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Laura Coates Live
Trump Says Iran War "Close to Over" Despite Reports of More Troops; Trump Posts New A.I. Image of Himself with Jesus Amid Backlash; DOJ Moves to Dismiss January 6 Convictions for Proud Boys and Oath Keepers; Olivia Troye Runs for Congress; Democrats Race to Distance Themselves from Swalwell Amid Scandal. Aired 11p-12a ET
Aired April 15, 2026 - 23:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
[23:00:00]
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ABBY PHILLIP, CNN ANCHOR AND SENIOR POLITICAL CORRESPONDENT: Supreme Court Justice Sonia Sotomayor is apologizing to her fellow justice, Brett Kavanaugh, after criticizing him last week over September opinion backing roving immigration raids in California. She said he really doesn't know anyone who works by the hour, a comment that she now calls hurtful and inappropriate.
Thank you very much for watching "NewsNight." "Laura Coates Live" starts right now.
LAURA COATES, CNN HOST AND SENIOR LEGAL ANALYST: Tonight, the White House makes a new military move in Iran and makes a new economic prediction here in the United States. Plus, Trump is not letting it go. He's out with a new Jesus meme and a new attack against the pope. Enter Vice President J.D. Vance. And later, the former Trump White House insider turned Trump critic turned candidate for Congress. Olivia Troye is my guest tonight on "Laura Coates Live."
My opening statement tonight, look, the longer the war with Iran drags on, the more it undercuts the economic story President Trump is trying to sell because each passing day, it becomes harder to contain the costs and harder to climb back out of them. It's still not clear when or really how this conflict ends. The ceasefire appears to be largely holding and the White House is optimistic about a potential deal.
But at the same time, you see headlines like this, reporting from "The Washington Post" saying the Pentagon is surging about 6,000 more troops to the Middle East. That's on top of the 4,200 set to arrive at the end of the month and the 50,000 already there. It's a massive show of force, especially when the U.S. is now blockading Iranian ports around the Strait of Hormuz. No doubt, no doubt, Trump wants to force Iran to make a deal on his terms. And even some of the president's critics are saying, you know what? The blockade could pay off.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP) JOHN KERRY, FORMER SECRETARY OF STATE: And they surprise you. But I think that -- that the decision to sort of blockade the ports and have an impact on them is -- is probably a smart decision. At least, certainly, it's one of the options that would be viable. But not unless you are prepared to have a compromise of some kind on the far ends that both sides are demanding.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
COATES: You hear that? What John Kerry said at the end? That's key because he knows how hard it's going to be to get Iran to agree to any thing. He was the lead negotiator of the 2015 nuclear deal under President Obama.
You know, since day one of this war, President Trump has been inconsistent about what he's actually willing to compromise on.
Now, Wall Street seems to be betting a deal will get across the finish line. The U.S. stock market hitting record highs today, wiping out the losses since the war began at the end of February. But the oil markets, still high and still a problem. And the White House knows it. The big tell? Most of what Trump's team wanted to talk about today was tax refunds.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
KAROLINE LEAVITT, WHITE HOUSE PRESS SECRETARY: The Trump administration has issued more refunds in larger refunds than in any year of the history of our country.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
SCOTT BESSENT, UNITED STATES SECRETARY OF THE TREASURY: I think with service workers, I may be the most popular cabinet secretary in D.C. Waiters, waitresses, they all say thank you for no tax and tips.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
KELLY LOEFFLER, ADMINISTRATOR, SMALL BUSINESS ADMINISTRATON: Now, millions of Americans are getting their largest tax refund ever. And Main Street is getting historic tax relief to keep the American dream alive.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
COATES: Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent was pressed on rising gas prices. Now at more than $4 a gallon. He has been telling Americans it's short-term volatility for long-term gain. But today, he looked into his crystal ball.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
BESSENT: I'm optimistic that sometime between June 20th and September 20th that we can have $3 gas again.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
COATES: June. That's the summer, the whole summer. That's a bold prediction as well from the treasury secretary. And maybe not just an economic one. It may also be politically necessary because those tax refunds he was talking about, well, Stanford economists are predicting that gas increases due to the Iran war will wipe out any extra cash the average American household will be getting from their tax refunds.
[23:04:56]
I want to begin with CNN political analyst and White House correspondent for "The New York Times," Zolan Kanno-Youngs, former Democratic congressman from New York, Joe Crowley, and CNN political commentator and Republican strategist Brad Todd. Good to have all of you here.
Let's start about -- talk about this dilemma the White House is having, Zolan, because the end -- ending the Iran conflict soon with things like deal, great, or the cost to Americans' pockets increasingly high. How is the president balancing that either/or?
ZOLAN KANNO-YOUNGS, CNN POLITICAL ANALYST, WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT FOR THE NEW YORK TIMES: Also, if you end the war with Iran soon, if you strike a deal, that doesn't necessarily mean gas prices are going down immediately. In fact, economic analysts say that it's -- there's actually going to be a lag, that this -- that you're going to see higher prices for maybe weeks after any sort of deal is reached. So, just to check that claim as well -- as well there.
Look, this has been a balancing act for this administration, one that they really haven't found a successful balance, too, even before the war began with Iran.
I remember once upon a time going to Davos to cover the president and his base. The American first sort of faction was up in arms saying, well, wait, we thought that during the campaign, there was going to be an overt focus on the domestic policy issues, on the economy. And here, much of the focus has been on overseas issues, on Venezuela, you know, again, going to an elite summit like Davos. Now, you know, that has only accelerated that anxiety since you now have this war because it has a direct impact on what people feel. There's, of course, life and death consequences.
But, you know, the president has a strategy of trying to almost will his way, talk his way out of these political crises, out of these political issues. But you can go on Fox News and say the war is going to end soon. That doesn't change the price that people see when they go to a gas station.
COATES: Brad, in addition, you've got the tax refunds that they have been talking about today. And people love a tax refund. They want a tax refund. They hope to get a tax refund. But you see that the gains are touting, would likely be wiped out by the cost of the Iran war. People have long memories. How do they deal with it? BRAD TODD, CNN POLITICAL COMMENTATOR, REPUBLICAN STRATEGIST: Well, the long memory they need to have is the fact that had Democrats gotten their way and only one vote was the decision on the tax bill last year, had Democrats gotten their way, the average household would have seen their taxes go up by seven and a half percent. Every bracket would have gone up. The standard deduction would have been cut in half. The child tax credit cut in half.
And so, the memories the voters need to have when they get to election day is it's a good thing we had Republicans in charge of Congress and Donald Trump as president or else, everybody would be paying higher taxes. April 15th is always the best recruitment day for Republicans and this year is no different.
COATES: Well, they -- you say they need to have that memory.
TODD: Yes.
COATES: But do they actually have that philosophy? Because $4 gas prices and above, I mean, you can talk all you want about yesteryear, they're looking at their dollars now.
TODD: Well, it's what would be happening right now. But it's incumbent on Republican campaigns to stress the tax difference that they -- that they have, the fact that taxes are lower because Republicans won. That's a thing you have to do in a campaign. Over and over, the White House has to do it.
And frankly, the president has not always had a great amount of discipline on this subject. There are other subjects that interest him more. But it's arguably his bestselling point going into the fall, this tax cut. He needs to talk about it more.
COATES: You heard Bessent, have this prediction, that gas prices would return to $3. He mentioned somewhere between what? June 20th, September 20th. That's the entire summer for those who have a calendar, right? And the timing is notable because, obviously, right around the corner after September are midterms. Is this what the philosophy is?
JOE CROWLEY, FORMER NEW YORK REPRESENTATIVE: If it's the philosophy, I can't believe it's the political philosophy they're following because it makes no sense. I mean, taxpayers and American citizens have been telling this White House and telling all politicians that it's about affordability.
The president doesn't like that word. But he then starts this war, which makes life in America less affordable. That's what's happening. And at the same time, he failed to sell this war to the American people. There was no -- my fellow Americans, we are facing this upcoming disaster. He just went in and did it, as if every American should understand why he was doing it in the first place. So, he has managed to put his own foot on his own message every single time. And then to add to it, his wife does by bringing up Epstein again.
So, it's almost like the war and Epstein every time they try to change the subject. And then it's the economy. They just can't seem to get out of their own way. I think Democrats, we should just stay out of the way and just let them keep stepping on their own message.
COATES: Well, there is this connecting of the dots. This fascinated me today, you know, thinking about Tax Day, which is not the most exciting moment, maybe a recruiting tactic for Republicans.
But the fact that there is a connective tissue between the undocumented immigrants deportation and ICE sharing data in terms of the IRS and what's happening with the amount of money that will be lost, I mean, the Yale Budget Lab estimates that -- estimates that IRS, they may cost up to $480 billion over the next decade as undocumented immigrants face deportation, those who are no longer filing or those who are incentivized to be a part of the so-called mainstream employment system.
[23:10:12]
How has the White House explained they're going to recoup what is a very significant loss?
KANNO-YOUNGS: There hasn't been really an extensive explanation. I mean, this was a ramification that immigration lawyers and advocates were warning would be one of the consequences of this shift we've seen from the administration where, OK, you're seeing less visible deportation rates, but what you've seen now is the White House moving forward with policies that aim to really squeeze the lives of undocumented immigrants who --
COATES: Who pay taxes, by the way --
KANNO-YOUNGS: Who pay taxes. Right.
COATES: -- federal I.D. Otherwise --
KANNO-YOUNGS: And the chilling effect, you know, as a result, is the projection that you're seeing. We're talking about policies like the public charge rule, which the administration is on, its final stage is on. This is something that would create serious impediments for immigrants applying for green cards, who are deemed likely to use public benefits. We're talking about policies that are focused on refugees, people with some form of legal status as well, policies that make it harder to get tax as public housing.
All of these areas that have to do with the legal immigration system, right, that send a chilling effect that may not be a direct result of policy when it comes to the taxes. But, you know, advocates have been warning immigrants are going to be less likely to cooperate and engage with government when government is also aiming to make their lives uncomfortable.
COATES: The IRS agreed to share personal information with ICE. Do you think that the gains of policy towards immigration and border control will cancel out the economic risks of what has been described as the loss of all of this $480 billion over the next decade in tax? TODD: No. I think it's a mistake. But I also -- I don't think it's a mistake because the loss of government -- I'm glad for government to have less money because they're going to waste it if they get it.
But I think that this group of immigrants, illegal immigrants, we're talking about people who are voluntarily sending money to the government with an ITIN number. That's the -- those are the lowest on the priority list to be deported or dealt with or discouraged.
We want to go after the worst of the worst and the people -- the worst of the worst are the people not paying taxes at all and not working at all. And it may have the effect of driving this particular group of illegal immigrants into the black market where they're working for cash, where they're more likely to be exploited, where they're more likely to be mistreated or have less of grip to be able go back home. I'd rather them be here, pay some voluntary taxes, get on their feet, and go back to their country.
(CROSSTALK)
KANNO-YOUNGS: -- the interesting point here, too, which is like actions like this where you have the sharing agreement between IRS and ICE does undercut the main message that all of these efforts are focused on the worst of the worst.
COATES: Right. And the priorities, that has been the main complaint for a lot of people, of how are you distinguishing, especially in the roundups when you have the collateral roundups. What's the deal? What's your reaction?
CROWLEY: We had a similar issue back during the Bush administration, Bush II, where they were inquiring other immigrants to give information when they went to a hospital.
COATES: Right.
CROWLEY: That got fairly quickly pulled back because they understood the health risks that could be associated with that.
COATES: Because you won't go to the hospital.
CROWLEY: Right, you won't go to the hospital. And your kids go to school, my kids. We're all going to get sick. So, I do think here, you're right, that these are the folks who are voluntarily doing this. They're doing it because they dream of one day being a citizen, and they know they have to have records of paying those taxes.
But what happens here is you have information given to ICE. Whether it happens to them or not, they fear that it could happen to them, and that's why they won't do it. They won't voluntarily do it if they feel that they could be expelled out of the country because they did that.
COATES: The incentive structure, important very much. Thank you so much, everyone.
Up next, Vice President J.D. Vance and Republicans lecturing the pope on religion and war as the president digs in with a new attack and a new meme. Vance's one-time rival in Ohio and fellow Catholic, former congressman Tim Ryan, will respond with me next. And later, a surprise visit by the DOJ that just revived the president's fight against the Fed chair, Jerome Powell.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
MARIA BARTIROMO, FOX BUSINESS CHANNEL HOST: And he said he's not leaving if, you know --
DONALD TRUMP, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA: Well, then I'll have to fire him. OK?
(END VIDEO CLIP)
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[23:15:00]
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COATES: Well, if you thought the backlash over Trump's feud, one- sided, with the pope was going to make him think twice, keep on dreaming, because President Trump posted this today: A.I.-generated Jesus with his arms wrapped around him, eyes closed, resting his eyes and head on Trump's. Trump's message attached. Quote -- "The radical left lunatics might not like this, but I think it's quite nice."
And actually, a lot of people might not like it. Judging by the critiques of blasphemy for the last A.I.-generated image he posted, only that one showed him as Jesus. He says a doctor.
Joining me now, former Democratic congressman from Ohio, Tim Ryan. He ran against J.D. Vance for the Senate in 2022. Congressman, welcome back to the program. I am really curious --
TIM RYAN, FORMER OHIO REPRESENTATIVE: Thank you.
COATES: -- about your opinion of this because you are Catholic, so you see this through both the religious and political lens. Trump is singling out radical left lunatics here as those who may be offended. But this has offended many of his own supporters.
RYAN: Oh, there is no question. I mean, I saw one of the social media posts from that night's temple hour. So, this is all over the political spectrum. And, you know, the bottom line here is he thinks it's the radical left, but it's -- it's average people, it's average Catholics, and many who voted for him in the last couple of elections.
[23:20:00]
So, he's really kind of playing with fire here. This is going beyond politics, attacking the pope who has huge approval ratings.
And just, you know, we were at Easter mass just last week, and they announced in our small little church in Ohio, 40 new people became Catholic on Holy Saturday, and that's happening all over the world. So, people are actually gravitating towards the Catholic church, gravitating towards the message of Pope Francis. Who am I to judge? Now, Pope Leo being the top spokesman against the war.
And so, I think he's playing with something that he doesn't quite understand yet, and it's going to play out, and I think not in his favor.
COATES: I never did I think I would hear a president say or call the pope weak on crime. That's usually a phrase reserved for those who are running for office, that you're trying to attack as an opponent. He also needs to get his act together.
Meanwhile, the pope is sending the message, we can all live together in peace. What is the point of this fight because it doesn't seem to be one that has any political advantage?
RYAN: Yes. He has no nuance. I mean, we know that. But when you put it up against the pope who's speaking out against the war -- I mean, like, just think about this. Like he's mad at the pope for being for peace. He's mad at the pope for being against an elective war that's causing chaos around the world and many innocent people are being killed. And he expects him not -- he wants him to be for it. He wants him -- the pope to be a warmonger.
I mean, it just shows how out of touch he just keeps becoming week after week after week. And I think this is kind of pulling -- pulling the veil back on him for many people who voted for him and just kind of look the other way. You're attacking the top spiritual leader in the Catholic church in America, in the world. He's just such a tremendous voice for peace.
And what it's articulating, too, I think, is that there is such thing as spiritual leadership, and we used to kind of count on our presidents for that kind of spiritual leadership. I think of Kennedy's peace speech that he made at American University. You know, you think of how Roosevelt tried to rebuild the world in favor of peace and institutions that supported peace. So, we look to our leaders back in the day anyway as kind of our spiritual leaders, too. And it's not just ego and it's not just power and it's not just money and it's not just grifting that we look to our presidents and our leaders for some level of spiritual leadership.
And at a time of a spiritual crisis which, I think, we're in in this country, it -- the contrast is so apparent, the pope is so poignant in this moment, that I hope it could lead to an awakening in the country.
COATES: Well, one person in leadership, the vice president of the United States, J.D. Vance, he was actually at a Turning Point USA event, and he made some comments where he spoke about the pope, saying it's very important for the pope to be careful when he talks about matters of theology.
(LAUGHTER)
That's actually a direct quote, by the way, which blows the mind, those comments. He spent much of the event addressing concerns of young Republicans who are skeptical of the war with Iran. Listen to this point.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
J.D. VANCE, VICE PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA: I recognize that a lot of young voters don't love the policy that we have in the Middle East. OK? I understand that. I'm not saying you have to agree with me on every issue. What I'm saying is don't get disengaged because you disagree with the administration on one topic. Get more involved. Make your voice heard even more. That's how we ultimately take the country back.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
COATES: You debated Vance on a lot of issues, including foreign policy. What do you think about how he's handling the war and also his reaction to the president's statements about the pope?
RYAN: Well, as a Catholic, I think J.D. Vance needs to go to confession.
(LAUGHTER)
You know, it's just -- it's -- he's aligned with Trump. And we talked about that when we debated a few years ago, that he is never going to get outsourced with the president. And the president was hammering immigration. J.D. Vance married an immigrant woman, and he didn't say anything about it. J.D. Vance is Catholic. He attacks the pope. J.D. Vance doesn't say anything about it. J.D. Vance was for no wars around the world and bring our troops home and America first. But the Trump administration and Trump made a different decision. He went along with it. So, this is not a person who's going to take a moral stand on any issue.
[23:24:56]
And to expect people -- if you are a single-issue voter, one of the things that I think would be a legitimate single-issue vote is an elective war with no intelligence backing you up. Tulsi Gabbard and others said, you know, they weren't going to produce a nuclear weapon any time soon. He got out of the agreement that was monitoring what was going on in Iran, and so we had no eyeballs on what was going on over there. He was not looking for peace. This was an elective war.
And so, if young people and young people of faith who bought into the Trump administration's lines that they were saying during the campaigns and he violated that and he betrayed them, of course, issue of war where you're sending tax dollars overseas to kill other people, when you're raising prices for oil and fertilizer and helium and all of these things that are going to trickle throughout the economy for those young people who are already struggling economically, they have every right to, you know, say that they've had enough and they want to go look somewhere else. And I hope they do because that would be a huge change in the country, if those young people decided that they wanted to go in a different direction. COATES: Strategists are watching. Tim Ryan, thank you so much.
RYAN: Thank you. Appreciate it.
COATES: Up next, the Justice Department making moves to try and punish Jerome Powell while moving to keep the Oath Keepers and the Proud Boys, well, give them a clean slate over January 6th. What's going on here? Plus, former Republicans turned Democrats running for Congress. And the newest one joining the club, Olivia Troye, is here with me tonight.
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[23:30:00]
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COATES: President Trump today renewed his threat to fire and prosecute Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
BARTIROMO: So, you're not going to drop the probe?
TRUMP: I'm not play -- I have to find out.
BARTIROMO: And he said he's not leaving if, you know --
TRUMP: Well, then I'll have to fire him. OK? If he's not leaving on time. I've held back firing him. I've wanted to fire him, but I hate to be controversial.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
COATES: OK. Remember, a federal judge has already quashed subpoenas against Powell and the DOJ's probe into renovation costs at the Federal Reserve headquarters. But that didn't stop two prosecutors from the D.C. U.S. attorney's office from showing up at the building yesterday unannounced. They were led by U.S. Attorney Jeanine Pirro to check on the status of the renovations. But they were turned away.
Now, Pirro says it's her job to review it. But the attorney for the Fed Board of Governors, Robert Hur, fired back in an email viewed by the A.P., writing -- quote -- "Should you wish to challenge that finding, the courts provide an avenue for you; it is not appropriate for you to try to circumvent it."
I want to bring in former federal prosecutor, Mike Gordon, who was fired by former A.G. Pam Bondi for working on January 6th cases, and Scott MacFarlane, chief Washington correspondent for MeidasTouch network. Good to see both of you.
I mean, Mike, first of all, I've been in that office. I've been a prosecutor in that office. I'm asking almost rhetorically. But is it standard operating procedure for the DOJ to make an unannounced visit like they did at the Federal Reserve? MIKE GORDON, FORMER FEDERAL PROSECUTOR: Oh, absolutely not, Laura. You know that as well as I do that there's nothing about this that is standard operating procedure. In fact, I've never heard of prosecutors doing anything like this. And it's not smart to do it.
Anything that they learn, the prosecutors then turn themselves into witnesses. That's why every prosecutor knows that when you're trying to do an investigation, you don't go do it yourself. You send FBI agents or other law enforcement agents out to do the investigation so that whatever they discover, they can then testify about it.
COATES: An important point. Scott, the acting attorney general, Todd Blanche, he defended Trump's influence on the DOJ. Listen to this.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
TODD BLANCHE, UNITED STATES DEPUTY ATTORNEY GENERAL: I know that there's this idea that President Trump has some sort of outsized control because of things that he says. But that's absolutely his right and his duty to do that. And it's the same thing that every president has and should done.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
COATES: Not accurate. Tell me what you think.
SCOTT MACFARLANE, CHIEF WASHINGTON CORRESPONDENT, MEIDASTOUCH NETWORK: Couple problems there for Todd Blanche and for the president. First of all, yes, the president has a right to make arguments, but the Department of Justice's biggest currency is its credibility when it goes into the courtroom. So, if they're viewed as a political actor, you know who's going to get wind of that? The jurors who hear cases. And --
COATES: The whole defense bar as well.
MACFARLANE: And if they want to bring a case against Jerome Powell, there's another hurdle to get through. They have to get through grand jurors who have to sign off on this indictment. And though the Department of Justice is rarely stopped by grand jurors, they sure have been a lot in this administration.
Grand jurors have tossed back cases against Letitia James. They tossed back this bonkers idea of prosecuting six Democrats for recording a video telling service members not to follow unlawful orders. And they threw back the case of the guy who threw the sandwich at the federal agent. Grand jurors take the job seriously. And if your view is political, that's a big problem for the agency.
COATES: Mike, meanwhile, we are learning the DOJ is moving to vacate the convictions of seditious conspiracy against several Oath Keepers and Proud Boys for planning the siege at the Capitol. Mike, you worked on January 6 cases. What message does this send to the prosecutors in the department?
[23:35:00] By the way, you secured -- in this case -- the prosecutors secured convictions in these cases as well after many, many days in trial and months and months and months of actually preparing for trial. What message does this send to prosecutors to try to roll this back?
GORDON: Laura, the contrast between what's happening in the Powell case and these January 6th vacators is really striking because in the Powell case, a judge has already rejected grand jury subpoenas, the starting point of an investigation, which is an extraordinary thing that never happens because the judge has said the DOJ has no good faith basis to pursue an investigation.
Contrast that with these January 6th vacators, where these are the 12 worst of the worst. These are the people who were convicted of seditious conspiracy, a crime that's essentially akin to treason. And they weren't still in jail. They'd already had their sentences commuted. So, these are folks who are at home. And DOJ has taken the step to try to erase the last black mark from their names because of their engaging in treason.
What this says to DOJ, to prosecutors, to the nation is that there is no crime, not even seditious conspiracy, that will be erased from your --
COATES: I lost you. I want to go to you. I think I heard the rest of your point, and it's a good one. Scott, I want to go back to you because "The Washington Post" reports Jeanine Pirro wrote in a court filing that -- quote -- "The United States has determined in its prosecutorial discretion that dismissal of this criminal case is in the interests of justice."
They do have great discretion in terms of what they're able to do and bring and not bring. They already secured convictions, I should add, and sentencing as well. Is a judge going to go along with this move?
MACFARLANE: Pretty much clears the record of the remaining people whose records aren't fully cleared by the pardon. It's hard to imagine an unopposed motion like this one being stopped by a judge.
But two things jump out at me. First of all, are we to pretend we didn't just watch all that on television on January 6th? Did we not all see what happened at the Capitol? These vacating of convictions, these pardons are communicating to the American people, do not believe your lying eyes. We saw it.
It's also uniquely re-traumatizing to the victims. A 140 plus police officers were injured that day. Their families watched it on T.V., too. They have a difficult time watching all this unfold with pardons and with vacated convictions.
And Mike Gordon didn't just prosecute January 6 cases. He did so masterfully, so did his colleagues. The jurors of the District of Columbia said these people were guilty.
COATES: Mike, Scott, thank you so much. President Trump's efforts to go after Trump critics, well, they've largely failed in court, but they've been inspiring an entire group of people to come out and take the political fight to the president. Many of them Republicans turned Democrats that are running for governor and running for Congress. And tonight, there's a new one to add to the list, former adviser to Vice President Mike Pence, Olivia Troye. She's running to represent Virginia's seventh congressional district.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
OLIVIA TROYE, U.S. HOUSE CANDIDATE FOR VIRGINIA, FORMER HOMELAND SECURITY AND COUNTERTERRORISM ADVISER TO VICE PRESIDENT MIKE PENCE: In 2020, I finally said enough, and they came for me. Kash Patel, Stephen Miller, even Trump himself.
TRUMP: I don't know her. I never met her.
TROYE: They sent MAGA after me, tried to bankrupt me, threatened to kill me. They thought they could silence me. They obviously don't know me very well.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
COATES: Olivia Troye joins me now. Olivia, we know you well on this show. And now, we are speaking to you as a congressional candidate. Talk to me about your decision to run really for a district that has not even been created yet. What is motivating you to do this?
TROYE: Well, look, this has been an ongoing journey for me. Part of it is that I love this country. And I have been fighting this since 2020. I mean, I served as a career intelligence officer in the first Trump administration. I had voted for Hillary Clinton in 2016 actually. And I decided that service should be nonpartisan.
And as I sit here now currently and watch what the Trump administration is doing on a daily basis, going into our community is tormenting. I'm the daughter of a Mexican immigrant. My mom for the first time told me that she is scared about going out in the public. This is someone who adores this country, is a U.S. citizen, has lived here, and cries on 4th of July.
And when I see that and see what Donald Trump is doing in our community, it's the economy, our health care, I mean the list goes on and on, this war with Iran, I just hope strongly that I needed to continue this fight.
[23:39:59]
COATES: We have spoken about the many legal threats that you have had to deal with from the administration, the death threats that you have mentioned as well. And you wrote on your Substack that the threats actually changed the way you live your life, the way you're moving and operating in this world. And you have to think about where you go, even when you have to walk your dog, Olivia. Why is the scrutiny of a campaign something that you're prepared to deal with?
TROYE: You know, I feel like I fought the likes of Stephen Miller and Russ Vought and Kash Patel internally when I was there serving the first time around. And when they came after me, they sued me. You know, I just won the second round in court again against people like Ric Grenell.
You know, the threats have been ongoing. And I have lived it. I continue to get up every single day. But I will still fight for this country. And look, I'll keep my head on a swivel. I know what's coming. I know that this isn't easy. I know that members of Congress face these threats. I've seen the hate and the divisiveness in this country. But for me, it's really about fighting for the American people, and that is what I'm going to do.
COATES: You mentioned you were a career employee, distinction from being a political appointee, an important one to note here. But you are one in this particular race. And again, the district has not yet been created.
TROYE: Yes.
COATES: There's a primary that's coming up next Tuesday to see if it will, in fact, be done. But one of the people you're running against is the former top deputy to Jack Smith. JP Cooney is his name. There are other, by the way, former Trump officials running in this cycle as well. Why do you think that former government officials like yourself are choosing to run at this time?
TROYE: You know, I think we've seen it from the inside. We've seen what Donald Trump has done to our government institutions. In Northern Virginia, where we're running, I mean, this community has been tremendously impacted by DOGE and what they've done. And I think it's very hard for us, those who serve for the greater good, to watch the national security community be destroyed and impacted.
COATES: What about your background and particular knowledge about how the administration operates gives you an advantage, if any?
TROYE: Well, I would say that I definitely know how these individuals work. And I have lived that firsthand, whether it's undermining intelligence products. I mean, I definitely had the arguments with people where I was like, no, that's not how we operate as an intelligence community.
We don't distort facts. I don't take Google searches as intelligence into my products. We don't inform policymakers with far-right publications or right-wing publications that are not actually assessed by career intelligence officers on the ground who are out there sourcing this. I mean, there are numerous instances where I saw the distortion of reality that ended up becoming policy.
And I think especially for someone like me who worked in the Homeland Security space, when you're not actually standing up to threats that are hate crimes, the rise of extremists in our country, that all leads to greater violence and less safe communities.
COATES: Let's talk about trust because there might be many who do not trust you as a credible Democratic candidate given your history as a Republican. And there are others who have essentially converted from a Republican to then a Democratic candidate in different parts of the country. Should people question your ability to be a fulsome member of the Democratic Party?
TROYE: Absolutely not. Like I grew up in a conservative Catholic family. That is how I was raised. I have certainly evolved over time. I definitely evolved in college. I have been a big champion for reproductive rights. That is something that is hard for my family. We are -- you know, I was raised Catholic. It's a struggle with our faith.
But for me, what I see what they're doing to women's rights, what I see what's happening to immigrant rights, these are things that are personal to me because I -- all of those things are part of my family. And what I see what's happening -- I grew up in a working-class family. My dad was a lifelong truck driver. And I see the way the working class is being harmed by these policies. I, over time, evolved and realized that my values are more in line with the Democratic Party.
COATES: Olivia Troye, thank you for joining.
TROYE: Thank you.
COATES: Up next, is the Eric Swalwell scandal about to take down other members of Congress? One House member is warning there may be more to come on the House, maybe even the Senate side. That's next.
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[23:45:00]
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COATES: Well, the blast radius from the Swalwell scandal might be about to get bigger. Congresswoman Anna Paulina Luna says she has informed Senator John Thune to look into disturbing allegations into a U.S. senator. This comes just a day after Congressman Swalwell resigned over sexual misconduct claims, some of which are now the subject of criminal investigations. U.S. Attorney Jeanine Pirro is interested as well. She has now set up a tip line for people to report information about misconduct tied to Swalwell. And while his political career is over, Democrats are facing questions about what they knew.
CNN reports that Swalwell's rumored infidelity was a -- quote -- "open secret." One California House Democrat told CNN that even hesitated to endorse Swalwell for governor because of those rumors, but were assured by Swalwell's friends that they were -- quote -- "just activities before he was married" -- unquote.
Swalwell's attorney said in a statement last night, Swalwell categorically and unequivocally denies each and every allegation of sexual misconduct and assault that has been leveled against him.
I want to bring in former Republican congresswoman Barbara Comstock. She played a leading role in bipartisan efforts to reform sexual harassment policies on Capitol Hill, emphasis on the bipartisan nature of it as well.
[23:49:58]
Congresswoman, the people CNN spoke to said they had no idea about the nature of the allegations. They had just heard rumors of infidelity. But what do you think the party, the parties, really, should be doing to try to expose or investigate sooner and earlier? Anything?
BARBARA COMSTOCK, FORMER VIRGINIA REPRESENTATIVE: Well, in 2017, when we had this legislation, it was very bipartisan. If you remember, that was, you know, the "Me Too" --
COATES: Yes.
COMSTOCK: -- time. There were instances that came up because as there was focus on Hollywood and then just in the public in general, it came to Washington. And there were instances -- it was very bipartisan because as the stories came out and as people felt more free to talk about it, safety in numbers, there were Democrats and Republicans who resigned. There's a little bit more sense of shame then. And people did resign.
And then we came together bipartisanly. We had Congresswoman Jackie Speier, who I know you talked to recently. She had legislation she had been trying to get through. The leadership on both sides said, please sit down and work on it. So, we worked together.
And we had Republican Bradley Byrne, who is very conservative Alabama congressman, but he had worked on labor law for years. He worked with us, Debbie Dingell, and we got some great legislation that set up, you know, that you cannot have relationships with members of your staff, we are not going to keep this secret, you cannot be paying out, you know, any kind of hush money and keeping it secret, you have to use your own money and it would be public, and we had to have training for members and for staff and for interns, and that this was going to be a much more transparent process.
COATES: So, given all that, it must be particularly frustrating, to say the least --
COMSTOCK: Yes. To hear --
COATES: -- hearing about this and also another member of Congress who also resigned based on what appeared to be a chorus relationship with his staffer.
COMSTOCK: Well, and it's frustrating to kind of see it be sort of like a hostage swap, that it was only because there was one Democrat and one Republican that they finally kind of got shamed into leaving and doing it like that, that it really should be when you have somebody come up like that, you would hope that everyone would say, get this out of there because they're a danger to any of the staff there. And it's also setting a precedent that we think this is OK, no matter what the margins are in Congress. So, I hope we will be making sure that the training is going on, that people are actually conducting the training. And I don't like seeing that Jeanine Pirro has just put up a number for one member of Congress. It should be that anything like this is going on, people should feel free to come forward. The staff, I mean, the people can go forward in Congress confidentially, and they can decide what they want to do because you don't want this to be used politically at this time. You want to be able to go in, talk to people, find out what your rights are. You don't want it splashed all over.
I mean, certainly, you know, if you go in a political situation, you don't know how it might be misused. What Congress has set up, it's supposed to be protecting you, and then you decide if you want to go forward and what you want to do, and you have rights to be able to deal with this and not have retaliation against you.
COATES: But going forward on it, I mean, there's a new op-ed on the Hill that points out under the Congressional Accountability Act, a staffer harassed or assaulted by a member of Congress has only 180 days to come forward and file a claim. I mean, six months to file a report. That is 30 years old in legislation. Is that adequate given the realities of why people don't come forward and stay quiet?
COMSTOCK: Yes, there is that culture of silence that we were really trying to address. And perhaps given what we're seeing now, maybe that needs to be extended. We were modeling it on what the Defense Department had done. And certainly, we've now seen backsliding at the Department of Defense. Some of the offices, I believe, have been cut back on what they're doing there. Certainly, given who's at the Department of Defense and his background, certainly, I would be concerned about how these issues are being treated there.
So, you want to have independence in those offices and have people be able to feel that they are going to be treated independent of politics, and that women and men, because there have been men abused in these situations, too, that they will be protected and have laws that will treat them with the rights that they're entitled to under the law that we passed almost overwhelmingly.
COATES: Rights, privacy, and dignity. Congresswoman Barbara Comstock, thank you so much.
COMSTOCK: Thank you for giving attention to this. I appreciate it.
COATES: Up next, well, even if you don't like baseball, you can love what happened today. Elex and I are going to talk about it, next.
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COATES: It's almost midnight here on the East Coast. I want to toss things over to Elex Michaelson on the West Coast. Elex, so good to see you. You know what? I happen to love this day in baseball because every player, every coach wears Jackie Robinson's 42 number to honor him. He wore it when he made his debut 79 years ago today, breaking the color barrier and changing the game. It's such a great tradition. I love it.
ELEX MICHAELSON, CNN ANCHOR AND CORRESPONDENT: It's such a great tradition for one of the most important athletes of all time. Here in Southern California, we're especially proud of Jackie Robinson, a product of Pasadena, who went to UCLA and then, of course, played with the then Brooklyn Dodgers before they came out to Los Angeles. And we want to give a shout out to his wife, Rachel Robinson, who is still going strong at 103 years old --
COATES: Wow!
MICHAELSON: -- which is pretty amazing.
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What a life she has led. In addition to him, both of them, such important pioneers in the history of sports and race and just America itself.
COATES: Somewhere, the spirit of Larry King, ultimate consummate Dodgers fan, is smiling. And so, there you go. What you have coming up on your show tonight?
MICHAELSON: Yes. Back to the Brooklyn Dodgers. We've got a lot coming up tonight, including Lisa Bloom, who is the -- one of the attorneys representing one of the accusers in the Swalwell case.
COATES: All right.
MICHAELSON: Plus, we've got some breaking news from the Middle East as well.
COATES: All right. Have a great show.
