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Laura Coates Live
Trump Gives Conflicting Messages On When War Might End; Explosives Thrown Near New York City Mayor's Residence; FBI Subpoenas, Seizes 2020 Election Material From Arizona; High School Coach Wins L.A. Marathon By Closest Margin In History. Aired 11p-12a ET
Aired March 09, 2026 - 23:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
[23:00:00]
ABBY PHILLIP, CNN ANCHOR AND SENIOR POLITICAL CORRESPONDENT: His unit's commanding officer said that Pennington was dedicated and led with strength, professionalism, and a sense of duty. He received multiple awards over the course of his service, and he will be posthumously promoted to staff sergeant. Our thoughts and our prayers are with his entire family and the families of all those who we've lost.
LAURA COATES, CNN HOST AND SENIOR LEGAL ANALYST: Tonight, very complete or going further. President Trump gives mixed signals over the question everyone is asking, when will the war with Iran end? Plus, two men in custody facing federal charges after allegedly throwing homemade-bombs into a crowd of protesters in New York City in what police say is an ISIS-inspired attack. Is law enforcement prepared for the risk of sleeper cells? And an L.A. Marathon photo finish coming down to a literal fraction of a second. The high school coach who bolted into first is my guest. Tonight on "Laura Coates Live."
So, if you want an idea of when the war with Iran may end, it depends on which line from President Trump you're listening to, because we're about to enter day 11, and he appears to be going with the "throw everything at the wall" strategy. Just start with what he said this very afternoon. He told CBS News he thinks the war is very complete, pretty much.
I'm not sure what those four words mean in the context of war. And look, even though Trump's defense secretary was reposting messages about the fight only just beginning, for a minute, Wall Street seemed to take the president at his four words. It was not to turn the markets bright green.
But just hours later, he was offering a muddier explanation of when the fighting will actually stop.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
DONALD TRUMP, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA: We're achieving major strides toward completing our military objective, and some people could say they're pretty well complete. We're ahead of our initial timeline by a lot. We're very proud to be involved in this and it's going to be ended soon.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
COATES: Well complete? If we're using degrees of completeness here, and I hate to be a stickler, well, sounds a lot less confident than very, especially when all you've said is that some people could say that. Which some people are we talking about? And if this mission is actually complete, why does it need to be ended soon? And what exactly is soon?
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNKNOWN (voice-over): Are you thinking this week it will be over?
TRUMP: No, but soon.
UNKNOWN (voice-over): Are you talking about days?
TRUMP: I think so.
UNKNOWN (voice-over): OK. And with respect --
TRUMP: Very soon.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
COATES: OK. So, not this week, but very soon. And in Trump's world, that leaves, well, plenty of room to escalate.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
TRUMP: We could call it a tremendous success right now as we leave here. I could call it -- or we could go further. And we're going to go further.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
COATES: We could call it a success now, but it could also go further. Maybe. Actually, he is going to go further. There's one thing Trump seemed very certain about. It's a new justification for the war. He says if he didn't act, Iran was going to try to take over the entire region.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
TRUMP: If we did not hit them, they were going to take over the Middle East. They had thousands and thousands -- since their last hit, they had thousands and thousands of missiles and everything else. Those weapons were aimed at Middle Eastern countries that had nothing to do with this.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
COATES: Trump also clarified what success looks like. Getting Iran to abandon its nuclear ambitions.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNKNOWN (voice-over): You said earlier that we've already won in many ways, but we haven't won enough. What do you consider enough? What's your baseline?
TRUMP: Where they're not going to be starting the following day to develop a nuclear weapon, where they'll look at that man and some other people from the administration and say, all right, we're not going to do it. They were not willing to say that.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
COATES: The problem now, a senior Iranian official says they aren't going to be saying anything more to the United States.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
KAMAL KHARAZI, FOREIGN POLICY ADVISOR, OFFICE OF THE SUPREME LEADER: I don't see any room for diplomacy anymore because Donald Trump has been deceiving others and not keeping his promises. And we experienced this in two times of negotiations, that while we were engaged in negotiations, they struck us.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
[23:04:53]
COATES: But Trump's immediate concern right now is not actually uranium, it's oil, because if he can't keep the Strait of Hormuz safe for ships to carry oil out, well, then he's got a major economic problem that doesn't have an easy fix. And he knows it because tonight, he wrote this: "If Iran does anything that stops the flow of oil within the Strait of Hormuz, they will be hit by the United States of America twenty times harder than they have been hit thus far."
I want to bring in my experts. Retired Army Major General Randy Manner. He facilitated the withdrawal of U.S. forces from Iraq in 2010. And CNN global affairs analyst Karim Sadjadpour. He's an expert on Iran who regularly advises U.S. and European officials. Glad to have both of you here as we are trying to navigate the, well, the complexity of the president's statements. We're, of course, trying to make sense of the conflicting messages, of course. Do you think, Karim, that it has any effect in trying to force the Iranians to do what he wants?
KARIM SADJADPOUR, CNN GLOBAL AFFAIRS ANALYST, SENIOR FELLOW AT CARNEGIE ENDOWMENT FOR INTERNATIONAL PEACE: So far, it hasn't had the intended effect, Laura. I think it's not clear in the president's own head what his precise endgame is. Is it -- is it to degrade the capabilities of the Iranian regime or is it to change the character of the Iranian regime? He, in some days, said both of those things.
And I think the Iranian regime is in survival mode. Their leader was assassinated, Ayatollah Khamenei. They've chosen his successor, the son, Mojtaba Khamenei. And I think right now, they're very much in fighting mode, they're not in compromise mode. COATES: Well, you heard, don't seem to be in diplomatic mode either. There's a trust issue, as you heard from that very discussion. I mean, general, I want to talk about the timeline here because on the one hand, Trump insists the war will end very soon, his words. But his Defense Department, very important to think about this, says that they have only just begun to fight. And you got a senior Iranian official telling CNN that they are ready for a long war.
These are very different circumstances as described. Is there any chance of this war actually ending very soon, whatever that might mean, if all of the objectives are met?
MAJ. GEN. RANDY MANNER, RETIRED MAJOR GENERAL, U.S. ARMY: So, my first thoughts are with all of the military members that are over there in combat as well as, of course, their families that are here, very worried about them. I think the one thing that every American should be concerned about is the tremendous ambiguity and the lack of cohesion and explanation of why are we even doing this. It seems like someone has been googling why should we attack Iran, and they just put that into the latest press release. So, I think it's all over the place.
So, in answering your question about when could this be over, we don't even know what the criteria -- the reason for attacking and what the criteria are for success because it keeps on changing based on the political whims of this administration. Again, that is not clarity to American people, and all Americans deserve to know why our sons and daughters are in combat, risking their lives for our country.
COATES: Let me follow up for a second because I do wonder, oftentimes, we're told, well, you know, we're not going to advertise. I remember when Trump first ran for office in his first administration, it was -- it would be silly to advertise to world what the true thoughts of the commander-in-chief would be. Could that be a basis for why there is confusion or is this something that you don't see?
MANNER: President Bush took months to be able to educate the American people about why it was necessary to go to war in the Middle East. He developed allies in the region and developed allies within NATO and with other countries to be able to be part of the coalition. It was a united front against Iraq. In this particular case, this was nothing more than the president following the whims of the Israeli prime minister and doing this attack.
COATES: Well, he says it's a gut feeling. He had a feeling, right?
MANNER: Yes, he had a feeling that, last time I checked, we rely on the intelligence reports to determine what are the true risks to the United States.
COATES: Let me ask you on this because you've got global oil prices that are putting pressure on the president of the United States, among likely other aspects of it. And today, he said he wants oil tankers to show some guts, these are words he used, and brave through the Strait of Hormuz. Both of you are kind of smirking as I see you asking the question
about that because an Iranian official insists that they control the keys to waterway. I mean, the idea of threatening in this way to hit Iran 20 times harder if they do not allow the passage of oil, if they stop the flow of oil -- I mean, how risky is it for ships to try to sail through that region?
SADJADPOUR: Well, first, this is very much part of Iran's strategy to spike the price of oil when Americans go to the gas pump and negatively impact public opinion in the United States.
COATES: The way to stop the war.
SADJADPOUR: To restrain President Trump's ambitions. And they've done this over the course of the last four decades. So, it's not a new strategy. We should have anticipated it. The challenge for these oil tankers passing through Strait of Hormuz is insurance.
[23:09:58]
Very few insurance companies will want to insure these massive tankers given the enormous risks. You know, Iran can swarm these tankers with $20,000 drones. And that strategy -- obviously, Iran is much, much weaker than the United States but, so far, that strategy has borne fruit for them.
COATES: Is there a security risk for those who try to, as he says, show some guts?
MANNER: I think it's absurd that the administration is saying just go for it. That is just -- that is not -- it reflects a lack of understanding and sophistication of the threats that are against those oil tankers. It only takes one drone to be able to get through if they send 20 or 30 after an oil tanker. So, for $100,000, you can take out a multi-million-dollar tanker with its fuel -- with its cargo. So, I think it's naive, it's inappropriate.
It's also something where the United States cannot guarantee safe passage of all of those freighters through that area without an extreme cost of U.S. resources. Forget the idea of $1 billion a day. It would be multiple billions of dollars to be able to do anything in that region.
So, I think this is something where we need to be able to, quite frankly, negotiate, figure it out, de-escalate, and be able to provide greater security for the Middle East and lower the prices at home for oil.
COATES: Let's talk about the new leader of Iran, the former leader's son. Trump calls his rise to power a big mistake. He's being coy, though, about the new supreme leader's future. Listen.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNKNOWN (voice-over): So, does he have a target on his back? And how can you -- TRUMP: I don't want to say whether or not he does because that would be inappropriate.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
COATES: It indeed would be. But what do you think of him as the new leader and the trajectory of his leadership?
SADJADPOUR: So, first, President Trump's goal in Iran was similar to what he managed to do in Venezuela, which was we detained the number one guy in Venezuela, Maduro, brought him to justice in New York, and very quickly, the Trump administration was able to do a deal with his successor, Delcy Rodriguez. He was hoping to recreate that dynamic in Iran. It didn't work just with military threats and economic pressure. So, Ayatollah Khamenei ended up being assassinated.
His hope, president's hope was that he could do a deal with the successor. But what the Iranian regime has decided to do is essentially replace Khamenei with his mini-me, his son, Mojtaba Khamenei, age 56, who's worldview was the same. And so, I do think --
COATES: Is he well known?
SADJADPOUR: He is -- It's interesting you asked the question because he's well -- his name is very familiar to Iranians --
COATES: Right.
SADJADPOUR: -- but his face and his voice are not familiar. He was someone who always operated kind of in the shadows. And even now, he's injured. He's essentially probably living in a bunker and hiding, trying to elude assassination. And I asked someone inside the country, how can he manage the country? And they said he's not -- he's not interested in governing, he's interested in fighting.
COATES: Oh. That is very telling. Let me ask you this because general sources tell CNN that the Trump administration is looking to capture Iran's nuclear stockpile. And that would require, obviously, a significant number of troops, frankly, likely on the ground. How complex of a mission would that be?
MANNER: It would be extremely complex. These storage facilities, which -- by the way, it's interesting because the president, eight months ago, said that the nuclear capability of Iran was destroyed, if you recall and go back to what he said. So, now, he's saying, well, we didn't exactly -- we didn't do it. Not that he said those words.
It would be an extremely complex operation. Those are extremely -- they're deep inside of Iran, and they're obviously well protected by ground troops as well.
So, it would be a significant investment. It is not the same as going into Venezuela to grab one leader. I think that the -- let's just say it would be extremely complex and the odds for success would be low.
COATES: Ominous. Thank you so much, both of you. General, Karim, nice to have you both on.
Still ahead tonight, the president downplays the impact to gas prices here at home and admits some of his inner circle weren't so thrilled about the strikes in the first place. And later, an alleged ISIS- inspired bombing attempt in New York City that's serving as a wake-up call just as the president warns of potential sleeper cells.
But first, we honor Army Sergeant Benjamin Pennington of Glendale, Kentucky, the seventh American service member to be killed in this war. Vice President J.D. Vance attended his dignified transfer earlier this evening. The Pentagon says Sergeant Pennington was killed during a March 1st attack at an air base in Saudi Arabia. Governor Andy Beshear called him a hero who sacrificed everything. Sergeant Pennington was just 26 years old.
[23:15:00]
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
TRUMP: We took a little excursion because we felt we had to do that to get rid of some evil. And I think you'll see it's going to be a short- term excursion.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
COATES: That's President Trump calling a deadly war. It has already killed hundreds of people, including seven American soldiers. A short- term excursion? His timeline, it seems to change every day. Trump told our own Jake Tapper last week -- quote -- "I always thought it would be four weeks. And we're a little ahead of schedule." Apparently, that schedule is speeding up because listen to what Trump said today about when the war might end.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNKNOWN (voice-over): On Iran, you called it an excursion. You said it would be over soon. Are you thinking this week it will be over?
TRUMP: No, but soon.
UNKNOWN (voice-over): Are you talking about days?
TRUMP: I think so.
UNKNOWN (voice-over): OK. And with respect --
TRUMP: Very soon.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
COATES: So, that timeline doesn't actually align with Trump's own military leaders who have a different message for Americans.
[23:20:00] (BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
PETE HEGSETH, UNITED STATES SECRETARY OF DEFENSE: Our timeline is ours and ours alone to control, as long as it takes to ensure the United States of America achieves these objectives.
ADMIRAL BRAD COOPER, COMMANDER, U.S. CENTRAL COMMAND: This is going to take some time but our forces are well supplied.
HEGSETH: Again, what I want your viewers to understand is this is only just the beginning.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
COATES: Here talk about the politics of war, CNN political commentator Karen Finney and former communications aide to Senator Lindsey Graham, T.W. Arrighi. Thanks for both of you here. Let me start with you, T.W., because one, he's calling it an excursion. I don't know if that's the right choice of words. I would say it's not, but he's the president, I am not. But why can't he seem to pinpoint the timeline? What do you think is the reason for a distinction between his military officials and his own statements?
T.W. ARRIGHI, VICE PRESIDENT OF PUSH DIGITAL GROUP, FORMER COMMUNICATIONS AIDE TO LINDSEY GRAHAM AND MIKE POMPEO: Well, I think in terms of excursion, I think he's trying to get off the word "war." I think --
COATES: But why if he says he wants that?
ARRIGHI: Well, I think -- I think probably just due to the debate surrounding whether or not it's an actual war authorized by Congress or not. I think it is semantics, but that's where I think his head is probably with that.
In terms of the timeline, I think he always tries to give himself flexibility but does not want to tell the American people we're at a forever war and implying we could be here for years or more.
So, I think it's about managing people's expectations and making sure and signaling to them we're not here for years and years. I don't have any plans to send ground troops at this time. And so, he's trying to really give himself the flexibility of the timeline to say we've got to achieve our objectives, but it's not going to be forever thing.
(CROSSTALK)
COATES: I want you to respond, but the polls, I mean --
KAREN FINNEY, CNN POLITICAL COMMENTATOR: Yes.
COATES: -- the polls are not good.
ARRIGHI: Yes.
COATES: I mean, in this, the voters, Karen, most of them believe the war, they're not calling it an excursion --
FINNEY: No.
COATES: -- which is like if you go to the zoo with Mary Poppins.
FINNEY: How dare you call an excursion when a young man came home tonight in a coffin?
COATES: Well, explain to me a little bit about -- is this -- is he caving to political pressure?
FINNEY: Of course, he is. He doesn't want -- he doesn't want to say the word "war" because, I'm sure, his people came in, briefed him, and said, we're really in a jam here. Gas prices went up quite substantially over the weekend. Look at what happened just to the market in the last several days. I mean, people are losing thousands of dollars. I'm sure it will rebound. Let's hope. But still, it's adding to the anxiety and the economic pain that people are already feeling.
Not to mention, the place where he's really hurting is with young men. Why? Because young men voted for him when he said, no more war, I'm a peace guy, I'm not for war, no more forever wars. And they know if we get into war, they're the ones who would likely have to go or their friends.
COATES: Young man, what do you say to that?
ARRIGHI: Well, first of all, I would say recruiting is up near historic level since Trump became president. We've seen great recruiting numbers across the armed services. And look, Donald Trump --
(CROSSTALK)
-- has never been an isolationist. I think that's a complete misread of his political outlook. In his first term, he took out ISIS, he took out Soleimani. He always will have that --
COATES: Well, let me ask you. Are you saying that isolationism is how people have misinterpreted America First?
ARRIGHI: Right, I do, because I think that this is all can be -- is a part of America First. I think taking out the world's largest state sponsor of terrorism is absolutely there.
FINNEY: But then why did he campaign on that? Why did he --
ARRIGHI: Well, he always --
FINNEY: Why did he last week -- T.W., last week, he said -- what was the word he used? He used it like he's not squishy. It was a different word about standing ground truth. He said, I'm not doing it, but I might, and I'm not worried about it. You don't say it like that. This is where his lack of specificity with language really matters because when you're talking about sending young men and women off to war, you have to give them and their families a lot more specificity. What is the mission?
And if we didn't learn anything from the war in Iraq -- I'm old enough to have grown up in the shadow of the war in Vietnam, right, where, you know, the tragedy of being lied to and misled over and over again and think of -- I mean, you know, we were told, in Iraq, the oil is going to pay for it, it's going be really quick, all these things, and that's not happening.
Even the -- last thing I'll say, in Venezuela, we were told it was about peace and the same -- our government is in control. The cartels are all still in place. And the people on the streets, they don't have democracy.
COATES: Let's talk about oil because oil prices are skyrocketing, T.W. The war, obviously, slowing production. Shipping is also down to a trickle. Trump is insisting that the United States isn't going to feel the impacts. Obviously, gas price is one of the most immediate, tangible things people can feel literally at the pump as the price goes up. Gas prices are almost up 50 cents in a week.
So, if you take the idea of the America First principles, talk about the economy and how Trump should be evaluating the impact on American voters in particular.
ARRIGHI: Yes. The energy prices in the economy are always going to be a massive deal. You saw the reporting about Donald Trump being furious about the Israeli attacks on Iranian oil fields.
[23:25:00]
That was never part of the plan. I think Donald Trump is looking at this in a number of ways. And I understand the criticisms of not tight enough messaging on the why. But I actually come from the perspective that it is all of the reasons why is the why.
They were at their weakest state. They did tell Steve Witkoff it's their inalienable right to enrich uranium. They can make 11 bombs with what they have now. They have been the biggest funder of terrorism on the planet. They have the blood of hundreds, if not thousands, of Americans on their hands. And oh, yes, they just killed tens of thousands of their own people in the street.
So, yes, I think it's a conglomeration of all of those reasonings as to why Donald Trump made that decision to go.
COATES: And yet, you know, obviously, he's the president, but second in command, the vice president, J.D. Vance, CNN reported over the weekend that he did actually initially back the strikes. And I'm sure he was aware of all the reasons you just described and talked about. He later shifted his stance. And the president pretty much -- well, he confirmed that today. Listen.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
TRUMP: He was, I would say, philosophically, a little bit different than me. I think he was maybe less enthusiastic about going, but he was quite enthusiastic.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
COATES: OK, I'm going follow that logic, but how do you assess the president's statements and his evaluation of J.D. Vance?
FINNEY: I think it's another example of how J.D. Vance is probably his position on a proposed 2028 ticket is flipping, where --
COATES: Do you think so?
FINNEY: -- Marco Rubio is actually looking a lot better than J.D. Vance. I mean, look, J.D. Vance was someone who -- I mean, we saw clips earlier today on Dana Bash's show and others where J.D. Vance was, during the campaign, saying very different things about how to deal with Iran, how to deal with this kind of scenario than what's actually happening.
And that's part of the job of being the V.P., which means, we saw it with Kamala Harris, you get stuck with the baggage and you have to explain -- you're the person who's always having to explain. Well, maybe I said it this way, but this is what the president wanted to do. That's just part of the job. That is the way I interpret it.
ARRIGHI: Yes. I don't find anything unusual about that story. There are differences of opinions in every administration. J.D. Vance has his own. When you are the president of the United States, the buck stops with you and you're the decisionmaker, you're the decider, as George W. Bush said, right?
But look, dating back to Thomas Jefferson, who didn't want a standing army and only wanted small ships patrolling our shores, ended up rigging a ship to go fight in North Africa. People, they see that the presidency see things differently. And the weight of those decisions hangs differently. So, yes, J.D. Vance might have been more uncomfortable with it, but I'm sure he saw a lot of the evidence that Donald Trump did, and they had the discussions and the hard conversations in the Oval Office. And Donald Trump made his point clear, we're not letting this stand. I let the Iranian menace go in my first term. I'm not going to let it happen in my second term.
COATES: No liability from in 2028?
ARRIGHI: For Vance?
COATES: Yes.
ARRIGHI: Well, they'll have that debate of ideas. And if the party wants a different format, they'll go with Vance. I think Rubio is proving himself to be one of the most consequential secretaries of state of all time and has handled international crisis after international crisis with grace and with dignity and with smarts.
FINNEY: Does that sound like a campaign? That sounds like a campaign strategy to me.
ARRIGHI: It would be great. I'll mark --
FINNEY: That's -- I'm just saying.
ARRIGHI: Even A. Smith, he wants him, too.
FINNEY: Oh, God, who cares?
COATES: Let us Stephen A. Smith.
(LAUGHTER)
We'll see. Gentlemen, thank you. Gentlemen, thank you.
FINNEY: Yes.
COATES: (INAUDIBLE) lady.
(LAUGHTER)
I'm not going to catch black (Ph). I said it as a man (ph).
FINNEY: It's all good.
COATES: Up next, the president says Iran may be trying to activate sleeper cells in the country. Is DHS and the FBI prepared for that possibility? Plus, an ISIS-inspired attempted bombing in New York City that police say was intended to be worse than the Boston Marathon attack. How did they get their hands on those explosives? Former FBI assistant director Frank Figliuzzi with me on all that, next.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
[23:30:00]
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
COATES: In New York tonight, an attack outside the mayor's mansion is raising fears that ISIS's ideology is making a comeback. Police say two men threw two improvised explosive devices during an anti-Islam protest on Saturday. You can see one canister land on the street in this video. And these images show a smoking canister in one of the suspect's hands right before it was tossed.
Both men were quickly captured, and a third device was found in their car on Sunday. After they were arrested, federal prosecutors allege both men say they were inspired by ISIS. And according to police, one of the suspects said they hoped the attack would be deadlier than the Boston Marathon bombing.
Mayor Zohran Mamdani was not at home at the time, but called the incident a -- quote -- "heinous act of terrorism." Investigators say the devices contain bolts, screws, a hobby fuse, and one contained the chemical TATP, also known as the Mother of Satan. It's produced with household products and is extremely lethal.
I want to bring in former assistant director of the FBI's counterintelligence division, Frank Figliuzzi. Thank you so much for being here, Frank. This could have been unbelievably tragic, as you can imagine.
[23:35:00]
And the NYPD commissioner says that one of the suspects watched ISIS propaganda videos on his phone, but she stopped short of saying that he was radicalized. How do investigators determine whether someone is indeed radicalized online?
FRANK FIGLIUZZI, FORMER FBI ASSISTANT DIRECTOR FOR COUNTERINTELLIGENCE: Yes. You know, Laura, first, you're right in that this could have been incredibly fatal to the passersby, the bystanders. The speed with which this TATP can detonate is around 3,000 to 5,000 meters per second. So, those projectiles stuffed into that bomb could easily have had a more devastating effect than the marathon bombing.
Now, with regard to the difference between inspired by and radicalized by, the Intelligence Community and law enforcement looks at the degree to which suspects had direct engagement or even direct -- indirect engagement and even instructions from some other source like ISIS.
When I left the FBI years ago, we were at the point where the speed to radicalization or the speed to inspiration, meaning it is time you first start watching violent jihadist videos, so the time you move to action was as short as nine weeks, particularly for 18 and 19-year- olds, which is what we're talking about in New York. So, it can happen very quickly. But the difference essentially is look, I'm watching this, I'm inspired by it, but I'm not in direct contact or getting instructions necessarily from ISIS.
COATES: My God. Nine weeks. That's an unbelievable figure. I mean, this incident did not happen at an event directly tied to the war, but the FBI, they have warned about the increased threat environment because of the war. Now, the president today was asked about the risk of sleeper cells, and he says his administration is on top of it. Do you believe these cells exist? And if so, how big of a risk do they present?
FIGLIUZZI: So, let's talk about risk first. If indeed they're present here or even in western countries, they would pose an incredibly fatal risk. They would be Quds Force, IRGC or Hezbollah trained, and they would have the capacity, resources, and skills to hurt people. The big question, of course is, are they here?
And here's what we're about to find out: The FBI has essentially not worked Hezbollah-related cases for quite some time. The bang for the buck wasn't there. We determined they weren't there, and we kind of took eyes off the ball. Now, things may have changed. And I can assure you right now, Laura, everything is full speed, 24 seven right now, to try and identify who may be operational here.
COATES: Even with the partial shutdown at DHS?
FIGLIUZZI: Well, the FBI, of course, and the DHS agents are still working. They're still considered critical employees. And yes, the concern I have, Laura, is the fact that literally thousands of employees may have left the FBI, either being forced out or retiring as soon as they could. Others were diverted from terrorism squads to rounding up migrants and assisting ICE. You know the priority over at DHS. It is indeed immigration. So, the question is, can they pivot back to where they should have been and what's the gap that has been created if indeed they were distracted and diverted?
COATES: I certainly want that answer. Safety depends on it. I mean, investigators say that one of the devices contained the chemical TATP. That has been used in terror attacks for decades from London to Paris to Brussels. Why is this the go-to chemical for terror attacks?
FIGLIUZZI: Because it's incredibly volatile. And that's a blessing and a curse if you're a terrorist. The curse part is it goes off sometimes while you're making it. If you don't make it exactly right, it will not work. And thank goodness, it appears to have failed here in New York or it would have been deadly.
And again, that speed of explosion, 3,000 to 5,000 meters per second. It's in the IEDs you keep seeing in the war in the Middle East. That's what kills our service members over there. It's an explosive of preference. It's relatively easily made.
And the thought that this could have gone off on the George Washington Bridge as the suspects were transporting it into the city or could have detonated around hundreds of people is devastating.
COATES: Frank Figliuzzi, thank you.
FIGLIUZZI: Thank you.
COATES: Up next, well, first, it was Georgia.
[23:40:00]
Now, it's Arizona. The FBI seizing voting records tied to the 2020 election in Maricopa County as the president cheers it on. What's this one about? State secretary of state will join me. Plus, forget affordability, forget the war. Trump tells Congress there's only one priority they should care about right now, next.
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TRUMP: There's no elections so corrupt as the elections in the United States of America.
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COATES: The president of the United States tonight doubling down on his claims of widespread voter fraud despite the fact that there's still no evidence to back them up. But it's not just campaign rhetoric anymore, it's action. The FBI issued a subpoena to the Arizona Senate for records from their audit of the 2020 election in Maricopa County. [23:45:01]
An audit, we should note, that found no evidence of fraud. The president cheering agents on in a Truth Social post, saying -- quote -- "great." The Arizona investigation comes on the back of the FBI seizing hundreds of ballot boxes from Fulton County, Georgia, another state Trump lost in 2020.
Here to talk all about it is the man in charge of elections for Arizona, Secretary of State Adrian Fontes. Thank you so much for being here, secretary. I know you are very busy. This news may come as a surprise to many people because the FBI took files from the state Senate's investigation. I understand this could be data like digital images of ballots. Can you tell me what the Senate had and what the FBI took?
ADRIAN FONTES, ARIZONA SECRETARY OF STATE: Sure. Thanks for having us. While we may not know exactly what it is that was taken, it was about 13 terabytes worth of data. So, we're talking about cast vote records, potentially ballot images, all of that stuff that the Cyber Ninjas were using for their audit. And I think we need to understand former Senate President Karen Fann put this audit together.
Unfortunately, once all of that -- all the ballots and all of the tabulators and all that left the possession of certified elections officials at Maricopa County and went to the Senate in the first place back in 2021, it lost its chain of custody and, therefore, the capacity to be dependable evidence in any sort of real proceedings in the future, even under that Cyber Ninja audit. So, we've got real problems of the porosity of this evidence in the first place, whatever it may be.
Unfortunately, we also don't know what kinds of voter data are in there. And so, we've requested of the Senate president not just for a copy of the subpoena, but of the specifics as to what specific potential sensitive information from our voters, which is the subject of what we've been trying to protect for the last several months from an illegal DOJ request.
COATES: And that's normally destroyed, right, for the private interests you're talking about or are these normally maintained in the regular course of your business and work?
FONTES: So, there's a 22-month minimum amount of time that ballots and other election data is supposed to be held. Most jurisdictions don't want to pay for it any longer. And the only reason Fulton County still had theirs was because they were still under court order.
We had no idea, by the way, that the state Senate had kept copies of this information. In fact, it was greatly assumed by elections officials across the state, but that had been turned back over to Maricopa County in due course as it should have been.
So, we don't know what shenanigans the Arizona State Senate has been up to. We don't know exactly what it is they turned over. But we're going to continue to fight even if this was done in the wrong way, which I think it may have been. We're still going to continue to fight to protect any sensitive voter data like mothers' names, whole or part of social securities, those other things we're fighting to protect under the prior DOJ lawsuit that we are defending right now.
COATES: The president is not only investigating past elections, he's calling to reform future elections via the SAVE Act, which his administration says is aimed at preventing non-citizens from voting, which is already illegal and also extremely rare, I should note. But here's what he said about it tonight.
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TRUMP: So, I'm making my biggest plea tonight. It will make you -- and I'm not doing it for this reason at all. It will guarantee the midterms. It will guarantee the midterms. If you don't get it, big trouble, my opinion.
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COATES: Already has strict voter ID laws, is it not? I mean, how has it affected voting there?
FONTES: Well, look, Arizona has had citizen-only voting or documented proof of citizenship for our voters for 20 years. We've also got I.D. at the polls. We also only vote on paper. We don't use vote machines, as the conspiracy theorists like to say. We're doing all of the things that lot of folks really want us to do, and we've been doing them well for a long time.
But these folks just don't get it. And moreover, the president just doesn't get it. He doesn't run elections in the United States of America. States do. This is our job. He needs to pay attention to whatever wars he's creating in Iran or whatever kind of affordability problems he's avoiding or Epstein or whatever. He needs to deal with all of that stuff. Let us do our jobs as we've done.
And by the way, when I was secretary of state in 2024, Mr. President got himself elected, and I presided over that electoral college with integrity and honor as we do all elections. That's how this works.
Bipartisan folks from across the entire country and all of our county officials also are getting thrown under the bus when you make these kinds of spurious allegations. And these are regular Americans like you and me, good people who have actually done good work year in and year out.
[23:49:58]
And I resent the fact that this president or anyone would throw us under the bus with zero evidence. And as a matter of fact, after that Cyber Ninja audit that failed to show any issues, our own attorney general, who unfortunately has passed away, Mark Brnovich, had a report that came out that showed zero, zero evidence of any wrongdoing in Arizona's elections, and he was a really hardcore Republican.
So, this is already a case that has been closed. We hope to look to the future and the things that we can do like preserving ballot by mail, improving the funding for our elections' functions, and making sure voting is accessible and fair for Arizona's voters.
COATES: Secretary of State Adrian Fontes, thank you.
Up next, it's the video I just kept replaying over and over again this weekend. It's a high school cross country coach digging deep to win the L.A. Marathon by a fraction of a second. How did he do it? Well, how we tell his students about it? Lucky for us, the champion himself is with me next with the medal.
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[23:55:00]
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COATES: You're not going to believe what my next guest just pulled off. And I'm not exaggerating when I tell you that this is one of the craziest photo finishes to a race that you will ever see. Excuse me, he is 36 years old. He's a high school track coach from Michigan. And it's just when it seemed like yesterday L.A. Marathon was all but over, he somehow delivered what no one saw it coming.
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UNKNOWN (voice-over): Here he comes. Here he comes. So, let's get right back down to the finish line so we can watch Michael cross the line here, Michael Kamau from Kenya.
UNKNOWN (voice-over): Just over two hours and 11 minutes on the clock.
UNKNOWN (voice-over): Whoa!
UNKNOWN (voice-over): Nathan Martin. Nathan Martin. Nathan Martin.
UNKNOWN (voice-over): Nathan. Whoa! Oh, my gosh.
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COATES: Well, history was certainly made because he won that race by just one, one hundredth of a second, the closest finish in L.A. Marathon history.
I'm joined now by the man himself, Nathan Martin. Welcome. I mean, Nathan, I have to tell you, I cannot even imagine what you must have been thinking or what was going through your head in those moments. Can you just -- can you tell me how you pulled that off? You came -- I don't know how you even like made the difference. Talk to me about it.
NATHAN MARTIN, HIGH SCHOOL TRACK COACH WHO WON L.A. MARATHON: Yes. So, it is just one of those things that at every race, I just want to make sure I'm giving 100 percent. So, most of my races, I'll definitely, definitely go and sprint finish and all that kind of stuff. And sometimes, there's someone around me. Sometimes, there isn't. But, you know, this time around, there was a person to catch, I went forward, and yes, it kind of worked out. So --
COATES: Yes, it kind of worked out. They draped you with the American flag. You got a medal on right now. I mean, I noticed that you were kind of saying something. What were you saying right after you cleared? Did you realize what had just happened?
MARTIN: I thought I might have got it, but I wasn't 100 percent sure. So, I was just talking. And then right there is one of my agents, and he's just talking to me and congratulating me and all that kind of stuff. So --
COATES: Tell me, I mean, people always say, you know, it's not a sprint, it's a marathon. They'll tell you about slow and steady wins the race. They talk about being an elite runner means you really are in tune with whatever inner dialogue is happening with you. I mean, judging by that video, you were so comfortable, and yet there was somebody comfortably ahead of you almost at the finish line. Was there a point you thought, I can overtake him?
MARTIN: Oh, you know, a hundred percent, like I'm towards the last little bit of the race, especially the last 400 meters, I thought there's a chance, and I have to go for it. I was giving everything I had, like I was definitely in a lot of pain. And there's just something that kind of triggered in me, a hundred to go. And I just gave all I had. And again, yes, it worked out. Yeah, it was awesome. So --
COATES: I mean, this requires months of training. I mean, dedication to even run a marathon, let alone to finish one. Talk to me about the training to get to this moment.
MARTIN: Oh, a hundred percent. I mean, honestly, it started way back in middle school and just kind of discovering I had the talent to run. You know, I started in a gym class mile and did OK, but I wanted to do better, and just surely but surely just kept pushing myself in a lot of races up until this point, for sure.
But the last couple of weeks have been really, really good, just getting in the work I needed to. It just kind of all culminated into this moment. So --
COATES: I mean, you coach track and cross country to high school in Michigan. Like, my students, you could not tell me anything if I told you to go for it and give it your all. I have proof. It is hanging around my neck.
MARTIN: Oh, gosh. They -- so, high schoolers are definitely knuckleheads, for sure, but they're awesome, like awesome, awesome kids. I love just being able to coach them and push them through their journeys in life. And, you know, it's awesome when I can show them that, hey, I'm still at it, too. I'm still trying to fight for stuff. But, ultimately, it's just helping them learn lessons that maybe it helps them go far in running but, ultimately, hopefully, it helps them go far in life. So --
COATES: What a metaphor for life. I understand that you've got many sisters. I think five or six sisters. You've lost both of your parents to cancer, sadly.
[23:59:58]
But tell me, do you -- do you carry your family with you when you're running?
MARTIN: Oh, a hundred percent. They mean the world to me. You know, my parents were some of my biggest cheerleaders. It was awesome when I had them around and just being able to celebrate when I accomplished things. I just remember so many different times with my dad. I would accomplish something, and he would find it in the newspaper and tell anybody he could.
COATES: Oh.
MARTIN: Just the kind of cheers for my mom as well. Yeah, it was awesome having them. And my sisters right now are awesome, sharing all my stuff on social media, calling me just saying how proud they are. Yes, it's awesome being able to share that with them.
COATES: We're all so proud. Nathan Martin, congratulations.
MARTIN: Thank you.
COATES: Thank you all for watching. "The Story Is with Elex Michaelson" starts right now.
