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Erin Burnett Outfront

Swalwell Officially Resigns From Congress As Scandal Intensifies; Images Show Iran Digging For Missile Launchers Trapped Underground; Trump Slams Pope For 3rd Day: He "Doesn't Understand" War. Aired 7-8p ET

Aired April 14, 2026 - 19:00   ET

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

[19:00:23]

ERIN BURNETT, CNN HOST: OUTFRONT next:

The breaking news, Eric Swalwell no longer a sitting congressman tonight as another accuser comes forward. Swalwell issuing a new statement of defiance.

We'll speak to a former Swalwell staffer and a woman who met him when she was in college. She says he then invited her to his hotel room.

And more breaking news, Iran's arsenal. New satellite images here OUTFRONT show Iran digging out missile launchers, as we're learning new details about talks between the U.S. and Iran.

Plus, the president not letting up his attacks on Pope Leo. Leo's lifetime friend is our guest.

Let's go OUTFRONT.

(MUSIC)

BURNETT: And good evening. I'm Erin Burnett.

And OUTFRONT tonight, Eric Swalwell, as of this minute no longer a member of Congress. The California Democrat officially resigning today, days after he dropped out of the governor's races.

Perhaps he thought that would be enough. But no, now out of congress. It is a sudden and swift downfall coming after a former staffer for Swalwell told CNN the congressman raped her in 2024. Multiple other women have also told CNN Swalwell sent them unsolicited nude photos of himself and other sexually explicit messages.

And tonight, another accuser is coming forward. Speaking to reporters, Lonna Drewes says she met Swalwell in 2018. At the time, she says he offered to connect her with investors to support her entrepreneurial project, a fashion company. And it was during their third meeting that Drewes claimed she was sexually assaulted.

CNN has not independently verified her allegations, but Swalwell's attorney is releasing a statement tonight denying, quote, "each and every allegation" from all women, adding, "These accusations are false, fabricated and deeply offensive. A calculated and transparent political hit job designed to destroy the reputation of a man who has spent 20 years in public service. This is a ruthless and shameless attempt to smear Congresswoman Swalwell.

Kyung Lah begins our coverage OUTFRONT live in Los Angeles on a new accuser coming forward tonight.

And, Kyung, what can you tell us about her and these new allegations?

KYUNG LAH, CNN SENIOR INVESTIGATIVE CORRESPONDENT: What we can tell you is that this is leading to an investigation by -- potentially by law enforcement here, because the woman who is accusing the former congressman and former California gubernatorial candidate has -- we understand from her lawyer, she has now filed a report with the L.A. County sheriff's department. So that is taking this to a whole different level, at least here in California.

She says that what happened to her took place in 2018. She met Swalwell three times. She was interested, as you said, Erin, in trying to make connections and expanding her business. She was also potentially looking at running for local office. So she turned to Swalwell, who she admired at the time.

The third time that they met, they met for dinner. She thought it was going to be a political event, but it ended up just being a meal between the two of them. She believes it was then that he put something in her drink, and then she explains after holding a press conference, she sat down with us to explain a little bit more about what she says happened that night in 2018.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

LONNA DREWES, ERIC SWALWELL ACCUSER: I can't believe that he felt so cavalier that he would just drug me and then rape me and then choke me. I couldn't move my arm, so he was on top of me, choking me, and all I could do was just watch.

And I passed out. I thought I was dead, I thought I died, and then I woke up at like 4:00 in the morning, and he was next to me. And I left.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

LAH: It was quite a charged interview she had with us. She had to take a break. We did continue our interview with her other lawyer, Lisa Bloom, and Drewes explains there that it was time she believed to come forward because of all of the other women speaking out.

Here's what she said.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

LAH: Why have you decided now to become public?

DREWES: 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've wanted to say something.

[19:05:01]

When I knew he was running for governor, I was like, oh God, this can't happen. Like somebody's got to -- I've been waiting for somebody else to come forward.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BURNETT: Now, her lawyers have not provided any corroborating information directly to the media, saying that they're going to hand that over directly to law enforcement. Again, a police report has now been filed with the L.A. County Sheriff's Department.

We did reach out to Swalwell's representatives, his lawyer, as well as his spokespeople, and we did get a statement. It says, quote, "Congressman Eric Swalwell categorically and unequivocally denies each and every allegation of sexual misconduct and assault that has been leveled against him" -- Erin.

BURNETT: All right. Kyung Lah, thank you very much.

OUTFRONT now, Lina Tragni, she began working for Swalwell as an intern, eventually becoming his district scheduler. This is her first national interview.

And, Lina, I am grateful for your choosing to speak -- to speak out, for giving us your time.

So, he's gone. He's resigned. He's no longer in office. Did you think his time on Capitol Hill would end like this?

LINA TRAGNI, FORMER STAFFER FOR REP. SWALWELL: No. And thank you, Erin, for giving a speaking place for us to advocate for our colleague. But no, to answer your question, I had no inclination that his time in Congress would end like this. I hope that it's his career that's ending like this because really, he should have no place in any type of society after the heinous crimes that he's committed thus far.

BURNETT: I know that you worked in his office last in 2019. That was the same time that one of the accusers said she was assaulted. And before, Lina, I play for you what she said to CNN. I do want to warn everyone that what she's about to describe is both graphic and disturbing, but here it is.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

ERIC SWALWELL ACCUSER: It was in 2019 I was again driving him to an event. This was my job.

PAMELA BROWN, CNN CHIEF INVESTIGATIVE CORRESPONDENT: And you were 21 years old?

ERIC SWALWELL ACCUSER: I was 21 years old. We see some sort of parking lot and he says to pull over. He pulls out his penis and instructs me to give him oral sex. And I started to again -- I felt incredibly uncomfortable and I

stopped and I said to him, this feels really uncomfortable. And anyone could see us right now. And he said to me, "You're right. It's probably not good for a congressman to be caught with his pants down."

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BURNETT: When you heard that, Lina, what in the world went through your head?

TRAGNI: It was a sucker punch, a punch to the gut, a betrayal to every person who's ever worked for him, every person who's ever volunteered or supported any of his initiatives. But mostly, it was devastation, to hear a colleague of mine have such disgusting things happen to her. I applaud both her and the survivor who came forth today, their courage to, to come forward and, we as staff, we stand with them.

But the letter that we put out and our statement, it's not about the staff. Its about making sure that these survivors know that there's people behind them and that we will continue to support them throughout whatever journey that they decide to take.

BURNETT: And I -- and I want to just read a little bit of that letter because you led the effort for that letter by more than 50 former staffers to speak up about his behavior. And it reads in part, Lina, we call on all relevant law enforcement authorities to open a full and thorough investigation into the allegations against Congressman Swalwell without delay. No one is above the law, not a congressman, not a candidate for governor. No one.

What do you think justice is in this case, Lina?

TRAGNI: Frankly, Erin, I think we're not there yet. We still are calling for accountability. We're calling for the proper criminal investigations to be done. And in my opinion, that should include the state bar, former thankfully, now former Representative Swalwell is a licensed attorney, and I don't think his actions follow through with what an attorney should stand for in society.

And so frankly, I won't be pleased with justice. And I know that, the survivors shouldn't be pleased until they're given a formal apology for their actions. I know his lawyer put out a statement today. I think it's his second lawyer saying that these allegations are ruthless and shameless, but really, the only thing ruthless and shameless is his inability to take accountability for his actions.

[19:10:05]

And he needs to, at the very least, apologize to these individuals that he's harmed in a more sincere way than a post on Twitter.

BURNETT: Did you, in your interactions with him, ever -- ever see him behave in any inappropriate way, whether to you or to others?

TRAGNI: No. And I think that's what was most devastating for the 50- plus people who decided to sign on to this statement. We believed in the individual we were working for. We had never seen any form of harassment, any inclination that this kind of individual was right before our eyes.

The commonality is that we've all been hoodwinked. This is a sucker punch to anyone, like I said, that's worked for him. But the story isn't about us staffers. I mean, yes, we're betrayed, but really what we're hoping to see is justice being served for these survivors who have had the courage to come forward.

BURNETT: Well, Lina, I appreciate your again, making the decision to put your voice out there and to speak. And thank you very much for taking the time to talk to me tonight.

TRAGNI: We appreciate you standing in solidarity with the survivors.

BURNETT: And Margaret Hoover is here with me. She is host of PBS's "Firing Line," of course.

And, Margaret, I mean, I guess the question is, especially when you look at you know, Tony Gonzales, what's happening on the Republican side, he was going nowhere. Now after Swalwell, he is, it feels in some senses like this is the tip of the iceberg. But where does this go from here?

MARGARET HOOVER, CNN POLITICAL COMMENTATOR: Well, Eric Swalwell's future is fortunately not going to be in the political arena. This is -- this is just going to -- this is actually hopefully this will the future of this story will take place in a court of law.

These are incredibly serious allegations. They have to be investigated fully. They have to be investigated fairly. And there also has to be due process.

So -- so it's but fortunately, all of that is going to happen within the third branch of government. And to the point of Lina, you know, we still have a lot of faith in this country in the judicial process and in this sort of, and the blind justice holding people to account. And so that's -- that's where this has to go. This is a criminal investigation now.

BURNETT: A criminal investigation. And what we're hearing -- I mean, it's a tsunami of, of people saying consistent things, but I mean, its a wide range, right? It's from text to a soul. It's -- and it's, but it's so many people to think that something like this could have been happening in the way that people are saying it did, and that nobody did anything or knew about it in any way is what's hard to believe.

I want to play for you what Ruben Gallego, a senator, said. He's obviously one of Eric Swalwell's closest friends in Congress. Here's what he said today.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

SEN. RUBEN GALLEGO (D-AZ): Eric Swalwell lied to all of us. He lied to the most powerful people in this country, and they trusted him. They trusted him with some of sensitive spots in our government, whether it was on Judiciary Committee, Intel Committee, impeaching Donald Trump. And that clouded my judgment, my friendship with him, our family's friendship together with him, clouded my judgment. And I was wrong.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BURNETT: I guess here's the question -- do you think people around him, a lot of people in Washington, powerful people like himself, were aware of this alleged behavior?

HOOVER: I've asked that question to a member of the House of Representatives on the Democratic side and on the Republican side, and look, no party has a monopoly on misconduct here. And I do think it is possible that close male friends cannot know often what their other male friends do in their private lives. And there can be predatory behavior amongst friends, and you just don't know.

BURNETT: It's walled off.

HOOVER: It is. I do -- I think men in particular have some -- sometimes this -- I mean, it does. You hear -- plenty of stories of people. I mean, I don't, you know, to the extent that there were rumors about Harvey Weinstein, it wasn't men. It was women who had been his victims whispering about it.

BURNETT: Right.

HOOVER: You know, I don't think men have a great history of holding each other accountable for their sexual misconduct. That certainly wasn't the case at Fox News under the leadership of Roger Ailes. It certainly wasn't the case in Hollywood with Harvey Weinstein. And I don't see it really happening in Congress until, you know, instances like this where people distance themselves after bad behavior has been revealed.

BURNETT: After it's been revealed.

All right, Margaret, thank you very much. Margaret Hoover, as I said, host of PBS's "Firing Line".

And next, the breaking news. We've got new satellite images just coming in here. And what you're looking at here is digging Iran, digging out missile launchers that were trapped under the ground.

[19:15:01]

And obviously, this is happening here during the ceasefire.

Plus, President Trump not letting up on his attacks on Pope Leo. Are these attacks getting to the pope? His longtime lifelong friend is our guest.

And an OUTFRONT exclusive tonight, president Trump took KFILE's call. Andrew Kaczynski called him, and wait until you hear what they talked about, what President Trump had to say when he was asked to respond to KFILE's reporting that a top FEMA official claimed that he teleported and, you know, was lifted up in the air and transported magically to a waffle house.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

BURNETT: Breaking news, we have new satellite images and one of them is on your screen right now. And this is Iran, and you can see that there's earth moving equipment there digging.

[19:20:04]

And they are digging for missile launchers trapped underground amid the ceasefire is our understanding from these images, front end loaders can be seen scooping up the rubble from blocked tunnels.

Now, keep in mind the context here, right? Yes. You're technically in the middle of a ceasefire, and it's significant that they're digging -- digging out the launchers. But also this context, which is the most recent U.S. intelligence assessment that we have found that about half of Iran's missile launchers were still intact after a month of fighting.

So even as the president of the United States says that the war is over, the U.S. has won that reality, of course, is important. And many of those launchers may have been buried underground, not necessarily on purpose, but by U.S. and Israeli strikes on tunnel entrances. Hence, the front loaders digging those out.

So, Karim Sadjadpour is here with me.

So, Karim, what do you see when you look at those images? And obviously, I'm just going to point out the significance that for a while when the fighting was hot, we weren't getting fresh satellite images. Now we are looking at these. You do see the front loading equipment by those tunnel entrances. And we know the intelligence about the missile launcher. So, what's the significance of Iran doing this right now.

KARIM SADJADPOUR, CNN NATIONAL SECURITY ANALYST: So we're in this strange situation, Erin, in that we've had this war which has been militarily devastating for Iran. Yet at the same time, we've had the most senior level contacts between America and Iran since the 1979 revolution.

And when I speak to both parties, both folks in Tehran and here, it's clear that they much prefer to do a deal. I don't think anyone really wants to go back to war. That doesn't mean we're not going to go back to war. But I think there's a sense now that the momentum could be shifting more towards a transfer from hot conflict to cold conflict.

BURNETT: And obviously, you know, the Pentagon says they've got 10,000 service members and sailors in that blockade, right? So there's still a lot of posturing going on.

As you said, you've talked to people on the inside of the negotiations on the U.S. side. You obviously know Mr. Ghalibaf, who's leading the Iranian delegation. You spent an extensive amount of time with him, and you've talked to someone who's known Mojtaba Khamenei, the new supreme leader for 50 years.

I don't know anyone who's talked to those three -- those three groups, as closely as you have.

So what is the most important thing you're hearing?

SADJADPOUR: So I think what folks on the U.S. side are gathering that Iran's public show of defiance and unity masks a different reality, and that is of a regime which is in dire economic situation. And second, there is this kind of emerging competition for power now in Iran.

Remember, Ayatollah Khamenei led the country for 37 years. He was eliminated. Mojtaba Khamenei his son still is not clear.

BURNETT: No one's seen him yet.

SADJADPOUR: No one has seen him. We don't know what healthy is. And there are people who are trying to kind of audition for the role of the new leader of Iran. And I would say the debate among them is an old debate in Iran, which is resurfacing, and that is, should the country's priorities be revolutionary ideology or the national and economic interests of Iran?

BURNETT: Right. And well, and that's the crucial question. And obviously, the pursuing of the nuclear weapon at all costs, emphasis on costs is at the center of that.

All right. Karim Sadjadpour, thank you very much.

And next, Pope Leo, warning that the world is in a downward spiral as President Trump refuses to back down from his attacks on the pope. Leo's lifelong friend is our guest.

Plus, I'll speak with Annika Albrecht. She claims that Eric Swalwell sent her sexually inappropriate messages inviting her to his hotel room. She was a college student. She'll tell her story right here.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[19:27:48]

BURNETT: Tonight, the world is in a downward spiral stemming from pride. Those are the words today of Pope Leo. He did not name President Trump. Even as Trump is digging in against the pope, repeatedly talking about him today, telling an Italian news outlet, and I quote, the president, he doesn't understand and shouldn't be talking about war because he has no idea what's happening.

It comes as more Republicans are speaking out against this image, which Trump had posted, which obviously shows him as Jesus Christ. Trump posted it on his increasingly A.I. filled social media feed. He said he thought it was a doctor.

Brian Stelter is OUTFRONT.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

BRIAN STELTER, CNN CHIEF MEDIA ANALYST (voice-over): President Donald Trump just can't help himself when it comes to A.I. images of himself.

SEN. THOM TILLIS (R-NC): I thought it was absurd. He should have had advisors warn him off of that.

STELTER (voice-over): Or maybe not?

J.D. VANCE, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: I think the president was posting a joke.

STELTER (voice-over): This week's Trump as Jesus meme joins a long list of shocking memes promoted by the president from that racist video depicting the Obamas as apes, to that gross video of him dumping sewage on protesters. Some you might have forgotten, like the time he shared a clearly A.I. generated video of himself saying this in a fake Fox News segment.

DONALD TRUMP, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: Every American will soon receive their own Medbed card.

STELTER (voice-over): That refers to a conspiracy theory about fictional, futuristic healing beds. Yet Trump posted it on Truth Social, along with hundreds of other memes. He has erased the lines between real information and reckless imagination.

TRUMP: A.I. can be very dangerous. We have to be very careful with it.

STELTER (voice-over): That's what he said last month while denouncing fake pro-Iran propaganda, which has been a real problem. But the dangers of A.I. don't stop there.

TRUMP: Pope Leo said things that are wrong.

STELTER (voice-over): Trump was watching "60 Minutes" Sunday night when the archbishop of Chicago condemned White House videos, likening the Iran war to a video game.

CARDINAL BLASE CUPICH, ARCHBISHOP OF CHICAGO: We're dehumanizing the victims of war by turning the suffering of people and the killing of children and our own soldiers into entertainment.

STELTER (voice-over): The White House has responded to past criticism by saying the memes will continue. So far, they have put sombreros on Democratic leaders and imagined Trump as a pope and also as a king.

[19:30:05]

It's all part of a visual language, denigrating opponents, while deifying the president, leaning hard into the beliefs of some evangelicals who see Trump as their savior. A.I. has also given Trump a new way to deny reality, like when this online video of someone throwing bags out a White House window made the rounds and Trump said.

TRUMP: No, that's probably A.I. generated. So actually, you can't open the windows.

STELTER (voice-over): Yet, sources told CNN that video showed real renovations.

Trump also tried to claim this 2024 photo from a Kamala Harris rally was A.I., even though it was real, too.

As for the since deleted Christ-like image --

TRUMP: I did post it and I thought it was me as a doctor.

STEPHEN COLBERT, COMEDIAN: If I'm in a doctor's office and that man walks in, I'm thinking I'd die.

STELTER (voice-over): The unusually sharp criticism from MAGA media showed that all the Trumpy trolling does not necessarily boost his standing.

RAYMOND ARROYO, FOX NEWS CONTRIBUTOR: The image on its face is sacrilegious. I'm glad the president took this down.

LAURA INGRAHAM, FOX NEWS HOST: Yeah.

ARROYO: But you know, it -- this was much ado about nothing, and it all could have been avoided.

INGRAHAM: You don't have to swing at every pitch.

STELTER (voice-over): Brian Stelter, CNN.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

BURNETT: OUTFRONT now, Father Mark Francis, he first met Pope Leo almost 50 years ago. They were classmates together at the Catholic Theological Union in Chicago.

I know you visited your friend at the Vatican since he became pope. It is good to talk to you again, Father Francis.

What is your reaction when you see the president of the United States repeatedly making extensive public attacks against your friend who is the pope today, now saying that he, as the pope, as the leader of more than a billion Catholics, and the gospel, saying that he, quote, "shouldn't be talking about war"?

FATHER MARK FRANCIS, ATTENDED CATHOLIC THEOLOGICAL UNION WITH POPE LEO XIV: Well, my reaction usually is, I feel sorry for Donald Trump because its obvious that what he's doing is really trivializing the importance of religion and the latest outrage is his depiction of himself as Jesus. Who does that?

It speaks to a certain lack of equilibrium in his own mind. And for him to, to do this, I -I'm pretty sure other people must have told him this is highly offensive and blasphemous for the Catholic Church. BURNETT: I think you just captured it when you said, who does that? I

think that captures the feelings that that almost every person has had, regardless of their political point of view when they saw that.

I want to play for you, Father, what Pope Leo said, because he's been on this trip to Algeria. And he was asked about Trump's attacks. He responded with this.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

POPE LEO XIV, CATHOLIC CHURCH: I have no fear neither the Trump administration nor speaking out loudly about the message of the gospel. And that's what I believe. I am called to do what the church is called to do.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BURNETT: And then today, father, he tweeted in the midst of Trump's ongoing attacks, "God's heart is torn apart by wars, violence, injustice and lies."

You know, he's obviously being very direct, more so than his predecessor, in fact, on some of these issues.

Knowing Pope Leo as you do, right, personally, over five decades, why do you think that is that he is choosing to speak out in this way

FRANCIS: Well, I think the fact that Pope Leo is an American, a U.S. person from the United States, and he knows the situation and he knows how -- what the president of the United States says, how it affects people. And I think basically he has -- he has credibility because of his own background.

And of course, his background internationally as well. And so, his job is not to be a political pundit. His job is to speak to the world in terms of the gospel of Jesus Christ. And when those values are violated and when human suffering is obvious, the pope becomes the voice of the people that are suffering.

And I think that he feels he needs to say this in order to, to hopefully to help the situation, inspire other people to come into the picture and to moderate things.

BURNETT: The president has attacked Pope Leo five times publicly since Sunday. He had that long 300-plus word social media post Sunday night, two interviews he gave Monday, and today. He attacked the pope as well.

And he said these things publicly as well, Father. I'll play a few.

[19:35:00]

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

TRUMP: Pope Leo said things that are wrong.

I don't think he's doing a very good job. He likes crime, I guess.

We don't like a pope that's going to say that it's okay to have a nuclear weapon.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BURNETT: But I want to be clear, Father Francis, we only heard Pope Leo respond the one time when he was asked by reporters on the papal plane yesterday. Right? He's not out posting only when he was asked directly. And he said that that one comment.

You know him. Do you think that he is comfortable with all the attention that this is getting? Go ahead.

FRANCIS: No, I think that's very much in his way of dealing with things. Up until now, he has not had he not? He's not anything -- hasn't even not even mentioned his name its president Trump who has caused this, this interchange in a sense. But if you notice that Pope Leo is not criticizing him personally. He's criticizing what he sees. And the acts and what's going on, on the ground, but not the person of the -- of the president.

BURNETT: All right. Father, I appreciate your time very much tonight. Thank you for being with me.

And now, tonight, one of the nations most closely watched governors races is now in disarray after former Democratic Congressman Eric Swalwell dropped out amid allegations of sexual misconduct at the California race. One candidate seeing immediate benefit from Swalwell's exit is a San Jose Democratic mayor, Matt Mahan.

Mahan's super PAC says it raised more than $10 million over the weekend as Swalwell faced calls to drop out, which ultimately, of course, panned out.

Now, a moderate Democrat favored by the tech industry in Silicon Valley has gotten attention for his criticism.

And the San Jose Mayor Matt Mahan is OUTFRONT now.

I appreciate your time, Mayor. So you look at Swalwell's exit coming as suddenly as it did a week ago today. I would imagine you, like almost everyone, I would assume everyone watching had absolutely no idea such a thing could happen. And yet here we are, seismic change in this race.

What does it mean for your chances to get to the general election, do you think?

MAYOR MATT MAHAN (D), SAN JOSE; CANDIDATE FOR CALIFORNIA GOVERNOR: Well, Erin, thanks for having me. Let me just start by saying these allegations are horrifying and he needs to face accountability for whatever he's done, his abuse of power. And I think its indicative of a broken political system, a system that is often incentivizing and rewarding the wrong things -- egos, celebrity, ladder climbing, being an insider. And it's exactly why I jumped in this race. The race to answer your

question is influx o as events have unfolded in recent days, and in many ways, this race is just getting started. I'm out there introducing myself to the voters of California, sharing everything we've done in San Jose to build housing, reduce homelessness, reduce crime, put our city on a better path, and the vision I have for making California a place that's attracting families and growing again. And is that aspirational place that's leading the country forward.

BURNETT: City on a hill, which of course, California stands for like few other places in America to the world.

But you are a moderate Democrat, Mayor, in a state that is known for much more progressive Democratic policies. One big issue in the campaign that's getting national attention is a proposed ballot measure that would place a one time 5 percent tax on billionaires net worth in your state.

Now, a recent poll shows 59 percent of likely voters in California and 82 percent of Democrats support raising taxes on the wealthy. Something like this is popular for many of the Democrats, and you are a Democrat.

You do not support that tax, though. How come?

MAHAN: Well, first of all, Erin, let me say I don't actually spend a lot of time labeling myself or others in terms of what kind of Democrat I am. I grew up in a working class family in a small farming town. I have very progressive goals.

I want everybody to get a great education, have access to high quality health care, good job, affordable housing. There's nothing wrong with having progressive goals and progressive values. I personally do, but I'm also a problem solver and a pragmatist. And I look at data. I want to actually make government work for people, not just offer, you know, nice ideas that sound good, but don't -- don't play out and work out in practice.

And in this case, people are right to be concerned about concentration of wealth, wealth inequality. The wealth should pay their fair share. And there are a lot of tax loopholes that we ought to close, starting with the fact that billionaires should not be able to endlessly borrow against their stock options as a way of avoiding paying capital gains.

But here's the problem with a wealth tax, 12 European countries have tried it at the national level, not even the state level.

[19:40:03]

And nine of them have reversed it because they've seen the total amount of taxes go down.

And we're seeing this in California already. Since this was proposed, we've had $1 trillion of capital flight. And the dirty secret is this -- billionaires won't pay this tax. It will be the rest of us. It will be the middle and working class. That's why I can't support this proposal. But don't get me wrong, I

believe in progressive taxation and that the wealthy need to pay their fair share.

BURNETT: All right. Well, Mayor, obviously were going to be following this now extremely closely, and I appreciate your time. Well look forward to talking to you again. Thanks so much for coming on the show.

MAHAN: Thanks, Erin. Appreciate it.

BURNETT: All right. San Jose Mayor Mahan.

And next, our KFILE called President Trump on his phone. And Trump answered and asked -- and KFILE asked him about the exclusive reporting he's been working on about a top FEMA official claiming that he teleported to a waffle house. Totally bizarre story.

But guess what? There was a whole conversation between President Trump and KFILE about it, and you'll hear what Trump said.

And I'll speak to a woman who says Eric Swalwell invited her to a hotel room. She was a college student. What exactly happened? She will tell you. Annika Albrecht is our guest.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[19:45:22]

BURNETT: Breaking news on our top story tonight, Congressman Eric Swalwell resigning after multiple women came forward with accusations of sexual assault and misconduct. Annika Albrecht met him when she was a college student in 2019, and she joins me now.

So, Annika, thank you for choosing to speak out and tell us your story. Can you tell me how you met the then congressman and what happened afterwards?

ANNIKA ALBRECHT, SWALWELL ACCUSER: Yeah, thank you so much for having me.

I first met Congressman Eric Swalwell when I was a college student on a college advocacy student day. I met him through a meeting with his office to advocate for youth issues and the youth vote.

And it was a really good meeting, I thought. He was incredibly engaged. He seemed so earnest, and I was really impressed with how much he seemed to care.

After the meeting, he asked to create a group chat with me and the other two men that were in the meeting. He -- the group chat was created and he said he wanted that in case he ever wanted to go back and talk to us about any issues that the youth might care about or how to get out the youth vote. You know what we were talking to him about in the meeting, and we were so excited. I mean, we were college students, political science majors that were so excited to even have a meeting with a member of Congress.

And almost immediately after that, he added me on Snapchat. I asked the other two boys in the meeting if they had been, if he had added them on Snapchat and they had said no, and that is where the congresswoman -- congressman and I started chatting.

BURNETT: Okay. So then, I mean, I've got a screen grab that you shared with us. You took of the initial group chat that you had with the congressman that you said that included you and those two other college boys at the time. Obviously, Snapchat messages automatically delete so you don't have his messages to -- individual messages to you.

But can you tell us what those conversations were? When he reached out to just you individually, Annika, what did he say? What was the conversation?

ALBRECHT: Yeah, of course, I don't have proof of the messages because they did delete, uh, which I think is very intentional. He knew what he was doing. It started out under the guise of professional mentorship. He -- I was very young in my career and I was very interested in a career on the Hill working for members of Congress. And he said he could help me make that possible.

And I was so excited that someone that was a member of Congress was willing to be my political mentor and help me. And then those messages kind of started to take a flirty turn. And I think that at the time I convinced myself that I was crazy, because this is a sitting congressman that's running for president of the United States, why would he be flirting with me?

And so for a long time, I just responded in a very platonic manner, hoping to keep this mentorship being like, no, he can't be flirting. And then it crossed the line into sexual harassment after that, very quickly, he -- to the point where he invited me to a hotel. It was very clear what he was inviting me to do. At that point, I completely stopped responding to any messages from him on Snapchat.

BURNETT: So, and he -- so, he -- he invited you to come to his hotel room. It was clear to you it was for sex, but he it got to that point. It's really stunning, Annika.

ALBRECHT: Yeah, it's -- it was -- it was scary at the time, or uncomfortable at the time. I think that now after we've heard all these stories come out, it's very clear what could have happened at that hotel. And I feel so incredibly lucky that I didn't go to that hotel, because we -- we know what could have happened.

BURNETT: His attorney has put out a statement saying the timing, nature and coordinated rollout of these vile and heinous allegations speak for themselves. This is neither about justice nor the truth. This is a ruthless and shameless attempt to smear Congressman Swalwell.

[19:50:04] And this is obviously about yours as well as other allegations that he is referring to. Annika, what is -- what is helping you make a decision about this now?

ALBRECHT: I decided to come forward and talk about this, because I saw -- I knew that California governor's race, I knew that Eric Swalwell was running. I hadn't really been following the California governor's race at all. And then I started seeing that Eric Swalwell was very likely the -- it appeared he was the frontrunner and he was about to win the Democratic nomination, which means he would have been very likely the next governor of California.

And when I saw those polls, my whole body just, like, felt so sick. And I remember feeling like, like my head was dizzy at the idea that this man that had a reputation of hurting people and harassing women could be given even more power to hurt even more women. And I knew that we -- it feels like we're living in a world where like, no people are being held accountable for hurting women or for hurting anyone.

We -- every day we see more and more stories with the Epstein files of these just horrific things happening. And it feels very powerless and it feels like nobody is being held accountable. And so, I knew that I had to do everything I could do to hold just one man accountable for the actions so that he couldn't be allowed to gain even more power to hurt even more women.

BURNETT: Annika, thank you very much for choosing to speak out. I appreciate it. Thank you.

And next, President Trump took a call from KFILE and you'll hear his response to the exclusive reporting that a top FEMA official, an American FEMA official, claimed that he teleported to a waffle house.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[19:55:11]

BURNETT: And now an OUTFRONT exclusive. President Trump responding directly on the phone to our Andrew Kaczynski about KFILE's report that Gregg Phillips, who is a top Trump appointee at FEMA, Phillips oversees federal disaster response. Well, Phillips claims that he was teleported to a waffle house.

Okay, Phillips, you may remember from KFILE's exclusive reporting featured OUTFRONT, said this on a podcast in 2025.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

GREGG PHILLIPS, HEAD OF FEMA'S OFFICE OF RESPONSE AND RECOVERY: We had a teleport incident, two of them. 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. It was an incredibly frightening moment to experience yourself in your car flying through the air.

(END VIDEO CLIP) BURNETT: As I said, he is a top Trump appointee at FEMA who oversees federal disaster response. So the president of the United States personally answers KFILE's call, and he responds in part when Andrew's asking about this, teleporting to a waffle house, the business, quote, "It just sounds a little strange."

Andrew Kaczynski is OUTFRONT.

So, Andrew, okay, you called Trump on his cell phone. You have a conversation about this.

ANDREW KACZYNSKI, CNN KFILE SENIOR EDITOR: And he wasn't wrong, by the way.

BURNETT: He wasn't wrong.

KACZYNSKI: It does sound strange.

BURNETT: It does sound strange. It might be -- it might be where he could have perhaps even been a little bit more effusive. So what else did he say?

KACZYNSKI: Okay, so I called -- I called President Trump. He picked up the phone. I explained to him that we were doing the story on Gregg Phillips, the number three official at FEMA in charge of all federal disaster response. I explained to him the clip that people just saw right there where he says he teleported to a waffle house.

And President Trump seemingly was trying to make sense of what I meant. And he said, what does teleport mean? And I explained to him, I literally said, he flew through the -- he said he flew through the air 50 miles and landed near a waffle house. I did literally stop in the middle. I'm like, this is real. This is real what I'm saying. And --

BURNETT: And he's staying -- he's staying on the phone with you.

KACZYNSKI: Of course. Yeah, he wanted to know. And then he pauses for a second after I explain it to him and he goes, "Was he kidding? I was like, you know, no, he's -- he's being dead serious. He says, he says, I know nothing about it. And he says, then he says, I don't know anything about teleporting. I ask him again, anything you want to add?

He says, no, it just sounds a little strange, but I know nothing about teleporting or him. But I'll find out about it for you.

BURNETT: I mean, it's incredible all right, but it is one of several extraordinary claims made by Phillips, who is a top Trump appointee at FEMA. What else?

KACZYNSKI: That's right. That's right.

Erin, what really stood out to us in doing this story was this wasn't just a one off claim across multiple podcast interviews over the past several, several years, Phillips repeatedly described what he said are supernatural experiences, ones he said he encountered while he was medicated and undergoing treatment for cancer with a self-directed regimen of Ivermectin and Fenbendazole, which are drugs commonly used, other antiparasitic drugs.

In one, he said a deceased girlfriend appeared inside his car and lifted it off the road to save him from an oncoming crash. Listen to him here.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

PHILLIPS: The girl that had died came into the car with me and she lifted me in the car up and out of the way from a truck that had slid across the road.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

KACZYNSKI: So in another clip that we found, he described collapsing inside an Indianapolis Lowe's, then reappearing across the street in McDonald's parking lot with little memory of how he got there. He said his phone, his health app on his phone had 15,000 steps, and he described it as something beyond a medical episode. Listen to him here.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

PHILLIPS: I mean, the whole space and time thing continuum got all -- it fell with me. This isn't a health thing. This isn't -- this isn't - this isn't the cancer. This isn't, you know, me. This is a spiritual thing

(END VIDEO CLIP)

KACZYNSKI: And, Erin, he also described an encounter with he said he had with Satan while he was walking across Spain. Listen to him here.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

PHILLIPS: Satan lied to me. He convinced me to pour out my water bottle to reduce my pack weight. He almost got his demonic wish and watched me die.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

KACZYNSKI: And, Erin, I think it's really important to reiterate how important of a job this is. This isn't a fringe figure. This is the number three official at FEMA in charge of all federal disaster response.

BURNETT: It's a crucial job. It's a really important job. He's a top Trump appointee. You also found that there are some at FEMA, though, who still support him.

KACZYNSKI: Yeah. This is really interesting. My colleague Gabe Cohen and I spoke to a number of career officials at FEMA who think this guy is actually better than the other Trump appointees at FEMA. They think this teleportation claim it is utterly bizarre, but they see him as more reliable than the others. They say he seems to really care about disaster response, and this is all happening while FEMA is under significant strain. Senior officials told CNN, it's not the same agency it was when Trump took over, workplace cuts, exodus of senior leaders, ongoing uncertainty about his future have left career officials thinking the agency isn't prepared if there was a major multi-state disaster.

So we reached out to FEMA, DHS and Phillips, Erin, but we didn't hear back from any of them.

BURNETT: All right. Andrew Kaczynski, thank you.

And thanks so much to all of you.

"AC360" starts now.