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The Lead with Jake Tapper

Nearly 50,000 People In Wisconsin Cast Protest Vote Against Biden; Hillary Clinton To Voters Upset By Biden-Trump Choice: "Get Over Yourself"; Video Shows C.A. Police Shooting Of Reported Kidnapped Teen; Iran's Leaders Vow Revenge For Strike In Syria, While Some Iranian Citizens Celebrate Attack; Countdown To Total Solar Eclipse. Aired 5-6p ET

Aired April 03, 2024 - 17:00   ET

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

[17:00:00]

JAKE TAPPER, CNN HOST: Savannah Graziano was believed to have been kidnapped by her father. New video shows her walking towards deputy. Why did they fire their weapons at her? We're taking a closer look at the 2022 case. Plus, a new way to treat depression. The FDA just cleared the first digital treatment. We'll explain how that works. But we're going to start with new CNN reporting on the, quote, "fury and indignation" inside the Biden White House touched off by the Israeli striking Gaza that killed seven workers delivering food for the World Central Kitchen to starving Palestinians.

World Central Kitchen is the nonprofit started by celebrity chef Jose Andres. At the White House just yesterday as Biden hosted several Muslim American leaders to talk about Gaza, one of the leaders got up and walked out of the meeting in protest. He handed Biden a letter beforehand from an eight year old orphan girl living in Rafah, orphaned in the last six months. CNN's MJ Lee is at the White House for us now.

And MJ, we're seeing a new level of anger and indignation inside the White House at targeted at Netanyahu after this deadly IDF strike on these aid workers.

MJ LEE, CNN SENIOR WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT: That's right, Jake. President Biden himself, of course, said that he was outraged. And I'm told that the frustration inside the White House has really reached new levels. One senior official describing the deaths of these seven workers as a standout incident. The president explicitly blaming Israel for this incident, saying that Israel is simply not doing enough to protect these kinds of aid workers, not to mention civilians.

And also this is going to be -- now that the anger is going to be the backdrop of the conversation that the president has with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu tomorrow. But Jake, despite this anger and despite the president being furious, the White House today making it very clear that the U.S. is not taking a new position in terms of its support for Israel in its ongoing war against Hamas in Gaza. Take a listen.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

KARINE JEAN-PIERRE, WHITE HOUSE PRESS I can say that nothing has changed and we've been clear about that since, certainly since yesterday. We are going to continue to have those really tough conversations.

We want to make sure that civilians are kept safe, that are protected and also folks who are providing humanitarian aid.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

LEE: And last night here at the White House, we saw on vivid display the anger and frustration that the president continues to confront over this war. Initially, the White House was going to host an iftar dinner for a breaking of the Ramadan fast. But that became revised to just a meeting with a small group of Muslim leaders when participants raise concerns about this idea of having a celebratory meal when the situation in Gaza is so terrible right now and people are starving in the enclave. One participant, of course, was this Palestinian American doctor who ended up walking out of that meeting early as a show of protest. This doctor saying that he handed the president a letter from an eight-year-old girl who was orphaned during this war.

In that letter, the girl begging the president to do anything to stop Israel from going into Rafah. Of course, he is one of many across the country right now who feel like they would like to see the president take a different position when it comes to this war. But again, the White House is making very clear that is not something they are prepared to do right now, Jake.

TAPPER: All right, MJ Lee, thanks. Here's another sign that President Joe Biden is in political trouble over his handling of the Israel Gaza war. Yesterday, about 48,000 people voted for uninstructed delegates in Wisconsin's Democratic primary, also known as a protest vote against Biden. Forty-eight thousand in a state that Biden won by less than half that, about 20,000 votes in 2020. Keep in mind, these voters didn't even have to show up to vote at all, given Biden already has won enough delegates to clinch the Democratic nomination.

Ben Wikler joins us now. He's the chair of the Wisconsin Democratic Party.

Ben, this looks like a bad sign for President Biden. We saw a similar thing in Michigan. You somehow told NPR that this is a good sign. Explain.

BEN WIKLER, CHIAR, WISCONSIN DEMOCRATIC PARTY: Well, the folks who voted uninstructed in the Democratic primary, these are Democratic voters, and they're casting ballots now to send a message that they want to see change, not in November in who's president, but right now in policy. They want to see an enduring, just peace, and they want to see an end of the humanitarian crisis, and folks want to see hostages go home. Those are all things that President Biden's working for.

On the other side, we had 76,000 people in Wisconsin who voted for Nikki Haley, not because of a policy argument they were making, but because they cannot bring themselves to cast a ballot for Donald Trump. So, in both sides, there were folks who didn't vote for the nominees. On the Democratic side, President Biden has the opportunity to earn the support of these voters who want to join Democrats in stopping another Trump presidency. And that's why this, you know, act of protest, it's part of the great American tradition, it's part of what happens in every presidential election. And we can bring folks together this fall.

[17:05:13]

TAPPER: So, I take your point on the Republicans who voted for Nikki Haley. But back to the Democrats, since you are the chairman of the Democratic Party of Wisconsin, you really think that everyone who voted uninstructed is going to change their vote to Joe Biden in the fall? Let's assume, by the way, that there isn't peace in the Middle East by November. I think that's a safe assumption. You really think that these 46,000 are going to go to the polls for Joe Biden?

WIKLER: We know that the more you vote, the more likely you are to vote in the future. And I know lots of folks who voted uninstructed. And what they're looking for is a resolution to this crisis, an end of the humanitarian crisis, just in enduring peace. They're not looking to elect Donald Trump. They know that if they don't vote for Biden, that it makes it more likely Trump will win.

And what they want is to feel like they're seeing change on the ground and feel ready to support President Biden. My hope is that by the time we get to November, we've created change, the crisis has stopped, and that we're in a moment where the activism around uninstructed has become activism to turn folks out and make sure that we do stop another Trump presidency and have a second Biden term, where we're rebuilding in Gaza and in Israel, and folks are living in peace and security. That's the goal that we're all working for.

TAPPER: So, let me posit another theory. Maybe those 46,000 people, because they are super engaged, they would turn out and vote basically a protest vote, even though President Biden is going to be the nominee, they didn't need to do that, but they're motivated and they're engaged, as you say, let's say they go and they vote for Jill Stein or Cornel West or Robert Kennedy Junior. I take your point they're not going to vote for Trump. But if I were you, and I'm sure you're a very smart guy and well respected, I'm sure privately you agree with me, at least, these 46,000 are not necessarily going to vote for Joe Biden.

WIKLER: Oh, no one's saying anyone's necessarily voting for anyone. I don't think any candidate should take any voter for granted. So, there's absolutely work to do to show voters that their voices are being heard and most importantly, address the wrenching humanitarian crisis that's playing out before our eyes on CNN and everywhere else. The thing that will bring voters together is change on the ground in Israel and Palestine and that there's a ton of work to be done towards that goal. And that's what voters are calling for.

They're not voting uninstructed in the Democratic primary because they have given up on the idea that any change is possible. They're voting to try to create change in the world. And President Biden's campaign is arguing that we can build a better future. He's working the phones. We just -- you just heard about it from Karine Jean-Pierre to have tough conversations right now.

So the goal is to address this crisis, bring Democrats and Nikki Haley voters and Independents altogether and deliver a tremendous reelection in the fall and be able to keep moving the country forward. That's what you -- when you're an activist, you want change. You're not just trying to cast a protest vote that has no effect.

TAPPER: Well, on the topic of Nikki Haley voters, John Martin had an interesting piece in Politico the other day about how, yes, there is this play to try to get Nikki Haley voters, but there has not actually been outreach by the White House or the Biden campaign to Nikki Haley or to Chris Christie or to any of the Republicans who are out, the Liz Cheney, any of the Republicans out there who are taking courageous stands against Donald Trump. Why not? Shouldn't the Biden campaign be actually going after them as well as their voters?

WIKLER: I've seen President Biden in speeches, in videos saying to Nikki Haley voters that while Trump is pushing them away and saying that they're traitors, they are welcome to vote for someone who actually believes in democracy. That conversation is going out to the hundreds of thousands, maybe it's millions at this point, people who've gone out knowing that Trump would be the Republican nominee and cast votes for a candidate who has suspended her campaign. And I'm sure that the pace and breadth of that effort is only going to scale up as we go through this year.

TAPPER: OK. Ben Wikler, thank you so much. Really appreciate it.

Let's discuss with our panel. There's a lot there. First of all, let me just say, Matt, he didn't answer my question, you know, whatever, there's so much he can say. Shouldn't the Biden campaign and the White House be going after people like Liz Cheney and like I understand, you know, and saying I don't -- you don't agree with me on 99 percent of these issues, but you agree with me on democracy. I mean, isn't there a case to be made?

MATT GORMAN, FORMER SENIOR ADVISER, TIM SCOTT PRESIDENTIAL CAMPAIGN: It would seem natural in a way. Jonathan Martin's piece might have blown it a little bit because now he has to wait a little bit. He can't go right afterwards because it's like, well, I'm taking cues from Jonathan Martin. But I think it would probably be a smart thing. I don't think it would be receptive if Nikki Haley did it or if it was two Nikki Haley per se, Chris Christie. Liz Cheney, on the other hand, maybe so.

TAPPER: Interesting.

NAYYERA HAQ, OBAMA ADMINISTRATION SENIOR DIRECTOR OF CABINET AFFAIRS: The credibility that comes with a Nikki Haley or Liz Cheney speaking out about democracy and moving those people that go with them, it comes from them saying these things.

[17:10:06] TAPPER: Right. That's what I'm saying.

HAQ: But not because Biden convinced them to say it, right?

TAPPER: Exactly. Oh, I see what you're saying. OK.

HAQ: Yes. It's the fact that they did it. And so that any type of coordination that would happen would most likely happen closer to the election, which is the voter turnout, get out the vote, period. This is persuasion. And right now it's persuading regular Democratic voters that they should be enthusiastic enough to turn out for Biden.

TAPPER: Well, let's talk about that. Let's talk about that, because former Ohio state senator Nina Turner today posted on X regarding the Wisconsin primary and what I was talking with Mr. Wikler about.

Yesterday, she wrote, over 47,000 voters in Wisconsin went to the polls and voted uninstructed. That's 47,000 Democratic voters, we should note. President Biden won Wisconsin in 2020 by a little over 20,000 votes. This president must decide if loyalty to Netanyahu is worth delivering Trump the election in November. He must decide.

Nina Turner, I love her. She's a firebrand, she's a progressive. But there are moderate Democrats saying that privately, too.

SEUNG MIN KIM, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Right, right. And another number that is really fascinating and should be really alarming for the Biden administration, the Biden campaign is this latest number from Quinnipiac polling that said 48 percent of Democrats support Biden's handling of the war in Gaza. Forty-eight percent approval on an issue that has taken over your presidency is a horrible sign for Joe Biden. You do see how -- while the White House says in terms of strategy, they're staying the course, nothing about even this horrific bombing of the World Central Kitchen workers has changed their strategy as of yet. You do see President Biden becoming more and more forceful in his rhetoric.

But unfortunately for, you know, for the Biden campaign and for the president, you know, the change in rhetoric is not going to be enough for a lot of these Democrats who are really unhappy with the policy on Gaza.

HAQ: And part of why Nina Turner says loyalty to Netanyahu is because in the Obama administration there was a sense of what it means to stand up for Israel separate from Netanyahu's personal agenda. And so much about this conflict for the last six months has become about Netanyahu's own political ambitions and his own longevity. Right. The protests in country, the lack of focus on a policy that will actually get hostages back. And so that's part of the challenge that we see two individuals who know each other well and trying to make a relationship work that seems like it's happening at the expense of actual good policy and humanitarian efforts on the ground.

TAPPER: So, one question I have, there was an interesting piece by Jonathan Swan about -- in the "New York Times" about these right wing Israeli journalists with Israel Hayom, the Sheldon Adelson's paper going to Donald Trump and actually leaving that meeting shocked because they thought that Trump was even more left wing on these issues having to do with Israel. Remember, these are very right wing Israelis. They thought Trump was to the left of Biden on these issues. And I wonder where is Donald Trump on these issues? Because that's what he was saying privately. Supposedly he was saying, you need to wrap this war up.

It looks horrible. And is there an opportunity for him at all here?

GORMAN: Well, don't forget, you know, Biden -- Netanyahu and Trump didn't really end on great terms after Netanyahu congratulated then president elect Biden.

TAPPER: Oh, yes, Trump's still mad at him.

GORMAN: Exactly, right? So don't -- I wouldn't be surprised if this colors it a little bit. And I think we've seen a little bit too. I wouldn't be surprised is I think one of the more defining characteristics of support for Israel and Gaza less than political party is age, right? Older voters tend to support Israel more.

Younger voters, regardless of party more so obviously Democrat, tend to support Israel less. I wouldn't be surprised if you're Trump, try and stratify that to a little bit more partisanship. Try and make everybody put in their corners. And by Trump inserting himself in the situation automatically makes it much more hostile party.

TAPPER: Interesting. So here's -- Nayyera, I really want to know what you think about this. Hillary Clinton sat down with Jimmy Fallon and she was asked about the Democrats. People who are disaffected, don't want to vote for either Biden or Trump, aren't excited about the rerun, aren't excited about the rematch. This is what she had to say.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

HILLARY CLINTON, (D) FORMER PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: Get over yourself. Those are the two choices.

JIMMY FALLON, AMERICAN COMEDIAN: Yes, I love that.

CLINTON: Yes, right.

FALLON: Yes, it is.

CLINTON: You know, it's kind of like one is old and effective and compassionate --

FALLON: Yes.

CLINTON: -- has a heart and really cares about people. And one is old and has been charged with 91 felonies.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

TAPPER: There's 88 felonies because three of them were dismissed. But get over it. Is that a winning argument for those people who are not excited about the rematch?

HAQ: It may work in a generational way for those who follow politics every day and, you know, watch cable news, it's not going to work for younger generation that wants to feel --

TAPPER: That was Fallon, right? That's not --

HAQ: -- that wants to feel included in the process. The folks who are actually showing up and giving protest votes --

TAPPER: Yes.

HAQ: -- who are protesting at the White House, anybody under the age of 40 needs a period of time to feel like they are heard.

TAPPER: Right.

HAQ: They are grieving whatever they think they should have had in this process with Biden. And then come October, get over it.

[17:15:00]

TAPPER: Get over it.

GORMAN: You know, look, I think I can say that because I'm a talking head on cable news, but that just reminded me like Hillary. And honestly, that's the sort of case she made in 2016, and that's why she's not president elect right now. It's either me or going to vote for Donald Trump. There needs to be some affirmative case here. You can't just make it, really, you're going to vote for Donald Trump?

TAPPER: Yes.

HAQ: But it is the reality of accepting that.

GORMAN: It is.

HAQ: We are facing 280, you know, 80 ish year old --

GORMAN: Yes.

HAQ: -- candidates for president.

TAPPER: Yes. Nobody's --

GORMAN: Yes, yes.

TAPPER: -- saying that -- nobody's saying that she's wrong. It's just a question of the affirmative case that is lacking in that. Well, there was something of an affirmative case, he cares about people.

Anyway. Nayyera Haq, Matt Gorman, Seung Min Kim, thank you, one and all. Appreciate it.

Some breaking news just in on Donald Trump's efforts to delay the New York hush money trial that's set to start in a matter of days. We're going to bring you that breaking news. Plus, a judge's sharp response when a January 6 rioter tried to apologize for his so called sins during the Capitol riot. Stay with us.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

TAPPER: And we're back with breaking news for you now. A judge has just ruled against one of Donald Trump's attempts to delay the hush money trial in New York, which is scheduled to start in less than two weeks. Let's get straight to CNN's Kara Scannell.

Kara, what was Trump arguing in this case? And what did the judge have to say in the decision?

[17:20:00]

KARA SCANNELL, CNN CORRESPONDENT: So Trump had asked the judge to delay the start of the trial until after the Supreme Court made its decision on whether Trump has presidential immunity in the federal case involving the election of 2020. The judge -- Trump's team had asked the judge to delay that. And these arguments, you know, are going to be held next month or later this month, but a decision is not likely until June. Well, the judge made the decision today denying that motion, saying that Trump waited far too long to bring it just 17 days before the trial was set to begin. And there is a law that says you have to bring these motions 45 days before.

Judge also pointing out that Trump knew that this was an option because he had made this claim in the federal case. He had also made the claim of presidential immunity to try to move this very state case into federal court, which was denied. And the judge writing in the motion that all that raises real questions about the sincerity and actual purpose of the motion. Now, Trump -- this isn't his only effort to try to still delay the trial date, he also is filing motions with the judge to postpone the trial because of the publicity around it, saying they will be unable to find an unbiased jury in New York County, that includes Manhattan. The prosecutors are opposing that because they say that this is a former president on trial, it is always going to be a high publicity event.

The judge has already denied this motion. Trumps team now renewing it, saying they've done some polling of people. But the judge had said it's not like it's going to be less publicity a month from now. So that one seems like a long shot as well. Jake.

TAPPER: All right, Kara Scannell with that update, thank you so much.

A prison sentence in today's law and justice lead ties right into our brand new series, "Donald Trump's January 6 Hostages." We profile the people that Trump calls hostages, the accused and convicted January 6 rioters behind bars. Trump has called for them to be released. They are, of course, not hostages, but you've heard the references. Here's a sample.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

DONALD TRUMP, FORMER PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: You see the spirit from the hostages, and that's what they are, is hostages. They've been treated terribly and very unfairly.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

TAPPER: They're not hostages, they're prisoners. But we're talking about these folks. So let's find out who Trump is describing as a hostage. This guy, for example, Taylor James Johnatakis, today a judge sentenced Johnatakis, sorry, to more than seven years in prison, 87 months to be exact. Why?

Because he assaulted law enforcement officials during the Capitol attack and he obstructed the congressional proceedings. Prosecutors say Johnatakis was among the very first rioters to march up the southwest Capitol steps on January 6 and confront police trying to hold back the crowd. They say he led the charge under the scaffolding, at times using his megaphone to direct other rioters where to go. Prosecutors say Johnatakis and others pushed metal bike racks into police officers, injuring at least one of them.

Even the day before January 6, prosecutors say Johnatakis posted on social media, quote, "that's why I am going to D.C., to change the course of history hashtag stop the steal." Another message that day from him read, quote, "Burn the city down. What the British did to D.C. will be nothing," unquote. The FBI arrested Johnatakis in Washington State about one month after the attack, and he has been in the D.C. jail since he was convicted back in November. Now, months before today's sentencing, Johnatakis briefly spoke, saying, I repent for my sins.

He invoked a conspiracy theory suggesting he doesn't recognize the court's authority. CNN's Marshall Cohen was also in court to report on today's sentencing. He noted that the judge's response was to call Johnatakis conspiratorial comments gobbledygook. The judge lambasted the actions of rioters, saying, quote, "We cannot condone the normalization of the January 6 U.S. Capitol riot," he said. Warning of a, quote, "vicious cycle" if Americans upset with future election results resort again to, quote, vigilantism, lawlessness and anarchy."

Now, the judge did not reference Trump by name, but the comparisons were pretty clear. Yet another profile for you today of a convicted felon whom Donald Trump inaccurately calls a hostage. Someone who is not a hostage, someone who is a criminal.

A 15-year-old girl shot and killed by California deputies. She was thought to be kidnapping -- a kidnapping victim. Did deputies really think she was a threat? The new video raising questions about their actions. That's next.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[17:28:39]

TAPPER: In our national lead, newly released video of a 15-year-old girl shot and killed by sheriff's deputies in southern California nearly two years ago still leaves behind more questions than it does answers. In this edited video by the San Bernardino Sheriff Department, you can see Savannah Graziano, who at the time was believed to have been kidnapped by her father, she follows a deputy's order to get out of the car and walk toward them. Now, we're going to freeze the video right before Savannah's shot, but you will briefly hear audio from a police helicopter.

Now, Graziano's father was killed during the shootout with the officers. CNN currently does not have access to the entire video. The California Department of Justice is investigating this deadly incident. No officers face any charges. Sam Levin, a senior reporter for The Guardian, is covering this story.

And, Sam, thank you so much for joining us. There's still so much unknown about the shooting. Now that you've seen this video, what's your reaction?

SAM LEVIN, SENIOR REPORTER, THE GUARDIAN: It's deeply concerning. We see that the sheriff's department had really spread a misleading narrative about what actually happened in the immediate aftermath. They, you know, suggested that perhaps she had been shot by her father and that she was running at the officers. But what we see in this footage is that she was unarmed. She was following the instructions of the officers to move towards them. And yet multiple deputies shot at her in this moment. And this is a, you know, suspected kidnapping victim who the police were charged with rescuing.

[17:30:15]

TAPPER: The sheriff's department also released audio from a witness of the shooting. And this witness believed that gunshots were coming out of the passenger side where Savannah got out of the car from. Now, initially, the sheriff's department said it was possible Savannah herself was firing at officers before she got out of the car. What more do we know about this now?

LEVIN: The sheriff's department has repeatedly said that we don't know who was firing. I think they've made clear that her father was firing at officers and they suggested at the time that perhaps she was firing as well. However, there's no evidence to support that other than this witness saying it. And, you know, at the same time, you have the helicopter officer above who noted that it appeared the shots were coming out of the driver's side. Regardless, in that moment, we see that she is unarmed. And, you know, you have the officer up above and the officer on the ground immediately remark, it's her, it's her, it's the girl. You know, the girl is out. And he's saying, come towards me, come towards me. And so there were definitely officers who were very aware it was her, the victim, who they were trying to rescue. And yet she was killed in that moment.

TAPPER: Yes. And look, it's a chaotic situation, but still, it's one that involved a child, a kidnapping victim, at least as far as we know. Has there been any push from the community to get the San Bernardino sheriff's department to look into what happened or change their training for when a dangerous incident involving a child like this happens so this horrible tragedy doesn't happen again?

LEVIN: Yes, absolutely. I mean, it took nearly two years for them to even release this footage. You know, we reported on it because an independent journalist, Joey Scott, you know, filed records requests and has been fighting for this for, you know, almost two years. And so just basic transparency is something people have been pushing for. But at the same time, this comes, you know, a week or a month after the sheriff's department killed 15-year-old, Ryan Gaynor, an autistic teenager, you know, in a very disturbing circumstance.

And so, you know, there's a lot of community outrage right now about, you know, why does this department rush to shoot, you know? And why don't they deescalate these situations? And why don't they have a better plan in place to protect life and protect children in both of these cases?

TAPPER: Yes. That autistic individual was somebody that the sheriff's department knew lived there. He was holding a gardening tool. But the question of de-escalation is certainly an important one. Sam Levin, thank you so much for your time today. Appreciate it.

LEVIN: Thanks for having me. Appreciate it.

TAPPER: Onto new reporting in our World Lead, CNN is learning that the United States flat out told Russian officials that Crocus City Hall could be the site of an imminent terrorist attack by ISIS-K. This is weeks before the attack happened. And ISIS-K attacked that exact spot on March 22nd, brutally slaughtering 144 people, including children. All of this raising questions about Russia's claims that United States intelligence provided to them was not specific enough to prevent the attack. These details were first reported by "The Washington Post" and confirmed by CNN. Former CIA chief of Russia operations Steve Hall joins us now. Steve, you know the world of soviet or Russian intelligence intimately. What do you make of this?

STEVE HALL, CNN CONTRIBUTOR: You know, Jake, this is not an unusual situation. You would be surprised at how many times the United States intelligence community, CIA and others passed this type of threat information, even to adversarial governments like Russia under the duty to warn policy. Because the figuring is, look, if there's innocent humans involved, regardless of whether they're Russians or whatever, their government needs to be warned. So there's no doubt in my mind that this was done and that the specific location was mentioned, perhaps not the timing, but the location, certainly.

TAPPER: How rare is it for the United States to share such specific details with a country that is clearly an American adversary? I mean, I know there is this duty to warn idea that if we, you know, if the U.S. gets this information, we have the responsibility to share it with whomever, including the Iranians, as the U.S. did a few months ago. How common is it?

HALL: You know, it's much more common than I think people would think because logically, you know, I think most lay people would say, look, why would we be passing sensitive intelligence which could reveal sources and methods to our adversaries, to people like, you know, the Iranians, the Russians and so forth. But the bottom line is that this is a difference in values. In our system, we value human life regardless, really, of whether it belongs to an adversarial country or not, especially when it comes to counterterrorism information. We share all the time with the Russians and others, whether they take it seriously, as they clearly didn't in this case, that's their responsibility.

TAPPER: "The Washington Post" Shane Harris writes, quote, Russian media has reported that specialized police units did not arrive until more than an hour after the shooting started and then waited more than 30 minutes before entering the building by which point the assailants had already escaped, unquote. What do you make of that?

[17:35:11]

HALL: You know, I think the FSB in this case would have been their primary responsibility. That's the internal intelligence service of the Russians. And they're clearly thinly stretched is probably not the right word, but they're focused on other things. And they're focused on people like Alexei Navalny and other opposition figures and getting rid of those folks. They're focused on Ukraine. They're focused on all sorts of things that I think if I were a Russian citizen, I'd be saying, why aren't you perhaps more focused on, like, a very popular mall that a lot of people go to in protecting Russian citizens? So I think that's what's going on the Russian intelligence side.

TAPPER: Yes. The FSB arrested Evan Gershkovich, for example, a reporter for "The Wall Street Journal" who does not belong in prison. Steve Hall, thank you so much. Appreciate it.

The Iranian regime has vowed revenge for the strike that killed one of its top military leaders. But the feeling is not mutual for many people who call Iran home. Someone intimately familiar with people's sentiments in Iran will join me after the break.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[17:40:01]

TAPPER: Back in our World Lead, Iran is vowing a serious response, including punishment and revenge for the strike inside Syria that hit Iran's consulate in Damascus. You can see the destroyed building just to the right of -- center of the right hand picture in these before and after satellite images. Tehran claims that at least seven officials were killed in the attack, including a top commander for Iran's elite revolutionary guard, Quds force. U.S. intelligence believes that Israel was behind the strike. Here to help us understand the significance of the attack is Masih Alinejad, an Iranian journalist and activist. Masih, thanks so much for being here. What are you hearing about how the people of Iran, how they feel about this attack?

MASIH ALINEJAD, IRANIAN JOURNALIST AND ACTIVIST: To be honest, Iranians are celebrating the killings of seven IRGC commanders in Damascus, in Syria. But, Jake, let me just ask this question to Iranian regime, because they're hearing me, I really want to know, not just me, millions of Iranians, they really want to know that, I mean, what these seven high ranking members of revolutionary guards were doing in Syria? Of course they were planning for another October 7th. Of course they were coordinating another attacks on civilians. And that's why I believe that was a self-defense. And millions of Iranians, based on the videos that I received, celebrate the killings of the members of IRGC, because these are the officials that they brought sorrow and sadness and misery to the people of Iran, not just to the people of Iran, in the region as well. You know, I received a video of people were, like, drinking and cheering for the killings of these war mongers.

And I said to myself that people of Iran never, never, you know, want war, but they are happy when they see that those who created war, those who started war, now, you know, getting killed in the chaos, that they are the main creator of the chaos in the region.

TAPPER: Right. Because the Quds force, I mean, beyond trying to get Hezbollah and Hamas and other proxies to attack Israel and attack the United States, they oppress the Iranian people. I mean, the Iranian people in general, you say, consider them to be their enemy.

ALINEJAD: Terrorists. Terrorists.

TAPPER: Yes.

ALINEJAD: Look, there was massive uprising in Iran. You know, what was the main slogan? That it just, I still get goosebumps when I remember the slogan, (Speaking in Foreign Language), it's very poetic. People were saying that they lie to us when they say that our enemy is the American government, our enemy Israel. Our enemy is right here, the Islamic Republic. And why? Because revolutionary guards actually is responsible of killing people, blinding women for peacefully expressing themselves, raping girls and women for the crime of just walking unveiled, just showing their hair.

You know, Jake, when I came here, one of the women here in the makeup room asked me, what is this one? And I said that this is a sign that mothers for justice in my country carry that. And she asked me why. I said, because Iranian regime killed a lot of people and mothers wearing this symbol in the streets to identify each other because there are a lot. So and this is why the mothers, the family members of victims, the people, young generation, to celebrate when Qasem Soleimani got killed. They really send me videos of dancing.

But wrongfully, the lobbyists outside Iran, they tried to portray Qasem Soleimani and the members of revolutionary guards as a hero. But they are the warmongers. They are the terrorists. And that's why people are asking the democratic countries to designate revolutionary guards as a terrorist organization.

TAPPER: And what do you think is the purpose beyond killing Israelis and Americans? What do you think is the purpose of the Iranian regime using all these proxy groups, Hamas, Hezbollah, the Houthis and others, to wreak such havoc? Do they want a big war? What do they want?

ALINEJAD: Of course. Of course. Look, that's a very actually good question. Khomeini, the main founder of the Islamic Republic, he has a famous expression which Khomeini followed that. He says that war is a blessing for our nation. They're not representing the people of Iran. We don't want to go. We don't want to. I mean, it's very clear that Iranians do not want war, but the Islamic Republic, they are suffering from crisis within their country, economic crisis.

And like, you know, the young generation, there's a huge gap between young generation and these backward Mullahs. What can help them to survive? War. And that's why they hate democracy. And Islamic Republic sponsoring is the greatest sponsor of Houthi, Hamas, Hezbollah while the people of Iran are suffering from just, you know, haven't received their salaries for months and months.

[17:45:12]

TAPPER: Masih Alinejad, always good to have you on. Thank you so much.

ALINEJAD: Thank you so much.

TAPPER: Experts warn of a slight problem for those of you counting down to next week's big solar eclipse. We'll be right back.

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TAPPER: Time for our out of this World Lead, we're going to need a song for this moment.

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TAPPER: Yes. Bonnie Tyler's "Total Eclipse of the Heart." You're welcome for that earworm. It's all but certain to climb the charts once again now that we're all about to take in a total eclipse of the sun next week. Only five days to go until you see people wearing glasses like these as they look up toward the sky to safely watch the solar eclipse. But the viewing path of this highly anticipated spectacle could be ruined by severe thunderstorms. And now people are scrambling to change their plans and locations to ensure they get to see this rare phenomenon. And CNN's Kristen Fisher is here. She is so excited about the eclipse, and she's trying to convince me that I should be, too. Why are people making such a big deal out of this?

[17:50:33]

KRISTIN FISHER, CNN SPACE AND DEFENSE CORRESPONDENT: Jake, I think this is one of those rare moments where people can kind of all come together and marvel at the power of nature when it's not doing something destructive. Right, like this isn't a tornado or a tsunami. This is our solar system turning day into night in a matter of seconds, so dark that the stars actually come out, nocturnal animals come out. That is what you get if you're in that all important path of totality. And so one of the other really cool things about this particular total solar eclipse is the length, the duration of that moment of totality. Back in 2017, it was only about two and a half minutes. Now, for this eclipse, it's going to be almost double that amount of time, so people can really kind of enjoy it. And then you've also got the fact that this eclipse is coinciding with a really powerful period of solar activity.

So the sun itself is actually much more active than it was back in 2017. And that means during the moment of totality, you can actually see those coronal mass ejections, those solar flares, all that stuff coming off the sun. And so it just, it looks cooler, too.

TAPPER: And you're excited about the raccoons that will be coming out in the middle of the day.

FISHER: Yes.

TAPPER: During the moment of totality. What about the thunderstorms that are going to be in the path of the eclipse for some places, which viewing areas will not be compromised, according to the weather report?

FISHER: So as of now, we're still a few days out, of course, so have to put that caveat in. But southern Missouri, Indianapolis, and Buffalo, New York, Upstate New York, New England, they're looking pretty good. But Texas, Arkansas, those are some areas. I mean, that's like, those people have spent so much time and money and invested so many resources into going there, and they're looking pretty dicey right now. I'm reevaluating my plans.

TAPPER: So apparently there are, first of all, I can't see a word. I mean, I can't see anything in this.

FISHER: That means those work.

TAPPER: Apparently there are counterfeit glasses going around. These are real ones I can tell because it's, I'm basically blind. How can people tell if they're real or not, the glasses?

FISHER: It's tough to tell. You'd love to see something that says made in the United States with a barcode. That's the good stuff, so to speak.

TAPPER: What about -- how dangerous is it? Remember we saw Donald Trump when he was president?

FISHER: Yes. That's what you should not do.

TAPPER: Squinting when looking up.

FISHER: You don't want to do that.

TAPPER: But that's -- that can really, actually hurt you, right?

FISHER: You can go blind. And that's something that's really important that you need to tell kids. If you want to take your kids out to look up, you need to prepare them because you can take your glasses off if you are in the path of totality during those four minutes where the moon totally blocks the sun. Any other time, you need to wear these glasses. And a good trick to be able to tell if your glasses are real or not is to hold them up in a room and if you can see any light whatsoever --

TAPPER: They're not real.

FISHER: They're not real. They're not strong enough to protect your eyes. But --

TAPPER: But do you know that when I was a kid, and I mean like a kid- kid in the 70s, and if you want -- they didn't have these fancy glasses, you couldn't get, you know, what you had to do?

FISHER: Pinhole.

TAPPER: You had to poke a hole through a piece of paper and then you look at the eclipse on a piece of paper, which is honestly really lame. But that's how we did it back in olden days.

FISHER: That's what you had to do. And if you look at the Navajo Indians, they would make their children go inside to prevent them from ever looking up at the sun. So that's how they prevented it. But, Jake, one final thing to sell you. If you miss this one, you won't get to see it for 20 years if you live in the United States. So this is your chance.

TAPPER: This is it.

FISHER: This is a total solar eclipse --

TAPPER: This is it.

FISHER: -- for the next 20 years.

TAPPER: All right. I'm ready to go. Kristen Fisher, thank you so much. And you should join CNN on Monday for Eclipse Across America. We'll be on the air with special coverage starting at 1:00 p.m. Eastern on CNN, streaming on Max.

Up next on The Lead, the new digital treatment just approved to help those battling depression in the United States.

Plus, this just in, one of the biggest names in college basketball is going pro. We're going to bring you our leads around the world next.

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[17:58:37]

TAPPER: A bitter fight over the future of Disney tops our whip around the leads. Current Disney CEO Bob Iger emerged the winner of a dramatic board fight after an aggressive challenge to his leadership from a billionaire investor. Today's shareholder vote was an attempt to take the country in a different, supposedly less woke direction. But it was widely rejected by Disney shareholders, Bob Iger received around 94 percent of the vote.

Voters in Oklahoma ousted that city councilman over his past ties to white nationalism. We brought you the story, but the controversy behind this one yesterday on The Lead. Judd Blevins participated in the 2017 Unite the Right rally in Charlottesville. And last night, the citizens of Enid, Oklahoma, voted to remove Blevins from his job and replace him with a different conservative, Cheryl Patterson.

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration has cleared the first digital treatment for depression. It's called Rejoyn, and it's a smartphone app intended to be used alongside antidepressant medications. The app is geared for folks 22-years-old and older who have been diagnosed with major depressive disorder. Rejoyn does not require, oh, I'm sorry, Rejoyn does require a prescription for download, and it is expected to become available later this year. It does require a prescription.

And one of the biggest stars in women's college basketball is ready to go pro. LSU's Angel Reese announced today that she's going to skip her last year of eligibility, saying she has done everything she wanted in college, including winning a national championship last year. Reese is predicted to be a top ten pick in the WNBA draft on April 15th, on Monday, 16.1 million viewers watched Reese compete in what we now know was her final collegiate game. LSU's loss to Iowa, the most watched women's college basketball game in the history of the world.

[18:00:26]

The news continues now on CNN. I will see you tomorrow.