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CNN Live At Daybreak
Coffey Talk: Eric Rudolph Captured
Aired June 02, 2003 - 06:34 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
CAROL COSTELLO, CNN ANCHOR: Time for some "Coffey Talk" now. Legal analyst Kendall Coffey live on the phone from Miami.
Good morning -- Kendall.
KENDALL COFFEY, CNN LEGAL ANALYST: Good morning, Carol.
COSTELLO: So, where do you think Rudolph will be tried first?
COFFEY: Well, Birmingham is where the first criminal charges were brought after he was identified as the lead suspect in the abortion clinic bombing in 1998. But the center of gravity for Rudolph's terror spree were three other bombings, including international shock waves with the 1996 Olympic bombing, it took place in Atlanta.
So, unless Attorney General Ashcroft concludes that the Birmingham case is much stronger with respect to key witnesses and other available evidence, the percentages favor Atlanta.
COSTELLO: Well, Kendall, I was going to ask you about evidence. It seems like investigators have more evidence out of Birmingham.
COFFEY: Well, I think there is probably a lot more we're going to find out, because these were grand jury investigations that are kept under seal. But they have, for example, evidence that traces the components of the bombs to Atlanta as well as to Birmingham. For example, 50 pounds of gun powder that a Tennessee gun dealer has said were purchased by Eric Rudolph apparently ended up in the Atlanta bombing.
So, it's certainly going to be something that's contested by both U.S. attorneys' offices. They believe that their jurisdictions are the ones where the best cases can be brought, but when you look at the totality of the criminality, unless it's a very, very much stronger case in Birmingham, this one I think is going to go to Atlanta.
COSTELLO: You know, that brings to mind the sniper investigation in D.C. and how prosecutors in Maryland and in Virginia were fighting over where the first trial would take place. Will we see anything like that in this case?
COFFEY: Not in any public sense at all. I think that the telephone lines have been burning from Birmingham and Atlanta to Washington this past weekend, but you're not going to see any sort of public dissension or dispute or debate. The U.S. attorneys will accept Ashcroft's decisions. And one of the things he could do if he brings the case, for example, in Atlanta, is have some of the Birmingham prosecutors assigned to the team.
COSTELLO: Understand. Kendall Coffey, thanks for your insight this morning.
COFFEY: Thank you.
COSTELLO: And thanks for waking up early with DAYBREAK.
TO ORDER A VIDEO OF THIS TRANSCRIPT, PLEASE CALL 800-CNN-NEWS OR USE OUR SECURE ONLINE ORDER FORM LOCATED AT www.fdch.com.
Aired June 2, 2003 - 06:34 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
CAROL COSTELLO, CNN ANCHOR: Time for some "Coffey Talk" now. Legal analyst Kendall Coffey live on the phone from Miami.
Good morning -- Kendall.
KENDALL COFFEY, CNN LEGAL ANALYST: Good morning, Carol.
COSTELLO: So, where do you think Rudolph will be tried first?
COFFEY: Well, Birmingham is where the first criminal charges were brought after he was identified as the lead suspect in the abortion clinic bombing in 1998. But the center of gravity for Rudolph's terror spree were three other bombings, including international shock waves with the 1996 Olympic bombing, it took place in Atlanta.
So, unless Attorney General Ashcroft concludes that the Birmingham case is much stronger with respect to key witnesses and other available evidence, the percentages favor Atlanta.
COSTELLO: Well, Kendall, I was going to ask you about evidence. It seems like investigators have more evidence out of Birmingham.
COFFEY: Well, I think there is probably a lot more we're going to find out, because these were grand jury investigations that are kept under seal. But they have, for example, evidence that traces the components of the bombs to Atlanta as well as to Birmingham. For example, 50 pounds of gun powder that a Tennessee gun dealer has said were purchased by Eric Rudolph apparently ended up in the Atlanta bombing.
So, it's certainly going to be something that's contested by both U.S. attorneys' offices. They believe that their jurisdictions are the ones where the best cases can be brought, but when you look at the totality of the criminality, unless it's a very, very much stronger case in Birmingham, this one I think is going to go to Atlanta.
COSTELLO: You know, that brings to mind the sniper investigation in D.C. and how prosecutors in Maryland and in Virginia were fighting over where the first trial would take place. Will we see anything like that in this case?
COFFEY: Not in any public sense at all. I think that the telephone lines have been burning from Birmingham and Atlanta to Washington this past weekend, but you're not going to see any sort of public dissension or dispute or debate. The U.S. attorneys will accept Ashcroft's decisions. And one of the things he could do if he brings the case, for example, in Atlanta, is have some of the Birmingham prosecutors assigned to the team.
COSTELLO: Understand. Kendall Coffey, thanks for your insight this morning.
COFFEY: Thank you.
COSTELLO: And thanks for waking up early with DAYBREAK.
TO ORDER A VIDEO OF THIS TRANSCRIPT, PLEASE CALL 800-CNN-NEWS OR USE OUR SECURE ONLINE ORDER FORM LOCATED AT www.fdch.com.
