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The Story Is with Elex Michaelson

Exclusive - Former Staffer Says Rep. Eric Swalwell Raped Her; World Awaits High-Stakes Negotiations In Pakistan; Iran - Peace Talks Contingent Upon Ceasefire In Lebanon; Artemis II Astronauts Return To Earth After Historic Mission; Nasa - Artemis II Astronauts Make - Picture Perfect - Reentry; Sunday's Vote Could End Viktor Orban's 16 Years In Power; Aired 12-1a ET

Aired April 11, 2026 - 00:00   ET

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

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ALEX VATANKA, SENIOR FELLOW, MIDDLE EAST INSTITUTE: -- they've sent this fellow by the name of Bagher Ghalibaf, who's pretty prominent. So most senior figures they could send, and that's to me, is pretty, pretty telling. I think they really want diplomacy to work. Whether it works or not remains to be seen.

LAURA COATES, CNN HOST: We are just really hours away from wondering and knowing whether it will. Jamil, Alex, both of you thank you so much. Thank you all for watching. Elex Michaelson in "The Story Is" is up next.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: This is CNN breaking news.

ELEX MICHAELSON, CNN HOST: And welcome to a special edition of "The Story Is." I'm Elex live in San Diego where we are following several major breaking stories tonight. The reason we've come here is because the Artemis II crew has just returned from their journey to the dark side of the moon. They splashed down just off the coast here in San Diego. The astronauts now undergoing a medical evaluation.

Plus, it is now Saturday morning in Islamabad, Pakistan where ceasefire talks are set to get underway as the world waits to see whether United States and Iran will be able to come to an agreement to end the war. But first, new tonight, CNN with exclusive reporting about Congressman Eric Swalwell, who has ascended in the California race for Governor. He has faced recent rumors on social media about sexual misconduct that he has denied. CNN's Pamela Brown and her team have spoken with four accusers, including a former staffer who went on camera to share her story.

In a moment, I'll have an exclusive live interview with Swalwell's attorney. But we begin with Pamela Brown live Washington D.C. tonight. Pam, tell us what CNN investigations team has learned overall about Congressman Swalwell.

PAMELA BROWN, CNN ANCHOR/CHIEF INVESTIGATIVE CORRESPONDENT: Well, it's the accuser I sat down with has the most serious allegations against Congressman Swalwell out of the four women we spoke with. And I need to warn you that this is graphic and disturbing. UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I kept figuring out ways to blame myself. I shouldn't have reached out to him at all. I should have left. I should have done this. Well, Eric shouldn't have raped me.

BROWN: This Capitol Hill staffer is coming forward for the first time on camera to talk about her experience with Congressman Eric Swalwell. He is now a leading democratic candidate for Governor of California.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

ERIC SWALWELL, U.S. HOUSE DEMOCRAT: Let's get together. Make the biggest wave this state has ever seen.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BROWN: Swalwell was in his late 30s and married when she joined his office as an intern and became a junior staffer. She's speaking in shadow as she fears professional consequences.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: It was in 2019, I was again driving him to an event. This was my job.

BROWN: And you were 21-years-old.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: When I was 21-years-old, we see some sort of parking lot and he says to pull over. He pulls out his penis and instructs me to give him oral sex. And I started to again, I felt incredibly uncomfortable. And I stopped and I said to him, this feels really uncomfortable and anyone could see us right now. And he said to me, you're right. It's probably not good for a Congressman to be caught with his pants down.

BROWN: Swalwell calls her allegations false. His campaign responded earlier to vague accusations on social media related to his behavior with staffers.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Did you ever behave inappropriately with female staffers?

ERIC SWALWELL, U.S. HOUSE DEMOCRAT: No. No. It's false. And also some of the allegations I've seen, which is that we've had NDAs in the office, never -- there's never been an allegation, and there's never been settlement. And I will also just take stock that, look, we're 27 days before an election starts.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BROWN: Did he ask you to send him nude photos?

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Yes.

BROWN: And did he ever send nude photos?

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Yes. He would send short Snapchat videos of him rubbing his penis through his pants while on the airplane.

BROWN: The staffer says she liked Swalwell's attention at first and nervously went along with it, which included sending back nude photos of herself. But in September 2019, she says she and some friends met up with Swalwell. After a night of heavy drinking, she says she woke up naked with Swalwell in a hotel room with no memory of what happened.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: The five of us were having some drinks. At some point, it was time to go home. I got in an Uber. I was taken to the Aloft Dublin-Pleasanton where he was staying, and I don't remember what happened that night. But I know that we -- there was sexual contact, because when I woke up in the morning, I could feel that there was, and he said as much too.

BROWN: What did he say?

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: That last night was great. It didn't feel great to me because I didn't remember it.

BROWN: And so you blacked out and you end up in his hotel room and wake up with him?

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Yes.

BROWN: She says another incident occurred in 2024 after this event in New York where Swalwell gave a speech.

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(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

ERIC SWALWELL, U.S. HOUSE DEMOCRAT: Some of us are working hard on Capitol Hill.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BROWN: At the time, she no longer worked for Swalwell's office.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I decided to ask him to meet me for a drink, and I did this because I was so far removed from what had happened in 2019. I felt safe because I was established. I had a partner. I felt more secure that I could have a strictly professional relationship with this person. After that bar closed, we went to another. I went to the bathroom, and I don't remember anything after that.

BROWN: You don't remember anything?

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I remember the next day. I can see flashes of that evening of him on top of me, me pushing him off, him grabbing me. It was a lot more aggressive. It was aggressive.

BROWN: Did you say no?

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Yes. I said no. I said in my flash that I can recall, I was pushing him off of me saying no. BROWN: And what did he do?

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: He didn't stop.

BROWN: He didn't stop. And you woke up the next morning?

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I woke up the next morning naked alone in his hotel room. I -- for a moment, didn't even know I was in his hotel room. That's how intoxicated I was. And I called my mom, the only person I could think that could help me.

BROWN: Her mother confirmed her account in an interview with CNN. CNN also reviewed screenshots of texts she sent to a friend saying she was "Sexually assaulted by Eric." She also shared this note from a physician's assistant calling her a "Survivor after she went to get tested for STDs one week later." Why do you feel like it's so important to speak out now?

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: When I found out there were others who might have been impacted by Eric in different ways, I realized I couldn't be scared anymore because that is how he keeps us quiet. The fear, the shame.

BROWN: In addition to this former staffer, three other women who spoke with CNN also alleged sexual misconduct by Swalwell. One said he kissed her and touched her without her consent. Two of the women said he sent them unsolicited explicit messages or nude images of himself, something the others say Swalwell did with them as well. One shared this message where he commented on her photo and wrote, "That swimsuit with an expletive. You like it?" She responded. Yes. Very much like, he wrote.

In a statement to CNN, Swalwell said, "These allegations are false and come on the eve of an election against the front runner for Governor." For nearly 20 years, I have served the public as a prosecutor and a Congressman and have always protected women.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: There is another me out there. There is another young girl who dreams of working in this field and believes in him and could fall into this trap.

BROWN: And that's why you're speaking out?

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Yeah.

BROWN: You want to protect others like you when you were young.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: No one protected me. Sorry. No one protected me, and I don't want someone else to suffer because I know what I know.

MICHAELSON: We'll have more from Pamela Brown in a moment, but we want to show you this. Representative Swalwell himself just posted a new video responding to those allegations. Take a listen.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP) ERIC SWALWELL, U.S. HOUSE DEMOCRAT: A lot has been said about me today through anonymous allegations, and I thought it was important that you see and hear from me directly. These allegations of sexual assault are flat false. They're absolutely false. They did not happen. They have never happened, and I will fight them with everything that I have. They also come on the eve of an election where I have been the front runner candidate for Governor in California.

I do not suggest to you in any way that I'm perfect or that I'm a saint. I've certainly made mistakes in judgment in my past. But those mistakes are between me and my wife. And to her, I apologize deeply for putting her in this position. I also apologize to you if in any way you've doubted your support for me. But I think you know who I am. For over 20 years, I have served the public as a City Councilman, as a Member of Congress, and as a prosecutor who went to court on behalf of victims, particularly on behalf of sexual assault victims. That's who I am and have always been.

This weekend, I'm going spend time with my family and friends. And I appreciate those who have reached out to me to show support. And I look forward to updating you very soon.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

[00:10:00]

MICHAELSON: Congressman Swalwell's Attorney Ellas Dabale joins us live now from Los Angeles exclusively. Thank you so much for joining us. CNN gave Congressman Swalwell multiple opportunities to respond on camera to Pamela's reporting. I invited him to join us live tonight. He just posted that video online. But why won't he join us to answer the questions directly?

ELLAS DABALE, ATTORNEY FOR REP. ERIC SWALWELL: Well, let me start by telling you that we take these allegations very seriously. The Congressman categorically denies any misconduct took place, and we intend to vindicate his rights in court.

MICHAELSON: So when you say that that that you take them seriously, are you suggesting and what he just said there was that he made mistakes between me and my wife. I apologize to her deeply. Is he saying that he cheated on his wife, but didn't do anything illegal?

DABALE: I'm not going to get into the details of that. Our investigation is ongoing. A lot of it is privileged. But I can tell you based on the video that you just played, the Congressman takes accountability for potential lapses in judgment, but, again, categorically denies any wrongdoing.

MICHAELSON: So your investigation is ongoing. Why isn't he here, though, to answer those questions? You didn't answer that question. Why isn't he putting himself out there to answer the questions directly?

DABALE: Well, he has a campaign to run. He's busy. He's taking these allegations seriously. And, again, as he told you in that video, he's spending time with his family and his wife and his friends, and that's his choice.

MICHAELSON: So there are now four different women who accuse Congressman Swalwell of sexual misconduct. Is your position that all of them are lying?

DABALE: Look. As an attorney, I look at credibility. I look at motive, and I have to question the timing of these allegations 25 days out from an election. Many of these allegations are from women who claim that the wrongdoing took place many years ago. And in those years, the evidence I've seen demonstrates that these women's certain of them have reached out to the Congressman on multiple occasions wishing him nothing but the best, supporting his campaign, saying that they'd vote for him for Governor, asking for references for jobs, attending social events with him.

So from my perspective, looking at the facts, I do have to question the credibility of these allegations.

MICHAELSON: You know that there's a long history and a lot of evidence of sexual assault experts who say that the victims often go back to the perpetrators and that that is frequently a thing. So just because they went back and continued a relation with him, everything they're saying is not true?

DABALE: I'm telling you that I'm assessing the credibility of the claims that are being made, the timing of the allegations, and it raises eyebrows.

MICHAELSON: But there is evidence. I mean, in Pam's piece, she showed a note from a physician's assistant that called her a survivor. She had an STD pregnancy testing. We talked to family and friends she confided in. We saw text messages from the time. That was way before he was running for governor at a time when she believed in him as a candidate and as a Congressperson.

DABALE: I'd prefer not to get into those deep.

MICHAELSON: That was all cooked up years ago.

DABALE: I'd prefer not to get into those details at this time, but I can say that those text messages were sent by someone who was in a relationship at the time and may have had her own motives.

MICHAELSON: What does that mean?

DABALE: The investigation is ongoing, and I do plan on vindicating the Congressman's rights.

MICHAELSON: So the Democratic leader of the house, Hakeem Jeffries, is calling for a swift investigation in the house where Congressman is still a member. Is Congressman Swalwell prepared to testify under oath that he never had sexual relations with any staffer?

DABALE: That's something that we have not looked at yet. I'm hearing this now for the first time, and I'm not prepared to give you a response. MICHAELSON: So he is not prepared to testify under oath before House ethics commission.

DABALE: That's not what I said. I said I have not discussed that.

MICHAELSON: OK. So he is willing to testify under?

DABALE: I didn't say either one of those.

MICHAELSON: You haven't --

DABALE: I said that I have not discussed that with the Congressman, and that's something that we will look at.

MICHAELSON: So there is a growing list of Swalwell's friends and colleagues who had endorsed him for Governor, but now say that they are pulling their endorsement. That includes Congressman Jimmy Gomez and Senator Adam Schiff, who were campaign co-chairs. They now say he should drop out. Is Eric Swalwell still running for Governor of California tonight?

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DABALE: As of this moment, yes, he is. He intends to continue his campaign. Yes. Very much so. The notion that all these people pulled their support, I suspect that there are political machinations behind the scenes explaining why the Democratic party has decided to try to consolidate the vote in order to make sure that a Democratic candidate makes it past the primary. So I'm not surprised to see that.

MICHAELSON: That doesn't make any sense. That's one thing if we're talking about the candidates that are running against him. These are people who endorsed him. These are some of his best friends in Congress. Ruben Gallego, one of his closest friends. Jimmy Gomez, who he asked to chair the campaign. People have made commercials for him saying go out and vote for him. They are now saying on the record that he should drop out. Many of them saying they believe the women, not him. I mean, why are they -- are they all lying? What is their motivation in this, and why is he not listening to his best friends in Congress?

DABALE: People are free to make their choices. I think that might be -- this might be an example of a rush to judgment. We have not seen any evidence to support these allegations, and people are rushing to judgment. That's their choice.

MICHAELSON: Why have none of Swallows closest allies come out tonight to back him up?

DABALE: It's early in the night. That might change.

MICHAELSON: So Swalwell said to at least one of the women that he wanted to take their conversations to Snapchat. Why? Why would he want to communicate with disappearing messages with younger individuals that he's interacting within a professional capacity?

DABALE: Well, I haven't seen any evidence that that ever took place.

MICHAELSON: Well, OK. Hopefully, we can provide that to you later, but at least --

DABALE: I'll look forward to seeing the evidence.

MICHAELSON: So several of the women received cease and desist letters. They have now spoken out. Do you plan on prosecuting or going forward legal action against the women?

DABALE: We are looking at the evidence, and that is something that we are taking very seriously. We can -- these allegations were made anonymously. We triangulated sources, and we were able to identify who was making these claims. We believe that these claims are false. And once we had enough information to determine who was making them, we sent cease and desist letters, and we're now looking at all available legal options. Yes.

MICHAELSON: When is Eric Swalwell going to be back on the campaign trail?

DABALE: That's not clear. He's taking time with his family right now, and that's a decision for him to make.

MICHAELSON: Well, we appreciate you coming on and talking with us, and we look forward, hopefully, to having the opportunity to talk with him as well. Ellas Dabale, thanks so much for being with us.

DABALE: My pleasure.

MICHAELSON: Let's go back now to CNN's Chief Investigative Correspondent, Pamela Brown. Your first reaction to what we just heard.

BROWN: Well, yeah, a few things. First of all, Elex, when he says he engaged in no wrongdoing, there's legal wrongdoing, right, and there's moral wrongdoing. And I didn't hear clearly, a specification as it came to that. And one of the big points that his attorney raises is that look this happened years ago. Why are these women coming out now during an election cycle where he's leading? And we asked that question, and you heard it there in the piece, Elex. I asked the woman I interviewed, why now if this happened several years ago?

And you heard her say there was shame. There was fear. But also over the last couple of weeks on social media, there have been rumors that other women had these claims. And the women we spoke with, including the one I sat down with said that emboldened them and gave them the confidence to want to speak out. And as you heard, the woman I interviewed help other women.

Now in terms of some of the friendly messages, some of the women we spoke to did say they had friendly messages after these alleged encounters with the Congressmen. And they say that there was a variety of reasons. And as you pointed out, Elex, experts on this say there are different reasons because there can be, Stockholm syndrome. As one of the women told me, she felt like she had that. There's fear of consequences. There's -- these women were in their 20s when they say this happened, and there was a big power imbalance, right, particularly with a former staffer. And they admitted, hey, I liked the attention. But you have to think about this through the lens of the power imbalance and the relationship lens as well.

[00:20:00]

And just that big concern too of the professional consequences and also the way of gaining control. If you speak to those who have been survivors of sexual assault or of sexual misconduct, blaming themselves or trying to engage. That is actually common behavior. So it's interesting that they're using that in and of itself a defense.

And when it comes to snapchat, we do have evidence, and this is all in our online story with Ali Gordon and Isabel Chapman and Casey Toland. The text message saying, hey, let's move it to snapchat where the disappearing messages are. There's corroboration with the woman I sat down with her doctor, a medical provider, I should say, who said she's a survivor, her family, the text messages she sent. We -- for all the women, we spoke to family or friends who corroborated these accounts, and they're standing by them even though two of the women received cease and desist letters after CNN initially reached out a couple of days ago.

MICHAELSON: Yeah. I mean, it's interesting that Swalwell puts out video but doesn't answer questions and gives you guys a very generic statement. And then the attorney comes on and says that he's launching an investigation, but when we ask specific questions about the evidence, says that he hasn't completed his investigation. So it seems like there are not a lot of answers coming out of the Swalwell campaign at all.

BROWN: And what I noticed too, a couple days ago, Congressman Swalwell was asked on the trail, have you ever had an inappropriate sexual relationship with a staffer? And he said, no. That's false. What I noticed in the video he sent out tonight, he didn't talk about that. He didn't talk about -- he didn't deny having sexual relationship with a staffer. He was really focused. He said he denies the sexual assault allegations, which, of course, as you know, Elex, is criminal.

And then he went on to say he was apologized to his wife, which as you indicated, is he saying that there was misconduct, but maybe not legal misconduct. The lawyer really didn't answer that question. There's still a lot of questions here. And as you pointed out, Elex, some of his friends in democratic politics are now putting pressure on him to withdraw from this race, and the lawyer seems to indicate that's not going to happen. We'll see how this plays out because his campaign is really unraveling right now.

MICHAELSON: Yeah. And he wouldn't answer the question. Also, will you testify under oath that he did not have sexual relations with a staffer?

BROWN: Right. MICHAELSON: He would not answer that question either. And yes --

BROWN: And another question for him would be, what about the woman I interviewed? Would it -- would you be OK, if she went before the House Ethics Committee and testified under oath? That would be another question to ask. But as you pointed out, he didn't answer your question on that.

MICHAELSON: Pamela Brown, thank you for your extraordinary reporting on this. We really appreciate it, and thank you for staying up late to talk with us. We appreciate that as well.

BROWN: Thank you. Thank you so much.

MICHAELSON: Coming up, more breaking news on this extraordinary night. The world is watching Pakistan where peace talks are set to take place between Iran and the United States. What we know about the high stakes negotiations just ahead. Plus, the other big story, splashdown. The astronauts of Artemis II mission are back on Earth after their historic mission to the moon. Full details of that here in San Diego later this hour. Stay with us. We got a lot to get to tonight as we look at live at the Coronado Bridge. Stay with us.

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MICHAELSON: Welcome back to "The Story Is." Another big story is in Islamabad, Pakistan. The world is anxiously waiting to see if U.S. Iran talks there can deliver a lasting peace. It is now Saturday morning in Islamabad, 09:28 a.m. Saturday's make or break negotiations are expected to include both Pakistani mediators and face-to-face discussions as we look live in Pakistan.

The U.S. delegation is being led by U.S. Vice President, JD Vance, special envoy Steve Witkoff, and President Trump's son-in-law, Jared Kushner. On the Iranian side, there's speaker of Iran's parliament and Iranian's Foreign Minister as well. President Trump says the focus of the talks will be ensuring Tehran cannot obtain a nuclear weapon. His proposal includes Iran handing over its highly enriched uranium, limits on defense capabilities, and reopening of the Strait of Hormuz, but President Trump says that last point will happen with or without Iran's cooperation.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

DONALD TRUMP, PRESIDENT, UNITED STATES OF AMERICA: They're militarily defeated, and now, we're going to open up the gulf with them -- with or without them, but that'll be open. We're going to be, or the strait as they call it. And I think it's going to go pretty quickly. And if it doesn't, we'll be able to finish it off one way or the other. It's going well.

(END VIDEO CLIP) MICHAELSON: As for Iran, it has two conditions before the talks can even start. Lebanon being included in the ceasefire and the release of Iran's blocked assets. Joining us now live from Washington is Behnam Ben Taleblu, Senior Director of the Iran program at the Foundation for Defense of Democracies. Welcome back to "The Story Is."

Great to be back with you. Thanks for having me.

[00:30:00]

MICHAELSON: Is there anything that the U.S. and Iran can find common ground on?

BEHNAM BEN TALEBLU, SR. DIR. OF IRAN PROGRAM, FOUNDATION FOR DEFENSE OF DEMOCRACIES: Perhaps one or two things stylistically. Both of these countries are claiming victory. Both political elites in both capitals did a little bit of a victory lap after the ceasefire. And then the second thing is that both have pointed a finger of mistrust at the other. But make no mistake, Elex, whether you're looking at the 15- point proposal of the Trump administration or the 10-point proposal of the Islamic Republic of Iran, you essentially have two positions that were worlds apart even prior to the commencement of this conflict. And after six weeks of fighting, I think that distance has only grown. It hasn't shrunk.

MICHAELSON: And part of the challenge here, I know you say, is that Iran's not going anywhere. This is their country, right? So can they sort of outlast the U.S., just by virtue of the fact that this is their hood?

TALEBLU: Well, there's an old saying in basketball, you can't teach height. In international politics, you can't teach geography. Iran is part of the neighborhood, but the challenge is that the Islamic Republic of Iran is only 47-years-old, and it's under pressure at home. It's under pressure abroad. In so many ways throughout this conflict, it led with its chin. And the real question here, as the Islamic Republic pivots to the battlefield where it has really taken some losses conventionally and militarily, it is pivoting to a domain. It is pivoting to a kind of statecraft aka diplomacy where it traditionally has been able to enter with a weak hand and leave with a strong hand.

But also, given the presence of ideology there, it has also occasionally overplayed its hand. And the question is, have they really learned the lessons of the past two times of negotiating with the Trump administration as patience in Washington for both diplomacy and war fighting is slim.

MICHAELSON: We know that President Trump would love to declare victory, but is that possible if the Strait of Hormuz is still closed? And what does he need to do to get it back open?

TALEBLU: Militarily, I got to tell you there is about three paths to victory, and the President has one of them right now, and there's big question marks over the other two. Someone like me would love to see political victory, but a pathway to military victory is as follows. Number one, the defanging of the regime's long range strike capability, that's something that the Trump administration can technically claim on points that it has, and indeed it has meaningfully set back Iran's missiles and drones.

The second and third thing is nuclear and maritime security. Nuclear, unless that fissile material is struck again, passed up, or extracted, that'll be a problem in the future moving forward. And third, the Strait of Hormuz. We can't let the Islamic Republic of Iran set up a toll booth and extort countries in a critical international waterway where 20 percent of daily seaborne oil trade flows. And so unless the President gets a resolution not just on the strait, but also on the nuclear issue, it'll be hard to say that he got more than just a political victory, and there'll be more than just a military victory. And there'll be real outsized political questions, which could either lead to a renewed round of fighting or kicking the can down the road and having to pay a heavier price later.

MICHAELSON: Behnam Ben Taleblu, one of the smartest guys on all this. Thank you so much for your insights once again. Have a great weekend.

TALEBLU: You too. Thank you so much.

MICHAELSON: Still ahead, the splashdown off the coast right here in San Diego and what the success of the Artemis II mission could mean for the future of space exploration. We will talk with retired astronaut Garrett Reisman, one of our favorite guests, next.

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[00:35:00]

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MICHAELSON: Cheers and celebrations at NASA as the astronauts of the Artemis II mission returned to Earth here in San Diego a short time ago. They splashed down off the coast shortly after 8:00 p.m. Eastern Time, 5:00 p.m. here on the West Coast after flying more than 700,000 miles to the moon, talk about frequent flyer miles, and traveling farther from the Earth than any human has ever done before in the history of humanity. They will reunite with their families in the coming days in Houston. We expect to hear from them directly in the next week or two.

CNN's Marybel Gonzalez says more on the significance and legacy of the historic Artemis II mission from here in San Diego.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: We're at 5,000 feet.

MARYBEL GONZALEZ, CNN CORRESPONDENT: A historic moment watched around the world. The four astronauts aboard Artemis II returning home to Earth.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: A new chapter of the exploration of our celestial neighbor is complete. GONZALEZ: The Orion capsule landing off the coast of San Diego Friday evening. But to get to this moment, the crew endured a high stakes journey, traveling more than 30 times the speed of sound at temperatures between 4,000 and 5,000 degrees Fahrenheit.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: The air molecules outside the capsule will be so hot they will split apart creating what we call plasma.

GONZALEZ: This marks the end of a 10-day journey where the crew traveled to the far side of the moon, reaching deeper into space than any human has traveled before and capturing stunning images of the moon's surface.

[00:40:00]

KELSEY YOUNG, ARTEMIS II LUNAR SCIENCE LEAD: And ultimately, we're building toward a moon base to establish a sustained presence on the lunar surface.

GONZALEZ: The crew will undergo a series of medical exams, and NASA says their bodies will go through a transition after being in space.

SCOTT PARAZYNSKI, FORMER NASA ASTRONAUT: Maybe a little bit of wobbly legs for the first three to four hours after landing, but it's not the equivalent of say a long duration International Space Station flight in terms of the rigors on the body.

GONZALEZ: Families of some of the crew members say they couldn't be more proud of this moment.

VICTOR GLOVER SR., FATHER OF ARTEMIS II PILOT VICTOR GLOVER JR.: It makes me really, really, really proud of the fact that I know that there are probably millions and millions of young people, around the country and around the world that will look at him and point to him and look at their mom and dad and say, I can do that.

GONZALEZ: In San Diego, I'm Marybel Gonzalez reporting.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

MICHAELSON: We love Victor Glover Sr. who joined us on the show. And now to one of our favorite guests, former NASA astronaut Garrett Reisman. He's a professor of astronautical engineering at the great school, the University of Southern California, and the former Director of Space Operations at SpaceX. You've been with us every step of the way on this one. So many great moments today. Did you have a favorite moment?

GARRETT REISMAN, FORMER NASA ASTRONAUT: I think my favorite moment of the whole trip was actually not anything to do with looking at the moon. It was when they named that that lunar feature after Carol, after Reid Wiseman's departed wife. That was such a poignant moment and the emotion that came through, especially knowing Reid and knowing the family, man there was nothing that that topped that. That was a high for me. MICHAELSON: Yeah. That really was a beautiful thing, and it was so amazing being here in San Diego. We're at the naval base today who sort of led the retrieval process. You know what it's like to literally come back down to Earth, to actually come back down to Earth. What is it like for the astronauts tonight?

REISMAN: Well, for me, it was much more gentlemanly. I came home in the space shuttle, and we didn't pull much more than a G and a half. These guys pulled 3.9 Gs. They were screaming in at 34,000 miles per hour. We're only doing 17,500. So they had a whole different ride in the parachutes and then the splashdown. For me, it was gentle coming home in the shuttle. It was like a flight on an airliner. And there was a little bit of when we hit the transonic regime, there was a little bit of pitch buffet. It was like a really good day on Southwest. So it was like -- it was not these guys had a wild ride, but it ended up very well.

MICHAELSON: Yeah. But they assigned your seats back then. Although now I guess they're assigning seats as well. So talk about, if you will, the precision of today, the work that the NASA did, that the Navy did, as we sort of look at some of the images of today, how every single step was planned out so perfectly.

REISMAN: Yeah, I mean, it's fantastic. I think the most -- the scariest moment for me was when they were entering that that entry period where they were out of comm and they were going through peak heating. That's when I knew the heat shield was being put to its most vigorous test. And that was the thing we're really worried about going into this, because it didn't do so well the first time around. But, obviously, it did his job today. I was so relieved to hear him come out of the comm blackout, and they were doing fine. And then to see him get out of the capsule, man that was something special.

MICHAELSON: There's been a debate in this country over space funding in the last few years. How do you think this has changed the debate about the importance of spaceflight? Because it seems like this whole thing really has captured the imagination of the whole country and a lot of folks around the world.

REISMAN: It really has, and it just shows you the value of human spaceflight that's very hard to put a price tag on. We're talking about the effect it has on kids. When I came home tonight, my 8-year- old little girl came up to me and said, dad, I want to go visit that moon base. So you can't -- it's hard to put a dollar sign next to that it, but I hope it does give more support. And more than that, I hope it gives people a vision of our future that's hopeful where we come together and we're united working towards a common purpose instead of at each other's throats and just conflict and division. This is the future I want for my kids, and we saw a glimpse of it today.

MICHAELSON: Well, let's talk a little bit about both the imminent future and the more long-term future. What are we going to see in the next few years? Because speaking of that moon base, we're not that far off, right?

REISMAN: I hope not, but we still have a lot of work to do. So the thing we really need to get there is a lander.

[00:45:00]

So we were able to fly around the moon, but there is no opportunity for these four astronauts to go down to the lunar surface and do a moonwalk. For that you need the landing craft. So we need one more vehicle, one more piece of this puzzle and both SpaceX and Blue Origin are working on that with the Starship and the Blue Moon lander. And what we hope for is that within a year, one or both of those preferably are ready to do a test in Earth orbit. It will just go around the Earth, but bring up the lander and take Orion in the same vehicle that the capsule that they came down in today and dock and practice bringing those two together so we can do a full dress rehearsal for what we need to do at the moon. That's the next step, and we hope to do that within a year, but there's that's ambitious. There's a lot of work yet to be done on both Starship and the Blue Moon.

MICHAELSON: I mean, we were out of time, but real quickly, how is it that we had a lander in 1969, but we don't have a lander that works in 2026?

REISMAN: Well, the lander was late in 1969, which is why in 1968 we did exactly the same thing. We sent Apollo 8 around the moon without a lander because it wasn't ready. So history repeats itself.

MICHAELSON: All right. There we go. Garrett Reisman, thank you so much for your guidance through this entire trip. Always loved talking with you.

REISMAN: My pleasure, Elex. Take care.

MICHAELSON: Now let's talk about that division that he's trying to avoid. Hungarians preparing to go to the polls. Viktor Orban's political future hangs in the balance ahead of Sunday's crucial elections, which could send a message to all of Europe and to America. President Trump's deeply involved in all this. Stay with us.

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[00:50:00]

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MICHAELSON: Ahead of an election that could end his 16 years in power, Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban is accusing the opposition of trying to seize power and colluding with foreign secret services.

Mr. Orban is facing a major challenge from center right leader, Peter Magyar, in this weekend's elections as Melissa Bell explains.

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MELISSA BELL, CNN SENIOR INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Hungary's Prime Minister, Viktor Orban, has had no shortage of friends waiting to travel to Budapest in his hour of need. JD VANCE, VICE PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: Go to the polls in the weekend. Stand with Viktor Orban.

BELL: From the American Vice President to the Secretary of the State.

MARCO RUBIO, SECRETARY OF STATE, UNITED STATES: Your success was our success.

BELL: Not to mention that of the European far right. Several of its leaders also traveled to Hungary mid campaign to support the man who leads their fight against the European Union.

VIKTOR ORBAN, HUNGARIAN PRIME MINISTER (translated): The left wing elite in Brussels is weaker every day. On the other side, we -- the patriots, are getting stronger, getting stronger in Central Europe.

BELL: But as much as Viktor Orban rails against the European Union, he's never quite shied away from taking its money. Take this $1.5 million roundabout in Western Hungary that was meant to be part of a logistics hub. It was built with money from European taxpayers, and yet the railroad and the container terminal that it was meant to link were never built, leaving behind just this monument to Viktor Orban's vision of Europe. A road to nowhere.

Instead, Orban has continued to milk Russia for cheap gas and oil in defiance of Europe and to look to U.S. President Donald Trump as a champion with both leaders sharing disdain for Brussels.

DONALD TRUMP, PRESIDENT, UNITED STATES OF AMERICA: My best wishes to prime minister Victor Orban who I am endorsing, as you know. I am endorsing his election.

BELL: On Sunday, Orban and his Fidesz party will come head-to-head with Peter Magyar who's standing for the Tisza movement. For all the support that Victor Orban has received from abroad, it's been Peter Magyar's campaign inside the country on very domestic issues that the polls suggest might be about to make the difference even in traditional Fidesz strongholds like this town to the Southwest of Budapest. Melissa Bell, CNN, Shiksha Fehervar.

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MICHAELSON: We'll be right back. We'll take you to our top stories next.

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MICHAELSON: A powerful storm is lashing Hawaii, bringing over a month's worth of rain to parts of the islands. The storm has lasted for several days and flash flood watches are in effect for most of the Hawaiian Islands through Saturday morning local time. CNN affiliate, Hawaii News now reports one community on Oahu's North Shore was forced to evacuate due to rising waters. All this comes as the Hawaiian Islands are still recovering from major storms just last month. Those storms triggered the state's worst flooding in 20 years.

The FAA is investigating a close call at Los Angeles International Airport after a passenger jet almost crashed into the two trucks near the runway. It happened late Thursday as a Frontier flight was preparing for a takeoff. Watch.

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UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Hey, Grant. Do you see this?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: No.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: We had two trucks just cut us all the way to slam on the brakes off the hill. Happened so fast. Both of us are just like, shit. I would slam on the brakes. I might have to call the flight. My sheriff is on the back. It was real close enough everything.

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MICHAELSON: The pilot, who you just heard from, says the plane was on a nearby taxiway when the trucks drove out in front of the jet. The FAA says vehicles are supposed to give way to the planes, but air traffic controllers don't communicate with drivers to warn them of when planes take off. No one was injured, and the flight took off normally.

Finally, for this hour, a popular grocery chain is expanding into the pub business. German discount store Lidl is building its first ever pub in the suburbs of Belfast in Northern Ireland. The pub will be next to an existing store and have a liquor store too. Lidl has been tied up in legal challenges.