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The Lead with Jake Tapper
Elon Musk Dominates First Trump Cabinet Meeting; Trump: $5M "Gold Card" For Foreigners Will Sell "Like Crazy"; "Washington Post" Owner Jeff Bezos Announces "Significant Shift" To The Paper's Opinion Page; Sen. Tammy Duckworth, (D-IL), Is Interviewed About Ukraine Minerals, Security, Veterans Layoff; U.S.-Ukraine Minerals Deal Doesn't Include Security Guarantees; 1,400 Veterans Affairs Employees Laid Off. Six-Year-Old's Cancer Right Tied To Pending Federal Grant Cuts; Gabbard: 100 Plus Intelligence Staffers To Be Fired For Explicit Chats; Police: Wife Of Slain Fire Captain Wanted For Murder. Aired 5- 6p ET
Aired February 26, 2025 - 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: Now, the new director of National Intelligence says more than 100 people in these spy agencies will be fired over, quote, "really horrific behavior, unquote." And leading this hour, the Trump administration today taking new steps towards mass firings, sending agencies a memo detailing how they should carry out a, quote, "significant reduction," unquote, in the number of employees they have. This comes as President Trump holds the first Cabinet meeting of his second term, which included first buddy Elon Musk in a starring role, at least for the part of the meeting with cameras. Let's go straight to CNN's Kaitlan Collins at the White House.
And Kaitlan, Elon Musk, not a Cabinet secretary, but he is an adviser to the president and he sure did take up a lot of the spotlight in the public part of the meeting.
KAITLAN COLLINS, CNN ACNHOR: Yes, Jake, it was really, you know, the power dynamics that have been playing out inside this administration that were on full display inside that Cabinet meeting this morning because we heard from President Trump first as reporters came into the room with the cameras then the HUD secretary led the prayer. But the third person in that room to speak was Elon Musk, at Trump's invitation as he wanted him to explain his government efficiency initiative that he's been carrying out, one that has rankled some of those very Cabinet members who were inside that room seated at the table as Musk was along the outside of the edges of the room alongside with other staffers who were also in there. It was a very crowded room, as you could imagine, Jake, and see from the pictures here.
But Elon Musk was talking in part about the e-mail that he sent over the weekend. That was what caused so much consternation for some of those Cabinet officials and their agencies that was essentially asking federal workers to justify their jobs or risk being terminated. He described it more as a pulse check, as he described it, Jake, saying that he wanted to make sure these workers were actually there and doing their jobs, not simply wanting to know what it was that they did. And he said that he checked with President Trump first before he sent that e-mail out to millions of federal employees. As Trump himself during this meeting also talked about the dynamics at play between Elon Musk and the rest of the Cabinet.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
DONALD TRUMP, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: Let the Cabinet speak just for a second. Anybody unhappy about it? If you are, well, throw them out of here.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
COLLINS: Now, Jake, most of the time inside that cabinet room, at least what we, as reporters were able to see with cameras inside the room, was the president speaking, holding court, taking questions largely from reporters, not really going around the table at cabinet meetings as we've seen him do before checking in with each one on their respective portfolios. But we crunched the numbers, Jake, and obviously Trump spoke more than anyone else in that room did. But the person who spoke far and away more than anyone else inside that room besides the president was Elon Musk himself. And it wasn't almost until an hour into the president taking questions from reporters that he invited the vice president, who was seated across from him at that table, J.D. Vance, to talk about those ongoing negotiations with Ukraine. Just really laying clear the dynamics that are at play here, but also making clear to those other Cabinet officials in the room just how much status Elon Musk does have when it comes to this initiative that he's carrying out, Jake.
TAPPER: All right, Kaitlan Collins, thanks so much. And don't miss Kaitlan show "The Source with Kaitlan Collins." Tonight, Kaitlan's going to interview the speaker of the House, Mike Johnson. That's tonight at 9:00pm Eastern only here on CNN.
Let's bring in Democratic strategist Karen Finney and former homeland security official during the George W. Bush administration, Ashley Davis.
Ashley, even though Musk was not sitting at the table or close to Trump, he certainly commanded a lot of attention in the public part of that meeting. What did you make of it all?
ASHLEY DAVIS, FORMER HOMEAND SECURITY OFFICIAL, G.W. BUSH ADMIN.: Well, first of all, it's not that unreasonable that he was invited to the Cabinet meeting. It happens all the time that they --
TAPPER: Top adviser, sure.
DAVIS: Exactly. However, he's the one that's impacting all of their lives the most. I mean, especially with what happened over the weekend, the chaos. You saw many Cabinet secretaries, DoD, DHS, because of the classified information that they deal with, saying not to respond. Only 1 million people did respond. But I think more importantly, what came out before the meeting started was the most important, the information about the March 15 deadline to the Cabinet secretaries for a reduction in force. And the reason I say that a reduction in force can permanently get rid of these positions. That is the issue that I think is broader, bigger deal here than just people that have been here temporarily that -- or new employees are getting let go.
KAREN FINNEY, DEMOCRATIC STRATEGIST: Yes. I took it as another sign that Trump is Musk and Musk is Trump. That you know, and it's been interesting in our in polling and research where people, they don't like Musk, they don't like DOGE, necessarily. They have mixed feelings. But then where you've seen Trump sort of maintain some popularity and I think it's important that particularly for Democrats, they need to own it, Republicans need to own Musk.
The Cabinet secretaries are going to have to own it because they're the ones who are going to have to work with his team to figure out these cuts. Hopefully, they'll try to do so in a way that causes the least amount of pain, because as we're seeing across the country, it's starting to really hurt.
[17:05:01]
TAPPER: Ashley, Trump again -- President Trump again talked about selling a $5 million gold card, not a green card, a gold card to wealthy foreigners that would allow them to live in the United States, work in the United States. I just want to remind people what Trump said yesterday when he was asked whether or not a Russian oligarch could buy such a card.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
TRUMP: I know some Russian oligarchs that are very nice people. It's possible.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
TAPPER: What do you -- what do you make of the gold card?
DAVIS: Well, I'm not going to comment on the Russian oligarch thing, but I will say, you know, other countries do this. We were talking about this earlier. You -- in Portugal, in the UAE, you can buy a golden visa. This is supposedly going to replace the EB5 program, which is an investment visa in this country. What many are debating right now, and I don't think there's answer, is this legal or not, or does Congress have to do it?
And I think the question is the President is saying that because it's not citizenship, that he has the ability to do it, that it's just a visa. And Congress is saying, no, we have to -- some in Congress, especially on the Democratic side, are saying, no, this is something we have to do, so.
FINNEY: Yes, you know, the thing about this is, as with so much of the flurry that's been happening over the last month is, OK, so what's this really about? So, because when you sort of mention these oligarchs, so is he thinking, oh, you give $5 million, I'll let you have some business contracts or maybe I'll do some deal with you somewhere else? I mean, you know, I'm more curious to sort of see in terms of, you know, connecting the dots, what is he really thinking when he puts an idea out like this?
TAPPER: And we should know that, I think it was Howard Lutnick, the Treasury Secretary, noted that the -- there would be vetting. It's not like, you know, Vladimir Putin gets $5 million.
DAVIS: Yes.
FINNEY: Let's hope.
TAPPER: Well, theoretically. But he said, I mean, there is --
FINNEY: I have Elon Musk. Not necessarily.
TAPPER: There is a vetting process.
DAVIS: It would have to go through the process.
TAPPER: And -- yes.
DAVIS: Yes.
TAPPER: It does build on a pre-existing kind of visa.
"The Washington Post's" owner, Jeff Bezos --
FINNEY: Yes.
TAPPER: -- who has caused a lot of a flurry of activity himself at "The Washington Post," he announced that the newspaper is now going to publish daily opinion stories, quote, "In support and defense of two pillars, personal liberties and free markets," and that, quote, "viewpoints opposing those pillars will be left to be published by others."
FINNEY: Yes.
TAPPER: What do you make of that?
FINNEY: It's very disappointing to see the venerable "Washington Post" become a place that is hostile to differing viewpoints. I mean, he's saying we're going to narrow our focus to two viewpoints. We're not interested in more liberal viewpoints or we may not be interested in, as I think he said in the quote, viewpoints that don't mix with this ideology. And you know, in talking to friends at the "Post," they're very disappointed. And you know, a lot of the moves that he's made have made people very uncomfortable. And it's similar to the L.A. Times where we're seeing yet another billionaire who has, you know, corporate ownership of a media entity where he is seemingly bending the knee to, I mean, again, like the LA Times seeming to bending the knee to Trump to try to, you know --
TAPPER: Improve his standing.
FINNEY: Well, or just shut down access for more progressive and liberal voices.
DAVIS: Yes, I mean, I'm assuming you'll see a mass exodus at the "Post" again, just like the last time. But I also think that it's very interesting watching some of these tech tycoons really coming towards the Trump side of things. But also they are mostly or many of them are libertarian. And I read that initially. Obviously I understand some of the issues that are coming with it, but that is more of the libertarian view.
TAPPER: Yes. I guess the question is, you know, hire some great libertarian columnists, put them in the paper, but why shut out --
DAVIS: The other --
TAPPER: -- the other side of -- the other side of --
DAVIS: Yes, that's the question.
TAPPER: Interesting. Ashley Davis, Karen Finney, thanks to both of you.
More in our politics lead. The Trump White House has deemed itself now the new lifeguard in charge of who's allowed to swim in the White House press pool. Yesterday, the White House announced the small rotating group of journalists who cover the President will no longer -- that list will no longer be managed by the White House Correspondents Association, as has been tradition since the 1950s.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
KAROLINE LEAVITT, WHITE HOUSE PRESS SECRETARY: Moving forward, the White House press pool will be determined by the White House Press Team. A select group of D.C. based journalists should no longer have a monopoly over the privilege of press access at the White House. So by deciding which outlets make up the limited press pool on a day to day basis, the White House will be restoring power back to the American people who President Trump was elected to serve.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
TAPPER: Karoline Levitt there said that legacy outlets like CNN, like the "New York Times" will still be allowed to join, but quote, "New voices are going to be welcomed in as well," unquote. Great. Question is the White House trying to expand the number of media outlets that have access, which seems fine. Or are they trying to replace adversarial journalists with sycophants and cheerleaders?
I ask because this move comes one day after a federal judge declined to lift the White House ban on Associated Press reporters' access to events in the Oval Office or on Air Force One. It's a ban that exists because the White House does not approve of the Associated Press's decision to continue to use the term Gulf of Mexico after Trump renamed it the Gulf of America. They don't like the language the AP is using, so they're banning them.
[17:10:20]
Trump yesterday linked the AP case to the decision on the press pool when he was answering questions from reporters. Trump taking questions, we should note, is a commendable frequent occurrence. The National Journal reports that Trump took 1,009 questions in his first month in office, a refreshing change of pace from his predecessor, President Biden, who took only 141 questions in his first month. But as for who is asking Trump questions from now on, we're already seeing how that could change.
A Reuters wire service reporter was cut from today's pool rotation and was replaced by two pro-Trump news outlets, Newsmax and the Blaze. A Huffington Post reporter who has clashed with the White House was also singled out and removed and replaced by a reporter with Axios. We've also seen a similar pattern at the Pentagon where experienced reporters who have been covering the Pentagon for years had their offices taken away in a so called media rotation program. Those of us losing our offices include us here at CNN and NBC and the "New York Times" and Politico. Who's moving in? Breitbart, Newsmax, the Daily Caller, also the Huffington Post. And when Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth went to Guantanamo yesterday, he brought with him not Pentagon reporters, he brought with him Laura Ingraham, a fellow Fox anchor or he used to be a Fox anchor and he has not yet provided many details on the trip.
Look, we here at the lead are all for expanding the rotation of journalists, just not replacing them and certainly not replacing folks who ask adversarial questions with ones who don't. The solution to the current mainstream media not being adversarial enough towards Democrats or towards institutions, if that's your viewpoint, the solution is not to find more lapdogs to cover President Trump.
For instance, think back to 2003. It would have been great to have a MAGA like reporter challenging President George W. Bush on the notion of whether or not we needed to go to war in Iraq. Sadly, time travel not possible. But if we've learned anything from the Iraq war, it's that adversarial journalism is needed.
Fox White House Correspondent Jacqui Heinrich said this of the White House press pool takeover quote, "If you think MAGA benefits from this in the long term, you're dead wrong. You would not have trusted any Democratic administration to pick its own pool. But now that door is open. White House Correspondents Association has never opposed the White House adding to the pool, but picking it is another story. Just wait till a Democratic administration plays that same game.
You will hate it," unquote. Thank you, Jacqui.
I can't help but observe that while the White House is exerting control over watchdogs in the media outside the government, they're also going after watchdogs inside the government. Inspectors general, military lawyers, all part of the mass firings, taking it together. It does suggest an objective of side lining or removing anyone who questions the authority of the president. A conservative pro-Trump media. Great. Fine. More access for them. It should not replace adversarial journalism.
Not if you're trying to be the president of the entire United States instead of just the president of the red States.
What Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said today about his upcoming meeting with President Trump and a potential deal that could make billions of dollars for the United States. Plus allegations that more than 100 intelligence officers were participating in sexually explicit and obscene messages in National Security Agency chat rooms. What we're learning about efforts to find those involved ahead.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
[17:18:19]
TAPPER: In our world lead, the U.S. and Ukraine on the brink of a deal. Ahead of his Friday visit to the White House, Ukrainian President Zelenskyy announced a framework for this deal. It would provide the U.S. money from Ukraine's natural resources, while Ukraine has sought for security protections from the U.S. as part of the deal, President Trump made one stipulation apparent.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
TRUMP: Well, I'm not going to make security guarantees beyond very much. We're going to have Europe do that. Because it's in -- you know, we're talking about Europe is their next door neighbor.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
TAPPER: Joining us now, Democratic Senator Tammy Duckworth of Illinois, an army veteran from the Iraq war.
Senator, what do you make of this deal having to do with rare earth minerals and Ukraine and the United States?
SEN. TAMMY DUCKWORTH, (D-IL), FOREIGN RELATIONS COMMITTEE: Well, Jake, I am really concerned that it lacks the security guarantees that will protect Ukraine and stand up to Russian aggression. I mean, in order to maintain our economic and military advantage over the Communist Chinese Party and Russia, it's important that we strengthen our domestic manufacturing here at home. But frankly, I am deeply concerned that there is no strategic guarantees in this agreement. And so I am holding my -- you know, I'm just waiting to see, keeping my powder dry to see exactly what is in this agreement.
TAPPER: Last time you were on the show, we talked about people in the veterans' crisis line that had been told they were laid off, although a number of them got their jobs back. The Department of Veterans Affairs announced today that 1,400 people in non-mission critical positions are getting laid off. This comes after the department, the VA, laid off 1,000 people earlier this month. Tell us your view of these additional layoffs. DUCKWORTH: Well, what they're calling non mission critical, I think you and I and the average American would disagree with them that these are non-mission critical. How does a surgeon perform an operation without a surgical nurse, without a surgical assistant? We're already hearing that surgeries are being cancelled or postponed at the VA. I have one person who is a crisis hotline supervisor. This is someone who did such a good job, they were promoted.
[17:20:23]
Now they're training other crisis hotline. The people who answer the phones they're there with them as they're being trained up to answer the phones. And that person is still laid off. You know, Donald Trump has fired more veterans than any other president in our recent history. And this has to stop because these are hardworking people.
And it's really an insult to all of the federal employees who are making sure that the system is running. You know, some of these folks are people who do claims processing, making sure the veterans have access to their benefits that they've earned.
TAPPER: Yes.
DUCKWORTH: They've been laid off.
TAPPER: I just got a text from a Gold Star mom just a few minutes ago noting that about 30 percent of the federal workforce is veterans, are veterans. So when you hear about people being laid off, there's a 30 percent chance that they're veterans. Again, we spoke about -- last week about the people working the veterans crisis line getting laid off. And then later we hired about a dozen of them. I want you to listen to what VA Secretary Doug Collins said about that over the weekend.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
DOUG COLLINS, VETERANS AFFAIRS SECRETARY: We did not, hear me clearly, lay off any veteran crisis line responders. They're still picking up the phone. They're still talking to you. And they're going to be. Why?
Because I said so.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
TAPPER: Is that true? Did Secretary Collins save these jobs?
DUCKWORTH: Well, he reinstated them, but the fact of the matter is that he has still, for example, the trainer of the crisis hotline, the people who pick up the phone, the supervisor is still laid off. He is splitting hairs here, and he is trying to fool the American people and fool veterans. He has laid off so much capacity at the VA that now veterans are not getting the help that they need. The caregiver hotline is now slowed down. These are the people, the family members who take care of our disabled veterans.
They're finding slow times in terms of reaching out and getting help there. And frankly, he's trying to split hairs. And, you know, if you don't have somebody to back you up as you're answering the phone calls and your supervisor isn't there, you can't do your job helping a veteran who's in crisis. And I'm really scared that we're going to start losing veterans because the program is not operating at 100 percent potential.
TAPPER: As a veteran, do you trust VA Secretary Collins to stand up to President Trump or Elon Musk to fight for veterans?
DUCKWORTH: No. Well, number one, I never got to, you know, confirm Elon Musk. He never came before us. He wasn't elected by the American people and he's out there firing people left and right without knowing what they're doing. And multiple Cabinet secretaries were unable to answer questions for me such as would you refuse to carry out an illegal order if President Trump issued an illegal order, and, you know, Secretary Collins is one of them, was unable to answer that in a simple yes or no.
TAPPER: Senator Tammy Duckworth, the great state of Illinois, thanks so much. Appreciate it.
We've heard a lot about President Trump and Elon Musk's efforts to reduce the size of the federal government. Now a warning about the potential real world impact of some of those cuts from the parents of a six year old battling a rare form of cancer.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
[17:27:45]
TAPPER: We're back in the health lead. And with a real life example of the pressure of President Trump's cuts to the federal government on American families, the Trump administration, of course, wants to slash funding for every agency, including the National Institutes of Health. The National Institutes of Health, or NIH, helps fund research at universities and medical institutes across the country, projects that study disease and advanced treatment. In her role as CNN's Senior National Enterprise Correspondent, a new role, MJ Lee explains for us now how the pending NIH cuts could have a direct impact on Cailen Vela, a 6-year-old kindergartner battling a rare form of cancer.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
CAILEN VELA, BOY BATTLING OF CANCER: I'm hungry for gummy bears.
CODY VELA, FATHER OF BOY BATTLING CANCER: You want some gummy bears?
MJ LEE, SENIOR NATIONAL ENTERPRISE CORRESPONDENT: You want gummy bears? I got you some gummy bears.
CODY VELA: He got chemo last night at 7:30 or so. This morning he woke up at 9:00, got the PET scan, started around 11:0 and he was sedated for that and the MRI and he just woke up about an hour ago. So he's still pretty tired.
LEE (voice-over): Multiple rounds of chemotherapy for 6-year-old Cailen have left him and his parents exhausted. Cailen has a rare and aggressive form of cancer that was discovered two years ago.
ALY VELA, MOTHER OF BOY BATTLING CANCER: It was the embryonal rhabdomyosarcoma in his ear.
LEE (voice-over): Treatment for Cailen, including chemo and proton therapy, started immediately at hospitals in the Detroit area. With his baby sister Alyssa in tow.
CODY VELA: All four of us with a new born stayed in a hotel room that was probably about the size of this living room.
LEE (voice-over): But just as they were beginning to feel hopeful last year that the grueling hospital visits were perhaps behind them, the Vela family got devastating news. A relapse that required an 11 hour surgery.
CODY VELA: The cancer was actually growing out of his ear canal.
LEE (voice-over): The progression of Cailen's cancer is so rare that there is no standard treatment protocol. In search of a cure, Cailen is working with specialists at the University of Michigan on biomolecular sequencing, work that is funded by the National Institutes of Health.
CODY VELA: He's going off of a chemo plan that, for the test group, only involved 14 people.
LEE (voice-over): To have a shot at beating the disease, Cailen and his family rely on innovations and research conducted by countless scientists and doctors. Their work in no small part is funded by the federal government.
LEE: The National Institutes of Health, headquartered right here in Bethesda, gives out tens of billions of dollars in grants to institutions and universities that conduct medical research. The Trump administration recently proposed slashing the NIH's medical funding by some $4 billion. We traveled up to Ann Arbor, Michigan, which is home to the University of Michigan and C.S. Mott Children's Hospital. The school received some $700 million from the NIH just last year. And according to the school, if these proposed funding cuts were to go through, it would cost them $180 million, and the impact would be immediate.
ALY VELA, MOTHER OF BOY BATTLING CANCER: That would be devastating, because these kids definitely need help and -- and research. Yes.
LEE: All -- all the help that they need.
A. VELA: All the help. All the help.
LEE: Yes, yes.
A. VELA: Because there's no -- there no real answers.
LEE (voice-over): New treatments for kids like Cailen are developed by doctors like John Prensner. He's a pediatric oncologist here who recently met Cailen at Mott Children's Hospital. Prensner treats children with brain cancer. He is one of many in the science world deeply concerned about the NIH's announcement.
DR. JOHN PRENSNER, PEDIATRIC ONCOLOGIST, UNIVERSITY OF MICHIGAN'S C.S. MOTT CHILDREN'S HOSPITAL: This is going to make it more challenging to bring the best new treatments for children with cancer.
LEE: Have you noticed that patients and their families are aware of it?
PRENSNER: We have had several families and several patients ask us, how might this work or these funding cuts affect our treatment and affect what we're getting here?
LEE: Yes.
PRENSNER: And, you know, those are difficult questions to answer.
LEE (voice-over): The Trump administration wants to achieve the drastic NIH funding cuts by capping at 15 percent funds that cover so- called indirect costs.
LEE: What are indirect costs?
PRENSNER: Much of what we do relies on this funding. One thing that you'll notice if you walk into the labs that I work in and other labs similar to it is, it's actually that the airflow is being sucked into the room. We have what we call biosafety cabinet fume hoods.
When we work in cancer research, we routinely have cancer cells growing in incubators so that we can study them in their biology. Those are wires and pipes and facilities that are all administered through these indirect funds.
LEE (voice-over): For now, the proposed NIH funding cuts remain on hold after a federal judge ordered a nationwide pause. But for some scientists, like Dr. Prensner, the uncertainty looms large.
PRENSNER: The physical reaction that I have is to double down our determination to cure childhood cancer.
LEE (voice-over): For now, Aly and Cody are taking things one day at a time.
A. VELA: Lately, he's been saying that these are the worst days of his life and worst days ever, and he'll cry a lot.
CODY VELA, FATHER OF BOY BATTLING CANCER: Particularly on bad days.
A. VELA: Yes.
LEE: It's kind -- it's kind of a big box.
LEE (voice-over): They're trying to cherish the moments that feel easier and lighter.
A. VELA: Whoa.
CODY VELA: That's pretty cool, huh?
CAILEN VELA, KINDERGARTNER FACING RARE FORM OF CANCER: Using that controller.
A. VELA: And faster than your --
LEE: Yes.
CODY VELA: Yes.
A. VELA: -- robot.
CAILEN VELA: My robot can just squish it.
CODY VELA: Squish it.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
LEE (on camera): He is just such a great little kid. And Jake, I've been in touch with his parents, Cody and Aly, pretty closely since this last round of chemo. And he has had to go back to Ann Arbor for multiple rounds of blood and platelet transfusions, which is not uncommon during chemotherapy. But the great news that they said they were happy for me to share is that the doctors looking at the MRI and the PET scans after this last round, they were really happy with the results. So we're just going to keep our fingers crossed that only healthy days are ahead for Cailen.
JAKE TAPPER, CNN HOST: Yes. And -- and it's very important for people to understand that there is a real chasm when it comes to research into childhood cancers versus adult cancers. Adult cancers get a lot more money when it comes to research, and that's where the government plays a role in these sorts of grants. Such an important story, MJ Lee. Thank you so much for doing that. Really appreciate it.
[17:34:18]
We've all been the victim of an embarrassing autocorrect, but the latest iPhone glitch is raising a lot of eyebrows. So what or who is really behind it? Stay with us.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
TAPPER: In our Politics Lead, the brand new director of National Intelligence, Tulsi Gabbard, claims that more than 100 intelligence officers participated in sexually explicit and obscene messages in National Security Agency chat rooms. She says anyone who participated will be fired. CNN's Zach Cohen is here. Zach, what exactly is in these messages?
ZACHARY COHEN, CNN NATIONAL SECURITY REPORTER: Yes, Jake, we haven't independently confirmed or obtained these messages. They apparently show intelligence officials, employees in the intelligence community, exchanging obscene graphic text messages in this National Security -- Security Agency message board, platform, if you will. It's like a group chat, it seems like. And look, senior administration officials, after this was first surfaced by conservative activists on X, it clearly got their attention, right?
We even heard from the director of National Intelligence last night, Tulsi Gabbard, who weighed in on this in an interview with "Fox News," saying that it amounted to an egregious violation of trust. A spokesperson for the DNI saying yesterday that these employees would be identified and fired. But take a listen to what Gabbard said when she was asked yesterday about these messages.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
TULSI GABBARD, DIRECTOR OF NATIONAL INTELLIGENCE: There are over 100 people from across the intelligence community that contributed to and participated in this, what -- what is really just an egregious violation of trust, what to speak of, like basic rules and standards around professionalism.
I put out a directive today that they all will be terminated and their security clearances will be revoked. They were brazen in using an NSA platform intended for professional use to -- to conduct this kind of really, really horrific behavior.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
[17:40:13]
COHEN: So a senior administration official tells me that some of these messages included exchanges about a variety of transgender surgeries and explicit details. So that was just one little example of the kind of messages we're dealing with here. And Gabbard's comments came just hours after the NSA, the agency in question, acknowledged that these messages were legitimate and acknowledged that they are investigating this in a statement.
Potential misuse of these platforms by a small group of individuals does not represent the community. Investigations to address this misuse of government systems are ongoing. So we're going to have to see how this all plays out. But more broadly, this does speak to the ability of conservative activists on X to sort of dictate policy and get responses from high-level Trump officials.
We've seen Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth respond to people on X directly. And of course, Elon Musk has tried to implement U.S. policy on the platform as well.
TAPPER: Yes, I mean, it also doesn't seem like the most professional use of -- of chat rooms at the NSA, nor does it seem as a security issue to be the wisest thing in the world to be talking about your most personal details. Zach Cohen, thanks so much.
In our Tech Lead now, Apple is working to fix what they're calling a bug that briefly changes the word racist to the word Trump when you use the voice-to-text feature. I'm not making this up. We tested it at The Lead here and we saw it for ourselves. Watch and listen. (BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Racist.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
TAPPER: What? So this, after some notable ups and downs between President Trump and Apple over the past few days, Monday, Trump praised CEO Tim Cook for a new $500 billion investment. Then today, Trump lashed out at Apple's diversity, equity, and inclusion policy. CNN's Clare Duffy is -- is with us. Clare, I have to say, that is a very fishy glitch.
CLARE DUFFY, CNN BUSINESS WRITER: Yes, Jake, the company is saying essentially that the A.I. system behind its voice-to-text feature can occasionally type an incorrect word with phonetic overlap, essentially a word that sounds similar to what a user was trying to say before quickly correcting, which is what we see happened here. A user would say Trump, a user would say racist. The thing would type Trump and then quickly correct to racist.
But, you know, I think users can decide, viewers can decide how much phonetic overlap they think there is between the words racist and Trump. Apple says this was a glitch and it's working on a fix.
TAPPER: I don't sense a lot of phonetic overlap, but what do I know? Clare Duffy, thank you so much. Appreciate it.
The international hunt is underway right now after a California fire captain was stabbed to death. Why police believe -- why police believe that her wife, who already had served prison time for a separate killing is responsible for this crime too? Stay with us.
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TAPPER: In our World Lead, police are searching for a woman wanted in connection with the brutal killing of her wife. A California fire captain found stabbed to death in her home last week. According to a newly filed arrest warrant, surveillance video captured part of the attack showing the victim pleading for her life. Police -- police believe her wife is responsible. Her wife fled to Mexico. And as CNN's Josh Campbell reports, this is not the suspect's first run in with the law.
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UNIDENTIFIED MALE: It's very saddening, very saddening.
JOSH CAMPBELL, CNN SECURITY CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): A Southern California fire captain brutally stabbed to death at her home. Deputies say the horrific act was carried out by her wife, who then fled to Mexico.
More than a week later, shocking details from the last moments are coming to light. According to an arrest warrant, Cal Fire Captain Rebecca Marodi's mother called 911 around 9:00 in the evening. Deputies arrived at Marodi's home within minutes and found her with multiple stab wounds. She was quickly pronounced dead.
According to the arrest warrant, ring camera video not yet released by authorities captured a portion of the alleged attack. The video shows Marodi running across a patio with blood on her back, being chased by a woman in a yellow shirt. That woman is allegedly Marodi's wife, Yolanda. Yolanda, please, I don't want to die. Marodi can be heard screaming in the ring video. Yolanda allegedly responds, you should have thought about that before.
Police say the video also captures Yolanda holding a knife with apparent blood visible on her arms. She demands her wife to get back inside the house. All while Marodi repeatedly asked her to call 911. The two then move out of frame. Minutes later, the warrant alleges Yolanda is seen loading pets and other belongings into this silver SUV.
Less than an hour later, Homeland Security records show the vehicle crossing into Mexico. Days later, the warrant says an associate of Yolanda's contacted investigators with a text message from Yolanda sent a day after the killing. Becky came home and told me she was leaving me. She met someone else. All the messages were lies. We had a big fight and I hurt her. I'm sorry.
JULIETTE KAYYEM, CNN NATIONAL SECURITY ANALYST: The text message is a confession, plain and simple. It describes what happened, why it happened, and that she had knowledge that it was wrong and therefore fled.
CAMPBELL (voice-over): New details are also emerging about Yolanda Marodi's past. Previously known as Yolanda Olejniczak, she was sentenced in 2004 after pleading guilty to voluntary manslaughter in the stabbing death of her then husband. She was released from prison nine years later.
[17:50:07]
Captain Marodi spent more than 30 years with Cal Fire serving three counties. The agency calls her death a tragic loss. Neighbors say Marodi was a kind person who was always ready to help.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: It's a person, a human being, and she was here one second and then gone the next.
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CAMPBELL: And Jake, the firefighter community here in California and beyond very much in mourning. Multiple departments have issued their condolences. As far as the alleged suspect who now stands accused of killing two of her spouses, she remains at large. Authorities haven't indicated whether they believe she has fled Mexico to get a third country. But at this hour, Jake, this very much remains an international hunt for a fugitive.
TAPPER: All right. Josh Campbell, thanks so much.
The pope's pneumonia diagnosis is driving a flood of viewer questions to CNN's Dr. Sanjay Gupta, who's on call. And he's going to join us to answer the most pressing ones.
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TAPPER: We're back with our Health Lead. Today, the Vatican said that Pope Francis has shown a improvement in recent hours as he remains in the hospital for treatment of pneumonia. His diagnosis leading many of you to reach out to CNN's Dr. Sanjay Gupta for more details on how pneumonia is spread and the warning signs when you start to feel sick. Sanjay?
DR. SANJAY GUPTA, CNN CHIEF MEDICAL CORRESPONDENT: Well, Jake, we got a lot of questions about pneumonia given the news about what's happening with the Pope. This question from Joyce in Mississippi says, is pneumonia contagious? And if so, under what circumstances can it spread from person to person? The short answer is yes, Joyce, it can be contagious. These types of pneumonias can be caused by all sorts of different pathogens, bacteria, viruses, even sometimes fungus, but they can spread much in the way that respiratory infections spread.
People cough, they sneeze, those droplets get into the air, someone can breathe those droplets in, and that can be what actually causes the spread. Less commonly, someone will -- will spread those droplets, they'll land on a surface, and then someone will touch the surface and then touch their eyes, their nose, their mouth, and it can spread that way as well.
Your best bet, as you might guess, is if you're coughing and sneezing, to stay away from other people. If you have to be around other people, wear a mask, a high filtration mask, wash your hands, and wash surfaces regularly as well. Typically within the first couple of days when people are developing symptoms, especially when they have a fever, that's when they're going to be the most contagious. So be particularly careful during that time.
A question from Jan in New Jersey wants to know, how much protection do the pneumococcal vaccines provide? And does that ensure you'll never get pneumonia? Well, first of all, Jan, a couple things to keep in mind. We -- we've been describing what's happening with the Pope as a polymicrobial pneumonia. Polymicrobial means many different organisms.
Having said that, the most common types of pneumonia are actually caused by a bacteria. This is 60 to 70 percent of pneumonias are caused by bacteria. And the most common bacteria is streptococcus pneumoniae that is causing these pneumonias. And that's what the vaccine really targets.
The vaccine is typically for children under the age of five and for people over the age of 50, with a possible booster around the age of 65. In terms of its effectiveness, it can vary. It depends a little bit on how old you were when you get the vaccine or whether you have any other underlying conditions, but roughly 60 to 80 percent effective. But keep in mind, as we've talked about with vaccines in the past, if you do get pneumonia still, having been vaccinated, you're -- you're likely to get a less severe form of pneumonia as well. So the vaccines can be very effective in that regard, especially for high-risk populations.
Finally, Jack from Canada asked this, what is walking pneumonia and how can one detect it? How can one treat it at home? So walking pneumonia, as you might guess, is a less severe form of pneumonia. It's one where you could still be up walking around. You can take a look at the list of the various symptoms on the screen there.
It's going to seem like a bad cold, but it tends to persist. That is often what you see with walking pneumonia. To get diagnosed for sure, if you have a high degree of suspicion, is you get a physical exam from the doctor and get a chest X-ray.
What is interesting about the chest X-ray is that with standard pneumonia, it typically affects one part of the lung, whereas with walking pneumonia, despite the fact that it's less severe in terms of symptoms, tends to affect many different parts of the lung. In terms of treatment, you don't typically need antibiotics. Antibiotics are often given for a standard pneumonia, but for walking pneumonia, over- the-counter medications often will do the trick.
Jake, hope that helps. Back to you.
TAPPER: All right, Dr. Sanjay Gupta, thank you so much.
I want to tell you about a journalistic project I've been working on. It's a book to be published on May 20th by Penguin Press, which you can pre-order right now. It's called "Original Sin: President Biden's Decline, Its Cover-Up, and His Disastrous Choice to Run Again."
As viewers of The Lead know, I've been covering the concerns about President Biden's age and health for years. I literally asked him about it in October 2022, and we've Democrats and White House officials about it. But Alex Thompson of Axios and I have spent the last several months talking to more than 200 insiders and officials and donors and activists more willing to talk post-election, of course, to explain the last couple years in politics and how we as a nation got here with never before heard stories from behind the scenes, you will not believe what was really going on. You can pre order the book at originalsinbook.com, originalsinbook.com.
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Starting next Monday, March 3rd, look for the show in our new time slot. We're sliding an hour later, 5:00 to 7:00 p.m. Eastern every weekday here on CNN. You can follow me on Facebook, Instagram, Substack, Threads, X and on the TikTok at Jake Tapper. You can follow the show on X at TheLead. If you ever miss an episode of The Lead, you can listen to the show once you get your podcasts.
The news continues on CNN with Wolf Blitzer, the star of the new show "Zero Day" on Netflix right next door in the Situation Room.
