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ProPublica: Putin-Connected Oligarch Helped Pay For Trump Jr.'s Wedding; New York, 22 Other States Sue To Block New Immigration Rule; Pennsylvania Officials Report Third Measles-Related Death. Aired 11- 11:30a ET

Aired September 14, 2026 - 11:00   ET

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

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[11:00:41]

PAMELA BROWN, CNN ANCHOR: Happening now, a private island and a firework show. An investigation reveals that a Russian oligarch with ties to Putin reportedly footed at least part of the bill for Don Jr.'s three-day wedding in the Bahamas. So did he get something in return?

WOLF BLITZER, CNN ANCHOR: Plus, a sick conspiracy or a dire situation? Tech CEOs are now warning we could lose control of A.I. So why does President Trump seem to be playing it down?

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.

We begin this hour with new reporting and some truly alarming questions around potential Russian influence within President Trump's family. Specifically, his eldest son Don Jr., the investigative news outlet ProPublica, says a close ally to Russian President Vladimir Putin helped to bankroll Trump Jr.'s wedding in May.

ProPublica reports Russian oligarch Umar Kremlev footed the bill paying hundreds of thousands of dollars for the lavish bash in the Bahamas. Donald Trump Jr.'s wife, Bettina, just responded to the new reporting saying, and I'm quoting her now, Don and I got married privately on Friday, surrounded only by our family. It was intimate, deeply personal, and one of the most beautiful days of our lives. The weekend that followed had actually been planned well in advance as a fun weekend with friends. It was never intended to be our wedding weekend.

CNN has also reached out to the White House for comment. Let's bring in Brett Murphy right now, one of the ProPublica reporters who broke this story. Brett, thanks very much for reporting. Excellent work. How did this story come to light? And what alleged ties did you find between Kremlev and Don Jr.?

BRETT MURPHY, PROPUBLICA REPORTER: Yes, we've been reporting on the Trump family and members of the administration for a long time. We talk with dozens of folks, both in the world of international boxing and this oligarch you mentioned, Umar Kremlev, is the president of the International Boxing Association. And we found out beyond that he has very close ties with Vladimir Putin himself.

Just days before this wedding in the Bahamas, Kremlev was actually traveling in China, where Vladimir Putin was there as well. In addition to that, he has close ties to the security service in Russia. He owns several nationalized companies, so a lot of his personal wealth can be attributed to his connections with the Kremlin. So he's indeed very close with Moscow, which is what made this so newsworthy when we learned that he was in attendance at the wedding.

BLITZER: So what more do you actually know about Kremlev and his real motivations?

MURPHY: Well, it's interesting. We don't know a lot. We don't know -- the big question here is, why? Why did this happen? Why did he pay hundreds of thousands of dollars to help cover some of the big ticket items at this wedding weekend? It was hundreds of thousands. And we talked with national security experts about, you know, what this could mean, help us put this into context.

And they said this was very concerning from a counterintelligence perspective because it's no secret that the Kremlin has been trying to penetrate U.S. officials for a very long time in their inner circles, including the Trump families. So they said this would raise a lot of questions. If you're the President's son, why someone would be offering, someone who's so close to the Kremlin, why they would be offering to pay this much money.

We don't know why, though. We don't know what their relationship is beyond this. We think that they met a couple of years ago through hunting acquaintances and became friends. That's what the family said anyway. And now the fact that he was there in the Bahamas, paying for so much of it only raises, I think, more questions about the contours of their relationship.

BLITZER: What expenses did Kremlev allegedly cover for this lavish wedding in the Bahamas?

MURPHY: Yes, so the weekend of the wedding included, it was over multiple islands down in the Exumas. And at least one of the islands where people were staying, he covered that, as well as some of the big ticket items, like a large fireworks display that barged down. It was kind of off on the water. And that can run anywhere, you know, north of $70,000 just for the fireworks. So it was things like this to kind of throw this multiple-day party in the Bahamas. It was very expensive. It was a beautiful and kind of lavish weekend, as you said. And he helped cover some of those really steep expenses.

[11:05:21]

BLITZER: And we just reported a response from Donald Trump Jr.'s wife, saying the weekend that followed their wedding had been planned in advance. What more are you hearing from the Trumps about your investigation? MURPHY: Well, that response you just discussed was the first we've heard from them since we published. And she said, yes, he paid for the weekend. She is speaking about the ceremony itself that happened before, which was just a very small family affair in a chapel. And then there was, you know, the parties throughout the weekend where those guests plus other people came in. It was a very small venue.

We're talking about, you know, maybe 50 or so people here, a small wedding weekend. And it's notable, too, that President Trump himself did not attend, which made the presence of these Russians a little kind of more puzzling to the people who were there because they were kind of standing up by themselves. They were speaking Russians. And it was kind of a big party over multiple days that they helped cover.

BLITZER: What implications could Kremlev's alleged closeness to Donald Trump Jr. have in President Trump's dealings with Russia and with Putin, for that matter, especially considering the tensions around the war in Ukraine right now and the overall conflict in the Middle East?

MURPHY: Yes, these are a lot of the open questions, Wolf, about kind of what his motivations are, what Kremlin wants out of this. Is there more to this friendship? There's obviously huge geopolitical implications whenever you're talking about these two countries.

Don Jr. himself, it should be said, is not in the administration. But he still has large sway over it. He helped pick cabinet members. He's kind of a vocal member. He's very important to the President's base. So any type of, you know, geopolitical considerations here, I think, have to be front and center, according to a lot of the experts we talked to, because it is such a black box.

This guy, this oligarch, Kremlev, what he wants, what he is -- what level of discussions and coordination he might have with the Kremlin, these are all very important considerations that we just don't have a lot of insight into, but we're going to continue reporting on it.

BLITZER: What about Eric Trump? What did he know about this?

MURPHY: It was really interesting. So Eric Trump was there. He was at the wedding, and so was Jared Kushner, who, of course, is the peace envoy for the administration, who has a very important role in the administration. So Jr. told us that he's very close friends with Umar, but Eric told us kind of the opposite. He had no idea, through a spokesperson, told us he had no idea who this person was. So it was an interesting response from both of them.

BLITZER: Brett Murphy of ProPublica, thank you very much for your excellent reporting. We appreciate it very much.

MURPHY: Thanks, Wolf.

BLITZER: Pamela?

BROWN: All right, Wolf, just in to CNN, New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani, along with the New York Attorney General, have just announced legal action against the Trump administration over a new public charge rule set to take effect on Friday. New York joins 22 other states and Washington, D.C., in suing to block the policy. It would give immigration officials sweeping discretion to deny green cards, visas, or admission to the U.S. based on whether the applicants are considering a public charge.

CNN's Gloria Pazmino is live for us in New York. So you have a copy of this lawsuit. What does it say, Gloria?

GLORIA PAZMINO, CNN NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: That's right, Pamela. And New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani and the State Attorney General, Letitia James, are actually at City Hall announcing the details of this lawsuit. As you said, it's expected to impact immigrant communities here in New York City, but also across several other cities around the United States.

In fact, the State Attorney General's lawsuit is being joined by 22 other states that are also joining in this legal action. Now, as you said in the beginning, this is all related to what is known as the public charge rule. The public charge rule has been in the books for a long time as part of immigration enforcement law. But the Trump administration is expanding it, and it's giving immigration officers wide discretion to determine whether a person may become dependent on government benefits at some point.

And based on that, the officer would have the ability to deny either their green card, their visa, or their entry into the United States. Now, the public charge rule has been in effect for a while, but as I said, the Trump administration's new update to the rule would expand the benefits that officers can look at in order to make these determinations. And what city and state officials are saying today is that this is basically going to mean that people will be afraid to enroll or apply to benefits that they are, in fact, legally entitled to because of the potential immigration consequences.

[11:10:21]

Now, just one very important point of clarity. These kinds of benefits do not apply to people who are undocumented, but advocates have pointed out that this is likely to significantly impact families of mixed status, families who may have U.S. citizen children, but parents who maybe are trying to get their green card or applying for a visa. And if those families are receiving any sort of federal or local benefits, such as Medicaid, food stamps, free school lunches, city- subsidized health care, that they could be denied an immigration benefit.

So New York, along with several other states, as well as New York City, suing to stop the implementation of this new rule, arguing that DHS has essentially expanded the definition of the public rule without congressional approval. Pamela?

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

BLITZER: And still ahead, growing calls from leaders of the world's biggest tech companies to put guardrails on A.I. and do it fast. But the Trump administration is downplaying concerns. So is the panic real or just hype? We'll discuss.

BROWN: And health officials in Pennsylvania say a third person has now died from measles. What we're learning about the growing outbreak. You're in The Situation Room, and we'll be right back.

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[11:16:13]

BROWN: A new development in the measles outbreak sweeping Pennsylvania. The county coroner's office now confirms a third death. A 40-year-old woman who, it says, died from complications associated from the virus. The outbreak has also sparked a dispute between state officials and Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr., who has questioned the validity of the reported measles deaths.

So let's bring in CNN health reporter Jacqueline Howard. Jacqueline, what else can you tell us about this latest case?

JACQUELINE HOWARD, CNN HEALTH REPORTER: Pam, what we know about this latest case, the woman, like you said, was 40 years old, and she was not vaccinated. She also had underlying health conditions like COPD and asthma, and we know that she was using supplemental oxygen before getting measles.

And this death is a reminder. When people think of measles, sometimes they think of it as a childhood illness, but this death does remind us that this virus can have severe impacts on adults as well. And in a Facebook post, the Jefferson County Coroner Greg Furlong wrote this, "This is a heartbreaking loss for the family and an unfortunate reminder that measles can be a serious and potentially life- threatening disease."

So this now means there have been three deaths total associated with this outbreak. The two other deaths were in infants. And so far in total, at least 676 people have gotten sick with measles in this outbreak, and 124 people have been hospitalized. And this outbreak, the epicenter, is really in Lancaster County.

And when we look at these numbers, Pam, a lot of experts are wondering, could this be an undercount? Because typically when we see one to three deaths, sometimes that can suggest there are about 1,000 cases out there. So health officials are continuing to monitor these numbers as the outbreak continues, Pam.

BROWN: So tell us more about this tension between federal officials and state officials in Pennsylvania and what's going on there.

HOWARD: As this outbreak goes on, you're right, we're continuing to see this tension. It really started when the first deaths were reported. At that time, there was some tension between Pennsylvania Governor Josh Shapiro and Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr., where Shapiro mentioned how Kennedy has been spreading misinformation around vaccines and that harms communities.

And then Kennedy shot back, even questioning whether these deaths should be counted. And now, when we fast-forward to the third death that's been reported, we did reach out to the CDC for their response. And this is what they told us, Pam. CDC Director Dr. Erica Schwartz says, "CDC was not notified by Pennsylvania officials of this death. Despite repeated offers of assistance, Pennsylvania has not requested a CDC Epi-Aid, which would deploy epidemiologists and provide on-the- ground measles outbreak support."

So we see, as this outbreak goes on, there is this tension between federal officials and the state. And many people wonder how might this impact the response to this outbreak as time goes on, Pam.

BROWN: All right, Jacqueline Howard, thank you so much. Wolf?

[11:19:39]

BLITZER: One of the two American airmen shot down in Iran, now speaking out about the harrowing rescue on "60 Minutes." And CNN has exclusive new reporting about the push for that airman to go public, despite his hesitations.

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BLITZER: New this morning, for the first time, we're learning dramatic new details about the operation to rescue two U.S. airmen shot down over Iran back in April. One of the airmen, identified only by his call sign, Bravo, spoke with CBS's "60 Minutes." Listen.

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UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: How fast do you think you were going when you hit the ground?

BRAVO, U.S. AIRMAN SHOT DOWN OVER IRAN: Professionals, based on my description and the injuries that I had, the professionals think I hit the ground going somewhere between 70 and 100 miles an hour.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: How did you survive that?

BRAVO: A modern day miracle. I believe that it's a testament to God's provision in my life to bring me through that moment in a way that didn't prevent injuries, but prevented any catastrophic injuries that would have affected my ability to survive.

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[11:25:13]

BLITZER: And joining us now, our senior national security reporter, Zach Cohen. Zach, what else are we learning about the size and the scope of this military rescue operation?

ZACHARY COHEN, CNN SENIOR NATIONAL SECURITY REPORTER: Yes, Wolf, top military officials that sat for interviews with "60 Minutes" made it clear that the minute that they received the first communication from the airmen, dubbed Bravo, that they really rushed to launch a very complex and heavy lift of a military rescue operation, one that involved thousands of troops in support staff, intelligence officials, and over 90 special operators who were on the ground physically inside of Iran trying to locate this downed airman.

And look, Admiral Cooper, who is the commander of U.S. Central Command, he spoke with "60 Minutes," and he described just how precarious this mission was, particularly given the sense that there were U.S. boots on the ground inside of Iran as the Iranians were trying to locate this airman. Take a listen to what Admiral Cooper had to say.

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ADM. BRAD COOPER, COMMANDER OF U.S. CENTRAL COMMAND: That second operation had about 92 people on the ground. This would be the first U.S. boots on the ground in 46 years.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: In Iran.

COOPER: In Iran. We had about several hundred in the air, and there were probably 3,000 to 5,000 supporting overall. It was an operation inside an operation.

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COHEN: So there was significant coordination happening between the special operations units on the ground, intelligence officials who were launching a diversion campaign to buy the downed airman more time, and, of course, the aircraft and the service members on ships, Navy ships that were launching missiles in an effort to also delay the Iranian search. So this was a very complex military operation and one that was extremely sensitive and contained a lot of classified details, some of which we learned last night.

BLITZER: Extremely successful. They saved the lives of these two U.S. airmen. You've got some new reporting in connection with all of this, reporting on Defense Secretary Hegseth's involvement with the "60 Minutes" interview. What can you tell us?

COHEN: Yes, Wolf, sources are telling me that Hegseth and his office really played an outsized and unusually robust role in helping facilitate this interview and really pushed, along with political appointees in his office, pushed both of the airmen who were rescued in this operation to sit for an interview with "60 Minutes," and that came after both airmen raised reservations about doing so.

That's an uncomfortable situation for really anybody who serves in the military that's outside the scope of their normal duties, and we're told that both were really concerned about the image that might present. One of the airmen was so concerned that Hegseth might even order him to participate. That just speaks to the level of pressure that they felt from the political appointees inside the Pentagon.

Meanwhile, I'm told that while top military officials in uniform, like Admiral Cooper and Chairman of the Joint Chiefs Dan Caine, participated in this segment, military officials overall were very concerned about the level of classified information that they were going to disclose, thinking you could even inadvertently reveal tactics to the enemy since combat operations in Iran are still ongoing.

BLITZER: Important points indeed. All right, Zach, thank you very, very much. Pamela?

[11:28:16]

BROWN: All right, Wolf, just ahead, the man charged with murder after a Mississippi mother was found hanging from a tree is expected to appear in court today. What the police chief told CNN about the possibility of additional arrests. We'll be back.

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