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American Morning

Clarke: Rice Did Not do Her Job to Shake Down 9/11 Terrorists

Aired March 25, 2004 - 08:00   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.


BILL HEMMER, CNN ANCHOR: Good morning.
Could the war of words in Washington get even more pointed? Now Richard Clarke saying Condoleezza Rice did not do her job to shake down 9/11 terrorists.

Three and a half hours of testimony from the woman accusing Kobe Bryant of sexual assault. Will her answers keep her sexual past private?

And a drama at sea -- trying to rescue one of the most endangered animals on Earth with time running out.

This hour on AMERICAN MORNING.

ANNOUNCER: This is AMERICAN MORNING.

Here is Soledad O'Brien in New York and Bill Hemmer in Washington.

HEMMER: And, good morning from our nation's capital -- Soledad, hello to you.

SOLEDAD O'BRIEN, CNN ANCHOR: And good morning to you, Bill, as well, and everybody else out there.

Other stories that we're following today, lawyers for former NBA star Jayson Williams are going after one of his former teammates. We're going to take a look at why it's so critical to the case and also what the larger defense strategy might be in this case.

HEMMER: Also this hour, Soledad, there could soon be a generic alternative to one of the most abused prescription drugs out there, Oxycontin. What will the advantages be? We'll get to that question in our medical news this morning, as well -- Soledad.

O'BRIEN: All right, and Mr. Cafferty is with us this morning -- hello.

Good question today.

JACK CAFFERTY, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Thank you.

Yes.

Coming up in the Cafferty File, Soledad, we're going to share with you the highlights of PETA's list of worst dressed celebrities. I ordinarily don't think much of their stuff, but this is pretty clever. It has to do with celebrities who wear fur.

And a special look at who did the talking about yesterday's 9/11 Commission investigation. See, the idea is to bring these people and listen to what they have to say about September 11. You are not going to believe what one of these Commission members did yesterday. And we have the tape and we put a stopwatch on it and it's just unbelievable.

O'BRIEN: Oh. And I think I know who you're talking about.

CAFFERTY: Oh, yes. Yes, you and I were talking about it yesterday as it was happening.

O'BRIEN: Yes.

CAFFERTY: I said I can't believe this.

O'BRIEN: Some of the longest questions ever, I think, in the history of recorded time.

CAFFERTY: She actually spent more time talking in the 16 minutes that was allowed for her to question this witness than George Tenet, the director of the CIA, was allowed to respond.

O'BRIEN: Yes.

CAFFERTY: And it wasn't even close.

O'BRIEN: Not really shocking there, right?

CAFFERTY: Unbelievable.

O'BRIEN: All right, Jack, looking forward to the actual numbers on that.

Thank you.

Let's turn right to our top stories first, though, this morning.

British Prime Minister Tony Blair says it is time for Libya and Great Britain to "move on." Prime Minister Blair is holding a news conference. He's taking questions now in Tripoli. He arrived there this morning for talks with the Libyan leader, Moammar Qaddafi. Prime Minister Blair had praised Gadhafi for renouncing terrorism and giving up weapons of mass destruction. And he says he should be welcomed back into the international community.

In France, a group that has issued recent threats against the country's rail system has called off its threat for now. That comes according to France's interior ministry. Today's announcement comes a day after authorities found a bomb on a rail line outside of Paris. In the letter, published in "Le Monde," the group, calling itself AZF, claimed it was suspending its activities in order to correct "technical problems."

In U.S. politics, President Bush is talking business with voters in New Hampshire today and then will later attend a reelection reception in Boston.

Meanwhile, Democratic candidate John Kerry is expecting the formal endorsement of a former rival, Howard Dean, in Washington, D.C. CNN is going to bring that to you live when it happens. Expected at 11:15 a.m. Eastern time.

And, singer Bob Brown told reporters earlier this week this is the last time you're going to see me coming out of jail or going in. Well, unhh-nhh (ph). It turns out he was wrong. The R&B singer was sentenced yesterday to 90 days in a Massachusetts jail for failing to pay child support to his ex-girlfriend. Brown is married now to singer/actress Whitney Houston.

(WEATHER REPORT)

HEMMER: Back here in Washington now, the back and forth between the White House and former counter-terrorism czar Richard Clarke turning now into a high stakes battle. Last night on CNN's "Larry King Live," Clarke accused National Security Advisor Condoleezza Rice of not doing her job in the months before the attacks of 9/11. Clarke also said the administration did not do enough to get ready for possible attacks here in the U.S.

Those charges followed the release of documents that Dr. Rice says disprove what she calls Clarke's "scurrilous" allegation that the president was not attentive to terrorism.

All this now coming after two days of the hearings before the 9/11 Commission in Washington.

Kelly Wallace continues our coverage this morning there.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

03240003.v84

(END VIDEOTAPE)

HEMMER: More now on the impact of these hearings, the political impact.

Earlier today I sat down with the president's campaign manager, Ken Mehlman, asking him about whether or not the testimony of the past two days here in Washington can hurt the White House in this election year.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

KEN MEHLMAN, BUSH CAMPAIGN MANAGER: I'm not sure that the hearings calls hurt. I think that what the hearings focus us on is this -- didn't we learn the lessons of 9/11 and what were those lessons?

President Bush believes the most important lesson of 9/11 is the need to go after the terrorists, the need to anticipate risk, the need to make sure that we change our laws at home, like the Patriot Act, to make sure that we're dealing with the challenges at home, to make sure we go after sleeper cells here.

Senator Kerry disagrees with the president on those issues. He has said that he thinks the war on terror is primarily not a war. Recently he said that. He said the risk, he thinks, is exaggerated.

So I think as these hearings conclude and as the Commission makes its findings, we think it's critically important we remember the lessons of 9/11.

HEMMER: There was a memo that was put out. Apparently this was an off camera, background interview that was done with Richard Clarke in 2002 that now is made public. And part of that statement said -- and I'll show it to our viewers so they can see it -- "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."

Why is that now for public dissemination...

MEHLMAN: Well, I think that...

HEMMER: ... when in the beginning it was not?

MEHLMAN: I think that, to quote Admiral Lehman from yesterday's hearing, Richard Clarke has a credibility problem. In 2002 he pointed out that the administration took aggressive action from the very beginning against al Qaeda, that we increased funding for the CIA fivefold to deal with al Qaeda; and that the previous administration hadn't, in fact, given us a plan to deal with it.

And that is -- that was what he was saying when he was giving his honest opinion. Now he's trying to sell books and he says something different.

HEMMER: There is a clear indication that the White House has certain strengths when it comes to security and terrorism. Look at these poll numbers. They are staggering, in some cases. Bush over Kerry 60 to 30 on who can do a better job on terrorism; a better job on Iraq, 54-39; 50-42 on a better job on world affairs, Bush compared to Kerry. This is your strength and it has been said -- and many people have suggested for the past two days, though -- this could be chipped away now based on these hearings.

Is there concern at the White House that these numbers could dip abased on what we've heard from people like Richard Clarke?

MEHLMAN: I think the American people are going to focus on have you learned the lessons of 9/11 and what are your policies going forward? And when they have to choose between a president who says we have to go after the terrorists, we have to be proactive and someone like Senator Kerry, who, if he had his way, Saddam Hussein, he'd still be in power and he'd still be in Kuwait, because he opposed the first Gulf War -- I think that the choice is very clear when it comes to protecting America and protecting our homeland and that Americans are going to say we need a strong Patriot Act, we need to go after the terrorists and this really is a war and a threat, and that the Kerry approaches to weaken our defense and to weaken intelligence are the wrong way to go.

HEMMER: What we are seeing here, almost collectively, the Democrats are running to their corner and the Republicans are running to theirs, based on the hearings from the last two days. Richard Clarke said this yesterday, last night with CNN on "Larry King": "Had Condoleezza Rice done her job, perhaps 9/11 could have been avoided."

What's the reaction from the White House to the suggestion...

MEHLMAN: Well, first of all, I'd like to just disagree with the premise to your question, which is that both sides are running into their corners. Yesterday, Zel Miller announced a group called Democrats for Bush, more than 100 Democrat elected officials around the country supporting President Bush. And the statement about Condi Rice, she does a fabulous job for this country and the most important thing we can do from 9/11 is do everything we can to make sure that it never happens again.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

HEMMER: Ken Mehlman from earlier today.

One more tie between the 9/11 Commission and the presidential election in the next seven and a half months. That final report is due out on the 26th of July. That's the first day of the Democratic National Committee that gets under way in Boston on that very day -- now back to Soledad in New York this morning.

O'BRIEN: All right, Bill, thanks.

In legal news, Kobe Bryant will be back in a Colorado courtroom this morning for a pretrial hearing in his sexual assault case. Lawyers will examine Colorado's rape shield law. The aim of that law is to keep an accuser's sexual past from being used at trial.

Adrian Baschuk joins us now live from Eagle, Colorado with much more on this -- Adrian, good morning.

ADRIAN BASCHUK, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Good morning to you, Soledad.

You know, Kobe Bryant came face to face with his accuser for the first time in almost nine months yesterday. She strode to the stand and, in a much shorter time than expected, the judge actually excused her for the remainder of the hearings.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

BASCHUK (voice-over): Kobe Bryant's accuser testified behind closed doors for three and a half hours Wednesday. Court filings detailed the defense was planning to target her credibility by their claims that she had sex with multiple partners in the days before and one day after allegedly being raped by Kobe Bryant, trying to show that her injuries could have been caused by someone else.

Legal experts say although taking the stand is an intrusive, difficult and emotional experience for an alleged victim to endure for a day, Kobe Bryant faces life in prison and his defense team must exercise his legal rights.

LARRY POZNER, NATIONAL ASSOCIATION CRIMINAL DEFENSE ATTORNEYS: There's a right in America to confront your accuser.

BASCHUK: Victim advocacy groups across Colorado, however, worry this case challenges the spirit of the state's rape shield law and hope it does not lead to a decrease in rape reporting numbers.

KATHIE KRAMER, RAPE ASSISTANCE AWARENESS PROGRAM: If there is evidence, then it certainly needs to be sought out, because Kobe Bryant deserves a fair trial. But we don't want it to turn into this fishing expedition.

BASCHUK: Kobe Bryant briefly escaped his legal mess, flying to Los Alamos, joining his teammates to play the Sacramento Kings Wednesday night.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

BASCHUK: Now, he scored 36 points in his hometown in that game, but is due back in the Colorado courtroom at 8:00 a.m. sharp today. Then, friends, ex-boyfriends and past sexual partners of the accuser will testify on the stand about her past -- Soledad.

O'BRIEN: Another day of that.

All right, Adrian Baschuk for us this morning.

Adrian, thanks -- Bill.

HEMMER: Still to come here, a day after Richard Clarke's testimony, Soledad, how are family members reacting? We'll hear from one woman whose mother was on board one of the four doomed flights on 9/11.

O'BRIEN: Also this morning, just how effective have Jayson Williams' lawyers been as they try to discredit the case against the former NBA star? A former defense attorney for Williams will join us, up next.

Those stories are all ahead on AMERICAN MORNING.

Stay with us.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

O'BRIEN: In New Jersey, Jayson Williams' legal team is now presenting its case in his manslaughter trial. Attorneys for the former NBA star are trying to defuse damaging prosecution testimony with some forensic evidence of their own.

Here's CNN's Deborah Feyerick.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

DEBORAH FEYERICK, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): After six weeks of listening to prosecution witnesses, Jayson Williams got his turn. His lawyers launching their defense by trying to discredit a key eyewitness.

Former teammate Benoit Benjamin told the jury two weeks ago he was close enough to see Williams' finger inside the trigger loop and Williams snapped the gun closed. Williams says the gun accidentally went off and his first witness, forensic pathologist Michael Baden, testified Benjamin could not have been standing as close to Williams as Benjamin said when limo driver Guy Christofi was shot.

DR. MICHAEL BADEN, FORENSIC PATHOLOGIST: The fact that blood spatter got there and there from Mr. Christofi means he couldn't have been in that spot. There was no blood spatter on Mr. Benoit's clothing.

FEYERICK: Williams' lawyer also tried to discount prosecution charges that Williams tried to position the gun in Christofi's hand. Four witnesses had testified Williams moved the gun, initially trying to make it look like the driver had killed himself. But Baden testified bloodstains on Christofi's palm were intact.

BADEN: If a weapon went into the palm of the hand, those blood spatters would have been smudged.

FEYERICK: On cross-examination, the forensic pathologist acknowledged a blood smear on the finger could support the prosecution's tampering theory.

KATHARINE ERRICKSON, ASSISTANT PROSECUTOR: Those smears on Mr. Christofi's hand could have been from the defendant putting the shotgun in his hand, isn't that correct?

BADEN: Smears can occur if somebody is manipulating the hands. That's a possibility.

FEYERICK (on camera): A source close to Williams says his lawyers have still not decided whether to put the former basketball star on the stand.

Deborah Feyerick, CNN, New York.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

O'BRIEN: New Jersey criminal defense attorney Brian Neary has been following the Jayson Williams trial with us.

He represented the former NBA star on a previous gun charge about 10 years ago and he's with us this morning.

Nice to see you again.

BRIAN NEARY, CRIMINAL DEFENSE ATTORNEY: Hi, Soledad.

O'BRIEN: Great to have you back.

As we just saw in Deborah's piece a little while ago, a focus for the defense seems to be to try to discredit the testimony of Benoit Benjamin.

What -- how far did the forensic pathologist's testimony go yesterday in trying to achieve that goal, do you think?

NEARY: Well, of course we've had contradictions from eyewitnesses that give somewhat of a different version. But now we've got, really, the first scientific effort to contradict what Benoit Benjamin had to say in the person of Dr. Michael Baden. Baden said that if Benjamin was standing in the position that he said he would -- which is very important to the prosecutor -- he's close, he can see Williams, he can supposedly hear what Williams has to say -- that Benoit Benjamin would have some blood spatterings on him as a result of the gunshot.

He seems not to have any and Baden specifically said that he examined Benoit Benjamin's clothes and found no evidence of blood.

O'BRIEN: Because they're focusing on Benoit Benjamin, can we take that to mean that at the end of the day this case is going to come down between whether the jury finds Benoit Benjamin credible or they find the folks who are contradicting what Benoit Benjamin has to say more credible?

NEARY: I think as the testimony has developed, that Benjamin's position in it, of importance to the prosecution, has grown, particularly the other day when the judge, in denying the motions to dismiss the charges said listen, if the jury believes the story as told by Benoit Benjamin, then the jury could make a finding of guilty.

So, in fact, I think Benjamin is a very key witness for the prosecution.

O'BRIEN: Much has been made about the distance. The prosecution says that it was between six inches and three feet, Christofi and Jason Williams. The defense says that actually it was a little bit different than that.

What's the difference between those two distances? Why is it relevant at all?

NEARY: Two points. The first point, it becomes important for the defense to show that Christofi was further away from Williams. Therefore, either, one, that he was not within Mr. Williams' sphere at the time that he pulls out the gun and Williams could more likely not be aware that Christofi was there and, in fact, the gun would go off.

O'BRIEN: It was an accident.

NEARY: The flip side is, and that was the cross-examination yesterday, was that the difference between the 18 inches and the 36 inches in the real practical world is not all that much. They're still close to have somebody to have a shotgun.

O'BRIEN: Do you think that they need to put Jayson Williams on the stand? Because now CNN is learning that they may not go ahead and put Jayson Williams on the stand. And I'd be curious to know -- and I know legally you don't have to testify in your own trial. But when you're a celebrity, that could make a big emotional difference to the jury.

NEARY: It's, I think, becoming a more and more difficult decision that has to be made, ultimately by the defendant himself, as to whether or not he testifies. Because when you listened to Dr. Baden's testimony yesterday, a lot of the defense theories, the alternative to what the prosecutor says in terms of the blood spatter, in terms of the distance, even in terms of the smearing of the blood on the hand -- there was some pristine blood -- it could be to the point that the defense could very well argue that the state hasn't proven beyond a reasonable doubt.

But it gets back to the very practical question -- in this kind of a case with this kind of a person, do these 12 people really want to hear what Jayson Williams said that night, what happened that night?

O'BRIEN: And your answer to that would be you think they do or you think they don't?

NEARY: I think if it were my choice, I think I would put him on. But, but, it's Jayson Williams' choice himself.

O'BRIEN: Lawyers always have the but, the but.

All right, Brian Neary, as always, thanks so much.

We appreciate your insight on this case.

NEARY: You're welcome, Soledad.

O'BRIEN: Bill?

HEMMER: Soledad, back here in Washington, in a moment, President Bush doing some standup comedy last night for the Washington press corps. The search for WMD, in the president's words, in a moment on AMERICAN MORNING.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

GEORGE W. BUSH, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: A team leader with a prayer...

(END VIDEO CLIP)

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

O'BRIEN: And here's Jack with The Question of the Day -- hello.

CAFFERTY: Thank you, Soledad.

New York City's health commissioner said yesterday he's encouraging restaurants to include nutritional information on menus, like food manufacturers do. Thomas Frieden said the guidelines would help diners make healthier choices. Starting next month, the national chain Ruby Tuesday is going to add the fat, fiber, carbohydrates and calories for each item on the menu.

The question is should they be doing this? Should restaurants include nutritional stuff on their menus?

Sharon in Michigan writes: "I don't go out to eat thinking gee, now which place will give me the most nutritious meal. I do it as a treat for myself. It would make no difference to me what facts or figures the restaurants put on their menu. When I have the cash to go out and eat, I do it as an indulgence. I go for the gusto."

O'BRIEN: You should go eating with Sharon. She has the same theory you do.

CAFFERTY: Absolutely. Sharon's got this thing right. She's figured this out.

Michael in Columbus says: "As a diabetic, I'd appreciate having the information available when dining out. It would be a great tool to help me manage my diet."

Karen says: "For my generation, eating in a restaurant is a treat and no, I don't care to know how many evil calories, fats or how much cholesterol I'm consuming. But for my kids' generation, restaurants are daily substitutes for cooking at home. Maybe they do need to know if that's where they eat on a daily basis."

Carol in Chepachet, Rhode Island: "Nutritional listings in restaurants? Some people won't be satisfied until every vestige of fun and enjoyment has been removed from American life. Yuck."

And Scott in Huntsville, Alabama: "No, I don't think they need to list anything about nutrition on restaurant menus. I've already figured it out -- if it tastes good, just spit it out cause it ain't no good for you."

O'BRIEN: That's a scientific way to do it.

CAFFERTY: There you go.

O'BRIEN: I would be curious to know, you know, how many servings a big plate of pasta is. Because it's not one. It's got to be three or four. I'd like to know, just curious.

CAFFERTY: Well, yes. But I mean you know how much this is going to add to the cost of a meal if they have to start doing all this stuff?

O'BRIEN: Oh, yes. No, I know.

CAFFERTY: I mean a plate of spaghetti will be $60...

O'BRIEN: Yes, that's right.

CAFFERTY: ... instead of $40, which it is in New York now, which is silly.

O'BRIEN: And worth it in some places.

CAFFERTY: Sure.

O'BRIEN: All right, Jack, thanks.

CAFFERTY: Yes.

O'BRIEN: Bill?

HEMMER: And throw in the meat balls on top of that, Jack, I mean, my gosh, we're going to go broke for crying out loud.

CAFFERTY: That's right.

HEMMER: Here in D.C., radio and TV correspondents getting together, annual dinner last night. That's the reason we are here today. President Bush taking care of the entertainment. A bit of a slide show last night. It's been done in the past. A new version this year. Have a look here as the president says he's hunting for the WMD.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

GEORGE W. BUSH, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: Those weapons of mass destruction have got to be somewhere. As you can tell from the look on Andy Card's face, we've become a little concerned about the vice president lately. Whenever you ask him a question, he replies, "Let's see what my little friend says." But we get along well. Here I am saying, "Dick, if the Hunan Palace doesn't get lunch here in four minutes, we're going out." Nope, no weapons over there. Maybe under here.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

HEMMER: That was the president's address from last night here in Washington.

A very serious moment a short time later where a picture was shown with a group of U.S. special forces operating in the desert of Afghanistan. All their pictures were blacked out to help protect their identity. At the time, they were burying a piece of the World Trade Center in the Afghan desert as their own memorial from half a world away.

Amid the political fallout over the hearings from yesterday, how do family members of the victims feel about what they heard? We'll talk with one daughter. She lost her mother on 9/11.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

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Aired March 25, 2004 - 08:00   ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
BILL HEMMER, CNN ANCHOR: Good morning.
Could the war of words in Washington get even more pointed? Now Richard Clarke saying Condoleezza Rice did not do her job to shake down 9/11 terrorists.

Three and a half hours of testimony from the woman accusing Kobe Bryant of sexual assault. Will her answers keep her sexual past private?

And a drama at sea -- trying to rescue one of the most endangered animals on Earth with time running out.

This hour on AMERICAN MORNING.

ANNOUNCER: This is AMERICAN MORNING.

Here is Soledad O'Brien in New York and Bill Hemmer in Washington.

HEMMER: And, good morning from our nation's capital -- Soledad, hello to you.

SOLEDAD O'BRIEN, CNN ANCHOR: And good morning to you, Bill, as well, and everybody else out there.

Other stories that we're following today, lawyers for former NBA star Jayson Williams are going after one of his former teammates. We're going to take a look at why it's so critical to the case and also what the larger defense strategy might be in this case.

HEMMER: Also this hour, Soledad, there could soon be a generic alternative to one of the most abused prescription drugs out there, Oxycontin. What will the advantages be? We'll get to that question in our medical news this morning, as well -- Soledad.

O'BRIEN: All right, and Mr. Cafferty is with us this morning -- hello.

Good question today.

JACK CAFFERTY, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Thank you.

Yes.

Coming up in the Cafferty File, Soledad, we're going to share with you the highlights of PETA's list of worst dressed celebrities. I ordinarily don't think much of their stuff, but this is pretty clever. It has to do with celebrities who wear fur.

And a special look at who did the talking about yesterday's 9/11 Commission investigation. See, the idea is to bring these people and listen to what they have to say about September 11. You are not going to believe what one of these Commission members did yesterday. And we have the tape and we put a stopwatch on it and it's just unbelievable.

O'BRIEN: Oh. And I think I know who you're talking about.

CAFFERTY: Oh, yes. Yes, you and I were talking about it yesterday as it was happening.

O'BRIEN: Yes.

CAFFERTY: I said I can't believe this.

O'BRIEN: Some of the longest questions ever, I think, in the history of recorded time.

CAFFERTY: She actually spent more time talking in the 16 minutes that was allowed for her to question this witness than George Tenet, the director of the CIA, was allowed to respond.

O'BRIEN: Yes.

CAFFERTY: And it wasn't even close.

O'BRIEN: Not really shocking there, right?

CAFFERTY: Unbelievable.

O'BRIEN: All right, Jack, looking forward to the actual numbers on that.

Thank you.

Let's turn right to our top stories first, though, this morning.

British Prime Minister Tony Blair says it is time for Libya and Great Britain to "move on." Prime Minister Blair is holding a news conference. He's taking questions now in Tripoli. He arrived there this morning for talks with the Libyan leader, Moammar Qaddafi. Prime Minister Blair had praised Gadhafi for renouncing terrorism and giving up weapons of mass destruction. And he says he should be welcomed back into the international community.

In France, a group that has issued recent threats against the country's rail system has called off its threat for now. That comes according to France's interior ministry. Today's announcement comes a day after authorities found a bomb on a rail line outside of Paris. In the letter, published in "Le Monde," the group, calling itself AZF, claimed it was suspending its activities in order to correct "technical problems."

In U.S. politics, President Bush is talking business with voters in New Hampshire today and then will later attend a reelection reception in Boston.

Meanwhile, Democratic candidate John Kerry is expecting the formal endorsement of a former rival, Howard Dean, in Washington, D.C. CNN is going to bring that to you live when it happens. Expected at 11:15 a.m. Eastern time.

And, singer Bob Brown told reporters earlier this week this is the last time you're going to see me coming out of jail or going in. Well, unhh-nhh (ph). It turns out he was wrong. The R&B singer was sentenced yesterday to 90 days in a Massachusetts jail for failing to pay child support to his ex-girlfriend. Brown is married now to singer/actress Whitney Houston.

(WEATHER REPORT)

HEMMER: Back here in Washington now, the back and forth between the White House and former counter-terrorism czar Richard Clarke turning now into a high stakes battle. Last night on CNN's "Larry King Live," Clarke accused National Security Advisor Condoleezza Rice of not doing her job in the months before the attacks of 9/11. Clarke also said the administration did not do enough to get ready for possible attacks here in the U.S.

Those charges followed the release of documents that Dr. Rice says disprove what she calls Clarke's "scurrilous" allegation that the president was not attentive to terrorism.

All this now coming after two days of the hearings before the 9/11 Commission in Washington.

Kelly Wallace continues our coverage this morning there.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

03240003.v84

(END VIDEOTAPE)

HEMMER: More now on the impact of these hearings, the political impact.

Earlier today I sat down with the president's campaign manager, Ken Mehlman, asking him about whether or not the testimony of the past two days here in Washington can hurt the White House in this election year.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

KEN MEHLMAN, BUSH CAMPAIGN MANAGER: I'm not sure that the hearings calls hurt. I think that what the hearings focus us on is this -- didn't we learn the lessons of 9/11 and what were those lessons?

President Bush believes the most important lesson of 9/11 is the need to go after the terrorists, the need to anticipate risk, the need to make sure that we change our laws at home, like the Patriot Act, to make sure that we're dealing with the challenges at home, to make sure we go after sleeper cells here.

Senator Kerry disagrees with the president on those issues. He has said that he thinks the war on terror is primarily not a war. Recently he said that. He said the risk, he thinks, is exaggerated.

So I think as these hearings conclude and as the Commission makes its findings, we think it's critically important we remember the lessons of 9/11.

HEMMER: There was a memo that was put out. Apparently this was an off camera, background interview that was done with Richard Clarke in 2002 that now is made public. And part of that statement said -- and I'll show it to our viewers so they can see it -- "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."

Why is that now for public dissemination...

MEHLMAN: Well, I think that...

HEMMER: ... when in the beginning it was not?

MEHLMAN: I think that, to quote Admiral Lehman from yesterday's hearing, Richard Clarke has a credibility problem. In 2002 he pointed out that the administration took aggressive action from the very beginning against al Qaeda, that we increased funding for the CIA fivefold to deal with al Qaeda; and that the previous administration hadn't, in fact, given us a plan to deal with it.

And that is -- that was what he was saying when he was giving his honest opinion. Now he's trying to sell books and he says something different.

HEMMER: There is a clear indication that the White House has certain strengths when it comes to security and terrorism. Look at these poll numbers. They are staggering, in some cases. Bush over Kerry 60 to 30 on who can do a better job on terrorism; a better job on Iraq, 54-39; 50-42 on a better job on world affairs, Bush compared to Kerry. This is your strength and it has been said -- and many people have suggested for the past two days, though -- this could be chipped away now based on these hearings.

Is there concern at the White House that these numbers could dip abased on what we've heard from people like Richard Clarke?

MEHLMAN: I think the American people are going to focus on have you learned the lessons of 9/11 and what are your policies going forward? And when they have to choose between a president who says we have to go after the terrorists, we have to be proactive and someone like Senator Kerry, who, if he had his way, Saddam Hussein, he'd still be in power and he'd still be in Kuwait, because he opposed the first Gulf War -- I think that the choice is very clear when it comes to protecting America and protecting our homeland and that Americans are going to say we need a strong Patriot Act, we need to go after the terrorists and this really is a war and a threat, and that the Kerry approaches to weaken our defense and to weaken intelligence are the wrong way to go.

HEMMER: What we are seeing here, almost collectively, the Democrats are running to their corner and the Republicans are running to theirs, based on the hearings from the last two days. Richard Clarke said this yesterday, last night with CNN on "Larry King": "Had Condoleezza Rice done her job, perhaps 9/11 could have been avoided."

What's the reaction from the White House to the suggestion...

MEHLMAN: Well, first of all, I'd like to just disagree with the premise to your question, which is that both sides are running into their corners. Yesterday, Zel Miller announced a group called Democrats for Bush, more than 100 Democrat elected officials around the country supporting President Bush. And the statement about Condi Rice, she does a fabulous job for this country and the most important thing we can do from 9/11 is do everything we can to make sure that it never happens again.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

HEMMER: Ken Mehlman from earlier today.

One more tie between the 9/11 Commission and the presidential election in the next seven and a half months. That final report is due out on the 26th of July. That's the first day of the Democratic National Committee that gets under way in Boston on that very day -- now back to Soledad in New York this morning.

O'BRIEN: All right, Bill, thanks.

In legal news, Kobe Bryant will be back in a Colorado courtroom this morning for a pretrial hearing in his sexual assault case. Lawyers will examine Colorado's rape shield law. The aim of that law is to keep an accuser's sexual past from being used at trial.

Adrian Baschuk joins us now live from Eagle, Colorado with much more on this -- Adrian, good morning.

ADRIAN BASCHUK, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Good morning to you, Soledad.

You know, Kobe Bryant came face to face with his accuser for the first time in almost nine months yesterday. She strode to the stand and, in a much shorter time than expected, the judge actually excused her for the remainder of the hearings.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

BASCHUK (voice-over): Kobe Bryant's accuser testified behind closed doors for three and a half hours Wednesday. Court filings detailed the defense was planning to target her credibility by their claims that she had sex with multiple partners in the days before and one day after allegedly being raped by Kobe Bryant, trying to show that her injuries could have been caused by someone else.

Legal experts say although taking the stand is an intrusive, difficult and emotional experience for an alleged victim to endure for a day, Kobe Bryant faces life in prison and his defense team must exercise his legal rights.

LARRY POZNER, NATIONAL ASSOCIATION CRIMINAL DEFENSE ATTORNEYS: There's a right in America to confront your accuser.

BASCHUK: Victim advocacy groups across Colorado, however, worry this case challenges the spirit of the state's rape shield law and hope it does not lead to a decrease in rape reporting numbers.

KATHIE KRAMER, RAPE ASSISTANCE AWARENESS PROGRAM: If there is evidence, then it certainly needs to be sought out, because Kobe Bryant deserves a fair trial. But we don't want it to turn into this fishing expedition.

BASCHUK: Kobe Bryant briefly escaped his legal mess, flying to Los Alamos, joining his teammates to play the Sacramento Kings Wednesday night.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

BASCHUK: Now, he scored 36 points in his hometown in that game, but is due back in the Colorado courtroom at 8:00 a.m. sharp today. Then, friends, ex-boyfriends and past sexual partners of the accuser will testify on the stand about her past -- Soledad.

O'BRIEN: Another day of that.

All right, Adrian Baschuk for us this morning.

Adrian, thanks -- Bill.

HEMMER: Still to come here, a day after Richard Clarke's testimony, Soledad, how are family members reacting? We'll hear from one woman whose mother was on board one of the four doomed flights on 9/11.

O'BRIEN: Also this morning, just how effective have Jayson Williams' lawyers been as they try to discredit the case against the former NBA star? A former defense attorney for Williams will join us, up next.

Those stories are all ahead on AMERICAN MORNING.

Stay with us.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

O'BRIEN: In New Jersey, Jayson Williams' legal team is now presenting its case in his manslaughter trial. Attorneys for the former NBA star are trying to defuse damaging prosecution testimony with some forensic evidence of their own.

Here's CNN's Deborah Feyerick.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

DEBORAH FEYERICK, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): After six weeks of listening to prosecution witnesses, Jayson Williams got his turn. His lawyers launching their defense by trying to discredit a key eyewitness.

Former teammate Benoit Benjamin told the jury two weeks ago he was close enough to see Williams' finger inside the trigger loop and Williams snapped the gun closed. Williams says the gun accidentally went off and his first witness, forensic pathologist Michael Baden, testified Benjamin could not have been standing as close to Williams as Benjamin said when limo driver Guy Christofi was shot.

DR. MICHAEL BADEN, FORENSIC PATHOLOGIST: The fact that blood spatter got there and there from Mr. Christofi means he couldn't have been in that spot. There was no blood spatter on Mr. Benoit's clothing.

FEYERICK: Williams' lawyer also tried to discount prosecution charges that Williams tried to position the gun in Christofi's hand. Four witnesses had testified Williams moved the gun, initially trying to make it look like the driver had killed himself. But Baden testified bloodstains on Christofi's palm were intact.

BADEN: If a weapon went into the palm of the hand, those blood spatters would have been smudged.

FEYERICK: On cross-examination, the forensic pathologist acknowledged a blood smear on the finger could support the prosecution's tampering theory.

KATHARINE ERRICKSON, ASSISTANT PROSECUTOR: Those smears on Mr. Christofi's hand could have been from the defendant putting the shotgun in his hand, isn't that correct?

BADEN: Smears can occur if somebody is manipulating the hands. That's a possibility.

FEYERICK (on camera): A source close to Williams says his lawyers have still not decided whether to put the former basketball star on the stand.

Deborah Feyerick, CNN, New York.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

O'BRIEN: New Jersey criminal defense attorney Brian Neary has been following the Jayson Williams trial with us.

He represented the former NBA star on a previous gun charge about 10 years ago and he's with us this morning.

Nice to see you again.

BRIAN NEARY, CRIMINAL DEFENSE ATTORNEY: Hi, Soledad.

O'BRIEN: Great to have you back.

As we just saw in Deborah's piece a little while ago, a focus for the defense seems to be to try to discredit the testimony of Benoit Benjamin.

What -- how far did the forensic pathologist's testimony go yesterday in trying to achieve that goal, do you think?

NEARY: Well, of course we've had contradictions from eyewitnesses that give somewhat of a different version. But now we've got, really, the first scientific effort to contradict what Benoit Benjamin had to say in the person of Dr. Michael Baden. Baden said that if Benjamin was standing in the position that he said he would -- which is very important to the prosecutor -- he's close, he can see Williams, he can supposedly hear what Williams has to say -- that Benoit Benjamin would have some blood spatterings on him as a result of the gunshot.

He seems not to have any and Baden specifically said that he examined Benoit Benjamin's clothes and found no evidence of blood.

O'BRIEN: Because they're focusing on Benoit Benjamin, can we take that to mean that at the end of the day this case is going to come down between whether the jury finds Benoit Benjamin credible or they find the folks who are contradicting what Benoit Benjamin has to say more credible?

NEARY: I think as the testimony has developed, that Benjamin's position in it, of importance to the prosecution, has grown, particularly the other day when the judge, in denying the motions to dismiss the charges said listen, if the jury believes the story as told by Benoit Benjamin, then the jury could make a finding of guilty.

So, in fact, I think Benjamin is a very key witness for the prosecution.

O'BRIEN: Much has been made about the distance. The prosecution says that it was between six inches and three feet, Christofi and Jason Williams. The defense says that actually it was a little bit different than that.

What's the difference between those two distances? Why is it relevant at all?

NEARY: Two points. The first point, it becomes important for the defense to show that Christofi was further away from Williams. Therefore, either, one, that he was not within Mr. Williams' sphere at the time that he pulls out the gun and Williams could more likely not be aware that Christofi was there and, in fact, the gun would go off.

O'BRIEN: It was an accident.

NEARY: The flip side is, and that was the cross-examination yesterday, was that the difference between the 18 inches and the 36 inches in the real practical world is not all that much. They're still close to have somebody to have a shotgun.

O'BRIEN: Do you think that they need to put Jayson Williams on the stand? Because now CNN is learning that they may not go ahead and put Jayson Williams on the stand. And I'd be curious to know -- and I know legally you don't have to testify in your own trial. But when you're a celebrity, that could make a big emotional difference to the jury.

NEARY: It's, I think, becoming a more and more difficult decision that has to be made, ultimately by the defendant himself, as to whether or not he testifies. Because when you listened to Dr. Baden's testimony yesterday, a lot of the defense theories, the alternative to what the prosecutor says in terms of the blood spatter, in terms of the distance, even in terms of the smearing of the blood on the hand -- there was some pristine blood -- it could be to the point that the defense could very well argue that the state hasn't proven beyond a reasonable doubt.

But it gets back to the very practical question -- in this kind of a case with this kind of a person, do these 12 people really want to hear what Jayson Williams said that night, what happened that night?

O'BRIEN: And your answer to that would be you think they do or you think they don't?

NEARY: I think if it were my choice, I think I would put him on. But, but, it's Jayson Williams' choice himself.

O'BRIEN: Lawyers always have the but, the but.

All right, Brian Neary, as always, thanks so much.

We appreciate your insight on this case.

NEARY: You're welcome, Soledad.

O'BRIEN: Bill?

HEMMER: Soledad, back here in Washington, in a moment, President Bush doing some standup comedy last night for the Washington press corps. The search for WMD, in the president's words, in a moment on AMERICAN MORNING.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

GEORGE W. BUSH, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: A team leader with a prayer...

(END VIDEO CLIP)

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

O'BRIEN: And here's Jack with The Question of the Day -- hello.

CAFFERTY: Thank you, Soledad.

New York City's health commissioner said yesterday he's encouraging restaurants to include nutritional information on menus, like food manufacturers do. Thomas Frieden said the guidelines would help diners make healthier choices. Starting next month, the national chain Ruby Tuesday is going to add the fat, fiber, carbohydrates and calories for each item on the menu.

The question is should they be doing this? Should restaurants include nutritional stuff on their menus?

Sharon in Michigan writes: "I don't go out to eat thinking gee, now which place will give me the most nutritious meal. I do it as a treat for myself. It would make no difference to me what facts or figures the restaurants put on their menu. When I have the cash to go out and eat, I do it as an indulgence. I go for the gusto."

O'BRIEN: You should go eating with Sharon. She has the same theory you do.

CAFFERTY: Absolutely. Sharon's got this thing right. She's figured this out.

Michael in Columbus says: "As a diabetic, I'd appreciate having the information available when dining out. It would be a great tool to help me manage my diet."

Karen says: "For my generation, eating in a restaurant is a treat and no, I don't care to know how many evil calories, fats or how much cholesterol I'm consuming. But for my kids' generation, restaurants are daily substitutes for cooking at home. Maybe they do need to know if that's where they eat on a daily basis."

Carol in Chepachet, Rhode Island: "Nutritional listings in restaurants? Some people won't be satisfied until every vestige of fun and enjoyment has been removed from American life. Yuck."

And Scott in Huntsville, Alabama: "No, I don't think they need to list anything about nutrition on restaurant menus. I've already figured it out -- if it tastes good, just spit it out cause it ain't no good for you."

O'BRIEN: That's a scientific way to do it.

CAFFERTY: There you go.

O'BRIEN: I would be curious to know, you know, how many servings a big plate of pasta is. Because it's not one. It's got to be three or four. I'd like to know, just curious.

CAFFERTY: Well, yes. But I mean you know how much this is going to add to the cost of a meal if they have to start doing all this stuff?

O'BRIEN: Oh, yes. No, I know.

CAFFERTY: I mean a plate of spaghetti will be $60...

O'BRIEN: Yes, that's right.

CAFFERTY: ... instead of $40, which it is in New York now, which is silly.

O'BRIEN: And worth it in some places.

CAFFERTY: Sure.

O'BRIEN: All right, Jack, thanks.

CAFFERTY: Yes.

O'BRIEN: Bill?

HEMMER: And throw in the meat balls on top of that, Jack, I mean, my gosh, we're going to go broke for crying out loud.

CAFFERTY: That's right.

HEMMER: Here in D.C., radio and TV correspondents getting together, annual dinner last night. That's the reason we are here today. President Bush taking care of the entertainment. A bit of a slide show last night. It's been done in the past. A new version this year. Have a look here as the president says he's hunting for the WMD.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

GEORGE W. BUSH, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: Those weapons of mass destruction have got to be somewhere. As you can tell from the look on Andy Card's face, we've become a little concerned about the vice president lately. Whenever you ask him a question, he replies, "Let's see what my little friend says." But we get along well. Here I am saying, "Dick, if the Hunan Palace doesn't get lunch here in four minutes, we're going out." Nope, no weapons over there. Maybe under here.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

HEMMER: That was the president's address from last night here in Washington.

A very serious moment a short time later where a picture was shown with a group of U.S. special forces operating in the desert of Afghanistan. All their pictures were blacked out to help protect their identity. At the time, they were burying a piece of the World Trade Center in the Afghan desert as their own memorial from half a world away.

Amid the political fallout over the hearings from yesterday, how do family members of the victims feel about what they heard? We'll talk with one daughter. She lost her mother on 9/11.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

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