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Erin Burnett Outfront

NYT: Iran's Supreme Leader's Face Severely Burned, Struggles To Speak; Lutnick: One Trump "Gold Card" Approved, Previously Said $1.38 Sold; U.S. Soldier Involved In Maduro Raid Arrested For Alleged Bets. Aired 7-8p ET

Aired April 23, 2026 - 19:00   ET

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

[19:00:26]

ERIN BURNETT, CNN HOST: New details from inside Iran OUTFRONT tonight. Ayatollah Mojtaba Khamenei reportedly severely burned on his face and lips, communicating only through handwritten messages, sealed envelopes delivered by human couriers.

"The New York Times" reporter who is breaking this story is our guest.

And more breaking news, a U.S. Special Forces soldier involved in the capture of the Venezuelan president arrested for allegedly betting Nicolas Maduro would be out of power before the raid even happened. Far from the only bet in this administration raising eyebrows tonight. A special report this hour.

And then the Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick admits only one person, one, has been approved for the Trump gold card. What happened to the $1.3 billion worth of gold cards that he told us he sold?

Let's go OUTFRONT.

(MUSIC)

BURNETT: And good evening. I'm Erin Burnett.

And OUTFRONT tonight, the breaking news, incredible new information tonight from inside Iran. Never before revealed details about Iran's mysterious supreme leader, who hasn't been seen since taking over the country.

We have new reporting here with major implications for this war. As Trump tonight issues a new threat to, quote, "shoot and kill any boat putting mines in the waters of the Strait of Hormuz," while claiming that Iran is in turmoil.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

DONALD TRUMP, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: They don't even know who is leading the country. They're in turmoil

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BURNETT: Now, we did not hear from Oman's military or powerful IRGC today, but the president of Iran and its top negotiator on the nuclear talks issued identical statements saying, quote, "with complete obedience to the supreme leader of the revolution, we will make the aggressor criminal regret his actions," a singular use of the words there, a clear message to one person, Donald Trump.

And the reference to the supreme leader being in charge is notable. And one person who may know more about the supreme leader and how he is involved or not in Iran, is my guest tonight.

Farnaz Fassihi of "The New York Times" is with us.

She's uncovered that the new supreme leader, Mojtaba Khamenei, is running the country as though he's the director of a board. And the members of the board, the generals of the IRGC. They are the key decision makers for security, war and diplomacy, a crucial, crucial set of reporting tonight.

And Farnaz also details the complex process they use to send messages back and forth out of fear of assassination by Israel. I mean, this is incredible information. It sort of makes Osama bin Laden pale by comparison.

Farnaz has the most detailed report also on how badly Mojtaba Khamenei was injured in that strike that killed his father, his wife, his son, Farnaz reports that his lips and face have been burned severely. So, it's very hard for him to speak. She reports he's going to need plastic surgery. She's going to be here in just a moment with these incredible breaking details and so much more.

But first, while President Trump is claiming there is infighting at the top of the Iranian government, he's touting the success of his war tonight.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

TRUMP: Their military is totally defeated there. They're -- outside of the little wise guy ships -- I call them the wise guy ships -- the little boats that they have running around with guns in them. We'll take them out, too, when we see them.

But their navy is gone. Their air force is gone. Their anti-aircraft is gone.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BURNETT: Of course, the CSIS has reported 60 percent of Iran's missile launchers are operational. Seth Jones will be with us in a moment.

And while Trump routinely talks about having obliterated Iran's navy, something he said in the first couple of weeks of the war had been accomplished. Those wise guys ships, as Trump now refers to them, are actually quite an important set of ships. Iran has never depended on a navy like the U.S. Shipping CEOs actually are telling me today that those small ships are crucial, that they are successfully keeping Hormuz closed, and that Iran has always relied on them. Iran is dependent on speedboats like the ones that they've put out in

a video published by the IRGC, which they say shows troops boarding and seizing container ships in the Strait of Hormuz, just this week.

Now, this is their video, we can't independently verify it, but look at this video of Iranian military exercises in 2015, where the IRGC showed their method of these little boats. They swarmed them in a group of 100 to blast a replica of the aircraft carrier the USS Nimitz in the Persian Gulf. All right? So that's the situation with those small wise guy boats.

Trump is also, though, making a very significant claim this hour about the blockade.

[19:05:00]

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

TRUMP: We have a blockade that's 100 percent effective. And they're getting no business.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BURNETT: One hundred percent effective. Well, new information from the analytics firm Kpler shows that Iran's flow of oil to China has not been broken by the blockade. Kpler actually estimates the flow of crude from Iran to China was 985,000 barrels a day in the first half of April, so about a million barrels a day to China.

And the bottom line since then, Kpler says, the flow has not been interrupted by the blockade and shipping tracker. Vortexa says since the blockade began, Iran itself has shipped nearly 11 million barrels of oil, which the "FT" notes is worth about $1 billion.

Kristen Holmes is OUTFRONT at the White House to begin our coverage tonight.

Kristen, what is the latest you're learning this hour?

KRISTEN HOLMES, CNN SENIOR WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT: President Trump is just refusing to put any kind of a deadline on the ceasefire, Erin. He said repeatedly today when talking to reporters that he felt zero pressure to end this war, that all the pressure was on the Iranians, that essentially they were in turmoil. So, the United States needed to give them a chance to figure out what their leadership was.

Now, remarkably, he also admitted that the United States doesn't know who is leading Iran. He said they don't know who their leader is, and then said that we also don't know who their leader is. Now, clearly, this argument is getting under the skin of at least some Iranians who put out a statement today, basically claiming iron unity among all these claims that there is fractures there.

Interestingly, President Trump did note that he would not use a nuclear weapon on Iran. It might be wondering why that's so interesting. But of course, there were questions about it that the White House didn't answer when he said he was going to completely obliterate a civilization.

And now, he did grow testy when asked about this timeline. When asked about Americans that might be feeling pressure on their wallet. And particularly, he was asked, should Americans anticipate continuing to spend more money on gas? And he said yes, a little while longer. And he thought that that was better than Iran obtaining a nuclear weapon.

But I've got to tell you from the Republicans that I am talking to, particularly those up for reelection, that is not the answer they want to hear, because they know that Americans are suffering, particularly when it comes to the cost of gas now.

BURNETT: Yeah, absolutely. And the inflation as a result. All right. Thank you very much, Kristen.

Farnaz Fassihi has covered Iran for three decades now for this article. She interviewed 23 people in Iran. That includes senior officials, members of the revolutionary guards, and individuals with ties to both Ali and Mojtaba Khamenei.

And, Farnaz, I mentioned your incredible reporting, there is so much here tonight, new. Mojtaba Khamenei running the country in some sense, as you describe it. Let's just start though, with the state, his state. His injuries, you report, are disfiguring. There have been so many rumors, but you now have some facts.

Can you tell us about his physical condition?

FARNAZ FASSIHI, NYT REPORTER; HAS COVERED IRAN FOR 30+ YEARS: Hi, Erin. Thank you for having me.

Mojtaba Khamenei was gravely injured in the airstrikes on February 28th that started the war and killed his father, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei. He has suffered from a severe leg injury. His leg has been operated on their suggestions that it may even be amputated.

And he's waiting for a prosthetic leg. His hand has been operated on, and it's gaining functionality. And more importantly, his face and lips have been severely burned to the point where it's difficult for him to speak. And he will require plastic surgery.

So, we know that he -- that he's gravely injured. We know that there's, the president of Iran, President Pezeshkian, who's a heart surgeon, and the health minister are in charge of his health care, and he's mostly surrounded by a medical team in in a hiding place and access to him is incredibly difficult. And that's probably one of the reasons why we haven't seen the new supreme leader in any video messages. Nobody has.

And his voice has not been heard to the extent that he's communicated, it's been with written statements read on state television.

BURNETT: I mean, it is incredible what you're reporting. And I know you know, in your article, you detail how, as you mentioned, he is surrounded by doctors and to the point that senior leadership of Iran has -- they're not able to get in to see him, to talk to him. You know, is that merely because they're worried about possible assassination or elimination, that this could find where he is? Or is it also because he doesn't want them to see him? And do you know about his mental capacity?

FASSIHI: Well, we've heard his mental -- all the sources I spoke to said his mental capacity was intact. So, he was able to engage and communicate. Now, we also know that as soon as he was appointed as the successor of his father, Israeli officials said that they would assassinate him if they found him.

[19:10:08]

And, you know, there's been airstrikes that have killed, not just Ayatollah Khamenei, the Ayatollah Khamenei, but also very senior commanders. So there is a real threat and risk to his life in the view of the Iranians, and from what we can gather.

So, you know, part of the reason why there's no access to him is, is because, I heard from sources that Iranians are worried that if, officials try to visit him, their, their movement might be traced to him because we know that also the movement of senior officials has been sort of monitored. So that's one of the reasons, and I think you also mentioned his physical condition, right? He probably doesn't want, many people to see him in this vulnerable and weak physical condition and wants to recover right now.

BURNETT: Now, you report that he has been working very closely with the IRGC, and this goes back in part to his own time with some of these individuals. Back when he was a teenager in the Iran-Iraq war. And so, it's personal, but it is a -- it is an even more solidification and rise of the IRGC, which you're reporting about.

But on this issue of what sort of control he has, how is he even communicating with them, given that you're reporting they can't go and visit him? How is the communication happening?

FASSIHI: Well, they can't go visit him. There's absolutely no electronics around him because of the because of, you know, possible tracing him through electronics. So, there's no telephone. There's no, you know, email, no video.

So, the only way is sort of the old way, you know, they write handwritten notes, they seal it in an envelope and a huge chain of human couriers sort of carries it around. I heard on bikes, motorbikes, on -- in cars and it's like handed from one secure, trusted source to the other until it makes it to his hiding.

And then it snakes back out. His reply snake back out the same way. So, this is not a system where you can communicate every day or in real time, right? So, one of the -- one of the reasons that he's delegated so much power in decision making to the Revolutionary Guards is, is the circumstances of his injuries and his hideout. But as you pointed out, because he trusts and goes has very deep ties with the commanders who are in charge. Right? So, decision making under -- sorry, go ahead.

BURNETT: No, no, no, I was -- I was just. Go ahead. Finish your sentence.

FASSIHI: Yeah. Decision making under the father used to be really the veto of one man, Ayatollah Khamenei. The father would say yes or no. It was his will. And he had the final say.

We're saying -- we're seeing a very different decision-making system now in the current new era, right? We're seeing more collaborative system where the generals are in charge, where they're make calling the shots, and they're deciding what, key decisions about how far Iran is going to escalate the war, about the closing the Strait of Hormuz, about accepting a ceasefire, and most importantly, diplomacy with the United States.

These are all decisions that the generals are making. We haven't really seen any disarray at the top, although differences of opinions may have you know, are there, of course, but it appears that the decision making is cohesive and it's in the hands of the revolutionary guards.

BURNETT: Yeah. And obviously very significant because the revolutionary guard is obviously not who has been leading the negotiations. Right. That has been Ghalibaf remember speaker of parliament and others. So very significant what you're reporting here, all of it.

Farnaz, thank you so very much. I appreciate it.

FASSIHI: Seth Jones and Karim Sadjadpour are here with me.

Seth, Farnaz reporting so much there. But let's start with Mojtaba Khamenei being disfigured that he needs plastic surgery, a prosthetic limb, his inability at best to be seen is imperiled.

What is the implication of all of this, Seth?

SETH JONES, PRESIDENT, DEFENSE & SECURITY DEPARTMENT, CENTER FOR STRATEGIC & INTERNATIONAL STUDIES: Well, I think, Erin, there are at least two implications. One is that the -- as you just discussed, the IRGC, the Islamic Revolutionary Guard is playing a very influential role in the decision making right now, including influencing the negotiations.

And the second thing I think is, is that we are seeing a very decentralized -- decentralized and diffused apparatus. That means that despite all of that, we've seen the Iranian military continue to be able to fire cruise missiles, ballistic missiles and drones off from a decentralized perspective, even with all of this happening. So, they still have been able to figure out how to conduct a war. Even with all of this trouble at the top.

[19:15:02]

BURNETT: And, Karim, you know, when we hear that Khamenei is surrounded by doctors, there's absolutely no electronics around him, not even to the extent that somebody would bring in a random phone to tape a video, nothing. And that no senior leadership have visited him because of the fear that they could reveal his location to Israel, the United States, and have him be assassinated.

Karim, what are the implications of such total and utter isolation?

KARIM SADJADPOUR, CNN GLOBAL AFFAIRS ANALYST: So, Erin, the Iranian system already was very inefficient in making decisions. It oftentimes took them many months, if not years, to come to a consensus. And that was when there was one clear leader, Ayatollah Khamenei. Now, under these circumstances, when you have a supreme leader who's been badly injured and living in hiding under paranoia, totally disconnected from the outside world, you can only imagine the additional inefficiencies.

And I'm reminded of an observation which the great North African historian Ibn Khaldun made in the 14th century, said that empires are built and destroyed over three generations. The first generation build, the second generation consolidate, and the third generation squander.

And Mojtaba Khamenei is the third generation of the Islamic Republic's leadership, and he is not someone I would bet on to be ruling Iran several years from now.

BURNETT: Aou know, and Seth, in that context, it is also fascinating what we're hearing about that chain of couriers, right? With this inefficient communication Karim's talking about, you know, she's talking about person-to-person-to-person in sealed envelopes, on back roads, and motor bikes. And I mean, it's pretty incredible, Seth.

And it sort of makes you think about, right, the way that Osama bin Laden was found, right? That was one courier. That was one guy they were tracking. This -- you know, they're trying to go to some level of byzantine sort of communications.

It is pretty incredible, though, because obviously they are incredibly terrified of an assassination. And they're looking at the Osama bin Laden model.

JONES: Yeah. Two interesting things from this, Erin. One is that it did make it difficult for Osama bin Laden to actually run his organization without the ability to have routine communication with al Qaeda leadership, not just in Pakistan, but also around the globe.

I suspect the same thing is happening to some degree here, which is why we're seeing a lot more of a role of the IRGC. The second thing is that it actually made it a little bit more challenging for intelligence agencies to find. I suspect if the Americans and the Israelis are trying to target him now that they are really focused on couriers, that's human intelligence. In addition to imagery and the signals intelligence as well.

So, it does create some challenges if you're trying to track.

BURNETT: And, Karim, you know, they have said they wanted to eliminate Israel, said they want to eliminate this supreme leader. There's also, of course, the reality from the reporting, the rise of the IRGC and that the IRGC chief may indeed really be the power broker, and he is not the one looking to negotiate with the U.S. unlike Ghalibaf and Pezeshkian and others who we've barely talked about tonight, right, because they have not been in the center of this power conversation that that we're having.

So, do you -- do you think that that assassinating Khamenei and General Vahidi is a top of the list? Is that something that would surprise you if it happens at this point?

SADJADPOUR: Well, Erin, the late Ayatollah Khamenei was obsessed with this idea of resistance. And all of the senior leadership he chose, and both civilian and especially military positions, shared his worldview. And so, you now have this deeply entrenched political culture, which glorifies resistance.

It glorifies sacrifice, and it looks at the word "compromise" with disdain. And so, it's not therefore surprising that there's so many people in the system who are eager to escalate. And it takes a brave person to come out and say, now it's time to deescalate.

And back to Mojtaba Khamenei, given his isolation, the revolutionary guard commanders around him can control what information he receives. So I suspect he's really detached from the realities of Iran's society and its terrible economic situation.

BURNETT: All right. Thank you both very much.

And next, an American special operations soldier who was involved in the operation to grab Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro is arrested tonight. Prosecutors say he made $400,000 off of Maduro would be gone. And he made the bet before the raid. We have a special report.

Plus, robots doing the fighting on the front lines, beating Russians on the battlefield. We'll show you this stunning new details here of how they're operating.

And Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick admitting today that only one person, one person has been approved for the so-called Trump gold card visa.

[19:20:00]

But this is what Trump and Lutnick said about those gold cards last year.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

DONALD TRUMP, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: This is the gold card, as you know. Howard, how much have we sold in a few days?

HOWARD LUTNICK, COMMERCE SECRETARY: One billion, three hundred million dollars worth in a matter of a couple of days.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BURNETT: So, wait, he said they sold $1.3 billion, but now there's only one card. Okay.

Van and S.E. are next.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

BURNETT: Breaking news top podcaster and MAGA favorite Joe Rogan not backing down on attacks against Trump's war with Iran.

[19:25:04]

This came just days after Trump very publicly welcomed Rogan to the White House. Okay, so just listen to Rogan and a guest today on his podcast. They are talking about Iran.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

GUEST: It's going to be okay.

JOE ROGAN, PODCAST HOST: No one (EXPLETIVE DELETED) knows. I mean, what's going on with Iran -- the ceasefire, supposedly they extended it, but then they're shooting at ships. People have wanted people out of Iran. The people that are running Iran for 47 years, but no one has actually gone and done it the way this administration did it. And it doesn't make sense. They choose to do it when they did it.

I don't know how this is ever going to work out. You know, I really don't know.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BURNETT: Those comments coming five days after Trump invited Rogan with great fanfare. Rogan, of course, supported him in 2024. He was instrumental in his election.

So, Trump invited Rogan to the White House for an event on psychedelic drugs. Now, that is an issue Rogan cares deeply about. The invite came despite Rogan's repeated criticisms about Trump's war with Iran and other issues. He has been incredibly vocal, speaking out against Trump on the Epstein files and the immigration crackdown.

Van Jones and S.E. Cupp are both here with me.

So, S.E., okay. Joe rogan, this is -- this is -- there was immigration, Epstein files and now the Iran war. And all of them, once he took a stand, he took a stand and he kept saying it. So how many people is Joe Rogan speaking for when it comes to the MAGA, MAGA coalition and coalition, beyond Joe Rogan, listeners who voted for Trump?

S.E. CUPP, CNN POLITICAL COMMENTATOR: I think a lot. I think a sizable number. I don't think Joe Rogan speaks to his giant audience without thinking they're going to agree with me. So, I think he does represent a large portion of the MAGA base that is confused about what Trump is doing. And maybe in some cases, deeply disappointed and offended by what Trump is doing.

The question, though, is where do they go? What do they do? And if you're thinking that that whole audience is going to suddenly vote for Democrats in the midterms or in 2028, I think that's just not true. I think you could see a bunch stay home.

I think in 2028, they could be looking for alternative to MAGA candidates. I think that's someone like Tucker's game play, Marjorie Taylor Greene's game play for 2028.

But they're not going to just become Democrats, all of a sudden.

BURNETT: A lot of independents, you know, people that were fed up with things like the border under Biden. Listen to Joe Rogan. Okay? So that group, that independent group, how many of them are swayed?

VAN JONES, CNN SENIOR POLITICAL COMMENTATOR: Who knows? But this, this is a different day for Trump. It's a new day for Trump. Weakness, weakness.

A year ago, you crossed Trump. You were going to be torched. The idea you would cross Trump on literally anything. You had the richest people in the world, you had billionaires, you had titans who were trembling in their boots who would do anything, say anything, please, god, don't put me at odds with Trump administration.

You have somebody who has smacked Trump upside the head three times and got an invite to the White House. They new day for this president. The fizz is coming out of the soda. The air is coming out of the tires for this presidency.

And if you want to know how you know, Joe Rogan has been smacking Trump upside the head and still got an invite.

CUPP: And Megyn Kelly and, I mean, you could go down a list of people who once would never have and now feel like --

BURNETT: They're not getting invites. Trump is full of full of loathing, but like Candace Owens and Megyn Kelly --

CUPP: But he's a lame duck. He's a lame duck. And I think they're just less scared of him.

BURNETT: So, Van, also today on Capitol Hill, the commerce secretary, Howard Lutnick, testified, okay. He talked about the Trump gold card program. And we've talked a lot because there's so much -- every day, it's like a deluge of corruption. Okay, who's on what board getting what money, right. Wherever you stand, a lot of the stuff going on should bother people. But this -- this one's a little confusing.

So, he talked about the gold card program where you basically get $1 million and you get a visa, right? So, they wanted to bring people with money in. So here's what he said.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

LUTNICK: They have approved recently one person and there are hundreds in the queue that they are going through the process. But this is a new program and they've just set it up and they wanted to make sure they did it perfectly.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BURNETT: Okay, so he said one person. But last year he said something different about how many gold cards had already been sold. So I'll play that.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

LUTNICK: Yesterday, I sold a thousand.

TRUMP: This is the gold card, as you know.

Howard, how much have we sold in a few days?

LUTNICK: One billion, three hundred million dollars worth in a matter of a couple of days.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

(LAUGHTER)

BURNETT: He actually at one point went so far as to say it would raise $1 trillion. Now we're getting to -- what's the Dr. Evil? Well, I'm like, I'm like, you know, okay. Okay, what's going on here, Van?

JONES: Well, listen, this obviously he sold one gold card for $1.3 billion.

[19:30:00]

That's what happened. I don't --

(LAUGHTER)

BURNETT: Right. Okay.

JONES: Simple. He wouldn't be lying to the American people over --

BURNETT: The buyer was Vladimir Putin.

JONES: Exactly. I don't know why anybody thinks that this guy might be a dishonest person. He sold one gold card. It was $1.3 billion. Next topic.

(LAUGHTER)

BURNETT: I mean, S.E., it is incredible though.

CUPP: Yeah.

BURNETT: I mean --

CUPP: It's a shell game.

BURNETT: Every day, there's something. I mean, no one saw this coming.

CUPP: It's a boiler room. There's a room somewhere where no ones in it but a bunch of phones. Okay? That's this administration.

But I think underneath the silliness of this, it made me think, like about our standing in the world. Do people still want to come here? Are we as valuable as we think we are or as we once were, that you can't, you know, wave this magic ticket into the greatest country in the world and get a lot of takers anymore. So, it actually made me a little sad.

BURNETT: Well, I mean, there is something to be said for a lot of countries when they do these sorts of things are doing it because they are facing population decline and a lot of their own young people want to leave, right? If you think about various countries that have tried it.

JONES: Yeah.

BURNETT: Right? It was unusual in that regard to begin with.

JONES: But I hadn't thought about that. S.E. makes a very good point. You literally coming to America used to be a golden ticket, literally a golden ticket. And we actually, for the first time having more people leaving than coming. That's not the sign of a healthy country or a healthy economy or healthy society when people would rather leave than come.

And I hadn't thought about the fact that, yeah, Trump says, pay me and you can come. And people go, oh, well, never mind, we'll stay.

BURNETT: Yeah.

JONES: That's -- that's not good.

BURNETT: S.E., one more thing. Trump and the House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries have been going back and forth. Okay. Trump called him low IQ. We know that's something he likes to call people. And here is Hakeem.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

REP. HAKEEM JEFFRIES (D-NY), MINORITY LEADER: If Donald Trump wants to debate me any time, any place, in the Oval Office, publicly, on camera, I'd be happy to do it. And well see who's intellectually superior in that type of contest. This is from the dumbest president ever to sit at 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue, and there's not even a close second.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

CUPP: Maybe it's because I'm a woman, I don't know. I am so sick of pissing contests in politics.

Solve problems, solve problems, and I'll be impressed with you. Give us an agenda. Tell us how you're going to fix our lives. Instead of measuring each other's whatevers. Okay?

JONES: And maybe because I'm a dude, I love Hakeem. (LAUGHTER)

JONES: I love Hakeem. That was awesome. That New York swagger, that hip hop swagger. I love it, love it, love it.

(LAUGHTER)

BURNETT: And thank you both.

JONES: Come on, brother.

BURNETT: All right. Next, the U.S. special ops soldier who was involved in the capture of Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro is under arrest tonight. Prosecutors say he bet big and made nearly half a million dollars on Maduro's ouster. And he did it before the raid even happened. But the bet in.

And it is far from the only bet tied to Trump's actions that looks suspicious tonight. I mean, we can just give you a boom, boom, boom, boom, boom, boom, boom, boom, boom on every single announcement about Iran, right?

And a secret contract for Trump's White House ballroom exposed, shielding the identities of donors who are donating to -- well, suck up to Trump. That's what they're doing. And we have the contract. We'll tell you what's in it.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[19:37:36]

BURNETT: Breaking news, a U.S. Special Forces soldier who took part in the capture of former Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro was arrested for allegedly betting on that covert operation. The soldier accused of making $400,000 in profit, betting that Maduro would be out of power.

And now, obviously, it's a very suspicious long shot bet, and it was made days before the actual raid. And it is just one of a string of, at the very least, questionable and definitely lucrative trades tied to Trump's announcements.

Kara Scannell is OUTFRONT with this breaking news.

And, Kara, what more are you learning about this soldier's arrest? I mean, it's incredible that it's come to this point and they have arrested him.

KARA SCANNELL, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Erin, it is. I mean, this soldier is an active duty soldier. His name is Gannon Van Dyke. He was arrested just a short time ago and taken into custody. He's facing five criminal charges. And this is the first criminal case involving trading on the prediction markets.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

SCANNELL (voice-over): Tonight, a major arrest tied to a suspicious $32,000 bet that paid out in January by a trader who used the name Burdensome Mix. The bet was a long shot that longtime Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro would be out by the end of January, shortly after it was placed, a covert U.S. military operation ensued, extracting Maduro.

VICTOR BLACKWELL, CNN ANCHOR: President Trump says the U.S. carried out large scale strikes on Venezuela overnight.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Captured Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro arriving in New York.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: This is unprecedented. This is history in the making for Venezuela.

SCANNELL (voice-over): Law enforcement now alleging that the trader who made over $400,000 is U.S. Special Forces Soldier Gannon Ken Van Dyke, and that he was involved in the planning and execution of the Maduro raid. Van Dyke is alleged to have misused classified government information for personal gain.

And tonight, more bets and trades timed suspiciously around major news developments are in question. Fifteen minutes before President Donald Trump posted on Tuesday that he would extend a ceasefire with Iran, traders placed a whopping $430 million bet that oil prices would drop. The trade is one of four massive bets that preceded major announcements in the U.S.-Iran conflict since late March, according to "Reuters", raising concerns about potential insider trading.

[19:40:06]

Last Friday, investors bet $760 million that oil prices would drop 20 minutes later. Iran's foreign minister said the Strait of Hormuz would reopen after the post oil futures fell 11 percent. And earlier this month, less than three hours before President Trump announced on truth social a U.S. ceasefire with Iran, traders had bet $950 million that oil prices would fall. That bet paid off as well. Oil futures fell 15 percent after the post.

SEN. CHRIS MURPHY (D-CT): This is corruption. This is just astounding corruption.

SCANNELL (voice-over): These are not isolated incidents. Democratic Senator Chris murphy called out a $580 million bet, placed 15 minutes before Trump posted on Truth Social he would delay striking Iran's energy infrastructure. It was another winner. Oil futures plummeted 15 percent.

MURPHY: That kind of scale never happens. On a Monday morning at 6:50, but it was happening for a reason, because people that were making those bets knew that a few minutes later, Donald Trump was about to post something on social media.

SCANNELL (voice-over): There are no obvious ties between the trades and White House officials, and a White House spokesman told CNN, "Any implication that administration officials are violating the law is, quote, 'baseless and irresponsible'." ELIE HONIG, CNN SENIOR LEGAL ANALYST: The key phrase that makes

something insider trading under the law is if somebody is trading based on material, nonpublic information, the question is essentially, is this information that was known to the general public outside the halls of Congress, outside of the White House, outside of government itself.

SCANNELL (voice-over): Last month, the White House sent a memo to staff reminding them that, quote, "The misuse of nonpublic information by government employees for financial benefit is a very serious offense and will not be tolerated."

(END VIDEOTAPE)

SCANNELL: Erin, tonight, President Trump is reacting to this arrest. He was asked about it, and he said that it seems like the whole world, unfortunately, is a casino. He also said, "I'm not happy with it."

Van Dyke is expected to make his first court appearance tomorrow morning.

BURNETT: All right. Kara, thank you very much.

And next, robots versus Russians. A special report on how Ukraine is winning on the battlefield with the help of robots and a contract the Trump White House didn't want anyone to see making so that the public would never know who donated millions to Trump's pet project.

But we have this contract along with the man who made it possible for you to see it tonight. He's our guest after this.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[19:47:25]

BURNETT: Tonight, Trump's secret White House ballroom contract revealed. This agreement is between the White House, the National Park Service and the trust for the National Mall.

Okay. You're looking at it. You weren't able to see it not long ago. But what is in this agreement allows donors to the $400 million Trump project to remain anonymous. And it also exempts the White House from key conflict of interest safeguards and limits scrutiny by Congress.

Now, the White House repeatedly defends the project, saying donations from major companies that we know of, like Amazon and Google, mean that, well, taxpayers aren't footing the bill for the $400 million project. Trump posts, "I'm honored to be the first president to finally get this much needed project underway, with zero cost to the American taxpayer. The White House ballroom is being privately funded by many generous patriots. Great American companies, and yours truly."

Well, this is Trump's ballroom, and anybody who wants to curry favor with the president to get a deal approved or who knows, something to go away that they don't want to deal with as a company. They know all of this full well. It is a project he's been obsessed with. (BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

TRUMP: We're building a world class ballroom.

We're going to be adding a magnificent ballroom.

I believe it's going to be the most beautiful ballroom.

We're going to have the finest ballroom, I believe, anywhere in the world.

You're going to have the greatest ballroom anywhere in the world, and you're going to love it.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BURNETT: Now, the stunning details of this contract are only seeing the light of day, thanks to a lawsuit demanding transparency.

And Jon Golinger is OUTFRONT. He's an attorney, democracy advocate with Public Citizen, the group that filed the lawsuit to get this contract.

And you won. So here we are. You know, looking at it says just, you know, you go through, it's got all the details here on page three, joint responsibilities of the parties. Number eight, preserve the anonymity and privacy of any donor who wishes to remain anonymous.

So, we know the ones that Trump made a big stink about. But there's others who could have put a lot of money in, and who knows what they were hoping to get in in exchange for that, that we wouldn't know because of this. I mean, how unprecedented is it to have something like this where anonymity would be given to donors, to a presidential project?

JON GOLINGER, PUBLIC CITIZEN ATTORNEY: Yeah. I mean, first I would say reading this document shows why they wanted to hide it. It's a sham and it's a scam.

The National Park Service does have a procedure and a template that looks almost like this for other such agreements, to do other such things with D.C. buildings, but they don't have single word about it. Anonymity. This document says anonymous or anonymity on almost every page 10 times --

BURNETT: Ten times.

GOLINGER: -- in 14-page document.

BURNETT: Fourteen pages, 10 times it used the word "anonymous".

[19:50:01]

GOLINGER: That's right. So clearly, hiding the money is the central part of the scheme. And the question, of course, is why? So, you mentioned we know of 24 companies and some other donors that the president calls great American patriots for putting, giving -- putting money to this project.

So first, of course, many of them have contracts with the government conflicts because they want enforcement actions dropped, and almost none of them have actually said how much they gave, despite being asked by multiple members of Congress. So, if there are great American patriots, why don't they tell the American people how much they gave to this project? For starters?

And really, why they did it, whether they did it in conversation with a lobbyist or with the president's fundraiser.

BURNETT: We don't know any of that information.

GOLINGER: We don't know any of that information other than what good reporting and some watchdogging has uncovered. Most of that information remains secret. This document is a roadmap to find out a heck of a lot more.

BURNETT: So, okay, the White House, obviously, you know, they told "The Washington Post", oh, its standard practice to not post an agreement like this because national security is involved, right? We're talking about, you know, a building involving the White House. And they said, they keep emphasizing that their post was President Trump is working 24/7 to make America great again. They end with "at no taxpayer expense".

What do you say to that part when he says, oh, this is, you know, people should be celebrating this, that companies are paying for it, and by the way, he said he himself is also paying for it?

GOLINGER: Sure. Two things. Number one, taxpayers are paying for all of it because the companies that gave the money to this project, just the ones we know about, we did a report that found that they have $279 billion in government contracts in the last five years. So those companies pretty likely are going to get a lot more money from the American taxpayers than they're putting into this project.

So, whether it's through being ripped off in the marketplace or inflated government contracts that we pay for, the American people are going to pay for this.

Another thing is that the president has increasingly said that the part under the ballroom is a part of the project. In response to the other litigation that's tried to stop the project. Right?

BURNETT: Right. Well, he's saying that's the national security, so you can't get involved.

GOLINGER: So if that's true, I would like to know from the president and his people whether these dollars from private donors are paying for this underground bunker or whether the American people are paying for this underground bunker, because that's not at all clear.

BURNETT: That is not -- which is an incredible thing to say.

GOLINGER: That's right. BURNETT: You're talking about a bunker for the president of the United States.

GOLINGER: That's right.

So, are the taxpayers paying for this project in one way or another? And is the notion that it's being privately funded real, or is it just a scam?

BURNETT: Right. And why would you grant anonymity? I mean, when you're talking about a public project with the White House, the whole point should be that we should know.

GOLINGER: Yes. And again --

BURNETT: It's our house. It's the American people's house.

GOLINGER: Those donors are American patriots, I would think they would want the American people to know who they are.

BURNETT: Yeah.

GOLINGER: And the anonymity is -- jumps out is, of course, the most concerning part of this project. We knew the White House had said early on and the charity, you know, matter, of course, we give donors who want to be under the radar, who just want to give and are humble and don't want recognition. We don't always put them on our website or put their name on a table at our banquet.

But what we're worried about here is donors who want or have gotten pardons, donors who want, who have gotten illicit contracts or other.

BURNETT: Right, right. Yeah, right, this isn't to expose people who want to be humble and full of humility, right? This is to expose people who are trying to get favors and paybacks.

GOLINGER: That's right. I mean, this is the people's house, and we want to make sure it still belongs to the people.

BURNETT: All right. Thank you very much, Jon. And you are the reason that we have this contract. The word anonymous, as you said, appearing 10 times in 14 pages.

And next, we're going to show you incredible images of armed robots, because war is changing and those robots are fighting right now on a battlefield.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[19:57:49[

BURNETT: Tonight, Ukraine's foreign minister touting what he's calling the strongest year Ukraine has had in its war with Russia so far, an incredible statement coming as Ukraine's use of robots is transforming the war on the battlefield.

Melissa Bell is OUTFRONT

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

MELISSA BELL, CNN SENIOR INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Welcome to the future of warfare. A bird's eye view of two robots and then their own as they zip through a snowy field in Kharkiv region, evading enemy fire and making it to their goal. A Russian infantry position under a damaged tank.

Russia may have more men in this four-year war, but Ukraine believes that its robots can help make a difference. Like here, one blows up part of a building, allowing a second to destroy a basement in which soldiers were hiding -- more losses for Russia. And again, zero for Ukraine. A crucial arithmetic as Kyiv battles Moscow's superior numbers.

VOLODYMYR ZELENSKYY, UKRAINIAN PRESIDENT (through translator): The future is already here, already on the battlefield, and Ukraine is creating it.

BELL (voice-over): That was here also in the region of Kharkiv, when a unit of robots did the work of soldiers with no blood spilled.

UKRAINIAN SOLDIER (through translator): That unit took over the dugout's tree line in just 15 minutes. The entire strip was already ours, literally and without any losses. Not a single shot was fired.

BELL (voice-over): The robots even managed to take prisoners that day, a first in Ukraine's war. President Zelenskyy says that 10,000 missions have now been carried out by robots.

ZELENSKYY: We have to stop all together, Putin, and we can stop it with weapon because he doesn't want to speak.

BELL (voice-over): But Ukraine's military technology, which includes its sea and fiber optic drones, is not just its pride. President Zelensky says it's also bringing in money now that Kyiv is helping Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates and Qatar with their air defenses against Iranian drones.

We're witness to a global robotic arms race today. The United States, Europe, Russia and China are all developing robot systems and tactics.

But the pressures on its front lines have given Ukraine an advantage in figuring out what war might look like, with more robots and less blood.

Melissa Bell, CNN.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

BURNETT: And thanks so much for joining us.

"AC360" starts now.