Return to Transcripts main page

Connect the World

Senate Committee to Vote on Holding Fauci in Contempt of Congress; Iran Calls for U.S. Guarantees Before Strait Can Reopen; Smoke Rising from Russian Refinery After Ukrainian Strike; Russian "Black Widows" Allegedly Marrying Soldiers for Money; CNN Speaks with Michigan Democratic Senate Nominee Abdul El-sayed. Aired 9-9:45a ET

Aired August 06, 2026 - 09:00   ET

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

[09:00:00]

(CNN SIMULCAST - COVERAGE OF CAPITOL HILL - FAUCI)

[09:05:00]

BECKY ANDERSON, CNN HOST, CONNECT THE WORLD: Well, you're watching as a Republican-led Senate committee gets ready to vote on whether to hold

Anthony Fauci, one of the world's most well-known doctors in contempt of Congress. It's 02:00 p.m. in London, 09:00 a.m. there in Washington.

I'm Becky Anderson. This is "Connect the World". Coming up as well this hour, a potential deal between Iran and Oman over opening the Strait of

Hormuz, but the U.S. Administration has something to say about that. Stock market in New York opens about 30 minutes from now.

Looks like a mixed open. The oil markets are slightly higher, but again, you know, in a sort of mixed frame of mind, as we await news, of course, on

any deal on the Strait of Hormuz. Well, I want to get right back to what is happening on Capitol Hill right now, as regards Anthony Fauci.

Let's get you to CNN's Stephen Collinson, who is in Washington. And walk us through what we are seeing and how we got here.

STEPHEN COLLINSON, CNN POLITICS SENIOR REPORTER: Right. So, everyone will remember Dr. Fauci, the Senior Public Health Official, who was in many ways

the face of the government's anti-pandemic measures. What is happening here is that a Senate committee chaired by Senator Rand Paul is investigating

Dr. Fauci.

He fears that he will be, if he testified in a committee, he would self- incriminate himself in the eyes of the Trump Justice Department, which, as we know, has a long record of pursuing President Donald Trump's enemies.

And in this case, a lot of Democrats believe what Trump wants to do is to prosecute Fauci to cover up for his own missteps during the pandemic six

years ago during his first term.

So last week Fauci appeared before the committee, and he did so with a pardon in his back pocket from President Joe Biden for all of whatever

happened during the pandemic. Even though there was no suggestion that he was criminally liable, that was to try to shield him from this sort of

inquiry.

He refused to testify. He invoked his Fifth Amendment rights against self- incrimination more than 100 times. What is happening now is Republicans who are angry about that are voting to hold him in contempt of Congress, which

could lead to a criminal referral to the Justice Department.

ANDERSON: Right. And when we get the vote, because we are still watching these live pictures. Stephen, I will get us back to the Hill there. I

understand that a copy of Fauci's iPhone that he used when he was the Head of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases was turned

over to the Senate panel.

And that has provided some controversy, or certainly some content to chew over, which has created some controversy. Just explain.

COLLINSON: Yes. So, this is a related panel to the one that's currently sitting. They have obtained this iPhone. It's not clear what information is

on that device, a government device. This also follows Senator Rand Paul's release last week of excerpts from Anthony Fauci's diary, which he kept

during the pandemic on government computers.

This has been something that's really hurt Fauci's image because, as well as commenting on the various political developments and the medical

developments early in the pandemic. It also showed him to be somewhat hubristic and vain. He seemed very interested in his media coverage, his

interaction with celebrities, and his growing public profile.

This is someone who has been in the U.S. government for decades. He was -- the face overseas viewers may remember of President George W. Bush's PEPFAR

anti-AIDS program that saved millions of lives in Africa. So, he was a very revered figure, and I think what we're seeing is what often happens in

Washington when people hang around for a long time, that their image gets tarnished.

But there have been no proven allegations by the Republicans of any criminal wrongdoing by Anthony Fauci. This all plays into the

conservatives' anger at lockdown policies during the pandemic. These were in some cases recommended by doctors like Fauci, but they were the

responsibility of states to administer.

Republicans also accuse him of funding research in Wuhan, which they say led to a lab leak that started the pandemic.

[09:10:00]

That is a very controversial issue. There has been no proof about that. Although some of the scientific and intelligence consensus in the United

States in recent years has looked again at that question. So, I think, in many ways, this is a revival of the culture wars over COVID-19, which

opened up deep divides in U.S. politics and politics around the world.

It was especially acute in the United States. And I think what it shows is that the politics of the United States, which failed during the pandemic,

still I don't think would bear another national emergency.

ANDERSON: So, to Blumenthal, let's just describe this as setting a precedent today. What sort of precedent, Stephen, do you believe this would

set should these lawmakers vote to hold Anthony Fauci in contempt of Congress?

COLLINSON: I think some of that is the hyperbole you often hear during Senate hearings. After all, several of President Trump's officials in his

first term refused to testify to Congress. They were referred to the Justice Department for contempt, and several of them were prosecuted and

actually went to jail over various issues.

So, I'm not sure that's completely unprecedented. I think what Blumenthal is arguing is --

ANDERSON: OK. I'm going to stop you, Stephen. Let's just get back to the Hill and to Congress. I want our viewers just to listen in and see here. It

looks as if we're going to a vote.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Chairman --

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: -- I recognized you.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Mr. Chairman.

SEN. RAND PAUL (R-KY): We've had ample remarks on this. The chair will limit remarks to two minutes. I will give you another chance to state your

opinion, which has been amply stated. You have two minutes.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Well, Mr. Chairman, pursuant to Committee Rule 6B and Senate Rule 26, Section 10C. I'm notifying you that I intend to file

minority views regarding this resolution.

PAUL: The clerk will report the conclusion of the vote, and that is reported favorably. The committee will now proceed to consideration of

S.4505, a bill to require the U.S. Postal Service to designate zip codes for certain communities. Senator Ernst.

SEN. JONI ERNST (R-IA): Yes, thank you, Mr. Chairman, for holding today's markup, and I do have an amendment at the desk in the nature of a

substitute for S.4505, designating single zip codes, Americans deserve timely and efficient mail service. And unfortunately, far too many of our

communities aren't having their needs met by the United States Postal Service.

We have delayed tax refunds. We have voter registration confusion. There are misdirected prescription deliveries, and it's time we change this

because --

ANDERSON: Right, it is the political process playing out there on the Hill. More on that critical vote on whether to hold Anthony Fauci in contempt of

Congress. More on that as we get it. I'm going to carry on with some of the other news because there is some important stuff around today as well

internationally.

We need U.S. guarantees. Iran says that is the only way the Strait of Hormuz can be reopened safely. Basically, Tehran wants pretty much

everything that was on the original and essentially abandoned memorandum of Understanding. Remember that the MOU put back on the table.

This comes as Iran says it's talking with Oman and that they are both close to finalizing a proposed deal to get shipping on the move again in the

strait. Iran's Deputy Foreign Minister quick to deny that talks are with the U.S. On top of all of this, Lebanon, appears to be back in the mix.

More on that in a moment. I also want to alert you to a warning from some leading shipping groups. They say any Hormuz tolls demanded by Iran could

drive up costs and threaten open navigation. We've got a lot to cover. Alayna Treene at the White House. Leila Gharagozlou is here in London.

And Leila, let's just start with this potential agreement between Iran and Oman at this stage. Even that, as we understand it, not a done deal. Not as

far as we know at this point. Correct?

LEILA GHARAGOZLOU, CNN PRODUCER: Yeah, that's correct. So, the Iranians have said that they're very close to a proposed framework. So even when

this gets announced, it's not going to be considered a full deal. They've made it really clear that it's going to be a bilateral agreement between

themselves and Oman.

And through that agreement, it's really going to solidify the sovereignty that Iran and Oman have over the Strait of Hormuz.

[09:15:00]

They've also made it very clear through the deputy foreign minister that this isn't necessarily going to open the strait for all shipping. This is

going to be a new pathway. It's going to be something to help alleviate it, but it's not going to really open the strait. For the strait to be opened,

they've been very clear there needs to be certain things that the U.S. does.

And a lot of those things, as you said, really are what was in the MOU. They include ending the naval blockade on Iranian ports, addressing the

sanctions that were imposed on Iran when that MOU was collapsing. They also are calling for a resumption of negotiations over Tehran's frozen assets.

And then also addressing the U.S. quote, failure, they say, to ensure stability in Lebanon. Now, the deputy foreign minister was asked about

whether this was just Iran trying to implement Article Five of the MOU, and he said it wasn't. He said that this really is a bilateral agreement

relooking at a relationship that has been 60 years in the making with Oman.

Now, as you know, throughout the entire week, President Trump has said, you know, the Iranians are talking. We're going to have a deal, but the

Iranians are holding steadfast by saying this is a bilateral agreement. It's just a framework, and it's going to be for a short period of time,

just one to three months.

ANDERSON: Good to get us up to speed on that. Thank you, Leila. Alayna, this is then ostensibly between these two key regional parties. I mean,

earlier on this week, we did have from a senior official who was very familiar with the matter, telling us here at CNN that talks were between

the U.S., Iran, and Oman at present, not direct talks between Iran and the U.S., but there were these sorts of tri-party talks.

It's difficult to tell whether those were very specifically about the Strait of Hormuz, or whether these talks were about something sort of wider

at this point. What is the administration saying about all of this?

ALAYNA TREENE, CNN WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT: Yeah, look, I think there have been involved in some of these discussions, of course, in recent days.

Even if not directly, I will tell you from the conversations, Becky, I've been having with people here at the White House.

They said that over the weekend, even people in Iran, like Abbas Araghchi, the Iranian Foreign Minister, reaching out to people like Steve Witkoff,

one of the key diplomats here in Washington, who has been very involved in these talks. So, I think there has been a level of you know the United

States being a maybe not direct part of these talks, but clearly involved at some level.

And we've heard the president say many times that a deal needs to be completed and quickly. He said by the end of the week, or he would resume

striking Iran. Now, of course, how much do you stake? Do you put in those comments when the president has issued many threats like that just to pull

back?

But that is currently what the administration is trying to project publicly. On the other hand, you do have acknowledgement from people like

the Vice President J. D. Vance, someone who has led the delegation for these talks with the Iranians in the past, acknowledging that these have

been very messy and that he says the Iranians have been very hard to deal with.

Particularly, of course, you saw they had an MOU, it fell apart. Now they've exchanged strikes. Now they're trying to get back to the

negotiating table. This has been going on, Becky, far longer than I think many people in the White House and throughout Washington expected it to.

But I do want you to listen to some of the comments that Vance made in a Fox News interview last night.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

J.D. VANCE, VICE PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA: I do think that where we will ultimately land, it's going to be messy and it's going to

take some time to get there. Where we will ultimately land, as you see, oil I think was at $79 today. Those oil prices are going to come down and stay

down.

Iran will never have a nuclear weapon, and the United States will be in a stronger position. But we're kind of in the middle of the game, and I think

people are trying to prejudge exactly how this is going to go.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

TREENE: Now I will say, from the president's perspective, and this is what many officials here tell me repeatedly, is that his goal is still what it

has been from the beginning, Becky. He wants diplomacy to prevail.

ANDERSON: Yeah.

TREENE: But he's keeping strikes, including the one he issued over the past weekend, on the table. Should Iran really not make any sort of movement on

the diplomatic front?

ANDERSON: Well, with that in mind, Alayna, before I let you go, tell me what President Trump is saying about reporting of severely depleted U.S.

defense missile stockpiles.

TREENE: Yeah, Becky, just after midnight, the president today lashed out at a number of different media outlets who have been reporting on the depleted

stockpiles of munitions that the U.S. military has. He wrote on social media that the U.S. has massive amounts of munitions.

[09:20:00]

He said, especially in certain types, he said large amounts are also being manufactured and shipped to the U.S. that they're working on deals to

continue building up the stockpile, but this is something that has been a major, major, major problem for the Pentagon in recent months.

This idea that they are burning through a lot of their missiles and munitions with the rate of strikes that have been issued throughout this

war, and really throwing a lot of doubt and uncertainty on how this is going to impact the U.S. position in the war moving forward.

I will note we had great reporting yesterday from our colleagues who had noted that the U.S. military has exhausted nearly 80 percent of its

interceptors for a key missile defense system known as THAAD in recent months. They also reported that the U.S. military has burned through

roughly half of its Patriot Interceptor since the start of the war, as well.

I will note again, the president has been aware of this. I know in my conversations that different people in the military, throughout the

intelligence community, have been telling the president about this. I think he's taking a big issue, though, with the idea that it's being publicized

that this is a problem, especially at a time when he wants Iran to believe that the U.S. has the power to continue hammering them.

So, this is something that's definitely going to continue playing a role, I think, in some of the negotiations behind the scenes. And also contributing

to another thing that I've been told as well, which is that in the intelligence community, many leaders are very worried that Iran will ever

honor commitments on any sort of deal that is made.

So, this really putting the U.S. position in a fragile place right now, Becky.

ANDERSON: It's really good to have you, Alayna. Thank you very much indeed. Mapping out where we are at towards the end of this week, six months now

into the six months of this U.S.-Iran conflict. Two Israeli soldiers were killed and four others seriously wounded after an explosive device

detonated during an Israeli military operation in southern Lebanon on Wednesday.

The Israeli military says the troops were clearing what it said was Hezbollah infrastructure in the town of Majdal Zoun when they entered a

building and the blast occurred. Israel investigating how and when that device was planted. Well, the deaths come as Israel renewed air strikes

across southern Lebanon on Wednesday.

The IDF said it responded to what it called violations of the current ceasefire. The escalation also prompting U.S. mediated talks between

Israeli and Lebanese negotiators in Rome to end early. More on that as we get it, and we will be right back after this short.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

ANDERSON: Well update on the breaking news that we brought you at the top of this hour, a Senate panel has voted to hold Dr. Anthony Fauci, the face

of the U.S. COVID-19 health response, in contempt of Congress. Now it comes after he refused to answer questions under subpoena at a tense Senate

hearing last week.

[09:25:00]

Republicans claim the retired 85-year-old misled the public about the pandemic origins. Well, Russia's oil industry is facing more attacks from

Ukrainian drones. What you're looking at here is fresh video of a new strike on a refinery about 250 kilometers northeast of Moscow.

The regional governor called it the largest drone attack the area has ever seen, claiming that Russia shot down all 88 Ukrainian drones. And staying

with Russia, controversy growing around so-called black widow scams. Women allegedly entering sham marriages with Russian soldiers to claim death

benefits if they're killed. CNN's Matthew Chance with the story.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

MATTHEW CHANCE, CNN CHIEF GLOBAL AFFAIRS CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): The mass wedding of Russian soldiers before they're packed off to the front

lines.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I want to shake your hand and thank you for not running away, for not being scared.

CHANCE (voice-over): But not all marriages offer love. Russian military wives get thousands of dollars compensation if their husbands are killed in

action. Officials say ruthless scammers dubbed black widows are now tricking vulnerable recruits into wedlock.

The father of Maria from St. Petersburg died after being shot in Ukraine last year, she told me she only found out her dad had joined the army after

he was killed, and only then did he have a new wife.

How did you feel when you found out that your dad had got married just days before he went off to war?

MARIA, DAUGHTER OF RUSSIAN SOLDIER: It felt unreal when I was being issued the death certificate. They asked if he was married. I said no, but they

told me he was. I never even managed to contact the woman. I simply didn't know what to say to her because I suspected it was a scam.

CHANCE: It's just one suspected case in a growing number scandalizing Russia with the war in Ukraine now in its fifth year and casualty rates at

catastrophic highs. It's hard to imagine there are people out there marrying vulnerable men and encouraging them to join the military, just so

they might financially benefit if they're killed on the front lines.

No wonder there's outrage across Russia at the spread of these black widow scams.

CHANCE (voice-over): There are numerous allegations of recruits' honey- trapped before dying on the front lines, even marrying on their death beds in hospital. This woman, who married a soldier 10 days after meeting him,

then posted images of herself with other men, was branded a black widow in the Russian media, and denied compensation when her husband was killed

before their divorce went through.

She denied any wrongdoing, saying the allegations had blackened her name. But there's growing public anger at how cynical some Russians have become

about the war. The Kremlin calls its special military operation. If I want an apartment, where am I supposed to get the money? The host of this

podcast asks.

It's simple. The guest, who's a real estate agent, responds. Find a man serving in the special military operation, and when he's killed, you get 8

million rubles. She laughs. The podcasters were prosecuted and forced to apologize a rare intervention by the Russian court.

Back in St. Petersburg, Maria takes us to the block where her dad's old apartment has now been sold off. Convinced, he was also scammed out of his

home.

CHANCE: Do you know who the new owner is? How long? How many years did your dad live here?

MARIA: 5 years.

CHANCE: Five years. This is it. It's open. Behind the broken door. the new occupants insist it was a legitimate sale, and that they never even met the

seller. It means the money and the widow, just like Maria's dad, are now long gone. Matthew Chance, CNN, in St. Petersburg.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

ANDERSON: Turning to U.S. politics now, and all eyes on Michigan's new Democratic Senate nominee Abdul El-Sayed. After he narrowly won in

Tuesday's primary, throughout his campaign. He has criticized Israel and big money in politics. His views cause some key Democrats to doubt if he'd

ultimately win the Senate seat against Republican Mike Rogers in November.

Here's what he had to say to some of his worried party members in an interview with CNN's Kaitlan Collins.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

ABDUL EL-SAYED, MICHIGAN DEMOCRATIC SENATE NOMINEE: Let's go get to work. Let's go talk to our fellow Michiganders about who we are and who we want

to be and what it takes to take on the most corrupt president in American history and his lackey, who licks every boot he possibly can of that man,

Mike Rogers.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

[09:30:00]

ANDERSON: Right, so we are waiting on the opening bell. That is, it. And SpaceX faces a new best as Wall Street opens. The stock already down 50

percent from its record high in today, 900 million more shares unlock. We'll check in on those markets after this short break. Stay with us.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

ANDERSON: Welcome back. I'm Becky Anderson. You're watching "Connect the World". Let's see how the stock markets in New York then are getting on.

We're a minute or so into the trading day. A couple of minutes in now, and you are seeing a mixed picture there.

SpaceX still lower as well. It had a missy day yesterday, down just about one bit percent today, as investors continue to be concerned about its AI

investment, the capex that was released in its earnings yesterday. And speaking of AI, yet another AI model has crossed a line that it wasn't

supposed to do.

Meta says one of its AI agents accessed the internet and hacked into another company's systems during cybersecurity testing. Now Meta blames the

breach on an error by the company conducting the test that makes it the third major AI developer to report a similar incident in recent weeks.

And a prominent scientist, sometimes dubbed the Godfather of AI, says this is likely just the beginning. Geoffrey Hinton warning more rogue AI is

coming. Telling CNN, the smarter artificial intelligence gets, the harder it will be for humanity to control. Well, as companies race to develop more

powerful AI systems, there is also a scramble, of course, to build out the infrastructure they rely on.

Plans to create thousands of AI data centers, though, are hitting major obstacles from public opposition to shortages of material and workers.

Talking very specifically about the U.S. but there is -- there are similar concerns around the world. But on the U.S. side of this story, CNN's David

Goldman live in New York with more.

On this AI race really running into sort of proper local resistance. America is saying they just don't like these data centers. What are

communities doing at this point?

DAVID GOLDMAN, CNN BUSINESS SENIOR REPORTER: Yeah, they really don't like it. A Gallup poll just showed that about 71 percent of Americans are

opposed to building AI data centers.

[09:35:00]

And there's some nimbyism, but there's also some other things that are delaying these data centers from being built. In fact, 50 percent of these

data centers will not be built on time. That is incredible. They are subject to the same kind of delays that I think we're accustomed to in a

lot of other construction projects.

60 percent of the data centers that have been planned for next year haven't even begun construction in this country. And of the ones that have begun

construction, another 7 percent are getting delayed. So, there's a huge concern here about well, are we able to actually build the infrastructure

that we need to power these data centers.

Now there are a ton of data centers in the United States, more than 5000. I think a lot of folks think of these data centers as new, but remember, it's

what powers your email and it's what powers your social media apps. These are old technology that have a new kind of spin on it.

Now that AI is taking over. And we're going to double almost the number of data centers in this country. 4000 new data centers are planned, but only

800 are currently under construction, and there are a number of things that are holding these back, including chip shortages, power shortages, labor

shortages, and as you mentioned, public opposition.

And there are a number of candidates who have made it their mission in these recent U.S. elections, to oppose these kinds of things. And there are

laws in certain states, New York and Texas in particular, where they are having temporary bans on these constructs on the construction of AI data

centers.

There really is a lot to contend with. Now, the goal here is to build incredible computing power so that it can power this AI that has incredible

demand. 565 gigawatts of computing power have been planned by AI companies across the world, but only around 180 are likely, according to Columbia

Business School.

Remember, there are currently only 50 gigawatts of computing power in these data centers today. So, we're still looking at a more than three times

increase, but not necessarily the 11 times increase that we're going to be promised at least because of all of those delays over the next decade.

They are getting built though. Don't take this to mean that no one is building any of these data centers. In the United States, 46 percent

increase in data center construction. They are not cheap either. $8 billion dollars for a single data center, Becky.

ANDERSON: Yeah, it's quite something. They call them AI factories. You're really right to point out. I mean, these data centers do exist in principle

for the stuff that we do today. It's what we will be doing going forward. If I, AI is to sort of, you know, really be embedded in all of our lives.

Great to have you, David. Really nice explanation. Thank you very much indeed. All makes sense, right? The World Cup ended over two weeks ago, and

as Lionel Messi returns to the lineup for Inter Miami, he is back to his scoring ways. More on that coming up.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[09:40:00]

ANDERSON: The British government has cleared Paramount Skydance's 110- billion-dollar takeover of Warner Bros. Discovery, removing a major obstacle to this deal. Anna Cooban is following the developing story for us

from London. And we are keenly noting and keeping an eye on what is going on, given that CNN, of course, is part of WBD. What have we got at this

point?

ANNA COOBAN, CNN BUSINESS & ECONOMICS REPORTER: Well, this is one issue off Paramount's plate. So, this massive merger, this would combine two huge

media companies. This was had you know very strict eyes from regulators around the world on it, and so now this is one issue off Paramount's plate.

The UK government, which a few weeks ago said it was minded to intervene in this deal, has now said that it's comfortable with some of the assurances

that Paramount has given it. So, one of those assurances is that the different parts of these businesses will be kept editorially distinct.

Now remember, bringing these companies together, you've got streaming services, films, TV content, kids TV, news organizations, including CNN,

that these would be kept editorially distinct, but also editorial independence would be guaranteed. Now, this is a nod to the news

organizations involved in all of this.

The UK government is satisfied with that. Apparently, Paramount has offered to make these assurances legally binding, and then all of this also comes a

few days, weeks after the EU gave conditional approval for the deal. So, this is all good on two counts for Paramount, but really the caveat, the

elephant in the room, is what's happening in the United States.

We've got a lawsuit, a trial set for March that's been brought by state attorney generals, by the Writers Guild of America. This is all on

competition grounds, and this is something that Paramount was really striving to avoid because every day this deal is not signed up to September

30th.

Paramount has to pay $7 million per day to WBD shareholders, and so if we really extend that up to March, that's over a billion dollars that

Paramount is going to be on the hook for. So yes, good news today from the UK and the EU a little while ago. But really, the problem here is what's

happening in the United States.

ANDERSON: Got it. We will keep a keen eye on that. Always good to have, Anna. Thank you. Lionel Messi, back at Inter Miami on Wednesday, two weeks

after that World Cup final. -- Argentine great is back to its best. Patrick Snell has more on that with "World Sport", which is up next.

And I'll be back with more "Connect the World" in about 15 minutes.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[09:45:00]

(WORLD SPORT)

END