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Concerns Jan. 6 Rioters Could Get Paid From $1.8B Fund; W.H.O.: Deep Concerns About Scale, Speed Of Ebola Outbreak; Sources Familiar With U.S. Intel: Iran Restarted Some Of Its Drone Production During The Six-Week Ceasefire. Aired 4-4:30a ET

Aired May 21, 2026 - 04:00   ET

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

[04:00:20]

POLO SANDOVAL, CNN ANCHOR: Hey, everybody. This is CNN Newsroom. I'm Polo Sandoval live in New York. And here's what's ahead.

A controversial new fund for people who claim to have faced political persecution.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

MICHAEL FANONE, FORMER WASHINGTON, D.C. POLICE OFFICER: This is Donald Trump paying violent criminals for committing violent crimes on his behalf.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

SANDOVAL: Why the head of the Justice Department says that it's a good thing for taxpayers.

And growing concerns about the outbreak of Ebola in Africa. We'll tell you how long the virus may have been silently spreading before being discovered.

Plus, the Trump administration filing criminal charges against Cuba's former leader. But will Raul Castro ever actually see the inside of a U.S. courtroom? We'll discuss.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Live from New York, this is CNN Newsroom with Polo Sandoval.

SANDOVAL: All right. Let's begin this hour with what appears to be the first legal challenge to the U.S. Justice Department's so called Anti- Weaponization Fund. Two police officers who defended the U.S. Capitol on January 6th, 2021, when Trump supporters violently rioted, they are now suing to stop any payouts from that fund. Critics call it a nearly $2 billion slush fund that's meant to benefit Trump allies who claim that they were unfairly targeted by the previous presidential administration.

And those critics also worry that some of that money could end up going to January 6th rioters and election deniers. President Trump keeps trying to distance himself from this fund while at the same time defending it.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

DONALD TRUMP, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: I wasn't involved in the settlement. People were destroyed. They went to jail. Their families were ruined. They committed suicide. You know all the Biden administration and the Obama administration, both of them, you're talking about peanuts compared to the value.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

SANDOVAL: It also a growing number of lawmakers on Capitol Hill, including some of that -- some objections that are coming from Republicans.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

SEN. JOHN CURTIS (R-UT): I will tell you my first reaction was this doesn't pass the smell test.

SEN. THOM TILLIS (R-NC): It sends a signal, hey, go breach the Capitol, destroy the building, assault police officers and you may even get compensated for someday. That's absurd.

REP. BRIAN FITZPATRICK (R-PA): We got to unpack exactly what it is, what the source of the funding is in order to stop it and or reverse it.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

SANDOVAL: Throughout his career -- throughout his political career, Donald Trump has refused to release his tax returns. But now he says that he just might do that because they say, or he says it shows that he pays a lot of money. And this comes after the Justice Department announced a settlement with the IRS.

CNN's Paula Reid has details on that. And she also spoke with the Acting Attorney General Todd Blanche about this new Anti-Weaponization Fund, as it's called.

PAULA REID, CNN CHIEF LEGAL AFFAIRS CORRESPONDENT: On Wednesday, I sat down with Acting Attorney General Todd Blanche where he doubled down on his controversial settlement with President Trump over his lawsuit against the IRS. Now, as part of this settlement, he has retroactive audit protection to the President, his sons and his businesses.

He has also established a roughly $1.8 billion fund where anyone who believes that the justice system was weaponized against them can file a claim. Now, there have been a lot of questions about exactly how this will work. Well, they've put forth a lot of money. They haven't put forth a lot of details. They have said that there'll be a five member panel that will vet these various claims.

But there are concerns that this enormous amount of taxpayer money could end up being sort of slush fund for the President's allies. So I had the opportunity to press Blanche on a lot of aspects of this settlement, especially questions about whether those who are convicted of assaulting law enforcement officers could receive money from this fund. Let's take a listen to what he said.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

TODD BLANCHE, ACTING U.S. ATTORNEY GENERAL: There's nothing that's not transparent about this process. One of the factors the commissioners have to consider is what the claimant did, the claimant's conduct. OK? So in the hypothetical you just described, the claimant would have to say, I assaulted a cop and I want money. So whether the commissioners will give that person money, that claimant, it's up to them.

But that's one of the factors they have to consider for the very reason that was raised yesterday, which should be raised, which is that President Trump, this Department of justice, does not stand for assaulting law enforcement and the kind of fake outrage at this because there's a handful of folks who might apply, by the way, nobody's received money, nobody's applied yet. We don't even have commissioners.

[04:05:16]

So we're talking about a hypothetical scenario that hasn't even presented itself yet, except for the fact that the agreement makes plain that, that the commissioners have a bunch of factors they have to consider, expenses, how much money they want, what the claimant did, the claimant's conduct. And so that's something that we will pick good commissioners and that's something that they will take into account.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

REID: Now, I also pressed him on the concerns that people have about the fact that there are a lot of outstanding details about exactly how this will work. But he continued to defend this fund as not only being legal, but he says something that taxpayers will support, like take a listen.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

REID: But wouldn't the average taxpayer respond and say, OK, but why is that now my problem? Why do my tax dollars now need to go to people who are upset about their involvement in investigations?

BLANCHE: Well, if you're just upset, you're not getting it done. On the other hand, I think if you said to the American taxpayer that there was a horrible wrong committed by your government and now you can apply and you can have your lawyer's fees back, you can be compensated for what you lost financially. What American would say? Oh my gosh, that's terrible. I mean, I don't -- I very much disagree with the idea that the American taxpayer is indignant about the fact that a victim of weaponization, OK, a victim who suffered, whether it was legal fees, lost a job, had their life turned upside down in a way that was not appropriate.

If it was appropriate, there should be no compensation. And that's why we have five commissioners who will take a look at it. But I do not think the American people have issues with that. To the contrary, I think they do want their tax dollars spent on things like that.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

REID: Now, Blanche has 30 days to name the members of this commission and establish rules for exactly how they'll go about vetting claims. That is not a lot of time. And right now it is unclear who exactly they're going to find to do all this work, especially since these jobs are volunteer. You don't get paid.

Paula Reid, CNN, Washington.

SANDOVAL: And several of the police officers who fought back that angry mob back on January 6th told CNN why they opposed this new fund.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

FANONE: This is Donald Trump paying violent criminals for committing violent crimes on his behalf.

DANIEL HODGES, WASHINGTON, D.C. POLICE OFFICER: Trump has made it clear for years that he's tied to these people, that he appreciates what they've done, he wants to support them.

HARRY DUNN, FORMER U.S. CAPITOL POLICE OFFICER: Is this something that Donald Trump campaigned on? This was a campaign promise of Donald Trump.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

SANDOVAL: That lawsuit that was filed by two of those officers calls the fund, "A misappropriation of taxpayer funds orchestrated by the President to reward his allies and the rioters who committed violence in his name." They also add that, "Most chillingly, the fund will signal to past and potential future perpetrators of violence that they need not fear prosecution. To the contrary, they should expect to be rewarded."

January 6th rioters and election deniers, they are among those who appear eager to cash in on this new fund. CNN's Donie O'Sullivan caught up with two people who have high hopes for a payout.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

BRANDON FELLOWS, PARDONED JANUARY 6TH RIOTER: So the number I've put in is $30 million. You know, 21.5 million is for the wrongful imprisonment.

DONIE O'SULLIVAN, CNN SENIOR CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): People who took part in January 6th are hoping for big payouts.

RACHEL POWELL, PARDONED JANUARY 6TH RIOTER: We endured a lot. Our lives are still not the same. So I don't know what kind of price you can put on that.

O'SULLIVAN (voice-over): Even before the DOJ announced its so called Anti-Weaponization Fund this week --

O'SULLIVAN: How long were you in prison for?

FELLOWS: Jail and prison, I combined those numbers, 1,075 days.

O'SULLIVAN (voice-over): People like Brandon Fellows had already begun making claims for compensation.

O'SULLIVAN: What's the reaction within the wider January 6th community to this fund?

FELLOWS: Some people are whining and saying it's not enough and we're not even hearing numbers yet.

O'SULLIVAN (voice-over): Fellows was sentenced on felony and misdemeanor charges for entering the Capitol on January 6th.

FELLOWS: Yes, we went in there.

O'SULLIVAN (voice-over): Seen here in a red beard costume. Fellows spoke to CNN's Elle Reeve during the riot.

FELLOWS: But they were smoking a bunch of weed in there.

O'SULLIVAN (voice-over): The charges against him were dismissed after a pardon from President Trump. Now Fellows expects compensation.

FELLOWS: According to ChatGPT and Grok and also my knowledge of January 6th cases, I'm in at least the 3 to 5 percent upper tier for how terrible and also how strong of a case I have.

POWELL: It's like surreal to me. I mean, look how angry I look.

O'SULLIVAN (voice-over): Rachel Powell, a mom of eight and a grandmother to eight, spent three years under house arrest. We interviewed her before she began her prison sentence in 2024.

POWELL: I don't deserve this and my kids don't deserve it. Like, have we not been through enough?

[04:10:01]

O'SULLIVAN (voice-over): She was released last year after being pardoned by Trump.

O'SULLIVAN: What you say to people who are outraged and say people like you don't deserve a penny?

POWELL: A lot of people don't agree with what happened on January 6th. But when you step back and you look at somebody like me, for example, my major felony had to be struck down by the Supreme Court. My crime that day of breaking a window, technically that's a misdemeanor charge and yet I had three years of house arrest. Than having to endure everything I did through prison and getting a five year sentence on top of that, that's clearly weaponization.

O'SULLIVAN (voice-over): Brandon Fellows still believes the lies about the 2020 election and even believes that January 6th was a setup.

FELLOWS: But that's why I rationalize people, even violent people getting paid for that day because the government set it up. And also on top of that, they stole the election.

O'SULLIVAN (voice-over): And both Fellows in Powell remain loyal to President Trump and thankful for the so called Anti-Weaponization Fund.

FELLOWS: I feel like he has kept us in his mind despite all the other issues that he's got to deal with as leader of the world basically.

O'SULLIVAN: Are you thankful to the President?

POWELL: Of course I'm thankful. If it wasn't for the President, I'd still be sitting in that prison.

O'SULLIVAN (voice-over): Donie O'Sullivan, CNN.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

SANDOVAL: Now to the growing concerns about the deadly Ebola outbreak in Central Africa. The World Health Organization says that the outbreak in the Democratic Republic of Congo and Uganda, it is spreading and it's spreading fast and also poses a high risk at the local and regional level. But so far global risks, according to authorities, remain low.

Health Authorities in the DRC say that at least 148 deaths are thought to be linked to the outbreak with hundreds of suspected cases. The WHO adding that two experimental vaccines are possible options but that they could take months to develop. Meanwhile, residents entering Goma and Eastern DRC, they are now subject to tighter health checks at the border. And this after authorities confirmed one Ebola case in that area.

So what's happening now? Let's go live to Paris and CNN's senior international correspondent Melissa Bell, who's following developments. Melissa, what's the WHO saying about how fast this virus was infecting people before it was discovered?

MELISSA BELL, CNN CORRESPONDENT: We've been hearing from Dr. Tedros, the head of the World Health Organization who's speaking yesterday to these 600 suspected cases, to the fact that they now believe, Polo, that this may have started weeks, if not couple of months ago before it was detected and the measures put in place then to try and prevent its spread. But it does appear that it is spreading fast and it is spreading wide.

You mentioned Goma there in Kivu Province. This epicenter had been Ituri. There are a couple of cases that have been confirmed in Kampala, across the border in Uganda, in people who had traveled from Ituri province. And the difficulty is that this is a part of the world that is not only remote and difficult to access, but also has been plagued by conflict for about 30 years. Only yesterday we heard of a another attack by rebels in a village in Ituri province. So these are the different layers of difficulty there will be in trying to contain this particular outbreak. There is also the problem of the strain that is at play that is less deadly than other Ebola strains, but because of its rarity, Polo, difficult, more difficult to treat. There simply are no vaccines. The two that you mention, neither has been through clinical trials. This is what the World Health Organization is saying about them.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)\

DR. ANNE ANCIA, REPRESENTATIVE IN THE DRC, WORLD HEALTH ORGANIZATION: We are also at the international level looking at what candidate vaccines or treatment are available and if any could be of use in this outbreak. What I know is actually it would take me what I know from WHO, it would take two months for it to be available.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BELL: So the difficulty of waiting for the vaccine to be ready, even as the scramble is on to try and get it ready into clinical trials and onwards. There is also just the measures that are needed to try and contain the outbreak and the fact, for instance, of the kind of protective gear that medical workers need in order to protect themselves that also we understand is lacking on the ground. Polo?

SANDOVAL: CNN's Melissa Bell with the very latest there from Paris. Thank you, Melissa.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

CATALINA VAZQUEZ, MIAMI RESIDENT: We're enjoying the moment because it's one of the steps of the freedom of Cuba. The only thing that we want, the older people Cuba wants, it's freedom for all the island, that the kids have medicine, the people can get food in the stores.

ANTONIO IGLESIAS, HAVANA RESIDENT (through translator): Every day they come up with a new excuse, a new argument, a new supposed reason to condemn Cuba, to attack Cuba and to stir up trouble over something that happened a very long time ago, something that was known to have been a violation of Cuban airspace. And now after so many years, to bring that up again is truly ridiculous to me.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

[04:15:13]

SANDOVAL: You just listened to some of the mixed feelings from Cubans in the country and abroad. And this after the U.S. indicted former Cuban President Raul Castro. The Trump administration has been bringing charges, now brought charges against the 94-year-old for his alleged role in a fatal attack on two planes back in 1996. It was a downing of a civilian aircraft that killed four people, among them three Americans.

And all of this comes as the U.S. ramps up pressure on the island, including a crippling oil blockade that's been leading to blackouts on a regular basis and widespread protests on the island nation. President Donald Trump says that he will make an announcement on the U.S. economic embargo against Cuba "pretty soon," but there will be no escalation against the island.

And while the Trump administration is laying the groundwork for possible military action, the U.S. military says that the Nimitz carrier strike group has already arrived in the Caribbean. And a little later in this hour, I'll be speaking to a geopolitical expert on what could happen next for the island nation.

A phone call between the U.S. President and Israeli prime minister. It is revealing some fractures over the war with Iran. We'll go live to the region next.

Plus, an Israeli far right minister is drawing some international outrage after mocking activists detained by Israeli forces.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[04:20:27]

SANDOVAL: We are now learning new details about what's being described as a tense phone call between President Trump and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu over how to handle the war in Iran. A U.S. official telling CNN the two leaders that they held an hour long conversation on Tuesday when Mr. Netanyahu said that delaying a new round of attacks against Iran was a mistake he said. But President Trump actually said that the Israeli prime minister will do whatever he wants him to do during that call.

Meantime, we do have some new CNN reporting that we want to get to and head over to Paula Hancocks is joining us live from Abu Dhabi. Paula, you have that new reporting about how the Iranian regime essentially restarting and getting their efforts to prepare drones back online.

PAULA HANCOCKS, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, Polo, this is information that two U.S. sources that are familiar with U.S. intelligence have told CNN about and it is effectively that they believe that Iran's efforts to try and rebuild its capability. Its military industrial base appear to be moving faster than had been anticipated. Now we hear from these two sources that they believe that the drone production has resumed in this six-week ceasefire period. Also saying that they are calling into question exactly how damaged the Iranian military base was during that war.

We have been hearing some very definitive words from the U.S. President, also from the Secretary of Defense that the capabilities had been annihilated. Now the U.S. intelligence according to these two sources suggests that is not necessarily the case. Also saying that some estimates suggest that Iran could fully constitute -- reconstitute their drone attack capability with as little as six months.

Now of course, the drone capability is what the Gulf nations would be very concern and it is what we have been hearing from that phone call with the Israeli prime minister and the U.S. President that there has been a decision to put military action on hold. We're hearing from the U.S. President. It is because of the leaders of the UAE, of Saudi Arabia, of Qatar that have convinced him to give diplomacy another try at this point.

Now we are hearing from both U.S. and Israeli officials and sources that there was this phone call on Tuesday night. We know it lasted an hour. We know that it was tense according to those sources. And it did show some differences of opinion and of views when it comes to how Iran needs to be dealt with. It's worth pointing out that we know and have heard in the past that the Israeli point of view was that there should not be a delay in a more aggressive stance against Iran.

Prime Minister Netanyahu believing that any kind of delay really only benefits Iran at this point. So what we have been hearing from the U.S. point of view from President Trump is that they are holding off and he did talk about this just on Wednesday. Let's listen to what President Trump said.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: What have you said to Prime Minister Netanyahu about Iran and how long to hold off on strike?

TRUMP: He's fine. He'll do whatever I want him to do. He's very, very good man. He'll do whatever I want him to do. Hopefully those people will make a deal that's going to be great for everybody. But I don't know, I don't know. If I can save war by waiting a couple of days, if I can save people being killed by waiting a couple of days, I think it's a great thing to do.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

HANCOCKS: We also heard from Iran's Foreign Ministry spokesperson saying that there are messages going back and forth through Pakistani mediators at this point. Polo?

SANDOVAL: CNN's Paula Newton, always grateful for your reporting from Abu Dhabi.

Israeli far right Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir drawing more condemnation this time over his treatment of activists who were detained in his country. International criticism it has been swift, including from the European Council president who called the minister's actions appalling. Here's CNN's Jeremy Diamond with more.

JEREMY DIAMOND, CNN JERUSALEM CORRESPONDENT: The latest video posted by Israel's far right national security minister is earning him condemnation here in Israel and sparking multiple diplomatic incidents around world. The video features him and hundreds of detained foreign activists who were taking part in the latest Gaza bound flotilla, an effort to break Israel's maritime blockade of the Gaza strip.

[04:25:12]

In the 38 second video, you can see Itamar Ben-Gvir walking around and taunting hundreds of these foreign activists who were detained by Israel and are set to soon be deported. The activists are bound. Many of them are prostrate on the ground, their heads on the floor. One woman can be heard shouting, free Palestine at one point before she's forced to the ground by an Israeli security officer.

The national security minister responds by saying, good job. You can also hear him in the video saying, welcome to Israel. We are the landlords. But Ben-Gvir is being slammed by a slew of top Israeli officials, including the Israeli prime minister, who said that while Israel has, "Every right to prevent these flotillas from reaching Gaza," he said, "The way that Minister Ben-Gvir dealt with the flotilla activists is not in line with Israel's values and norms." He said that he has instructed that the activists be deported as soon as possible.

We've also heard from other Israeli ministers, including the Foreign Minister, Gideon Sa'ar, and then Mike Huckabee, the U.S. ambassador to Israel, touting many of these criticisms by Israeli officials, calling Ben-Gvir's actions, "Despicable," saying that Ben-Gvir had, "Betrayed the dignity of his nation."

We are also hearing fierce condemnation from a slew of Europeans countries, including Italy, France, Spain, all of which summoned the Israeli ambassadors to their respective countries, many of them calling Ben-Gvir's actions unacceptable. And also raising serious concerns about the fact that Israel detained these some 430 foreign activists in international waters, raising questions about the fact that may be a violation of international law.

But it's also important to note that this video is really just scratching the surface. Ben-Gvir has spent the last two years boasting about worsening conditions in Israeli prisons. And of course, we've brought accounts of the treatment of some of those prisoners to your show, like the journalist Ali Samoudi, who lost about half his body weight in an Israeli prison.

SANDOVAL: All right, thanks Jeremy Diamond for that report.

The Trump administration, it has indicted former Cuban President Raul Castro. After the break, I'll be asking an expert how this could impact the already strained relations between the U.S. and Cuba.

Also, President Trump issuing strategic endorsements to shape primary elections throughout the United States. More on his efforts to push back against dissent within his party when we return.

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