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CNN Headlines: Bondi Says Blanche Was "In Charge" Of Releasing Epstein Files; GOP Blocks Dem-Lead Effort To Permanently Block $1.8B Fund; Trump Would Be "Honored" To Meet Iranian Leader; Hezbollah Leader Rejects Lebanon-Israel Ceasefire; NYT Reveals New Allegations Against Graham Platner. Aired 5-5:30a ET

Aired June 05, 2026 - 05:00   ET

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

[05:00:21]

BRAD SMITH, CNN ANCHOR: Pam Bondi is now putting some blame on Todd Blanche for the Epstein files. What she claimed he did in a newly released transcript.

And the Coast Guard now has the boat involved in the case of a missing American woman in the Bahamas. We're following the latest developments this morning.

And a story of survival. A man saved after nearly a week with no food and little oxygen on Mount Everest. How he was finally found.

And a teen on an e-scooter crashes into a patrol car. Thankfully, he is okay, but the story, it doesn't end there. We've got that coming your way.

Good morning, everyone. I'm Brad Smith. This is CNN HEADLINE EXPRESS. Glad that you're with us this morning.

The transcript is now out from former Attorney General Pam Bondi's closed-door interview with the House Oversight Committee. And it could create new problems for acting A.G. Todd Blanch.

When she was asked about the Justice Department's handling of the Epstein files, Bondi appears to point the finger at Blanche. She told lawmakers he was, quote, "in charge of the process and the entire release". Bondi also denied any involvement in Ghislaine Maxwell's transfer to a minimum-security prison, and she said she doesn't know whether it was connected to Blanche's interview with Maxwell.

Now, as President Trump is expected to formally nominate Blanche as attorney general, Democrats are demanding answers and want him to testify to explain his involvement in the release of the files.

Well, on Capitol Hill, Senate Republicans rejected a Democrat-led effort to formally kill the president's controversial $1.8 billion anti-weaponization fund. With bipartisan opposition mounting, Todd Blanch told lawmakers earlier this week that it's not moving forward. Democrats and some Republicans want more than reassurances here.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

SEN. CHUCK SCHUMER (D-NY), MINORITY LEADER: Trump says ripping Americans off to give kickbacks to convicted criminals who beat police officers to death on January 6 is a beautiful thing. That's what he said. Trump's slush fund is anything but beautiful. It's heinous, and it won't die until we permanently ban it by law.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

SMITH: Three Republicans crossed party lines in that vote, including Senator Tom Tillis.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

SEN. THOM TILLIS (R-NC): Even the AG has said that it's done. So I don't know why we just don't codify it so Democrats are not raising the speculation that it come back at some point. If the AG has said that, then why not codify it? It doesn't seem to be a cross purposes with the admin, and it takes that argument away from the Democrats. That's a win-win, in my opinion.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

SMITH: President Trump is defending the fund, telling CNN that he would defer to lawyers as to whether the fund was officially dead or just on hold.

We take you now to the Middle East and a comment that the president made that he'd be open, even honored to meet with Iran's new supreme leader if there's an agreement to end the war. That was followed by a threat. If Iran killed US troops, that would be a good reason to restart the war.

Meanwhile, Hezbollah has rejected a ceasefire agreement between Lebanon and Israel. The leader of the militant group calls the deal an imaginary ceasefire that requires Hezbollah to stop fighting while Israel continues its aggression.

President Trump had a different take.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

DONALD TRUMP, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: They didn't reject that. They're -- look. I think Hezbollah -- I will tell you, they called us, and they said, How about stopping? And I think you're going to see things happen over there. That's been like, a little bit of a different world, but it's interconnected with Iran.

And it would be really nice if Lebanon could have some peace. I spoke to Bibi Netanyahu about that, and I speak to them about it, and I actually spoke to Hezbollah about it. And I think progress is made.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

SMITH: And to Tehran, that's where thousands gathered Thursday to commemorate the anniversary of the death of the Islamic Republic's founder.

CNN's Fred Pleitgen was there and we'll bring you his report later this hour.

New allegations are coming to light against Maine Democratic Senate candidate Graham Platner.

"The New York Times" interviewed six women who dated Platner in the past. Some described him as a fun and caring partner and said that they felt safe with him, but others say they found his actions intimidating and disturbing. And three of them talked about relationships that they called complicated, as well as volatile and toxic, unsettling and emotionally wrenching.

[05:05:01]

They said that he was demeaning to women and in at least one case, even physically threatening. They allege that he drank heavily and was regularly unfaithful.

Here's how Platner responded to those allegations.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

GRAHAM PLATNER (D), MAINE SENATE CANDIDATE: There are some allegations in this piece that I just want to be kind of unequivocal about are simply not true. Anything alleging physicality, anything alleging that I knew what my tattoo was, these are the statements of someone who's politically motivated.

In this piece, there's a lot about my struggling, not being a good boyfriend, certainly self-medicating with alcohol. And I've been very upfront since the beginning of this campaign that was a pretty dark period of my life after I came back from my combat service. And that's what that combat -- that's what that kind of life looks like.

And so, there are things in this that I absolutely will take responsibility for and have been speaking about openly for months now. But those serious allegations are just not true.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

SMITH: Now, in that same interview, Platner said that he was not dropping out of the race, but President Trump's Former national security advisor turned adversary John Bolton, that's another story that we're tracking here. He's expected to plead guilty over mishandling sensitive national security information.

So here's what's happening here. Sources say that he reached a plea deal agreeing to pay more than $2 million. They say that he intends to plead guilty to one felony count of illegal retention of sensitive national security information.

Normally, a conviction on that charge could come with a sentence of up to five years. And it's been a few months since Maryland prosecutors accused Bolton

of keeping diary entries in his home from his time in the first Trump White House and emailing them to his wife and daughter from his personal account. He was originally facing 18 charges.

But his guilty plea won't include charges related to the allegation that Bolton took home or shared classified documents. This plea only covers that he wrote down sensitive national security information as part of his personal papers.

All right, let's take you out to California now. The wait is not over yet. Ballots are still being counted in the state's primary and that's nothing new. California is known for its drawn out vote counts that can take days to finish.

But here's why the count can take a while. California obviously is huge, both in population and in area. So with so many vote-by-mail ballots, there are millions to process. And under state law, ballots can still arrive up to seven days after Election Day, even if they're postmarked here on time. So, each one also has to be verified before it's counted. And historically, those later arriving ballots have tended to break for Democrats.

Now, even as some of President Trump's endorsed candidates appear to be performing well, he is again calling the elections a fraud without evidence.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

TRUMP: You see that's what's happening in California. They're rigging the election. Those numbers are coming down rapidly. They found a lot of mail-in ballots last night, shockingly.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

SMITH: Alright, let's stay in California. That's where a manhunt is underway for the suspect who killed an 18-year-old and wounded three other people shortly after a high school graduation ceremony. Gunfire erupted after the ceremony on Wednesday, and police say that there were hundreds of possible witnesses, but so far, no arrests. Authorities also didn't answer CNN's questions about whether this was random or targeted.

Police in New Jersey, they released some new footage showing the chaotic arrests of two men protesting outside Delaney Hall on Wednesday. The Newark Police Department says the two suspects in their 30s from out of state joined the demonstrations and began fighting with officers. They were both charged with aggravated assaults on a law enforcement officer, resisting arrest, obstruction, and rioting. The privately owned ICE detention facility has been the target of intense protests over longstanding allegations of inhumane conditions and treatment. DHS denies the claims.

Dozens of anti-immigration protesters who interrupted a Minnesota church service will not face state charges. St. Paul's city attorney says that the evidence is insufficient and she cites a lack of property damage.

The Justice Department brought federal civil rights charges against 39 people. That includes former CNN anchor turned independent journalist Don Lemon and local independent journalist Georgia Fort. They say that they were covering the protests, and the protesters went to the church after they learned that one of the pastors was also an ICE official who was overseeing the immigration crackdown in Minneapolis.

We've got some new developments in the Bahamas as the Coast Guard continues to search for a missing American woman. The small dinghy linked to Lynette Hooker's disappearance has been taken into custody, and her husband, Brian, told police that they were on the small boat navigating rough waters when she fell overboard.

[05:10:05]

The 55-year-old has been missing since early April.

The Coast Guard has been searching the waters and the shoreline this week for any trace of Lynette. Her husband has repeatedly denied any wrongdoing in his wife's disappearance.

We've got lots more to come on CNN HEADLINE EXPRESS. A family's desperate search, an American student missing in Japan as more people join in to help find him. We've got the latest on that case.

Plus, the man convicted in the murder of his wife and another man while having an affair with his au pair will come face to face with family and friends of the victims today.

Also, Taylor Swift released a new song overnight, and the big talk is about the old home video that she shared with it.

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[05:15:14]

SMITH: This morning we've got a big development in a Colorado case that sparked protests nationwide. An appeals court is throwing out homicide convictions against two former Colorado paramedics in the 2019 death of Elijah McClain. He was 23-year-old and He died after being restrained by police and injected with ketamine. A jury found that the paramedics were guilty in 2023, but now an appeals court says that the jury got flawed instruction, has ordered new trials as well. One assault conviction still stands, and the case now heads back to a lower court.

We've also got new developments about the missing Auburn University student in Japan. The search for James Weston Higginbotham continues this morning. He was last seen a week ago in Kyoto while on a family vacation. At this point, police say that there is no reason to suggest a crime was committed.

CNN's Reid Binion reports.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE) UNIDENTIFIED MALE: God is in control, and with that said, God, please.

REID BINION, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Friends and family members of an American student missing in Japan coming together in solidarity as the search for the young man continues. Twenty-year-old James Higginbotham, who goes by Weston, went missing May 29th in Kyoto while on vacation with his family.

His mother said they had a disagreement and Weston went out to explore the city on his own, which she said wasn't unusual for him. But she became concerned when he apparently turned off his phone's location in the Life 360 app the family shares.

NANCY HIGGINBOTHAM, MOTHER OF MISSING AUBURN UNIVERSITY STUDENT: That was so concerning because it's so out of character for him. I said something's not right. Something's not right. I knew something. was wrong.

BINION (voice-over): Local police say Weston left Kyoto Station alone at 6:00 p.m. that day. He was last seen roughly two hours later on CCTV footage, walking alone in the city's Yamashina area on a path leading to a hiking trail in a wooded area nearby. An exhaustive search is underway and the family says the FBI is assisting.

Assistance is also coming from ordinary Japanese civilians, with volunteers canvassing local areas to help.

KEITH HIGGINBOTHAM, FATHER OF MISSING AUBURN UNIVERSITY STUDENT: I don't want anybody to think that we're thinking of him in the past because we're not.

BINION (voice-over): I'm Reid Binion reporting.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

SMITH: Thank you, Reid.

In Virginia, a man convicted in a double murder plot is expected to be sentenced today. Prosecutors say that Brendan Banfield, with help from the family's au pair, lured a man to their home in a plan to frame him for the death of his wife. Instead, investigators say that Banfield shot that man and stabbed his wife to death. The au pair later pleaded guilty and testified against him. Banfield maintains his innocence, but he now faces a mandatory life sentence.

The Kennedy Center's top lawyer has ordered staff to begin removing President Trump's name from the building by next Friday. That is according to an internal memo obtained by CNN. The center's general counsel also ordered staff to immediately return all official documents to the institution's original name. A federal judge had ruled that the Kennedy Center's board broke the law by renaming the building. He also blocked the center from closing for renovations.

The ruling is the latest setback in the president's efforts to leave his mark on Washington. Still to come on CNN HEADLINE EXPRESS, a man with a black belt in

jujitsu helped hold down a disruptive passenger on a flight, and now he's telling his side of the story.

And with hits like "Obsession" out right now, some theaters are seeing their best numbers since before the pandemic. That is coming up on CNN HEADLINE EXPRESS.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[05:23:16]

SMITH: A passenger with jiu-jitsu training put his skills to work during mid-air chaos with an unruly passenger. Investigators say that the erratic passenger tried to open an emergency exit door, and it all happened aboard a Frontier flight.

CNN's Ryan Young has the story.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

JOSH LONGOOD, FORMER MMA FIGHTER: I think people were comfortable seeing me, like, hold him down, saying I could contain him, like I was telling people, it was just like holding down a kid throwing a tantrum or something.

RYAN YOUNG, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Thirty-seven-year-old Josh Longood was relaxing on a flight home from San Juan, Puerto Rico, to Chicago when he started to hear some commotion.

LONGOOD: What I was told was the individual went to the back and tried to open an emergency exit door or attempted to and was causing a scene and they just had him go back to his seat.

YOUNG (voice-over): A passenger was 51 year old Juan Gabriel Reyes who attempted to open an emergency exit door then tried to urinate on the bathroom floor and later grabbed an off-duty flight attendant's bag according to an arrest affidavit.

At one point, authorities say, Reyes choked the off-duty flight attendant. Longood who was sitting near him eventually intervened with his jujitsu training experience.

LONGOOD: I grabbed him and controlled him, safely restraining them, put him back into the road that he was in, kind of held him down.

YOUNG (voice-over): The flight diverted to Miami, where Reyes was taken into custody and charged with interference with flight crew members and attendants and assault with maritime and territorial jurisdiction, court records show.

LONGOOD: Took about probably 10 to 15 minutes. When we were descending to land in Miami, he started to slip his hand out and I just kind of went over into his robe by myself and just held him down. That was probably like half hour or something.

I felt calm and comfortable during that because I knew I could handle the situation.

[05:25:02]

YOUNG (voice-over): Longood has been training in jujitsu since 2008 and is a former professional MMA fighter.

LONGOOD: I wasn't trying to like be a hero, I was just doing what I thought was right and making sure people are safe.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

SMITH: What an effort there. President Trump scrapping the planned Freedom 250 concerts and replacing them with what he's calling a Rally to End All Rallies on the National Mall later this month. The June 24th event will feature speeches, including one from Trump. And there will be music from Lee Greenwood and military bands as part of the nation's 250th anniversary celebration.

The change comes after several performers, including the Commodores and Martina McBride, pulled out of the original concert series, saying it had become too political. Trump responded by saying on Truth Social, "We don't want singers with no talent and big fees."

Straight ahead on CNN HEADLINE EXPRESS, something former Attorney General Pam Bondi told lawmakers could end up being an issue for acting AG Todd Blanche. We'll break that down for you.

Plus, a stunning twist in the case of a candidate for sheriff in Arkansas who was accused of murder. We've got the details ahead on CNN HEADLINE EXPRESS.

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