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Israel-Lebanon Ceasefire Extended; Adam Farrar is Interviewed about Plants to Target the Strait; Soldier Arrested for Metting on Maduro Raid; Watchdog Investigates Handling of Epstein Files; Pete Dominick is Interviewed about the Correspondents' Dinner. Aired 6:30- 7a ET

Aired April 24, 2026 - 06:30   ET

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

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[06:31:13]

JESSICA DEAN, CNN ANCHOR: Good morning, everyone. Great to be with you. I'm Jessica Dean, in for Audie Cornish. Thanks so much for joining me on CNN THIS MORNING.

It is 6:30 here on the East Coast. And we are following developing news this morning as a tornado touches down in Oklahoma. It hit the city of Enid last night, leveling homes. Nearly a dozen people injured. And officials say that tornado was on the ground for more than 30 minutes.

Here's what's also happening right now.

President Trump considering a bailout for Spirit Airlines if, quote, "we can get it at the right price," but some Republicans are skeptical.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

REP. KEITH SELF (R-TX): I don't like it. I'm not sure why we would do it. The free market is the free market. We've known the airline business is a tough business for decades.

MANU RAJU, CNN CHIEF CONGRESSIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Is this socialism?

SELF: You could easily make that case.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

DEAN: Sources say the proposed bailout would reportedly be $500 million and could include the U.S. government owning a stake in that airline.

President Trump says he's under no pressure to end the war in Iran. The president asserting Iran's military and economic position is weakened and there's no rush to conclude talks. But he says military action remains an option if a deal is not reached. And a major sticking point in resolving the wider conflict with Iran is that ceasefire between Israel and Lebanon, that has now been extended for another three weeks. That decision coming after diplomats from both countries met at the White House Thursday, with the president joining in on the talks. The initial ten-day ceasefire was set to expire Sunday.

But despite the agreement, the fighting is ongoing. Both Hezbollah and Israel exchanging attacks yesterday as the talks were going on. And President Trump has acknowledged there are still hurdles ahead.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

DONALD TRUMP, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: They do have Hezbollah to think about, and we're going to be working with Lebanon to get things straightened out in that country. I really believe we -- it's something we can do pretty easily.

MARCO RUBIO, SECRETARY OF STATE: And it gives everybody time to continue to work on what's going to be a permanent peace between two countries that want to be at peace.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

DEAN: Let's go now to CNNs Paula Hancocks, live in Abu Dhabi.

Paula, how much did the White House influence this move? And do you think that it will help the effort to reach a deal ultimately with Iran?

PAULA HANCOCKS, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, Jessica, it was really critical that there was this ceasefire extension when it came to Israel and Hezbollah. We understand three weeks more they will be trying to hammer out a more concerted deal.

And it was, according to the U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio, thank you -- thanks to the U.S. president, the fact that he became personally involved, that they were able to put enough pressure on both sides to be able to extend this ceasefire.

Now, what we've heard so far from the Israeli ambassador to the U.S., for example, he has said that peace is not a pipe dream. That Israel does not have an irreconcilable differences and gaps with Lebanon, and that it is possible to have some kind of a broader peace deal, which is what President Trump wants between Israel and Lebanon.

But we are hearing a much more cautious tone from the Israeli ambassador to the United Nations. Listen to this.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

DANNY DANON, ISRAELI AMBASSADOR TO THE U.N.: The Lebanese government have no control over Hezbollah. And Hezbollah is sending rockets, trying to sabotage the ceasefire. And Israel, we have to retaliate. Every time we see a threat, we take action. And I think the main question is whether the Lebanese government is capable of enforcing a ceasefire or a peace agreement.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

HANCOCKS: But as this meeting was going on, there was still fire being exchanged between Hezbollah and Israel.

[06:35:06]

The U.S. president, though, said the meeting went very well. He's hoping to have a meeting of the leaders of Israel and Lebanon in the near future.

Jessica.

DEAN: All right, more to come.

Paula Hancocks, thanks for the very latest, though. We appreciate it.

President Trump saying the U.S. blockade of the Strait of Hormuz is working.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

DONALD TRUMP, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: We have total control of the Strait. And the fact that it slows -- you know, they would have opened it up three days ago. They came to us and they said, we will agree to open the Strait. And all my people were happy. Everybody was happy except me. I said, wait a minute, if we open the Strait, that means they're going to make $500 million a day. I don't want them to make $500 million a day until they settle this thing.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

DEAN: But behind the scenes, CNN is learning the U.S. military is preparing plans to target Iran's Strait of Hormuz defenses should the ceasefire fail. That is according to multiple sources familiar with the matter, describing attacks against small speedboats and mine- laying vessels.

Joining us now is Adam Farr. He's a "Bloomberg" senior geopolitical analyst.

Adam, good morning. Thank you so much for being here with us.

Staying on --

ADAM FARRAR, SENIOR GEOPOLITICAL ANALYST, "BLOOMBERG": Good morning.

DEAN: Good morning. This plan that we've been doing -- CNN has reported on, that it is more targeted, that it combats these speedboats that would be potentially laying mines in the Strait of Hormuz. And CNN's also learning that many of Iran's -- that many of Iran's coastal defense systems do remain intact. So, that kind of setting the stage.

What might these more targeted attacks look like if we do go that direction? FARRAR: So, it's clear from what we're seeing and what we're hearing

from the president and this reporting, that there's a clear focus on the Strait of Hormuz as the primary focus moving forward. And this idea that the U.S. needs to leverage continued capability to degrade Iran's still present naval and ground forces that continue to threaten the movement of oil and other key goods out of the Strait of Hormuz. And what it says for all of us is that despite now the better part of five plus weeks of bombing of the -- of Iran that has destroyed a huge portion of its standing military, it remains capable of inflicting enough damage to close the Strait and maintain its deterrent capability there.

And so, what it continues to show that the president is worried about this. And despite his assurances that the time is on the U.S. side, that they're planning for how they can try and increase their capability to destroy the remaining Iranian forces and hopefully both restart oil supply and, in their mind, push Iran back to the negotiating table.

DEAN: Yes. And so -- and so to your point -- so, the president has claimed total control over the Strait. As you know, as we've talked about, we know from "Axios," Barak Ravid, his reporting, that this week Iran has been laying more mines and that that is pushing ahead, according to his reporting, Trump seemingly responded to this, saying, he has now instructed the "Navy to shoot and kill any boat," those are his words, "that is putting mines in the waters of the Strait of Hormuz."

Is that escalatory? Is that expected? What do you make of those developments?

FARRAR: So, I think what it highlights again is that we're -- we stay in this kind of broader sense of uncertainty about the overall state of the war. You know, while we're in this fragile ceasefire, we also have these dueling blockades that, by any measure, are generally seen as acts of war. And so, while certainly the president was trying to show strength yesterday by highlighting the U.S. capability and willingness to go after these vessels, the reality is that the U.S. is already doing that and able and focused on going after any vessel that could threaten U.S. operations in the region.

And so, you know, what it also points to is that we're also kind of at a point where it could go in either direction at either -- at any moment, right? We could have talks that lead to a gradual de- escalation or a rapid escalation of the conflict. You know, going after ships in the Strait is not necessarily hugely escalatory, but that could lead to broader attacks from Iran on regional energy infrastructure or potentially bringing in their Houthi proxies in Yemen that could raise pressure on the Red Sea, where a huge amount of oil has been diverted from Saudi Arabia during the conflict.

DEAN: Yes, and just underscoring there the massive uncertainty that we sit with in all of this.

Adam Farrar, thank you so much. It's good to see you. As U.S. -- a U.S. special forces soldier involved with the raid to

capture Nicolas Maduro now under arrest, accused of cashing in by placing a bet that Maduro would be out of power. Prosecutors say in the weeks leading up to the raid, Master Sergeant Gannon Ken Van Dyke placed 13 bets on prediction markets. They say he ultimately won $400,000 when that capture succeeded.

[06:40:02]

President Trump, a former casino owner himself who has been in the business of bets for decades, calling it a crazy world.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

DONALD TRUMP, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: Was he betting that they would get him or they wouldn't get him?

REPORTER: It sounds like he was betting on his removal from office. That Maduro would be removed.

TRUMP: Well, that's interesting.

REPORTER: It sounds like he was involved in the operation.

TRUMP: That's like Pete Rose betting on his own team. It's a little like Pete Rose. Pete Rose. It kept him out of the Hall of Fame because he bet on his own team.

The whole world, unfortunately, has become somewhat of a casino. And you look at what's going on all over the world, in Europe and every place they're doing these betting things. I was never much in favor of it. I don't like it, conceptually. But it is what it is.

No, I think that -- I'm not happy with any of that stuff.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

DEAN: The case is unfolding as prediction markets have exploded in popularity. We've reported "Donald Trump Jr. is an advisor to two of the largest prediction market companies, Kalshi and Polymarket, and is an investor in the latter." Trump's social media company, Truth Social, has also announced plans to create its own market.

Let's bring back the group chat to discuss all of this.

Elliot, I want to start with you.

This story is a -- maybe I'm naive, wow, OK, wow, here we are. But, Elliot, what is your reaction to these charges and what do you think it means for these prediction markets? Do you think they'll ultimately get a closer look at -- from regulators, law enforcement?

ELLIOT WILLIAMS, CNN LEGAL ANALYST: Well, I -- they have to get a closer look at some regulators only because they are somewhat the wild west right now that the law is just catching up to. They are -- the technology is booming. Their accessibility is booming. And the law is not quite there yet.

By way of example, Polymarket, which was at the center of this particular case, isn't even fully operational in the United States in the same way that it is overseas. So, this defendant is accused of using VPN, a virtual network, to reach overseas and, in effect, log in to Polymarket as if he were outside of the country. That's the kind of behavior we're seeing now, only because we're still catching up.

Now, obviously, of course, these are just -- these are just allegations from the government. And, you know, the government still has to prove this.

I think what's particularly concerning for this defendant is that there's -- there are long financial records that exist of these transactions. They are digital. They are electronic. And I think they're just hard to disprove.

But, yes, absolutely, to answer your question, the law just still has not caught up yet to the -- as the president has said, a world that is increasingly drawn to both prediction markets and online betting. So, he's right.

DEAN: Yes.

And, Lulu, there are two Republican members of Congress that we've heard from so far that are calling on -- calling for a pardon for this soldier. Congressman Petronas saying, "if the DOJ isn't prepared to go after every member of Congress who's profiting off insider trading, then this feels like selective enforcement, not justice."

And Anna Paulina Luna saying, quote, "I don't agree with what he did and he should be required to disgorge all the profits. However, unless the DOJ plans on doing Congress next, this is not justice."

What do you think of that? And obviously, there's been a push for --

LULU GARCIA-NAVARRO, CNN CONTRIBUTOR: Do Congress next. Sure.

DEAN: Yes.

GARCIA-NAVARRO: I mean, sure, that sounds like a great plan. I don't think the two should be mutually exclusive is what I would say, first of all.

And the second thing I would say about this is, I found President Trump's reaction to this pretty disingenuous, considering, as you noted, that his own Truth Social company is planning on a cryptocurrency-based betting sort of franchise, and his own son is involved in this.

But the federal government itself has actually been arguing in favor of these betting markets in places like Utah. Utah has a very strong anti-gambling tradition, and they have been trying to curtail this. The states have been looking at this. And it's actually been the federal government that has been standing in its way. So, you know, when we look at all of this, it is a broader question.

It's not just about this particular man who I think did quite an egregious thing. I think anyone looking at this would say this was insider trading. But not only insider trading, this was classified information that he was privy to and then he used for his personal enrichment. And anyone looking at this, I think, would say that is wrong. But it is a much broader problem. And I think the regulation has to catch up with what people are doing day to day.

DEAN: And, Rob, look, Congress, the government, can be notoriously slow to catch up to what people are doing day to day. It can take them a while to get laws and regulations on the books with something like this, and then -- and then set aside, as Lulu says, we don't have to make them mutually exclusive, but set aside what they may need to do. And there's talk about doing to kind of police themselves.

Where do you think this goes from here? And is this just kind of where we exist now?

ROB BLUEY, PRESIDENT AND EXECUTIVE EDITOR, "THE DAILY SIGNAL": Well, Jessica, you're absolutely correct, I mean Congress is slow oftentimes to react to these things.

[06:45:04]

And, yes, we know that Kalshi is -- has banned politicians who have bet on their own races because, obviously, that's pure insider trading. And so, there's a number of factors here that I think we need to take into account.

I mean certainly in the case of this soldier, indefensible what he did. And whether it be regulatory at the federal level or the state level, I do agree with President Trump that it's gotten out of hand. I'm glad to see him speak out against this, despite what some things have -- may have happened in in the past.

But in this particular case, Jessica, you're absolutely correct, that it's time for, I think, the world, and the United States in particular, to show some leadership on these prediction markets because otherwise they're going to become addictive and grow out of control. Theres already billions of dollars at stake every single day.

DEAN: Yes. And just increasing in popularity.

Let's leave it there for now. We will get back to you guys in just a little bit.

Up next here on CNN THIS MORNING, a new investigation into the handling of the Epstein files. Could more justice be on the way?

Plus, the White House Correspondents' Dinner is this weekend. A juggling act of bitter feuds and laughs.

And later on CNN, an update on the damage in Oklahoma after a massive tornado ripped through that area overnight.

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[06:50:27]

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: this is about some of the most powerful, wealthiest people believing that they can just get away with anything.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

DEAN: The Epstein probe intensifying. Victims, of course, wanting justice. Congress, wanting answers.

Now, the Justice Department's internal watchdog is opening an investigation into the DOJ's production of files. The issue in question, redactions. Some victims say their names weren't properly redacted. Congress saying that some possible coconspirators may have been wrongfully redacted. So, what would accountability look like here? That has been an ongoing question with this issue.

Our group chat is back.

Lulu. I spoke to one victim after a release of some of these documents, and she was showing all of the unredacted names, how upset she had been by that. Will this investigation be able to hold the DOJ accountable? Will anything come of this?

GARCIA-NAVARRO: I'm just -- I'm just going to pause, give a lengthy pause there. I don't know, but I am heartened by the fact that they're even looking into it. This has been an administration that hasn't done a lot of self-policing. And the fact that the, you know, many of the watchdogs in many of the different parts of government have been gutted. And so, this, I think, is overdue and heartening. I don't know if it's going to lead anywhere, but I certainly think it's the right -- it's the right step.

DEAN: And, Rob, I know -- I know your point of view is that this really has to have some teeth to be able to do anything.

BLUEY: Absolutely. And sometimes inspector general reports have a positive effect and other times they just get buried. And so, I'm with Lulu. I do hope that this reveals some answers. There are, after all, millions of documents that the Department of Justice was reviewing. And so, I understand that some mistakes could be made, but these are serious consequences that we're talking about, whether it's revealing people's names that shouldn't have been revealed, or redacting too much information.

And so, yes, they do need -- there's frustration broadly in Congress with how the Department of Justice has handled this. I do think President Trump has held the department accountable by essentially firing Pam Bondi and hopefully bringing in leadership that takes this seriously and releases and discloses to the American people what they should see.

DEAN: And, Elliot, we have a new report. It documents in the files how there was so little follow up. That -- and that there were so few investigations conducted for the other men accused of the abuse, et cetera, et cetera.

In terms of the internal watchdog looking into this, what more access might they have? What can they -- what can be done that's substantive here?

WILLIAMS: Right. Absolutely. They -- so, the office of the inspector general does have pretty much access to everything within the building of the Justice Department. They can conduct interviews, they can check files and so on.

Now, it is like an independent entity, but under the umbrella of the Justice Department that does have the power, you know, to gather documents, but also make recommendations, both in terms of employment consequences for anyone who might have behaved poorly on the job or just been so grossly deficient in their job to even recommending charges, if it ever came to that, if someone behaved in a criminal manner.

You know, I worked with the Office of the Inspector General a fair amount when I was there, or at least was familiar with their work, a fair amount, when I was at the Justice Department. They are a very important entity. You know, Lulu is correct, they have been gutted across the government to some extent for the last several years, but they are still an important entity within the Justice Department.

And this, to be clear, is exactly how the OIG should be working. It was a recommendation from Congress that came in that said that the OIG should look into this. And they are doing so. And they are doing so publicly. So, I, too, have a lot of hope that they will work the way they were intended, they will function the way they were intended on this very important issue.

DEAN: All right, we're going to leave it there. Thanks to all of you.

And some of that reporting on Epstein will take center stage at the White House Correspondents' Dinner tomorrow night. "The Wall Street Journal" will receive the group's top honor for their report on a letter Trump allegedly sent to Epstein for his 50th birthday. You'll remember the president called the story fake and sued the paper for $10 billion. That lawsuit was ultimately dismissed. The reported author of that note will also be in attendance. President Trump is set to attend and speak at the dinner for the first time as president.

Joining us now, Pete Dominick, comedian and host of the "Stand Up! with Pete Dominick" podcast.

Pete, great to have you.

I think I just kind of laid it out in terms of all the competing dynamics that are going to be happening at that dinner tomorrow night.

[06:55:02]

Trump, obviously, has been attacking the media, suing them constantly. "The Atlantic" summing it up this way, "in just the past 15 months he has sued news organizations, threatened to jail journalists, repeatedly suggested taking broadcast licenses away from TV networks that have reported stories he didn't like," and that -- and so on and so on. And so, what might tomorrow night be like?

PETE DOMINICK, HOST, "STAND UP! WITH PETE DOMINICK": Well, unfortunately, it won't be anywhere positive for democracy or a real celebration of the First Amendment because, Jessica, they didn't invite a comedian. And the reason why they didn't invite a comedian is because they knew our thin skinned, insecure, immature, sad, mean, terrible president wouldn't come. And why shouldn't they? I mean comedians are there to speak truth to power.

I was at that dinner five years in a row, and I also worked for Stephen Colbert at "The Colbert Report." And every night, at every taping of "The Colbert Report," there was always an audience member who remembered his performance at the White House Correspondents' Dinner, I believe in 2006, when he questions George W. Bush while he was right by his side and his failure to find weapons of mass destruction. It put Colbert on the map, cemented his legacy, because he spoke truth to power in a way, right, to the president at the time, that too many journalists weren't doing.

And the same is the case for now. By the way, this president wants to jail journalists and -- who are reporting on the Iran War. You know, he wants them to be brought up on charges of treason, which is a punishment by death. You have to have a comedian at this dinner. And they don't. They have a mentalist. What in the sam hell is a mentalist? I mean, he's going to make people believe that you can read minds and that he's a psychic. Americans already, too many, believe that the moon is made of cheese. So, it's bad. It's bad for America. It's bad for democracy.

DEAN: And look, you mentioned past dinners. Obviously, Trump has his history with this event. There is that moment, and I think it is a key moment, when then President Obama joked about him. He was in the audience. This was in 2011. I just want to play a quick clip.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

BARACK OBAMA, FORMER U.S. PRESIDENT: An episode of "Celebrity Apprentice" at the steakhouse. The men's cooking team did not impress the judges from Omaha Steaks.

You didn't blame Lil Jon or Meatloaf. You fired Gary Busey. And these are the kind of decisions that would keep me up at night.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

DEAN: And later on, there was a lot of talk that, like, that moment really affected President Trump and pushed him toward potentially running.

But this, to your point, this dinner has the potential to create moments over the years, like Stephen Colbert with George W. Bush, as you mentioned, like that. DOMINICK: Yes. I mean it's such an important element of this dinner.

To have a comedian there to speak truth to power, to make fun of the president to his face, and journalists and journalism as well. I don't know if that moment -- I mean, I think that moment gets too much credit. He was already the chief birther before that.

DEAN: Right.

DOMINICK: But he does, and has committed to getting revenge on anybody who makes fun of him in any way.

And there's so much material. And all of that material, including everything around the Epstein files and this war of choice, would be on center stage for any self-respecting comedian. For the White House Correspondents' Association to not invite a comedian is to, it looks like, to appease the president. And there's already so much erosion in faith in journalism, especially corporate journalism. It doesn't do them any favors either.

There should be a comedian there. The fact that there's not a comedian there is an injustice. It looks like they're trying to kiss his butt and appease him. The only way they could get him to go. And inviting a mentalist is so pathetic and so sad. A sad point in the history of, I think, the White House Correspondents' Association and anybody who attends that dinner and journalism in general. It's really bad for America and bad for democracy, especially because he's tried to cancel comedians. He canceled Colbert. He tried to cancel Kimmel and he couldn't. And that was a very important inflection point in the past year that he couldn't get rid of Jimmy Kimmel, yet his FCC head, who tried to do that, he'll be there. Brendan Carr will be there. But no comedian, Jessica, it's terrible.

DEAN: All right, Pete Dominick, thank you so much for your time. We appreciate it.

DOMINICK: Thanks for having me.

DEAN: And on Saturday, join CNN for one of the biggest nights in Washington. You can watch the White House Correspondents' Dinner live Saturday at 8:00 and on the CNN app.

Right now we're going to go back to our group chat.

What's in your group chat is the question. Elliot, we can start with you.

WILLIAMS: OK. You know, it's 6:59 a.m. I really shouldn't be talking that much about getting drunk. However, I will -- I will note that the worst casualty of the economy right now is that grown-ups, adults are starting to pregame like they did in college.

[07:00:02]

There was reporting in "The Wall Street Journal" that alcohol has gotten so expensive that adults are starting to drink before they go out. DEAN: Oh, my God.

WILLIAMS: Yes.

DEAN: All right, Rob, your turn.

BLUEY: Yes, it's a big weekend in Pittsburgh, a city I love, and the Steelers, for the NFL draft. They've closed schools today. And they're expecting the largest crowds in the city for -- in the history.

DEAN: That's amazing.

Lulu.

GARCIA-NAVARRO: I have no time, but I had a great interview with Charlize Theron.

DEAN: Yes.

GARCIA-NAVARRO: And she really talked in so heartfelt -- such a heartfelt fashion. And it was amazing.

DEAN: All right, great stuff. Thanks to all of you. Thanks to our group chat. Thanks for waking up with us. I'm Jessica Dean. The headlines are next.