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Pam Bondi Not to Appear For Epstein Deposition?; Iran Claims Victory Following Cease-Fire Deal. Aired 11-11:30a ET

Aired April 08, 2026 - 11:00   ET

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

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PAMELA BROWN, CNN HOST: Breaking news: declaring victory. The Trump administration and Iran both claiming a win after reaching a two week cease-fire, but details are scant and the deal is far from the finish line.

WOLF BLITZER, CNN HOST: Plus, despite the deal, U.S. allies around the Gulf are reporting new strikes from Iran. And the Pentagon says American forces are ready to resume operations.

Welcome to our viewers here in the United States and around the world. I'm Wolf Blitzer with Pamela Brown, and you're in THE SITUATION ROOM.

ANNOUNCER: This is CNN breaking news.

BLITZER: And we begin the hour with more breaking news.

Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth's public comments this morning about a two week cease-fire of the war with Iran, as attacks are still happening in the Gulf region, and happening big time. The deal was struck just a couple hours before President Trump's deadline and his threat that -- quote -- "A whole civilization will die."

Here's what Hegseth had to say:

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

PETE HEGSETH, U.S. DEFENSE SECRETARY: They knew exactly the scope of what we were capable of. He ultimately said, we can take it all from you. Your ability to export energy will be taken away. And the United States military has the ability to strike those things with impunity.

That type of threat is what brought them to the place where they effectively say, OK, we want to cut this deal.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BROWN: Iran's government is also claiming victory. This is video from Tehran. You can see Iranians gathering in the streets waving the national flag and celebrating what they view as the White House backing down.

The cease-fire agreement was expected to reopen the Strait of Hormuz, but just in the last few minutes, Iranian state media reported the country is again stopping ship traffic. The stoppage follows a new round of Israeli strikes on Hezbollah targets in Lebanon. The IDF says these are the largest strikes there since the start of the war.

Pakistan helped broker the truce between the U.S. and Iran. It says a cease-fire includes Lebanon. Israel disputes that, still many questions around all of that.

I want to bring in CNN's Alayna Treene at the White House to help us better understand where things stand.

What's the latest, Alayna?

ALAYNA TREENE, CNN WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT: Yes, look, I think obviously this is a fragile cease-fire. That's actually the words that Vice President J.D. Vance used when discussing this new agreement while in Budapest.

I think one of the key things we're looking for is what a potential meeting in the coming days between the United States and Iranian officials, including, though, I should note, Pakistan, who has been the key mediator through all of this, could look like.

Administration officials have told us that they are expected, they are preparing for this potential meeting in coming days. The Pakistanis have said they think the meeting will be on Friday in Islamabad. And that's really going to be the start of what I'm told is going to be several days of intense negotiations to try and see if they can reach some sort of more permanent, lasting type of deal by the end of this two-week timeline that has been laid out.

But there's a few things as well that we have heard from the president this morning. One is that he's been declaring complete and total victory with this cease-fire deal. Of course, a lot of people saying that's a bit early and it's a tough narrative to sell at this point.

There's still a lot that the Iranians have in their pockets, including leadership structures remain intact in Iran. Sanctions have been lifted for now. They still have some missile capabilities and missiles can also be rebuilt, and, of course, their leverage over the Strait of Hormuz, all of that going to be crucial to further talks.

But another thing we heard from the president as well was this idea of trying to work with Iran. He said this morning, to work with Iran to dig out some of the enriched uranium that is beneath some of the Iranian nuclear facilities. We actually heard Hegseth address this as well this morning when delivering a briefing at the Pentagon.

I want you to take a listen to what he said.

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(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP) HEGSETH: It's always been nonnegotiable that they won't have nuclear capabilities. And so right now it's buried and we're watching it. We know exactly what they have, and they know that.

And they will either give it to us, which the president has laid out. They'll give it to us voluntarily. We'll get it. We'll take it. We'll take it out. Or if we have to do something else ourselves, like we did in Midnight Hammer or something like that, we reserve that opportunity.

But what is clear, what the Iranian -- the new Iranian regime knows is they'll never have a nuclear weapon or the capability to get a path to one.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

TREENE: So, clearly, I mean, Hegseth laid out a lot of options there for how this could go, but really saying that it is a priority that that enriched uranium or, as the president likes to call it, nuclear dust, beneath those nuclear sites, is ultimately removed and no longer in the hands of the Iranians.

All to say there are so many questions, Wolf and Pam, that still kind of have gone unanswered. Particularly, another question is about what really is the proposal they are going to be working off for these negotiations. You heard the Iranians say it was their 10-point proposal they put forward.

The president this morning referencing the 15-point proposal, one of which has a lot of things included in it that the Iranians have so far refused to agree to. So a lot of that still needs to be answered. There is a press briefing with the White House press secretary,Karoline Leavitt, today at 1:00 p.m.

I think, hopefully, we will get a lot more clarity then.

BROWN: Hopefully so.

Alayna Treene, thank you so much -- Wolf.

BLITZER: I want to go to our international anchor, Becky Anderson, who is an Abu Dhabi for us right now.

Becky, last hour, I know you had a chance to speak with Pakistan's ambassador to the United States. This was a major interview. What did you learn?

BECKY ANDERSON, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, it was interesting. He was -- preferred to answer less questions or could answer less questions than those that he actually provided an answer for.

And I think the reason for that is, after what has been an intense period of sort of diplomatic activity behind the scenes over the past couple of weeks sort of led by Pakistan, but he was very quick to point out there were other countries involved in this, Saudi Arabia, Turkey, Egypt, China, for example, they have got to the point where they certainly feel in Islamabad that they have the trust of all parties.

And for that reason, the questions about even who would be attending, who they expect to be attending on Friday, if indeed that is when these talks start, wouldn't say from either side, wouldn't confirm from either side, couldn't really speak to what was on the table or even the framework that might be provided for early discussions.

Again, it was all, as far as he is concerned, about building trust. And he very specifically talked about how that trust is important in whatever happens on the -- on Friday. Have a listen very specifically to what he said.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

RIZWAN SAEED SHEIKH, PAKISTANI AMBASSADOR TO THE UNITED STATES: The success of this process would lie in secrecy. The parties, the conflicting parties need to be afforded enough space void of any pressures outside, exogenous pressures, now that they are sitting down to discuss all the matters that interest and concern them.

The secrecy of the content would help them reach decisions. It is ultimately for them to reach decisions and strike whatever agreement they want to strike. Pakistan is just a facilitator. And we are trying to do it in all earnest and in all faithfulness.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

ANDERSON: What he did confirm for me, Wolf, was that Lebanon was included in this two week cease-fire.

And, of course, we have heard from the prime minister's office in Israel that that is not the case, as far as they are concerned. And certainly today, and you have been reporting just in the opening for your show an enormous attack on what is Central Beirut by Israel on what they say are Hezbollah targets in the capital of Lebanon today.

We are told by health services there that hundreds are dead or wounded. So, that confirmed, he said, the prime minister of Pakistan had said that the cease-fire included Lebanon, and he reaffirmed that during this interview today -- Wolf.

BLITZER: All right, Becky Anderson in Abu Dhabi for us, thank you very, very much -- Pamela.

BROWN: Still ahead here in THE SITUATION ROOM, Wolf, a Middle East expert explains how Iran's regime could respond to what it's calling a win over President Trump and the U.S.

BLITZER: And one Republican senator says Congress will have to approve any kind of proposal to end the war. Later. We will ask a Democratic senator what he wants to see from a deal.

Stay with us. you're in THE SITUATION ROOM.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK) [11:14:43]

BLITZER: Just hours after President Trump said Iran had agreed to a cease-fire, two key U.S. allies in the Middle East say they're still being attacked.

After Iranian state media claimed retaliation for strikes on the country's infrastructure, both Kuwait and the United Arab Emirates both report new drone and missile strikes from Iran this morning. Kuwait's army says -- I'm quoting now -- "significant damage," significant damage has been done to oil, power, and water sites in Kuwait.

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Let's discuss with CNN global affairs analyst Brett McGurk. He was Middle East and North Africa coordinator for the National Security Council in the Biden administration.

Brett, thanks very much for joining us.

(CROSSTALK)

BLITZER: So, this two-week cease-fire is supposed to be in effect right now, but do you expect the fighting to actually stop? It doesn't look like it's in effect.

BRETT MCGURK, CNN GLOBAL AFFAIRS ANALYST: I think all we can say now is just what's happening. What are the facts, and call it like you see them.

So, as you said, UAE, since the cease-fire went into effect, we've had 17 ballistic missiles, about 35 drones, Kuwait, about 28 drones. Bahrain, there's apparently been missiles and drones. Saudi Arabia reported an attack on their east-west pipeline, which has been delivering oil to the Red Sea.

Israel is conducting waves of attacks in Lebanon. And the Strait of Hormuz, as of this morning, Iran was saying same procedures they had put in place during the war are still in place, meaning you have to pay a toll to Iran. You have to coordinate with Iran to pass through. And now Iran is apparently saying the strait is closed. So that's where we are.

And that suggests whatever might have been thought to have been agreed at least is not in effect.

BLITZER: Because, indeed, as you point out, Iranian state media has just now, just now, in the last few minutes, reporting that Iran has stopped oil tanker traffic through the strait of Hormuz because of Israel's continued attacks on various Hezbollah targets in Lebanon.

This fragile cease-fire agreement, can it really hold?

MCGURK: What I'm seeing now, Wolf, is there is not a cease-fire agreement, other than the U.S. has stopped our operations inside Iran. I don't buy that these rocket and missile teams have not gotten the

message yet, like the Japanese guy on the island who doesn't know the war is over. I mean, these are significant missile and drone launches, clearly coordinated.

Now, I have worked with Iran for years. I have negotiated with them. They always need the last whatever it is, the last shot in a military exchange, the last change in a text in a negotiation. That's understandable.

But you kind of like can take a signal from what they're actually doing. These are significant missile and drone launches. They're trying to send a signal to the Gulf states: There's a new equation here and it favors us.

And that is not a great outcome. So it's early. I hope this all calms down and stops. But, so far, the president's statement last night, about 14 hours ago, was that a complete reopening of the Strait of Hormuz -- that certainly has not happened and Iran is still shooting.

BLITZER: Because, as part of the cease-fire agreement, supposedly Iran promised what they called the safe passage of ships in all -- the all-important Strait of Hormuz. That's clearly not happening. It's effectively been closed now since the start of the war.

And it's continued as of right now to be closed. But with the Iranian military seemingly controlling the strait now, is the U.S. and the world in a worse place today than before this war started?

MCGURK: I mean, I would withhold a definitive judgment. We have to see where this goes. I think Iran has taken -- their military industrial base has been significantly degraded.

Unclear what's going on in Tehran, who's making decisions. Is the supreme leader, Wolf, even alive? Iran had said throughout, we will not accept a temporary cease-fire ever. Now they're saying they have. So we have to see.

But on this key point of Strait of Hormuz, this was always the lever point they had. And I have done a lot of war games with how this would play out, and it was always that concern that Iran could mine the strait, close the strait. But they never actually really done it until now.

And now they're saying, yes, we control it and we will meter it, depending on what we, Iran, decide. That is a bad outcome, not just for the Middle East, but for the world. And it's an artery for the world. It's an international strait. It's not controlled by any country.

They don't have the right to meter and decide who can go and who can go in and out. And if they're charging tolls, that means they're going to be making a significant amount of revenue through this, which is also a huge problem.

BLITZER: In your view, what changed in the negotiations between Monday night and Tuesday night, when the president had set that deadline for 8:00 p.m.?

MCGURK: It's hard to say, Wolf.

I feel like we just kind of lost the plot a little bit in the last week with the threats and the statements from the president about the civilizational threats, which I think was clearly counterproductive, and also took focus off where a lot of this started earlier in the year, were the Iranian people demanding a change within their system, changing the Islamic Republic.

And I think that has really been lost here quite a bit. So I don't know. It looks like the White House and the president and probably to some extent the Iranians too wanted to have -- at least have a pause here and see if we can try to work something out in Pakistan.

But even there, Wolf, I'm -- given the positioning of the two sides -- and in a negotiation with Iran, to be successful, usually, a lot of it's behind the scenes and quiet. We have very public positioning from both sides, very maximalist positioning.

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So, hard to see that that's going to come to an outcome any time soon.

BLITZER: Just get your assessment. Mojtaba Khamenei, the new supreme leader of Iran, he's sort of invisible right now, isn't he?

MCGURK: He's only been seen -- I mean, I'm not being flippant. He was rolled out in cardboard to kind of present to the people. Nobody's seen him.

Whether or not he's alive and making decisions seems doubtful. Look, the Revolutionary Guards are in charge of Iran. They're the ones who make the decisions. And this is another thing. If Iran says, OK, actually, let's make a deal with the Americans and let's cut a deal, there will be other voices in that system, because there's probably a power struggle saying, no, hey, wait a minute, we don't want to do that.

So this has a ways to play out.

BLITZER: We will see what happens.

MCGURK: Thank you.

BLITZER: It's a dangerous situation, indeed.

MCGURK: Yes.

BLITZER: All right, Brett, Brett McGurk, thank you very, very much -- Pamela.

BROWN: All right, Wolf.

Coming up: an American journalist abducted in Iraq now getting ready to come home after a pro-Iran group let her go. Details on the hurried negotiations that went into her release ahead.

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BLITZER: We're following breaking news right now. The U.S. Justice Department says Pam Bondi will not -- repeat -- not appear for an upcoming deposition about the Jeffrey Epstein investigation now that she's no longer the attorney general of the United States.

Let's go to CNN senior reporter Annie Grayer.

Annie, what are you learning?

ANNIE GRAYER, CNN SENIOR REPORTER: Well, Wolf, we have been waiting to see what the Department of Justice position was going to be now that Pam Bondi is no longer serving as attorney general.

And what we're learning from a letter that I obtained today is that the Department of Justice says that Pam Bondi will no longer appear on April 14 because she's no longer -- they argue since she's no longer serving in her official capacity, she cannot testify to it.

So, a portion of that letter reads -- quote -- "Ms. Bondi no longer holds that office. As a result, because Ms. Bondi no longer can testify in her official capacity as attorney general,the department's position is that the subpoena no longer obligates her to appear on April 14. We kindly ask that you confirm that the subpoena is withdrawn."

Now, I'm told from an Oversight Committee spokeswoman that the committee will be reaching out to Bondi's personal attorney to move forward with trying to schedule her deposition. So that tells me that this fight is not over, but this is a major development and will create more roadblocks for the committee as it tries to get a former Attorney General Bondi's testimony.

This subpoena was done on a bipartisan basis. Five Republicans initially supported it, but House Oversight Chair James Comer is under pressure from some Republicans to withdraw the subpoena. We will see what happens, but major development here, Wolf.

BLITZER: Certainly is.

Annie Grayer, thanks very, very much -- Pamela.

BROWN: All right, Wolf, breaking news.

An Iranian news agency is reporting that Tehran has halted oil tanker traffic through the Strait of Hormuz after Israel attacked Lebanon, this coming just hours after a fragile cease-fire agreement was announced.

With me now is retired Lieutenant General Ben Hodges. He's the former commander of U.S. Army forces in Europe.

So, reopening the Strait of Hormuz was part of this deal. Is this cease-fire already broken, in your view?

LT. GEN. BEN HODGES (RET.), FORMER U.S. ARMY EUROPE COMMANDER: I think what Brett said earlier is correct. There is not really a cease- fire. These are not a couple of angry sergeants out there launching missiles.

And I think we're going to have to listen to what the insurance companies say. If they are not willing to ensure vessels moving through the Strait of Hormuz, then the strait is in effect still closed. And I think this is why it's also important that the president and others not speak too quickly about things that are so tenuous, because it ends up damaging their credibility.

BROWN: And the president, as you know, has claimed victory here. At the same time, you have these attacks in the region. You have the Strait of Hormuz closed now by the Iranians, based on our latest reporting. And things are very active and moving by the minute.

That's where things stand right now. There seems to also be confusion between the U.S., Israeli and Pakistani positions over whether Lebanon was included in the cease-fire agreement. How concerning is that?

HODGES: Well, it's very concerning.

And this is part of the problem when you don't have world-class, professional diplomats handling these kinds of negotiations. The fact -- I was skeptical when I first saw that there was going to be a restriction on any operations in Lebanon or against Iranian proxies.

I was pretty sure there was no way that Israel could agree to that. And so, again, it's a mistake to claim a victory on something before there's -- you can be really sure that it's going to be done. And there's -- unfortunately, there's a -- this is a consistent problem with the administration of claim -- making claims about things that are just not the case.

And that only damages us in the long run.

BROWN: And this is video we obtained from earlier in Lebanon after attacks there.

You're talking about claiming victory, that happening too prematurely. There was still enriched uranium in Iran. And Secretary Hegseth essentially admitted this morning during a press conference that President Trump chose negotiating with Iran over eliminating their ability to be a state sponsor of terrorism.

Here's how Hegseth put it in a briefing last month.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

HEGSETH: There's a reason we call Iran the number one state sponsor of terrorism, because they took the money they make, and they invest it in tunnels, and they invest it in missiles, and they invest it in launchers and UAVs.

(END VIDEO CLIP)