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Interview with Rep. Seth Magaziner (D-RI): Bipartisan Criticism of Trump Administration's Briefing on War; Maduro Heads Back to Federal Court Months After Capture; Democrats Revive Allegation Around Trump Classified Docs Case; Iran Fortifies Kharg Island as U.S. Weighs Ground Invasion. Aired 8-8:30a ET

Aired March 26, 2026 - 08:00   ET

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

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ARIELLE KONIG, DEFENDANT'S WIFE: I didn't see where he got it from, but like spatially he was like reaching up around this area of my head, so my impression was that there was a rock on the ground near my head. I just started screaming because in my mind he was trying to knock me unconscious to get to be able to drag me over the head, so I just was screaming then as much as I could.

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JEAN CASAREZ, CNN CORRESPONDENT: The emergency room physician said that the lacerations were so deep you saw her skull. And there were little rocks and gravel in next to the skull, and he was very worried about infection. She had multiple stitches.

She now has a terrible scar that she showed the jury, but she did scream. Two women called 911, but she was having, the couple decided to call it an emotional affair with a colleague. They texted constantly on cross-examination.

The defense really brought this out, and I mean everything you would talk to your husband about, she was talking to him about, and Gerhardt found that, and that's how the issues began, and he was very angry. He was very hurt, but she thought they'd come so far with the therapy.

SARA SIDNER, CNN ANCHOR: God, this case is just unreal. I'm seeing those injuries. Thank you, Jean Casarez, for watching it and paying attention to all the details, and I know we'll be talking to you in a bit about it as well.

The new hour of CNN NEWS CENTRAL starts right now.

ERICA HILL, CNN HOST: The breaking news out of Iran. A key military leader taken out overnight as Iran ramps up its defense of Kharg Island ahead of a possible U.S. attack. So it's a deal to end the war now potentially out of reach.

Plus, Savannah Guthrie speaking out in her first network interview since her mother's disappearance. Revealing more this morning about the daily agony for her and her family.

And widespread reaction to the first trailer of the Harry Potter TV series. Some saying it casts a spell while others call it muggle slop. Will J.K. Rowling's controversies also derail this latest train to Hogwarts. We'll pull it into the station and let you find out.

John and Kate are off. I'm Erica Hill along with Sara Sidner. This is CNN NEWS CENTRAL.

SIDNER: All right, we have some breaking news to share with you this morning on the war with Iran. Israel says it has killed the commander of Iran's Revolutionary Guard Navy. The latest in a long line of Iranian officials killed since the war began 27 days ago.

The commander was a key figure in the shutdown of the Strait of Hormuz, that critical waterway and oil route. This comes as President Trump is ramping up pressure on Iran to try and cut a deal to end the war. After Iran rejected a 15-point peace plan, the president said this on social media just this morning, claiming Iran is, quote, "... begging to make a deal," but warning, "They better get serious soon before it is too late, because once that happens, there is no turning back."

Sources tell CNN that Iran has begun fortifying Kharg Island, laying traps and positioning military personnel and air defenses just in case the U.S. launches a ground attack there. The tiny island handles about 90 percent of Iran's oil exports.

Two marine units that specialize in amphibious landings have recently deployed to the Middle East, and we've learned about a thousand U.S. paratroopers are on standby now to deploy to the region -- Erica.

HILL: Sara, thanks. Joining me now, Democratic Congressman Seth Magaziner of Rhode Island, who serves on the House Homeland Security Committee. Sir, it's good to have you with us this morning.

I want to start with what we've learned about this briefing from the Department of Defense for House Armed Services yesterday, a lot of bipartisan frustration coming out of that meeting. Can you give us a sense of what you've heard from your colleagues?

REP. SETH MAGAZINER (D-RI), HOMELAND SECURITY COMMITTEE: Yes, it's more of the same, right? It's very obvious that President Trump has blundered us into a war with no clear objective, no adequate planning, and no idea how to get us out of it. And as a result, there are now 13 bright young American service members who have lost their lives.

Those are seats at their families' dinner tables that are never going to be filled. And countless civilians have also lost their lives. Gas is up a dollar a gallon since a month ago.

And again, there's no end in sight. And so we still have not got from the administration a clear explanation for why we are in this war and what the plan is to get us out of it. My entire life, presidents and politicians have been sending other people's kids to fight and die in the Middle East. But at least in the past, they attempted to explain why. The administration still cannot do that or is not able to do that. And not just my colleagues in Congress and I, but the American people are incredibly frustrated right now.

HILL: You say you don't see an end in sight.

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The president is saying that Iran does want to make a deal. Iran, we know, is pushing back. There are talks of some sort, right? We're getting a little bit different readout from each side. Do you believe, though, there is an opportunity for a diplomatic off-ramp?

MAGAZINER: Well, there has to be a diplomatic off-ramp at some point. Unfortunately, now it's very difficult, with Iran completely controlling the Strait of Hormuz, with very few ships passing through it, and limited leverage by the United States. Again, this is apparently an active impulse by President Trump.

He did not have a clear plan. He could have planned for this. He could have war-gamed this. He did not do so, apparently, at least not adequately.

And so I hope there will be a resolution soon. But, you know, there's another player here that needs to step up, and that's Congress. That's us.

Under Article I of the Constitution, it is the Congress, not the executive branch that has the power to decide whether and when to make war. And we need to have another vote on a War Powers Resolution here in Congress to end this conflict and to signal our disagreement with it.

But in the meantime, it's a very grim situation, and I fear that it's going to get worse before it gets better, but we're praying for the best possible outcome, given the unfortunate facts on the ground.

HILL: I also want to talk to you about DHS funding. A deal seems somewhat elusive at this point, as we look at where things stand. And it is really difficult, as you know, especially for TSA workers. This is very real.

Punchbowl was reporting that some of your moderate Democratic colleagues in the House were meeting with Republican Senator Katie Britt, apparently initiated by Josh Gottheimer. Do you think the House may actually be the key here to breaking this impasse?

MAGAZINER: Well, I want to remind everyone why we're in this situation. We are in this situation because the Trump administration sent an army of masked ICE agents into American neighborhoods, terrorizing people, banging down people's doors without warrants, shooting American citizens in the street, deporting children, deporting the elderly. And there need to be real reforms.

Now, the administration, as I understand it, has been willing to have conversations, willing to negotiate to a degree. But when they've agreed to make changes to the way that ICE has been operating, they've not agreed to put those changes into law. They've said, oh, basically, you know, trust us to change the way that we're managing ICE and, you know, we're good for it.

Well, you know, that's not good enough, right? We can't trust them just on faith that they're going to institute these much-needed reforms. Meanwhile, to your point, TSA workers and other civil servants aren't getting paid.

That's why I support Rosa DeLaura's bill in the House to fund the rest of DHS, fund TSA, fund the Coast Guard, because those workers had nothing to do with any of this, and it's not their fault that they're in this terrible situation. But if the administration thinks that we're just going to continue to throw billions of dollars at ICE without any guardrails, without any accountability, then they're wrong. We cannot do that, because we all know that as soon as the funding is restored, that the administration is going to go back to the same brutal tactics that they were using before without accountability, and that's why we need guardrails in law.

HILL: We know the clock is ticking for those workers, also ticking down to this, of course, two-week recess for Congress. Congressman Seth Magaziner, appreciate your time this morning. Thank you -- Sara.

MAGAZINER: Thank you.

HILL: This morning, former Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro is heading back to court. Why, he says the U.S. is trying to interfere now with his ability to defend himself.

Plus, new allegations that President Trump kept and even showed off classified documents after his first term. So, when he was out of office, including a map that is, in fact, so highly classified, just six high-ranking officials had access to it.

And troopers rushing in to rescue a choking child, we'll tell you how this little guy's doing this morning.

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HILL: We have live pictures here, so this is just outside a federal courthouse in New York, where later this morning, former Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro will try to get his drug trafficking indictment tossed out. This is his first appearance in public since he and his wife were arraigned in early January after their capture in that stunning U.S. operation in Caracas. CNN's Kara Scannell joining us now from outside the courthouse. So, Kara, what are we expecting in court today?

KARA SCANNELL, CNN CORRESPONDENT: So, Erica, this hearing was initially set as a scheduling hearing since it is the first time Nicolas Maduro, and his wife were appearing in court since that dramatic capture by U.S. forces in January. But Maduro's legal team is now saying that they want the judge to throw out the indictment in this case, saying that the U.S. is blocking Maduro's ability to defend against these narcoterrorism charges. That is because both Maduro, his wife, and Venezuela are all sanctioned by the U.S. government and have been for years.

And in order to do business with any sanctioned entity, someone has to get a license from the U.S. government, or they might themselves run afoul of U.S. sanctions laws. So Maduro's lawyers say that the U.S. government initially granted that license, then three hours later revoked it. So now he's saying that is interference, and he wants these charges thrown out.

U.S. prosecutors say that that initial license was granted due to administrative error. And they say, though, that Maduro can take legal fees -- can pay for his legal fees out of his own personal funds in Venezuela, but they say that the laws prohibit any sanctioned entity from paying the legal fees of another sanctioned entity. Now, the judge, it's possible, could rule on that this morning.

It is going to be just one of several legal challenges that Maduro is expected to mount to try to fight off these charges.

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He is facing a narcoterrorism conspiracy charge, and he and his wife are also facing cocaine importation charges and a number of gun possession charges. They have pleaded not guilty -- Erica.

HILL: All right, Kara, appreciate it. Thank you.

YouTube and Meta, forced to pay millions after a jury found them liable for creating addicting and harmful social media platforms.

Plus, the new details this morning on how Iran may be building up its defenses on a key island in the Persian Gulf and how that could directly impact U.S. troops.

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SIDNER: This morning, Democrats are raising new questions about President Trump's alleged mishandling of classified documents. Democratic Congressman Jamie Raskin says newly released Justice Department files that prosecutors once considered whether Trump had improperly kept classified material that was relevant to his own business interests after his first term. The White House is pushing back.

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KAROLINE LEAVITT, WHITE HOUSE PRESS SECRETARY: I saw that letter from Congressman Raskin this morning who I would add has zero credibility. And this letter was clearly a cheap political stunt. He took untrue and salacious claims in a memo that was produced by Jack Smith, who has been completely discredited for his lawfare -- and his witch hunts against this president.

[08:20:00] And that information was unverified. It never even made it into the indictment because it was so unverified. And what happened to that indictment anyway?

It was thrown out.

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SIDNER: CNN's Annie Grayer is on Capitol Hill. What is Raskin saying about this new release from the Justice Department? You heard certainly what the White House thinks about it.

ANNIE GRAYER, CNN SENIOR REPORTER: Well, Sara, Raskin is saying that these documents from the Department of Justice actually provided more damning evidence against President Donald Trump in the classified documents case. And Raskin's also arguing that DOJ may have violated a judge's orders and potentially even broken the law by handing over to Congress grand jury material, which a judge had ordered to remain under secret. Now, what Raskin says these documents show is that prosecutors were looking at whether President Trump took classified documents related to his business dealings after his first term.

They say they were also looking at whether that Trump had documents that were so secretive that only six people in the entire government had access to these documents. And that Trump was at one point showing a classified map to people on a plane, including his now chief of staff, Susie Wiles. And now, as you heard from the White House, they are calling all of this salacious and untrue.

They're saying that prosecutors didn't even find anything or really look into whether Trump was taking classified documents related to his business dealings. And they point to the fact that this entire case was thrown out. Of course, President Trump has denied wrongdoing.

And the Department of Justice, for its part, says that the claims about the grand jury material are also untrue, because even if the documents may say it contains grand jury material, that any potential actual grand jury material was blacked out in the production to Congress. But the larger fight here, Sara, is Raskin is arguing that the Republicans are trying to cherry pick information and trying to paint a narrative to undermine special counsel Jack Smith and the prosecutors who investigated Donald Trump. And Raskin is arguing that at this point, Democrats, the public, all members of Congress need to see everything in this case file, which is currently still under seal.

The Department of Justice is the only people who have access to it. And right now, they are selectively releasing pieces of it. Raskin, in this letter, is calling on DOJ to respond to a number of questions and release all of the information in this case, while, of course, abiding by the grand jury secrecy laws -- Sara.

SIDNER: Annie Grayer, we'll see what happens in this particular case. Thank you so much for reporting there for us from Capitol Hill.

All right, this morning, still no deal in Congress as airports across the country continue to feel the strain of TSA shortages and TSA workers continue to go unpaid. We are live from Houston Airport, where it is a mess this morning.

And Savannah Guthrie is sharing more details about her mother's disappearance in her first interview since Nancy Guthrie went missing, which happened nearly two months ago.

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HILL: New developments this morning about Iran building up its defenses on Kharg Island. You've heard so much about this spot, right? Multiple sources telling CNN Iran has actually been laying traps, also moving additional military personnel and air defenses to the island over the last few weeks.

So in terms of that island, we're talking about the small island. It's about 15 miles off the coast of Iran. It's actually about 400 miles away from the Strait of Hormuz.

As we zoom in here, we'll give you a sense of this and why it's so important. This island that you're looking at actually handles now 90 percent of Iran's oil exports. And these preparations on the part of Iran come as the Trump administration has, of course, been weighing whether to use U.S. troops to seize this island. So earlier this month, the U.S. hit some 90 targets across the island, including the airfield that we highlighted for you there. It also struck naval mine facilities and missile storage. But importantly, these strikes avoided oil infrastructure.

Remember, at the time, President Trump threatened that could change. And there are a number of other possible targets on the island. So there are these oil tank farms you see we've highlighted for you there.

And then in red, these are the jetties, which tankers use, right? That's where they unload the oil and then they take it out through the Gulf. CNN is reporting now the Gulf allies are privately urging the Trump administration against prolonging the war by putting any boots on the ground on Kharg Island.

CNN's senior national security reporter Zachary Cohen joining us now. So what more do we know, Zach, about where things stand this morning when it comes to plans for Kharg Island?

ZACHARY COHEN, CNN SENIOR NATIONAL SECURITY REPORTER: Yes, Erica, Iran certainly seems to be taking the possibility of a U.S. operation targeting Kharg Island very seriously. We're told there are indications they are preparing for that possibility, bolstering defenses on the island to include laying traps that would effectively make it as dangerous as possible if U.S. forces do attempt some sort of a landing operation there. And we're told due to the size of Kharg Island, it's relatively a third the size of Manhattan, it would require a sizable U.S. ground presence in order to potentially take the island from the Iranians who currently control it.

Now, for Iran, this is really an economic lifeline. As you mentioned, it handles about 90 percent of Iran's crude exports. But for Donald Trump, he sees it as a potential leverage point over Iran in trying to reopen the Strait of Hormuz, because that really is the critical challenge facing the Trump administration at this point in the conflict.

We're told, too, that U.S. officials and military experts are warning about the significant risks, though, if Trump does try to go forward with a military operation to seize the island, including potential U.S. casualties that could climb into very high numbers if a serious number of ground forces are committed ...

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