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Trump Weighs Military Options if Iran Talks Fail; TSA Turmoil at U.S. Airports; Maduro and Wife in Court; Asian Markets Are Mixed Amid Worries About Ongoing Conflict; Trump Delays Strikes On Iran's Energy Sites By 10 Days; Senate Unanimously Moves To Fund Most Of DHS. Aired 2-3a ET

Aired March 27, 2026 - 02:00   ET

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

[02:00:00]

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

KIM BRUNHUBER, CNN HOST: Hello and welcome to all of you watching us around the world. I'm Kim Brunhuber. This is "CNN Newsroom." Talks for escalation. The Trump administration is weighing military options to put pressure on Iran as it pushes for a diplomatic end to the war. And Maduro is in court. But, for now, the battle is about legal fees. The Trump administration is refusing to allow the Venezuelan government to pay the bills for former President Nicolas Maduro and his wife. Plus, exposing a global rape academy. A CNN investigation uncovers a hidden network of men sharing tips on how to drug and assault their wives.

UNKNOWN (voice-over): Live from Atlanta, this is "CNN Newsroom with Kim Brunhuber."

BRUNHUBER: It is 2 a.m. in Washington, 9:30 in the morning in Tehran, and we begin with new reporting that U.S. President Donald Trump is weighing options for dramatically escalating the war with Iran should his push for diplomacy fail. Sources tell CNN those options would likely involve ground forces, but with no guarantee of ending the conflict. Meanwhile, President Trump says he's pausing strikes on Iranian energy sites for another 10 days as talks with Tehran are ongoing. Here he is.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

DONALD TRUMP, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA (voice-over): He said to me, very nicely, through my people, could we have more time? They asked for seven. And I said, I'm going to give you 10 because they gave me ships. You know, we talked about the eight ships. You know, the present that I talked about the other day. But they asked for seven. And I gave them 10. You got 10 days. And they were very thankful about that. Now, they may say, oh, we're not speaking. I don't like that because that wasn't true the last time, as you found out. But we are speaking, and it is going fairly well.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BRUNHUBER: The top U.S. diplomat will be discussing the war with allies in the coming hours at a G7 meeting in France. Secretary of State Marco Rubio arrived in Paris a few hours ago. And a senior adviser to Iran's new supreme leader is warning that any country taking part in military action against Tehran will face a boomerang of repercussions.

I want to bring in CNN's Paula Hancocks, live from Abu Dhabi. So, Paula, take us through the latest from President Trump and Iran's response.

PAULA HANCOCKS, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, Kim, we heard a lot from the U.S. president in his cabinet meeting on Thursday, much of it talking about Iran. He did sound optimistic that a deal could be done. He had also said that the U.S. vice president, J.D. Vance, will be heavily involved, which we had suspected. And we also heard from the special envoy, Steve Witkoff, and he spoke of the efforts to try and secure a deal, saying that Iran is being warned not to make a second miscalculation.

So, what we've heard from the U.S. president is that talks are going well, they are progressing. There is now this new second deadline of 10 days before the Strait of Hormuz has to be opened or the U.S. will carry out strikes against power plants in Iran. He did say, though, that he's not desperate for a deal, pointing out we still have other targets we want to hit before we leave. And, of course, there are sources suggesting that he is weighing up quite seriously the opportunity or the options of having boots on the ground, given the amount of military arsenal and personnel that is still on its way to this region.

When it comes to Iran, though, the lack of trust in the U.S. is being publicized frequently. We have heard from Iran's state media saying there is -- quote -- "complete doubt." We also heard from state media, Tasnim, which quoted a source saying that the Iranian officials had actually responded already to that 15-point plan that the U.S. had put together, and they were awaiting a response. Pakistan acting as mediator in those talks.

But we also heard earlier in the week from state media that there are demands from the Iranian side that they want reparations, they want a complete halt to the aggression, and they want complete sovereignty over the state of Hormuz, something which the U.S. and many countries around the world would simply not agree to.

[02:05:09]

So, there is still significant gaps between the two sides, but there is at least acknowledgement from both sides that these talks are ongoing. And we are likely to hear more today at the G7 meeting with U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio meeting his counterparts there.

Now, also what we heard from Iran from the semi-official Fars News Agency is that they are expanding their target list once again, saying that hotels where U.S. Military personnel are hiding, in their words, will now be legitimate targets. We had heard from the Iranian foreign minister, Abbas Araqhchi, earlier saying that U.S. troops had moved out of military bases into hotels and offices, and we're now hearing that that potentially could be a target. It's impossible for us to know for sure whether or not that is the case.

And we also heard from the Israeli side, apart from a lot of skepticism when it comes to the diplomatic efforts that are ongoing militarily, we've heard from the chief of staff that the Israeli military is overstretched on a number of fronts. We heard from Lieutenant General Eyal Zamir talking about the manpower shortages, expanded operation demands, telling lawmakers in Israel -- quote -- "I am raising 10 red flags before the IDF collapses into itself."

We did, though, see overnight continued strikes by Israel and by the United States against Iran. So, at the same time, as we are hearing that the diplomatic front is progressing, we're hearing more optimism from the U.S. side than the Iranian side. Very little has changed on the ground. Kim?

BRUNHUBER: Appreciate you bringing us up to speed. Paula Hancocks in Abu Dhabi, thank you so much.

I'm going to line now to Doha. Mehran Kamrava is a professor of government at Georgetown University in Qatar. Thank you so much for being here with us. I really appreciate it. So, the U.S. says talks with Iran are going well. We've got that 15-point peace plan the U.S. sent through Pakistan. Iran, as we just heard from our reporter there, came back with its own list. We understand it includes war reparations and sovereignty over the Strait of Hormuz, which seems to be a nonstarter. Is there any common ground between these two sides?

MEHRAN KAMRAVA, PROFESSOR OF GOVERNMENT, GEORGETOWN UNIVERSITY IN QATAR: Well, there is common ground, but there is very little of it. As we all remember, they had been talking prior to the attacks on February 28. So, there's a number of areas in which the two sides can agree on, and there are some low-hanging fruits.

But certainly, given the animosity and the mistrust and the fact that they continue to fight one another, I think that common ground is getting increasingly smaller and smaller. And I think what is important is the fact that Pakistan and Turkey and Egypt are now involved. They're the ones trying to forge a common ground between Iran and the United States to ensure that the fighting stops.

BRUNHUBER: OK. So, common ground getting smaller and smaller. Do you see these talks going anywhere and some kind of maybe framework for a deal being reached before Trump's 10-day deadline or do you think there will be major military action before there's any kind of deal?

KAMRAVA: It's really hard to tell. But what we do know is that the alternative to the talks is really unpalatable. I mean, already, we're at a worst-case scenario. But it could get a lot worse if Iranians do start attacking hotels here in the region, in places like Dubai, Abu Dhabi, Doha, in Riyadh where Americans are staying.

If those infrastructures continue or if they come -- they become Iranian targets, and then if the fighting escalates, if Saudi Arabia and the UAE join the American-Israeli war effort against Iran, if the Iranians then expand the war, the alternatives, as you see, to diplomacy are really frightening, and that's not where either side or any of the sides would like to see the war go.

BRUNHUBER: You're talking about the costs of escalation there. I mean, the U.S. secretary of state, as we mentioned, is at the G7 in France trying to get allies on board, but none of them really are concretely backing this operation.

[02:10:02]

Do you see any of them coming around and getting into this war?

KAMRAVA: That's hard to tell. As we know, the United States has multiple levers to pressure the Europeans and particularly NATO allies into greater involvement or some sort of involvement, not just, for example, Britain allowing American planes to fly out of British bases. So, that's really hard to tell. We do know that the Europeans are reluctant to get involved in what they perceive as President Trump's war of choice, and they do not want to be dragged in. The French have already made that quite clear.

And I think that's one space to watch, certainly Europe. And I think the other equally important space to watch is whether Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates get involved in any sort of expanded American military operation, either in the Persian Gulf or on Iranian soil, on Iranian islands in the Persian Gulf or on the Iranian mainland itself.

BRUNHUBER: We have to leave it there. But always appreciate getting your insights on this. Mehran Kamrava in Doha, Qatar, thank you so much.

KAMRAVA: Thank you.

BRUNHUBER: Israel says it has killed a senior Hezbollah commander in Lebanon on Wednesday. Lebanon's health ministry says more than 1,100 people have been killed since Israel launched its operations. About a million others fled their homes because of an Israeli offensive in the south. As Nick Paton Walsh reports, even some paramedics fear for their lives as they work to save others.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

NICK PATON WALSH, CNN CHIEF INTERNATIONAL SECURITY CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Shaken awake all night by blasts. The days aren't much better.

PATON WALSH: A town like here, Nabatieh, kind of caught in limbo. A lot of the civilian population have left. You can see why. And still, it's something of a hub for rescuers. The injured from all around brought here as the front lines get closer and closer.

PATON WALSH (voice-over): A drone strike --

UNKNOWN: A plane. Get closer, get closer. Did you see it?

PATON WALSH (voice-over): -- visible from the hospital on the hill. But the rush to help here comes with a huge caveat.

ALI HARIRI, LEBANESE MEDIC: Drone, not airstrike.

PATON WALSH (voice-over): Medics killed across the country, two just two days ago here by an apparent Israeli strike, mean they have to consider their, not just the victim's, safety, too.

PATON WALSH: It's a tough call for the medics when they respond after the recent deaths, but still heading in fast. And still, over there, too, despite the rain, some shelling picking up.

UNKNOWN: Artillery. That was artillery.

UNKNOWN: They may have hit it from afar because the sound was long. It had a long sound. No, it's not a drone.

PATON WALSH (voice-over): Three units head down.

HARIRI: Full of risk.

PATON WALSH (voice-over): Nobody left to rescue here, though. Two men killed and stuck beneath the rubble.

HARIRI: About two homes are fully damaged. Two houses.

PATON WALSH (voice-over): Zaina (ph) lives with her father doctor in the hospital, has her toy slime for fun, but knows what she fears.

UNKNOWN: The darkness.

PATON WALSH (voice-over): The elderly ferried out.

HARIRI: There are some people here. They are trying to live, and they didn't find any shelter to go. The drones are flying over us. But we don't have any options. We have to go.

PATON WALSH: It must be harder after the loss of your friend's son two days ago.

HARIRI: Yes, it's very hard. But we don't have choices. We don't have choices.

(CRYING)

PATON WALSH (voice-over): His friend, this rescuer, here on Tuesday lost his son, one of two medics killed by an Israeli strike on a motorbike. Israel hasn't responded to our request for comment. They buried Joud Suleiman, aged 16, on Wednesday, fearing it won't be the last.

Nick Paton Walsh, CNN, Nabatieh, Lebanon

(END VIDEOTAPE)

BRUNHUBER: Massive lines, missed flights, and flaring tempers, all because of the shortage of security staff at American airports. We have the latest on efforts to end the funding stalemate coming up, next. And lawyers for ousted Venezuelan leader Nicolas Maduro say the Trump administration is keeping him from getting a fair trial. We'll look at the reasons why and the judge's response ahead. You're on "CNN Newsroom." Stay with us.

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[02:15:00]

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BRUNHUBER: President Trump has directed his new head of homeland security to immediately pay TSA agents during the partial government shutdown. No official word on where the money would come from, and lawmakers are no closer to ending the 42-day stalemate. Another vote to advance funding for Homeland Security failed in the Senate on Thursday.

More than 46,000 officers with the Transportation Security Administration are set to miss their second full paycheck this weekend. Hundreds have already quit and thousands more aren't showing up to work, leading to hours-long waits at major airports.

More now from CNN's Ed Lavandera.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

ED LAVANDERA, CNN SENIOR U.S. NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: The nightmare travel scenario continues to unfold here at George Bush Intercontinental Airport in Houston, Texas where throughout much of the day, we've seen continued wait times of two and a half, three, four hours at times.

[02:20:00]

Even late into the day, we've seen extended times. Now, airport officials say that TSA is sending 32 additional TSA agents here to this airport. But, so far, we have not seen any indication that that is helping alleviate the stress on the lines. And this is lines that fill up the entire terminal area, spills down to the lower areas where people have to wind their way through all of these makeshift lines that have been created on the second floor at some points during the week. It has actually gone into another level even below all of this.

And if you look around this way, it even spills out into the street and outside the terminal areas where there's usually passenger drop- off. So, they have taken up four lanes of traffic there and filled it up with lanes so that people can continue waiting in the TSA pre-line, then they come back into the terminal building here, and continue waiting.

The frustration is really starting to mount. You know, you hear that over and over from passengers as we talk to them, as they're walking past us in these lines. A great deal of frustration, trying to figure out why this has to last as long as it has, especially this airport.

George Bush Intercontinental Airport has had a call-out rate from TSA employees of about 40 percent, sometimes higher, sometimes lower, but it's really kind of hovered around that mark. And because of that, airport officials tell us that they are barely able to keep about 50 percent of the TSA screening lines in the entire airport open. There's 37 of those. So, this will continue into Friday as well because it's a situation where it's a heavy travel day and also airport officials here bracing for Sunday and Monday travel, which are also traditionally high levels of passengers here at this airport as well.

Ed Lavandera, CNN, Houston, Texas.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

BRUNHUBER: A U.S. federal court judge is refusing to toss out the criminal case against Nicolas Maduro despite a dispute over the ousted Venezuelan leader's ability to pay his legal fees. The Trump administration is refusing to allow the Venezuelan government to pay the bills for Maduro and his wife who are charged with narco- terrorism.

Groups of supporters gathered in Caracas Thursday as the court hearing took place in New York, calling for the couple's release from U.S. custody. Speaking to the crowd, Maduro's son called the trial illegitimate and illegal.

Joining me now is Areva Martin, civil rights attorney and legal affairs commentator. It has been a while. Good to see you again. Thanks so much for being here with us. I appreciate it. So, it turns out the whole legal fight right now isn't even about the drug charges yet. It's about whether Maduro can pay his own lawyers. The Treasury Department apparently gave Venezuela a license to cover his legal fees, and then yanked it back and called it a mistake. I mean, what do you make of the arguments here and how important they are?

AREVA MARTIN, CIVIL RIGHTS ATTORNEY, LEGA AFFAIRS COMMENTATOR: Well, the court didn't seem very impressed with the government's argument today and, in fact, raised lots of questions about why the government was not allowing Maduro to use funds from Venezuela to pay for his defense, made reference to the fact that the political issues between Venezuela and the U.S. seem to have cooled, that there seemed to be, you know, some meeting of the minds that the two countries were actually engaging in more conciliatory, you know, type activities, and that the continued refusal of the U.S. government to allow Maduro to use those funds could be violating his constitutional rights.

Now, the judge did not issue a final order. He wouldn't throw the case out nor did he issue any definitive ruling. We'll have to see what the court decides. He was very incredulous about the government's continued refusal to allow him to use those funds to finance his legal team.

BRUNHUBER: Yes. Let's drill down on a couple of those points there. Importantly, as you mentioned, the judge, you know, isn't throwing the case out, but he seemed uncomfortable with the idea that Maduro can't get proper representation. You talked about sort of tensions cooling, the fact that, you know, the U.S. is doing business with Venezuela right now. I mean, it must be tough for a judge to handle something like that when sanctions policy is bumping up against someone's constitutional rights.

MARTIN: Yes. This case is not just about crime, about the narco- terrorism, it's really a case about politics. We heard Maduro's lawyer make that argument in court today, arguing that this was the political prosecution, that this wasn't about, you know, narcotics or terrorism or Maduro flooding the U.S. with cocaine, which is one of the allegations by the U.S. government. They said this is pure political prosecution. And they point to the fact that these funds, the freezing of these funds in Venezuela, as evidence of the fact that this isn't about crimes, that it's really about the political relationships between the U.S. and this country.

[02:25:03]

We have to remember, the way Maduro got to the U.S. was, you know, the U.S. literally went to the country, he says, kidnapped him or at least, definitely, he was seized from that country, he and his wife, and brought to the U.S. to face these charges.

BRUNHUBER: OK. So, let me ask you about that then, the way he got here. I mean, you know, the U.S. basically grabbing a sitting president. We're trying him now in Manhattan. I mean, some legal experts have said that the way he got here doesn't actually matter when it comes to the court's jurisdiction Explain to us why that's the case. It seems a bit incredible.

MARTIN: Yes. Absolutely. What we've seen, there's some precedent for this. We can look at the Manuel Noriega case some 20 plus years ago. He also was, some would say, abducted from his country, brought to the U.S. And the reality is U.S. law allows the U.S. government to have jurisdiction and to prosecute a former head of state like Maduro if he is brought to the U.S., even if there are questions about the way in which he was brought to this country. Although we should expect Maduro's lawyer to continue to raise questions about jurisdiction, about the legality of the way that he was brought to this courtroom and to this detention that he currently faces, but there is precedent for what was done to him.

BRUNHUBER: Yes. We'll have to see how all the twists and turns unfold. Obviously, this would possibly have implications for other countries as well. We'll have to leave it there. Areva Martin, thank you so much for being here with us.

MARTIN: Thank you.

BRUNHUBER: The war on Iran is causing a fuel crisis in Asia. Governments, investors, and protesters all reacting to the growing energy crisis. We'll go live to Hong Kong and Dubai next. Stay with us.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[02:31:25]

KIM BRUNHUBER, CNN ANCHOR: Asian indices are mixed after the U.S. on Thursday experienced its largest market drop since the start of its war with Iran. Here's a look at where Asian markets stand right now. The Nikkei and Kospi are in the red, while the Hang Seng and Shanghai Composite index are up.

Asia, of course, relies more heavily on crude, gas and fuel from the Middle East than other parts of the world. Global investors are sifting through contradictory messaging from the U.S. and Iran, with no de-escalation in sight.

CNN's covering this from across the region. Eleni Giokos is in Dubai. I want to start with Kristie Lu Stout in Hong Kong.

So, Kristie, I mean, this is obviously having huge effects across the world, but Asia especially bearing the brunt of the Iran energy shock and especially the Philippines. I mean, how is it being felt there?

KRISTIE LU STOUT, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Absolutely, Kim. The Philippines is feeling the full force of the Iran energy shock with transport workers today taking part in strikes in protests over the rising cost of fuel. You have in the Philippines, jeepney drivers, ride hailing service drivers and others struggling because of the rising cost of oil. So, they have been marching this day, marching through manila to the presidential palace. This is part of a two-day general strike that's taking place across the country.

Earlier this week, the president of the Philippines, Ferdinand Marcos Jr., announced a nationwide energy emergency, the Philippines becoming the first country in the world to announce such a measure. And this also follows comments that we heard through an interview with CNN's Christiane Amanpour with the foreign secretary of the Philippines, saying that the country only has 40 to 45 days of petroleum products left. That's it. Listen to this.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

MARIA THERESA LAZARO, PHILIPPINE FOREIGN SECRETARY: It's already taking a toll on the ordinary Filipino. The transportation cost, the, the price of food because it also affects the fertilizers that are being used for our food security. So, these are all now it has its cascading effect.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

STOUT: The Philippines is very vulnerable. In fact, the Philippines, 98 percent of its oil imports comes from the Middle East. And it's not just the Philippines. The entire region. Asia relies more heavily on oil and gas from the Middle East than any other parts of the world. We have been tracking the Asian trading day. It has been under some pressure, especially in certain markets, tracking some of the losses that we saw overnight.

The United States, of course, shares. They\re driving its biggest drop since the start of the conflict with Iran. As you can see, two major oil and gas consuming economies here in the region, Korea and Japan. The Kospi is down 8/10 of 1 percent. The Nikkei in Japan is losing about 4/10 of 1 percent. And we continue to track the cost of crude. The international global oil benchmark and crude prices, they have been on the rise, but right now they're just a touch lower.

Now, another factor that investors are weighing this day is the specter of inflation. There was a report that came out from the OECD saying that the forecast for inflation is going to be on the rise for G20 countries, for major economies across the across the world. It also downgraded its global growth forecast from 3.3 percent last year to 2.9 percent -- Kim.

BRUNHUBER: All right. So, things looking grim across the world, basically.

Eleni, any indication from the U.S. or Iran that things will change.

[02:35:00]

ELENI GIOKOS, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, what we've seen is an extension of President Trump's deadline to strike energy infrastructure as well as, you know, anything to do with the electricity generation systems in Iran. That would have been a huge escalation. I just want to remind you, last Saturday, we had a 48-hour ultimatum given to Iran to open up the Strait of Hormuz that was extended until today.

And now, we're seeing a 10-day extension. President Trump saying that the Iranians asked him very nicely for a seven-day extension. And then he tagged on a few more days. That takes us to April the 6th. And this is really important because this opens up potentially a diplomatic window for talks, for discussions, negotiations remains to be seen where they stand on that.

But ultimately here, the epicenter of what we're seeing and what Kristi was talking about, this impact on the global economy really has to do with what's happening in the Strait of Hormuz. Iran wants total sovereignty over the strait. It has de facto control right now. It's allegedly charging a toll fee for vessels to pass through. President Trump acknowledged that, frankly.

But he also had given a little bit of information about what this mystery present was that Iran had offered up the United States and that he was saying there were 10 vessels carrying oil that were able to pass through. But at the same time, he's downplaying the importance of the Strait of Hormuz that, frankly, is causing a massive economic shock globally.

Take a listen to what he said.

(BEGIN AUDIO CLIP)

DONALD TRUMP, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: We don't need the Hormuz Strait. What bothers me is that countries that do don't do anything about it. We're actually doing this for other countries. We don't -- we don't need it. We did 1 percent. We don't have to do anything. We don't need the 1 percent. I think we did it just because we want to be nice to them.

(END AUDIO CLIP)

GIOKOS: Here's the reality. And I'm just going to talk about the numbers and the facts here. The entire world needs the Strait of Hormuz. It carries around 20 percent of oil supply to international markets. You know, Southeast Asian countries are reeling from the reality of oil shocks. And of course, petrol shortages as well.

The airline industry is talking about jet fuel shortages. The agriculture sector is worried about fertilizer shortages because the Strait of Hormuz carries so many of these downstream refined products to the international market. Emerging markets are already talking about an inflation impact.

And I want to talk about the OECD projections on inflation. That number for G20 countries is now 4 percent for the United States in particular, inflation is projected to hit 4.2 percent. When President Trump talks about wanting to see lower interest rates and a better cost of living environment in the United States, this whole scenario is counter to that.

So, this 10-day pause, this 10-day potential diplomatic window, will it bring things to an end? I mean, frankly, the global economy is going to really rely on what happens on the front between the United States, Israel and Iran because so much hangs on this right now. Kim. And I'm going to just mention just what a shock this is for the global economy at a global scale. You know, it's touching everybody's life and it shouldn't be underestimated because oil prices right now are still above $100 a barrel. And that is going to feed through into economies everywhere.

BRUNHUBER: Yeah, so much hangs on it. Exactly right. Eleni Giokos in Dubai and Kristie Lu Stout in Hong Kong, I want to thank you both.

All right. Ahead, a special CNN investigation. We uncover a disturbing hidden network of men who drug and rape their wives and post tips about how to do it online. We'll hear from the survivors.

Stay with us.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[02:43:18]

BRUNHUBER: A months-long investigation has uncovered a horrific hidden network of men sharing tips on how to drug and rape women.

CNN's Saskya Vandoorne spoke to women who survived this type of abuse and tracked down a man who boasted about raping his wife. Now, we want to warn you, obviously, this report contains accounts from survivors of sexual assault and abuse.

Now, those who appeared on camera gave their consent, and we respect the wishes of those who asked to remain anonymous.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Go ahead. What's your emergency?

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I've just heard from my daughter. She's on her own in a house with four children and has just learned she's been drugged with her son's sleeping medicine.

ZOE WATTS, SURVIVOR: We worry about his coming behind us, walking down the street. We worry about going to our car late at night, but we don't worry about who we lie next to. I didn't realize I had to.

SASKYA VANDOORNE, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Zoe Watts may never know if the videos her husband made of her being raped were ever uploaded online. She met him when she was 17. He's now serving 11 years for rape, sexual assault by penetration and drugging.

WATTS: I knew that he wanted to have a conversation because we'd had a church service that Sunday. He reeled off a list of his wrongdoings to me as if it was, you know, a shopping list. I've done this, this, this, this, this, this and this. I've been using our son's sleeping medication to put in your last cup of tea at night to tie you down, take photographs and rape you. And I think I just went into shock

[02:45:02]

VANDOORNE (voice-over): Zoe kept the abuse secret for a few months as she grappled with what had happened to her, speaking out only after a severe panic attack, her mother then called the police.

WATTS: There were some times I thought, you know, this isn't right, but what would it mean? What would our -- what would our family look like? Their children would be without a dad and there would be a reputation. And my boys would grow up having a reputation and they'd know what their dad was doing.

VANDOORNE: I've noticed you haven't used the word rape a lot. Tell me, tell me why.

WATTS: It just doesn't -- I don't know, it's -- it's like one of those things really, I really I struggle with that to say that that's what's happened. It's like people can say it to me, but I just don't think, oh.

VANDOORNE: You know you're not alone.

WATTS: Yeah, yeah. Sadly.

VANDOORNE (voice-over): Huge numbers of explicit sleep videos are being uploaded online by users who claim it's non-consensual. One website profiting from this is motherless.com.

Last year, we began investigating a porn site that gets over 60 million visits a month, focusing on the thousands of videos featuring women who appear unconscious during sex acts. Most of its users are based in the U.S. It's home to so-called sleep content, with hundreds of thousands of views. One popular hashtag is iCheck, a way of proving a woman is asleep.

We created a fake name and soon got into a private Telegram group dedicated to sharing sleep content with almost a thousand members. One day, a man in the group were calling Piotr not his real name, DM'd me. Piotr admitted to me that he had been crushing pills into his wife's drink to rape her in her sleep.

Without encouraging him, I tried to find out how he was managing to do this. Who was he? Where was he?

Even when women come forward, proving it can be nearly impossible. Some drugs leave the body within 12 hours. Survivors often only realize much later what happened.

And even with the courage to speak out, there are still countless roadblocks when it comes to reporting to police or bringing a legal case.

Amanda Stanhope didn't know her partner had been abusing her for five years.

AMANDA STANHOPE, SURVIVOR: The police had to look through all these videos.

VANDOORNE: And what did they make of them?

STANHOPE: The one where I was absolutely horrified and he'd performed a sexual act on my face whilst I was unconscious. And it was completely clear.

And the police looked at this one and I thought, there's the evidence. And the police said to me -- well, we can't use that. That isn't clear evidence because it looks like you're pretending to be asleep.

VANDOORNE (voice-over): Her former partner was charged with multiple counts of rape and sexual assault. He took his own life before the case could go to court.

While talking to survivors, the man I was DM-ing continued to message and send me videos.

VANDOORNE: It made me even more determined to try and meet him, to get him in person. So I'm going to send him a message now, and I'm going to see if he would meet with us.

VANDOORNE (voice-over): By now, we'd worked out he was in Poland, and we knew roughly where he lived, but he refused to meet. And then a tip, he let slip that he was planning to attend a party.

VANDOORNE: That's him. I recognize him.

So, we're inside the restaurant. And I've just seen him dancing with her. And at the start of this investigation, all of these men were faceless. And so, seeing him tonight has just really brought home the fact that this is happening in real life.

VANDOORNE (voice-over): The man who had been messaging me day and night was only a few feet away, oblivious. I'd come to see if he was real. And there he was with his wife, the same people I saw in the videos.

We couldn't approach Piotr's wife without potentially putting her in danger, so we reached out to police about our findings. The Telegram group we infiltrated eventually disappeared, but it's a pattern authorities know well. One goes offline, another soon resurfaces.

[02:50:00]

We reached out to both Motherless and Telegram, but did not receive a response. As campaigns by German journalists to shut down, motherless and strengthen moderation on similar platforms continue videos of women who appeared to be abused while unconscious are still being uploaded, and U.S. safe harbor laws largely protect the site from liability.

In the end, it all comes back to Gisele Pelicot, the survivor whose trial shocked France and drew global attention. With astonishing dignity, she has taken hold of her own harrowing experience.

VANDOORNE: In reporting this case, we've spoken to multiple survivors who say they were drugged and raped by their husbands, and many of them see you as a source of strength. With your permission, I'd like to read you some of the messages that these survivors have sent to me to read to you.

One survivor, her name is Amanda Stanhope. She lives in Wigan. Her strength inspired me to speak out. She broke the silence and shame. So many survivors are forever grateful to her. I'd love to say thank you. If she can do it, then so can I.

GISELE PELICOT, SURVIVOR (translated): You're making me cry. It's beautiful. These are testimonies that move me, of course, but it is nice to say to yourself that they have found this strength. I was able to transmit that to them, it was a win, because we must indeed be united with everything that happens, because if you stay in your corner, you will never shift perceptions.

And I say bravo ladies, bravo. Don't be ashamed of doing it. All women must be able to do this process, even if it is very difficult, even if it is very complicated in their head.

But they're going to get there. It takes time. It can take months, days, maybe, even years. But they will eventually get there.

VANDOORNE (voice-over): Saskya Vandoorne, CNN, Paris.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

BRUNHUBER: Help is available if you've experienced any of the abuse we've been talking about there. Here in the U.S., you can call the National Sexual Assault Hotline or chat at any time on rain.org. And outside the U.S., U.N. Women and the Pixel Project provide a list

of agencies that are available around the world.

We'll be right back with more here on CNN NEWSROOM. Stay with us

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BRUNHUBER: All right, this just in: the U.S. Senate has unanimously moved to fund most of the Department of Homeland Security. That happened in a rare overnight session. Now, the agreement doesn't include funding for Immigrations and Customs Enforcement and parts of Customs and Border Protection. The House of Representatives still needs to approve the measure before any DHS agencies can reopen. Of course, DHS has been shut down since mid-February.

The U.S. treasury has announced that President Trump's signature will soon appear on dollar bills.

[02:55:02]

The move is a first for a sitting president. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said the decision is in honor of the 250th anniversary of the United States, Bessent said, quote, there is no more powerful way to recognize the historic achievements of our great country and President Donald J. Trump.

The former CEO of Sony pictures, says releasing this movie was the biggest mistake of his career. Have a look.

(VIDEO CLIP PLAYS)

BRUNHUBER: "The Interview" was a 2014 comedy starring Seth Rogen and James Franco. It depicted the assassination of North Korean leader Kim Jong Un. In response, North Korea launched a major cyberattack on Sony over the movie. A trove of personal information was released, including employee Social Security numbers, financial records and sensitive emails. Former Sony CEO Michael Lynton detailed the experience in his new book.

He told our Richard Quest about how he first learned about the hack. Here he is.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

MICHAEL LYNTON, AUTHOR, "FROM MISTAKES TO MEANING": I was on my way to work one day and I get a call from our CFO, and he says all of our systems had been hacked. What that meant was 70 to 80 percent of all the laptops at the company were fried, meaning they were unusable. They had then subsequent to that, the hackers or the cyber attackers had taken out all of the emails and were delivering them in these caches to reporters who had to type in die Sony. And then all of these salacious emails would come forth.

Julian Assange, for a whole separate reason, decided to wiki all of my information. So, it was all indexed and up there was all of my children's medical records. So, it was really bad, really bad. And the studio came to a standstill for at least a month.

RICHARD QUEST, CNN BUSINESS EDITOR AT LARGE: In the cold light of day now --

LYNTON: Yep.

QUEST: -- schemer aside, would you have greenlit that movie? Now, forget knowing what you know about the effects. I mean, you might have put in place better security and all of that, but would you still have made the movie?

LYNTON: Probably not, because if we'd paid attention to the process, the process had we typically, when we decided to make a movie, would have brought everybody around the table and at that table would have been a public policy person, and our general counsel, and they would have reminded me that we are owned by a Japanese company, and the Japanese have a very complicated relationship with the North Koreans, particularly in that moment when Abe was trying to make a deal with the North Koreans to retrieve the bodies of the 100 kids who had been kidnaped back in the '70s.

So probably not. Probably that would have been enough for me to say, no, we're not going to do this.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BRUNHUBER: All right. An update on a story many of you might have been following. Punch the baby Japanese macaque appears to be outgrowing his faithful companion. Have a look.

When punch was born, his mother abandoned him. So, staff at a zoo in Japan gave him a substitute mama plushie toy orangutan. Macaques tend to cling to their moms, but since punch got his playmate, crowds of visitors have watched his progress. A caretaker say Punch is now approaching other monkeys and playing with them.

All right. Thanks so much for joining us. I'm Kim Brunhuber. I'll be back with more CNN NEWSROOM after a quick break.

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