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Fragile Truce Hangs in Balance Amid Israeli Strikes on Lebanon; Trump: U.S. Will Work with Iran to "Dig Up & Remove" Enriched Uranium; DOJ Says Pam Bondi Won't Appear for Epstein Deposition; Blanche on Bondi Subpoena: What Happens Now is Up to Comer; Family of Woman Lost at Sea Calls for Full Investigation; Husband Speaks After Wife Reportedly Falls Overboard in Bahamas; Woman Known as "Ketamine Queen" Sentenced to 15 Years in Overdose Death of Actor Matthew Perry 3-3:30p ET

Aired April 08, 2026 - 15:00   ET

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

[15:00:42]

BRIANNA KEILAR, CNN HOST: Could be awkward, may be difficult. Minutes from now, President Trump is set to meet with NATO Secretary General, but not before slamming the alliance over what he sees as a lack of help in the war with Iran.

Plus, no show. Despite being subpoenaed, the Justice Department says Pam Bondi will not sit for an upcoming deposition about the Jeffrey Epstein investigation now that she's no longer Attorney General.

And the husband of a missing American woman issues his first public statement since her disappearance from a small boat in the Bahamas. See what he has to say about the incident ahead.

We're following these major developing stories and many more, all coming in right here to CNN NEWS CENTRAL.

The ceasefire between the U.S. and Iran appears to be on shaky ground, not even 24 hours into the agreement. Today, Israel launched what it called its largest strikes against Hezbollah in Lebanon, killing more than 100 people, according to Lebanon's health ministry.

A short time ago, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said his country has more objectives to complete, while insisting Lebanon is not part of the ceasefire deal. But that directly contradicts Pakistan's foreign minister, whose original tweet hailing the agreement said the U.S., along with its allies, have agreed to an immediate ceasefire everywhere, including Lebanon. CNN's Kristen Holmes is at the White House on this story.

Kristen, Pakistan, of course, crucial in these negotiations. What is the White House saying about all of this?

KRISTEN HOLMES, CNN SENIOR WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT: Brianna, it's really unclear right now whether or not this is confusion on the part of all of these parties or if there is actual misdirection happening here, because you just played this, or you just showed that tweet from the Pakistani prime minister. I want to read to you what we just saw posted from the Iranian speaker of the parliament saying that there were three points of the ceasefire proposal that had already been broken. One of them is a ceasefire involving Lebanon.

Then, one of the other parts of this, he says, that's been violated is Iran's right to enrichment has not been recognized. That was something that the White House said when standing at the podium, Karoline Leavitt saying that was a red line, that that wasn't going to be happening.

When it comes to Lebanon, we also heard the White House doubling down on the idea that Lebanon was not part of the ceasefire. Take a listen.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

KAROLINE LEAVITT, WHITE HOUSE PRESS SECRETARY: Lebanon is not part of the ceasefire, that has been relayed to all parties involved in the ceasefire. As you know, Prime Minister Netanyahu put out a statement last night in support of the ceasefire, in support of the United States' efforts, and he's also assured the President they'll continue to be a helpful partner throughout the course of the next two weeks.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

HOLMES: Now, in addition to that, she was asked specifically, could Lebanon be included in a future deal? She suggested that the conversations were ongoing between President Trump and Prime Minister Netanyahu. But again, it's really starting to feel like there's a lot of confusion in this deal that is so incredibly precarious.

One other point of this, we had been hearing that Iran was closing the Strait of Hormuz, in particular, linking that to the fact that Lebanon was not part of the ceasefire. She said that privately Iran was telling or communicating to the White House, to the United States, that they were keeping the Strait of Hormuz open, despite what was being said publicly. So right now, it certainly seems as though the parties involved have different perceptions as to what exactly was agreed to.

KEILAR: All right, Kristen, thank you. Boris?

BORIS SANCHEZ, CNN HOST: As Kristen just noted, the Iranian foreign minister indicated that the ceasefire had failed according to his standards because it didn't recognize Iran's right to uranium enrichment. The White House, conversely, said during the press briefing that Iran had given indications that it would turn over enriched uranium as part of this ceasefire, adding that it remains a red line for President Trump in negotiations.

Let's get perspective now with former Navy Secretary under President Trump and retired Navy Rear Admiral Kenneth Braithwaite.

Sir, thank you so much for being with us. First ...

Kenneth Braithwaite: Great to be here, Boris. Thank you.

SANCHEZ: ... how do you see this dispute about enriched uranium? Something that has been a key objective of the administration over and over again is to diminish Iran's ability to -- to negate Iran's ability to create a nuclear weapon.

[15:05:00]

How do you see the disparity here?

BRAITHWAITE: It's the only objective. I mean, that's the whole reason why the United States went into Iran in the first place. Without focusing on that, you can forget everything else, right? I mean, all of the buzz about oil and everything else, it's about the enriched uranium, Boris.

SANCHEZ: So, when you hear Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth offer two possibilities, first, that Iran would give it to the U.S. voluntarily or that the U.S. would have to do something ourselves implying military action ...

BRAITHWAITE: Well, I mean, that's the big question, right?

SANCHEZ: ... which is more likely.

BRAITHWAITE: Right. So, to replace the theocracy, the only way to do that is to put boots on ground, right? I mean, that seems to be a general consensus, at least amongst most military leaders, right? That's risky for the United States because I don't believe that the case has been made for what the overall objective is, right?

Most Americans today are impacted by the price they're paying at the gas pump. So, it comes back to oil. It's not about oil. It is the red line that the President has established in getting the enriched uranium. You would hope that part of this ceasefire, which would lead to a peace negotiation, would be Iran giving that up.

SANCHEZ: The U.S. and Tehran had been negotiating before this conflict broke out in -- in a kinetic way in terms of military action. Are we in a better place now, 38 days later, because of it?

BRAITHWAITE: No. No, I think we're in a worse place, right? I mean, because now Iran knows what the effect that they have, right, on the world's economy by closing the Strait.

SANCHEZ: Strangling -- right.

BRAITHWAITE: Absolutely. And that has proven that capability for them, right? And short of achieving our objective of making sure that we have that enriched uranium, you know, we've not achieved our objective.

SANCHEZ: How do you see Israel's role in all of this? Because you had some indications, including from our own reporters, that they did not have significant influence over the terms of this ceasefire. You had Prime Minister Netanyahu playing that down, saying that Israel was aware of what this was going to look like, and yet there's this dispute over whether Lebanon is included or not, Pakistan, who brokered this deal, saying that it was part of it, the U.S. and Israel saying that it was not.

BRAITHWAITE: Look, and I think everything has to do with your neighborhood, right? It's in your backyard that matters. Israel is there. They have to deal with -- with Tehran. They have to deal with this theocracy. And they're concerned about that. I mean, that was the whole objective in the first place. So, again, that enriched uranium is everything.

SANCHEZ: But when you hear the Israelis, and specifically Netanyahu, say that there are still some objectives for Israel in Iran and that their finger is on the trigger, I mean, does it seem like he's just waiting for an opportunity to restart hostilities?

BRAITHWAITE: I hope not. I hope that this is a ceasefire that can lead to a longer-term peace negotiation, right? Because at the end of the day, the United States -- I mean, we don't want to have to take further military action. I mean, we're here because of the greater threat that a nuclear-capable Iran would pose to the world.

And I will tell you -- I mean, that's -- literally, I retired from the Navy and was out in a civilian career, loving life. And when the JCPOA was signed, I was appalled by that, because this theocracy is not a regime you can trust. So literally, this objective, right, to make sure that Iran has no capability to produce a nuclear weapon, nothing more important than the United States.

SANCHEZ: I also wonder what your view is of the conventional shield or -- or effectively the weapons that Iran currently has in place that the U.S. has denigrated over the last 38 days, drones, ballistic missiles, all kinds of other munitions. Despite the fact that the U.S. degraded it, it still appears that Iran would have the capacity in a short order ...

BRAITHWAITE: And they do.

SANCHEZ: ... to reestablish itself, whether through Russia or Chinese assistance and influence. So, at the end of the day, did -- is -- this Pyrrhic victory in the sense that you've decimated their military capability right now, but they could rebuild it, and now they're tolling the Strait of Hormuz, and they're more incentivized to try to deter any action with the pursuit of nuclear weapons.

BRAITHWAITE: Yes, and they have a more radical leader now, right?

SANCHEZ: Sure.

BRAITHWAITE: That's even more committed, right? It's like what I mentioned to Anderson a couple weeks ago about mowing the lawn, right? I mean, if that's the objective here, to mow the lawn, yes, we knocked it down an inch or two. But it's going to grow back.

SANCHEZ: Well, that is concerning. In the meantime, as we are expecting Mark Rutte to visit the White House and talk to Donald Trump ...

BRAITHWAITE: Yes. SANCHEZ: ... about the future of the U.S. relationship with NATO, there were indications from the White House today that the possibility of the U.S. departing the alliance could be a factor in those conversations.

BRAITHWAITE: That -- that would be unbelievably detrimental. I'm a fellow at the NATO school in Oberammergau. I will tell you that one of the things that makes America great are all of our allies and friends around the world, right? It's a force multiplier for us, Boris, right? I mean, the United States Navy is X number of ships. And then when we X-plus, whether it's with the Royal Navy of the United Kingdom or the Royal Navy of Norway, I mean, that's what actually gives us even more capabilities.

[15:10:13]

SANCHEZ: So, the reported anger among administration officials, and -- and public anger as well, as we've seen them lash out over NATO not allowing us to land planes on their airfields, we-re -- we're getting into this conflict, you think it's misplaced?

BRAITHWAITE: Absolutely. Well, I think it's short-sighted, right? I believe that there is real value in NATO. Am I disappointed in NATO not allowing us access to those airfields and bases? Absolutely. I just had a lunch with two four-star admirals, we were talking about that very thing. It's appalling that our allies that we've been so close to for so long would not allow us to do that.

SANCHEZ: Former Secretary of the Navy Kenneth Braithwaite, thank you so much for joining us.

BRAITHWAITE: Real pleasure, Boris. Thank you for having me.

SANCHEZ: Of course. Still plenty more news to come this afternoon. The DOJ says she will not testify, lawmakers say she must. Pam Bondi's deposition in the Congressional Jeffrey Epstein investigation now in question after her ousting as Attorney General.

Plus, we're hearing from the husband of an American woman believed lost at sea in the Bahamas. Hear what he says happened during their final moments together.

And later, they're almost home. We're going to check in with the Artemis II crew as they -- as they cruise back toward Earth following a historic mission to the Moon. And finally, they were able to use the toilets. We'll discuss in just a moment, stay with us.

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[15:15:51]

SANCHEZ: Former Attorney General Pam Bondi now not expected to appear for a deposition before the House Oversight Committee next week. The Department of Justice arguing that Bondi was subpoenaed in her official role and not in a personal capacity. KEILAR: But the Republican-led panel investigating the late sex

offender Jeffrey Epstein says it is still looking to move forward. CNN Chief Legal Affairs Correspondent Paula Reid is with us now on this story.

So, what happens now, Paula?

PAULA REID, CNN CHIEF LEGAL AFFAIRS CORRESPONDENT: They're going to continue to try to get her to testify under oath here. Now, her sudden departure from the Justice Department is just the latest roadblock in this effort. The Justice Department here is arguing that because she was subpoenaed in her official capacity as Attorney General and is no longer Attorney General that the subpoena should be withdrawn.

But, of course, this was a bipartisan effort. There were Republicans who were also pushing for her to come in and testify about her handling of the Epstein files. And at this point, the committee says, no, we are going to continue to push for this. Now, this whole idea of your personal capacity versus your official capacity, I mean, even the chairman, Comer, said he wasn't even sure how to -- how exactly they would withdraw the subpoena before she left DOJ.

That's all technical. The headline here is that the fight continues. They want her to come in and answer questions under oath.

Now, the other outstanding question is the fact that her successor is her Deputy Attorney General, Todd Blanche. And he is the one who really oversaw a lot of the work around these files, the redactions, all of that. There were questions about whether he could go in her place. Why hasn't he been subpoenaed?

In his first press conference yesterday, I was there, he was asked about this subpoena before this letter. Let's take a listen to what he said.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

TODD BLANCHE, ACTING ATTORNEY GENERAL: So, look, as everybody knows, the Attorney General and I went to the House Oversight a few weeks ago. We answered every single question asked for a couple hours. What happens now that she's the former Attorney General and there's the subpoena out there is -- is, I think, I'll leave to -- to Chairman Comer and -- and others to -- to figure out.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

REID: Look, anytime there's a subpoena like this, there's a negotiation. Hey, can we give you these documents? Can we limit the testimony? There's always this back and forth. And the former Attorney General, Pam Bondi, Todd Blanche, they did go up to the Hill a couple weeks ago. I was there with our team. And they -- they thought that maybe if they answered questions from lawmakers that that would get them to drop the subpoena.

Now, it was in typical Hill fashion, very dramatic, very partisan. The Democrats stormed out, didn't ask any questions of substance, said they didn't trust her. If she wasn't testifying under oath, they wanted something that would eventually be released to the public. But it's clear this is not going away. And, of course, her handling of these files, this is one of the things that diminished her favor in the eyes of the administration. Todd Blanche, as much as he would like to, he's not going to be able to escape this either. But it's going to be really interesting to see how far they'll go to try to get Pam Bondi to answer more questions about how to handle this.

KEILAR: Paula Reed, thank you so much for the latest there.

The family of a woman who reportedly fell overboard in the Bahamas is now calling for a full investigation as search crews move from rescue to recovery. We have the latest details next.

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[15:23:30]

SANCHEZ: New today, we're hearing from the husband of an American woman who reportedly fell overboard while boating in the Bahamas. Brian Hooker says his wife, Lynette, fell off their dinghy and was swept away by a fast-moving current. But Lynette's mother and daughter tell CNN they have questions about the series of events that Brian has described. And they are desperately trying to get in touch with investigators in the Bahamas. CNN's Dianne Gallagher is following this case for us.

And Dianne, I understand that you have some new information.

DIANNE GALLAGHER, CNN NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Yes, Boris, our colleague Elizabeth Wolfe just spoke with an attorney for Lynette Hooker's daughter, Karli Aylesworth, who says that for the first-time investigators contacted her today. And that Aylesworth spent about two hours being interviewed by U.S. Coast Guard Detroit Sector.

Now, this, of course, comes just hours after Brian Hooker released his first comments on his wife since reporting her missing on Sunday morning. I do want to read just a little bit from that statement to you. He said, quote, "I am heartbroken over the recent boat accident in unpredictable seas and high winds that caused my beloved Lynette to fall from our small dinghy near Elbow Cay in the Bahamas. Despite desperate attempts to reach her, the winds and currents drove us further apart. We continue to search for her and that is my sole focus."

This is some video from CBS on Tuesday of Brian in the Bahamas. The producer who tracked him down said that he did not comment on the investigation or on his wife at the time.

[15:25:04]

Now, look, a Bahamian official has told CNN that the search for Lynette has moved to a recovery operation. Bahamian police said that Brian reported that they left around 7:30 from Hope Town, headed for Elbow Cay, in their eight-foot hard bottom dinghy headed to their yacht "Soulmate." He says that Lynette, quote, "Bounced out of that dinghy" and that she

was not wearing a personal flotation device. There were strong currents at the time and that she -- he could not get to her. And that basically the last time that he saw her, that she was trying to swim toward the shore, but was being carried by the currents.

He also says that she was wearing the key or the kill switch, which caused the power of that dinghy to go out. He tried to paddle and eventually drifted off to -- to harbor -- to the -- excuse me, Marsh Harbour, where he then notified authorities.

Now, there's a lot about this that does not make sense to Lynette's daughter and her mother. They note that they're experienced on the water. The couple has been documenting their -- their journeys on their yacht, on social media as well, and say that they just want more information from Bahamian officials, from any kind of investigators. They want to make sure there is a thorough investigation into this right now.

Authorities say that U.S. Coast Guard and local authorities, of course, have been searching the water for Lynette, trying to find her.

SANCHEZ: Dianne, you mentioned that Bahamian officials are saying this is now a recovery effort. But have they specified how they're investigating her disappearance, whether they're investigating Brian?

GALLAGHER: So, they've not said anything about that. And I do want to be clear at this point, they're just calling it an active investigation and asking anybody who may have some kind of information to maybe, you know, call them, let them know anything that you may have seen. Some of those times are pretty important, right?

He arrived at Marsh Harbour at around four o'clock in the morning on Sunday. It's roughly four miles across this lake inlet of water from where they set off from at 7:30 P.M. on Saturday night. And look, there were turbulent -- there were some turbulent weather. There were high winds at that time as well. And he says that he had no power and he floated. But they're looking for anybody who may have seen something that night or in the morning who may be able to offer information. They've not said if they're looking into anything outside of just a search and investigation at this point.

But look, her family here in the United States right now would like to, A, get more information about what they are looking into and, B, want to make sure there is a thorough investigation into any circumstances surrounding her disappearance. Of course, Boris, their top priority is they -- they want to find her.

SANCHEZ: Yes. Dianne Gallagher, thank you so much for that update.

This just in, a federal judge has sentenced the woman dubbed the "Ketamine Queen" for her role in the 2023 overdose death of Friends star Matthew Perry. She was sentenced to 15 years in prison. Jasveen Sangha pleaded guilty last year to five federal charges, including providing the ketamine that killed Perry. Perry, who has struggled with addiction for years, was found dead in the hot tub of his L.A. home in October of 2023. He was 54 years old.

Still to come, President Trump sitting down with the NATO Secretary General at the White House after suggesting the U.S. may leave the alliance for staying out of the war with Iran. We'll discuss it with a former ambassador to NATO when we come back.

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