Return to Transcripts main page

The Situation Room

Any Moment, Supreme Court Releases Opinions; Source Says, Acting Director of National Intelligence Begins Mass Firings; Voting Underway in New York Primaries. Aired 10-10:30a ET

Aired June 23, 2026 - 10:00   ET

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

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[10:00:00]

PAMELA BROWN, CNN ANCHOR: Happening now, breaking news, the Supreme Court about to release opinions. Several major cases we're watching right now, birthright citizenship, the president's power to fire federal officials, and transgender sports bans.

Plus, Iranian drones swarming in, quote, "jellyfish formation." We'll bring you this new CNN exclusive reporting on what the rescued U.S. fighter jet pilot told intelligence officials he saw in Iran that surprised them.

WOLF BLITZER, CNN ANCHOR: Also, new information on Nancy Guthrie. A second ransom note sent to media outlets in February claimed the mother of Today Show Anchor Savannah Guthrie had died. What this means for the investigation into Nancy Guthrie's disappearance.

And later, stranded after inferno. Tourists are now stuck in the Dominican Republic after a massive fire destroyed their hotel and their passports. A witness joins us just ahead.

Welcome to our viewers here in the United States and around the world. I'm Wolf Blitzer with Pamela Brown, and you're in The Situation Room.

Breaking news, at any moment now, we could get major decisions from the U.S. Supreme Court. The court is due to go on summer recess in just a few weeks, so rulings on some major cases could come down at any time.

BROWN: And they include challenges to birthright citizenship, voting rights, and President Trump's firing of federal officials.

Joining us now is CNN Anchor and Chief Legal Analyst Laura Coates. So, Laura, of course, there's no way of knowing what decisions are coming down this morning. We do expect several. But when it comes to the decision, the biggest one of the term that we're waiting on, birthright citizenship, do we have any clues as how they may decide?

LAURA COATES, CNN ANCHOR AND CHIEF LEGAL ANALYST: Seven of the nine justices did not seem to be amenable to eliminating what has been something that's been the law for nearly 150 years. The first sentence of the 14th Amendment talks about somebody born in the United States being subject to the jurisdiction of the country or the state that they're in, a sort of birthright citizenship.

It was enacted after the Dred Scott decision, which dared to suggest that even the children of freed Blacks could not be citizens. The Supreme Court solidified the plain language in a case out of California 30 years after that, where they said, even if your parents were not born in this country, if you were born here, you, in fact, are an American citizen.

In order to have a different viewpoint, there'd be a more of a tortured reading of the plain reading of that 14th Amendment, and it would lead to some serious consequences if the Supreme Court essentially did that. No one expects the Supreme Court to do that. However, the fact that they have taken over three months to even craft an opinion might be ominous at best.

BLITZER: And birthright citizenship, that's been the law of the land, what, since 1898.

COATES: It has indeed. And, again, this is something that the Trump administration has suggested on the very first day of the second administration, that the reason they want to do away with it is because they believe the 14th Amendment related only to the children of freed black slaves, nobody else.

Their second argument is about jurisdiction, essentially saying, if you are here illegally or your parents were here without the law condoning it, then you have a foreign allegiance to a different nation, and therefore, you're not subject to the United States. That would really be an oddity for many reasons, because it would render people who were born here stateless, who the other countries confer citizenship based on their birthright in many places, and also, of course, it means that they could not have any jurisdiction over somebody who is here unlawfully, which would mean can they not arrest someone for a crime? Could they not have, ways to deport them lawfully as well? It would be tortured.

BLITZER: We're awaiting, other major decisions potentially as well today. I want to think through some of them. First up, what's called mail-in ballots. The Court is reviewing state laws that allow election officials to receive mail-in ballots after Election Day. What's the significance here?

COATES: Well, states are in control of their own elections, no matter how much the federal government would like to put a thumb on the scale to control it. We have some recent statements from the DOJ possibly trying to connect one's administration of elections with funding. That is being obviously challenged in many respects. But their statement is whether or not anything coming after the Election Day can be counted.

People want to have resolution of their actual elections, California being a prime example people have pointed to.

[10:05:03]

But the Supreme Court in this case did not seem to be against the proposition of counting only the ballots that arrive by Election Day to have that finality. But, again, they're having people actually put a thumb on the scale of what states want to do.

BLITZER: The courts also are potentially could be releasing today its opinion on transgender sports bans.

COATES: Yes, this is another important case, part of a culture war that has been happening. There's two premises, one involving high school sports, one involving college athletics. You've seen this in nearly every election for the past several different administration election cycles. It's about whether or not there can be bans on people whose gender does not match their gender identification at birth, or their gender identity does not match gender identification at birth.

This has been something where there has been claims that to ban transgender athletes is a ban on sex -- or sex discrimination as opposed to anything else. And there's now going to be a discussion in the Supreme Court as to whether gender identity is synonymous with sexual orientation, sexual identity, or any other of the protected classes.

Sexual orientation, obviously, very different than gender identity, but the arguments that have been used to try to undermine transgender athletes seem to conflate these issues. The Supreme Court has taken very big concern not to do that. But gender identity and sex-based discrimination will be the crux of that argument.

BLITZER: Laura Coates, as usual, thank you very, very much.

Important note to our viewers, be sure to watch Laura's show later tonight, Laura Coates Live, 10:00 -- 11:00 P.M. Eastern for much more analysis on all the day's important news. Pamela?

BROWN: All right, Wolf. You're looking at some live pictures here of a Senate subcommittee hearing on close calls and safety across the domestic airspace. A number of airline executives, the president of the Airline Pilots Association, and aviation manufacturers are expected to testify. Their remarks come amid near misses as recent as Saturday when two planes came within several hundred feet of each other at Boston's airport. Of course, we'll be monitoring this hearing for more details.

Also happening now, President Trump's controversial pick as Acting Director of National Intelligence Bill Pulte has been slashing jobs. One source tells CNN, quote, the deep state firings have begun, end quote. That source did not elaborate on what exactly they mean by deep state. Pulte has no known background in intelligence or national security, but he is temporarily leading the office of the DNI, which oversees 18 intelligence agencies.

Democrats are voicing alarm over his large scale cuts in the intelligence community.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

SEN. CHRIS VAN HOLLEN (D-MD): Bill Pulte is somebody who has zero, zero experience when it comes to national security and intelligence matters. His sort of defining mission in the Trump administration has been as a political hitman for Donald Trump to go after his political adversaries. And now this is the guy who's going to be firing people with experience and expertise when it comes to our national security intelligence matters. So, what could go wrong?

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BROWN: CNN's Kevin Liptak joins us now live from the White House. Kevin, what more are we learning about these firings and how they're determining, quote/unquote, deep state employees that they say that they're firing?

KEVIN LIPTAK, CNN SENIOR WHITE HOUSE REPORTER: Yes. Not a lot of clarity about what exactly that will mean, but I do think it gives you a good indication of the individuals that Bill Pulte is going after, people he perceives and that President Trump perceives are trying to undermine his administration.

And it does seem evident that Pulte is wasting virtually zero time in trying to execute this mission that is obviously President Trump's objective here. You know, the president has said explicitly that he wants Pulte to downsize this agency.

Our sources have told us that Pulte could be going after those working at the National Counterterrorism Center. That, I think, is going to raise a lot of alarms, not only because of the current geopolitical situation with Iran, but also these events that you have underway in the United States over the next few weeks, the World Cup, the 250th birthday celebrations, all potential targets for terrorism that this agency and this unit of the DNI could be monitoring.

Now, President Trump is not the only person who thinks the DNI needs to be downsized. You hear that from some Democrats as well, that it has perhaps become over-bloated in the decades since it was founded since 9/11.

The real question now is who is doing the firing and who is making these decisions? Bill Pulte, not someone with any national security experience, is someone who has shown a willingness to go after those he perceives as President Trump's rivals.

How long he is in this acting role is something of an open question. President Trump actually pulled back his nominee for the permanent DNI last week in order to allow Pulte some time to carry out his objectives in the job.

[10:10:09]

BROWN: All right, Kevin Liptak, live for us from the White House, thanks so much. Wolf?

BLITZER: And still ahead, speaking out.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

SAVANNAH GUTHRIE, NBC NEWS HOST: I want to just take the opportunity to ask people, to really -- to beg people to come forward. Somebody knows something.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BLITZER: Savannah Guthrie's very emotional reaction this morning to newly released details about the second ransom note tied to her mother's kidnapping. We'll share that with you.

You're in The Situation Room.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[10:15:00]

BROWN: Happening now, it is primary day and polls are open in New York, Utah, Maryland, and for a runoff race in South Carolina. The political power of Mayor Zohran Mamdani is being put to the test in the Big Apple. Democratic socialists are gaining momentum with recent wins, and Mamdani is backing candidates in key House races, highlighting broader ideological battles within the Democratic Party.

So, let's go live now to CNN's Gloria Pazmino in New York for us. So, Gloria, how could today's vote shape the future for the Democratic Party?

GLORIA PAZMINO, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, I think, certainly, that is what we're going to be talking about this evening. Because we are in such a blue district here in the 12th Congressional District where I am now, you know, it's not really a question of whether or not a Democrat will win, but rather what kind of Democrat is going to win.

And, Pamela, you mentioned the mayor's endorsements. This is actually the one district that he decided to stay out of. He did not make an endorsement in this race, and he did not disclose who he voted for. This is, of course, now home to the mayoral residence of Zohran Mamdani Gracie Mansion.

This is the 12th Congressional District. Jerry Nadler, the current congressman, is retiring after 17 years in Congress, 17 terms in Congress, I should say. And this is very much the heart of Manhattan. And this race has attracted a lot of big names, Jack Schlossberg, the grandson of John F. Kennedy, George Conway, the Republican turned Democrat who is a fierce critic of President Trump, and local lawmakers.

I want you to listen directly from the voters and what they're saying is on their minds going into the polling booth today.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

PAZMINO: Tell me what's your big priority as a resident of this district?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Having an effective representative in Congress which needs a lot of reform and intelligent thinking.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I think affordability is a big priority, taking on the Trump administration, I think someone who's going to have a nuanced perspective on the Israel-Palestine conflict and Israel's actions in the Middle East.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Truly taking advantage that we live in New York City and trying to vote as progressive as possible is a real value to us.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

PAZMINO: Now, Pam, if we go a little bit north of here to Washington Heights, inward parts of the Bronx, that's where the battle for their 13th Congressional District is playing out. That's Congressman Adriano Espaillat being challenged by Darializa Avila Chevalier, backed by the Democratic Socialists of America. They too have a lot on the line going into tonight. They have backed several candidates along with Zohran Mamdani.

So, a real test of the mayor's political power and how he flexes his political muscles going into this primary. Pam?

BROWN: All right. Gloria Pazmino, thank you so much. Wolf?

BLITZER: And coming up, a deadly shooting shakes Montreal. What we're now learning about the two victims, that's just ahead.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[10:20:00]

BLITZER: Breaking news, a new, very emotional plea from Today Show Host Savannah Guthrie for information about the disappearance of her 84-year-old mother, Nancy Guthrie.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

GUTHRIE: I wanted to just take the opportunity to ask people, to really -- to beg people to come forward. Somebody knows something. And this is a news story today that is on your radar, but this is the life that my sister lives, that I live, that my brother lives, that our extended families live, that our children live every day.

And we are in agony, and we cannot be at peace. So, no matter how much I try to come out here every day and smile and find that joy, and I will, I promise I will, this is a moment to tell you that we need your help. We're begging for your help, and I'm not going to miss that opportunity.

And so please, if you're watching, no matter how small, the reward is there, you can tell us. It can be anonymous. Please do the right thing for us, for our family, for our children. And we love our mom, and we'll never stop looking for her, never.

BLITZER: It comes after multiple law enforcement sources now say one of the notes sent to media outlets, including here at CNN, claim Nancy Guthrie died shortly after being kidnapped, but they had not intended to kill her. The note was one of two the family had and investigators believed are real. We should note that the investigation is still very much alive. There is no particular leading suspect and there's no key person of interest.

CNN National Correspondent Ed Lavandera joins us with the latest. Ed?

ED LAVANDERA, CNN SENIOR NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Wolf, the Pima County Sheriff's Department in Tucson, Arizona says that the investigation into Nancy Guthrie's disappearance remains active and ongoing. This comes as we are reporting that the contents of a second ransom letter that the Guthrie family received confirmed or said that Nancy Guthrie had died shortly after being kidnapped.

These are letters that law enforcement investigators deemed to be credible. If you'll remember back at that time in early February, shortly after Guthrie's disappearance, law enforcement and the Guthrie family were receiving multiple ransom letters. Some of them they were trying to figure out whether or not they were hoaxes or legitimate. But a few of these law enforcement officials believe to be credible.

The first letter from this particular person demanded millions of dollars as a ransom. The second note is the one that said that Nancy Guthrie had died shortly after being kidnapped, that it was not intentional, but that she had died.

[10:25:03]

If you remember, one of the initial videos that the Guthrie family released was in response to these ransom letters. And in one of those first videos, Savannah Guthrie says, we received a letter, and we understand, a clear reference to the direct message that said that Nancy Guthrie had died.

CNN and a Tucson station were aware of the contents of these letters. We were asked by law enforcement officials not to report the contents so that investigators can continue developing that information, and also use that information to be able to confirm any kind of future communication. Remember, there was a flurry of essentially bad ransom letters and hoaxes in those early weeks of this investigation.

But this is an excruciating time for the Guthrie family. They have been very open about the fact that they understand and they accept that at this point, nearly five months into the search for Nancy Guthrie, the likelihood of her returning home alive is very minimal. But, clearly, the pain and the anguish of having to confront that reality once again as this investigation continues is just incredibly difficult for the Guthrie family. Wolf?

BLITZER: Ed Lavandera reporting, thank you very much.

And to our viewers, if you have any information, any information, call the number on your screen, 1-800-CALL-FBI.

And we'll be right back. BROWN: And just ahead here in The Situation Room, A.I. warning from top international intelligence agencies. Models are months, not years, away from launching major cyber attacks. What businesses and the government should do now.

We'll be right back.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[10:30:00]