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Psychiatric Defense in Luigi Mangione Case?; Georgia Primary Results; Criticism Grows Over Iran Deal. Aired 10:30a-11a ET

Aired June 17, 2026 - 10:30   ET

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

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CHRISTIANE AMANPOUR, CNN CHIEF INTERNATIONAL ANCHOR: So it's hard to see how it can be portrayed as a great victory by the United States, although, again, I agree with Sabrina that both sides are trying to portray this as victory to their own people.

A few things that have stood out for me, which are, if they are actually true and they stand up when the actual memorandum is signed on Friday, I think are really important, because it's again much more than the U.S. has ever given Iran, for instance, not just a permanent end to war on all fronts, including Lebanon, but both sides will undertake -- from now on, they will not launch any hostile action against each other and will refrain from the threat or use of force against each other.

They will respect each other's sovereignty and territorial integrity and refrain from interfering in each other's international affairs. Well, that goes directly against the strain of what President Trump and the Israeli Prime Minister promised at the beginning of this, which was they essentially wanted regime change, but they also wanted to liberate the Iranian people.

That appears to be off the table forever, if this is actually true. Talking again, in this particular version that we have, according to -- I don't know whose draft this is, but at one point in the second or third paragraph, "And the United States also undertakes to withdraw its forces from the surrounding areas within 30 days after the final agreement."

Now, what does that mean? We don't know at this moment, but we sure do know that the Iranians want and have said that a condition for ending this war needs to be Iran -- the United States removing its bases from where it has bases now, i.e., the GCC and other such things.

Now, if that is true, that would be a major change, setback, however you want to portray it for the United States and those who believe that security in that region comes from the U.S. presence around there.

And then there's a lot, of course, the boilerplate. The Islamic Republic reiterates it will never produce nuclear weapons, agree that the fate of enrichment material, the fate of all other agreed nuclear related issues, et cetera, et cetera.

And then it says all sanctions, all U.N., U.S., every other sanction, will be lifted somewhere around the end of this agreement, some of them apparently immediately. So if you're sitting in Iran, it's a pretty good deal.

PAMELA BROWN, CNN HOST: All right, stand by, Christiane, because we want to go over to our Jeremy Diamond in Tel Aviv to understand what's happening there.

You heard President Trump just say he hopes Israel will use good judgment. Israel is not a party to this agreement, this memorandum of understanding. And, within it, it says Iran -- includes Iran's demand that the war ended on all fronts, including Lebanon.

How is this being received over there in Israel, Jeremy?

JEREMY DIAMOND, CNN JERUSALEM CORRESPONDENT: Well, there's no question that the leaks of this draft memorandum of understanding have only amplified the fears that Israel and many Israeli officials have had since this deal was digitally signed by the two parties on Sunday night.

What is really feared about this agreement appears to be coming true, in the form of the fact that there is nothing here in this agreement that we have obtained that explicitly talks about Iran's commitments regarding nuclear weapons, other than the kind of broad-based commitment not to have, not to produce a nuclear weapon, which they have already made in the past.

There's nothing here specific about destroying the quantities of enriched uranium, about the future of Iran's ability to enrich nuclear material going forward, U.S. officials indicating that those commitments have been made behind the scenes.

But while there's a lot of explicit language here about the kinds of sanctions relief and other financial relief that Iran would receive, there is nothing in this document that is specific to what exactly Iran would do to stop its path to a nuclear weapon.

There is also nothing in this memorandum of understanding that we have obtained as it relates to Iran's ballistic missile program, nor as it relates to its support of regional proxies such as Hamas and Hezbollah. And those are all of the issues that were of utmost concern to Israel.

And so many Israeli officials just as dismayed, if not more dismayed, once they have started to see the details and the text of this memorandum of understanding that has leaked. Now, as it relates to what President Trump was saying about -- he reiterated that he wants Israel to be able to protect themselves, but he wants them to use -- quote, unquote -- "good judgment," that appears to be referring to what is happening in Lebanon. And what we have seen over the last couple of days is that, while

there has been a decrease, it seems, in Israeli military activity in Lebanon, there has not been a halt. We have seen multiple drone strikes carried out by the Israeli military in Southern Lebanon.

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Yesterday, four people were killed in Israeli strikes. Today, we have seen additional strikes that have taken place. No word yet on any fatalities. Hezbollah has also been firing on Israeli troops in Southern Lebanon.

And we have seen time and again throughout this negotiating process between the United States and Iran the real risk that continued military action in Lebanon could potentially undermine the cease-fire that existed since the cessation of hostilities back in April, and now this new memorandum of understanding once again potentially put in jeopardy by the continued fighting that is happening in Lebanon.

And a lot of that will depend on Iran's tolerance for that and how bright their red lines are, as we heard the Iranian foreign minister just yesterday warning that Israeli troops must leave Lebanon and also that Israeli strikes must stop in Lebanon. Neither of those have happened.

WOLF BLITZER, CNN HOST: And I assume, Jeremy, that there's a great disappointment in Israel right now that there's nothing in this memorandum of understanding that specifically says that Iran must stop supporting its proxy groups like Hezbollah or Hamas or the Houthis in Yemen, all of whom have been attacking Israel.

And Israel is responding to all of that as well. No specific references to that. What's the reaction in Israel to that?

DIAMOND: Yes, that's exactly right, Wolf.

The Israelis had sought to urge the United States to include that as part of any eventual agreement with the Iranians. But, ultimately, we saw that the Israeli prime minister really lost any ability to influence this process in the final weeks of these negotiations.

That is part of why Prime Minister Netanyahu has come under such withering criticism from both his right and his left in the Israeli political spectrum, all of whom are basically saying that Netanyahu failed to influence this deal in light -- particularly as it relates to Iran's ballistic missile program, its support of regional proxies.

And now also the fight in Lebanon, where we are seeing a number of senior Israeli officials inside and outside the government saying Israel should keep up its fight against Hezbollah, regardless of what this memorandum of understanding says.

BLITZER: All right, Jeremy Diamond in Tel Aviv watching the reaction unfold over there, thanks very much.

Thanks to all of our analysts and our reporters -- Pamela. BROWN: All right, very busy Wednesday, that's for sure.

Still ahead here in THE SITUATION ROOM: mixed results for President Trump in Georgia. One of his candidates wins, while another one goes down. The key matchups as we look ahead to November.

BLITZER: And, later, jumping the gun? What CNN is now learning about the drama between the Secret Service and the FBI director over an alleged plot to attack the UFC fight on the South Lawn of the White House.

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

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BROWN: At any moment, we will hear from President Trump again at the G7 summit in France, and we're going to have much more analysis on the U.S. Iran 14-point draft agreement and how it's being received.

But happening now: The matchup in one of this year's most critical midterm races is set. After a last-minute endorsement from President Trump, Congressman Mike Collins won Tuesday's GOP run-off to become Republicans' Senate nominee in Georgia.

Collins will face sitting Democratic Senator Jon Ossoff in November, and the winner could determine which party controls the chamber next year, so definitely high-stakes.

Here with us now is former Trump White House communications director Mike Dubke and CNN political commentator Karen Finney.

Mike, let's start with you.

As we look ahead now, do you think Trump's endorsement will help or hurt Collins against Ossoff?

MICHAEL DUBKE, FORMER TRUMP WHITE HOUSE COMMUNICATIONS DIRECTOR: Oh, I think -- well, look, he was five of six last night, four outright wins and then a run-off in Oklahoma. I think it helps just getting his candidate there.

What surprised me was how late that endorsement was, but as it applies to Ossoff and Georgia, I think Republicans, whether it was Dooley or Collins, Republicans have a really good shot at knocking who the new darling of the Democratic Party is in Senator Ossoff.

BROWN: Yes, and we have seen Ossoff spend several months fund- raising. He's sort of known for his fund-raising prowess, right?

KAREN FINNEY, CNN POLITICAL COMMENTATOR: Yes.

BROWN: He's been garnering national attention with some of his messages that have gone pretty viral on social media.

FINNEY: Yes.

BROWN: Do you think that this race will be as close as many expect it to be, Karen?

FINNEY: I certainly think it'll be close, but Ossoff has a couple of advantages that I don't think we're talking about yet. One is obviously he has -- he is a prolific also organizer. He has a very strong organizing team, as well as the fact that with Keisha Lance Bottoms at the top of the ticket, I think that's going to help turn out black voters.

And one of the things we have been seeing across the South in the wake of this Callais decision is a new mobilization among black voters who are angry. Today, in Georgia, there's a special session that Governor Kemp is starting that will in fact impact black and Latino voters.

And one of the ways black voters are able to show their power are these statewide races. And so people are mobilizing around that. So that's sort of a factor I don't know that Republicans are yet thinking about, because, if we can -- if you can turn out the right number of black and Latino voters, as well as the base of voters that he's been turning out, he turned out previously, I think he will have a chance -- a good chance of winning.

DUBKE: I mean, frankly, what you're going to see in Georgia is the battle of the suburbs again.

FINNEY: Yes.

DUBKE: Because if you take what you're saying and then you look at Collins and the rural voters, it's going to be down to the suburbs.

FINNEY: Well, but, remember, the suburbs of Atlanta are black. Those are black middle-class voters. So, again, when you think about the composition of the state...

DUBKE: Yes.

FINNEY: ... look, it's going to be close because it's going to be close.

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But I think the other factor here in Georgia -- I have done a bit of work in Georgia -- hospital closures is a very big deal, and so how that issue plays, And when you -- the other thing we're seeing is this concern that corruption is raising my prices in Washington.

And so if you are a Trump candidate and someone -- one of the arguments you can make is to say, look, is this guy going to go to Washington and represent you or going to represent Donald Trump, be a rubber stamp for Donald Trump? I think you're going to hear that argument as well.

BROWN: Yes, we also know who will be the Republican nominee in the Georgia governor's race. You had mentioned that Trump did win in terms of his endorsements for the most part, but not when it comes to this.

DUBKE: Right. There was one that he missed.

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BROWN: There was one. That's right.

DUBKE: Yes. And this is an outsider. So, I mean, it's an outsider who can spend $100 million on his on his primary election.

BROWN: Because he's a billionaire.

FINNEY: Yes.

DUBKE: But to your point of worrying about the policies in Washington and how Ossoff is going to try to hang that on Mike Collins, again, they're both incumbents.

But at the top of the ticket for the gubernatorial race in Georgia, we now have an outsider who talked about health care, who talked about all these other issues and beat the Trump endorsement. So it's the old adage, money is the mother mother's milk of politics. And it even beats a Trump endorsement.

BROWN: Yes, not always the case, though. Look at California with Tom Steyer and how much money he spent.

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DUBKE: Well, I don't think Steyer was looking for the Trump endorsement, though.

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BROWN: That's true. That's true.

FINNEY: It's a different dynamic, because he was such a -- Steyer is a known entity in California for other -- for quite some time on other issues.

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BROWN: Yes.

FINNEY: And I think people were looking for something different.

BROWN: What do you think about here in D.C., though? Because we're here right now.

FINNEY: Yes.

BROWN: And self-described Democratic socialist Janeese Lewis George is in the early lead to become the likely next mayor of our nation's capital.

Listen to what Trump has said he will do if she wins this race. (BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

DONALD TRUMP, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: And maybe we will take back Washington, run it on the federal basis. We won't put up with it. We're not going to lose our businesses.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BROWN: So...

FINNEY: Mike is going to complain because we don't know the results.

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DUBKE: I am going to complain because we don't know the results.

FINNEY: This is a big issue for Mike.

DUBKE: I think speed, the lack of speed kills democracy. I really do.

FINNEY: How about precision and speed?

DUBKE: So we're not going -- I would love for both.

FINNEY: How about both?

DUBKE: But they can't have that in California or, it seems, Washington, D.C.

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FINNEY: Well, ranked-choice voting, apparently, is part of what is slowing things down. It's going to be interesting to see what happens.

It was a hotly contested race here in Washington, D.C., for the first time in quite some time, both, frankly, because you have Eleanor Holmes Norton who's retired and the mayor after 16 years retiring.

So, yes, we will see what happens. I mean, I actually think we will probably end up going to some sort of run-off because it did feel like it was pretty close in these last few weeks. But we will see.

BROWN: But what does it tell you that Lewis George has gotten this far and she's really using the mold of Mamdani and aligning herself with Mamdani to get here?

FINNEY: Well, she has made a real pitch about standing up to Trump. And here in Washington, D.C., like a lot of cities around the country where we have really felt the impact of Trump trashing us all the time, trash -- the games he's played with our local economy with money, holding the money, having National Guard troops, people feel like, yes, we...

DUBKE: Lowering the crime rate?

FINNEY: Actually, let me tell you what, not in my neighborhood, my friend.

And I watched the National Guard guys walk right by crime happening, right? Like, I see it happening and they're not doing anything. So, let me tell you, that's a great talking point, but not for those of us who live here.

DUBKE: I don't know. The feel -- well, the statistics prove it, and the feel...

FINNEY: I'm somebody who walks a dog at night, so I see it. I mean, I see the drugs being handed off. So, anyway, look, I think, though, her argument about standing up for D.C. was really powerful for people.

The concern I have, a lot of great ideas were being discussed, but I think, at the end of the day, while Trump is in office, it's going to be more about how you protect the city and how you manage the relationship with the Trump administration.

BLITZER: And Trump is threatening to eliminate home rule for the hundreds of thousands of U.S. citizens who live in the District of Columbia if she's elected the next mayor.

FINNEY: Yes.

BROWN: And she actually thinks that that helped her yesterday in the race.

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FINNEY: Oh, yes.

DUBKE: Oh, I think it had to. I think it had to. It's shone a light -- to Karen's point here, when you're looking at Mamdani in New York or here another potential socialist winning in Washington, D.C., I mean, it's the anti-Trump endorsement almost that assists the Democrats in these races.

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FINNEY: Yes, he's a mobilizer on both sides.

BROWN: All right.

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DUBKE: He is. Yes, he is.

BROWN: Quite a position to be in.

Karen Finney, Mike Dubke, thank you so much. Appreciate you coming on.

BLITZER: And just ahead, breaking news in the Luigi Mangione trial, what lawyers will argue in his defense.

We're live with those details. We will be right back.

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BLITZER: All right, just in to THE SITUATION ROOM: A judge now says that Luigi Mangione's attorneys will present a psychiatric defense in his murder case. This happened during today's pretrial hearing.

Mangione is accused of fatally shooting UnitedHealthcare CEO Brian Thompson back in 2024. He has pleaded not guilty.

BROWN: CNN's Kara Scannell is outside the courthouse.

What does this mean for his case, Kara?

KARA SCANNELL, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, Pamela, the big question has been, what would Luigi Mangione's defense be in this case?

And now his lawyers are saying that he is going to argue to the jury that he did murder the UnitedHealthcare CEO, Brian Thompson, but he did it while he was suffering from extreme emotional disturbance.

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What that essentially means is that he's going to say that he did commit the killing, the murder, the shooting, but he did it while he essentially snapped, like a heat-of-the-moment defense.

The law school textbook example is if someone were to walk in on their spouse in bed with someone else and they murdered them, they would say that it was in the heat of the moment. So that is what they're going to argue.

And what it means is that, if the jury agrees with that, that they will be able to reduce the murder charge down to manslaughter. And what that would mean for Mangione, if he were successful, is that his potential sentence would go from 25 to life to a maximum of 25 years on that charge.

So, that is his strategy. Now that we know what is going to be, given these rulings that came down just a few weeks ago where the judge is allowing a diary of Mangione's writings where he spoke about his animosity toward the health care industry, and also allowing other evidence that was recovered in his backpack, which included a firearm, that authorities have tied to shell casings found at the crime scene.

So, Mangione is going to admit that he committed this murder, but he's going to argue that there was psychiatric reasons for it. And you may remember, when he was arrested and people were trying to understand how this valedictorian from an affluent family in Maryland could have committed this crime, people had focused in on what he had posted on his Twitter page, which was an X-ray of his spine, his back post- surgery that showed screws and bolts in it.

That may tie in here into where this trigger came from of where he ultimately, in his writings, expressed anger toward the health care insurance industry. So, now we're kind of getting more of the images around this and what

it will be, but we have been speaking to experts about this type of defense for weeks. And what they tell us is that the bar is very high, because the prosecution still has Luigi Mangione's writings where he talked about how he was planning for weeks and months about this murder, finally deciding on the health care industry and going to the bean counters conference.

So it is a heavy lift for Mangione to be successful, but it will also allow them to argue to the jury some of these bigger issues that have encapsulated supporters for Mangione about frustration with the health insurance industry -- Wolf, Pam.

BROWN: All right.

BLITZER: All right, Kara Scannell reporting for us, thank you very, very much -- Pam.

BROWN: And here's what's coming up all new at the top of the hour: a SITUATION ROOM special report with New York Mayor Zohran Mamdani ahead of the Knicks championship parade.

Plus, a new warning that the Ebola outbreak in Central Africa may be the worst ever.

And tropical storm threat for parts of the Gulf Coast, as a system fuels dangerous flooding near Texas.

That's all new next hour.

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