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The Situation Room

Iranian Military Says it Targeted U.S. Bases in Kuwait and Bahrain; Ukraine Strikes Back Against Russia; Sources: George Santos Investigated for Alleged Insider Trading; Sources: Ethics Committee Probing Rep. Gomez Sexual Misconduct Claims. Aired 11:30-12p ET

Aired June 03, 2026 - 11:30   ET

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

[11:30:00]

PETE MUNTEAN, CNN CORRESPONDENT: -- in criminal charges, but this latest case, Wolf, could bring up to 20 years in prison if Reyes is found guilty.

WOLF BLITZER, CNN ANCHOR: And if you're a passenger, it's pretty scary to be on a flight like that.

MUNTEAN: No doubt.

BLITZER: Pete Muntean, thank you very much.

MUNTEAN: Any time.

BLITZER: Pamela.

PAMELA BROWN, CNN ANCHOR: All right. Just ahead here in The Situation Room, Ukraine strikes back against Russia, hitting targets in St. Petersburg as it tries to turn the tide of the war. We'll be right back.

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BLITZER: We're following breaking news. The Iranian military now confirms it's targeted U.S. military bases across the Persian Gulf, including in Kuwait and Bahrain in response to U.S. strikes.

[11:35:00]

Let's discuss with CNN military analyst and retired U.S. Air Force Colonel Cedric Leighton. Colonel, thanks very much for being with us. Both Iran and the U.S. have been trading major strikes over these past couple days, putting this so-called ceasefire pretty much under complete disaster, if you will. How concerned are you that this could be, the ceasefire could be in major jeopardy?

COL. CEDRIC LEIGHTON, U.S. AIR FORCE (RET.) AND CNN MILITARY ANALYST: I'm very concerned, Wolf. I think one of the things that you have to look at here is the volume of the attacks that's going on and also the targets that are being hit. We have the Kuwait International Airport, Terminal 1 of that airport has been hit and the destruction has been quite significant. So, what this shows is that the air defenses, air and missile defenses in the Persian Gulf region are not what they should be. It's been pretty clear really for years that the Iranians would be attacking infrastructure targets like this and U.S. military installations.

So, the fact that those air defenses, those air and missile defenses have not been beefed up in preparation for this conflict is really quite telling and quite disturbing.

BLITZER: The Kuwait International Airport is not a U.S. military base, it's a Kuwait -- major air, it's a major commercial air hub for Kuwaiti airlines.

LEIGHTON: Absolutely. It is also a major stepping stone for other airlines that go to the Middle East. Kuwait has been a very important country for the U.S. as an ally as well as economically it's a very important country for the Middle East and for it not to be protected in the way that it really deserves, that is something that is significant.

BLITZER: So, all of these countries in the Persian Gulf that have close relations with the United States whether Kuwait or Bahrain, the United Arab Emirates, Qatar, Oman, they all have to be worried now about potential Iranian attacks.

LEIGHTON: They do have to be worried. And one of the issues that that brings up, Wolf, is the fact that those countries are going to try to find an accommodation with Iran. That's going to weaken the U.S. position in the Persian Gulf. It's also going to weaken our capabilities to leverage those countries to gain other things that we need in the Persian Gulf region whether it's military aspects or commercial aspects and even diplomatic angles and that's something that is really significant because if these countries find it hard to be on our side because we're not protecting them, that's going to weaken our position not only in the Middle East but potentially globally as well.

BLITZER: Colonel, while I have you, I want to turn to Russia's war against Ukraine while we have you. Overnight Ukraine launched various strikes targeting key infrastructure in Russia including in St. Petersburg. Ukraine has rapidly developed its medium and long-range drones to attack various Russian targets. How sustainable are these efforts?

LEIGHTON: These efforts are quite sustainable because what the Ukrainians have been able to do is not only create a drone industry that is producing drones and missiles that have that significant of a range, but what they're also doing is they're diversifying their points of supply and their points of manufacturing.

So, it's very hard for the Russians to target these areas and it's also something where the Ukrainians, because of that basically diversity of locations, it's very important for the Ukrainians to use these because this is the way that they gain leverage. Neither side is going to really make progress on the ground, say in the Donetsk region for example or the Donbas region. But what's going to happen now is that the Russians of course are going to respond once again probably with major attacks against the population centers like Kyiv.

BLITZER: They've been doing it over the past several days, hitting major areas in the Ukrainian capital for example, destroying whole buildings, apartment buildings, killing a lot of civilians including children.

LEIGHTON: Absolutely. And this is going to be a significant problem for the Ukrainians because they don't have the air defenses that they need to defend against those missiles and those drones. But what they are doing is responding to the Russians and by taking -- in essence, taking the fight to Russia's economy, that really makes a difference. The things that were targeted in the St. Petersburg area were oil installations and that will have a significant impact on the Russian economy.

BLITZER: Yes, the Russia-Ukraine war is clearly escalating. Colonel Leighton, thank you very, very much. Pamela.

BROWN: All right. Wolf, we have some breaking news. Enter the Situation Room. A hostage standoff that began yesterday has now ended in Southern California. Police in Bakersfield say all the hostages have been released, some of whom were in the building for more than 12 hours and the suspect who had been barricaded inside a bank building is now dead.

CNN Correspondent Veronica Miracle is on the scene in Bakersfield. Veronica, tell us more.

VERONICA MIRACLE, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, Pam, there are still a lot of unanswered questions and we're hoping to get those answered at the press conference here. That's going to be happening in just a little bit, a little over an hour. But what we do know is that this is now into the investigation phase.

[11:40:00]

An officer-involved shooting investigation as well as an investigation into how all of this unfolded. It started at 1:00 p.m. yesterday, local time here, when police and headquarters is actually just a block away in this small little downtown area. They got a call of a bomb threat at this Chase building.

Now, we don't know exactly where inside the Chase building it happened. Was it on the ground floor? It's a multi-story building, but we understand this person barricaded himself inside with multiple members of the community. Two hostages were eventually released over this 15-hour period yesterday while investigators and negotiators were on the phone with the suspect. And then sometime early this morning, all of those hostages were released and an officer-involved shooting happened where the FBI took out that suspect.

Now, what we don't know is, did this person have a bomb strapped to them? We understand that no hostages were injured. And of course, the suspect was killed. So, how all of this unfolded, what this person's motive was, why they were there, those are questions we hope to get answered in the next hour. And of course, we'll bring it to you. Back to you, Pam.

BROWN: All right. Veronica Miracle, thank you so much. Wolf.

BLITZER: And also new this morning, the former New York Congressman George Santos now under investigation for potential insider trading. Sources tell CNN the prediction site Kalshi flagged suspicious activity on an account belonging to Santos. Kalshi froze the account and alerted federal regulators. Santos went to prison last year on federal fraud charges after being removed from Congress.

CNN Senior Reporter Marshall Cohen is here with us in the Situation Room. What more are you learning?

MARSHALL COHEN, CNN SENIOR REPORTER: Wolf, it's kind of a weird story, but potentially very serious for the former Congressman. So, we're talking about prediction sites where you can bet on nearly anything, sports, elections, the billboard charts, and also apparently the State of the Union, who was going to attend the State of the Union.

Now, Congressman Santos had said before that speech that he would be in attendance. He ultimately didn't show up. And my sources say that Kalshi noticed some strange activity on that market, which asked, will George Santos be at the State of the Union? They did their own investigation and they determined that Santos was the person behind those trades. They froze the account and referred the matter to the Justice Department and the CFTC for investigation. The CFTC is the federal agency that regulates prediction markets.

Now, my sources say that the CFTC is investigating the matter. Other outlets have reported that the DOJ has also launched an investigation. We've reached out to the DOJ on that. Santos did not respond to our request for comment, but he told NPR that he wasn't aware of any investigation. And also, for full disclosure, CNN has a partnership with Kalshi. We use its data to cover major events, but editorial employees like us are not allowed to bet on prediction sites.

BLITZER: Yes, good point. Very important point. Marshall Cohen, thank you very, very much. Pamela.

BROWN: All right. Thank you so much. And coming up, sources are telling lawmakers that they -- CNN law -- sorry, let me, let me start that over again. Coming up, sources tell CNN lawmakers are investigating another one of their own for sexual misconduct. Our exclusive new reporting on new ethics probe targeting Democratic Congressman Jimmy Gomez. We'll be right back.

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[11:45:00]

BROWN: And now, to our exclusive reporting. Three sources tell me and my CNN colleagues that the House Ethics Committee is investigating California Democratic Congressman Jimmy Gomez over allegations of sexual misconduct. The sources say the panel made early reach-outs in its attempt to follow up on a New York Post story alleging he was spotted kissing an aide who worked for another lawmaker in 2023.

A Gomez spokesperson denied those accounts to the Post at the time, but sources are now telling us that the Ethics Committee has since learned of other allegations of sexual misconduct against Gomez, leading to a probe. The investigation is still in its early stages and it doesn't mean there was wrongdoing, but all of this comes amid a broader reckoning on Capitol Hill after former Congressman Eric Swalwell, a Democrat, and Tony Gonzalez, a Republican, were forced to resign their seats in the face of claims of inappropriate sexual relations with staff.

Joining us now in the Situation Room is CNN investigative reporter Allison Gordon. You were on the team with me that broke this story yesterday, and it was really interesting to see the robust statement that Congressman Gomez gave us in response to our reporting. Tell us more about that.

ALLISON GORDON, CNN INVESTIGATIVE REPORTER: Yes, Pam. I mean, I think we were all surprised by how fulsome this response was, and I'll read to you in part. He said, years ago, I made personal mistakes outside my marriage that have caused real pain to my wife and family. Although my actions were consensual in nature and haven't violated the law or House ethics rules, that doesn't diminish the impact that these mistakes have made on those I care about the most. He went on to say, I take full responsibility and have committed myself to working through the pain privately with my wife and family. I sought professional assistance to help recenter and heal the relationships that mean everything to me and move forward with the honesty, transparency, and respect that everyone deserves from the people they love. I continue to do this work.

BROWN: So -- and he says that he will, you know, work with the Ethics Committee on this investigation. But, you know, if you take a step back, none of this is happening in a vacuum. You have this bipartisan task force now on Capitol Hill looking into these sorts of allegations. We've reported on other members also being investigated. Help us better understand the broader context of this reckoning happening right now on Capitol Hill.

[11:50:00]

GORDON: Yes, Pam, I'm glad you used the word reckoning because I think that's certainly apt. This level of scrutiny is the highest since the height of the MeToo movement, frankly, with the resignations of Congressmen Eric Swalwell and Tony Gonzalez, as we've mentioned. And we also have active investigations right now into Cory Mills of Florida and Chuck Edwards of North Carolina. And I should note that both men have denied wrongdoing.

BROWN: Yes. And tell us more because it seems like the Ethics Committee, based on our reporting and understanding, is being more aggressive. I mean, this all started with a New York Post article that came out in April about Gomez. And now, you know, they're investigating him.

But at the same time, we've been reporting on female staffers, former staffers, current staffers on the Hill that are more reluctant to come forward. They don't feel like their voices will be heard or they're worried about retaliation. Tell us more about that.

GORDON: Yes, absolutely. As we discussed yesterday, my colleagues and I spoke with more than a dozen women who really outlined that fear of professional repercussion that they face. I mean, you can be labeled a problem staffer, people won't want to work with you. And we both know from this reporting that the Hill is an extraordinarily chatty place and who you know really matters. And so, your reputation is everything.

In addition to those professional repercussions, something that the women explained to me that was imminent clear was how confusing and opaque the reporting process really is. I mean, the House Ethics Committee can drag on for months, if not years. And women have expressed to us, you know, real frustration with that.

Additionally, there's this alphabet soup of other offices that they can go to with long names and acronyms. So, I'll read some to you. The Office of Congressional Workplace Rights, the Office of Congressional Conduct, the Office of Employee Advocacy, the Office of Employee Assistance. It's a lot. Where do you even start, right? Exactly. And while it may seem like a good thing to have all these options, many of the women that I spoke with said that it just made it more confusing and they would like to have kind of that one-stop shop, HR, the way you would in a private company.

BROWN: And they hope that with this reporting coming out that the culture on Capitol Hill will also change amid --

GORDON: Absolutely.

BROWN: -- and this reckoning. All right. Allison Gordon, thank you so much. Always great reporting these stories out with you. We'll be right back after a quick break.

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[11:55:00]

BLITZER: Happening now, fans are gearing up for Game 1 of the NBA Finals. The San Antonio Spurs are set to face the New York Knicks tonight. But fans will have to fork over some serious cash to attend any of the games in New York.

BROWN: The cheapest tickets at Madison Square Garden are selling for, get this, nearly $4,000 each. That's according to TickPick. CNN's Matt Egan joins us. So, Matt, if those no-please seats are going for nearly $4,000, how much are courtside seats going to cost you?

MATT EGAN, CNN SENIOR REPORTER: Well, Wolf and Pamela, the Knicks are on fire. Maybe the only thing that's hotter than the team are the tickets to see them in the NBA Finals. Even just sitting near the court is going to cost you a fortune.

Check this out. There are a pair of seats that are listed on SeatGeek for Game 6 in New York. They're a few rows off the court and they are listed at $220,000 each. Yes, almost a quarter of a million dollars to see the Knicks in the NBA Finals. Just a stunning figure. This would cover not just one, but two years of tuition and room and board at Harvard. And that's what some people are apparently trying to get for their tickets at the Knicks game.

But this is the high end. Let's look at the low end. Let's just say you're a diehard fan. You're just trying to get in the building. You don't care where you sit. Well, the cheapest seats in New York at the NBA Finals are about $4,000 apiece. Yes, $4,000 to sit in the nosebleeds. This is roughly five times the cheapest seats at tonight's game in San Antonio, which are for about $750.

Of course, this is happening because the Knicks, they haven't been in the NBA Finals since 1999. They haven't won since 1973. And we are talking about Madison Square Garden, one of the most iconic sports venues on the planet. One ticketing executive told me that the NBA Finals at Madison Square Garden, they're having a Super Bowl moment right now. He told me he's never seen anything like this.

BROWN: Wow. And with prices like that at the Garden, wouldn't it be cheaper for Knicks fans to travel to San Antonio?

EGAN: Yes, Pamela, it absolutely would be cheaper. Let me break that down for you. You could get a hotel for a few nights in San Antonio for $600. You could fly roundtrip for $700. And then you could go to not just Game 1, but Game 2 of the NBA Finals in San Antonio. And you would still come out ahead by spending about $3,100, less than the almost $4,000 to see them in New York. And it appears that some fans are doing just that.

According to TickPick, about 30 percent of the ticket buyers for Game 2, they have ZIP codes in New York and another 11 percent in New Jersey. So, that means you've got about 41 percent of the buyers on the secondary marketplace coming from New York and New Jersey. That surpasses the 31 percent from Texas.

And I talked to a 25-year-old --

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