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CNN This Morning
Swalwell, Gonzalez Step Down Over Scandals; White House Discussing New Round of Talks with Iran; Rock & Roll Hall of Fame 2026 Inductees Announced. Aired 6-6:30a ET
Aired April 14, 2026 - 06:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
BRIAN ABEL, CNN ANCHOR: -- humans in a half-marathon in Beijing this Sunday.
[06:00:04]
Now the robots went for a test run over the weekend to work through some technical glitches and safety concerns. What a sight that would be.
The race will feature more than 100 robots, some fully autonomous, others remote-controlled.
Last year, a human did cross the finish line first, but this year, teams are pushing their technology to see if a robot can outrun a person.
Thank you for joining us here on EARLY START. I'm Brian Abel. CNN THIS MORNING with Audie Cornish starts right now.
AUDIE CORNISH, CNN ANCHOR: Today in the group chat, two congressmen quit as sex scandals shake Capitol Hill. Is this what accountability looks like in the Trump era?
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REP. RUBEN GALLEGO (D-AZ): Certainly, for a long time, we had no clue.
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CORNISH: So, Democrats and Republicans had a plan to get them out. Why is this one of the few things that can bring both sides together?
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J.D. VANCE, U.S. VICE PRESIDENT: The ball is in the Iranian court, because we put a lot on the table.
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CORNISH: So, the door is open for more peace talks. But what, if anything, would be different this time?
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UNIDENTIFIED MALE: That is equally unacceptable to blockade. You know, it's extortion.
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CORNISH: And the strait blockade. Will the White House attempt to squeeze Iran actually hurt Americans?
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MARJORIE TAYLOR GREENE, FORMER GEORGIA REPRESENTATIVE: I thought that was blasphemy.
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CORNISH: Backlash over Trump's Jesus post. Should he be worried about catching hell from Catholic voters?
CNN THIS MORNING starts right now.
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SEN. ELIZABETH WARREN (D-MA): What surprises me is how these guys keep doing this over and over. He's not the first, and he probably won't be the last. That they get into positions of authority and they think they can have whatever they want. And ultimately, it's good to see a little accountability here.
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CORNISH: All right. We're going to start this morning with an ugly pair of scandals. Two members of Congress quit at almost the same time. Maybe there's a limit to what Washington will tolerate in the Trump era.
Good morning, everybody. I'm Audie Cornish, and we're going to start with the resignations, in quick succession. Democratic Congressman Eric Swalwell and Republican Congressman Tony Gonzalez both were looking at possible expulsion.
Gonzalez acknowledged having an affair with a staffer who went on to commit suicide. Now, he posted that he would file for retirement today.
And Swalwell has denied sexual assault allegations. But he says he will resign his seat, because it is, quote, "wrong for my constituents to have me distracted from my duties."
So, here's one of his allies, Congressman Ruben Gallego.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
GALLEGO: We all ask for accountability, and we'll continue to ask for accountability. The victims deserve justice. But he literally led a double life and -- and tricked many of us into believing he was something he was not.
(END VIDEO CLIP) CORNISH: So, joining me now in the group chat: Jasmine Wright, White House correspondent at "NOTUS" and co-author of "The NOTUS Morning Newsletter"; Chuck Rocha, Democratic strategist and former senior advisor to Bernie Sanders's presidential campaigns; and Ashley Davis, former White House official under President George W. Bush.
Now, I just want to remind people that the court of public opinion is not -- does not have a legal standard, right? We're not talking about people who have current convictions of any kind. It's a different standard.
So, the question is, is this standard higher on the Democratic side, where they have had post-MeToo movement, a lower tolerance for misconduct? Or are we seeing something else at play, a broader cultural shift?
JASMINE WRIGHT, WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT, "NOTUS": Well, it perhaps may be higher on the Democratic side. And you've seen kind of the Swalwell allegations. And then thus, the fallout from that, happen a lot more quickly than you saw for Congressman Tony Gonzalez.
Of course, those two allegations are very different, in and of itself.
CORNISH: I was about to say. Gonzalez is accused of having this relationship --
WRIGHT: Right. He was --
CORNISH: -- with a staffer, whereas Swalwell is facing actual sexual assault allegations.
WRIGHT: Exactly. But fundamentally, Democrats for the last six months have been so focused on this idea of accountability, stemming in part from their pushing of the Epstein files for more to be released, for more to be redacted, really putting the onus on DOJ.
And so, it would have seemed pretty hypocritical for Democrats not to call for the ouster and the resigning of Eric Swalwell, who, again, was under threat of expulsion. That is what led to him finally leaving Congress.
So, it would seem hypocritical for them not to do so.
And then you have now this balance, this -- in the House where you have one --
CORNISH: Let's show people how many Democrats and Republicans there are right now. Because this is going to inform the whole rest of our conversation, that narrow majority.
[06:05:03]
I want to play for you, Kevin McCarthy, former House speaker, who when he was asked about this earlier in the week, had this to say.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP) KEVIN MCCARTHY, FORMER SPEAKER OF THE HOUSE: Every member in Congress knows not to -- not to let any young staffer get around Swalwell or Matt Gaetz. It's not a secret there. There's a reason why you didn't want those two people around.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
CORNISH: I want to talk about this idea of "everyone knows" or a whisper network, Politico called it, I think, in one of their headlines. And this concept has been around for a long time.
And I want to get your sense of this idea. Are we seeing a gap between "everyone knows" and public accountability?
ASHLEY DAVIS, FORMER WHITE HOUSE OFFICIAL UNDER GEORGE W. BUSH: Well, I actually think that the Swalwell thing came to a head. Not as much on the accountability, but because they have to figure out this governor's race in California on the Democrat side.
Obviously, right now, if you look at the polls, there's two Republicans that are at the head of the ticket. And so, after the primary, those two would move forward.
Obviously, the Democrats don't want to do that. I'm sure a lot of California don't want that to happen.
So, they had to get Swalwell to have accountability. And by the way, I don't know him, but I've heard for years that this was kind of his way of living.
CORNISH: Yes. I don't mean to put you on the spot, but you do have a relationship with Gallego.
DAVIS: Yes.
CORNISH: Gallego was very good friends with Swalwell, and Gallego has come out in saying, I think, something along the lines of, he wasn't who I thought he was.
Can you talk about what this means for Democratic candidates or Democrats who had connections to Swalwell?
CHUCK ROCHA, DEMOCRATIC STRATEGIST: Any -- anybody who I'm working with, I tell them to get out and tell the truth. And I think that's what Ruben did yesterday.
There's no secret that they were friends, but also that he was super disappointed, like everybody else. And I think that that's -- any politician who's listening right now, go out and tell the truth. Even if the truth is not good, tell the truth.
The American people will forgive you over time. I'm living example of that. But go out and tell the truth. I think this guy was living two different lives, and that's what's bit him in his ass.
WRIGHT: I actually think that Gallego was kind of the canary in the coal mine. Once he came out with his public statement, saying that he would support Swalwell being expelled, it was very clear that Swalwell no longer had any allies in the House.
CORNISH: Yes.
WRIGHT: And that he believed that -- you know, the threshold for expelling a member is two-thirds of the House, folks. That's more than what -- I mean, I'm not a mathematician.
CORNISH: Yes.
WRIGHT: But that's more than 200-plus people.
ROCHA: George Santos.
WRIGHT: Exactly. And so, it's only happened six times in history. And so, I think Ruben Gallego was kind of the -- the moment in which people were like, OK, he might get out.
CORNISH: Can I add one more cynical thought, which is that to me, the threshold for pain in Washington is what will happen to our majority if we make this expulsion --
ROCHA: Yes.
CORNISH: -- if we make this decision.
And you did hear a plan start to form, which says that, look, how about a member from each party who we all know is a problem?
DAVIS: Yes.
CORNISH: Maybe this is the time to expel them, because it will keep our numbers even, which was depressing, honestly. Talk about --
WRIGHT: Definitely.
(CROSSTALK)
CORNISH: But yes. Give me -- give me the deal.
DAVIS: You literally -- look --
ROCHA: Really, really quickly. You should know that they've already stepped away from their seats.
But what's happening right now is there's a primary happening in California for the Swalwell seat. And Tony Gonzalez is supposed to be in a runoff, but he gave it up. And so, there's a guy running there.
The difference here is there's a Democratic governor in California that will call a special election, and there's a Republican governor.
The Swalwell seat is very safe. It will be a D seat. But this Gonzalez seat is only an R plus like 12. So, in a special election with the performance we've been seeing, it could actually become a Democratic seat.
That's what they were trying to avoid. So, the timing of these special elections could literally inform who controls Congress.
CORNISH: Let me translate for my mom. My mom. Basically, you're saying that because there are special elections that will follow --
ROCHA: This year.
CORNISH: -- one of these seats they know will stay Democrat, but the other one, it's not clear.
DAVIS: It's R plus 12, but --
CORNISH: And therefore, it affects the decision about whether or not --
WRIGHT: Yes.
CORNISH: -- to actually expel a person who you believe has done wrong.
WRIGHT: I mean, let's be very clear: House leaders on both sides wanted these two folks out.
CORNISH: Yes.
WRIGHT: The question is whether or not they're going to be OK with the Congress, like Anna Paulina Luna, like Nancy Mace, pushing for other two embattled House members to leave.
Again, that's one Democrat, one Republican. You guys are seeing the kind of parity idea --
CORNISH: Yes.
WRIGHT: -- that the House will be OK with, because it keeps this balance in check, which is Republicans --
(CROSSTALK)
CORNISH: Hold on, you guys. We're going to have a lawmaker here to talk about it. And if you are the fifth lawmaker to be in a scandal today, you're in luck. Because clearly, we're talking about numbers, and that's what matters.
I want to turn back to some more serious news. The new round of ceasefire talks with the U.S. and Iran. What could be different this time?
Plus, he told authorities his wife fell overboard on vacation. Hear what happened after that husband was questioned by police.
And we're going to talk about a British invasion. Who made the cut for this year's Rock & Roll Hall of Fame?
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP) (MUSIC: OASIS, "WONDERWALL")
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[06:14:25]
CORNISH: In Iran, thousands flood the streets of Tehran in protest of the U.S. military blockade of the Strait of Hormuz. The blockade comes during the two-week-long ceasefire between the two countries. Now, that ceasefire expires on April 21.
We're now learning that another round of talks between President Trump and Tehran could happen before that date. People familiar with the matter say President Trump is open to the negotiations if Tehran is ready to submit to his demands.
Vice President J.D. Vance, who was at the first round of talks, says this is what needs to happen the next time they meet.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
VANCE: The ball really is in their court. We've made clear where we're willing, again, to be accommodating, and we've made it clear where we absolutely need to see the nuclear material come out of the country of Iran.
This is ultimately why we left Pakistan, because what we figured out is that they were unable, I think; the team that was there was unable to cut a deal. And they had to go back to Tehran, either from the supreme leader or somebody else, and actually get approval to the terms that we had set.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
CORNISH: Joining me now is CNN's international diplomatic editor. Nic Robertson is in Islamabad, Pakistan, where, of course, those first round of talks were held.
And Nic, we heard obviously, from the vice president in that interview, saying that maybe the Iranians weren't able to fully commit to various things. But what were the red lines, so to speak?
NIC ROBERTS, CNN INTERNATIONAL DIPLOMATIC EDITOR: Yes, it's really hard to know, because there are really no leaks of details from the meetings that took place here.
And also, when I was at J.D. Vance's press conference, when he wrapped the talks, I asked him to explain it out a bit, and I think we got a little more of it from him there. And also, his press team have kind of given us more details about getting the nuclear materials out of Iran.
And I think this is the core question here right now. What is it, precisely, that the United States wants Iran to hand over? Is it all that highly-enriched uranium dust that's buried beneath mountains, that was bombed in there last summer?
Is it the complete sort of written agreement that Iran will never, ever, ever go for a nuclear weapon and never be allowed to have any kind of enrichment at all?
Is it U.S. access to all those nuclear sites and the destruction of those nuclear sites? Or is it the removal of the centrifuges, which are the mechanisms to actually make that enriched uranium?
What Iran did back in 2015 -- and I'm getting into a little detail here, because I think the context is important -- was it handed over all its enriched uranium that was above the level you need for civilian use.
It appears the Trump administration wants a whole lot more than that. The bar's much higher.
And it's also, I think, a question of, let's say you bring the centrifuges, which are this core important component, out of Iran. Where do you take them to? What third country do they go to?
You know, red lines for Iran would be things that might look like a surrender or humiliation. If the centrifuges were, let's say, to end up in the United States, for Iran, that -- that could be a red line.
Again, without being in the room, we don't know the details. But I think that sense that both sides, even though the talks didn't reach a positive conclusion, my understanding from sources here was that both sides wanted to continue talking and were positive that they could make this work in the future.
CORNISH: I want to go back to the detail you were just referring to, which is the past deal, in which at the time, Iran was also able to get some of its assets unfrozen and get that cash back for their economy.
I know that Iran, I believe, was looking for something similar here, and it seems like they still believe their leverage is the Strait of Hormuz.
ROBERTSON: Yes. And it still very much feels like that. And President Trump's response has been to add a U.S. blockade, which Iran has tried to internationalize and say, how does a blockade on a blockade actually bring down the price of oil; actually benefit the global economy? So, Iran is trying to internationalize this, again, even more.
And I think the strength of the United States blockade, which military experts, you know, we talked to at CNN, say the U.S. Navy can get better at that in coming days. But there have been reports overnight that a vessel with that's related to China and China's interest has been able to exit the Strait of Hormuz.
So, if you can't have an effective U.S. blockade, then again, that tactic of ramping that pressure on Iran doesn't work. But in terms of those frozen assets, these are absolutely things that
Iran wants; that they asked for at the table; that they were briefing their own journalists that they were getting. Of course, we heard during the talks from the White House, saying, this is not correct.
It was 6 or $7 billion of frozen -- frozen assets. They wanted that. That would look very much like the 2015 agreement with the Obama administration, where Iran got cash coming off the back of an aircraft for making the deal.
So -- so all that's in the air, as well. How you unpack it, how much money, where it goes, how it's unfrozen, those -- those are the details. I think they get -- they get tied down in the negotiations.
CORNISH: OK. Nic Robertson, thank you so much for this update on the potential for those talks.
And then after the break on CNN THIS MORNING, we're going to go back to Venezuela, where there's a key deal happening. The U.S. oil giant that might be expanding there.
[06:25:02]
Plus, take a look at this. Is this Trump as the savior or, like, a lifesaver? We're going to talk about that today.
And good morning to everyone from right here in our nation's capital.
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[06:24:38]
CORNISH: All right. It's almost 25 minutes past the hour. Here's five things to know to get your day going.
The husband of a U.S. woman missing in the Bahamas has been released from police custody without charges. Fifty-five-year-old Lynette Hooker disappeared April 4.
Brian Hooker had been arrested just a few days after that. He told investigators that his wife had fallen overboard off of their sailboat, and he denies he did anything wrong.
The woman's daughter is raising concerns, pointing to the couple's history of past domestic violence.
And in Venezuela, the acting president, Delcy Rodriguez, announces a deal with Chevron and the country's state-owned oil company.
Now, this deal includes a swap of assets that will allow Chevron to increase its crude oil production in the country. And this agreement is the first major oil expansion deal in Venezuela for the us since Nicolas Maduro, the Venezuelan president, was captured and charged in the U.S.
And the pride flag will soon fly again at Stonewall. The Trump administration agreed Monday to keep the rainbow flag at the national monument in New York City.
Back in January, the White House had ordered its removal. Under a new court settlement, the park service must hang the flag back up within the week.
I want to show you this. There's some severe weather ripping across the Midwest. This large tornado was spotted Monday in Minnesota, one of several states impacted by severe weather yesterday.
Today could bring even more widespread severe weather threats from West Texas all the way up to the Great Lakes.
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PHIL COLLINS, MUSICIAN (singing): I can feel it coming in the air tonight. Oh, Lord.
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CORNISH: And Phil Collins among the latest inductees to the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame. Now, about 18 artists in all made the cut this year. I'm going to give you some of them on the list. There's Sade. There's Luther Vandross, Wu-Tang Clan. Also on the list, Oasis, Queen Latifah, M.C. Lyte and Ed Sullivan.
Does anyone have a favorite here?
WRIGHT: I love Sade. I love Luther Vandross. Love Queen Latifah, always stays [SIC] with the silk press. I could go on and on.
CORNISH: I just want to start the show every morning with the opening riff from the Phil Collins song. Like, that's how we should start.
DAVIS: Did you see us all dancing?
CORNISH: You were all dancing.
DAVIS: I'm -- You weren't dancing. I'm an Oasis fan. I know who you want to say.
ROCHA: I don't even know who Oasis is.
DAVIS: Yes, you do.
ROCHA: But I know who Phil Collins is.
DAVIS: I love Oasis.
ROCHA: Phil Collins used to always impress me, because he could drum, and he had the microphone. We were singing, and he was drumming. I was like --
CORNISH: Yes, they can do that.
ROCHA: That's like scratching your head and rubbing your belly all at the same time. DAVIS: I just feel like Phil Collins reminds me of, like, breakups.
CORNISH: Oh, that's a good one. It's dark romance.
ROCHA: We don't need to hear about your '80s --
(CROSSTALK)
CORNISH: Well, I think there -- there's a lot of good acts. And some years when it happens, there's a lot of controversy. And I feel like this year, everyone is nodding and saying, yes.
ROCHA: Because they let 18 people in. Everybody's there now.
WRIGHT: We didn't need another (UNINTELLIGIBLE).
DAVIS: I've gone to that. It's pretty cool. I've -- not the actual event, but I've gone to the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame. It's very cool.
CORNISH: Nice. OK. All right.
DAVIS: It's in Cleveland.
CORNISH: Well, listen, I do still have to do serious news, unfortunately. And straight ahead this morning, we do have kind of some troubling news about the cost of the war in Iran and how it could plunge millions around the world -- not just U.S., the world -- into poverty.
Plus --
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UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Los Angeles is a very unaffordable city to live in. So, those who provide these essential services should be able to live in the city where they work.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
CORNISH: So, we've got some new developments out of L.A., where city schools were facing a possible strike.
And then a judge is going to sentence Michigan's fired football coach today. We're going to have more on what he's going to be looking for.
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