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White House Unveils Plan for 250-Feet Tall Triumphal Arch; White House Says No Ceasefire Extension So Far With Iran, but Optimistic of a Deal; Trump Says China Agreed to Not Send Weapons to Iran; Trump Says He'll Fire Fed Chair if He Doesn't Step Down When Term Ends; Iran Threatens Red Sea Shipping if U.S. Blockade Continues; Israeli Cabinet Meeting to Discuss Possible Ceasefire; L.A. County Sheriff Investigating New Rape Allegation Against Swalwell. Aired 2- 2:30p ET

Aired April 15, 2026 - 14:00   ET

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

[14:00:00]

KAROLINE LEAVITT, WHITE HOUSE PRESS SECRETARY: -- inspired by this national monument. Beginning construction this year on the architectural arch is a fitting way to commemorate the 250th anniversary of American independence. Great nations build beautiful structures that cultivate national pride and love of country, and this Triumphal Arch should be a project that all Americans of all political persuasions can support because it's a monument for every American to celebrate 250 years of our nation's proud history.

And again, the plans for this will be submitted tomorrow. We'll have many more announcements with respect to our 250th anniversary in the coming months as we look forward to the July 4th. Thank you very much, everyone. Have a great day.

BORIS SANCHEZ, CNN CO-ANCHOR OF "CNN NEWS CENTRAL": We've been listening to White House Press Secretary, Karoline Leavitt as well as a pair of members of the president's cabinet there at the press briefing room.

Big announcement at the very end of this availability, Leavitt announcing that the White House and Department of Interior are going to submit plans for USA Triumphal Arch here in Washington, D.C. It'll be 250 feet tall, and it'll be just outside of Arlington National Cemetery.

Aside from that, a number of other headlines specifically on Iran, notably Leavitt saying that it's not true that the U.S. has formally requested an extension of the ceasefire with Tehran. She says, though, that conversations are active and ongoing, and the White House feels good about the prospects of a deal that if in-person talks were to continue, they would most likely be in Pakistan, who has been mediating during the conflict.

JESSICA DEAN, CNN CO-ANCHOR OF "CNN NEWS CENTRAL": Yeah, they also touched on gas prices, which is something that so many Americans have their eye out for right now. With the treasury secretary saying he's optimistic that gas prices will have a three in front -- start with a $3 not too long from now, but experts say that's going to be really hard to get to.

I do want to bring in CNN's Kristen Holmes, who is live at the White House and was following this as well. Kristen, what's standing out to you?

KRISTEN HOLMES, CNN SENIOR WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT: Well, obviously, this was done because it's Tax Day. That's why you saw Secretary Bessent and Secretary Loeffler. But there were a number of other questions that were answered, particularly when it comes to what exactly is going on with Iran.

As you noted, Leavitt pushing back on this idea that they had actually asked for a ceasefire, just saying that those were extended -- that those conversations were still happening, but that nothing had actually been extended. And then this idea of in-person talks, basically confirming what we'd already reported, that they're likely to happen again in Islamabad if they happen.

But nothing is permanent yet. Nothing has actually been set in stone. This is something that they're still just talking about at this time, and noting specifically that President Trump himself is optimistic for a deal.

It was interesting. She took a minute to praise the Pakistanis during this, saying that they were great intermediaries. And there had been a question about where these talks would be. Could they be in Geneva? President Trump kind of brushed off the idea, saying the reason they want them to be in Pakistan is because of the Pakistani negotiators that have been helping through this process.

Now, I do want to play that sound for you, because this is probably what most Americans care about. And this is what Secretary Bessent had to say about gas prices.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

SCOTT BESSENT, UNITED STATES TREASURY SECRETARY: I'm optimistic that during the summer, we will see gas with a $3 in front of it sooner rather than later. So I've been meeting with a lot of my Middle Eastern counterparts, the finance ministers, and they all say that once the Straits are open, they can start pumping again within one week.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

HOLMES: Well, and that was fascinating to hear, because as you noted, Jessica, that is not what we are hearing from experts across the board. That, one, part of the importance of getting the Strait of Hormuz open is to start the process. Once they start the process, it's still going to take an enormous amount of time to actually get back to where we were and get back to that $3 in front. And as you have here, the national average gas price right now is $4.11. Every expert we have talked to has said that that number is only going to continue to rise.

This, obviously, you know, Republicans, they want to be talking about Tax Day. They want to be talking about tax cuts. They want to be talking about no tax on tips. And instead, they're talking about and grappling with these high gas prices heading into a midterm.

SANCHEZ: Well, another bit of news that came from the briefing, the White House seemed to take the threat of 50 percent tariffs on China off the table. Karoline Leavitt was asked about this. It came about because there was some reporting by CNN and others that confirmed that China within weeks could send air defense systems to Iran, and the president's response was to threaten them with a 50 percent tariff on all goods from China being imported to the United States.

Since then, the president made news announcing that he'd had this correspondence with Xi Jinping, who he is set to meet with, we should note, in about a month. The White House here seeming to take the word of Xi Jinping when he and the president's assessment essentially told him that weapons deliveries to Iran were not going to happen. Kristen?

HOLMES: Yeah. I mean, that's not surprising. This is something we've seen from the president before. He will take the word of the leader that he is talking to. We should also know when it comes to 50 percent tariffs, I mean, we know, the president knows and has talked about, his team knows just how detrimental something like 50 percent additional tariffs on China would be to the United States as a whole.

[14:05:00]

That is why we have seen President Trump walk up to the line only to extend a deadline, only to change course. They understand how bad this could be for the American economy and they don't want to disrupt the global economy either.

They've gotten a lot of pushback from other countries when you talk about putting these kind of tariffs on China. And we know that they are preparing for this visit. It doesn't seem as though there is anything that is going to take this visit off the table.

We know it was delayed because of the war in Iran. But even this reporting that China was poised to give weapons to Iran, it doesn't seem to have changed the calculus here. So the idea of 50 percent tariffs, they are trying to make this meeting work and they want things to -- or at least be able to have an ongoing dialog with China.

DEAN: All right, Kristen Holmes there at the White House, thank you so much for that reporting. I do want to bring in CNN's Vanessa Yurkevich, who is following the business end, the financial end to all of this. Vanessa, I want to ask what stood out to you and remind everyone too that we heard from the IMF today, the chief economist saying that even if the war ended tonight, the world would still see an oil shortfall this year.

And that obviously, a very dramatic departure from what we were hearing from them about the state of the economy not that long ago.

VANESSA YURKEVICH, CNN BUSINESS & POLITICS CORRESPONDENT: Right, and of course, it is hopeful and it is wishful thinking that we could see that sub-$4 a gallon number again over the summer. That goes in contrast to what President Trump was saying just last week, I believe, when he said that prices would probably be $4 heading into the midterm election.

Of course, this really all has to do with the volatility around what's going on with Iran. What exactly is happening, how long does this ceasefire last, and where do things end up. But for consumers at the pump, good news, prices are falling. That is because of the two-week ceasefire that is in place.

As folks on Wall Street and investors are encouraged by this news, so you have oil prices actually falling closer to that $90 a barrel range, which in turn causes gas prices to fall a little bit for consumers. But of course, as oil prices move higher, gas prices will follow.

We'll just have to keep an eye on where things stand. But as you mentioned, Jessica, the International Monetary Fund said that regardless of if the war ended tomorrow, let's say, there would still be an oil shortfall. And this is important because the IMF looks at the global landscape.

And essentially, this is because the Strait of Hormuz has been closed for many, many weeks now. And there are agencies out there that project that there's been a loss of about 10 million barrels of oil supply every single day since March.

We actually heard from the chief economist, from the IMF on our colleague Richard's Quest show. And here's how he put it.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

PIERRE-OLIVIER GOURINCHAS, IMF CHIEF ECONOMIST: If everything were to stop tonight and starting tomorrow, we move towards re-opening the Strait, rebuilding the damaged facilities, et cetera, we would still be looking at an oil shortfall for the year, the entire year, 2026, that would be on the same order of magnitude as the oil shock in the 1970s, the 1974 oil shock.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

YURKEVICH: So the 1970s oil shock that he's referring to is when OPEC put an embargo on oil going to the United States, which actually caused stagflation, something that economists fear greatly. That is both high inflation, high unemployment. What the IMF is actually projecting is still global growth this year, 3.1 percent. That's down about 0.2 percent from what they were projecting in January.

But, Jessica, they do put out a worst-case scenario. This is what they consider recession conditions. So they're looking at oil and natural gas spikes of 100 to 200 percent since January. That would have to sustain into 2027. And then economic growth would have to be at two percent or below for a recession to kick in. So that is the worst-case scenario. That is not what they are projecting right now.

But, of course, because of all the uncertainty about the length of this war, the duration and the impact on oil, gas and then prices of other goods, it is certainly something that the IMF has to look at and has to warn for, guys.

SANCHEZ: Vanessa, one other thing that was notable from the treasury secretary there was the question regarding Trump's threats to fire Fed Chair, Jerome Powell, if he didn't resign before his term is up in about a month or so. There, Bessent didn't really address Powell at all. He talked about Kevin Walsh, Trump's nominee, to take over for Powell, saying that he's confident he's going to get confirmed, even though some key Republican Senators have said that this ongoing attempt to prosecute Powell would lead them to blocking Warsh's nomination. They've argued, like Thom Tillis, for example, that DOJ should drop any efforts to prosecute Powell.

[14:10:00]

When Bessent was asked about Thom Tillis specifically, he said, quote, "Let's get to the hearings and see where we are then." How do you read all of that?

YURKEVICH: Yeah, well, he essentially says that he hopes that we don't get to a place where President Trump is actually going to fire Jerome Powell. We know that the president has wanted to fire Jerome Powell basically since he got back in office.

In terms of Senator Thom Tillis, it seems like he is the roadblock for Kevin Warsh getting confirmed. Of course, the confirmation hearing is set for just a few days from now, but that is a process. And if you have a key Senator saying, hold on, I want to make sure that the investigation into Jerome Powell is wrapped up before I confirm anybody to replace him, those timelines may not jive.

And we know that Jerome Powell has said that he plans to stay on as Chair Pro Tem, as he says is legal in the law. But President Trump signaling that he does not want that to happen. Of course, you have Bessent there trying to kind of calm economic nerves, because if you recall, anytime the president says that he wants to fire Jerome Powell, markets kind of start to move and there starts to be a lot of volatility.

We'll wait and see just what this confirmation hearing produces and whether or not President Trump does continue with his threats to fire Jerome Powell if he still has to stay on past that May 15th deadline.

DEAN: Yeah, and it all goes back to Thom Tillis, who sits on that committee. And it all is connected. So we will see. Vanessa Yurkevich, thank you so much.

Still to come here, the Israeli Security Cabinet meeting to consider a possible ceasefire with Lebanon just one day after its first direct talks with its neighbors in four years.

SANCHEZ: Plus, new questions surrounding former Congressman Eric Swalwell as he faces new sexual assault allegations. We have details on a new accuser. And why the Justice Department is moving to dismiss January 6th related convictions against two far-right groups. That and much more coming your way on "CNN News Central."

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[14:16:42]

SANCHEZ: Today, Iran's military is threatening to halt all shipping in the region if the U.S. continues its blockade of Iranian ports. This is happening less than a week until the ceasefire between the U.S. and Iran expires. White House Press Secretary, Karoline Leavitt said a short time ago that as of now, the U.S. has not requested a formal extension. Though President Trump is suggesting that another round of talks could happen in Pakistan within days.

Let's go live to Islamabad now with CNN International Diplomatic Editor, Nic Robertson. Nic, what are you hearing on efforts toward future talks?

NIC ROBERTSON, CNN INTERNATIONAL DIPLOMATIC EDITOR: Yeah, it's a sort of a diplomatic overdrive here in Pakistan. At the moment, you have their top interlocutor, the most powerful man in the country, the Field Marshal, Asim Munir, flew with his interior minister to Tehran today to have talks with Iranian officials to try to get them to bridge that gap.

J.D. Vance, when he left here early Sunday morning, said he'd put the United States' final and best offer on the table for the Iranians. The ball is really in the Iranians' court, right? That's how it appears. So the Pakistanis have actually flown there to try to move this diplomacy forward and kind of seek the sort of clarity that didn't come across the negotiating table at the weekend, this clarity on Iran's willingness to come clean about its nuclear ambitions, to get rid of its nuclear materials, its highly enriched material, to destroy or deconstruct those facilities.

All of the terms the United States wants to have in pocket to make sure that Iran is never going to have a nuclear weapon. Of course, there are other issues there as well. But I think the sense of both sides of the weekend was ground was covered at those talks, but it just couldn't be pulled together.

The Iranians are saying the whole package of points that they want to see met, the things like having sanctions lifted, unfreezing assets, reparation for war damage, a durable, lasting, permanent ceasefire, all of those things they say -- they describe them as sort of interlocking. Something's got to shift. And that's why you have Pakistan's top official in Tehran today.

Also, I just have to say, you've got Pakistan's foreign minister and prime minister in Saudi and Qatar and going on to Turkey, again, for meetings all around, trying to bring an end to this current crisis.

SANCHEZ: Nic, of course, one of the points of contention between the U.S. and Iran is over Israel's military campaign against Hezbollah in Lebanon. Obviously, the United States has demanded that Tehran quit arming and funding these proxy groups. What's the latest on that front?

ROBERTSON: Yeah, that's going to be an issue, and it's not something we're getting any fidelity on at the moment from the outside of the talks. And it wasn't something that I heard in discussions with sources here following the talks. That didn't seem to be one of the bigger themes that came forward.

The bigger themes were the nuclear issue and the sense from an Iranian perspective that the goalposts kept shifting. But that is going to be a key issue, that and also Lebanon, Hezbollah there being part of this bigger ceasefire. These are going to be hard issues to convince anyone in this region and around the rest of the world that Iran needs to keep those proxies.

[14:20:00]

They are a threat to international shipping. They are a threat to the stability of a number of countries and many countries in this region have felt the effects of effects of that. But where the ground shifts or what language can emerge on that isn't clear yet.

SANCHEZ: Nic Robertson, live for us in Islamabad. Thank you so much for the update.

Coming up, the L.A. County Sheriff tells CNN his office is investigating an accusation of rape against former Congressman Eric Swalwell. We have details on that new accusation right after this.

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[14:25:12]

DEAN: The L.A. County Sheriff's Department says its Special Victims Bureau is now investigating after a new accuser came forward with a rape allegation against former Congressman, Eric Swalwell yesterday. The woman saying that that took place in Swalwell's West Hollywood hotel room in 2018. We should note her attorney declined to share detailed corroboration of those claims and CNN could not independently verify the allegations.

It comes after the Manhattan District Attorney's Office announced its own investigation into Swalwell Saturday, after a former staffer accused him of raping her in 2024. Additionally, the Alameda County D.A.'s office in California told CNN it's evaluating whether any criminal conduct occurred there where the same former staffer accused Swalwell of sexual misconduct she says happened in 2019.

A lawyer for the former Congressman said in a statement Tuesday, Swalwell categorically and unequivocally denies each and every allegation of sexual misconduct and assault that has been leveled against him. Let's bring in former Federal Prosecutor, Berit Berger, who joins us now to talk more about this.

Barrett, it's nice to see you. Help people understand --

BERIT BERGER, FORMER FEDERAL PROSECUTOR: Thanks for having me.

DEAN: Yeah, it's great to have you -- the totality of the legal picture here and how this all maybe plays together, intersects. BERGER: Yeah, I mean anytime you're facing criminal investigations in multiple jurisdictions, it's not a good day. So now, you have offices in both New York and California investigating these claims of sexual assault. And just a reminder, there is not a statute of limitations for sexual assaults in either California or New York.

So even though these cases may go back to 2018, maybe we will learn about some that go back even further, that's not going to be a bar for these investigations to move forward. So now, what you have is prosecutors interviewing the women that have come forward, seeing if they can find corroborating evidence to try to build their cases.

Now I will say, these are notoriously difficult cases to bring in any event, particularly when they are older cases like this. You probably won't have the benefit of having DNA evidence that's available, given the delay in reporting, and so the issue will really come down to questions about consent which is likely where the defense would place their arguments.

So you have all of these issues swirling but the fact that you now have multiple women coming forward, you have two jurisdictions looking at that potentially more, that shows that we're at least on the path to potentially some sort of criminal accountability here.

DEAN: Yeah. And you really note something that I think is important and that I certainly was curious about, which is how do you start to investigate some of these cases years later. Obviously, as you note, statute of limitations, there is none in New York or California and so when you're saying that the prosecutors will have to now interview them and find that corroborating evidence, is that talking to others that they may have told at the time? Is that -- I know one person, you know, mentioned therapy sessions potentially. How do they put those pieces together?

BERGER: Yeah. It's a really good question. Look, you can bring a sexual assault case based solely on the victim's testimony. That is reliable evidence and that's for a jury to weigh. Obviously, if prosecutors can, they want to try to bolster their evidence, so that means finding as many ways to corroborate what the witness set as possible. So, are there other people that the witness reached out to immediately after the fact?

People that she may have told about that, whether it's friends or family. Can we corroborate details from the witnesses recounting of the events? You know, she says we were at this hotel at that given time. OK, well, the hotel records confirm that. So you're sort of trying to delicately build up this case as much as possible. But, you know, keeping right there, a woman's testimony about something like this happening is sufficient evidence on its own to bring this kind of a case, providing that the grand jurors and ultimately the jury find it to be credible.

DEAN: All right. Berit Berger, really helpful information there. Thank you so much. We appreciate it.

And still ahead here, Vice President, J.D. Vance doubling down on President Trump's fight with the Pope over with the war with Iran.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

J.D. VANCE, (R) VICE PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA: I think it's very, very important for the Pope to be careful when he talks about matters of theology.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

DEAN: A Roman Catholic priest joins us next to talk about what some Catholics are describing as textbook blasphemy.

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