Return to Transcripts main page
The Source with Kaitlan Collins
U.S. Bombs Iran, Military To Resume Blockade Of Iranian Oil; Graham's Death, McConnell's Absence Complicate GOP Agenda; States Sue To Block Paramount's Takeover Of Warner Bros. Aired 9-10p ET
Aired July 13, 2026 - 21:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
MATTHEW CHANCE, CNN CHIEF GLOBAL AFFAIRS CORRESPONDENT: Ukraine's drone campaign is now clearly pacing enormous pressure on Russia, both on land and at sea.
Back to you, John.
JOHN KING, CNN HOST: Matthew Chance, thank you for that fantastic reporting.
We'll see you back here tomorrow night, I hope.
The news continues. "THE SOURCE WITH KAITLAN COLLINS" starts now.
KAITLAN COLLINS, CNN HOST: What President Trump told me in the Oval Office about those new strikes in Iran and whether this is now the new normal.
I'm Kaitlan Collins. And this is THE SOURCE.
Tonight, the United States military is now bombing Iran for the third night in a row, as sources say that the United States is targeting Iranian military assets, including coastal surveillance systems, drone, and missile capabilities. As the White House has formally notified lawmakers here in Washington, that the United States is once again at war.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
DONALD TRUMP, PRESIDENT, UNITED STATES OF AMERICA: We're attacking them tonight, and we're taking out all of their capability for anything having to do with the Strait, with the Hormuz Strait, and I think in the end we will end up dis-controlling (ph) the whole thing.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
COLLINS: The President there, arguing for total control over the Strait of Hormuz, an international waterway, as he is also reimposing his naval blockade for Iran, steps that look a lot more like the beginning of this war than the fast end to the fighting that the President once predicted.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
COLLINS: Mr. President. You noted the United States is bombing Iran again. I mean, that -- you've been bombing Iran for months now. Is this just the new normal for the American people?
TRUMP: No. Well, you know, we were in Vietnam for 19 years. We're here for four months. So, I think we've done a lot. We've knocked out their navy in a period of one month. We knocked out their air force. Their air force is non-existent. We knocked out most of their missiles, most of their drones. We knocked out their drone manufacturing capability about 92 percent. Their missile capability for manufacturing, we knocked out 89 percent. And they have a little capability, but they don't have any capability for us. This is almost a military skirmish.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
COLLINS: What the President describes there as a military skirmish, the world seems to be much more concerned about this renewed fighting. If you look at ship traffic through the critical waterway, it's dropping again. Oil prices are going up, as the President says he wants the United States to start charging at, quote, the rate of 20 precent on all cargo that goes through the Strait of Hormuz.
After the President argued that America was, quote, going to get paid for guarding the Strait. I asked the President who exactly he believes is going to reimburse the United States for this.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
TRUMP: They are crazy, and we're not going to put it up.
COLLINS: But you said the U.S. will get reimbursed. You--
TRUMP: Yes, I want to be reimbursed--
COLLINS: Who's going to reimburse the U.S.?
TRUMP: --because we're protecting a very rich part -- portion of the world. We're spending money. And so, what we've done is we are going to be reimbursed for protection. We're protecting--
COLLINS: By whom?
TRUMP: By the countries that we're helping. For instance, you look at the five countries. You have Saudi Arabia. You have UAE. You have Qatar -- or Qatar, as I always say. You have Qatar. Bahrain. And by the way, you have others. You have Kuwait, and you have others. And they will do very well.
But we think it's appropriate that -- we don't need them. You know, we have more oil than any other country in the world. When you add Venezuela, which has been amazing, when you -- which has tremendous amounts of oil that we control. When you add Venezuela and everything else, we have more than 50 percent of the world supply. We don't need it, but we need it from the standpoint of protecting allies, et cetera, et cetera, including Israel, including Saudi Arabia, including Qatar, including UAE. We're protecting all of them, and we've done a very effective job.
(END VIDEO CLIP) COLLINS: Just a few weeks ago, the Secretary of State, Marco Rubio, said this about the idea of Iran charging those types of fees.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
MARCO RUBIO, SECRETARY OF STATE: Fees and tolls are the same thing to me. OK? If you're paying someone to go -- I don't care if you call it a fee or a toll or a donation; it's a toll. That's how we're going to define it. That's international waterway. There isn't a nation on earth that supports having to pay money to go through the straits.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
COLLINS: Now, President Trump today explaining why the war has restarted doesn't line up with his claims about complete success that we've heard in the last several weeks.
Iran is arguing that it targeted two U.S. facilities in Kuwait.
And less than two minutes after the President said that their military capability had already been taken out, he then described the Iranian missile attacks in recent days throughout the region.
[21:05:00]
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
TRUMP: We knocked out most of their missiles, most of their drones. We knocked out their drone manufacturing capability about 92 percent. Their missile capability for manufacturing, we knocked out 89 percent.
We just saw -- they sent missiles to five different countries that never even knew they were involved because they're stone cold crazy.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
COLLINS: One thing the President declined to say today was whether or not he stood by those comments, last month, that Iran should be able to keep some of its ballistic missiles.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
TRUMP: I mean, they have to have some because other people have some. You've got to have some.
I'm saying that if other countries have them, it's a little bit unfair for them not to have some.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
COLLINS: Here's how the President answered that today.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
TRUMP: All they have is fake news because they have -- the fake news would rather see us lose the war than win the war, which is really treasonous--
COLLINS: But you argued Iran should have ballistic missiles.
TRUMP: --which is really treasonous in a certain way.
So, we're doing another very major attack tonight. They want to make a deal. They came back. We made a deal two days ago, and they want to make a deal. They've been negotiating for 47 years, but nobody's ever hit them militarily. We're hitting them very hard.
Thank you very much, everybody.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
COLLINS: On Capitol Hill today, the President has lost one of the war strategy's biggest supporters, with the shocking death of Senator Lindsey Graham of South Carolina over the weekend.
Today, South Carolina's governor selected his sister to fill the remaining months of his Senate term in honor of his legacy, he said. Something that came after President Trump said he recommended personally to the governor. She's expected to be sworn in as early as tomorrow.
And as we're looking at the numbers here in Washington, my lead source tonight was a friend and colleague of Senator Lindsey Graham's. Republican Senator Roger Marshall of Kansas.
And thank you, sir, for being here.
Because the Senate was back in town today, obviously right after we learned about the death of Senator Lindsey Graham. How is everyone taking it today?
SEN. ROGER MARSHALL (R-KS): Yes, Kaitlan.
No, I think, you know, we're humans, and we're still in denial, in many, many ways. But when we walk in tonight and we see his desk with a black drape over it, flowers, his desk is maybe 10 foot from mine, and that's when it starts hitting home that there's no more Lindsey Graham.
The guy that kept us all laughing, and entertained us on these all- nighters that we're doing when we're having vote-a-ramas. That guy who's globe-trotting around the world, constantly trying to build relationships with other countries. You know, he was suddenly gone.
COLLINS: Yes. I mean, the President today was talking about him at length, talking about his support of his Supreme Court justices. He also was pushing for the SAVE Act, the election bill that the President wants passed. He also was a really big supporter of the President's war in Iran and how this was going. He wanted the President to finish the job, as he had put it.
Do you support the bombing that has resumed tonight? Do you think that's the right move by President Trump? MARSHALL: I think it is the right move. I wish we didn't have to do it. I hate war. President Eisenhower said that many times, I hate war as only a soldier who has lived it can.
But unfortunately, there's a price we have to pay for our freedoms. For the safety and security of your families, we sometimes have to use our military forces. And I'm so grateful for the military forces that the jobs are done. I mourn the loss of the 13 soldiers we've lost, the hundreds of soldiers we've lost. I think -- I think the President has to rip the band-aid off and finish the job, unfortunately.
COLLINS: The United States, as I was, you know, talking to the President about earlier in the Oval, has been using force against Iran. It hasn't gotten the results that the President wanted in terms of a nuclear deal. Why do you think doing it now will be different?
MARSHALL: Yes. I think, again, I go back to my goals throughout all of this. Is number one, no nukes for Iran. Next would be no boots on the ground. And then number three would be keep the cost of gas and groceries affordable back home. So, I still think that the President is working towards those goals.
I think that Iran would struggle to have nukes in the next decade or so. But they're already reportedly trying to rebuild again. I feel like we've given them every chance possible. But here's this rogue terrorist group that's killed tens of thousands of Christians in their own country, they've killed thousands of Americans, hundreds of Marines, so, and I feel like they're forcing us to do this. And I'm willing to pay that price. I think that this is the right move for the safety for generations to come, going forward.
COLLINS: The reason I ask about the strategy is because you said something recently when you were at home that stood out to me. According to The Topeka Capital-Journal. You said that, for Iran to get to a point where there is total capitulation, you said you think it would take the bombing of civilian targets and even a ground invasion.
So, where does this strategy of bombing from the -- with these air strikes and a naval blockade--
MARSHALL: Yes.
COLLINS: --get the United States?
[21:10:00]
MARSHALL: Yes, I think that they -- I was misquoted if I said it would take a ground -- a ground invasion. But I do think we're -- and we're there. We're going to have to bomb dual use, dual purpose type of targets, whether it's refineries or bridges where munitions are being built. Whenever you start doing that, then civilians are going to die, just like they did in the forever wars of the Gulf Coast.
Hundreds of thousands of civilians probably died in the Gulf Wars. I don't -- I don't want that. But here's this terrorist organization that's irrational. Religious, irrational terrorists, call them what you want to, but they why -- why won't they capitulate? It makes no sense to anybody. I'd been hopeful, but I'm not as hopeful today as I was a month ago.
COLLINS: Is this a forever war?
MARSHALL: Not yet, and it's not going to be. I will guarantee you that this will not be a--
COLLINS: How do you guarantee that?
MARSHALL: --be a forever war. I think that at some point in time, the bombing has to stop. And as long as our troops aren't on the ground, that's one step -- that's certainly several steps away from a forever war.
COLLINS: But if the bombing stops and nothing on the ground has changed, then what was the point?
MARSHALL: Well, the point is that they're decades away from having nuclear weapons, and we can play Whac-A-Mole going forward.
But here's another question that I have, and it's not for you; it's for the Gulf Coast countries. We have defanged Iran. Now it's their turn to go in and finish the job that they need to finish. They need to send their ground troops in if that's what it takes. But it should not be American soldiers that are leading the way. I think that they have a responsibility here as well. We've done our job.
COLLINS: You know, we asked the President, or I asked the President today, if he still felt that Iran should be able to have some of its ballistic missiles. An argument that he had after he signed the memorandum of understanding.
When I asked you then, if you agreed with that, you said this.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
COLLINS: Senator, are you OK with Iran having missiles?
MARSHALL: You know what, I'm hesitating. I prefer that they not. I sort of don't want them to have long-distance missiles. I don't want them to have nuclear-armed missiles. I would prefer they didn't. But I don't think that's the key issue here. I think that they have to be able to defend themselves.
And I just kind of come back to the big picture here, is that the Middle East countries like this agreement.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
COLLINS: You were saying that Iran should be able to defend itself with ballistic missiles. Right now they're doing that against the Gulf countries and against in response to the United States.
MARSHALL: Yes. COLLINS: I mean, are they using those missiles to defend themselves against the United States?
MARSHALL: Right. So, if it was up to me, we would end this regime completely, they would have nothing left. That's what I would prefer to do.
But if we were trying to negotiate with them, and if they were willing to cooperate, if they were willing to disassemble all their nuclear capabilities and agree to all the things we had talked about? Then I think there would have been some room for them to have a military presence.
But again, I go back, as the plan was laid out to me--
COLLINS: So, you only think they should have ballistic missiles when they are a party to the MOU?
MARSHALL: I think that they need--
(CROSSTALK)
COLLINS: Is that how you--
MARSHALL: --I think that they need to make significant progress. I think all the nukes need to be gone. I would prefer them not to have any missiles ever.
But the whole point of this MOU was going down -- the MOU was a step towards an agreement, and what -- part of that agreement was the Gulf Coast countries going in there and working with Iran on all these other issues, and let those countries decide, well how much of a military Iran should have or not have.
COLLINS: But the President was talking about Lindsey Graham today in the Oval Office. I asked him, as we were leaving, if he supports the sanctions bill on Russia that Lindsey Graham was pushing, right before his death even, after he was visiting Ukraine.
The President said yes. He said we're going to be talking soon about that.
There are 84 co-sponsors on that bill. You're not one of them. Why not?
MARSHALL: I think I was kind of waiting for the White House. I wanted to give the White House as much leverage as they can. But I've supported maximum sanctions from day one. But I think, at some point, we have to follow the leadership of White House on how they're going to implement these sanctions.
COLLINS: So, whether you support the sanctions depends on whether President Trump supports the sanctions?
MARSHALL: I think that's oversimplifying it. I think I want to give him as much cards that he can to make this deal to get it finished. Again, my horrible disappointment is Europe has never stepped up as much as they could, that they're not doing their job through this whole process.
But certainly, before I send any more money over to Ukraine, I would much rather go to do some type of more sanctions on Russia.
COLLINS: OK. But do you want President Trump to support this bill that Lindsey Graham pushed for?
MARSHALL: I would, yes.
COLLINS: OK.
Senator Roger Marshall, thank you for your time tonight. Much appreciate it.
MARSHALL: Yes. Thanks, Kaitlan.
COLLINS: Up next. There is a federal judge who just weighed in on President Trump's lawsuit with the IRS and that settlement that gave him immunity. This judge now says that lawsuit was an attempt to, quote, "Manipulate" the judicial process. My political sources are here next.
Also, right now, people are gathering at the scene of that deadly shooting in Maine by ICE. DHS has just put out a new statement, and there's something that's not in that statement that is only raising more questions than it is answers. We're live in Maine, right after this.
[21:15:00]
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
COLLINS: Tonight, Republicans in the Senate are staring down a critical week without one of their White House whisperers in Senator Lindsey Graham. He was a key ally of the President and was working hard on getting his priorities passed, including that election overhaul bill that the President is demanding the Senate get through.
Senator Graham had also championed the President's next pick for attorney general. That's the acting Attorney General, Todd Blanche, who is expected to testify before the Senate this week for his confirmation hearing. But without Senator Graham, and with Senator Mitch McConnell still out sick until further notice, the battle to confirm Blanche for the White House just got more complicated.
[21:20:00]
One thing that is likely to come up in those hearings could be this: a new ruling by a federal judge today, finding that Todd Blanche, and President Trump's personal attorneys, in this judge's words, sought to manipulate the judicial process when Trump brought a lawsuit against the IRS earlier this year, that resulted in that settlement that created that $1.8 billion so-called Anti-Weaponization Fund. Now the judge here, Kathleen Williams, has referred Blanche and his deputy to disciplinary boards, just a few days before the senators are going to question him for the full-time job.
My political and legal sources are here with me now.
And Tom Dupree, you read this ruling. As you looked at this, if you're a senator who's questioning Todd Blanche about this, what do you think he's going to get asked?
TOM DUPREE, FORMER DEPUTY ASST. ATTORNEY GENERAL: Well, look, as a lawyer, there is never a good time to get referred to a disciplinary hearing. But two days before your confirmation, as senators choose U.S. Attorney General, is like the worst possible time.
My guess is that the senators will use this ruling as basically grist for the questioning. I think that they will have some very fair questions about Todd Blanche's role in achieving this settlement, his willingness, apparently, to walk back the fund piece of it, but not to walk back the IRS immunity piece of it. And so, I think this is going to be a robust topic of debate at these confirmation hearings.
The timing of this ruling is striking, literally days before he's going to go before Senate Judiciary and testify about his ability to maintain his independence from the President, which this ruling undermines.
COLLINS: Which we know will be huge questions that he gets because he's gotten these questions before, about his loyalty to the President versus his loyalty to the job.
DUPREE: For sure, and that's exactly the heart of this ruling, where the judge basically called out Blanche and the other lawyers for what she called collusive settlements, self-dealing, all these sorts of things. All points that go directly to this fundamental question of whether Todd Blanche's Attorney General can truly be independent of the White House.
COLLINS: And David, we watch a lot of these confirmation hearings.
DAVID URBAN, REPUBLICAN STRATEGIST & FORMER TRUMP CAMPAIGN ADVISER, CNN SENIOR POLITICAL COMMENTATOR: Wait. Wait. Is Tom saying that the judge was political here?
COLLINS: Well--
URBAN: Wow, shocking.
COLLINS: Well, I mean, but speaking of--
URBAN: The judiciary -- somebody, a judge on the bench acting in a political manner? Shocked.
COLLINS: Speaking of political. These hearings are often incredibly political. Sometimes they don't even have questions involved in them.
URBAN: Yes. Yes.
COLLINS: But when it comes to this room and what that looks like. If you're Todd Blanche, you would have wanted a Lindsey Graham there--
URBAN: Oh, yes.
COLLINS: --defending you--
URBAN: Yes.
COLLINS: --spending five minutes--
URBAN: Yes.
COLLINS: --making you not answer questions.
URBAN: Yes, it's a lot less friendly. It's going to be a lot less friendly.
Tom's exactly correct. The questioning is going to be very tough. They're going to try to get Blanche to commit to saying there's no immunity, to commit to what this judge says on paper, they're going to get Blanche to try to say that. And it's going to be very interesting to watch him try to not say that, right? To be able to answer questions and not commit to doing the things that the judge points out, right?
You can't -- the executive branch can't cut a deal with the executive branch, right? That's what -- that's what's in the focus here. The President can't cut a deal with himself because he is the -- you know, he's the person here, and it's not allowed. And that's what this judge is saying.
And so, Democrats, their challenge is to get the Attorney General to say, That's not going to happen. Right? We'll see if -- we'll see if they can get it occur.
COLLINS: Yes, I mean--
URBAN: This could be--
COLLINS: Brian Tyler--
URBAN: --lot of fireworks.
COLLINS: --Tyler Cohen, you're new at the table. Welcome.
BRIAN TYLER COHEN, HOST, "NO LIE WITH BRIAN TYLER COHEN" PODCAST, AUTHOR, "THE DAY AFTER": Thank you.
COLLINS: You also have a new book out about tomorrow, I believe it is, "The Day After: How to Wield Power in a Post-Trump World."
Obviously, we're still in this Trump world in this moment. And what are you going to be looking for, for Democrat -- from Democrats this week, during that hearing? TYLER COHEN: I think Todd Blanche has a lot of questions that he has to answer for. Especially, we're talking about the IRS situation, but there's also the Epstein situation.
I mean, remember, Todd Blanche went and spoke with Ghislaine Maxwell. We don't know what he spoke to her about. But suddenly, in the immediate aftermath of that discussion, she was moved from a prison in Florida to a low-security prison in Texas.
There is also -- there remains all of these questions about what the Trump administration is doing with regard to the Epstein Files Transparency Act. That law mandated that all those files have to be released on December 19th, 2025, if I'm not mistaken. Seven months ago.
And so, I would -- I would imagine that the reason Todd Blanche is there is because if you have somebody, who already has experience, being more deferential to his client, then it really helps you to have that person atop the DOJ, the same DOJ that's in the process of suppressing these files.
COLLINS: Yes, and I think he can only afford to lose one vote in this to get it out of committee. With Senator Graham obviously not going to be there anymore. They're working on who's going to take his place there. Senator Mitch McConnell is not voting right now. He's still at home sick in Kentucky.
TYLER COHEN: I mean, the question remains whether any of the -- any of these other Republicans are going to be willing to buck Trump. I mean, that is always the question whether anybody has the spine to do so. I mean, the job number one, in the Republican conference, is to make sure that you are slavishly devoted to one person, and we see what happens when to those who aren't.
COLLINS: I mean, speaking of Mitch McConnell. We finally got an update on his health. He posted a picture with his wife, Elaine Chao, talking about getting pneumonia after falling unconscious briefly.
[21:25:00]
Do you think that was enough information? Do you think they needed to be more transparent, David?
URBAN: Yes, look, more transparency -- transparency is better when you're an elected official. People want to know, your constituents have a right to know, what's going on with you. When you're the Majority Leader, it's important. I think that -- I'm glad to see that he's doing better now. He's out. He's going to hopefully get back to work here at some point.
But look, the Senate is that -- it's just a fact, these -- a lot of these gentlemen are pretty old, right? And a fall or a bad illness can take somebody out. Chuck Grassley is a kind of vigorous older guy. But they're all older, right? I mean, they're all older gentlemen here. And so, it's going to be a big sea change. Lindsey Graham was a very vibrant young guy, and look what happened to him. So, look, I think erring on the side of transparency is obviously something that everyone wants to see. But there's also, you got to balance the privacy issue with it. Not exactly sure what was going on with him. But we now know that that he's not -- you know, he's not dead in some hospital. Gee, and I mean it's like the biggest scam that people--
COLLINS: I think that's totally reassuring--
URBAN: Come on.
TYLER COHEN: That's a pretty--
URBAN: Come on.
TYLER COHEN: It's a pretty generous--
URBAN: Come on.
TYLER COHEN: --offering--
URBAN: Wait. Wait. Hold on.
TYLER COHEN: Wait. For--
URBAN: You think -- you think in Washington, D.C.--
TYLER COHEN: --for a political movement--
URBAN: You think in Washington, D.C., that someone could pass away--
TYLER COHEN: For a political movement whose identity was predicated on this idea that Joe Biden was disqualified because his cognitive state was in -- in -- that we didn't know how his cognitive state was. That now, suddenly, Well, you know the Senate there, it's--
URBAN: No, no, no, I just said--
(CROSSTALK)
URBAN: --I just said there should be more transparency. I'm not--
TYLER COHEN: I mean, of course there should. But there was--
URBAN: I'm not arguing--
(CROSSTALK)
TYLER COHEN: --there was those strong words about Joe Biden's mental state, right? But you can make the argument rightfully so. But it's pretty generous--
URBAN: Well yes--
(CROSSTALK) TYLER COHEN: --when it comes to Mitch McConnell, who we didn't know was alive or dead for like a month that you know, it's Glad he's -- glad he's OK--
URBAN: Kind of like--
(CROSSTALK)
TYLER COHEN: --and I think as long as we have proof of life--
(CROSSTALK)
URBAN: Kind of like Lloyd Austin was gone for a week as Secretary of Defense, and nobody knew.
COLLINS: He got roasted over that, obviously.
TYLER COHEN: He did.
URBAN: But only the -- he was only the Secretary of Defense.
COLLINS: One other--
TYLER COHEN: We did know he was alive.
URBAN: No big -- no big deal.
COLLINS: One other thing that Todd Blanche might get questioned about are these subpoenas that went out, some directly delivered to the homes of reporters and journalists who reported on security concerns related to the new Air Force One. We were told Trump was angry and embarrassed and furious that it became public why he did not fly the new Qatari-gifted jumbo jet last week.
If you were asking him about those subpoenas, what would your questions be?
DUPREE: Well, I guess the first thing I would say is that I am a strong supporter of law enforcement and I don't like leaks that endanger national security. At the same time, I also respect the First Amendment.
And traditionally, the way the Justice Department has approached these types of issues is it will subpoena reporters only in extraordinary cases and as a last resort. And that's what gives me pause here. That what appears to have happened, is the Justice Department's first resort was to go to the reporters, subpoena them, attempt to compel them to reveal their sources to find out who leaked this.
So, I think one line of questioning for Todd Blanche would be just to ask about the propriety of this, about going after reporters and what arguably is an effort to target the journalists, rather than reserve the possibility of issuing these subpoenas as the absolute last step in the investigative process. If you have to go there.
URBAN: But remember, Eric Holder did that in the Obama administration. Went after the Fox News--
DUPREE: Obama was terrible on that. Yes.
URBAN: Went after the Fox News guy. Went after him hard. Subpoenaed him. They went at him big time.
COLLINS: Yes. James Rosen.
URBAN: Yes, James Rosen--
DUPREE: Yes.
URBAN: --and issued subpoenas and they broke his knees with a baseball bat, basically.
COLLINS: OK. Basically. You're being hyperbolic, I should just note--
URBAN: I was--
COLLINS: --for anyone who wasn't clear on that.
David Urban. Tom Dupree. Brian Tyler Cohen. Thank you for being here.
As I mentioned, Brian's new book is out tomorrow. It is "The Day After: How to Wield Power in a Post-trump World." A timely topic.
We're also following other breaking news tonight as the Department of Homeland Security is now breaking its silence nearly 12 hours after that 26-year-old Colombian man had been shot and killed by an ICE agent in Maine this morning. Right now, it's still unclear what led to that shooting.
But this DHS statement stands out because they say, quote, "ICE law enforcement attempted to conduct a vehicle stop. The vehicle attempted to flee the scene and, fearing for public safety, an officer discharged his weapon. The driver of the vehicle was struck, and emergency services were immediately contacted. He passed away from his injuries."
Now, the department doesn't share details in that statement about why the officer believed the man was a public safety risk. It doesn't say that he tried to go after him with his car, as we've seen in previous statements from DHS in moments like this.
CNN has gotten video from after the shooting. I want to warn you that what you're going to see here is disturbing. But one of them shows federal agents pulling the man's body out of the driver's side of the car. Another shows ICE officers and local police providing aid to the man on the ground outside of the vehicle.
Right now, the DHS Use of Force policy says an officer can use deadly force when he or she, quote, has a reasonable belief that the subject of such force poses an imminent threat of death or serious bodily injury. It also notes that deadly force should not be used to stop someone who is fleeing, with some exceptions.
[21:30:00]
My colleague, Jason Carroll, is on the ground in Biddeford, Maine.
And Jason, obviously, there's so many questions about what happened and what led to this shooting.
JASON CARROLL, CNN NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Yes.
COLLINS: What is the latest you're hearing from people on the ground, compared to what the Department of Homeland Security is saying?
CARROLL: Yes. Well, it's very clear, Kaitlan, from the folks here on the ground, they have -- do not trust the Department of Homeland Security. A number of them say there needs to be more transparency when it comes to this investigation.
You can see behind me right now that some have gathered at the site where the 26-year-old man from Colombia was killed.
But again, still a number of questions. Some are asking why the ICE agents were not wearing body cameras. That certainly could have helped because, once again, you have to ask the question why these officers felt as though their personal safety was at risk and deadly force needed to be used.
Also, when it comes to the way this story unfolded out here, Kaitlan. You remember that initially, DHS had told Maine Senator, Angus King, that the person who was shot and killed was the subject of this investigation.
And then later, Senator had to come out and correct that, after he was told by the Secretary that that was not the case, that the person who was shot and killed was not the subject of the investigation, and that is information that certainly spread throughout the community as well, which just sort of added to this level of distrust with the federal government and their response.
And so, if you really had to sort of sum it up, there is a great feeling of distrust here in the community. The community wanting more transparency with the investigation that DHS will be conducting.
COLLINS: Yes.
CARROLL: Kaitlan.
COLLINS: And you can see why, based on what's happened in just in recent months.
Jason Carroll, thank you. Please keep us updated if you hear more while you're on the ground in Maine.
Up next for us here in Washington. Congressman Ro Khanna says Israeli settlers and IDF soldiers blockaded him in the West Bank. Israel's Ambassador to the United States is pushing back on that. We'll talk to the Congressman himself about what happened right after this.
[21:35:00]
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
COLLINS: Tonight, a top House Democrat is accusing the Israeli government of lying about what happened during his recent visit to the region.
Congressman Ro Khanna says he was visiting a small Palestinian village in the West Bank, last Wednesday, when he says he was, quote, Detained, by Israeli settlers.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
REP. RO KHANNA (D-CA) (voice-over): We were detained by settlers wielding M4 guns who blocked our van from leaving the site. They called additional settlers for support and held us captive for 75 minutes, recording videos, laughing at us, and mocking me and my staff. I will never forget their faces.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
COLLINS: The Congressman said that he and his team then contacted the U.S. Embassy and waited for soldiers from the Israel Defense Forces to arrive. But when four of them did, Congressman Khanna says they initially sided with the Israeli settlers.
Tonight, the IDF is denying taking part in a blockade, telling CNN in a statement, quote, "IDF troops were dispatched to the scene, quickly dispersed the Israeli civilians, and reopened the blocked road."
Tonight, Khanna is pointing to a new video that he says disputes that, that appears to show Israeli soldiers, in a white truck, blocking the Congressman from passing, at least temporarily.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE (through translator): Yes, there's a member of Congress here, he spoke with the embassy. The embassy is involved in this, so I do not understand what's happening here. You can get these guys out of here.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE (through translator): You are not allowed to be here.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
COLLINS: Khanna says the settlers and IDF soldiers eventually let them pass, after he got back in touch with the embassy and a high-level Israeli official.
But tonight, the Israeli Ambassador to the United States is responding to the Congressman's account this way.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
MICHAEL LEITER, ISRAELI AMBASSADOR TO THE U.S.: We reached out to him when we heard he was going to Israel.
We suggested he visit with survivors of the October 7th massacre, that he visit the borders.
He ignored that, and he decided to coordinate his trip not with Israel, but with Palestinian activists and with J Street, which is a anti-government -- anti-Israeli government advocacy group here in Washington.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
COLLINS: Now, J Street says it's a pro-Israel and pro-peace organization, and that it lobbies against the positions of the current Israeli government.
This incident coincides with a surge of settler violence, however. Just this weekend, journalists, including ones from CNN, were attacked in the occupied West Bank. Four settlers have been arrested for that attack, according to Israeli police.
Joining me tonight is Democratic Congressman Ro Khanna.
And thank you, sir, for being here.
The Ambassador there, the Israeli Ambassador to the U.S., he says you're lying basically, in terms of your account or in how you're looking at this. What's your response to his characterization of your visit with what you believe happened?
KHANNA: It's not just my account. There was a New York Times photographer there who spoke to the journalist. There were two other American citizens there who spoke to the journalist. There was a security guard who spoke to the journalist, and an Israeli who spoke to the journalist.
[21:40:00]
And The Jerusalem Post has now put out all the facts. They have said that the IDF did show up there and blockaded us. They have said that the IDF did not disperse the violent settlers. They have said that the violent settlers acted illegally by detaining us. They were kicking our van. They were brandishing their M4 guns, wiping our windows, laughing at us, and they said that the -- we were not in a zone that we weren't supposed to be in. We were in a village that had been destroyed.
And so, what I would urge is for people to just read The Jerusalem Post that has done an investigation and has all the facts.
COLLINS: And when you hear the Ambassador's response of this. He says, at no point, were you or any members of your party threatened by the soldiers or the civilians bearing arms. Is that--
KHANNA: Well it's correct that the soldiers did not, at any point, threaten our lives. They just stood there with their -- blockading our van from leaving. In terms of the violent settlers, I mean, they were laughing at us. They had M4s. They were waving the M4s around, and they were cursing. But no, they didn't -- they didn't point the gun at us or threaten us directly. But I think that being blockaded in, where you can't leave, being surrounded with people carrying armed weapons, is a pretty big threat to Americans.
But yes, there's no direct threat. So, he's technically being correct. But I think most Americans will look at this, saying, What is going on, and why aren't they prosecuting those extremist settlers and investigating these soldiers?
COLLINS: And what did the soldiers say about why they would not let you through?
KHANNA: They said that the settlers -- the extremist settlers, believed that we were in a zone that we weren't supposed to be in; that it was a military occupied zone. It turns out that it was not a military occupied zone, as The Jerusalem Post has said, and as the IDF now admits.
It was a village that Yinon Levi had destroyed. The Israeli government has said that extremist settlers can't come there to further destroy the village.
But members of Congress, just six months ago, were there. Congressman Casten. Congresswoman DeLauro. There is no restriction on going there, which the IDF now admits.
COLLINS: Well, and Ambassador Mike Huckabee, who is the U.S. Ambassador to Israel, he's arguing, basically this could have been cleared up if you had coordinated your visit with the Israeli government, with the U.S. government.
What's your reaction to Ambassador Huckabee?
KHANNA: First of all, I want to thank the American Embassy, David Brownstein there, who is the number two person who I believe really helped save us from any harm. He's the one who contacted the high-ups in the Israeli government, and then they sent the police that allowed us finally to go through after 75 minutes of detention. And I really believe he did an incredible job. So, obviously, we coordinated.
We had sent the American embassy a notification. That's how we had David Brownstein's (ph) number. We had informed, as the Israeli embassy acknowledges, that we had informed them that I was going and informed the House. So, what is their concern? Their concern is that I didn't go to Israel. That I just went to Palestine and the West Bank.
Now, I've been to Israel three times before. I've met Prime Minister Netanyahu. I've met Prime Minister Bennett. I have met with ministers. I've met with the hostage families, Rachel and Jon Polin, who lost their son, Hersh.
COLLINS: Hersh.
KHANNA: I've advocated by little bit for Hersh's release. Obviously, he got killed.
In this trip, I wanted to go from a Palestinian perspective to the West Bank to see the Palestinian side. And I don't believe that an American congressman has to go on an Israel-led trip or go to Israel anytime you want to go to the West Bank. That's the fundamental disagreement. They don't think an American congressman should go on a Palestinian-led trip to the West Bank.
And I hope there's been so much talk about me, I hope they start to see the stories of Palestinians because it is apartheid there. They don't have water to wash their clothes or flush their toilets. In Hebron, on the streets, people are throwing rotten tomatoes and acid and urine at the Palestinian shop owners who are below the street level.
I met a Palestinian American father who's grieving for his 14-year-old son. He says, Yes, my son went to the West Bank and he threw rocks, and the Israeli IDF shot him 21 times, and I still haven't changed his bedroom.
I've never been more emotionally affected, and my hope is to -- that people will pay attention to their stories. Because it's not about what they did to me. Think about what they're doing to Palestinians.
COLLINS: I mean, we have a team who's been covering this (ph) Jeremy Diamond and his producer (ph).
But in terms of what happened to you. This was on (inaudible).
KHANNA: Right.
COLLINS: --(inaudible) about it on Saturday. Why did you wait to post (inaudible).
KHANNA: (inaudible) The New York Times (ph), but I didn't get out of the West Bank until Thursday night, and so I did not want to leave -- to have anything break until I was out of Israel.
COLLINS: Because why? You were worried?
KHANNA: Because of security. Yes, I was going the next day on Thursday to other Palestinian areas, and I didn't want people to know that I was there.
And The New York Times then, on Friday, wanted to verify it. I mean, they published the story. They talked to the photographer. They talked to the security guard. They talked to other people. And so, I think they published it when they had all of the facts.
[21:45:00]
COLLINS: Ambassador Leiter here in Washington said that he's happy to meet with you, to talk about what he says are your grievances regarding Israel. Do you want to meet with him?
KHANNA: I'd be happy to if it was constructive. And I guess we have philosophical differences, but here would be the three things I would ask of him: Would he help make sure that these extreme settlers who did detain us illegally, that there's some investigation and prosecution of them? Will he commit to doing it to Yinon Levi, who burnt down the Zanuta village, who's killed on camera, a Palestinian, Awdah. And will he work on getting rid of the outposts that are clearly illegal? So, there has to be some commitment.
COLLINS: Do you stand by the word, Detained? Because people are -- there's controversy over that, saying you weren't actually detained. That word sounds like, they locked you up or put you away.
KHANNA: Well, I mean--
COLLINS: Do you believe the word, Detained, is the right word?
KHANNA: Blockaded, detained, I mean, what -- I'll -- explained exactly what happened. We put out the videos. We were in the van. They were marching around us with these M4s, and they parked their vehicle, so we couldn't leave. And then they called more settlers who parked more vehicles, so we couldn't leave. And then the IDF said that we couldn't leave. So, you could say we were blockaded in. I use the word, Detained. But I've been very factual.
And what people have to realize is it's not just The New York Times or the Reuters that published this. There were other Americans there. There was a New York Times photographer there, and there's video there. And The Jerusalem Post that--
COLLINS: Yes.
KHANNA: --did the investigation has concluded this.
COLLINS: Congressman Ro Khanna, thank you for joining us tonight.
KHANNA: Thank you.
COLLINS: Appreciate your time.
KHANNA: Thank you.
COLLINS: Up next. We're getting new details about one of the biggest mergers in history. But now there is a group of attorneys general who are trying to stop it. One of them, who is leading this effort, the California Attorney General, Rob Bonta, will join me right after this.
[21:50:00]
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
COLLINS: Tonight, the battle to stop one of the biggest mergers in entertainment history has officially started.
12 states have now sued to block Paramount's takeover of Warner Bros. Discovery, which is CNN's parent company. The lawsuit is being led by the California Attorney General, Rob Bonta, who is arguing that this deal would be bad for all Americans. These states are now asking Paramount to hold off on the merger, which could go through as soon as next week, until the litigation is resolved. If not, they said that they will seek a temporary restraining order.
Paramount is responding, calling the suit, wrong on both the facts and the law, and arguing that the states are misrepresenting the competition in today's entertainment industry, and that this merger, in their view, strengthens competition.
The California A.G., Rob Bonta, is my source on this tonight.
And thank you, sir, for joining on what's been a very busy day for you.
Are you planning to ask this judge for a restraining order to put this deal on hold? And if so, when?
ROB BONTA, (D) CALIFORNIA ATTORNEY GENERAL: We are, and we are going to do that imminently.
We have asked Paramount, Warner Bros., to agree not to close their deal, their proposed merger, until the court can evaluate the merits of our case. They declined to do that. So, we will be filing a temporary restraining order and a preliminary injunction, later today, to make sure that the proposed merger is halted during the pendency of the litigation.
COLLINS: OK. So, you're going to be filing for that temporary restraining order today?
BONTA: We are.
COLLINS: Because obviously you know this, but for those who don't, the merger is potentially ready to go through as soon as July 22nd. That's next week. Some people might look at this and say, you might be running out of time.
When it comes to this lawsuit and what it looks like. The other thing that people have looked at on this is who signed on to this and who is a party to this lawsuit. Did you also reach out to any Republican attorneys general to sign on to this?
BONTA: You know, antitrust enforcement has long been non-partisan, bipartisan. The U.S. DOJ, if you can imagine that time, and the FTC used to enforce, across Republican administrations, Democratic administrations. This current federal government is not interested. Not only are they not enforcing antitrust law. They are picking winners and losers, they're actually affirmatively doing harm.
In our Ticketmaster/Live Nation case, we worked with a bipartisan group, Republican A.G.s and Democratic A.G.s. Same with Nexstar/Tegna, that is bipartisan.
This one currently is not. It's 12 Democratic states that have brought the initial case. The case is just getting started, just filed today. Additional attorneys general may still join. Hopefully, there will be Republicans who join. I know that there have been some who've vocalized criticism and concern about this proposed merger. Hopefully, they'll turn that into action and join the case.
COLLINS: But so far, no commitments from any Republicans to join?
BONTA: Correct.
COLLINS: Semafor is reporting tonight that the CEO of Paramount, David Ellison, that his friends and his advisers are urging him, they say, pushing the media executive to consider shifting his business out of your state, and that they say under the current deal, Paramount has committed to keeping both companies' lots operational if it remains in California.
Is that something that you're worried about here?
BONTA: You know, we heard that for the first time, last night, and it was amplified. And you can't be naive about the timing. It seemed like a last-ditch, desperate effort to try to blackmail the regulators, the states, from doing their job and to allow an illegal proposed merger to go through. And we can't do that, we won't do that, and we did not do that.
Their gambit did not work because we're going to fairly and firmly enforce antitrust law. They have violated antitrust law, law that's been on the books for over a century, the Clayton Act and Section 7, and they -- in three different markets, this proposed merger is presumptively unlawful.
[21:55:00]
So, we provided a clear and clean complaint that sets out our case. We think we are right on the facts, right on the law, and that we're going to get a TRO, and a preliminary injunction or -- and/or a preliminary injunction in short order.
COLLINS: And you'll be filing for that tonight.
BONTA: We will.
COLLINS: California Attorney General, Rob Bonta, thank you for joining us.
BONTA: Thanks, Kaitlan. Thanks for having me.
COLLINS: Up next. It is Source Code. We give you this number at the center of a story in the news. Can you guess what the story is? Tonight, it is 15 million. We'll be back right after this with the answer.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
COLLINS: Tonight's Source Code is $15 million. That's because that's how much more money the Supreme Court justices want to go toward police protection for themselves and for their families.
[22:00:00]
The request is so personal that Justices Amy Coney Barrett and Elena Kagan are speaking directly to lawmakers tomorrow, in what is a rare appearance by the two of them at the Capitol. Justice Barrett, in particular, has faced several close calls, including being targeted in a swatting attack that happened in May.
And the testimony from these justices will happen just two weeks after the court wrapped up that divisive term that had frustrated both Republicans, in some situations, and Democrats in other rulings. Sources say that lawmakers are preparing questions that will take Barrett and Kagan far beyond just their talking points and what they want in terms of security. Stay tuned for that.
And thanks for joining us tonight.
"CNN NEWSNIGHT WITH ABBY PHILLIP" starts now.
