Return to Transcripts main page

The Situation Room

Trump Says, War With Iran is Very Closer to Over; Israel and Lebanon Agree to More Talks After Historic First Round; L.A. County Sheriff's Department Probing Allegations Against Swalwell. Aired 10- 10:30a ET

Aired April 15, 2026 - 10:00   ET

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

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[10:00:00]

PAMELA BROWN, CNN ANCHOR: Happening now, breaking news. President Trump says the war with Iran is, quote, very close to being over, as The Washington Post reports he's sending thousands more troops to the Middle East. The new reporting coming from the White House this morning.

Plus, new allegations, disgraced former Congressman Eric Swalwell facing a new investigation this time in Los Angeles County after a woman says Swalwell raped her in 2018, something Swalwell strongly denies and CNN has not been able to independently corroborate.

And hero principal, how he stopped a gunman out of high school as students sit nearby.

WOLF BLITZER, CNN ANCHOR: Also happening now, breaking news, exchanging strikes. Despite historic talks in Washington, Hezbollah in Lebanon and Israel continue trading strikes. Where the ceasefire talks stand, we'll update you on that.

Plus, papal criticism, Vice President Vance says the pope should be more careful when talking about theology.

And later, Congresswoman Elise Stefanik joins us here in The Situation Room to talk about anti-Semitism on college campuses.

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.

This morning, we're hearing new comments from President Trump on the war with Iran. He suggests peace talks with Iran could resume this week before the ceasefire is due to end. And he says the war may actually be close to being over. But keep in mind, the president has been claiming victory for weeks. Listen.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

DONALD TRUMP, U.S. PRESIDENT: We've won. Let me tell you, we've won. You know, you never like to say too early, you won. We won. We won the bet. In the first hour, it was over. Oh, I think we've won. And we've knocked out their Navy. We've knocked out everything.

You know, I don't like to say this, we've won this. This war has been won. We won, okay? They are militarily defeated.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BLITZER: And new satellite images show Iran is digging for missile launchers that were buried by U.S. and Israeli strikes. According to the photo reviewed by CNN, front end loaders can be seen scooping up rubble from the blocked tunnels and loading it into nearby dump trucks.

CNN correspondents are fanned out around the globe to bring you all the latest developments in this very, very important story.

Let's go live to CNN's Alayna Treene over at the White House. First of all, Alayna, walk us through some of the headlines from the president's latest comments.

ALAYNA TREENE, CNN WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT: Yes. Look, so this morning, he, or at least the interview was aired his comments with Maria Bartiromo on Fox News, he talked about the war, arguing that he believes it's very close to over, and also claimed that Iran was about a month away from being able to make a nuclear weapon. Listen to what he said.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

MARIA BARTIROMO, FOX BUSINESS HOST: Is this war over?

TRUMP: I think it's close to over. Yes. I mean, I view it as very close to over. You know, if I pulled up stakes right now, it would take them 20 years to rebuild that country. And we're not finished, but we'll see what happens. I think they want to make a deal very badly.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

TREENE: So, you could hear there, he's saying he thinks they want to make a deal very badly, that it's -- he believes it's very close to being over. As you mentioned, Wolf, I mean, he's been declaring victory like this for weeks now, saying that he believes the war was close to over.

I think the difference now, of course, though, is that we have this ceasefire and they are working behind the scenes to try and find a diplomatic off-ramp here. But I do want you to listen as well to what he said about Iran's nuclear capabilities.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

TRUMP: They would've had a nuclear weapon within one month, maybe two weeks, and they would've used it on Israel in the Middle East, and they would've used it on us too. And not just Israel, by the way, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, UAE, countries that were shocked when they got hit. You know, these countries were not expected to be hit because they were going after those countries. They were going over to take over the Middle East and we stopped them.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

TREENE: I think that answer there, Wolf, from the president gives you a little insight into just how he views this.

[10:05:02]

And it's the same thing, I'm told, in my conversations with White House officials, that he believes that these strikes on Iran, going to war with Iran was kind of the U.S. trying to be a leader here in preventing them from having a nuclear weapon. Of course, you see -- you hear different things from different leaders, including European leaders, about whether or not that's true.

But all to say he also talked about the economy. He talked about the naval blockade, but all in all didn't really offer much news or anything really new during those remarks. Wolf?

BLITZER: Alayna, the president also teased more peace talks, another round of peace talks with Iran. Is there any movement that we know of on that this morning?

TREENE: Yes. Look, they're definitely working toward it, Wolf. They're hoping to get a second round of these face-to-face in-person talks between the United States and the Iranians. But we are told that, you know, there's been some reporting out this morning of this idea that perhaps they could extend the ceasefire to allow more time for these negotiations.

A senior U.S. official told me essentially that they have not formally agreed to do that, though in my conversations with administration officials, they're still leaving that possibility on the table. Because I'd remind you the ceasefire actually expires next week on April 21st. And so if they want to try to get this second round of talks in line before that happens, it would have to be in the next few days. I am told behind the scenes that is something they're working toward. But, of course, we have to see whether or not that'll actually materialize.

BLITZER: We'll see what happens.

Alayna Treene at the White House, thank you very, very much. Pamela?

BROWN: All right, Wolf. Let's go to Nic Robertson in Islamabad, Pakistan. Nic, you're getting some new information about a Pakistani delegation arriving in Iran. What can you tell us?

NIC ROBERTSON, CNN INTERNATIONAL DIPLOMATIC EDITOR: Yes. This is a very, very senior level, top level Pakistan delegation arrived in Iran to try to push the talks forward to try to see if they can bring Iran closer towards that sort of final offer, if you will, best than final offer that J.D. Vance spoke about as he left Islamabad over the weekend, early Sunday morning.

We know that it is Asim Munir, Field Marshall Asim Munir, the most powerful man in Pakistan, the head of the army, the man who's been leading and spearheading all the talks and interlocutor between both the White House and the Iranian side, and now he is in Tehran. So, this really seems to indicate some momentum and some effort. And certainly to the sources I'm talking to here, it's bringing to them a sense of we're getting -- there is momentum building. There is some positivity towards another round of U.S.-Iranian talks here in Islamabad.

Now, the sticking point's very clear on the Iranian uranium enrichment that Iran has in place, the United States wanting to get access to all the highly enriched material, to destroy those enrichment facilities, to remove from Iran all that sort of high level enrichment capability.

Now, the details of that Iran has been very resistant to, as we understand, but over the weekend, from what we understood, a lot was moved forward in the negotiations. I think they're a lot closer on opening the Strait of Hormuz. Of course, Iran is demanding reparation for war damage, sanctions relief, access to frozen assets.

So, there's still a lot to be negotiated. We're not there. But when you get the Pakistani field marshall landing in Tehran for talks, that tells you there's momentum towards the next round.

BROWN: All right. Nic Robertson, thank you so much. Wolf?

BLITZER: CNN's Salma Abdelaziz is joining us now live from London with the latest on the ceasefire talks going on between Israel and Lebanon. Salma, what are you learning this morning?

SALMA ABDELAZIZ, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Good morning. Well, for you heard there from our colleague Nic Robertson about the momentum for talks. Well, that absolutely depends on what takes place in Lebanon. This is a very promising headline, the first talks to take place between senior officials from Lebanon and Israel in more than 40 years have taken place with Secretary of State Marco Rubio in place. But, and here's the big but, these were very preliminary conversations at best. There was nothing that necessarily came out of them other than the promise by both sides that there would be more talks, further talks at a later date and time in place to be determined at some other points.

So, very vague, of course, conclusion there, and what some important to note here, Wolf, is while these talks were taking place, the conflict was ongoing. Hezbollah fired some 30 rockets at Lebanon according to the Israeli military. Now, most of those rockets fell in open spaces or were intercepted, so there was no damage or casualties.

But Israel continued its offensive on Southern Lebanon as well. It says in the last 24 hours, it's hit 200 different sites, 200 different locations that it says belongs to Hezbollah.

[10:10:04]

I cannot overemphasize just how difficult, just how much suffering there is on the ground in Lebanon during this conflict since this ramped up at the beginning of March. We know that more than 2000 people have been killed in Lebanon. We understand from Israeli sources that the scope and scale of their conflict on Lebanon has diminished to the southern parts of the country, but that's simply not going to be enough for Tehran. Hezbollah is Iran's proxy in Lebanon and you can bet that they're demanding that ceasefire. Wolf?

BLITZER: All right. Salma Abdelaziz reporting for us, thank you, Salma, very, very much. Pamela?

BROWN: All right, Wolf. Still ahead, we'll be joined by a Democratic Congressman from California Sam Liccardo as a new accuser comes forward against Eric Swalwell.

BLITZER: And feeding frenzy caught on camera, a fisherman finds himself surrounded by sharks just off the coast of North Carolina. We'll update you.

Stay with us. You're in The Situation Room.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[10:15:00]

BLITZER: Happening now, the Los Angeles County Sheriff's Department is now investigating new allegations against now former Democratic Congressman Eric Swalwell of California. Here's what Lonna Drewes told CNN about an encounter she says took place back in 2018. And a warning to our viewers, it is disturbing.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

LONNA DREWES, SWALWELL ACCUSER: I can't believe that he felt so cavalier that he would just drug me and then rape me and then choke me.

I couldn't move my arm. So, he was on top of me choking me, and all I could do was just watch. And I passed out. I thought I was dead. I thought I died. And then I woke up at like 4:00 in the morning and he was next to me and I left.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BLITZER: Lonna Drewes' attorney declined to share detailed corroboration of Drewes' claims and CNN could not independently verify the allegations.

A lawyer for Swalwell said in a statement, and I'm quoting now, Swalwell categorically and unequivocally denies each and every allegation of sexual misconduct and assault that has been leveled against him, end quote.

Joining us now, Democratic Congressman Sam Liccardo of California. Congressman, thanks so much for joining us.

I know before your election, you actually served as a criminal prosecutor in sexual assault cases. Given your own personal experience, how concerning do you find these latest allegations against your now former colleague, Eric Swalwell?

REP. SAM LICCARDO (D-CA): Well, it's deeply concerned and certainly worthy of criminal investigation and prosecution. But I think we should start by thanking survivors like her who had the courage to come forward and to speak their truth to save other women from this fate. Unfortunately, they had to do so because the system failed.

BLITZER: You wrote in a social media post this week about Eric Swalwell this, and I'm quoting you now, for a man long rumored to menace young female coworkers, why did so many powerful people look the other way and even support him, end quote? Had you heard actual rumors about Swalwell in the past? And if so, do you regret not speaking out earlier?

LICCARDO: Well, I've been in Congress for 15 months and I could say I first heard about the rumors when Swalwell announced his run for governor in November and knew some political consultants who talked about what we call oppo files, these opposition records that political consultants compile talking about Swalwell's sexual misconduct.

At that time, nobody was talking about rape as we're hearing now. It was not sexual assault, but clearly sexual misconduct, abuse of his position. And there's no question, I think, as Senator Gallego said, rumors about that were going on for many, many years. And you can't act individually on rumors, but, certainly, when you have a swirl of rumors like this, it raises the question, why wasn't there action taken?

And equally important, not just what happened here in D.C., but in California, why did so many powerful groups and individuals get behind a man that had so many swirling rumors of sexual misconduct? Why weren't important questions asked?

BLITZER: Good question. As you know, Congressman, Republican Tony Gonzalez was actually forced to resign his job as well from Congress amid allegations of inappropriate sexual relations with staff. Why, in your view, is this issue seemingly so pervasive right now in the halls of Congress?

LICCARDO: Well, it's pervasive in many institutions, but certainly in Congress, there's unique opportunities, I think, particularly for men, to abuse their positions of power. And certainly as a criminal prosecutor, I understood that was where it ultimately started.

But I think we need to understand there's a lot that needs to be done here in Congress. And the fact that there are now resignations mean these ethics investigations go away, and that can't happen. We need the Ethics Committee to be asking hard questions. Were people acting on complaints, what actions were taken, and also what complaints weren't made and why weren't they being made?

I think we need to understand more. I think, you know, predecessors of mine, like Jackie Speier, led efforts in 2018 to try to reform the system. [10:20:01]

The question we need to ask is, are those reforms not working? Do we need to be doing more? I think obviously there's much more we do need to do.

BLITZER: You have voiced your support for the Swalwell staff who have actually spoken out about their former boss' behavior. What can and should lawmakers do to better ensure they're held to the same rules and standards as almost everyone else?

LICCARDO: Well, I think it's important to empower your staff to speak out and to make sure everybody feels comfortable doing so. And, frankly, I think we have a problem in Congress because we have 535 members who run their own fiefdoms in their offices.

And I think we need more independent management of these staff so people feel comfortable knowing they can go to someone else other than an elected official or someone who directly works for one to be able to ensure that there is an environment that is conducive for everyone feeling safe.

So, there are certainly reforms we can make as an institution, but as an employer, I've certainly learned from this episode we need to do more to empower all of our employees to speak up.

BLITZER: Your other colleagues in Congress, including Democrat Sheila Cherfilus-McCormick and Republican Cory Mills, are also embroiled right now in scandals on Capitol Hill. Do you believe they should both resign? And if they do not, should they be expelled from Congress?

LICCARDO: Yes as to both. And, look, we're going to get formal recommendations from the Ethics Committee shortly, but I think we're seeing, particularly on the Republican side, a real gaming of the timing of this. Cory Mills was referred for ethics investigation back in November. We have all been waiting for the Ethics Committee to come forward with its recommendation. That hasn't happened. We know the longer he stays on, the longer the Republicans hang on to that one vote that they critically need in this very narrow margin that they have.

So, I think we need new rules. We need a shot clock that says and when something's referred to the Ethics Committee, then you've got 120 days, whatever it might be, to get a recommendation out and get to a vote. We can't have these very serious ethical transgressions persisting in this institution, undermines everything we're doing and obviously the public confidence in the institution.

BLITZER: Congressman Sam Liccardo of California, thanks so much for joining us.

LICCARDO: Great to be with you, Wolf.

BLITZER: Thank you. And, Pamela?

BROWN: All right. Coming up here in The Situation Room, Wolf, Vice President Vance is warning to Pope Leo when it comes to talking about theology. That's next.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[10:25:00]

BROWN: Well, new this morning, President Trump is escalating his feud with the Pope. Just days after blasting Pope Leo for being, quote, weak on crime, President Trump, in an overnight post on social media, suggested the Catholic pontiff is unaware of Iran's harsh actions against its own people, writing, quote, someone please tell Pope Leo that Iran has killed at least 42,000 innocent, completely unarmed protesters in the last two months, adding, it's absolutely unacceptable for the country to have a nuclear weapon.

Here with us now is CNN Chief National Affairs Correspondent Jeff Zeleny. Jeff, President Trump is not the only person in the administration going after the pope right now.

JEFF ZELENY, CNN CHIEF NATIONAL AFFAIRS CORRESPONDENT: Pam, this has been an extraordinary back and forth, really running into its third day now with President Trump, and you're right, now with J.D. Vance, who is a Catholic. He's a convert to Catholicism.

But he was in Georgia last evening speaking at a Turning Point USA rally, and he has been defending the president, as he always does, but he also offered some interesting words about the pope, somewhat of a warning for him about what he should and should not talk about.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

J.D. VANCE, U.S. VICE PRESIDENT: I think it's very, very important for the pope to be careful when he talks about matters of theology.

If you're going to opine on matters of theology, you've got to be careful, you've got to make sure it's anchored in the truth. And that's one of the things that I try to do, and it's certainly something I would expect from the clergy, whether they're Catholic or Protestant.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

ZELENY: So, that was certainly very interesting there, the vice president, but also a fairly new Catholic essentially wagging his finger at the pope and saying, be careful what you talk about.

But what's so interesting about this is that Pope Leo, of course, the first American-born pope, is so popular across the broad base of the Catholic Church, among conservative Catholics as well as some liberal Catholics. And that's what makes him different than the previous fights that the president picked with Pope Francis, who is not as popular a broad brush. So, that's why this is so interesting.

But the White House is sort of treating the pope as a political figure going back and forth. That's not how the pope sees this at all. He's on a trip to Africa. And our Christopher Lamb, who's traveling there with him, has been filing excellent reports. And the pope is not backing down at all. He's talking about the need to spread unity and peace. So, this is absolutely fascinating to watch unfold.

BROWN: It certainly is. And also on J.D. Vance's part, he's writing a book about his conversion to Catholicism, I believe, from 2019.

So, that aside, let's talk about the upcoming midterms. President Trump weighed in on that. Here's what he said in a recent interview.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

BARTIROMO: Do you expect the Republicans to lose seats in the House? And what does that mean for your agenda?

TRUMP: Well, I just left with Mike Johnson and some great people, some great congressmen and women in the Oval Office. I think we're going to do good.

Now, with that being said, when somebody gets elected president, that party always loses the midterms. We have to explain to the voters so importantly the great job that we've done, because there's no reason why the Republican should be losing.

[10:30:07]