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The Situation Room

Now, U.S. Military Set to Launch Strait of Hormuz Blockade; Trump Blasts Pope Leo for Criticism of War With Iran; Rep. Eric Swalwell (D-CA) Ends Campaign for California Governor. Aired 10-10:30a ET

Aired April 13, 2026 - 10:00   ET

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

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[10:00:00]

PAMELA BROWN, CNN ANCHOR: Happening now, breaking news, American blockade. Starting right now, the U.S. military says it is blocking traffic coming in and out of Iranian ports in the Strait of Hormuz after peace talks collapsed, this as President Trump now says gas prices could be the same or, quote, a little bit higher before the midterms.

Plus, Trump slams the pope. The president says the pontiff is, quote, terrible for foreign policy after he condemns Trump's threats on Iran. Pope Leo is now directly responding.

And swift fallout, Eric Swalwell suspends his campaign for governor of California and is now facing pressure to resign from Congress after my reporting with my team on accusations of sexual misconduct and, in one case, sexual assault against him, which he is denying.

Welcome to our viewers, the United States and around the world. I'm Pamela Brown. Wolf Blitzer is off, and you are in The Situation Room.

And we began with the breaking news. At this very moment, the U.S. Navy is set to launch a blockade in the Strait of Hormuz, preventing ships from entering or leaving Iranian ports in the critical oil shipping route. Reuters is reporting that the U.S. Central Command has sent a note to vessels outlining details of the blockade.

Iran's Revolutionary Guard calls the U.S. military action, quote, illegal and is vowing to retaliate. Right now, oil prices are hovering around $100 a barrel.

And President Trump, meantime, is lashing out at Pope Leo for his criticism of the Iran war. In a pretty remarkable post on social media, Trump called the first U.S.-born pope weak, out of line for criticizing a president, and he calls on the pope to get his act together.

Well, this morning, the pope says he is not afraid of the Trump administration.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP) POPE LEO XIV: I will not shy away from announcing the message of gospel of inviting all people to look for ways of building bridges for peace and reconciliation, of looking for ways to avoid war at any time is possible.

To put my message on the same plane, as what the president has attempted to do here is, I think, understanding what the message from the gospel is. And I'm sorry to hear that but I continue on with what I believe the mission of the church.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BROWN: We will get all the latest developments from our correspondents who are in place from the Middle East to North Africa, to Washington.

Let's begin this hour with CNN's Nic Robertson. He's in Islamabad, Pakistan, where talks between the U.S. and Iran failed over the weekend.

So, Nic, tell us more about the U.S. military blockade. What is the Trump administration hoping to accomplish here?

NIC ROBERTSON, CNN INTERNATIONAL DIPLOMATIC EDITOR: It appears to want to completely cut off Iran's ability to make any amount of money from its oil, selling it on international markets, and to block Iran from allowing its sort of allies or friendly vessels from going through the Strait of Hormuz and paying a premium, that's money that goes into Iran's pocket, so the president putting his own blockade on Iran's blockade.

Some of those details you were talking about, the Central Command is telling mariners in that area now in the Arabian Gulf, that is sort of upstream, if you will, in the Strait of Hormuz, and the Gulf of Oman, downstream, sort of outside the Strait of Hormuz, all Iranian ports will blockade ships coming and going from them interdicted. This is what Central Command says. And they're advising marine traffic in that area to do bridge-- control part of any ship, bridge-to-bridge communications on Channel 16, so a very specific message here to try to keep benign maritime traffic, friendly maritime traffic, safe.

But the view from Iran is very clear. The defense minister or acting defense minister there saying that they are ready for any eventuality and any escalation and the sort of more hardline IRGC commander saying that if there is an escalation in the Strait of Hormuz, then they will escalate in Bab el-Mandab. Now, that is the Red Sea route for getting oil to the international market. This is Iran saying that it'll use its proxies, the Houthis, in Yemen to do that. They have a lot of expertise interdicting maritime traffic tankers in particular.

So, the stage is set for a potential military escalation.

BROWN: All right, we shall see. Nic Robertson, thank you so much.

And let's go live now to CNN's Alayna Treene at the White House. Alayna, is there any path for the U.S. and Iran to resume negotiations.

ALAYNA TREENE, CNN WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT: Well, they certainly, Pamela, have not closed off that possibility. And from my conversations with White House officials, you know, particularly later yesterday after getting those updates throughout the weekend of these talks essentially collapsing in Pakistan, they are still hopeful that there could be some way to move negotiations forward.

And I think that's part of what this blockade on the Strait of Hormuz is designed to do. This is really, in some of the ways that Trump administration officials have described it, as almost the next phase or an extension of this process. They are doing this in hopes, and it's unclear if this will actually be what happens, but the United States is hoping that this blockade will put enough economic pressure on Iran that essentially they lose patience. I think it's a question of, you know, how much economic pain can they endure until they are forced back to the negotiating table.

And I do want to give you a sense just from what we have been hearing throughout the weekend of where these talks really faltered because there were a few red lines that the White House had laid out and they said that essentially the Iranians would not get on board with. One of them, of course, is ending Iran's uranium enrichment and dismantling those facilities, also having the U.S. be allowed to go in and retrieve the enriched uranium inside Iran. They also want to end funding for terrorist proxy groups and fully reopen the Strait of Hormuz without tolls for passage. This is really where the sticking points were, I think, going into these talks, we, of course, recognize that as well.

Now, I do want you to listen though to what we heard from the president describing what his determination was on how these talks went.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

DONALD TRUMP, U.S. PRESIDENT: We understand the situation better than anybody and Iran is in very bad shape. And just so you understand, Iran will not have a nuclear weapon, will not happen. There is no way that they're going to get it. They still want it, and they made that clear the other night. Iran will not have a nuclear weapon.

REPORTER: How long are you waiting for them to come back to the negotiating table?

TRUMP: Oh, I don't know. I don't care if they come back or not. If they don't come back, I'm fine.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

TREENE: Saying, if they don't come back, I'm fine. It's a little bit different from what we had been hearing heading into the weekend, Pamela, that the president was really hoping that this two-week ceasefire would mean the end of military operations in the region.

But, of course, we have to see what this blockade does, if it's going to be a further escalation of fighting or if perhaps it will do what the administration is hoping, which is bring Iran back to the table to agree to more of their demands.

BROWN: All right. Alayna Treene, thank you so much.

Happening now, oil prices are around $100 a barrel this morning, you see it right here on your screen, as the U.S. military is expected to enforce a blockade on all ships entering and leaving Iranian ports in the Strait of Hormuz. And this morning, according to delay, the national average price for a gallon of gas is $4.13 cents. That's up 50 cents per gallon from a month ago, and almost $1 from a year ago.

President Trump was asked about the rising price of gas this weekend, and listen to what he said.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

MARIA BARTIROMO, FOX BUSINESS HOST: So, do you believe the price of oil and gas will be lower before the midterm elections?

TRUMP: I hope so. I mean, I think so. It could be or the same or maybe a little bit higher, but it should be around the same. I think this won't be that much longer.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BROWN: So, when President Trump took office for a second term in January 2025, for perspective here, the national average was $3.12 per gallon.

So, let's go live now to see as Jeremy Diamond in Tel Aviv, Israel. Jeremy, Iran has warned that continued Israeli strikes in Lebanon could really jeopardize this very fragile ceasefire agreement with the United States. So, are we seeing any shift in the Israeli posture toward Lebanon?

JEREMY DIAMOND, CNN JERUSALEM CORRESPONDENT: Well, Israeli officials are continuing to refuse to agree to a ceasefire in Lebanon and emphasize the fact that a ceasefire is not in effect. But at the same time, it does appear like we are seeing some scaling back of Israeli strikes in Lebanon. For example, the Israeli military hasn't carried out a strike in the Lebanese capital of Beirut since Thursday. And while we have seen several other strikes in Southern Lebanon, it hasn't been to the degree that we were seeing before this latest round of negotiations began between Israel and Lebanon.

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So, there does appear to be some restraints on the part of Israel here intended and under pressure from the United States to try and allow those negotiations with Lebanon to take place and to avoid completely unraveling the broader ceasefire agreement with Iran.

Nonetheless, over the weekend, we did see several people who were killed, including a strike on a family home in Southern Lebanon. One Red Cross worker was also killed in an Israeli strike yesterday. And we're also seeing fierce ground fighting between Israeli forces and Hezbollah militants in one of these key Lebanese border villages inside Southern Lebanon.

The Israeli military is also now defining Lebanon as the, quote, main operational front while still maintaining a high level of alertness as it relates to potential military action, the resumption of military action against Iran.

And the Israeli Prime Minister visited Southern Lebanon yesterday, saw Israeli troops there. And then today at a government meeting, he talked about the idea that Israel is working to establish a, quote, solid and deep security zone inside of Southern Lebanon.

This is something that we've heard other Israeli officials talk about, and, in fact, we've seen evidence on the ground that the Israeli military is bulldozing civilian infrastructure near the border in order to create that buffer zone. But for the moment, it seems that all of this is not yet unraveling that broader ceasefire agreement with Iran, nor is it standing in the way of talks between Israeli and Lebanese officials, which are set to resume tomorrow. Pam?

BROWN: All right, Jeremy Diamond. Thank you so much for bringing us the latest from Tel Aviv.

And breaking news, a federal judge is dismissing President Trump's defamation lawsuit against The Wall Street Journal. In September, the Rupert Murdoch-owned newspaper reported on this lewd birthday letter to Jeffrey Epstein bearing Trump's name. The judge said Trump failed to plausibly allege the newspaper acted with actual malice. But he's giving Trump's team until April 27th to file an amended complaint.

And still ahead here in The Situation Room, Swalwell fallout, the frontrunner for California governor drops out of the race in the wake of sexual misconduct allegations. In my exclusive reporting, I sit down with one of the women who says the congressman raped her. How Swalwell continues to strongly deny the allegations.

The Situation Room special report is next.

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BROWN: And turning now to a Situation Room special report, Democratic Congressman Eric Swalwell announced he is suspending his campaign for California governor after four women described sexual misconduct by him, allegations he denies. And ending his campaign, Swalwell wrote on a social media post yesterday evening, quote, to my family, staff, friends, and supporters, I am deeply sorry for mistakes and judgment I've made in my past. I will fight the serious false allegations that have been made, but that's my fight, not at campaign's.

I spoke to a former staffer of the congressman's who says he was -- he raped her when she was heavily intoxicated. That interview took place before Swalwell announced the end of his gubernatorial campaign. And a warning to our viewers, the story contains disturbing and graphic details.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I kept figuring out ways to blame myself. I shouldn't have reached out to him at all. I should have left. I should have done this. Well, Eric shouldn't have raped me.

BROWN (voice over): This Capitol Hill staffer is coming forward for the first time on camera to talk about her experience with Congressman Eric Swalwell. He is now a leading Democratic candidate for governor of California.

REP. ERIC SWALWELL (D-CA): Let's get together, make the biggest wave this state has ever seen.

BROWN: Swalwell was in his late 30s and married when she joined his office as an intern and became a junior staffer. She's speaking in shadow as she fears professional consequences.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: It was in 2019. I was, again, driving him to an event. This was my job.

BROWN: And you were 21 years old?

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: And I was 21 years old. We see some sort of parking lot and he says to pull over. He pulls out his penis and instructs me to give him oral sex. And I started to -- again, I felt incredibly uncomfortable. And I stopped and I said to him, this feels really uncomfortable and anyone could see us right now. And he said to me, you're right. It's probably not good for a congressman to be caught with his pants down.

BROWN: Swalwell calls her allegations false. His campaign responded earlier to vague accusations on social media related to his behavior with staffers.

REPORTER: Did you ever behave inappropriately with female staffers?

SWALWELL: No. No. It's false. And also, you know, some of the allegations I've seen, which is that we've had NDAs in the office. There's never been an allegation. And there's never been a settlement. And, you know, I will also just take stock that, look, we're 27 days before an election starts.

BROWN: Did he ask you to send him lewd photos?

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Yes.

BROWN: And did he ever send lewd photos?

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Yes. He would send short Snapchat videos of him rubbing his penis through his pants while on the airplane.

BROWN: The staffer says she liked Swalwell attention at first and nervously went along with it, which included sending back nude photos of herself. But in September 2019, she says she and some friends met up with Swalwell. After a night of heavy drinking, she says she woke up naked with Swalwell in a hotel room with no memory of what happened.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: The five of us were having some drinks. At some point, it was time to go home. I got in an Uber. I was taken to the Aloft Dublin Pleasanton where he was staying.

[10:20:02]

And I don't remember what happened that night, but I know that we -- there was sexual contact because when I woke up in the morning, I could feel that there was. And he said as much too.

BROWN: What did he say?

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: That last night was great. It didn't feel great to me because I didn't remember it.

BROWN: And so you blacked out and you end up in his hotel room and wake up with him?

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Yes.

BROWN: She says another incident occurred in 2024 after this event in New York, where Swalwell gave a speech.

SWALWELL: Some of us are working hard on Capitol Hill.

BROWN: At the time, she no longer worked for Swalwell office.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I decided to ask him to meet me for a drink. And I did this because I was so far removed from what had happened in 2019. I felt safe because I was established. I had a partner. I felt more secure that I could have a strictly professional relationship with this person.

After that bar closed, we went to another -- I went to the bathroom, and I don't remember anything after that.

BROWN: You don't remember anything?

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I remember the next day. I can see flashes of that evening of him on top of me, me pushing him off, him grabbing me. It was a lot more aggressive. It was aggressive.

BROWN: Did you say no?

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Yes, I said no. I said I -- in my flash that I can recall, I was pushing him off of me saying no.

BROWN: And what did he do?

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: He didn't stop.

BROWN: He didn't stop? And you woke up the next morning. UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I woke up the next morning naked alone in his hotel room. I, for a moment, didn't even know I was in his hotel room. That's how intoxicated I was. And I called my mom, the only person I could think that could help me.

BROWN: Her mother confirmed her account in an interview with CNN. CNN also reviewed screenshots of texts she sent to a friend saying she was, quote, sexually assaulted by Eric. She also shared this note from a physician's assistant calling her a, quote, survivor after she went to get tested for STDs one week later.

Why do you feel like it's so important to speak up now?

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: When I found out there were others who might have been impacted by Eric in different ways, I realized I couldn't be scared anymore because that is how he keeps us quiet, the fear, the shame.

BROWN: In addition to this former staffer, three other women who spoke with CNN also alleged sexual misconduct by Swalwell. One said he kissed her and touched her without her consent. Two of the women said he sent them unsolicited explicit messages or nude images of himself, something the other say Swalwell did with them as well. One shared this message where he commented on her photo and wrote, quote, that swimsuit with an expletive. You like it, she responded. Yes, very much like, he wrote.

In a statement to CNN, Swalwell said, quote, these allegations are false and come on the eve of an election against the frontrunner for governor. For nearly 20 years, I have served the public as a prosecutor and a congressman and have always protected women.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: There is another me out there. There is another young girl who dreams of working in this field and believes in him and could fall into this trap.

BROWN: And that's why you're speaking out?

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Yes.

BROWN: You want to protect others like you when you were young.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: No one protected me. Sorry. No one protected me and I don't want someone else to suffer because I know what I know.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

BROWN (on camera): And since then the release of that and our reporting from the team, Swalwell has ended his gubernatorial campaign. There are calls for him now to resign from Congress or possibly face expulsion, including from his Democratic colleagues.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

REP. EUGENE VINDMAN (D-VA): The accusations are absolutely heinous and his admissions betraying his family are deplorable. So, Eric Swalwell needs to resign. He needs to drop out of the race.

REP. RO KHANNA (D-VA): Not only should he resign, there needs to be an investigation in law enforcement.

REP. JOHNNY OLSZEWSKI (D-MD): Credible women have come forward in this instance. He was right to suspend his campaign. He should resign from Congress. And if he doesn't, there's a mechanism through which we can do that.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BROWN: Former staffers for Swalwell recently wrote in a letter, quote, we call on all relevant law enforcement authorities to open a full and thorough investigation into the allegations against Congressman Swalwell without delay.

[10:25:01]

No one is above the law, not a congressman, not a candidate for governor, no one. Justice is not optional. Accountability is not negotiable. We will not be silent, end quote.

And if you or anyone you know has been sexually assaulted or abused, there is help. You can call the National Sexual Assault Hotline at 1- 800-656-4673. It's available 24 hours a day, seven days a week.

We'll be right back.

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BROWN: We are following breaking news overnight that Democratic Congressman Eric Swalwell has ended his campaign for governor of California. Four women accused --