next hour or so to give us that indication of where things go. Take a step back from that. Again, look at what the NATO's other European presidents are -- the sort of European NATO allies are thinking and feeling. For the last few months, they have really felt that the conversations, the focus of the president's attentions have been on the Iran issue, taking it away from Ukraine. They're here. They want Ukraine front and center. They want to see the support for Ukraine and all those sort of ballistic missile interceptors that President Zelenskyy, who, by the way, is about to speak, so desperately wants to have, they've been redirected to the Middle East.

So here, today, you have that whole conundrum playing out. Does the president double down with Iran? Do all those sort of ballistic missile interceptors need to go to gulf partners because they need them for their defense? Or can supplies open up to Ukraine? And we know that they're very short at the moment.

BERMAN: All right, a lot going on there this morning, including in the next few minutes. Nic, we could get back to you very, very shortly. So, stand by. Thank you.

Sara.

SARA SIDNER, CNN ANCHOR: All right, we're going to further this discussion with Democratic Congressman Greg Stanton of Arizona. He's a member of the Foreign Affairs Committee.

Let's get straight to this. Just three weeks after announcing this memorandum of understanding that led to the ceasefire, the president is basically saying, look, this is over. We are back at it. They have already had some strikes. Iran has also sort of started it with the -- with strikes on ships.

So, I guess the question to you, is there any surprise, judging from the history that we have had with wars in the Middle East, that this is how -- the position that we're in right now.

REP. GREG STANTON (D-AZ): No surprise at all. I mean the Iranian regime is not an honest regime. They lie all the time, which is crazy that in the MOU it gave the sanctions relief immediately without having to build up trust, without verifiable accountability into the -- into the system. It also showed that now Iran can control the Strait of Hormuz. The Strait of Hormuz was open before this -- before this war.

[08:35:01]

It's just shockingly bad decision making by this president over and over and over again. Number one, pulling out of the original JCPOA during his first term. Looking backwards, what a terrible decision. And then to enter into a war of choice in his second term, begging our friends and allies to join him. He didn't consult with them in advance.

He's at NATO right now. NATO is more important now than ever in this ever further dangering (ph) world that we are in. The world is getting more dangerous. And instead of attacking our NATO allies, we need to be bringing the allies closer together during these times.

SIDNER: Let me ask you how you see this ending, Congressman, and whether or not Congress is going to get a say in all of this because, right now, technically, we're back at war.

STANTON: Well, look, first off, any act of war has to come through Congress. Under American Constitution, the president of United States, one person, doesn't get to drag the United States into war. And so, the president has been acting illegally by furtherance of this Iranian war. Congress should be voting on that. That is absolutely clear under the American Constitution.

But we're clearly going to have to get back to the negotiating table. And instead of giving away the store at the front end of an agreement, we have to have an agreement that builds trust over time, that sanctions -- any sanctions relief only occurs after there is proof of accountability, proof that the Iranian regime is really willing to do the hard work to get peace in this -- in this region.

But this is why the war of choice in the first place was such a bad decision. We were moving forward closer to negotiation before we began an open warfare. So, again, the president's decision making over and over and over again, in the field of foreign policy, unfortunately, has been really bad.

I'd argue that this decision to go to war in Iran is, probably next to the invasion of Iraq, the worst foreign policy decision since the Vietnam War in American history.

SIDNER: Well, I do want to ask you about something that the president said during this NATO summit, where he talked about giving fighter jets -- allowing Turkey to buy F-35 fighter jets from the United States. There was a quick response from the prime minister of Israel, Benjamin Netanyahu, who said, don't do it. What do you think?

STANTON: Well, I'm not really concerned about what Benjamin Netanyahu says, but in Congress, in a bipartisan way, Republicans and Democrats are unified on this issue. As long as Turkey has bought these weapons systems, anti-missile defense systems from Russia, we should not be allowing them to purchase F-35s, our most advanced fighter jets that we make in the United States of America. That could put American security at risk. So, it's not really an issue of what Benjamin Netanyahu says, it's what's in America's national security interest. And I think you're going to find this is one issue where Democrats and Republicans agree on, no F-35s to Turkey until they get rid of the Russian systems in their military repertoire.

SIDNER: Because you're on the Foreign Affairs Committee. I want to go further. And we're looking at what's happened because the war has basically been restarted. We're seeing crude oil go up, which means eventually that gas prices will go up and hurt everyday Americans.

But I do want to ask you about Ukraine. Look, Ukraine has been handling itself in a way that surprised everyone in the world, including Russia. They've been able to gain back some of their territories from Russia, without the kind of help that they have been asking for, the sort of physical help that they've been asking for from the United States and others.

What do you want to see happen between Zelenskyy and President Trump this go round?

STANTON: Well, look, the United States needs to be supporting the people of Ukraine who are fighting such a valiant fight. It's incredibly inspiring that they are taking on one of the world's largest militaries with this illegal and horrific invasion by Putin into Ukraine.

And I think the American people stand with the people of Ukraine. Unfortunately, President Trump, seemingly in the middle of this, switched sides and seems to be taking Putin's side over and over and over again. This is another reason why the NATO alliance is so strong.

President Trump tries to claim credit that our European partners are now spending more of their own GDP on defense. That is a good thing. But, in part, they're doing it because they're afraid that the United States is not going to be with them at their darkest moment. And with Putin now on the march, trying to invade this other country and take over land for this other country, it's more important than ever that the NATO alliance stay as strong as possible in supporting the people of Ukraine in this valiant fight.

SIDNER: I want to ask you about sort of domestic politics here. You have a Democrat in Maine who has had so many disturbing allegations against him that just about everyone now has come out and said, get out now, Graham Platner. I'm curious if you think that, you know, it took some Congress people a long time to get to this point, but right now, what is the thing that would be the most detrimental to Democrats when they're looking at what to do and who to replace him with?

[08:40:03]

STANTON: It's critical that we restore checks and balances in the United States of America. Democrats in the House of Representatives, I am in, we're going to win the majority, and we're going to provide some check on this president. The Republicans in Congress are providing no check.

We have a slight chance of actually winning the majority in the Senate as well. There is no path to do that unless we're successful in winning the Maine Senate, as a practical matter.

So, Graham Platner needs to go. He should have already been out of this race. And the Maine Democratic Party, working with, of course, the voters of Maine, maybe they have a mini primary of sorts, but the time is very short. Graham Platner needs to go and go immediately, and they need to go about the business of picking a candidate that can win that seat because the American people are watching what's happening with Trump, the chaos, the increasing prices. We have a fight to lower prices for the American people. We can only do that if we win the majority. And we're going to win it in the House. We have a fighting chance in the Senate. But they need to get about the business of picking a candidate that can actually win in Maine. Obviously, it's not Graham Platner. He needs to go and they need to go about the business quickly of picking a new candidate.

SIDNER: All right, we're going to end on a light note. One day I'm going to climb Humphrey's Peak. I want you to come with me. Let's see who wins.

STANTON: Deal.

SIDNER: All right, Congressman.

STANTON: We'll do it together. No competition. Friendly competition.

SIDNER: Friendly competition. Congressman Stanton, thank you so much for being here this morning.

STANTON: Thanks a lot.

SIDNER: Kate.

KATE BOLDUAN, CNN ANCHOR: Very soon prosecutors are expected to continue laying out their case against the man accused of killing Charlie Kirk. Yesterday prosecutors showed in court new surveillance video, some of it never seen before, offering a clearer timeline of what Tyler Robinson was doing that day. Prosecutors say Tyler Robinson went to the campus of Utah Valley University four times on the day of and in 24 hours of Charlie Kirk being shot. Robinson's defense contests this evidence. They're also trying to cast doubt on DNA evidence presented this week.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Is it the policy of the FBI, when you're reporting out results, that an examiner may not state or imply that a match provides an absolute identification of the individual from whom the biological material originated?

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: That is correct.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: And you are following that policy in this case when you told the investigators that this was a possible match, correct?

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: That is correct, yes.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: You never said it was an absolute identification of Mr. Robinson, did you?

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Correct. No, I did not.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BOLDUAN: Joining us right now, Sarah Krissoff, former prosecutor for the Southern District of New York.

It's good to see you, Sarah.

What -- let's talk about these videos. What do you think prosecutors are doing in showing this series of videos from the day of the shooting?

SARAH KRISSOFF, FORMER ASSISTANT U.S. ATTORNEY, SOUTHERN DISTRICT OF NEW YORK: So, the prosecutors are trying to put together this story of what happened through this video testimony. And, you know, it is compelling. They're showing Robinson's movements throughout the day and positioning and all of that. The defense is trying to tear that down a little bit. They are challenging the authentication of some of the video. They're making the prosecutors work. Essentially explain where the video came from, how it was collected, who collected it. Just to, you know, make the prosecutors do as much work as possible and provide an opportunity for the defense attorneys to really test the case.

BOLDUAN: Sarah, are the videos enough to convince the judge that they've met the bar for the case to move forward?

KRISSOFF: So, the bar for the prosecutors is very low. I think there is little question that they were going to get through this preliminary hearing and be allowed to proceed to trial. But this is a real opportunity for the defense attorneys to hear the state's case, to analyze the evidence, to see where they can poke holes and perhaps, you know, try to make headway with the prosecutors on the death penalty, which is still on the table.

BOLDUAN: And I did want to ask you about that, Sarah, because what's played out in court so far, you do see some signs of a defense strategy of sorts. I mean what is it that you see that they could be trying to do here this week in order to get the death penalty potential -- which obviously would come down the road, get that taken off the table?

KRISSOFF: They're going to try to show gaps in the prosecutors evidence. You know, instances where witnesses are susceptible to cross-examination, where video really is not as conclusive as the prosecutors say it is, right? I think there is a lot of video that, frankly, does not show Robinson's face. It shows a figure or a person that could, you know, impliedly be Robinson, but may not be him. So, they are trying to do that so they can argue to the prosecutors, hey, listen, you should not proceed with the death penalty here. This is not a case where that is appropriate.

BOLDUAN: That's so interesting.

[08:45:00]

It's good to see you, Sarah. Thanks so much for walking us through.

Sara.

SIDNER: All right, after watching that hard stuff, we've got something to lift your spirits. "The Good Stuff" this morning.

World Cup fans from around the world have fallen so in love with Walmart that the retailer is now hosting VIP tours for first time visitors. Social media has been flooded with videos of fans from other countries grabbing all American snacks and souvenirs at Walmart. So, the retailer is getting in on the fun, saying it will host two VIP tours for tourists to, quote, explore the oversize products, iconic snack aisles and uniquely American finds at its big box stores. One tour will take place in Miami after the quarterfinal game between Norway and England. That's going to be an awesome game. The other will happen in New Jersey ahead of the World Cup final. The guided tours will include custom Walmart passports -- how do you use that -- swag and even some samples. You know, most of us do love a free sample. That's very American.

All right, ahead, a drive through order ends with the woman in handcuffs. How a tip from a fast food worker led to her arrest.

Plus, a major rescue mission underway to save a NASA space telescope that is plummeting to earth. More on this story ahead.

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[08:50:34]

BERMAN: So this morning, a mother in Idaho is now charged with suffocating her twin toddlers. For months Andrea Shaw has claimed that their deaths more than a year ago were tied to childhood vaccines, appearing on a podcast hosted by an anti-vaccine group.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

ANDREA SHAW, CHARGED IN CHILDREN'S DEATHS: In the way I saw them, they looked as if they had gone in their sleep. They were in their sleeping positions. I think it's called rigor mortis. They were -- their faces were in sleeping faces.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BERMAN: Shaw was arrested last week, just five days after giving birth to another child.

Let's get right to CNN's Whitney Wild for the latest on all of this.

Good morning, Whitney.

WHITNEY WILD, CNN LAW ENFORCEMENT CORRESPONDENT: Good morning to you, John.

Andrea Shaw is pleading not guilty. Here's what she says happened. She says that she took her children, and this is according to a lawsuit she filed with the Children's Health Defense Fund, which is an anti- vaccine activist organization. She says that she took her children to get routine vaccinations in late April 2025. She says the next day they became so sick that she took them to the emergency room. They were briefly treated. They were checked out. They got some Tylenol. They were sent home. About a week later, she says she woke up in the morning to find that they had died. And as you heard her say, she believes that they had died in their sleep.

Law enforcement has a completely different narrative. They believe that she suffocated her children. The details from law enforcement are thin at the moment. They're not providing much comment about how they actually think she committed this crime or why. But they do say that this indictment, which was issued by a grand jury, comes after a lengthy and thorough investigation.

Here's more from her attorney,

BERMAN: Whitney, we're going to step in here for one second quickly.

We're going to go to Ankara, in Turkey, to the NATO Summit where President Trump is leading -- meeting with Ukrainian Leader Volodymyr Zelenskyy.

DONALD TRUMP, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: There's a lot of -- there was a lot of love in that room. A lot of unity. And I don't think it could have been -- Mark, what do you think? It couldn't have gone much better. Do you have a -- do you have a feeling as to what you just saw?

MARK RUTTE, NATO SECRETARY GENERAL: Very positive. A lot of unity. Strength in that unity.

TRUMP: It was really good.

Scott, what did you think?

SCOTT BESSENT, TREASURY SECRETARY: Yes, sir. All the Europeans attributed you to saving NATO. And they're -- they all -- they want to do what they're supposed to do and do the right thing.

TRUMP: Yes. Yes, it was -- it was something very special.

And I will say that what they've done with Turkey and President Erdogan has been a friend of mine. He's been a friend of mine for a long time. A strong man. A good man. And he's done a fantastic job. Every road is so -- everything's perfect. He's -- from the airport, to the destination, everything's been perfect.

So, we had a really good meeting. And we thought this would be a good time for President Zelenskyy and I to meet. And we'll see what we can do.

But we've actually developed a good relationship. It's hard to believe, right? From the Oval Office to now, we've developed -- I think we've developed a very good relationship. And --

VOLODYMIR ZELENSKYY, UKRAINIAN PRESIDENT: And this is not the end.

TRUMP: No, this is not. This is going to be the beginning maybe.

ZELENSKYY: Yes.

TRUMP: Just the beginning. And, you know, the country has a lot of future. It is such great land, such great assets, such great people. And you have a lot of people -- I was -- I was with a group in Poland and they have -- you have a lot of people in Poland and -- which is a terrific country with a really great president. I happened to endorse him. And so I -- and he's -- and he's doing a very good job.

And they were saying they love Poland, but they really want to go back, you know? You're going to get a lot of people back when this is over.

They left, some. And they -- and they're all -- I think they're going to come back. A big percentage are going to come back.

So, we're going to have a good talk, and we're going to see how it all goes.

And, Mr. President, would you like to say something?

ZELENSKYY: Thank you so much.

Mr. President, thank you very much for this meeting. And we are very thankful, as always, to your support, American support, bipartisan support. And thanks for your invitation to this summit. And I think that we really -- I agree with you, we have a lot to discuss and to speak about.

And, of course, we are thankful for the program.

[08:55:01]

And we want to share with you some details. What we really want to raise during our meeting, air defense is the priority. The second point, or maybe the first and -- about negotiations. I think, yes, we understand what to do. It's our estimation what to do, how to bring this. And I hope that we will do, I'm sure that you will do everything to solve this war. Yes.

And I'm very happy that our sides began to work on drone deal. And it's very good beginning. And I hope that today I will have possibility to also to discuss with you some, some very important details.

Thank you so much.

TRUMP: Well, we've settled a lot of wars, and this one is the one that I thought maybe would be the easiest. But Putin's a difficult character and this guy's a difficult character. Doesn't -- it's not the easiest, not the easiest thing. And there's a lot of commitment. And there's a lot of love of the countries and everything else. But I think we've made a lot of progress in the last couple of weeks, and we'll see how it all goes. So, do you have any questions?

REPORTER: President Trump. Sir. President Trump. President Trump.

(CROSS TALK)

REPORTER: With the Iran -- with the Iran ceasefire possibly over, are -- can we expect the resumption of full scale hostilities?

TRUMP: Well, I just think they are behaving very badly, as they have for 47 years. And, you know, we hit them hard last night after they launched -- they launched a couple of -- you don't have to know about this. You got enough on your mind. But they launched a couple of drones and one rocket, one missile, and -- at ships because they were in the Strait, which they have every right to be. And so, we hit them very hard last night. Very, very hard. Probably hit them hard again tonight. I'll give them a little warning, we're going to hit them hard tonight. But we'll see how it all works out.

No, I'm not happy with them. You know, it's like, for instance, we'll have a meeting and we'll talk about the denuclearization of Iran, because that's what the war is. It's not a war. It's really the denuclearization of Iran. And we'll have a meeting and we'll talk about just that, just -- because my whole thing is not about regime change, it's not about -- although I think it's regime change when you knock out the first group, the second group, and now you're at the -- I think that's maybe the ultimate regime change.

But that's not what it's about. It's about, we don't want them to have nuclear weapons. And it's denuking or denuclearization. And I think we've made a lot of progress.

And they'll get out of the room. We'll talk about it, like we're here. They'll agree on everything, And then they'll go have a news conference and say we never even talked about it. They're cuckoo. There's something wrong with these people.

And for 47 years they've been the bully of the Middle East. And they're not the bully anymore. They're not the bully anymore. And all we want -- I want -- it's very simple, they can't have a nuclear weapon. That's what I'm there for.

REPORTER: President Trump. Sir. President Trump.

(CROSS TALK)

TRUMP: Because if they did, they'd use it. And we're not going to let that happen.

REPORTER: President Trump, sir.

TRUMP: Daniel.

REPORTER: You've made a career making deals in very challenging situations. Speaking to President Zelenskyy, speaking to President Putin, in your view, sir, what is the most pragmatic pathway forward to finding a long term peace deal with Russia and Ukraine?

TRUMP: I just think they're going to make a deal. It's been -- this deal has been in the works for a long time. It's got the pluses, the minuses. They know what it is. He knows what it is better than anybody. And I just think it's -- sometimes -- you know, I used an analogy. And it sounds simple, but it's sort of true here. You have two kids in a park and they don't like each other and they start fighting. Sometimes you have to let them fight. Let them see that it's tough, you know, it's tough. Fighting is tough.

And he's done -- he's done an amazing job. Look, he's been -- he's been very effective. And he's had the best equipment because he's had our equipment. And he's had great -- but somebody has to use that equipment. And you have a lot of brave people that are using that equipment. And Russia, you know, it's a big -- it's a big country, but it's a big force. Russia has always been a big fighting force. So, you know, it's -- but I really believe it's ready. It's very

interesting because you could almost say it's worse than ever. And maybe it isn't. Sometimes with war, and you study war, and I've studied it so long, for years, long before I did this, sometimes it's, when it gets the worst, and I don't know that it's the worst right now. It's consistently bad. They lost -- 25,000 people were lost kids, young people last month, and we had a month, 35, two months ago.

And I would say more Russians. And -- but it's just -- their people, their people.

[09:00:00]

And there's actually very little difference between the people. I mean, you know, it's like the Russians and Ukrainian people. And they can get along.