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Maine Voters Looking for New Senate Candidate; Fragile Iran Ceasefire Under Threat; Witkoff Expected Nuclear Talks after June Deal; Former Ambassador Gordon Sondland is Interviewed about the Iran Ceasefire; Katalyst Space Technologies Ghonhee Lee is Interviewed about the NASA Telescope. Aired 8:30-9a ET

Aired July 09, 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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[08:31:22]

KATE BOLDUAN, CNN ANCHOR: Democrats in Maine are suddenly facing a wide open and somewhat uncertain moment to replace Graham Platner with control of the U.S. Senate hanging in the balance and a ridiculously tight deadline now. Democrats there are planning a last-minute convention. They have until July 27th to put a new name on the ballot to take on Republican Senator Susan Collins.

About this path forward now, the Democratic Party of Maine put out a statement last night saying this in part. "We will announce the full timeline, details for how the nomination process will move forward, information about how to participate and requirements for candidates soon."

And some of those candidates are already throwing their hats into the ring, and some groups especially -- and some progressive groups especially are already weighing in on who they think should be the next candidate here. Including Our Revolution, a political organization founded by Senator Bernie Sanders. They've endorsed Troy Jackson, a logger and former Maine state senator.

And joining me right now is the executive director of Our Revolution, Joseph Geevarghese.

It's good to see you, Joseph. Thank you for being here.

Why Troy Jackson?

JOSEPH GEEVARGHESE, EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR, OUR REVOLUTION: Well, the important thing to remember here is that the people of Maine voted overwhelmingly for transformational change. They wanted a fighter who would challenge the status quo in Washington, D.C., challenge Donald Trump, and fight to deliver for working people.

Troy Jackson campaigned alongside Graham Platner and Bernie Sanders all around the state, and they shared the same platform, health care for all, fighting to end corporate corruption, making sure that the American people have what they need to succeed. And that's why we believe that Troy is the best candidate.

I would also add that Troy has experience. He served as the state Senate president. He's been a union leader. And he was a working class person. He was a logger. And he fits the profile of what the electorate in Maine wants.

BOLDUAN: It is quite a moment that the party, especially in Maine, finds itself in with this after what went down with Graham Platner. In his video announcing that he was bowing out finally, Graham Platner painted -- he did paint himself as a victim of the system. He did not blame himself for where this all ended up. Instead, he said that it was the, quote, unquote, "corporate media system" and "the political establishment" to blame for his loss, if you will, for forcing him out. Is that who you blame for this mess?

GEEVARGHESE: Look, at the end of the day, Graham Platner failed to be transparent about his history. And as a result, he is history. And, you know, the focus now should really turn to who should succeed him and be positioned -- who's the best candidate positioned to challenge Susan Collins and take back the United States Senate.

So, at the end of the day, Graham Platner did the right thing by stepping aside. He might have different ideas about what forced him aside, but I would say he made the right decision.

[08:35:01]

And now it's important for us to focus on the path forward.

BOLDUAN: I brought that up because in your statement, in Our Revolution's statement, about the path forward, it included this line, "to the establishment, this is not your opening. The people who won this primary get to decide who comes next, not the party insiders who already lost it."

It is, you know, it is very obvious that everyone who runs, runs against the establishment these days. It is a -- it is what people run against right now. But who specifically are you talking about? Who are the party insiders, the establishment that you think are trying to take away the will of Maine voters here?

GEEVARGHESE: So, it's everyone from Chuck Schumer, the Democratic Party committees, the big donor networks who have tried to put their thumb on the scale against our populist movement from the beginning. They put forward Janet Mills, the former -- the former governor, as the status quo candidate. She didn't engender any significant support.

And that's the message that we think that the political establishment needs to understand, the candidates that they're putting forward are status quo candidates, and the electorate wants transformational change. They want a fighter. And we want to make sure that the establishment understands that they need to invest in a candidate who shares the platform that Graham Platner championed.

BOLDUAN: Let me ask you, now that you say that, do you want Graham Platner to campaign with Troy Jackson? GEEVARGHESE: Look, at the end of the day, I think Graham Platner needs

to step aside. His reputation has been tarnished. And if --

BOLDUAN: He is. But do you want -- they share the same platform that you said that Maine voters want. Do you want him to be endorsing that platform and standing on the stage with Troy Jackson now?

GEEVARGHESE: Well, at the end of the day, Troy Jackson can stand on his own two feet and champion the platform that he's represented for decades as an elected leader in Maine. Again, it's really not about the man, it's about the message. And Troy can carry that message forward. A message about fighting the corporate class, about delivering for working people.

I don't think that he needs Graham Platner to validate him. He can stand on his own two feet and carry the message. And at the end of the day, the voters of Maine and the voters in this primary season are asking for change and asking for a transformational platform.

BOLDUAN: Joseph, thanks for your time. I appreciate it.

John.

JOHN BERMAN, CNN ANCHOR: All right, there is breaking news this morning. Jordan says it intercepted Iranian missiles over its airspace. Now, Iranian state media reports a new barrage of daylight strikes from the United States. The Iranians say the perimeter of the nuclear power plant in the city of Bushehr was hit in the last few hours. You can see that on the map right there. This is clearly an active situation.

Now, CNN anchor Pamela Brown is aboard the USS Abraham Lincoln in the Arabian Sea. We can see the deck right there, Pam.

First just tell us where you are and what's going on behind you.

PAMELA BROWN, CNN CHIEF INVESTIGATIVE CORRESPONDENT AND ANCHOR: All right, John, a lot going on here on the USS Abraham Lincoln. I'm on what's called Vultures Row. So, we really have a front row seat to all of the action that's happening here.

There have been planes landing, fighter jets, F-18s, F-35s landing throughout the day. And I want to show you this destroyer right behind -- right by the ship. It's actually pulling up close to the ship. This is the Frank E. Petersen Jr. destroyer.

This is the point of the spear. This is one of more than 12 destroyers that have been sailing with this aircraft carrier to protect it. It is literally the shield for this ship. It has Tomahawk missiles that can go to land for offensive strikes, but it also has a lot of defensive capabilities, air and missile defense capabilities. It has anti- submarine capabilities. They -- so they defend against a submarine threat. And they also have an 18-man certified team on board that can go on to the ships and search and seizure.

So, there's a lot that these destroyers can do. And now look, John, you see a plane just landing right here. (INAUDIBLE) wire with the hook.

[08:40:05]

You see how fast it goes on this landing strip. Not very long. It has a hook and it catches one of several wires. So, as you can see, John, a lot of activity as tensions continue to escalate between the U.S. and Iran.

BERMAN: Now, if you can hear me, and I imagine it is quite loud with fighter jets taking off and landing there, but these are regularly scheduled maneuvers. Obviously not far from the war zone. But to what extent has the posture changed over the last 24 hours where you are with this renewed fighting?

BROWN: What I can tell you is that the stakes are raised. They have been in this conflict and engaged in some way for five and a half months now, or been ready to jump back in to go to war. I can tell you, today, given the fact that there were overnight strikes on Iran, just these last (INAUDIBLE) are taking on a new meaning. I asked the admiral, who oversees the ship, as well as the destroyers, if there is a heightened threat alert. He said, look, you know, we are always looking for threats. And he didn't necessarily say that there was a heightened threat alert, but I do think it is notable that you have the destroyer here coming close to the ship in this moment of high intensity, right? You had the ceasefire. Things had calmed down. There was a funeral in Iran where there was a pause in the negotiations. And these last few days have really changed the calculus.

And so, John, we'll have to wait and see if there will be more strikes. We know that the two aircraft carriers are capable of that, as well as these destroyers that we know have been used since the beginning of the war with those Tomahawk missiles targeting land targets in Iran. But also that destroyer right there, among several others, it has intercepted ballistic missiles and drones that were directly targeting the Abraham Lincoln. This ship I'm on right now is considered a high value target. And that destroyer right there (INAUDIBLE) very loud. That destroyer right there has intercepted multiple threats from Iran with Iran trying to hit this ship.

Now, also, John, it's worth noting that part of Iran's military strategy has been this sort of cost imbalance with these cheap drones and the military using more expensive ballistic missiles and other ways of taking it down. I'm told that they're trying to evolve and use cheaper weapons. But it's a very active, dynamic environment out here, John.

BERMAN: Active to say the least. A lot going on right where you are, right behind you.

Pam Brown, thank you for sharing this really unique look at what is happening not far from where war has seemingly reignited. Appreciate you being with us. Thank you. Stay safe.

Kate.

BOLDUAN: Yes, and that Iran ceasefire now being threatened and definitely questioned.

It was supposed to pave the way for talks all around Tehran's nuclear program. Progress on those talks now very much in question. But this morning, CNN has new reporting inside the negotiations being led by Jared Kushner and Steve Witkoff, including a secret trip that they took to a nuclear lab in Tennessee.

CNN's Rene Marsh has this new reporting and she's joining us right now.

Rene, tell us what you've learned.

RENE MARSH, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Good morning, Kate.

You know, I worked on this with my colleagues Jennifer Hansler and Zach Cohen, and we have these new behind the scenes details on Jared Kushner and Steve Witkoff's push for this nuclear deal with Iran.

And even before this deal began to unravel, the path that they were building to get there really stood out. It looked different than previous nuclear negotiations with Iran.

But let's go back to early June. It was about a week and a half before that MOU was signed. Kushner and Witkoff made this secret trip to Oak Ridge National Laboratory to meet with these top nuclear experts, putting some of them on standby for potential talks. And the focus, we were told, of this visit was essentially what the U.S. could do if Iran's uranium was brought back here. What would that look like?

We also know from sources that Witkoff later pointed to that trip to Oak Ridge as proof that progress was real. We know that on a call with Republican lawmakers, according to a source with knowledge, that Witkoff essentially told them that once the MOU was signed, talks would begin immediately. Talks, meaning those technical nuclear talks.

Well, you know, it's now three weeks later and those talks have barely gotten off the ground. We know that the MOU opened up this 60-day window for negotiations. But these escalating tensions are now obviously putting that timeline in doubt.

And it's all really just raising lots of questions about both the strategy and the people leading the strategy. Sources we spoke to said that both Kushner and Witkoff relied on this tight inner circle of political advisors with limited early input from career government experts.

[08:45:07]

That's a sharp contrast from the Obama era deal, where these technical specialists were deeply involved from the very start in shaping the strategy. The White House acknowledges this different approach to prevent essentially leaks. But they insist that experts have been consulted throughout. And in a statement they told CNN that "people who complained to CNN about feeling left out clearly cannot be trusted with sensitive information and are not included in national security conversations." So, they are not pushing back on the idea that the strategy was

different. But now there are lots of questions where we see we are today on whether that strategy was the right approach.

Kate.

BOLDUAN: Rene, thank you so much for bringing us the reporting from you and the team. Really appreciate it.

John.

BERMAN: All right, with us now is Gordon Sondland, the former U.S. ambassador to the European Union.

Ambassador, good to see you this morning.

How do you think the ceasefire is going?

GORDON SONDLAND, FORMER U.S. AMBASSADOR TO THE EUROPEAN UNION: Well, I think it's going as expected. A little of this and a little of that. I mean, this is such a dynamic situation, John. And it's not a situation, contrary to what the media likes to report, of Trump's making. Trust me, if President Trump had his way, he would not be disrupting the election cycle to his own detriment. He would have a nice, quiet world where he could coast through and take the House and the Senate. It's the intelligence on Iran's conventional missile proliferation and their ability to really almost prevent us from doing anything about their nuclear program that forced his hand. He did not want to do this, but he had to do it. And now we are where we are. And it's a little carrot. It's a little stick.

Your last correspondent said something about not using experts. They're using experts all over the place in this thing. Jared and Steve are doing a tremendous job in carrying the message to the Iranians. And by the way, when they're carrying the message to the Iranians, they're not carrying the message to one or two people. They're having to bring along a dozen people, all of whom have different ideas of what Iran should and shouldn't want.

BERMAN: How good of a deal was it to begin with, this ceasefire? How would you rate the quality of the deal?

SONDLAND: Well, first of all, let's look at why they did it. It gave us an opportunity --

BERMAN: No, no, no. No, Ambassador, I want to know from you if you think this was a good ceasefire deal. That's the question.

SONDLAND: It's as good as you could get at the moment. No question about it. Because, remember, Iran has a vote in this, John.

BERMAN: Is it still -- is it still --

SONDLAND: Iran has a vote in this, John.

BERMAN: How surprised are you that there is this renewed fighting? SONDLAND: Not at all. Not at all. I mean, look, whether it's a

Democrat or a Republican president, Iran has tried to play our administrations for 47 years. The fact that they signed a ceasefire and immediately began firing missiles is zero surprise to me or anyone at the White House.

BERMAN: Really? I mean is this like a fool me once, shame on you. Fool me for 47 years, shame on me? I mean, I mean, if the White House knew this wasn't going to work, why go forward with it?

SONDLAND: Well, let's -- you're asking a different question now. When you say it's going to work, what do you mean by, it's going to work? What is it you're trying to get to work?

BERMAN: The ceasefire deal that the president touted as the best deal that's been signed with Iran in 47 years.

SONDLAND: The people with whom he signed the ceasefire deal, I believe, had an honest intention to stop firing and see if progress could be made. The problem is, they are not in complete control of Iran. The IRGC is fighting internally with their own political people. And that's different than on our side, where one person on our side essentially is making the decisions.

BERMAN: There does seem to be a different assessment of those IRGC officials. And I want to play two assessments. One is from Vice President J.D. Vance from three weeks ago, and the other is from President Trump yesterday.

Listen.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

J.D. VANCE, VICE PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: The coolest thing about the progress we've made over the last few weeks is that you see people within the Iranian system, senior leadership, even IRGC officials say, you know what, we may have some animosity, we may have some mistrust, but we recognize the way that we've done business with the United States for 47 years is a mistake. Let's try something else.

DONALD TRUMP, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: To me, I think it's over. I don't want to deal with them anymore. They're scum. You know what scum is? They're scum. They're sick people. They're led by sick people.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BERMAN: So, Ambassador, are you -- are you on team, it's the coolest thing, or team, they're scum?

SONDLAND: Well, it was the coolest thing when we were dealing with the people who decided that maybe another approach is better, which is to join the community of nations, stop harassing their neighbors and build their economy and so on.

[08:50:07] And the problem is, what President Trump was reacting to was the other ugly voices in Iran have now reared their heads and have taken over. So, both things can be true at the same time.

BERMAN: We will see which side there prevails. Obviously, that will have huge consequences, I think, for this deal and for the situation on the ground there and in the air and in the seas in the coming days and weeks.

Ambassador Gordon Sondland, thank you for being with us and sharing your views on this.

SONDLAND: Thank you, John.

BERMAN: So, a man seen carrying a flaming propane tank. I think a man was seen carrying a flaming propane tank through a restaurant. What happened when officers showed up?

And then goat on the lam? How many officers does it take to catch him? The answer, ahead.

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BERMAN: A Florida man is facing multiple charges after video showed him dragging a flaming propane tank through a restaurant in Tampa. Deputies arrived to smoke and flames.

[08:55:01]

They say the suspect was holding knives when they got there. They also say he charged at people, cutting one woman on the wrist. That person is now charged with arson and assault.

In Rhode Island, a driver ran into power lines and triggered an explosion.

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BERMAN: There was that blast. The whole thing really was a mess. According to CNN affiliate WPRI, two cars crashed first. They brought down live wires on top of a trolley. And then while first responders were directing traffic there, they say a driver pulled around the fire truck, blocking the road and ran into the lines. The trolley driver and the other driver were not hurt, but officials say two firefighters received minor injuries running away from the explosion.

And then goat on the lam. Deputies in Washington chase that runaway goat after it was seen in traffic. They tried, apparently, sweet talking it, then bribing it with broccoli, which did not work, and holding those menacing looking devices. Somehow the goat didn't want to approach them when they were holding that. After about 20 minutes, they were able to grab the goat and take it to a local rescue.

Kate.

BOLDUAN: Right now, NASA is attempting a first of its kind rescue mission to rescue one of NASA's storied space observatories from falling out of space and back to earth. The Swift Observatory telescope has recorded cosmic objects across multiple wavelengths of light for nearly 22 years. But it was being pushed out of orbit toward earth due to what's been described as atmospheric drag and the impact of recent solar activity.

And that is where startup Katalyst Space Technologies has stepped in and successfully now launched its Link spacecraft just this past Friday to come to the rescue. The spacecraft is now on its way to dock with the Swift, and then hopefully boost it back into higher orbit, extending the telescope's mission.

And joining me right now is the CEO of Katalyst Space Technologies, Ghonhee Lee.

It's great to have you. Thank you so much for being here.

You had a -- there were a couple delays. I was tracking it all last week. A couple delays. You were able to launch on Friday night. How are things going right now?

GHONHEE LEE, CEOe, KATALYST SPACE TECHNOLOGIES: Absolutely. Thanks so much, Kate.

Our team is ecstatic. If you think about what we have accomplished over the last nine months, NASA only gave us nine months to go from contract award to launch. And if you think about what we've launched, we've launched the first American space robot. This is unlike any other satellite that's ever been built. It has robot arms. It has grippers to be able to grab onto satellites. It has thrusters to be able to push a multi-ton observatory around. And to be able to do that all within nine months is incredible. And yes, there are a couple of challenges that we had with weather launching out of the Pacific. But on the early morning hours of July 3rd, we got this spacecraft launched, inserted into a nominal orbit, and it's just been an incredible journey getting to this point.

BOLDUAN: All right, so it's moving -- it's moving as intended right now.

I had also heard that you say that just a few months ago this spacecraft was truly still a concept drawing. I mean now it's in space. I mean you talked about just like that is a truncated timeline -- timeframe to say the least. But how much has, in these nine minutes, like, how can you describe how much the design has changed to get to this point?

LEE: That's such a good question about the timeline and the design. If you think about how engineering works, typically a program like this in traditional aerospace might take five plus years to put together. And we just didn't have that time. We had less than a year because our job was to go up and save this telescope, this national asset. And we had to be very creative in how aggressive we were in putting this mission together.

And I think that it worked, right? We are here, just outside of the mission operation center here at Katalyst, and we're down linking the first live images from the spacecraft right now as we speak.

BOLDUAN: Like, clearly you're already hitting these milestones of success, but how long until you know if the full mission, if you've successfully pushed it, pushed the Swift back into that orbit that it -- that -- the higher orbit that you're targeting? How long until you know if that's full -- if the full mission is complete?

LEE: The full mission won't be complete for another two to three months because we have multiple stages that we have to go to. First was to be able to launch a space robot like this, and that was no small feat. The next phase, once we have the spacecraft commissioned, which our team is working on over the next one to two weeks, that's how long we expect that to take, we'll be able to start firing up the thrusters and be closing the distance to Swift, to be able to get within the distance that we'll be able to do the robotic grappling of Swift.

Once we dock on, and that whole process will take about 30 days to get there within close proximity.

[09:00:04]

Once we dock on, we'll be able to fire our thrusters for about 60 days to boost it back up.