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CNN Live At Daybreak
9/11 Investigation; Kobe Bryant Case
Aired March 25, 2004 - 06:00 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: Good morning to you.
It is Thursday, March 25th.
From the CNN global headquarters in Atlanta, I'm Carol Costello.
Thank you for waking up with us.
Iraqi insurgents ambush U.S. troops north of Baghdad. One soldier is killed, another wounded. U.S. forces did return fire, killing three attackers.
A sticky situation for the United States at the United Nations. The Security Council is set to vote today on a resolution condemning Israel for assassinating Hamas leader Sheikh Ahmed Yassin.
From Nablus in the West Bank, dramatic video -- a frightened 14- year-old boy stopped by Israelis soldiers wearing a bomb vest. The vest was removed and the boy is being asked if he was coerced.
British Prime Minister Tony Blair officers a hand to Libyan leader Moammar Qaddafi after he renounces terrorism. But some critics wonder if oil is an underlying motive of today's Blair visit.
And there's a third arraignment try today for the Fresno, California man accused of killing nine family members. But Marcus Wesson's attorney problems are still not settled.
We update the top stories every 15 minutes. The next update comes your way at 6:15 Eastern.
It's more than just part of the 9/11 investigation. It may become a campaign issue. The former counter-terrorism chief, criticizing President Bush on his terrorism response, has unleashed a huge counterattack.
CNN's John King is at the White House.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
JOHN KING, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Under oath, asked if President Bush took the al Qaeda threat seriously before the September 11 attacks.
RICHARD CLARKE, FORMER WHITE HOUSE ADVISER: Well, I continued to say it was an urgent problem. I don't think it was ever treated that way. KING: National Security Advisor Condoleezza Rice called Clarke's allegations "scurrilous." Rice told reporters that in July 2001, two months before the attacks, she personally ordered Clarke to put the Federal Aviation Administration and other domestic agencies on alert for a possible attack. And four days after 9/11, Clarke wrote an e- mail to Rice, worrying that when the era of national unity begins to crack, some will start asking questions about whether the White House did enough to put the nation on alert.
Detailing his efforts, Clarke wrote: "The White House did ensure that domestic law enforcement, including FAA, knew that the counter- terrorism study group believed that a major al Qaeda attack was coming and it could be in the United States and did ask that special measures be taken."
Clarke's credibility also came into question during his testimony.
JAMES THOMPSON, 9/11 COMMISSION: We have your book and we have your press briefing of August, 2002.
Which is true?
KING: In the new book, Clarke says Mr. Bush did not take the al Qaeda threat as seriously as President Clinton had.
ANDREW CARD, WHITE HOUSE CHIEF OF STAFF: Dick Clarke is just flat out wrong.
KING: In that August 2002 briefing, Clarke offered a glowing assessment of Mr. Bush. "So the president recognizes very early on that you don't want to roll back al Qaeda over this long period of time, you want to eliminate al Qaeda on a much more accelerated timetable."
In that same August 2002 press briefing, Clarke said Mr. Bush made clear he wanted to "vigorously pursue" covert operations that had the authority to kill Osama bin Laden and was moving to push Pakistan "to break away from the Taliban."
Clarke says there is an easy explanation, that in August 2002 he was on the White House payroll and had to be loyal.
CLARKE: I made the case I was asked to make.
KING: But the White House says Clarke was telling the truth then and is trying to sell a book now.
SCOTT MCCLELLAN, WHITE HOUSE PRESS SECRETARY: This shatters the cornerstone of Mr. Clarke's assertions.
KING: Debunking Clarke is critical for a president whose reelection campaign stresses his leadership in the war on terror.
SEN. EVAN BAYH (D-IA), ARMED SERVICES COMMITTEE: And anything that undercuts that obviously will have some ramifications in November.
KING (on camera): National security adviser Rice said the record will prove false Clarke's "scurrilous" allegations that the president was somehow inattentive to the terror threat. And she said there was a 180 degree difference between Clarke's statements while in the government and in his testimony and book now and said bluntly, "You just can't have it both ways."
John King, CNN, the White House.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
COSTELLO: And there were more harsh words from the former terror chief, Richard Clarke. Did you hear them on "Larry King Live?" If you didn't, he answers the administration's charges of why he's telling a different story now.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP FROM CNN'S "LARRY KING LIVE")
RICHARD CLARKE, FORMER COUNTER-TERRORISM ADVISER: It seems very ironic to me that what the White House is sort of saying is they don't understand why I, as assistant -- as a special assistant to the president of the United States, didn't criticize the president to the press. If I had criticized the president to the press as a special assistant, I would have been fired within an hour. They know that. This is part of their whole attempt to get Larry King to ask Dick Clarke this kind of question so that we're not talking about the major issue.
LARRY KING, HOST: We're going to get to that in a minute. But who told you to do that briefing?
CLARKE: The national security adviser, the press secretary, the communication's director. They all talked to me, asked me to do the briefing and were telling me to spin it in a very positive way.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
COSTELLO: Of course, before that appearance, Richard Clarke was testifying before the 9/11 Commission. And before he began his testimony, he apologized to the loved ones of those killed on 9/11. Before leaving the Senate hearing room, Clarke also hugged some of the victims' family members. One woman whose husband was killed on September 11 complained that partisanship plays too great a role in keeping Americans safe.
KRISTEN BREITWEISER, 9/11 WIDOW: Today, the public learned that politics is disgusting.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: And politics trumps the safety of the country.
BREITWEISER: Right. And that national security is undoubtedly trumped by politics.
(END VIDEO CLIP) COSTELLO: The 9/11 Commission holds three more public hearings in April, May and June before the release of its final report. The hearings will include testimony on law enforcement and the intelligence community. Also on the agenda, the emergency response in New York and national crisis management in Washington.
Now to an issue not of national security, but of national interest, the Kobe Bryant case. He will meet his accuser face to face in court for a second day today. Her sexual past is at issue.
We got live now to Eagle, Colorado and Adrian Baschuk -- Adrian, brings us up to date about what happened in court yesterday.
ADRIAN BASCHUK, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Sure.
Kobe Bryant's accuser arrived in court in a business suit, testified on the stand for three and a half hours and then was actually promptly excused by the judge. And the burning question we all have this morning is what did she say on the stand?
Well, in accordance with Colorado's rape shield law, the judge closed the doors of the hearing to protect her privacy. We will not learn of any of the details unless he submits part of her testimony into trial evidence.
The defense Wall Street keying in on her sexual past, specifically their claims that she had sex with multiple partners in the days before and one day after the alleged rape by Kobe Bryant.
Now, the Lakers number eight star promptly left the Eagle, Colorado courthouse, jumped on a private jet just 10 miles away and returned to L.A., joining his teammates to play the Sacramento Kings. His Lakers won. He scored 36 points. And he is due back in court at 8:00 a.m. sharp today -- Carol.
COSTELLO: So he's back on a plane flying back to Colorado this morning.
Do we know specifically what questions were asked of this alleged victim?
BASCHUK: Well, again, all we can do is speculate, because the doors of the hearings were closed. Legal experts say the questioning would have run very factually based on scientific evidence that the defense claims that they had about the accuser regarding who was she with in the days before and after Kobe Bryant. They got into sexual relations, what positions were used and exactly what sort of relationships that she had with these people. It didn't really key in on her sexual past dating years back. It was just in that specific time period that they're trying to key in on -- Carol.
COSTELLO: So what was the mood like outside of the courtroom, inside of the courtroom when Kobe Bryant faced his accuser for the first time since the alleged incident took place?
BASCHUK: Well, we did see the two make eye contact at least one time while she was on the stand, as the door kept opening and closing. She cracked a smile a couple of times while talking to her lawyers. Her parents were there throughout the entire day, but they are witnesses themselves, so they could not be in the courthouse. Afterwards, they did embrace and they walked out together.
When they walked in, they weren't allowed to walk in at the same time. She was escorted in by security guards because of security concerns, because death threats have been made against her life since the inception of this case.
COSTELLO: Adrian Baschuk reporting live from Eagle, Colorado this morning.
It is back to campaigning today for Democratic presidential hopeful John Kerry. Vacation is over for the senator. Part of his vacation reading included the book you see in his hand there. Can you see it? The one written by former terrorism adviser Richard Clarke. I wonder why he's reading that?
Kerry has a full day ahead, beginning and ending with the Democratic National Committee. In between, he's got a speech to the National Newspaper Association and a rally with Howard Dean.
President Bush donned his best tuxedo to hobnob with the news media, arguably not his favorite folks. Mr. Bush did poke some fun at himself and his staffers. In a slide show, he called "The White House Election Year Album."
And, actually, he was pretty funny. I saw some of the pictures.
CHAD MYERS, CNN CORRESPONDENT: He looks good in a tux.
COSTELLO: He does, indeed.
MYERS: Yes, everybody has to clean up once in a while. I even look good in a tux sometimes. At least I did at my wedding.
COSTELLO: And that was the last time you wore a tux.
MYERS: Hey, good morning, Carol.
(WEATHER REPORT)
COSTELLO: Let's talk about winners, shall we?
MYERS: Should we talk about the mug winner from yesterday?
COSTELLO: Yes, we should.
MYERS: Is that the mug?
COSTELLO: Well, yes.
MYERS: That's your mug?
COSTELLO: This is my mug. But we have other mugs like it to send out to our viewers who participate.
MYERS: Outstanding.
Well, let's take a look at the questions, will you?
COSTELLO: OK.
MYERS: All right, here we go. Long, long questions, but pretty quick answers here.
A British balloonist says he went 42,000 feet up over Denver on Tuesday, breaking the world record for how high you can actually go in a hot air balloon, not one of those Mylar things. How cold did it get when he was up there? The answer -- 75 degrees below zero Fahrenheit.
And the Colorado lodge that Kobe Bryant stayed in, the Cordillera, is selling the furniture that was in his room. Some of the pieces have labels on them. What does that label say? Number 35, for Room Number 35.
COSTELLO: I thought these were really tough questions.
MYERS: They were. They were...
COSTELLO: But the winner is -- go ahead, Chad.
MYERS: The winner is from Virginia, from Danville, Caroline Maynard.
COSTELLO: Caroline Maynard.
MYERS: Good morning, Danville, Virginia and Caroline Maynard.
COSTELLO: Congratulations, Caroline.
We'll send out this fine mug as soon as possible, ASAP, as they say.
MYERS: Another chance coming up. Another chance coming up at 6:50 today.
COSTELLO: Will do. We can't wait.
Thank you, Chad.
MYERS: You're welcome.
COSTELLO: Coming up, too, on DAYBREAK, you shop for food, you shop for clothes, but a new tool could make it easier for you to shop around and find a doctor who's best for you and your family.
You've seen rowdiness in Taiwan's parliament before, but the United States has a big interest in the election issues these law makers are all fired up about.
And a new symbol planned for the land of Lincoln. And if you could get anywhere close, you probably would not miss it.
This is DAYBREAK for March 25th.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
COSTELLO: It is 6:16 Eastern time.
Time to take a quick look at the top stories now.
National Security Advisor Condoleezza Rice calls former anti- terrorism chief Richard Clarke's allegations "scurrilous." Clarke says if Rice had done her job, there might not have been a 9/11.
British Prime Minister Tony Blair is in Libya this morning for talks with Libyan leader Moammar Qaddafi.
And singer Aretha Franklin is home from the hospital this morning and she is celebrating her 62nd birthday. She'd been hospitalized for a blood disorder.
We update the top stories every 15 minutes. The next update comes your way at 6:30 Eastern.
Can Moammar Qaddafi really be rehabilitated? Britain's prime minister flew to Tripoli today to offer a hand in partnership to the Libyan leader, once considered a pariah in the West. Tony Blair's mission is history and controversial.
Details from London and our senior international correspondent Sheila MacVicar -- good morning, Sheila.
SHEILA MACVICAR, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Good morning, Carol.
Well, quite an extraordinary meeting taking place in that ceremonial tent on the outskirts of the Libyan campaign. Britain's prime minister, Tony Blair, extending his hand, as he said yesterday he would, in friendship to Libyan leader Colonel Moammar Qaddafi, a leader who has long been considered an international pariah and one who it seems now stands on the brink of international respectability.
It's been a long journey for the Libyan leader, from the days in 19 -- in the 1980s, where President Ronald Reagan referred to him as the "mad dog of the Middle East;" held responsible for the bombing of PanAm 103 over Lockerbie, Scotland, which killed 270 people; supported other terror groups throughout Europe. U.S. administration officials now saying that for 15 years there has been no evidence that Colonel Qaddafi or his Libyan government have been involved in any acts of terror and more than that, since the late 1990s, Colonel Qaddafi has been looking for a way back, an opening back to the international community. And, most startling of all, he has given up his weapons of mass destruction, handing over to the U.S. all the equipment Libya had illicitly acquired in an attempt to build a nuclear weapon.
Colonel Qaddafi is saying he wants back into the international community and his foreign minister saying today that Libya would -- was very much with the West in its fight against al Qaeda -- Carol. COSTELLO: Sheila MacVicar live from London this morning.
Time now for a little business buzz. Are you looking for a good doctor? Well, soon your employer could help. Hmmm, it sounds a little scary to me -- Sasha Salama.
SASHA SALAMA, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Carol, you know, it is a -- you could think it's a little bit like Big Brother. But what it's really like is you know when you're looking for a good restaurant and you look in your Zagat's guide or Zagat's guide? Well, a bunch of companies are trying to come up with a Zagat's guide for choosing a doctor.
According to the "Wall Street Journal," 28 big employers in the U.S., including BellSouth, J.C. Penney, Sprint, they're all teaming up to develop score cards to help workers choose doctors based on how well the doctors care for their patients and how cost efficient the doctors are.
Now, two million American employees and their dependents could be benefiting from these score cards.
What's in it for the companies? Well, companies are picking up part of our health care tab and health care has been rising so much they want to make sure that workers are getting the lowest cost care and the best quality doctors, to keep those employees in good health.
The score card format is still being developed. But they're looking within a year or so to come out with something like a "Consumer Reports" guide or a Zagat's guide.
So we'll see. Maybe it'll be easier to choose doctors -- Carol.
COSTELLO: Maybe so.
Sasha Salama reporting live from the NASDAQ market site this morning.
Still to come on DAYBREAK, more on the searing testimony from a former terrorism adviser. How is the White House reacting to his accusations?
And saving your kids from their allergies -- we'll get the doctor's orders this morning.
And our DAYBREAK Photo of the Day. What is it? We'll tell you after a break.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
MYERS: Ah, the Photo of the Day.
What is it?
COSTELLO: I think I know what it is.
MYERS: It is not a costume malfunction.
COSTELLO: It's a Janet Jackson wardrobe malfunction.
MYERS: No, but it's not.
COSTELLO: It is, Chad. It's the aftermath, the real aftermath. We're showing it to you for the first time on DAYBREAK.
MYERS: Well, we should have pixilated it, then.
No, no, it is from London, actually. Gareth Hughes, a costume designer there. It's Alternative Fashion Week in London. And I'm not sure where you're supposed to wear that but...
COSTELLO: Is that covering the person's head, too?
MYERS: Well, I think he can see out the other side, I hope. But that is -- that will be available at your local Target nearest you. I don't think they have Gareth Hughes at Target, though.
Hey, good morning, Carol.
COSTELLO: Good morning, Chad.
(WEATHER REPORT)
COSTELLO: All right, thank you, Chad.
MYERS: You're welcome.
COSTELLO: Still to come on DAYBREAK, you think the Florida vote recount was controversial? Well, you should see Taiwan's election fallout. Will the United States get involved?
A walkout when this man testified before the 9/11 Commission instead of someone else. Why did victims' relatives leave in protest? More on the political war of words, coming up.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
COSTELLO: Good morning to you.
Welcome back to DAYBREAK.
I'm Carol Costello.
It is Thursday, March 25th.
Thank you for joining us this morning.
In the spotlight, Richard Clarke, former counter-terrorism chief at the White House. He tells CNN's Larry King if National Security Advisor Condoleezza Rice had done her job, 9/11 might have been stopped.
The woman who says Kobe Bryant raped her returns to a closed Colorado courtroom today to answer questions about her sexual past. The judge will decide if her testimony is relevant for trial.
Potential grand jurors who may hear charges against pop star Michael Jackson begin reporting to court in Santa Barbara County today.
And as Athens, Greece gets ready for the Olympics, a milestone -- the Olympic torch has been lit. It happened earlier this morning. It will be carried across five continents before returning to the Olympic Stadium in Athens. The torch will be in the United States from June 16th through the 19th, stopping in Los Angeles, St. Louis, Atlanta and New York.
We update our top stories every 15 minutes. The next update comes your way at 6:45 Eastern.
The latest 9/11 hearings are over, oh, but not the controversy surrounding the Bush response to terrorism. The bipartisan 9/11 Commission heard two days of testimony from Bush and Clinton administration officials. Many said there was not enough solid information to prevent the attacks. But, former counter-terrorism chief Richard Clarke blamed President Bush for not treating al Qaeda as a major threat. And later, on CNN's "Larry King Live," Clarke also laid blame on National Security Advisor Condoleezza Rice.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP FROM CNN'S "LARRY KING LIVE")
RICHARD CLARKE, FORMER COUNTER-TERRORISM ADVISER: If Condi Rice had been doing her job and holding those daily meetings, the way Sandy Berger did, if she had a hands-on attitude to being national security adviser when she had information that there was a threat against the United States, that kind of information was shaken out in December 1999. It would have been shaken out in the summer of 2001, if she had been doing her job.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
COSTELLO: So, Clarke's attacks on the president's national security adviser continue and the administration continues to fight back vigorously.
Live on the phone from Washington, our White House correspondent Dana Bash.
This is getting really nasty -- Dana.
DANA BASH, CNN CORRESPONDENT: You know, it's getting nasty and personal. But what the White House is trying to do is fight back on the substance.
And over the past 24 hours, Carol, what you've seen is them try to use -- release some of Richard Clarke's own words while he was here at the White House working for President Bush in and around that time, use those against him.
Condoleezza Rice had a meeting with reporters, where she was really red hot. She was absolutely on fire with anger, and she said that she called Richard Clarke's allegations scurrilous, and said that it's really ridiculous that the president wasn't attentive. And she actually released some e-mails that Richard Clarke wrote in and around September 11, essentially backing up the White House claim that they did do some things in and around 9/11 and before 9/11 to try to fight al Qaeda.
So, they're really trying to use his words against him.
COSTELLO: And, Dana, speaking more about Condoleezza Rice, she's taking a lot of heat for refusing to publicly testify before this commission. In fact, some of the 9/11 families walked out in protest when Rice's assistant -- when the assistant secretary of state, Richard Armitage, showed up instead. Might she change her mind?
BASH: You know, at this point, it's unlikely. That was sort of her slot with -- the slot that Richard Armitage, what you just talked about. You know, they are saying here still at the White House that it's not appropriate for essentially an aide to the president -- and that is what Condoleezza Rice is. She is not Senate-confirmed. It's not appropriate for her to go before Congress. They say they don't want to set a precedent for this administration or any other in the future.
So, they are saying that, you know, it's fine for people who have been confirmed by the Senate to go and testify before any kind of commission that was put together by the Congress, but not for Condoleezza Rice. But they do say that she's going to have some more conversations with the commissioners in private.
COSTELLO: Well, yes, but many people wonder -- she's all over the airways. She's everywhere. So, why doesn't she just go ahead and testify before the Senate? But essentially answered that question.
Now, I want to get back to Richard Clarke appearing on "LARRY KING LIVE," because he was -- it was a very interesting show last night, to say the least. He again stood up for himself by attacking the administration. Let's listen to this.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
RICHARD CLARKE, FMR. COUNTERTERRORISM ADVISOR: They're scrambling very hard at the White House. They've got a lot of people -- the vice president, the chief of staff, the national security director, the press secretary, the communications director. They've got five or six people running around doing talk shows and trying to refute me, trying to besmirch me.
Look, Larry, I said in the preface to this book, I knew before I wrote this book that the White House would let loose the dogs to attack me.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
COSTELLO: So, in Washington, Dana, who is winning the war of words? BASH: Well, I think that's a good question, and that's probably going to be a question for the people who are watching to decide. But certainly, I mean, what you have seen from this White House has been pretty remarkable, extraordinary, in the way they have tried to fight back against Richard Clarke. Every day it is sort of, you know, a new line and a new bit of information that they put out with the hopes of combating not only what he says, but also combating his credibility.
And they're making no bones about that. You know, releasing not only some of these e-mails, not only doing these briefings and interviews, but also releasing yesterday a briefing that he did with reporters in August, 2002, on background; meaning, as a senior administration official, they told reporters about it and also said go ahead and use his name, which is something that the White House does not do very often.
COSTELLO: Well, I'm sure the war of words will continue in the days to come. Dana Bash live on the phone for us from Washington, thank you.
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 March 25, 2004 - 06:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
CAROL COSTELLO, CNN ANCHOR: Good morning to you.
It is Thursday, March 25th.
From the CNN global headquarters in Atlanta, I'm Carol Costello.
Thank you for waking up with us.
Iraqi insurgents ambush U.S. troops north of Baghdad. One soldier is killed, another wounded. U.S. forces did return fire, killing three attackers.
A sticky situation for the United States at the United Nations. The Security Council is set to vote today on a resolution condemning Israel for assassinating Hamas leader Sheikh Ahmed Yassin.
From Nablus in the West Bank, dramatic video -- a frightened 14- year-old boy stopped by Israelis soldiers wearing a bomb vest. The vest was removed and the boy is being asked if he was coerced.
British Prime Minister Tony Blair officers a hand to Libyan leader Moammar Qaddafi after he renounces terrorism. But some critics wonder if oil is an underlying motive of today's Blair visit.
And there's a third arraignment try today for the Fresno, California man accused of killing nine family members. But Marcus Wesson's attorney problems are still not settled.
We update the top stories every 15 minutes. The next update comes your way at 6:15 Eastern.
It's more than just part of the 9/11 investigation. It may become a campaign issue. The former counter-terrorism chief, criticizing President Bush on his terrorism response, has unleashed a huge counterattack.
CNN's John King is at the White House.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
JOHN KING, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Under oath, asked if President Bush took the al Qaeda threat seriously before the September 11 attacks.
RICHARD CLARKE, FORMER WHITE HOUSE ADVISER: Well, I continued to say it was an urgent problem. I don't think it was ever treated that way. KING: National Security Advisor Condoleezza Rice called Clarke's allegations "scurrilous." Rice told reporters that in July 2001, two months before the attacks, she personally ordered Clarke to put the Federal Aviation Administration and other domestic agencies on alert for a possible attack. And four days after 9/11, Clarke wrote an e- mail to Rice, worrying that when the era of national unity begins to crack, some will start asking questions about whether the White House did enough to put the nation on alert.
Detailing his efforts, Clarke wrote: "The White House did ensure that domestic law enforcement, including FAA, knew that the counter- terrorism study group believed that a major al Qaeda attack was coming and it could be in the United States and did ask that special measures be taken."
Clarke's credibility also came into question during his testimony.
JAMES THOMPSON, 9/11 COMMISSION: We have your book and we have your press briefing of August, 2002.
Which is true?
KING: In the new book, Clarke says Mr. Bush did not take the al Qaeda threat as seriously as President Clinton had.
ANDREW CARD, WHITE HOUSE CHIEF OF STAFF: Dick Clarke is just flat out wrong.
KING: In that August 2002 briefing, Clarke offered a glowing assessment of Mr. Bush. "So the president recognizes very early on that you don't want to roll back al Qaeda over this long period of time, you want to eliminate al Qaeda on a much more accelerated timetable."
In that same August 2002 press briefing, Clarke said Mr. Bush made clear he wanted to "vigorously pursue" covert operations that had the authority to kill Osama bin Laden and was moving to push Pakistan "to break away from the Taliban."
Clarke says there is an easy explanation, that in August 2002 he was on the White House payroll and had to be loyal.
CLARKE: I made the case I was asked to make.
KING: But the White House says Clarke was telling the truth then and is trying to sell a book now.
SCOTT MCCLELLAN, WHITE HOUSE PRESS SECRETARY: This shatters the cornerstone of Mr. Clarke's assertions.
KING: Debunking Clarke is critical for a president whose reelection campaign stresses his leadership in the war on terror.
SEN. EVAN BAYH (D-IA), ARMED SERVICES COMMITTEE: And anything that undercuts that obviously will have some ramifications in November.
KING (on camera): National security adviser Rice said the record will prove false Clarke's "scurrilous" allegations that the president was somehow inattentive to the terror threat. And she said there was a 180 degree difference between Clarke's statements while in the government and in his testimony and book now and said bluntly, "You just can't have it both ways."
John King, CNN, the White House.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
COSTELLO: And there were more harsh words from the former terror chief, Richard Clarke. Did you hear them on "Larry King Live?" If you didn't, he answers the administration's charges of why he's telling a different story now.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP FROM CNN'S "LARRY KING LIVE")
RICHARD CLARKE, FORMER COUNTER-TERRORISM ADVISER: It seems very ironic to me that what the White House is sort of saying is they don't understand why I, as assistant -- as a special assistant to the president of the United States, didn't criticize the president to the press. If I had criticized the president to the press as a special assistant, I would have been fired within an hour. They know that. This is part of their whole attempt to get Larry King to ask Dick Clarke this kind of question so that we're not talking about the major issue.
LARRY KING, HOST: We're going to get to that in a minute. But who told you to do that briefing?
CLARKE: The national security adviser, the press secretary, the communication's director. They all talked to me, asked me to do the briefing and were telling me to spin it in a very positive way.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
COSTELLO: Of course, before that appearance, Richard Clarke was testifying before the 9/11 Commission. And before he began his testimony, he apologized to the loved ones of those killed on 9/11. Before leaving the Senate hearing room, Clarke also hugged some of the victims' family members. One woman whose husband was killed on September 11 complained that partisanship plays too great a role in keeping Americans safe.
KRISTEN BREITWEISER, 9/11 WIDOW: Today, the public learned that politics is disgusting.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: And politics trumps the safety of the country.
BREITWEISER: Right. And that national security is undoubtedly trumped by politics.
(END VIDEO CLIP) COSTELLO: The 9/11 Commission holds three more public hearings in April, May and June before the release of its final report. The hearings will include testimony on law enforcement and the intelligence community. Also on the agenda, the emergency response in New York and national crisis management in Washington.
Now to an issue not of national security, but of national interest, the Kobe Bryant case. He will meet his accuser face to face in court for a second day today. Her sexual past is at issue.
We got live now to Eagle, Colorado and Adrian Baschuk -- Adrian, brings us up to date about what happened in court yesterday.
ADRIAN BASCHUK, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Sure.
Kobe Bryant's accuser arrived in court in a business suit, testified on the stand for three and a half hours and then was actually promptly excused by the judge. And the burning question we all have this morning is what did she say on the stand?
Well, in accordance with Colorado's rape shield law, the judge closed the doors of the hearing to protect her privacy. We will not learn of any of the details unless he submits part of her testimony into trial evidence.
The defense Wall Street keying in on her sexual past, specifically their claims that she had sex with multiple partners in the days before and one day after the alleged rape by Kobe Bryant.
Now, the Lakers number eight star promptly left the Eagle, Colorado courthouse, jumped on a private jet just 10 miles away and returned to L.A., joining his teammates to play the Sacramento Kings. His Lakers won. He scored 36 points. And he is due back in court at 8:00 a.m. sharp today -- Carol.
COSTELLO: So he's back on a plane flying back to Colorado this morning.
Do we know specifically what questions were asked of this alleged victim?
BASCHUK: Well, again, all we can do is speculate, because the doors of the hearings were closed. Legal experts say the questioning would have run very factually based on scientific evidence that the defense claims that they had about the accuser regarding who was she with in the days before and after Kobe Bryant. They got into sexual relations, what positions were used and exactly what sort of relationships that she had with these people. It didn't really key in on her sexual past dating years back. It was just in that specific time period that they're trying to key in on -- Carol.
COSTELLO: So what was the mood like outside of the courtroom, inside of the courtroom when Kobe Bryant faced his accuser for the first time since the alleged incident took place?
BASCHUK: Well, we did see the two make eye contact at least one time while she was on the stand, as the door kept opening and closing. She cracked a smile a couple of times while talking to her lawyers. Her parents were there throughout the entire day, but they are witnesses themselves, so they could not be in the courthouse. Afterwards, they did embrace and they walked out together.
When they walked in, they weren't allowed to walk in at the same time. She was escorted in by security guards because of security concerns, because death threats have been made against her life since the inception of this case.
COSTELLO: Adrian Baschuk reporting live from Eagle, Colorado this morning.
It is back to campaigning today for Democratic presidential hopeful John Kerry. Vacation is over for the senator. Part of his vacation reading included the book you see in his hand there. Can you see it? The one written by former terrorism adviser Richard Clarke. I wonder why he's reading that?
Kerry has a full day ahead, beginning and ending with the Democratic National Committee. In between, he's got a speech to the National Newspaper Association and a rally with Howard Dean.
President Bush donned his best tuxedo to hobnob with the news media, arguably not his favorite folks. Mr. Bush did poke some fun at himself and his staffers. In a slide show, he called "The White House Election Year Album."
And, actually, he was pretty funny. I saw some of the pictures.
CHAD MYERS, CNN CORRESPONDENT: He looks good in a tux.
COSTELLO: He does, indeed.
MYERS: Yes, everybody has to clean up once in a while. I even look good in a tux sometimes. At least I did at my wedding.
COSTELLO: And that was the last time you wore a tux.
MYERS: Hey, good morning, Carol.
(WEATHER REPORT)
COSTELLO: Let's talk about winners, shall we?
MYERS: Should we talk about the mug winner from yesterday?
COSTELLO: Yes, we should.
MYERS: Is that the mug?
COSTELLO: Well, yes.
MYERS: That's your mug?
COSTELLO: This is my mug. But we have other mugs like it to send out to our viewers who participate.
MYERS: Outstanding.
Well, let's take a look at the questions, will you?
COSTELLO: OK.
MYERS: All right, here we go. Long, long questions, but pretty quick answers here.
A British balloonist says he went 42,000 feet up over Denver on Tuesday, breaking the world record for how high you can actually go in a hot air balloon, not one of those Mylar things. How cold did it get when he was up there? The answer -- 75 degrees below zero Fahrenheit.
And the Colorado lodge that Kobe Bryant stayed in, the Cordillera, is selling the furniture that was in his room. Some of the pieces have labels on them. What does that label say? Number 35, for Room Number 35.
COSTELLO: I thought these were really tough questions.
MYERS: They were. They were...
COSTELLO: But the winner is -- go ahead, Chad.
MYERS: The winner is from Virginia, from Danville, Caroline Maynard.
COSTELLO: Caroline Maynard.
MYERS: Good morning, Danville, Virginia and Caroline Maynard.
COSTELLO: Congratulations, Caroline.
We'll send out this fine mug as soon as possible, ASAP, as they say.
MYERS: Another chance coming up. Another chance coming up at 6:50 today.
COSTELLO: Will do. We can't wait.
Thank you, Chad.
MYERS: You're welcome.
COSTELLO: Coming up, too, on DAYBREAK, you shop for food, you shop for clothes, but a new tool could make it easier for you to shop around and find a doctor who's best for you and your family.
You've seen rowdiness in Taiwan's parliament before, but the United States has a big interest in the election issues these law makers are all fired up about.
And a new symbol planned for the land of Lincoln. And if you could get anywhere close, you probably would not miss it.
This is DAYBREAK for March 25th.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
COSTELLO: It is 6:16 Eastern time.
Time to take a quick look at the top stories now.
National Security Advisor Condoleezza Rice calls former anti- terrorism chief Richard Clarke's allegations "scurrilous." Clarke says if Rice had done her job, there might not have been a 9/11.
British Prime Minister Tony Blair is in Libya this morning for talks with Libyan leader Moammar Qaddafi.
And singer Aretha Franklin is home from the hospital this morning and she is celebrating her 62nd birthday. She'd been hospitalized for a blood disorder.
We update the top stories every 15 minutes. The next update comes your way at 6:30 Eastern.
Can Moammar Qaddafi really be rehabilitated? Britain's prime minister flew to Tripoli today to offer a hand in partnership to the Libyan leader, once considered a pariah in the West. Tony Blair's mission is history and controversial.
Details from London and our senior international correspondent Sheila MacVicar -- good morning, Sheila.
SHEILA MACVICAR, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Good morning, Carol.
Well, quite an extraordinary meeting taking place in that ceremonial tent on the outskirts of the Libyan campaign. Britain's prime minister, Tony Blair, extending his hand, as he said yesterday he would, in friendship to Libyan leader Colonel Moammar Qaddafi, a leader who has long been considered an international pariah and one who it seems now stands on the brink of international respectability.
It's been a long journey for the Libyan leader, from the days in 19 -- in the 1980s, where President Ronald Reagan referred to him as the "mad dog of the Middle East;" held responsible for the bombing of PanAm 103 over Lockerbie, Scotland, which killed 270 people; supported other terror groups throughout Europe. U.S. administration officials now saying that for 15 years there has been no evidence that Colonel Qaddafi or his Libyan government have been involved in any acts of terror and more than that, since the late 1990s, Colonel Qaddafi has been looking for a way back, an opening back to the international community. And, most startling of all, he has given up his weapons of mass destruction, handing over to the U.S. all the equipment Libya had illicitly acquired in an attempt to build a nuclear weapon.
Colonel Qaddafi is saying he wants back into the international community and his foreign minister saying today that Libya would -- was very much with the West in its fight against al Qaeda -- Carol. COSTELLO: Sheila MacVicar live from London this morning.
Time now for a little business buzz. Are you looking for a good doctor? Well, soon your employer could help. Hmmm, it sounds a little scary to me -- Sasha Salama.
SASHA SALAMA, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Carol, you know, it is a -- you could think it's a little bit like Big Brother. But what it's really like is you know when you're looking for a good restaurant and you look in your Zagat's guide or Zagat's guide? Well, a bunch of companies are trying to come up with a Zagat's guide for choosing a doctor.
According to the "Wall Street Journal," 28 big employers in the U.S., including BellSouth, J.C. Penney, Sprint, they're all teaming up to develop score cards to help workers choose doctors based on how well the doctors care for their patients and how cost efficient the doctors are.
Now, two million American employees and their dependents could be benefiting from these score cards.
What's in it for the companies? Well, companies are picking up part of our health care tab and health care has been rising so much they want to make sure that workers are getting the lowest cost care and the best quality doctors, to keep those employees in good health.
The score card format is still being developed. But they're looking within a year or so to come out with something like a "Consumer Reports" guide or a Zagat's guide.
So we'll see. Maybe it'll be easier to choose doctors -- Carol.
COSTELLO: Maybe so.
Sasha Salama reporting live from the NASDAQ market site this morning.
Still to come on DAYBREAK, more on the searing testimony from a former terrorism adviser. How is the White House reacting to his accusations?
And saving your kids from their allergies -- we'll get the doctor's orders this morning.
And our DAYBREAK Photo of the Day. What is it? We'll tell you after a break.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
MYERS: Ah, the Photo of the Day.
What is it?
COSTELLO: I think I know what it is.
MYERS: It is not a costume malfunction.
COSTELLO: It's a Janet Jackson wardrobe malfunction.
MYERS: No, but it's not.
COSTELLO: It is, Chad. It's the aftermath, the real aftermath. We're showing it to you for the first time on DAYBREAK.
MYERS: Well, we should have pixilated it, then.
No, no, it is from London, actually. Gareth Hughes, a costume designer there. It's Alternative Fashion Week in London. And I'm not sure where you're supposed to wear that but...
COSTELLO: Is that covering the person's head, too?
MYERS: Well, I think he can see out the other side, I hope. But that is -- that will be available at your local Target nearest you. I don't think they have Gareth Hughes at Target, though.
Hey, good morning, Carol.
COSTELLO: Good morning, Chad.
(WEATHER REPORT)
COSTELLO: All right, thank you, Chad.
MYERS: You're welcome.
COSTELLO: Still to come on DAYBREAK, you think the Florida vote recount was controversial? Well, you should see Taiwan's election fallout. Will the United States get involved?
A walkout when this man testified before the 9/11 Commission instead of someone else. Why did victims' relatives leave in protest? More on the political war of words, coming up.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
COSTELLO: Good morning to you.
Welcome back to DAYBREAK.
I'm Carol Costello.
It is Thursday, March 25th.
Thank you for joining us this morning.
In the spotlight, Richard Clarke, former counter-terrorism chief at the White House. He tells CNN's Larry King if National Security Advisor Condoleezza Rice had done her job, 9/11 might have been stopped.
The woman who says Kobe Bryant raped her returns to a closed Colorado courtroom today to answer questions about her sexual past. The judge will decide if her testimony is relevant for trial.
Potential grand jurors who may hear charges against pop star Michael Jackson begin reporting to court in Santa Barbara County today.
And as Athens, Greece gets ready for the Olympics, a milestone -- the Olympic torch has been lit. It happened earlier this morning. It will be carried across five continents before returning to the Olympic Stadium in Athens. The torch will be in the United States from June 16th through the 19th, stopping in Los Angeles, St. Louis, Atlanta and New York.
We update our top stories every 15 minutes. The next update comes your way at 6:45 Eastern.
The latest 9/11 hearings are over, oh, but not the controversy surrounding the Bush response to terrorism. The bipartisan 9/11 Commission heard two days of testimony from Bush and Clinton administration officials. Many said there was not enough solid information to prevent the attacks. But, former counter-terrorism chief Richard Clarke blamed President Bush for not treating al Qaeda as a major threat. And later, on CNN's "Larry King Live," Clarke also laid blame on National Security Advisor Condoleezza Rice.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP FROM CNN'S "LARRY KING LIVE")
RICHARD CLARKE, FORMER COUNTER-TERRORISM ADVISER: If Condi Rice had been doing her job and holding those daily meetings, the way Sandy Berger did, if she had a hands-on attitude to being national security adviser when she had information that there was a threat against the United States, that kind of information was shaken out in December 1999. It would have been shaken out in the summer of 2001, if she had been doing her job.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
COSTELLO: So, Clarke's attacks on the president's national security adviser continue and the administration continues to fight back vigorously.
Live on the phone from Washington, our White House correspondent Dana Bash.
This is getting really nasty -- Dana.
DANA BASH, CNN CORRESPONDENT: You know, it's getting nasty and personal. But what the White House is trying to do is fight back on the substance.
And over the past 24 hours, Carol, what you've seen is them try to use -- release some of Richard Clarke's own words while he was here at the White House working for President Bush in and around that time, use those against him.
Condoleezza Rice had a meeting with reporters, where she was really red hot. She was absolutely on fire with anger, and she said that she called Richard Clarke's allegations scurrilous, and said that it's really ridiculous that the president wasn't attentive. And she actually released some e-mails that Richard Clarke wrote in and around September 11, essentially backing up the White House claim that they did do some things in and around 9/11 and before 9/11 to try to fight al Qaeda.
So, they're really trying to use his words against him.
COSTELLO: And, Dana, speaking more about Condoleezza Rice, she's taking a lot of heat for refusing to publicly testify before this commission. In fact, some of the 9/11 families walked out in protest when Rice's assistant -- when the assistant secretary of state, Richard Armitage, showed up instead. Might she change her mind?
BASH: You know, at this point, it's unlikely. That was sort of her slot with -- the slot that Richard Armitage, what you just talked about. You know, they are saying here still at the White House that it's not appropriate for essentially an aide to the president -- and that is what Condoleezza Rice is. She is not Senate-confirmed. It's not appropriate for her to go before Congress. They say they don't want to set a precedent for this administration or any other in the future.
So, they are saying that, you know, it's fine for people who have been confirmed by the Senate to go and testify before any kind of commission that was put together by the Congress, but not for Condoleezza Rice. But they do say that she's going to have some more conversations with the commissioners in private.
COSTELLO: Well, yes, but many people wonder -- she's all over the airways. She's everywhere. So, why doesn't she just go ahead and testify before the Senate? But essentially answered that question.
Now, I want to get back to Richard Clarke appearing on "LARRY KING LIVE," because he was -- it was a very interesting show last night, to say the least. He again stood up for himself by attacking the administration. Let's listen to this.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
RICHARD CLARKE, FMR. COUNTERTERRORISM ADVISOR: They're scrambling very hard at the White House. They've got a lot of people -- the vice president, the chief of staff, the national security director, the press secretary, the communications director. They've got five or six people running around doing talk shows and trying to refute me, trying to besmirch me.
Look, Larry, I said in the preface to this book, I knew before I wrote this book that the White House would let loose the dogs to attack me.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
COSTELLO: So, in Washington, Dana, who is winning the war of words? BASH: Well, I think that's a good question, and that's probably going to be a question for the people who are watching to decide. But certainly, I mean, what you have seen from this White House has been pretty remarkable, extraordinary, in the way they have tried to fight back against Richard Clarke. Every day it is sort of, you know, a new line and a new bit of information that they put out with the hopes of combating not only what he says, but also combating his credibility.
And they're making no bones about that. You know, releasing not only some of these e-mails, not only doing these briefings and interviews, but also releasing yesterday a briefing that he did with reporters in August, 2002, on background; meaning, as a senior administration official, they told reporters about it and also said go ahead and use his name, which is something that the White House does not do very often.
COSTELLO: Well, I'm sure the war of words will continue in the days to come. Dana Bash live on the phone for us from Washington, thank you.
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