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Inside Politics

Police: Ex-Virginia Lt. Gov. Justin Fairfax Kills Wife, Himself; Pope Leo: "World Is Being Ravaged" By A "Handful Of Tyrants"; 40 Senate Democrats Vote To Block Some Arms Sales To Israel; Calls For Reckoning After Two Lawmakers Resign In Disgrace. Aired 12:30-1p ET

Aired April 16, 2026 - 12:30   ET

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

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[12:30:41]

DANA BASH, CNN ANCHOR: Following breaking news, police say the former lieutenant governor of Virginia, Justin Fairfax, killed his wife and then himself in their northern Virginia home this morning.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

CHIEF KEVIN DAVIS, FAIRFAX COUNTY POLICE: This has been an ongoing domestic dispute surrounding what seems to be a complicated or messy divorce.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BASH: Fairfax was once considered a rising star in the Democratic Party. His tenure as Ralph Northam's lieutenant governor from 2018 to 2022 was marred by allegations of sexual assault.

CNN's Brian Todd is live in Annandale, Virginia, outside the former lieutenant governor's home. I mean, this is beyond heartbreaking.

BRIAN TODD, CNN CORRESPONDENT: It really is, Dana. And you just played a sound clip from Kevin Davis, the police chief for Fairfax County, Virginia. Chief Davis giving us some really jarring details of how this shooting unfolded.

He's telling reporters that it appears that Justin Fairfax shot and killed his wife, Cerina Fairfax, in the basement of their home, then ran upstairs to the primary bedroom of the house and shot and killed himself. They know that, according to Chief Davis, because there were several cameras placed inside the house as part of those divorce proceedings, which the chief alluded to in that sound clip that you just heard.

The chief saying that the couple's two teenage children were in the home at the time of the shooting and that the son called 911. We were here a short time ago when officials removed the two bodies from the house, presumably to take them to the coroner's office for further examination.

We do have an audio clip from the 911 dispatcher after the son called and reported the shooting to 911. We do have to warn viewers that this could be disturbing, this audio, but take a listen here.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Caller stating that his dad might have stabbed his mom, saying that she's laying on the ground bleeding, can see holes in her shirt.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: It's going to look like an obvious DOA. I don't have a pulse. Alpha, we got another subject down in the bedroom upstairs.

I think this is going to be our subject. He's got a firearm with self- inflected gunshot wound to the head.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

TODD: And Chief Kevin Davis telling CNN that the couple had been living in separate bedrooms while they were separated, but both living inside the same house. The children are being cared for by their grandparents and other relatives, also with the help of the Fairfax Police Department's Victim Services Division.

Dana alluded to this earlier, Justin Fairfax was really considered a rising star in democratic politics in the state of Virginia, serving as lieutenant governor under Ralph Northam from 2018 to 2022. During that time, in 2019, when Northam had been accused of appearing in a video in blackface several years prior, that was about the time that Justin Fairfax had been accused by two women of separate incidents of sexual assault. Those incidents detailed allegedly came in the early 2000s.

Justin Fairfax vehemently denied sexually assaulting both of those women. We can also tell you that in recent years, Justin Fairfax was sued twice in what are called, quote, "warrant in debt cases" tied to thousands of dollars in unpaid debts.

We're also digging into some court documents regarding their divorce, Dana, and we hope to get some details from those as to Justin Fairfax's mental and emotional state maybe a little bit later today.

BASH: Yes, I mean, those poor children, it's just beyond.

Brian, thank you so much for being there and giving us that information. We'll be right back.

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[12:38:47]

BASH: Pope Leo is holding his ground after days of verbal back and forths. The pontiff talked this morning about the war in Iran during remarks in Cameroon.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

POPE LEO XIV, HEAD OF THE CATHOLIC CHURCH: Woe to those who manipulate religion in the very name of God for their own military, economic, or political gain. Dragging that which is sacred into darkness and filth.

Billions of dollars are spent on killing, on devastation. The world is being ravaged by a handful of tyrants.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BASH: Now, he didn't say anybody's name, but the Pope's comments come right after President Trump attacked him on social media again, saying, quote, "Pope Leo is weak on crime and terrible for foreign policy. If I wasn't in the White House, Leo wouldn't be in the Vatican."

The Pope responded and then President Trump posted this AI image that appears to depict himself as Jesus. There was a lot of backlash from his base, from religious quarters, people of all religions. The President deleted the post and he said, well, he thought it was a picture of himself as a healthcare worker, as a doctor.

[12:40:04]

My panel is back now. How's that playing here on Capitol Hill?

MANU RAJU, CNN CHIEF CONGRESSIONAL CORRESPONDENT: I don't see -- why Trump thinks he still has a benefit politically by treating the Pope as another political adversary, given that he is the leader of the Catholic Church. And there are a lot of Catholic voters in the United States, a lot of Republican voters who are very uncomfortable with these attacks, including members of the House and the Senate, who frankly wish he were just focusing on issue number one, the economy, not attacking the Holy Pontiff.

BASH: Well, on that note, John Thune, the Senate Majority Leader, who is very careful with his words, particularly, as I don't need to tell you both, when it comes to asking for a reaction to the things that President Trump says, not so much on that. He said, "I'd stay focused on economic issues and pocketbook issues and let the church be the church." He also basically said, "This is the President's job." He was talking to Manu Raju.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

SEN. JOHN THUNE (R), MAJORITY LEADER: One of my colleagues said it well, and the President and the Pope are both outspoken people, but they both have lanes and hopefully they'll stay in them.

REP. TROY NEHLS (R), TEXAS: I believe that Donald Trump is better than sliced bread. I think he's almost a second coming, in my humble opinion. I think he's done a fantastic job. He's got a very difficult job.

Pope's got a tough job, you know, got issues in the church, but Donald Trump has a very, very difficult job to do. The toughest job in the world.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BASH: Very different points of view there.

RAJU: Second coming, right?

SEUNG MIN KIM, CNN POLITICAL ANALYST: Yes, sliced bread. That was kind of amazing.

I think, you know, look, I don't think a lot of Republicans or anybody see any sort of benefit or upside with the President picking fights with the Pope, but, you know, this is something where I'm sure Donald Trump felt he was provoked. He had been watching some coverage and obviously seeing some of the sort of the vague comments or some of the broad comments they've been seeing from Pope Leo.

And I think some conservatives have, you know, been uncomfortable with more of the recent Pope's taking kind of these -- taking a new focus on particularly immigration and social justice issues. But in terms of attacking the Pope --

BASH: Yes.

KIM: -- directly, I think most, if not all Republicans would kind of want the President to lay off that.

BASH: Listen to what a Vice President Vance said this week when traveling in Georgia.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

JD VANCE (R), VICE PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: In the same way that it's important for the vice president of the United States to be careful when I talk about matters of public policy, I think it's very, very important for the Pope to be careful when he talks about matters of theology.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BASH: Manu, that was what John Thune was reacting to --

RAJU: Yes.

BASH: -- not in the interview with you --

RAJU: Yes.

BASH: -- but separately, he said, that's literally the Pope's job.

RAJU: Yes, that's -- exactly.

BASH: And JD Vance, obviously, he's a very devout Catholic.

RAJU: Yes.

BASH: He knows that.

RAJU: But Vance needs to show no separation from the President, even in matters like this. But this just also underscores how Trump just cannot let any perceived --

KIM: Right.

RAJU: -- slight go. He has to respond to everything. Most politicians would say, let it go. The Pope wasn't even attacking him personally. He was talking about calling for peace and raising concerns about a war --

BASH: This is what popes do.

RAJU: -- which is what popes do.

BASH: Yes. Yes.

RAJU: Let things go. It's OK not to respond to every single attack. Trump does not have that in his DNA.

BASH: No, he doesn't. Thanks, guys.

Up next, is the divide between Democrats on Israel widening? It appears that way. I'm going to speak to Congressman Jared Moskowitz next.

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[12:48:03]

BASH: Welcome back to Inside Politics from Capitol Hill, where we are seeing more signs of a rupture among Democrats. And their view on the state of Israel, specifically whether or not the U.S. should be funding the Israeli military and its offensive weapons.

Here's what I mean about that. Forty out of 47 Democrats voted to block some arms sales, specifically the sale of dumb bombs and military bulldozers. Only 27 Democrats voted that way last summer. Arizona Senator Mark Kelly is one of the Democrats who changed his vote.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

SEN. MARK KELLY (D), ARIZONA: Supporting a partner doesn't mean that we don't ask tough questions. And it doesn't mean that we always agree. I've been clear that I oppose this war in Iran and the reckless decisions being made by Prime Minister Netanyahu and President Trump.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BASH: Joining me now is a member of the House Foreign Affairs Committee, Florida Democrat Representative Jared Moskowitz. Thank you so much for being here.

REP. JARED MOSKOWITZ (D), FLORIDA: Thanks for having me.

BASH: Thank you for ordering up the nice weather. I appreciate that.

MOSKOWITZ: You're welcome. BASH: How would you have voted if you were in the Senate?

MOSKOWITZ: I would have voted no. I would not have voted for this. But look, I understand why we're having the conversation. I mean, there's plenty to criticize the Netanyahu government about and the decisions that are being made there, although I'm very happy that Israel just agreed to attend a ceasefire with Lebanon.

I think that's very important in order to try to, a, get peace for the region, but also for the Lebanese people, if we can demilitarize Hezbollah. And I think that'll unlock maybe a deal with the Iranians. But, you know, this new movement in the Democratic Party, not on the offensive weapons, but on the defensive weapons.

BASH: Right. Well, let's -- I want to talk about the defensive weapons in a minute, but just about the offensive weapons. Obviously, Senator Bernie Sanders, who has long held this position, decided to make a narrow vote and to see how many senators he could get. And he did get a fair number, as I said, far more than in your party than he had before about these weapons, specifically about the West Bank.

[12:50:17]

MOSKOWITZ: Well, look, on the West Bank, I am not for the expansion of settlements. But that's -- so on, you know, not --

BASH: What about the U.S. funding bulldozers, military bulldozers that can help that?

MOSKOWITZ: Look, I think, you know, the bulldozer thing, I don't care about the bulldozers. I care more about the weaponry. So if they don't want to send bulldozers to the West Bank, that's fine. You know, I probably could have supported something like that because I'm not for the expansion of settlements in the West Bank.

But when it comes to supporting our ally, that's where I fundamentally disagree with what these senators are doing because now they're boxed in. This idea that they can blame it on Netanyahu, well, when Netanyahu goes, right, and you're now on record with this, what, you're going to revert back and say, OK, now that he's gone, I can start sending offensive weapons?

BASH: Why not?

MOSKOWITZ: Because because the base never going to let them do that. Now they're locked in, right? And so now they've boxed themselves into that. They're not going to be able to revert on this. And this movement is just going to keep going. Now it's going on to Iron Dome.

For the longest time we heard it was just about offensive weapons. We want to protect civilians, Iron Dome. It's all about civilians. In fact, the reason they're up in arms is because of the death of civilians in Gaza.

BASH: Yes.

MOSKOWITZ: But now they want more civilian deaths.

BASH: Yes, I just -- one more question, then I'm going to get to the Iron Dome. So what you're saying is that these senators like Elissa Slotkin, I read some of her very lengthy statement saying she's a huge supporter of the notion of a state of Israel. And this is a tough vote for her.

She supports Israel. She doesn't support Netanyahu. You're saying that if Netanyahu is gone, you don't think someone like Slotkin will then continue to resume support?

MOSKOWITZ: Listen, I'm not saying 40 can't go to 36, right, or 40 can't go to 35. What I'm saying is that if they think there's pressure from the base on them now and pressure on social media now, what do you think that's just going to go away when Netanyahu goes? I mean, look, I think that's what we hope, people who are very supportive of Israel, but I just don't think that's going to be a reality.

I think that this is now a movement within the Democratic Party --

BASH: Yes.

MOSKOWITZ: -- that's here to stay for a bit.

BASH: OK, so let's talk about what you referenced a couple of times, which is the Iron Dome, which is the U.S. helping Israel on defensive military. Iron Dome, of course, was created by Israel to block the incoming missiles that are targeting civilians and military in Israel. There is a movement among Democrats to no longer have the U.S. fund that. That you obviously are very much opposed to.

MOSKOWITZ: Well, not only do I oppose it, I think -- it's the most hypocritical position they possibly could have.

BASH: Why?

MOSKOWITZ: Well, because for the longest time, they've been talking about protecting civilians, right? And the reason they're upset is the civilian death in Gaza. They have every reason to be upset about that. I think that's a legitimate concern about how many civilians were killed in a war.

But now they're going to say, well, we want more civilian death because if you remove Iron Dome funding, it will lead to civilian death. And they're saying, well, it's an unfair advantage. Well, countries have unfair advantages. We have an unfair advantage, right?

Our military is an unfair advantage with the Iranians. That's how this stuff works. They develop -- Israel developed technology. Well, we shouldn't pay for it.

OK, well, we have THAAD missile systems in Saudi Arabia, Qatar, the UAE, Bahrain. We paid for that. They didn't pay for that. We gave them defensive THAAD missile systems. How come no one's saying, remove those defensive missile systems? So this is where now their double, triple standard on Israel is really showing, in my opinion. It totally takes any argument that they had that they're not anti-Israel and they're for protecting civilians if they're going to come for Iron Dome funding.

BASH: Let me ask you about Eric Swalwell. You quickly withdrew your support for him after the allegations came out, including an allegation, a couple of allegations of rape, which I should say the now former congressman denies. There does seem to be a reckoning beginning to happen on Capitol Hill.

And because Tony Gonzales was also forced out on the Republican side, this is a bipartisan problem that, I mean -- I covered Capitol Hill for a very long time, and it's -- I obviously didn't hear about the allegations this horrible, but the power imbalance, particularly among men of power and what historically, culturally are young people, including young women coming here, and the lack of accountability is really showing now.

Do you think that there should be a change in the rules or some other institutional change to try to protect younger women on Capitol Hill?

MOSKOWITZ: Well, especially staff.

BASH: Or any women.

MOSKOWITZ: Especially staff. Look, in these two instances, I think the things were so egregious. I think if they didn't resign, and I'm glad they did, they would have been expelled and it would have been bipartisan. You know, and I don't know that there's a reckoning.

[12:55:07]

I mean, rape has always been something that, a, is criminal, and b, is not tolerated.

BASH: But people didn't talk about it --

MOSKOWITZ: OK.

BASH: -- and now people are coming out.

MOSKOWITZ: And in the other instance, you had a staff member light herself on fire and kill herself. So these things were so egregious that they needed to resign. As far as changes, Dana, the Ethics Committee takes too long.

I think this idea that you're under investigation there for years, I think Ethics can move much faster. I think there could be due process. Members should be able to get due process, but it's not a right to serve in this body. The body can decide to expel you at any point in time.

BASH: All right. Congressman, thank you so much for being here.

MOSKOWITZ: Thank you. BASH: Appreciate it.

Thank you for joining Inside Politics. CNN News Central starts after a quick break.