Return to Transcripts main page

The Situation Room

New Video of Correspondents' Dinner Attack; Congress Vote to Reopen Parts of DHS Without ICE Funding; Iran Has Submitted Revised Proposal to End War. Aired 10-10:30a ET

Aired May 01, 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]

WOLF BLITZER, CNN ANCHOR: Happening now, breaking news, investigators releasing new video and images of the alleged gunman from Saturday's White House Correspondents' Dinner. What we're learning about the planning before the attack.

Plus, gas prices surging again, the average now $4.39 per gallon. I'll talk about the cost of the war with Iran with Democratic Congressman Josh Gottheimer. He's standing by live.

And breaking developments out of London right now, the man accused of stabbing two Jewish men is now charged with attempted murder. The mood in the city's Jewish community as the U.K. raises its terrorism threat level, I'll speak about that and more with Britain's chief rabbi.

Welcome to our viewers here in the United States and around the world. I'm Wolf Blitzer. Pamela Brown is off today. You're in The Situation Room.

We begin this hour with the breaking news. There is new surveillance video of the attack outside the White House Correspondents' Dinner. Watch the upper left of your screen in the white circle. Prosecutors say it shows the suspected gunman walk through a doorway. He appears to have something slung over his shoulder. He's followed by a law enforcement officer with a dog. The K-9 team lingers outside the doorway and seconds pass. When the officer turns away, the suspect bolts out of the doorway and charges through the security checkpoint.

Prosecutors say he fires the first shot.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

JEANINE PIRRO, U.S. ATTORNEY FOR THE DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA: What we do know is that he fired off that 12-gauge shotgun one time. The cartridge was still in the weapon. He fired that gun in the direction of the Secret Service officer. And what we do know is that the Secret Service officer fired his weapon five times.

The Secret Service agent did not shoot himself.

(END VIDEO CLIP) BLITZER: Here is the attack in slow motion. Now watch for the circles. Prosecutors say they have circled each gunshot. They say the gunman shot the Secret Service agent who was saved by a ballistic vest. That same officer fired five times. Witnesses say the suspect fell almost immediately and was arrested. He was just one floor away from the President of the United States and members of his cabinet.

Prosecutors also released this photo. They say Cole Tomas Allen took a picture of himself in his hotel room just minutes before the attack. They say it shows him outfitted with an ammunition bag, a knife and a shoulder holster for his handgun.

I want to bring in CNN Crime and Justice Correspondent Katelyn Polantz. Katelyn, you've been pouring over all these tapes that have just been released. What jumps out at you?

KATELYN POLANTZ, CNN SENIOR CRIME AND JUSTICE CORRESPONDENT: Well, Wolf, this is the Justice Department attempting to fill in some detail about how exactly the shooting happened, who fired when, toward whom, at what time, whenever this shooting occurred outside of the ballroom where the president was during the White House Correspondents' Dinner on Saturday night.

Now, Wolf, this is the Justice Department's retelling at this point in time. We haven't heard what Cole Allen's defense lawyers would say about this, but this video slowed down a more clear capturing of him running through the magnetometers and those shots being fired. That is now something we had not seen before, and it's been provided to the federal district court, as well as to the public.

The U.S. attorney, Jeanine Pirro, she says that this is evidence that there was not friendly fire that hit a U.S. Secret Service officer, that it was Cole Allen who shot the U.S. Secret Service officer there at the bottom left of the screen, firing the first shot out of a shotgun, and then the Secret Service officer who was hit in his ballistic protective vest, firing five shots back at him before Cole Allen exits out of the frame there and then falls to the ground.

[10:05:13]

That's a little bit more than what the Justice Department had said in court before. They said that he was firing his shotgun toward the direction of the stairs leading down to the ballroom.

So, this is the Justice Department attempting to piece together a little bit more here about who he fired at and that he was aiming at the Secret Service officer who was hit.

BLITZER: And all this happening just above the ballroom, which was one small floor below that area. Why are these tapes, Katelyn, being released now?

POLANTZ: Well, Wolf, they're being released now because the Justice Department says they want to complete the record here. They had wanted to share this in court yesterday for a detention hearing for Cole Allen, but he came to court and spoke to his lawyers and said he wasn't going to challenge the Justice Department wanting to keep him behind bars as he awaits trial. So, they didn't actually get to put that evidence out there. So, instead, they dropped it in the docket. The U.S. attorney, Jeanine Pirro, put it out on social media and we now have it as the public and the press.

It does though raise some questions, and there have been several questions put to Pirro, put to the US Secret Service director yesterday, did Cole Allen actually shoot that agent and when? The Secret Service director in a television appearance said that he shot the Secret Service agent point blank or at point blank range.

But there are people who've looked very closely at that video, including The Washington Post, and very likely Cole Allen's defense team now will be looking, trying to figure out does that actually capture him firing a shot out of that shotgun? Where is the muzzle flash? And there are others that are recoiling at the time of the shotgun -- of the shot, alleged shot, in this. So, that is all going to be questions that circulate around this case as it moves forward toward an indictment by a grand jury in Washington.

BLITZER: And those tapes released by Janine Pirro, the U.S. attorney for the District of Columbia.

Katelyn Polantz, thank you very much for your reporting.

Also happening now, the longest government shutdown in U.S. history is over after 75 days of bipartisan finger-pointing. Congress voted Thursday to reopen key parts of the Department of Homeland Security, including the TSA. President Trump quickly signed it into law.

The end of this showdown is seen as a major retreat for Speaker Mike Johnson and House Republicans because the funding bill does not include federal immigration enforcement.

CNN Congressional Correspondent Lauren Fox has more reporting on all of this.

Lauren, conservative hardliners held this bill up for weeks and weeks. So, what changed?

LAUREN FOX, CNN CONGRESSIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Yes. Essentially what changed is conservatives realized that this was the only option on the table. For about a month, Speaker Mike Johnson has been toiling over what to do with the Senate-passed bill that would have funded all the parts of the Department of Homeland Security, except those immigration enforcement agencies, like ICE and CBP.

And Senate Republicans passed it, Wolf, not just once but twice, because Speaker Mike Johnson railed against this proposal. But over the course of the last several weeks, it has become apparent that there is no other option to reopen this agency. And, ultimately, after a really tumultuous week in the House of Representatives, where Speaker Johnson was trying to get across the finish line, items like a key surveillance program, the farm bill, and, of course, this funding mechanism, eventually, conservatives relented.

And here's one of them, Representative Chip Roy of Texas.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

REP. CHIP ROY (R-TX): So, by getting the budget in path and the process, that gives us comfort to be able to move forward. That was always the issue. Obviously, some of us -- if there was a vote, I would have voted no. But we weren't going to win that vote. So, we decided to go ahead and let it go by voice.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

FOX: Now, Republicans are going to fund those immigration enforcement agencies with a Republican-only process known as reconciliation, but, obviously, Wolf, this has been a really painful 75 days for the Department of Homeland Security.

BLITZER: And just to be precise, Lauren, the refunding of the TSA means those long lines that we've all been experiencing at major airports all over the country, they're going to be gone, right? We'll be able to go through relatively quickly once again, the TSA agents are going to be paid?

FOX: Well, certainly, Wolf, that is part of this negotiation. But I would also just point out that the president had signed a rule that essentially allowed the TSA workers to be paid. So, those lines had ceased. But there were warnings that if they didn't make this next pay period, perhaps those lines would come back to Americans who obviously were really unhappy when they were waiting in those three, four-hour lines. Wolf?

BLITZER: Yes, very unhappy indeed.

All right, Lauren Fox reporting for us, as usual, thank you very, very much.

[10:10:00]

And still ahead, deadline disagreement. Lawmakers and the Trump administration have different views on continuing the war with Iran. We're live at the White House as the ceasefire right now hangs in the balance.

And later, could drones prevent school shootings? Starting today, one state is trying them out. We have details you're in The Situation Room.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

BLITZER: We have breaking news this morning on the war with Iran. Tehran has now delivered a new proposal to try to end the conflict. It was sent to mediators in Pakistan, that according to sources familiar with the negotiation process.

[10:15:00]

President Trump rejected a previous version. Also happening now, members of Congress and the White House are at an impasse over how long the war has gone on and whether President Trump has the authority to continue it. A post-Vietnam War law starts a 60- day clock on the use of military force without Congressional authorization.

Many lawmakers say that deadline is today, but some Republicans and administration officials are arguing the ceasefire period doesn't count towards the 60-day total.

Here's how President Trump is responding.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

DONALD TRUMP, U.S. PRESIDENT: They go again and again, the war power. I'm negotiating a deal with Iran. And every week, every three days, they put in a thing that the war should stop and the -- and people ask me, how the hell do you negotiate like that? You're destroying them.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BLITZER: The Senate rejected another measure yesterday to limit the president's war powers. It was the sixth rejection this year.

Let's go live to CNN Senior White House Reporter Kevin Liptak. Kevin, what else is the Trump administration saying about this timeline?

KEVIN LIPTAK, CNN SENIOR WHITE HOUSE REPORTER: They are making pretty clear this morning, Wolf, that for the purposes of this law, which is designed to restrain a president's military powers, they think that this war is over. An administration official telling me this morning that, quote, for war powers resolution purposes, the hostilities that began on February 28th have terminated.

They point to this ceasefire that's been in place since April 7th and has since been extended. And they say, quote, there has been no exchange of fire between U.S. armed forces and Iran since Tuesday, April 7th. So, making the argument here that, according to them, the war is quote terminated and no authorization is needed.

It does underscore an argument that the defense secretary, Pete Hegseth, tried to make on Capitol Hill yesterday. Listen to what he said.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

PETE HEGSETH, DEFENSE SECRETARY: On Iran, ultimately, I would defer to the White House and White House Counsel on that. However, we are in a ceasefire right now, which our understanding means the 60-day clock pauses or stops in a ceasefire. So, they're not in. That's our understanding, just so you know.

SEN. TIM KAINE (D-VA): Okay. Well, I do not believe the statute would support that.

(END VIDEO CLIP) LIPTAK: So, this is a novel legal argument that the administration is trying to make. There's nothing in the statute that suggests there's a pause button on the 60-day requirement, although we should note Trump is not the first president to sort of bypass this law. Members of both parties, presidents of both parties have essentially suggested that it could be unconstitutional.

We should also note this is a legal deadline, but it's also something of a political deadline for President Trump. Many Republicans who have unconditionally supported this war have suggested that this could be something of a pivot point, and they do want to put their stamp on approval or disapproval on this war pretty soon. Wolf?

BLITZER: All right. Kevin Liptak at the White House, thank you very, very much.

Let's get some more on all of these developments. I want to bring in Democratic Congressman Josh Gottheimer of New Jersey. He serves on the House Intelligence Committee and is well-briefed.

What's your understanding, Congressman, of the legal deadline for President Trump to get approval from Congress for military action against Iran, and how can lawmakers hold the White House to that?

REP. JOSH GOTTHEIMER (D-NJ): Well, I agree with the assessment that I just heard that there's no pause button here, right? And we know the conflict started two months ago. It started officially Wednesday, but with the War Powers Act, it gives a 48-hour window for the president to inform and the clock to start.

The clock started, we've hit 60 days, and I think one of the great areas of frustration that many of us in the Congress feel is that despite, I believe, Iran is an enemy of our country, the government there, and under the banner of death to America, they're the leading state sponsor of terror, so I have no problem with crushing the government of Iran, but my challenge remains that we need to be briefed.

And that now with the War Powers Act clock being hit, it's imperative that the administration come to us and ask for an authorization to use military force or a formal declaration of war. And that's where we are right now, and that's my read of the War Powers Act.

BLITZER: Yes, today is May 1st. It's exactly 60 days. We've repeatedly seen Congress fail to pass measures aimed at limiting President Trump's wartime authorities. So, what do you say to critics who argue the legislative branch has rendered itself powerless during the conflict with Iran and the second Trump administration more broadly?

GOTTHEIMER: Well, Wolf, to your point, you know, from Congress' authority, and we have formal War Declaration Authority, and under the War Powers Act, which we pass and is in law it, the Congress has a important role to play here, both in terms of funding a war and oversight. I'm on the Intelligence Committee and, you know, we've not had one single formal briefing about the conflict. [10:20:00]

And more broadly speaking, the administration hasn't come to the Hill for formal briefings on the conflict in terms of the progress we've made, clear objectives, when we know we will meet those objectives. And, Wolf, you know, under international law, there's a blockade right now in the Straits of Hormuz and that counts as an act of war.

So, as far as I'm concerned, the clock has continued to tick and, you know, it's more important than ever that the administration briefs us. So, we're asked for that authorization of force. And when we come back in about a week, that's what many of us will expect.

But, you know, the key here, Wolf, is information, making sure that the country understands where we're at, what the objectives are. They're obviously -- people are very frustrated by -- they go to the gas station and they see their gas up significantly in Jersey here. It's an average of $4.27 a gallon. People are pissed and they just want to understand what's going on.

And, again, I support crushing Iran. I think it's critically important that we understand they're our enemy. They've killed Americans, attacked our bases, they are the leading state sponsor of terror and backed terrorist proxies. But, again, we have a responsibility in the Congress to understand what's going on and to be briefed properly, but also, under the War Powers Act, to provide that formal authorization.

BLITZER: And the War Powers Act, that's a law of the land. It was approved by the House, the Senate, signed into law by the president.

So, is President Trump breaking the law right now? Is that your assessment?

GOTTHEIMER: My assessment is that if he hasn't asked us for a formal authorization of force, use of military force and AUMF, or ask for a formal declaration of war, then we've now hit that period where he has to follow that or it leads to a 30-day drawdown. That's the window I believe we're in right now.

Again, I think the important thing here is to make sure that we not only crush Iran, protect our servicemen and women, but understand that what's going on in the straits, the blockade, this game of chicken going on, which, obviously, I will do everything we can to make sure we win that game of chicken with Iran. But the bottom line is I believe there's been a trigger here with the authorization or requirement of an authorization of force and under the War Powers Act.

BLITZER: On a sensitive issue related to all of this, President Trump said yesterday he's considering reducing U.S. troop levels in some allied countries, including NATO allies, Germany, Spain, Italy, for example, amid various disagreements over the Iran war. What's your position on that, Congressman?

GOTTHEIMER: Well, I want to see -- you know, as you know, there's a lot of things that come out sometimes in this administration. I want to see the details and if that was just bluster or reality, and I've asked for a briefing on that. Obviously, I believe it's critically important that we stand strong with our NATO allies, that we make sure we protect our interests in the region and our security in the region and that are ready, and that we have our proper readiness in the region. And those are the kind of questions that I'll ask.

You know, I don't mind our European allies ponying up more and paying their share. And that's -- I agree with the administration that. In a lot of cases they haven't been and they should. But what this is about is what's best for America's national security. That's always my number one interest, whether that's crushing Iran or making sure that we're ready and stand ready with our European allies.

BLITZER: Congressman Josh Gottheimer of New Jersey, thanks, as usual, for joining us.

GOTTHEIMER: Wolf, thanks for having me. I appreciate it.

BLITZER: Thank you.

Coming up A.I. in the workplace with more companies investing heavily in artificial intelligence. What's the likelihood A.I. will take your job? We're making it make sense. That's next.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[10:25:00]

BLITZER: New this morning, Mark Zuckerberg, the CEO of Facebook's parent company, Meta, says that planned layoffs are due to increased spending on artificial intelligence, and he declined to rule out even more job cuts.

CNN Business Senior Reporter David Goldman is here to make it make sense for all of us.

David, today's question, a lot of Americans are asking themselves, is A.I coming for my job?

DAVID GOLDMAN, CNN BUSINESS SENIOR REPORTER: Yes, it's such a good question, Wolf. I think that, you know, this is on so many people's minds because of all those headlines that we're seeing.

Now, I know a little bit about this, but Hadas Gold, our A.I. correspondent, knows a lot about this. So, I wanted to ask her the answer to this question. Here's what she said.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

HADAS GOLD, CNN A.I. CORRESPONDENT: Some people say that these are just companies that are doing restructuring for financial reasons. Some people are saying some of these companies were bloated and that just A.I. is a convenient excuse and looks good for their boards and for their shareholders. In some cases, I'm sure it is true because A.I. can do the jobs of some of these positions today and/or these companies are looking to the future and saying, well, pretty soon these A.I. tools will be able to do these functions with a much smaller team.

So, while it's not going to completely, you know, eliminate an entire team, you might need only one or two people for a team instead of a team of ten.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

GOLDMAN: All right. So, listen, this is a big, big problem, and I think that one of the things that we're seeing is how this is creating a lot of job cuts in America.

[10:30:06]