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CNN Live At Daybreak

'Legal Grounds,' Morning Coffey

Aired August 12, 2002 - 06:33   ET

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

CAROL COSTELLO, CNN ANCHOR: Lots going on in courtrooms across the country today, so it's time to check on our regular DAYBREAK feature "Legal Grounds" with CNN legal analyst, Kendall Coffey.
Kendall joins us live from Washington.

Good morning.

KENDALL COFFEY, CNN LEGAL ANALYST: Good morning, Carol.

COSTELLO: Let's talk about Sam Waksal. He is going to be arraigned later this morning on very serious charges. Do you think a plea bargain is in the offing?

COFFEY: Well, there is no doubt that his defense team would love to talk "let's make a deal" given the gravity of the charges. But let's face it. This is not the time of the season with all of the public outcry for a former CEO to be counting on kinder and gentler treatment from prosecutors.

And to get a favorable deal, it normally means cooperating, providing incriminating evidence about somebody who is higher up in the ladder. If you're a CEO, it gets kind of lonely when you used to be at the top, because there is no higher ups to cooperate against.

COSTELLO: Oh, that's true. But there are friends to tell on, like perhaps Martha Stewart. Might this make things worse for her?

COFFEY: Well, this has got to be of concern to the Stewart camp. So far, it isn't being reported that Waksal has any direct information indicating that he tipped her off to these sales that occurred in late December.

So the focus is really on the two guys that used to work for Merrill Lynch, one of whom may be talking to prosecutors. And if the government can get one or both of those guys signing up to provide incriminating evidence against Martha Stewart, then what looks like hot water could start to be boiling for her.

COSTELLO: Oh, you're not kidding.

Let's talk about Steven Hatfill. This is the guy who is not a suspect in the anthrax mailings, and he has come out -- you know, he had that big press conference over the weekend to say that he had nothing to do with the anthrax mailings, that he just wish authorities would leave him alone. Does he have any legal recourse? COFFEY: No, there is realistically nothing you could do to make an investigation go away. Let's face it, if there were a magic button you could press, a lot of CEOs would be pressing that button right now.

And realistically, sometimes you've just got to have a strategy of patience. We don't know how this investigation is going to turn out. The FBI has got to do its job. We all know about the horrors of the anthrax investigation. So this is no time to reach conclusions, and frankly, if you're concerned about excessive press coverage, holding a press conference isn't always the best solution to avoiding visibility.

COSTELLO: Well, I think he felt he had to do that, though, because he says that the FBI is sort of tipping off the media. Whenever they searched this guy's house, the media happens to be there with helicopters flying overhead.

COFFEY: If he gets evidence at some point that shows that the FBI was violating in a serious way a lot of its procedures, down the road if is cleared, after he is cleared, he may be able to talk about some sort of claim. But for now, the only thing any of us can do is reach no conclusions, and watch as the FBI does its job.

COSTELLO: Yes, everybody is bringing up Richard Jewel. Remember him? He sued, and he won some big money.

COFFEY: That's right. I mean, sometimes prosecutors and investigators can cross the line, not in the sense that they don't have a right to investigate, but there are rules and limitations on what you're supposed to be telling the press, and when you're supposed to be alerting media to ongoing investigations.

But again, that's down the road. Right now, he is a person of interest, he's not a suspect, and we all just have to wait and see.

COSTELLO: Yes, we do.

Thank you, Kendall Coffey, for filling us in on legal matters this morning. We appreciate it.

COFFEY: Thanks for having me, Carol.

COSTELLO: We'll see you again next week.

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