Return to Transcripts main page

CNN This Morning

New Accuser Comes Forward, Swalwell Denies Accusations; FEMA Official Claims to Have Been Teleported; White House Hints at Upcoming Talks with Iran. Aired 6-6:30a ET

Aired April 15, 2026 - 06:00   ET

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

[06:00:10]

ERICA HILL, CNN ANCHOR: Good morning. Good to have you with us. I'm Erica Hill, in for Audie Cornish. CNN THIS MORNING starts right now.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

REP. ALEXANDRIA OCASIO-CORTEZ (D-NY): I'm glad that Eric Swalwell is leaving.

(END VIDO

HILL: Today in the group chat, a new accuser comes forward. Disturbing allegations against Eric Swalwell. The vibe on the Hill is good riddance. But could more lawmakers soon follow Swalwell out the door?

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

J.D. VANCE, VICE PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: He wants to make the grand bargain.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

HILL: Another round of talks could be on the horizon with Iran. Does Vice President Vance need to get -- to bend a little bit to get a different result this time?

Homes submerged in floodwaters, buildings ripped apart by tornadoes, and the threat is not over yet. We're going to track these storms for you. More on the way this morning.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: He's a street fighter, though. He's not going to put up with anything from anybody.

MANU RAJU, CNN SENIOR CONGRESSIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Even the leader of the Catholic church?

(END VIDEO CLIP)

HILL: President Trump overnight, once again calling out Pope Leo. Just why is the president so triggered by the pontiff? CNN THIS MORNING starts right now.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

REP. RUBEN GALLEGO (D-AZ): We all heard rumors in Washington, D.C., about Eric Swalwell for many years.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

HILL: The rumors, the whispers. And this morning, plenty of new questions about what is happening in the halls of Congress and also what's being ignored.

Good morning, everyone. I'm Erica Hill in for Audie Cornish. Nice to be with you this morning.

We do begin this hour with new accusations, a new accuser here. The disturbing new allegations aimed at Eric Swalwell, allegations, which now prompted the Los Angeles County Sheriff's Department to open a sexual assault investigation.

On Tuesday, Lonna Drewes holding a news conference where she publicly accused the now former congressman of raping her in 2018. The lawyers representing her did not provide CNN with corroborating information, but CNN did speak with her after the news conference.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Why have you decided now to become public?

LONNA DREWES, ERIC SWALWELL ACCUSER: My motivation was for other girls. I know that I can't be the only one.

And so, I kind of wanted to be a voice for other women that they could feel that they could come forward and say something. And -- and for a long while, I wanted to say something when I knew he was running for governor. I was like, oh God, this can't happen. Like, like somebody has got to -- I've been waiting for somebody else to come forward.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

HILL: A lawyer for Swalwell said he, quote, "categorically and unequivocally denies each and every allegation of sexual misconduct and assault that has been leveled against him."

The flood of allegations, though, raising new questions about what is really happening on the Hill.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

KEVIN MCCARTHY (R), FORMER SPEAKER OF THE HOUSE: Every member in Congress knows not to -- not to let any young staffer get around Swalwell or Matt Gaetz.

MARJORIE TAYLOR GREENE (R), FORMER GEORGIA REPRESENTATIVE: I have to tell you, it's a lot more prevalent. I think there's more members of Congress that are guilty of things similar to -- to Congressman Swalwell and Congressman Gonzales.

GALLEGO: The rumors I heard were that he was just a flirty social guy. That's it.

And when he was married and when we were together as families working together, I fell on the fallback that this is not the man that I'm hearing about.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

HILL: Today in the group chat, Jeff Zeleny, CNN national affairs correspondent; Charlie Dent, former Republican congressman from Pennsylvania; and Antjuan Seawright, Democratic strategist. Nice to see all of you this morning.

So, Charlie, you overlapped for a few years with Swalwell in Congress. We just heard Kevin McCarthy say there, every member in Congress knows not to let any young staffer get around Swalwell or Matt Gaetz.

Did you know that? Did you have any inkling that there were concerns about him while you were in Congress?

CHARLIE DENT, FORMER PENNSYLVANIA CONGRESSMAN: I did not. I was not particularly close to him. But I certainly heard the rumors about Matt Gaetz, but not about Swalwell.

I was -- look, I was chair of the House Ethics Committee. I dealt with many cases that ended up in forced resignations or sanctions against members.

And so, the outcome here is what I expected as soon as this was revealed: that both of these members, Swalwell and Gonzales, would resign.

Now, there will be an incredible pressure on Cherfilus-McCormick and Cory Mills also to resign.

But we'll see what happens this week. These investigations do take time. You know, once you start investigating, you uncover more things. And -- but now there's tremendous political pressure.

So, I'm anxious to see how the leaders -- I'm sure that Speaker Johnson and Hakeem Jeffries have had conversations about dealing with these terrible distractions that really keep people away from dealing with their agendas in Congress. So --

HILL: Yes. You're setting me up for two points that we're going to be getting to in this show, which -- which is, you know, questions about whether there will be expulsions or resignations from both of those members who you just mentioned.

And also, you know, what were the backroom deals, if any? I mean, if you want to take that on, when we look at what is happening here, there has been certainly a lot of questioning about the timing, right? Of the announcements from Swalwell and Gonzales coming so quickly, and whether or not this was a deal. Do you have concerns at all about what that says to the American

public?

ANTJUAN SEAWRIGHT, DEMOCRATIC STRATEGIST: I think it says that there's some cleanup that needs to be had on aisle (ph) Congress.

And I think that we have not seen the last of this type of insurgence to the ecosystem. And I think we have to deal with these things going forward.

These are very serious allegations. I think they've been handled, to a certain degree, the best way they can be handled, as far as Congress's ability to deal with them.

At the end of the day, I think both Johnson and Jeffries are probably happy that they will no longer be distractions in terms of getting things done from a legislative perspective for both caucuses.

HILL: And it also, as gross as this sounds, the reality is this is politics, and this is Washington. So, it also doesn't change their numbers game, right?

So, when we look at this in terms of accountability, if the American public is looking for accountability, knowing, right, what they know about, OK, well, at least if we get one from each party going at the same time, we're fine. What does that tell the American public about actual accountability versus politics?

JEFF ZELENY, CNN CHIEF NATIONAL AFFAIRS CORRESPONDENT: It's all politics. I mean, clearly -- I mean, the resignation of a Gonzales timed with this, shows that it is all about that very narrow majority.

Now, a new Republican member is being sworn in, Clay Fuller in the Marjorie Taylor Greene district. So, that gives Republicans one more.

There's a New Jersey special election this week that brings it back to parity.

So, look, the bottom line to all of this is I think the deeper concern for some members is what else is out there.

HILL: Yes.

ZELENY: I mean, there are more whispers and more questions than I can recall. This always stirs things up; there is no doubt about it.

But this Swalwell matter has stirred up many more things. There are a lot of members of Congress right now, probably on both sides of the aisle, who are wondering, are they going to find out anything about this culture of secrecy that still exists?

I mean, it's been so long since you were -- not that long, but I mean, it's been a minute, a few scandals since you're on the Ethics Committee, and it just keeps happening.

HILL: And to your point, when you say they're worried about others, this is not -- they're not worried about potentially other things with Swalwell fallout. There could be. Right? But other people in general, who have reason to be concerned.

ZELENY: Other people in general. Just listen to how some of these members are answering some of these questions: I didn't know anything. He misled me.

HILL: Well, and Ruben Gallego, one of those yesterday asked, pressed a number of times by reporters. What did you know? He talked about rumors. He said, well, it was that he was flirty and, you know.

But he was asked specifically, would you release all your text messages? He said, yes.

All of that leads to what we could see in terms of perhaps an investigation. You talk about, you know, former head of the House Ethics Committee.

DENT: Well, I'll tell you what. This is a time for the leadership to step up.

When Republicans took the House back in 2010, I remember what John Boehner said. You know, he basically said, if you guys are going to get in any trouble, there are going to be problems. We're not going to tolerate it. We don't want any distractions.

And I remember he would summon people to the office. Are the rumors true? And if they said, yes, well, see that letter on the desk? That's your resignation letter. I think you ought to sign it.

They would force resignations. I saw Nancy Pelosi do it. I saw John Boehner do it. I saw Paul Ryan do it.

There are so few expulsions in the history of the House, because most members had enough sense to resign to avoid further embarrassment to themselves, their families, and their constituents. They get out.

George -- George Santos didn't have enough sense to get out, but all the rest of them do get out.

And so, that's where I think the leadership needs to step in and tell members, there's a standard of conduct.

SEAWRIGHT: But going forward, I think we must apply the standard to members of Congress, as well as the highest offices in the land.

And there's been a difference in response to these two versus others in the highest offices in this land and how people responded to them, and the disciplinary actions that came along with them.

And I think if we're going to have a standard in Washington across the board, let's make it applicable across the board.

HILL: Serious question. Do you think Congress is actually capable, though, of setting that standard? SEAWRIGHT: Well, we're going to see. I think the environment is going

to force some sort of change from this. And I think that's going to be done in a bipartisan way.

We've already seen AOC and others on the Republican side speaking out, saying we have to address these things differently. So, I think there's certainly going to be a conversation about it.

What the action looks like, I think, is going to that's going to be determined by the pressure from the American people.

ZELENY: And there is a group of younger women lawmakers who have been leading this charge on both sides of the aisle. And that is the one thing that is different, I think, in this era of scandals. The -- the diversity of members is different than it was back decades ago.

[06:10:05]

HILL: Yes. It's an important point.

All right. Much more to discuss throughout the hour.

Still ahead here on CNN THIS MORNING, another round of talks with Iran. What does J.D. Vance need to do differently this time, if anything?

Plus, the missed warning signs at Camp Mystic before the flooding that killed more than two dozen campers and counselors.

And the husband of an American woman missing in the Bahamas is now speaking out after his arrest and release.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

BRIAN HOOKER, HUSBAND OF LYNETTE HOOKER: I won't be able to stop looking.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: You want to keep looking for Lynette?

HOOKER: I'm going to need somebody with more authority to tell me to stop.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[06:15:02]

HILL: Fourteen minutes past the hour now. Here are five things to know to get your day going.

A court hearing in Texas offering new insight into the hours leading up to the devastating floods which killed 27 campers and counselors at Camp Mystic last July.

Families of the victims packing the courtroom on Tuesday as camp officials described what they did and did not do as the water rushed in.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: You have a heightened duty of responsibility to the children under your care. Why did you do nothing to get ahold of them?

MARY LIZ EASTLAND, CAMP MYSTIC DIRECTOR: I knew I couldn't get a hold of them.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: What did you do to try?

EASTLAND: There was nothing to try. I didn't have any means to get ahold of them. There was nothing to try.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

HILL: This week's hearing comes as Camp Mystic says it does plan to reopen in two months on higher ground. The campus told state regulators nearly 900 girls have already registered to attend this summer.

New security camera video shows the moment a high school principal in Oklahoma stopped a gunman by tackling him to the ground.

So, this happened at Pauls Valley High School. It was last Tuesday. The local sheriff's office says principal Kirk Moore was injured in the attack, but is in stable condition. No students were harmed. The suspect is in custody.

Former Michigan football coach Sherrone Moore sentenced to 18 months' probation. Moore was facing up to six months in jail for a confrontation he had with an executive assistant after he was fired for having an inappropriate relationship with her.

Moore was fired in December after leading the Wolverines for two seasons.

In Massachusetts, massive piles of melting snow revealing crushed cars underneath. Look at that. Six cars, to be exact. And get this: the city of Somerville says they were buried on purpose. The cars were inoperable, and with back-to-back storms, they said it was just easier to leave them there. Lovely.

President Trump is now reacting to a top FEMA official who he -- who said he was teleported. And so, before we play you those comments from the president, I just want to give you a quick refresher here on the story.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

GREGG PHILLIPS, FEMA OFFICIAL: The car lifted up and took me where I was going.

And I ended up at a Waffle House, like 50 miles away from where I was. And I was at a Waffle House in Rome, Georgia. I said, that's not possible. You just left here like a moment ago. And -- and but it was possible. It was real. Teleporting is no fun.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

HILL: It's no fun. CNN's Andrew Kaczynski asked President Trump about the teleporting.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

ANDREW KACZYNSKI, CNN CORRESPONDENT: When I told President Trump what Phillip said, he asked me some obvious questions like, "What does teleport mean?" And "Was he kidding? It just sounds a little strange, but I know nothing about teleporting or him, but I'll find out about it right now."

(END VIDEO CLIP)

HILL: I'm looking forward to the president coming back, weighing in with Andy Kaczynski. I mean, the story is just sort of -- it's bonkers, right, when you listen to it. But it is also fascinating in the moment. I don't know. Anybody been teleported?

DENT: Not yet.

ZELENY: I mean, if I was, I'd love to go to Waffle House right now.

HILL: This is the perfect time to go to a Waffle House. We're ready for breakfast.

DENT: Yes, I want to get teleported to the beach right now. But that's going to happen.

HILL: The beach would also be good.

DENT: This is almost -- you're almost speechless. I mean.

HILL: Yes.

DENT: Cuckoo, cuckoo. I mean, this is just bizarre. And you just wonder how people like this hold positions of trust. And why would they even admit to something like this? I mean -- I mean, I don't know. What do you say about this?

SEAWRIGHT: Well, I think it's a larger narrative. And the distrust and the lack of confidence people feel about government. And I think this just kind of feeds that narrative.

We're talking about FEMA, who, by the way, is still in discussions about whether or not they're going to be funded in the midst of this government shutdown. That was a large part of the discussion just in the past couple of weeks.

But I think this just creates more of a distrust and people not confident in the people running the government. And I think when these things happen, you get more and more of that. And you open up the windows of opportunity for misinformation, disinformation, and others to surface online and spread like wildfire. HILL: Do you think it changes anything? I mean, it's great that the

president took Andy's call, right? And -- and, you know, it was it was a real conversation, right? Like I'm going to look into it. I hadn't heard about that. Right?

The president raising some questions that I think we all have about what is this? What does it mean?

Does that -- I mean, do you see anything happening out of this, Jeff?

ZELENY: I don't. I mean, I think as soon as the president got off the phone with Andrew, he went on to his next thing.

HILL: Yes.

ZELENY: We'll see. But the reason he hadn't heard anything about it is because this has not been mentioned on many of his favorite channels.

I mean, the reality is the reason this matters is this is a top- ranking person in FEMA. I mean, these are the type of people, you know, who are serving in the administration. So who knows?

There's no doubt that president likely thinks it's weird, but my guess is he moved on to other things.

HILL: Yes, I think you -- I think you may be right on that.

We have to move on to other things. You can continue your group chat, though, during the break if you want to keep talking teleporting.

We do want to get to a number of other topics this hour, though, including the latest on what is happening in the war with Iran after Iran was seen digging up buried rocket launchers. What does that mean? Is it a desperate move? Is it a potential difference maker? Could this make a difference in a deal?

Plus, how about a good morning, New York? Nice to see you there, my friend. Sun coming up on what is hopefully another beautiful day there; 6:19.

[06:20:08]

Stay with us. This is CNN THIS MORNING.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

HILL: President Trump is hinting at another round of peace talks with Iran as soon as this week. Vice President Vance is expected to once again head the U.S. delegation.

The first round, of course, failed to yield an agreement, nuclear enrichment being the main obstacle there. The U.S. reportedly demanding a 20-year suspension while Iran offered to stop enrichment for five years.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP) VANCE: Right now, the ceasefire is holding. And what -- what you're

seeing is the president wants to make. He doesn't want to make, like, a small deal. He wants to make the grand bargain.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

[06:25:00]

HILL: Joining me now to discuss, Kurt Volker, the former U.S. ambassador to NATO.

Ambassador, it's good to have you with us this morning. You just heard J.D. Vance there. The president wants the grand deal, right? He also wants this wrapped up pretty quickly.

But the reality is there are a number of sticking points here. And there is a large bridge that needs to be gapped. We know how long it took for JCPOA, if we look at that as a point of reference. And Iran likes to draw things out.

So, given all of that, do you have any reason to believe that the next round of talks, if they happen this week, will be different?

KURT VOLKER, FORMER U.S. AMBASSADOR TO NATO: No. Thank you very much. And good morning. But no, I don't think these talks will be different this week either.

The reason is that the Iranians themselves believe they have leverage on the U.S. They think that President Trump wants to end this in a hurry. They see the impact on gasoline prices. They see the impact on the midterm elections. So, they think that puts them in a stronger position.

Their primary goals are to maintain the regime in place; to maintain the ability to produce a nuclear weapon later; and to have some degree of control over shipping in the Strait of Hormuz.

All of those are going to be unacceptable to the U.S. So, I can't see J.D. Vance going in and being able to agree to something that the Iranians would agree to.

And meanwhile, the demands that the U.S. has made, which you laid out quite clearly, are things the Iranians are simply not prepared to do now. So, they're prepared to play it out.

HILL: They're prepared to play it out. I wonder what you think the appetite is. It -- it does not seem to be great. I will say, certainly, if you pull the public about restarting the war, if you will, in terms of military intervention.

Which is why I was struck by some comments recently. This is from Mike Walz, of course, the U.S. ambassador to the U.N., talking about diplomacy and the role of force. Take a listen.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP) MIKE WALZ, U.S. AMBASSADOR TO THE U.N.: It's a tough world, and sometimes that takes truly tough measures. But I don't think we could argue -- we -- we went into talks with Iran last year. We went into talks earlier this year. And just this last weekend.

But diplomacy has to be credible. Diplomacy sometimes has to be backed by force.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

HILL: Does diplomacy in this case have to be backed by force?

VOLKER: Absolutely. That's always the case. You know, Mike is exactly right there. Diplomacy without the balance of forces put together in the real world is just talking.

But it's when people see that, OK, these are this is the balance of forces. These are the options available in front of us, if we don't reach an agreement. Then people can decide, OK, let's find some mutually agreeable ground.

But in the absence of that, where people have just a free hand, they see no reason to reach a deal. You see that with the Iranians now. They feel that they can withstand whatever the U.S. is willing to do, because they don't believe we are willing to go in for regime change or ground forces, or have a long conflict. They are. So, they think they can do this.

HILL: I do want to get your thoughts, as well. "The Wall Street Journal" is reporting this morning that NATO is actually accelerating a fallback plan to ensure that Europe can defend itself if, in fact, the U.S. decides to pull out of the alliance.

What do you make of those plans? And -- and how close do -- do you think the U.S. may be from actually pulling out?

VOLKER: Yes, I think the U.S. is not close to pulling out. I don't expect President Trump to be able to do that, even if he wanted to.

And it certainly is wildly against America's own interests to pull out of NATO, if we were to do it. It -- the purpose of NATO is security of Europe and the North Atlantic area, and it works. And it has worked for 75 years. There's no reason to destroy it just because we're upset at them over not joining us in fighting against Iran.

Now, that being said, what the Europeans are doing, I wouldn't call it a backup plan. I would call it a necessary strengthening of the European pillar of NATO that should have been done years ago.

And it is finally happening where they are putting more money into defense. They are organizing better for defense. And this is something we should be welcoming.

HILL: Ambassador Kurt Volker, always good to have your insight. Thank you. VOLKER: My pleasure. Thank you.

HILL: Straight ahead here on CNN THIS MORNING, the blockade. The U.S. claiming now at least six ships have been turned around. Are any getting through?

Plus --

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: What we work hard for every day. And sun up to sun down seven days a week. And now what do you do?

(END VIDEO CLIP)

HILL: Devastating tornadoes across the Midwest. More destructive storms on the way. We'll show you the latest track, next.

Plus, the DOJ now looking to dismiss seditious conspiracy convictions related to January 6. Will a judge go for it?

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[06:30:00]