Return to Transcripts main page

The Situation Room

Baltimore Officials to Clean Up 2,000-Gallon Fuel Spill; "Jane" Testifies in Sean Combs Trial; Hegseth Calls on NATO to Spend 5 Percent GDP on Defense. Aired 10:30-11a ET

Aired June 05, 2025 - 10:30   ET

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

[10:30:00]

WOLF BLITZER, CNN ANCHOR: Happening now in Baltimore, emergency crews are working to clean up a 2,000-gallon fuel spill in the harbor. Two diesel tanks were overfilled over at Johns Hopkins Hospital, causing the spill. A spokesperson said the hospital reported the spill immediately. Officials are now urging people to avoid the area, to allow officials to clean up the oil as quickly as possible.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

MAYOR BRANDON SCOTT, BALTIMORE: We can smell gas, obviously you can smell that gas, and we can see the oil on the water, but we know people are understandably concerned. But again, as you just heard, there is no impact to drinking water, and we're doing everything that we can to mitigate any environmental impacts of the spill.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BLITZER: Officials say they are rehabilitating oil geese at a wildlife facility.

PAMELA BROWN, CNN ANCHOR: Glad to hear that. All right. Sean Diddy Combs is due back in court for his federal sex trafficking and racketeering trial. A woman gave disturbing testimony yesterday that Combs dangled her from a 17-story balcony. The testimony comes as the prosecution has sought to prove Combs and some in his inner circle orchestrated a criminal enterprise that relied on threats, violence, and kidnapping, something combs denies.

For the latest, let's get to CNN's Kara Scannell right outside the courthouse. So, what can we expect from today's testimony, Kara?

KARA SCANNELL, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Good morning, Pamela. We are expecting the second victim in this case who is testifying under the pseudonym, Jane, to take the stand at some point today. Prosecutors say that Combs forced her to engage in those freak offs just the same as he did with Cassie Ventura. Her testimony will begin after the testimony of Cassie Ventura's friend, Bryana Bongolan, finishes. She was up yesterday. She testified that Combs had come up from behind her, lifted her by the armpits and dangled her over the 17th story balcony.

She said that he then threw her onto the patio of furniture and that she -- resulted in bruises. And the jury was shown photographs of bruises and her and a neck brace on the same day that she said that this occurred. Now. She also said that Combs directly threatened her at a photo shoot one day saying to her, I could kill you. She said that she was terrified and scared and that she never reported anything about Combs to the police.

Now, on cross-examination the focus there was on her drug use, because she testified that she and Cassie Ventura had used drugs every week. She said that they had this arrangement where Ventura would pay for them and she would get them. And on cross-examination they pointed out that it was not just one or two different types of drugs that she used, but she said that they did about 10 different kinds of drugs, from cocaine, ketamine, to a combination of them. And so, they were focusing on that.

They're also focusing on her memory, asking her about that balcony, what she talked with Ventura about before and after meeting with prosecutors. And then, also, about a recent meeting they said to her, isn't it true just two days ago you told the prosecution, you just don't recall the details of the balcony allegation? Bongolan said, I don't remember. And she's expected to be the first witness up today. And then the testimony will go to Jane, the second accuser. Pam.

BROWN: All right. Kara Scannell, thanks so much. Wolf.

BLITZER: And there's more news we're following just ahead. Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth in Brussels, pushing NATO nations to spend more money on defense. How the alliance is reacting. We have details. That's next.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[10:35:00]

BLITZER: Happening now, Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth is in Brussels meeting with NATO defense ministers. He is urging member nations to increase their defense spending to 5 percent of their gross domestic product.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

PETE HEGSETH, U.S. DEFENSE SECRETARY: 5 percent on defense spending. When you consider the threats that we face, the urgency in the world, it's critical. We don't need more flags. We need more fighting formations. We don't need more conferences. We need more capabilities. Hard power.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BLITZER: These comments coming after Hegseth skipped Wednesday's meeting, focused on organizing military aid for Ukraine.

BROWN: CNN military analyst and retired Air Force colonel, Cedric Leighton, joins us now. Thank you so much for being here. So, we just heard Secretary Hegseth calling on NATO to commit more to defense spending, saying we don't need more flags or conferences, we need more hard power. What's your response to that?

COL. CEDRIC LEIGHTON (RET.), CNN MILITARY ANALYST AND U.S. AIR FORCE (RET.): So, Pamela, one of the key things about an organization like NATO is that they have to have conferences in order to make sure that the hard power that all the countries have actually can be brought to bear on a threat.

So, you look at the Ukraine conference, that was an opportunity that was missed by Secretary Hegseth. He should have been there. He should have been part of that. That's how you get hard power to do its things. That's how you get the weapons to the right people, at the right time, at the right place.

[10:40:00]

And it also show -- would show a commitment to Ukraine. And one of the things that I think it seems as if the secretary does not understand is that in order to affect the kinds of things that you need from a military standpoint, whether it's special operations forces, whether it's conventional forces, whether it's cyber, those are the things that first have to be decided from a policy level at these conferences. So, it's all an integral part of basically the diplomatic and military aspects that he should be a part of.

BROWN: And it's worth noting the United States does not spend 5 percent of its GDP on NATO, but yet, we are asking -- the United States, I should say, is asking other countries to step up and fork over 5 percent. What do you make of that?

LEIGHTON: Well, I -- you know, it's a -- I think it's a very difficult thing for the Europeans to look at that and take it seriously. It's one thing to ask them to do 2 percent or 2.5 percent or even 3 percent. In Poland, for example, does over 4.5 percent right now of its GDP, it spends that on its military. Same with some of the Baltic countries, they have similar expenditure rates.

So, if the United States is serious about having that kind of a request out to its NATO members, it better do the same thing if it's going to be taken seriously by the other NATO members. So, you know, it would be more reasonable for them to ask for a 4 percent or a 4.5 percent of GDP, which is more or less in line with what the United States does, depending on how you count it. But 5 percent is something that we don't do right now, and it doesn't seem like we have plans to get that far.

BROWN: I want to ask you about this phone conversation that President Trump had with President Putin, and he said that Putin told him that it will retaliate against Ukraine's large scale drone attack on its air bases. How much do you think that could escalate this ongoing war?

LEIGHTON: Well, I think President Trump missed an opportunity here to actually tell Putin that that would be unacceptable. That response would be wrong. It's time to de-escalate this conflict, it would've been the proper thing to say. Assuming that everything that President Trump transmitted in his social media post is accurate, is a full reflection of what was said. This missed opportunity is something that's going to cost a lot of lives in Ukraine.

So, what should have been said is, you know, if you do this there will be consequences. There will be sanctions, there might be military moves against you. Do not do this. That's the kind of thing that Putin would understand and failure to put that out there, failure to make that part of the discussion is a lost opportunity for the United States and for Ukraine.

BROWN: And my colleague, Jim Sciutto, actually spoke with a Ukrainian parliament member who said there was a clear lack of red lines from Trump during that phone call. Again, we're basing this on what Trump said in his Truth Social posts. We don't know the full contents of that conversation. Let's listen.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

OLEKSANDR MEREZHKO, UKRAINIAN PARLIAMENT: When Putin mentioned that he's going to avenge or to deliver a new strike against Ukraine, we know what it means. It's about civilians. And President Trump didn't say something. Vladimir, stop. And it's very worrisome because it might look like he's given a green light to this new crime committed which Putin is trying to commit.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BROWN: And the other interesting part of that conversation was that Putin, apparently, according to Trump, offered to help on Iran. And this official made the case that Putin could be doing that as sort of a political bribe. Like, hey, I'll help you on Iran if you don't interfere with him doing on Ukraine. That's how this official portrayed that. What do you think?

LEIGHTON: Yes, that might be correct. And think of this too, Pamela, one of the things that the Russians are very interested in is keeping Iran as an ally. So, they have Iran supplying drones, the Shahed drones, in particular to the Ukrainian war effort. The other thing that is of great interest to Putin is Iran's nuclear power system, because the Russians stepped in after the Germans left the construction of the Bushier nuclear plant back in the -- after the Iranian revolution in basically 1979, 19 80.

When the Germans left, the Russians stepped in. And the Russians have a vested interest in having a nuclear program in Iran because economically that helps them. It allows them to export their nuclear technology to Iran, even if it's just a conventional piece, but it also shows that there's a possibility of the Russians working with the Iranians on nuclear weapons as well.

So, it's one of those things where the Iranians are in a position where they could benefit from Russian help on the diplomatic side if the Russians help with a nuclear agreement, that would be kind of revisiting what we did with the JCPOA back -- you know, back in the Obama administration. But the key thing with that is the Russians have vested interests and you can't really trust them to have the same interests in -- on non-proliferation that the United States has.

[10:45:00]

BROWN: Really important point. Colonel Cedric Leighton, thank you. Great to have you here as always.

LEIGHTON: Thanks so much, Pamela.

BLITZER: Colonel knows his stuff.

BROWN: He sure does. I always feel smarter after talking to him.

BLITZER: Yes, he is. Me too. All right. For more on Secretary Hegseth's comments, we have CNN International Diplomatic Editor Nic Robertson who's standing by in London, and our Natasha Bertrand, who's over at the Pentagon for us.

Natasha, let me quickly ask you, what's been the reaction so far to the defense secretary's remarks?

NATASHA BERTRAND, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, look, Wolf, I think that people here at the Pentagon are not particularly surprised by what Secretary Hegseth said today. He has been fairly consistent throughout his entire tenure here that the United States wants to see Europe and NATO take on more of the burden when it comes to their own defense, and particularly, of course, when it comes to spending more to help defend Ukraine, and that is something that was really reflected in the fact that Secretary Hegseth did not attend yesterday's meeting of the Ukraine defense contact group. It was the first time in over three years that a U.S. secretary of defense had not attended this very critical meeting to coordinate the flow of military assistance from the U.S. and its allies to Ukraine. Instead, he sent the U.S. ambassador to NATO in his place.

And so, while the secretary of defense's office here downplayed that saying that, look, this had to do with scheduling issues and travel logistics, ultimately, it is part of this broader message that people here at the Defense Department are also very aware of, that the U.S. wants to shift its focus elsewhere. It no longer wants to be, as Secretary Hegseth said earlier this year, the guarantor of European security.

And so, that really aligns with his remarks at NATO today, telling European allies, look, the U.S. is not going to protect you anymore. If you want to maintain and ensure your own security, you are going to have to step up your spending significantly. And it has to be done a commitment anyway by the NATO summit this summer.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

HEGSETH: We're leading the way. The question is, will our allies step up the way we need them to? Because considering the threats in the world today, they have to. It was actually very heartening to listen to all the country, step up and say, we hear you. We all need increased capabilities. We all need to spend more. Thank you, President Trump, for reviving this alliance. It was an alliance that was sleepwalking too irrelevance.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BERTRAND: So, look, not even the U.S. spends 5 percent of its GDP on defense. It's going to be a tough target for all of these allies to get to, but they say that they're committed to doing so and that they understand the importance of doing it so that they continue to have U.S. support as well, Wolf.

BLITZER: All right. Natasha, standby. I want to go to Nic in London for some more analysis. Nic, how are the European NATO members reacting to this push for increased defense spending?

NIC ROBERTSON, CNN INTERNATIONAL DIPLOMATIC EDITOR: Yes, this is something that's been signaled for a while. The U.S. ambassador to NATO spoke about the 5 percent yesterday. And listening to the different defense ministers going in today, there seem to be two key questions. One, which is, when is that 5 percent to be delivered by? And the U.S. ambassador to NATO yesterday said that this wasn't going to be like the NATO Whale Summit in 2014, where there was a 10-year window for the countries to get to the 2 percent of GDP commitment. He said it couldn't be that short. Pete Hegseth, secretary of defense, today didn't give a timeline either. One of the timelines that seems to be emerging, 5 percent in five years. So, by 2030.

But you also have some of the Baltic States which are really worried about a timeline like that. The Lithuanian defense minister today said, look, NATO's Intelligence Services believe that Russia is preparing itself to test NATO, to be able to sort of go at NATO's defenses over the next few years. So, every year is critical.

So, in that context the timeline is really important to some of the NATO members. So, it's not just a timeline but also, what does that 5 percent of defense spend come from? Is it just traditional military hardware or does it include cyber defenses, hybrid warfare defenses, that sort of thing? That's part of the conversation.

Broadly speaking, though, you know, NATO members know that this is the price of keeping the United States on board. They'll move towards it.

BLITZER: All right. Nic Robertson in London, Natasha Bertrand over at the Pentagon for us. To both of you, thank you very, very much. Pamela.

BROWN: All right, Wolf. Still ahead right here in the Situation Room. A tense debate in the New York City mayor's race. Andrew Cuomo taking a lot of incoming fire from eight Democratic rivals. So, who won the night? Former Mayor Bill de Blasio will weigh in. Stay with us.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[10:50:00]

BLITZER: New this morning, the house speaker, Mike Johnson, telling CNN just moments ago he's calling Elon Musk. The billionaire has doubled down on his criticism of President Trump's domestic policy bill. Musk has called it, and I'm quoting him now, "a disgusting abomination." And is urging senators to kill it and to kill it quickly.

BROWN: Let's go to CNN Congressional Correspondent Lauren Fox on Capitol Hill. Lauren, you just spoke with Speaker Johnson. What did he tell you?

LAUREN FOX, CNN CONGRESSIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Well, the two men have been trying to connect over the course of the last several days, but Johnson telling our colleagues this morning that he does plan to have a phone call with Elon Musk that is now imminent.

It's really interesting because, obviously, Speaker Johnson has already passed the House Republican version of this big beautiful bill, as Trump's calling it, but it still has a long way to go in the Senate and it's going to have to come back to the House of Representatives because the Senate is going to make some changes, which means once again, it will be in Speaker Mike Johnson's lap to get the votes.

[10:55:00]

That's why a conversation with Elon Musk about what his concerns are about this bill may be so important. Here was Johnson just moments ago.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

REP. MIKE JOHNSON (R-LA), U.S. HOUSE SPEAKER: Yes. I'm not going to get into details for personal conversations with him.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: But you've already spoken -- you spoke to him this morning?

JOHNSON: No, I'm going to call Elon right now.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Could I ask you? So, I mean, based on this White House meeting, and they have problems with some of the tax and tips, the overtime, salt, (INAUDIBLE)/

JOHNSON: Who's they?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: The Senate. I mean, it does seem like -- it seems like you guys are farther apart than you would like to be, certainly than you would like --

JOHNSON: Things are not always what seem. OK. There's very fruitful conversations going on between senators, between the senators and the White House and between all of us. So, I'm just as optimistic as I've been from the beginning. I'm convinced we're going to meet this deadline that we've stated to get at the president's desk by Independence Day. And there's a lot of work going on around the clock for that.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

FOX: And here in the Senate, Elon Musk's tweets are having further reverberations. I just talked to Senator Lisa Murkowski. She said that while it may not influence her vote, she said, obviously Elon Musk has a wide microphone. He is somebody that a lot of people, including constituents listen to. So, it's going to be weighing on senators here as well. Wolf, Pam.

BLITZER: All right. Lauren Fox reporting for us. Lauren, thank you very much. Pamela.

BROWN: All right. Coming up in our next hour, Republican Senator Tim Scott joins us in the Situation Room. We'll ask him about his recent conversation with President Trump at the White House about his so- called big beautiful bill.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[11:00:00]