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American Morning

G-8 Summit Begins with News of Unanimous U.N. Resolution; Ashcroft Battles Senators Over Torture Memos; Security Tightened for Reagan Funeral; Funeral to Revive Tradition

Aired June 09, 2004 - 07:00   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, CO-ANCHOR: Good morning. Washington, D.C., awaiting the return of the nation's 40th president, Ronald Reagan's body comes to the capitol today.
Also, the debate on torture.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

SEN. JOE BIDEN (D), DELAWARE: ... these treaties, to protect my son in the military.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

Attorney General John Ashcroft under intense controversy from senators. What did he advise the president about torture?

And surprising testimony from Laci Peterson's stepfather. He, too, was fishing on the day of her disappearance.

Those stories ahead on this AMERICAN MORNING.

ANNOUNCER: This is AMERICAN MORNING with Bill Hemmer and Soledad O'Brien.

HEMMER: Good morning. We have moved across the country from California to Washington, D.C., as the focus shifts here to the nation's capitol.

Ronald Reagan's body will be flown here later today in preparation for his state funeral, and this will be significant.

More than 100,000 people so far paying their respects at the presidential library back live in Simi Valley, California, as you see in this picture here. The closed casket was on public display from Monday afternoon until late last night, California time.

Now at 11:15 Eastern Time today, Mr. Reagan's body, taken to a naval air station and flown to Andrews Air Force Base just outside Washington, D.C. On arrival at 5 p.m. later today, a motorcade will transfer the casket to a spot near the Washington monument. Then a solemn march, a procession down Constitution Avenue by horse-drawn caisson to the capitol building.

After a military state funeral, the former president will lie in state at the capitol building until his funeral is held at Washington's National Cathedral. That happens on Friday morning.

It will be, without question, an incredible three days to watch here in our nation's capitol.

I want to say good morning to Soledad again back in New York City. Good morning to you, Soledad.

SOLEDAD O'BRIEN: Bill, good morning to you.

Some of the other news that we're following this morning, the G-8 summit on Sea Island, Georgia, officially starting today, believe it or not, even though there have been plenty of discussions already.

The mood is said to be upbeat after the president's victory on Iraq at the U.N. John King is going to join us in just a moment, taking a look at whether the vote could prove to be a turning point for the White House.

Also this morning, a little later, we're going to hear from the first lady, Laura Bush, on Sea Island with her husband, as well. We'll get her thoughts on President Reagan and his legacy when she talks to Dana Bash this morning.

Plus, Jack Cafferty joins me as well. Hello.

JACK CAFFERTY, CO-HOST: Good morning. Random searches aboard passenger trains in one of America's biggest cities as a way to combat terrorism. They're going to start soon. We're going to take a look in a few minutes.

O'BRIEN: Jack, looking forward to that. Thank you.

Top story now, the United Nations Security Council has unanimously endorsed the June 30 transfer of sovereignty in Iraq. The resolution gives authorization for a U.S.-led multi-national force to stabilize that country.

Under the U.N. plan passed yesterday, the U.S.-led force in Iraq must closely coordinate on all security matters, including, quote, "sensitive offensive operations."

The mandate of the multi-national force will end by January of 2006, or at any time on Iraq's demand.

And, security permitting, the U.N. will provide assistance on elections, the drafting of the Constitution and with civil and social services.

The U.N. resolution came as welcome news to President Bush on the first day of the G-8 summit. Our senior White House correspondent is there. He's joining us live from Savannah, Georgia, this morning.

John, good morning.

JOHN KING, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Good morning to you, Soledad. What a remarkable turnaround. The president here with seven other major world leaders, several of them among his most fierce critics in the war on Iraq.

After more than a year of confrontation, though, everybody suddenly preaching cooperation.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

KING (voice-over): Russia's Vladimir Putin was one of three Iraq war critics on the president's afternoon schedule. And from the White House perspective, word of the unanimous vote at the United Nations was a perfect kickoff to the Sea Island summit.

GEORGE W. BUSH, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: The vote today in the United Nations Security Council was a great victory for the Iraqi people.

KING: Relieved, too, is embattled British Prime Minister Tony Blair, who called it a powerful message to terrorists and insurgents in Iraq.

TONY BLAIR, BRITISH PRIME MINISTER: I think they now know that it isn't just the United States and the U.K. or indeed the multi- national force. It's the whole of the United Nations and the world community.

KING: Partnership is the president's summit theme. And Germany's chancellor was on script. Not a mention of his fierce opposition to war. Hearty praise for the new spirit of cooperation.

GERHARD SCHROEDER, GERMAN CHANCELLOR (through translator): I think that this resolution will be a good basis and foundation for enhancing stability.

KING: The group of eight was split down the middle on the war. The United States, Great Britain, Italy and Japan in favor. France, Germany, Canada and Russia vehemently opposed.

Mr. Bush wants unity now and signed off on a number of concessions to win U.N. blessing on the summit's opening day.

BUSH: I think this is a very important moment on the -- on making sure that our objective is achieved.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

KING: Now, in some ways this victory by the Bush administration was symbolic than substantive. No one is expecting major national troop commitments, international troop commitments in Iraq. No one in the White House even expecting any major new financial commitments to help with Iraq's reconstruction.

But Soledad, after weeks if not months of setbacks in Iraq, the Bush administration quite happy to celebrate a victory.

O'BRIEN: I'd imagine. Some good news there for them, at least.

A quick question for you. I want to ask about these events that are surrounding the remembrances of former President Ronald Reagan. President Bush is not going to be making any of those, is he? Why not?

KING: It's an interesting subplot to the Reagan funeral and the observances in Washington.

Mr. Bush will deliver a eulogy Friday morning at the National Cathedral at the funeral ceremony, and aides say he is looking forward to that, of course sad at the passing of Ronald Reagan but eager to pay tribute to a man many say Mr. Bush is much more like than even his father.

Now the casket, Mr. Reagan, will arrive at the capital tonight. Vice President Cheney will represent the White House. The White House says the Mr. Bush talked to Nancy Reagan, and the staff has been in constant touch with Nancy Reagan. And she agrees with the president that he should be right here at major this international summit and just get to Washington as soon as he can. He'll get there Thursday night.

O'BRIEN: All right. John King for us this morning. John, thanks.

Attorney General John Ashcroft is refusing to reveal what advice his department might have given regarding the use of torture against terror suspects.

His refusal came yesterday under intense questioning from Democratic senators. At one point, the sparring between Senator Joseph Biden and Ashcroft, who both have sons in the military, took a very personal turn.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

BIDEN: The reason why we sign these treaties, to protect my son in the military. That's why we have these treaties. So when Americans are captured they are not tortured. That's the reason, in case anybody forgets it. That's the reason.

JOHN ASHCROFT, ATTORNEY GENERAL: As a person who's son is in the military now on active duty, and has been in the Gulf within the last several months, I'm aware of those considerations, and I care about your son.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

O'BRIEN: At issue are the memos maintaining the U.S. has the right to use torture in some circumstances. We've got analysis now from legal scholar and George Washington University Law School professor Jonathan Turley, who joins us from Washington this morning.

Nice to see you, Jonathan. Thanks for being with us.

JONATHAN TURLEY, PROFESSOR, GEORGE WASHINGTON UNIVERSITY LAW SCHOOL: Good morning.

O'BRIEN: All of this, of course, coming out of the basic fight that Ashcroft did not want to hand over these specific memos.

He has described them as advice and analysis, and he argues that if you hand them over to some degree you will put limits on what kind of advice and analysis people will be willing to provide the president.

What do you make of that argument?

TURLEY: Well, this is a classic executive privilege argument. And this president takes executive privilege very seriously. He has -- he has really pushed executive privilege to its outer limits.

I think many in the administration feel that ground was lost on executive privilege, this type of confidentiality of communications, during the Clinton administration. And so this is consistent with that view.

But, once again, it may go too far. I mean, what Congress is saying here is that we, under the Constitution, have an oversight responsibility, and this memo seems to say -- It doesn't seem to say, it actually says -- that the White House could conceivably violate federal law, and that laws passed by Congress cannot necessarily prevent the torture of prisoners.

That's a very serious conclusion to reach in the White House counsel's office.

O'BRIEN: At the same time, there are many who say it's a discussion piece. It's a draft. It is not a directive.

So what's the harm in discussing the issues and the potential alternatives? It's not as if the president actually has gone ahead and made this into some kind of law.

TURLEY: You're absolutely right. I mean, there is a valid point here that we can't have every memo, any talking memo or any exchange that is given to the president revealed. I mean, that creates a chilling effect that's perfectly glacial for the White House.

The problem is that this -- the language of this memo found its way expressed in military documents. And it seems to have been used to a significant extent by the military.

The military's long followed a rule that these types of acts, which under international law would be torture, cannot be used by military personnel, but after this memo, there was some changes in military policy.

So we have a very difficult position here, and both sides really have arguments with some merit. On one hand, the president does have to have confidentiality. On the other hand, Congress has a right to look at whether the White House is encouraging or condoning the violation of both international law and federal law. O'BRIEN: Ashcroft said the administration rejects torture. Clearly, they're obviously looking for this legal line there.

Is this unusual? Has this not been heard of before?

TURLEY: It has been. The interesting thing is that over -- really, over two years ago, the administration was first accused of using tactics that constitute torture under international law.

At that time, the administration expressly dismissed those arguments. They didn't necessarily deny that they were narrowing the definition of torture. They simply said that they're allowed to take certain measures to protect the American people.

The difference, to put it quite bluntly, would be the pictures. I mean, the pictures change politics.

And when those pictures of prisoners on leashes and tied to wires came out, the White House suddenly changed its position and said, "This has nothing to do with us."

The irony, Soledad, is that the more they rely on executive privilege and say this is the type of information the president needs to make confidential, the closer they bring the scandal to the president's office doorstep.

And the so this is a somewhat dangerous argument, because the White House is insistent that the president really was not directly involved in these abuses.

O'BRIEN: Kind of a catch 22 there. Jonathan Turley, nice to see you as always. Thanks for being with us.

TURLEY: Thanks, Soledad.

O'BRIEN: Bill.

HEMMER: It's 11 minutes past the hour back here in Washington. The body of the former president, Ronald Reagan, arrives in Washington later today. It will lie in state at the U.S. capitol rotunda. Security very tight, indeed.

Washington, D.C., police chief, Charles Ramsey, our guest now. Also Bill Hely, an assistant chief with the Secret Service.

And gentlemen, welcome here to AMERICAN MORNING. Good to you have with us.

CHIEF CHARLES RAMSEY, WASHINGTON, D.C., POLICE: Thank you, Bill.

HEMMER: Chief, are you ready for this?

RAMSEY: Yes. I mean, we're ready. You know, the planning has been going on for awhile. Obviously, we didn't know when we'd have to implement the plan, but we're ready to go. Our biggest challenge, probably, today is going to be the heat. It's going to be very hot here, and we expect large numbers of people. And of course, that's always a problem, whenever you have that combination.

HEMMER: Chief, the weather might be one concern here, but in this post-9/11 world, the first significant event this city has seen since those events of 2 1/2 years ago. What are the added security challenges in that?

RAMSEY: Well, there's added security challenges, but this isn't the first event we've had post-9/11. We have very large gatherings here in Washington all the time. Security is always foremost in our minds. We're going to take the steps we need to to make sure that everything is safe and secure.

We've kind of got accustomed to that now. We don't expect any problems. There's no information that we've received that this event has been targeted. But obviously, we have to take the necessary steps to ensure the safety of the public.

HEMMER: If I can go to Bill Hely with this next question, 170 diplomats from 170 countries, at least 20 heads of state. This is a significant task. The Secret Service is in charge of overall coordination.

What have you done differently that you can share with us to make sure things are safe over the next three days?

BILL HELY, ASSISTANT CHIEF, SECRET SERVICE UNIFORMED DIVISION: Basically, we tried to take all measures to ensure the safety of not only our visiting dignitary, but also the general public and our Secret Service protectees that will be in town during this event.

HEMMER: And, Chief, how many do you expect at this point? We've heard estimates well over 100,000 to view in the capitol building.

RAMSEY: Well, we really don't know. But I've heard a size of 100,000 to 200,000 people. I expect we'll have quite a few out on Constitution Avenue to observe the procession as it goes down.

Of course, the president will be lying in state in the rotunda for about 34 hours or so. And I believe the capitol police are expecting anywhere from 150,000 to 200,000 people.

HEMMER: And everyone will go through a metal detector. At last 12 will be set up there on Capitol Hill.

Good luck to both of you men, Charles Ramsey, Bill Hely, here in Washington, D.C., getting ready for a significant three days still to come. Thank you, gentlemen.

Officials also here in Washington doing all they can to put the Reagan's 300-page funeral plan into action. It has been 31 years since the capitol has had a state funeral with all its history, tradition and protocol that we will see here. Donald Ritchie, associate Senate historian, with us now to talk about the planning for this kind of funeral.

Good morning to you, Don.

DONALD RITCHIE, ASSOCIATE SENATE HISTORIAN: Good morning.

HEMMER: How much influence and input did the Reagan family have on what we will see?

RITCHIE: The family is always consulted and accommodated in every possible way, in terms of transportation, in terms of the guests that will be there, in terms of the way the ceremony is handled.

Much of the ceremony is pretty traditional, however, and much of it will follow the regular pattern, but certainly, Mr. Reagan and her family have been consulted at every step of the way.

HEMMER: What is distinctly Reagan about these ceremonies?

RITCHIE: Well, I think the grandeur of the ceremony will be -- will mark the man. He was the man who was comfortable onstage, and this is a great public pageant. And I think the full dress regalia will definitely be obvious in this -- in this ceremony.

HEMMER: Back to the original question about the Reagan family. Does Nancy Reagan have the ability to veto anything that comes over the next two-day period?

RITCHIE: I think the planners are always very conscious of the widow and the family.

Mrs. Kennedy, for instance, had an enormous impact on the John F. Kennedy funeral. She sent historians to the Library of Congress in the middle of the night to research the Lincoln funeral proceedings.

And so after that, a very large report was prepared. We followed that report pretty much since 1965, when that was done. But with each family, we've had to accommodate what their particular interests are. And so Mrs. Reagan definitely has been very much a part of this process.

HEMMER: We just heard from the police chief here in Washington. There is a quote in "The Weekly" (ph) saying for President Johnson's funeral 31 years ago, all the police did here was carry firearms.

And now you're going to have full-blown security throughout this entire city. How does that affect that planning?

RITCHIE: It makes it very difficult, and complicating the matter, also is the east front of the capital is under reconstruction for the visitor center. So that the west front of the capital will have to be used.

That means that the entrance will come in from the west front and visitors will come in that way. They have to reroute people through the capital in a different pattern than normally. There will have to be security screening as they come in. They won't be able to carry packages into the building. There's going to be a lot of extra security considerations that weren't there in 1973.

HEMMER: Like that when he took the oath of office back in 1981, Ronald Reagan was the one who said, "I want to move it to the west side of the capitol and face the west" back towards his political home in California. Ironic that we're seeing that again.

RITCHIE: Yes. He's coming full circle.

HEMMER: Thank you, Donald Ritchie, watching with us here in D.C. Nice to see you.

RITCHIE: Thank you.

HEMMER: Also, stay with CNN. Starting at 11 Eastern Time today, live special coverage here: "Remembering Ronald Reagan." That is followed by a special report: "The State Funeral of Ronald Reagan" from 4:30 to 9 p.m. Eastern Time later today.

A lot to cover, and we'll be here to see it all.

To Soledad again in New York -- Soledad.

O'BRIEN: Thanks. Time for a look at some of the other stories making headlines with Heidi Collins.

Heidi, good morning.

HEIDI COLLINS, ANCHOR: Good morning to you, Soledad.

Going to make sure every knows about the Pentagon now. Apparently, they are increasing the number of U.S. forces in Iraq. According to "USA Today," around 145,000 troops could be in Iraq this summer. That number up from the 140,000 now stationed there.

A senior official claims force level could go even higher as the tour of duty for Marines already in Iraq is extended.

The September 11 commission drafted a final report that sharply criticizes the FBI and the CIA. Some commission members say the report does not blame individuals or the Bush or Clinton administrations. Instead it takes aim at the federal investigative agencies for failing to prevent the attacks.

There's a move to rename the Pentagon after Ronald Reagan. Sources tell CNN Senate Majority Leader Bill Frist introduced the idea yesterday as an amendment to the defense authorization bill. The proposed new name is the Ronald Reagan National Defense Building.

Three Italian hostages are now back with their families. The men arrived in Rome today after being held in Iraq for two months. U.S. Special Forces freed the group yesterday in a raid south of Baghdad. The men were abducted April 12. A fourth man originally with the group was executed a short time later. To basketball now. A win for the Los Angeles Lakers in game two of the NBA finals. Kobe Bryant scoring a three-point shot with seconds left on the clock, sending the game into overtime. The Detroit Pistons tried to regain control but fall short. Final score, 91-90.

The series is tied at one game apiece now. The teams head to Detroit for game three tomorrow. And that's what you want to see, a tie -- so far in the finals. Makes it much more exciting.

O'BRIEN: Absolutely. All right, Heidi, thanks.

COLLINS: You bet.

(WEATHER REPORT)

O'BRIEN: Jack's here with the question of the day. Hello.

CAFFERTY: How are you doing?

Boston transit system will be the first in the nation to randomly search passengers' bags and check their identification. Transit police will start these searches on subway and commuter trains in Boston next month, just in time for the Democratic National Convention.

Officials say the new policy was prompted by the Madrid train bombings. The American Civil Liberties Union, though, says the program may violate the Constitution's ban on unreasonable search and seizure, and they're telling passengers they have the right to refuse these I.D. checks.

The question is, is the random searching of train passengers a good idea? AM@CNN.com. The city of New York, no doubt, will be watching how this works, because we have the Republican convention coming here in August.

The first passenger to refuse probably will be arrested, probably will be taken to jail, probably will file a lawsuit. The stuff will start through the courts. It will take 300 or 400 years to get this resolved, but eventually, we'll find out whether it's constitutional or not.

In the meantime, you can tell us whether you think it's a good idea.

O'BRIEN: There's got to be 10 or 12 good questions of the day in there as that whole process goes on for 300 or 400 years.

CAFFERTY: This is material for long after my retirement.

O'BRIEN: Exactly! That's what you aim for. Right?

CAFFERTY: Whoever's here after me, yes.

O'BRIEN: All right, Jack. Thanks. Well, at first Laci's stepfather didn't believe Scott Peterson had anything to do with Laci's disappearance. But when he saw a picture of Scott and his mistress, Ron Grantski says he changed his mind.

Grantski was one of five friends and family members who testified at Scott Peterson's double murder trial yesterday. He told the court he was suspicious of Scott's story about going fishing on the day that his pregnant wife went missing.

He said this. He said, "'I think your fishing trip is a fish story. Did you do something else? Do you have a girlfriend?' He said no, and he turned around and he walked away."

But under cross-examination, Grantski admitted that he, too, had gone fishing that day.

We're going to have more on this, of course, in just a little bit. We're going to be talking to Jeffrey Toobin with some analysis of how this case is going so far.

Also still to come this morning, a live interview with first lady Laura Bush. We'll talk about the legacy of the former President Ronald Reagan.

And this morning as well, what do Saudis really think about Osama bin Laden?

Those stories all ahead as we continue right after a short break.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

O'BRIEN: Welcome back, everybody.

Taxpayer dollars flying into thin air. With that and a preview of the market, Andy Serwer, "Minding Your Business."

Hello.

ANDY SERWER, "FORTUNE" MAGAZINE: Good morning to you.

It's about the Pentagon: wasteful spending. It's your tax dollars not at work this morning.

The A.P. is reporting a new congressional study showing the Pentagon wasted $100 million over the past six years on airline tickets that they never used and could have been reimbursed for. Truly amazing.

From 1997 to 2003, the Pentagon racked up all of these plane tickets, Soledad, and its employees never used the tickets. They could have simply reimbursed them. They never did that.

And actually what's even more amazing here, the study found that they were reimbursing the employees in their expense accounts. So they were actually making the problem worse by giving the employees money for the tickets and then reimbursing...

O'BRIEN: Paid them for the tickets. An example of wastefulness.

SERWER: Right. Exactly.

O'BRIEN: Wow.

SERWER: Yes, it's amazing, and Congress is outraged. The Pentagon says it's dealing with the problem and fixing it.

O'BRIEN: That is a ton of money. You're only talking about six years.

SERWER: Right. And especially with everything going on in world and all the money they're spending, it's just horrible that they're wasting it on that.

O'BRIEN: You want to preview the market for me?

SERWER: Yes, quickly. Futures are a little bit lower this morning, Soledad, after a nice little bump up yesterday. We've been up all this week, so it looks to continue. And we will check that out later.

O'BRIEN: All right. Thanks, Andy.

SERWER: You're welcome.

O'BRIEN: We'll check in with you later. Appreciate it.

Well, Saddam Hussein hasn't been topping the news -- excuse me -- recently, as we well know, but that did not keep David Letterman from updating his audience on the former Iraqi dictator last night.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

DAVID LETTERMAN, HOST, "LATE SHOW WITH DAVID LETTERMAN": You know, remember Saddam Hussein? How many of you remember Saddam Hussein? Remember? And remember during the winter, they pulled him out, he was living in a hole, he had himself a hole. And it was like a month-to-month rental, and he a hole.

And the troops got him and yanked him out of the hole, and they've been interrogating him ever since. And listen to this. They're getting -- they can't anything on him. There's no evidence.

Prosecutors are having a difficult time building a case against Saddam Hussein. Isn't that amazing, when you think about it? They can't build a case against Saddam Hussein.

Well, I'll tell you something, the guy was very smart. He was very smart, because when he tortured people, he didn't take snapshots! Very...

(END VIDEO CLIP) O'BRIEN: Still to come this morning a conversation with first lady Laura Bush. We'll talk to her about what lies ahead for the president this election year, and also about the legacy of Ronald Reagan.

Plus, "90-second Pop" just ahead this morning.

So here's the question. Is she or isn't she? We're still not sure whether J. Lo tied the knot again. But of course, we're not talking about that. We're talking about whether or not she's having a baby.

Plus, Nicole Kidman discovers a creepy secret this weekend at the movies. That's ahead as we continue. Stay with us.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

O'BRIEN: Welcome back, everybody. Just about half past the hour on this AMERICAN MORNING.

In just a few moments, we're going to take a look at all the tradition that goes into a state funeral. Final preparations now being made in Washington for former President Reagan.

Ed Henry has a look at that coming up in just a few moments.

Also this morning, in "90-second Pop," we're asking the burning question: just what is up with Jennifer Lopez? I call her J. Lo.

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Aired June 9, 2004 - 07:00   ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
BILL HEMMER, CO-ANCHOR: Good morning. Washington, D.C., awaiting the return of the nation's 40th president, Ronald Reagan's body comes to the capitol today.
Also, the debate on torture.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

SEN. JOE BIDEN (D), DELAWARE: ... these treaties, to protect my son in the military.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

Attorney General John Ashcroft under intense controversy from senators. What did he advise the president about torture?

And surprising testimony from Laci Peterson's stepfather. He, too, was fishing on the day of her disappearance.

Those stories ahead on this AMERICAN MORNING.

ANNOUNCER: This is AMERICAN MORNING with Bill Hemmer and Soledad O'Brien.

HEMMER: Good morning. We have moved across the country from California to Washington, D.C., as the focus shifts here to the nation's capitol.

Ronald Reagan's body will be flown here later today in preparation for his state funeral, and this will be significant.

More than 100,000 people so far paying their respects at the presidential library back live in Simi Valley, California, as you see in this picture here. The closed casket was on public display from Monday afternoon until late last night, California time.

Now at 11:15 Eastern Time today, Mr. Reagan's body, taken to a naval air station and flown to Andrews Air Force Base just outside Washington, D.C. On arrival at 5 p.m. later today, a motorcade will transfer the casket to a spot near the Washington monument. Then a solemn march, a procession down Constitution Avenue by horse-drawn caisson to the capitol building.

After a military state funeral, the former president will lie in state at the capitol building until his funeral is held at Washington's National Cathedral. That happens on Friday morning.

It will be, without question, an incredible three days to watch here in our nation's capitol.

I want to say good morning to Soledad again back in New York City. Good morning to you, Soledad.

SOLEDAD O'BRIEN: Bill, good morning to you.

Some of the other news that we're following this morning, the G-8 summit on Sea Island, Georgia, officially starting today, believe it or not, even though there have been plenty of discussions already.

The mood is said to be upbeat after the president's victory on Iraq at the U.N. John King is going to join us in just a moment, taking a look at whether the vote could prove to be a turning point for the White House.

Also this morning, a little later, we're going to hear from the first lady, Laura Bush, on Sea Island with her husband, as well. We'll get her thoughts on President Reagan and his legacy when she talks to Dana Bash this morning.

Plus, Jack Cafferty joins me as well. Hello.

JACK CAFFERTY, CO-HOST: Good morning. Random searches aboard passenger trains in one of America's biggest cities as a way to combat terrorism. They're going to start soon. We're going to take a look in a few minutes.

O'BRIEN: Jack, looking forward to that. Thank you.

Top story now, the United Nations Security Council has unanimously endorsed the June 30 transfer of sovereignty in Iraq. The resolution gives authorization for a U.S.-led multi-national force to stabilize that country.

Under the U.N. plan passed yesterday, the U.S.-led force in Iraq must closely coordinate on all security matters, including, quote, "sensitive offensive operations."

The mandate of the multi-national force will end by January of 2006, or at any time on Iraq's demand.

And, security permitting, the U.N. will provide assistance on elections, the drafting of the Constitution and with civil and social services.

The U.N. resolution came as welcome news to President Bush on the first day of the G-8 summit. Our senior White House correspondent is there. He's joining us live from Savannah, Georgia, this morning.

John, good morning.

JOHN KING, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Good morning to you, Soledad. What a remarkable turnaround. The president here with seven other major world leaders, several of them among his most fierce critics in the war on Iraq.

After more than a year of confrontation, though, everybody suddenly preaching cooperation.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

KING (voice-over): Russia's Vladimir Putin was one of three Iraq war critics on the president's afternoon schedule. And from the White House perspective, word of the unanimous vote at the United Nations was a perfect kickoff to the Sea Island summit.

GEORGE W. BUSH, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: The vote today in the United Nations Security Council was a great victory for the Iraqi people.

KING: Relieved, too, is embattled British Prime Minister Tony Blair, who called it a powerful message to terrorists and insurgents in Iraq.

TONY BLAIR, BRITISH PRIME MINISTER: I think they now know that it isn't just the United States and the U.K. or indeed the multi- national force. It's the whole of the United Nations and the world community.

KING: Partnership is the president's summit theme. And Germany's chancellor was on script. Not a mention of his fierce opposition to war. Hearty praise for the new spirit of cooperation.

GERHARD SCHROEDER, GERMAN CHANCELLOR (through translator): I think that this resolution will be a good basis and foundation for enhancing stability.

KING: The group of eight was split down the middle on the war. The United States, Great Britain, Italy and Japan in favor. France, Germany, Canada and Russia vehemently opposed.

Mr. Bush wants unity now and signed off on a number of concessions to win U.N. blessing on the summit's opening day.

BUSH: I think this is a very important moment on the -- on making sure that our objective is achieved.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

KING: Now, in some ways this victory by the Bush administration was symbolic than substantive. No one is expecting major national troop commitments, international troop commitments in Iraq. No one in the White House even expecting any major new financial commitments to help with Iraq's reconstruction.

But Soledad, after weeks if not months of setbacks in Iraq, the Bush administration quite happy to celebrate a victory.

O'BRIEN: I'd imagine. Some good news there for them, at least.

A quick question for you. I want to ask about these events that are surrounding the remembrances of former President Ronald Reagan. President Bush is not going to be making any of those, is he? Why not?

KING: It's an interesting subplot to the Reagan funeral and the observances in Washington.

Mr. Bush will deliver a eulogy Friday morning at the National Cathedral at the funeral ceremony, and aides say he is looking forward to that, of course sad at the passing of Ronald Reagan but eager to pay tribute to a man many say Mr. Bush is much more like than even his father.

Now the casket, Mr. Reagan, will arrive at the capital tonight. Vice President Cheney will represent the White House. The White House says the Mr. Bush talked to Nancy Reagan, and the staff has been in constant touch with Nancy Reagan. And she agrees with the president that he should be right here at major this international summit and just get to Washington as soon as he can. He'll get there Thursday night.

O'BRIEN: All right. John King for us this morning. John, thanks.

Attorney General John Ashcroft is refusing to reveal what advice his department might have given regarding the use of torture against terror suspects.

His refusal came yesterday under intense questioning from Democratic senators. At one point, the sparring between Senator Joseph Biden and Ashcroft, who both have sons in the military, took a very personal turn.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

BIDEN: The reason why we sign these treaties, to protect my son in the military. That's why we have these treaties. So when Americans are captured they are not tortured. That's the reason, in case anybody forgets it. That's the reason.

JOHN ASHCROFT, ATTORNEY GENERAL: As a person who's son is in the military now on active duty, and has been in the Gulf within the last several months, I'm aware of those considerations, and I care about your son.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

O'BRIEN: At issue are the memos maintaining the U.S. has the right to use torture in some circumstances. We've got analysis now from legal scholar and George Washington University Law School professor Jonathan Turley, who joins us from Washington this morning.

Nice to see you, Jonathan. Thanks for being with us.

JONATHAN TURLEY, PROFESSOR, GEORGE WASHINGTON UNIVERSITY LAW SCHOOL: Good morning.

O'BRIEN: All of this, of course, coming out of the basic fight that Ashcroft did not want to hand over these specific memos.

He has described them as advice and analysis, and he argues that if you hand them over to some degree you will put limits on what kind of advice and analysis people will be willing to provide the president.

What do you make of that argument?

TURLEY: Well, this is a classic executive privilege argument. And this president takes executive privilege very seriously. He has -- he has really pushed executive privilege to its outer limits.

I think many in the administration feel that ground was lost on executive privilege, this type of confidentiality of communications, during the Clinton administration. And so this is consistent with that view.

But, once again, it may go too far. I mean, what Congress is saying here is that we, under the Constitution, have an oversight responsibility, and this memo seems to say -- It doesn't seem to say, it actually says -- that the White House could conceivably violate federal law, and that laws passed by Congress cannot necessarily prevent the torture of prisoners.

That's a very serious conclusion to reach in the White House counsel's office.

O'BRIEN: At the same time, there are many who say it's a discussion piece. It's a draft. It is not a directive.

So what's the harm in discussing the issues and the potential alternatives? It's not as if the president actually has gone ahead and made this into some kind of law.

TURLEY: You're absolutely right. I mean, there is a valid point here that we can't have every memo, any talking memo or any exchange that is given to the president revealed. I mean, that creates a chilling effect that's perfectly glacial for the White House.

The problem is that this -- the language of this memo found its way expressed in military documents. And it seems to have been used to a significant extent by the military.

The military's long followed a rule that these types of acts, which under international law would be torture, cannot be used by military personnel, but after this memo, there was some changes in military policy.

So we have a very difficult position here, and both sides really have arguments with some merit. On one hand, the president does have to have confidentiality. On the other hand, Congress has a right to look at whether the White House is encouraging or condoning the violation of both international law and federal law. O'BRIEN: Ashcroft said the administration rejects torture. Clearly, they're obviously looking for this legal line there.

Is this unusual? Has this not been heard of before?

TURLEY: It has been. The interesting thing is that over -- really, over two years ago, the administration was first accused of using tactics that constitute torture under international law.

At that time, the administration expressly dismissed those arguments. They didn't necessarily deny that they were narrowing the definition of torture. They simply said that they're allowed to take certain measures to protect the American people.

The difference, to put it quite bluntly, would be the pictures. I mean, the pictures change politics.

And when those pictures of prisoners on leashes and tied to wires came out, the White House suddenly changed its position and said, "This has nothing to do with us."

The irony, Soledad, is that the more they rely on executive privilege and say this is the type of information the president needs to make confidential, the closer they bring the scandal to the president's office doorstep.

And the so this is a somewhat dangerous argument, because the White House is insistent that the president really was not directly involved in these abuses.

O'BRIEN: Kind of a catch 22 there. Jonathan Turley, nice to see you as always. Thanks for being with us.

TURLEY: Thanks, Soledad.

O'BRIEN: Bill.

HEMMER: It's 11 minutes past the hour back here in Washington. The body of the former president, Ronald Reagan, arrives in Washington later today. It will lie in state at the U.S. capitol rotunda. Security very tight, indeed.

Washington, D.C., police chief, Charles Ramsey, our guest now. Also Bill Hely, an assistant chief with the Secret Service.

And gentlemen, welcome here to AMERICAN MORNING. Good to you have with us.

CHIEF CHARLES RAMSEY, WASHINGTON, D.C., POLICE: Thank you, Bill.

HEMMER: Chief, are you ready for this?

RAMSEY: Yes. I mean, we're ready. You know, the planning has been going on for awhile. Obviously, we didn't know when we'd have to implement the plan, but we're ready to go. Our biggest challenge, probably, today is going to be the heat. It's going to be very hot here, and we expect large numbers of people. And of course, that's always a problem, whenever you have that combination.

HEMMER: Chief, the weather might be one concern here, but in this post-9/11 world, the first significant event this city has seen since those events of 2 1/2 years ago. What are the added security challenges in that?

RAMSEY: Well, there's added security challenges, but this isn't the first event we've had post-9/11. We have very large gatherings here in Washington all the time. Security is always foremost in our minds. We're going to take the steps we need to to make sure that everything is safe and secure.

We've kind of got accustomed to that now. We don't expect any problems. There's no information that we've received that this event has been targeted. But obviously, we have to take the necessary steps to ensure the safety of the public.

HEMMER: If I can go to Bill Hely with this next question, 170 diplomats from 170 countries, at least 20 heads of state. This is a significant task. The Secret Service is in charge of overall coordination.

What have you done differently that you can share with us to make sure things are safe over the next three days?

BILL HELY, ASSISTANT CHIEF, SECRET SERVICE UNIFORMED DIVISION: Basically, we tried to take all measures to ensure the safety of not only our visiting dignitary, but also the general public and our Secret Service protectees that will be in town during this event.

HEMMER: And, Chief, how many do you expect at this point? We've heard estimates well over 100,000 to view in the capitol building.

RAMSEY: Well, we really don't know. But I've heard a size of 100,000 to 200,000 people. I expect we'll have quite a few out on Constitution Avenue to observe the procession as it goes down.

Of course, the president will be lying in state in the rotunda for about 34 hours or so. And I believe the capitol police are expecting anywhere from 150,000 to 200,000 people.

HEMMER: And everyone will go through a metal detector. At last 12 will be set up there on Capitol Hill.

Good luck to both of you men, Charles Ramsey, Bill Hely, here in Washington, D.C., getting ready for a significant three days still to come. Thank you, gentlemen.

Officials also here in Washington doing all they can to put the Reagan's 300-page funeral plan into action. It has been 31 years since the capitol has had a state funeral with all its history, tradition and protocol that we will see here. Donald Ritchie, associate Senate historian, with us now to talk about the planning for this kind of funeral.

Good morning to you, Don.

DONALD RITCHIE, ASSOCIATE SENATE HISTORIAN: Good morning.

HEMMER: How much influence and input did the Reagan family have on what we will see?

RITCHIE: The family is always consulted and accommodated in every possible way, in terms of transportation, in terms of the guests that will be there, in terms of the way the ceremony is handled.

Much of the ceremony is pretty traditional, however, and much of it will follow the regular pattern, but certainly, Mr. Reagan and her family have been consulted at every step of the way.

HEMMER: What is distinctly Reagan about these ceremonies?

RITCHIE: Well, I think the grandeur of the ceremony will be -- will mark the man. He was the man who was comfortable onstage, and this is a great public pageant. And I think the full dress regalia will definitely be obvious in this -- in this ceremony.

HEMMER: Back to the original question about the Reagan family. Does Nancy Reagan have the ability to veto anything that comes over the next two-day period?

RITCHIE: I think the planners are always very conscious of the widow and the family.

Mrs. Kennedy, for instance, had an enormous impact on the John F. Kennedy funeral. She sent historians to the Library of Congress in the middle of the night to research the Lincoln funeral proceedings.

And so after that, a very large report was prepared. We followed that report pretty much since 1965, when that was done. But with each family, we've had to accommodate what their particular interests are. And so Mrs. Reagan definitely has been very much a part of this process.

HEMMER: We just heard from the police chief here in Washington. There is a quote in "The Weekly" (ph) saying for President Johnson's funeral 31 years ago, all the police did here was carry firearms.

And now you're going to have full-blown security throughout this entire city. How does that affect that planning?

RITCHIE: It makes it very difficult, and complicating the matter, also is the east front of the capital is under reconstruction for the visitor center. So that the west front of the capital will have to be used.

That means that the entrance will come in from the west front and visitors will come in that way. They have to reroute people through the capital in a different pattern than normally. There will have to be security screening as they come in. They won't be able to carry packages into the building. There's going to be a lot of extra security considerations that weren't there in 1973.

HEMMER: Like that when he took the oath of office back in 1981, Ronald Reagan was the one who said, "I want to move it to the west side of the capitol and face the west" back towards his political home in California. Ironic that we're seeing that again.

RITCHIE: Yes. He's coming full circle.

HEMMER: Thank you, Donald Ritchie, watching with us here in D.C. Nice to see you.

RITCHIE: Thank you.

HEMMER: Also, stay with CNN. Starting at 11 Eastern Time today, live special coverage here: "Remembering Ronald Reagan." That is followed by a special report: "The State Funeral of Ronald Reagan" from 4:30 to 9 p.m. Eastern Time later today.

A lot to cover, and we'll be here to see it all.

To Soledad again in New York -- Soledad.

O'BRIEN: Thanks. Time for a look at some of the other stories making headlines with Heidi Collins.

Heidi, good morning.

HEIDI COLLINS, ANCHOR: Good morning to you, Soledad.

Going to make sure every knows about the Pentagon now. Apparently, they are increasing the number of U.S. forces in Iraq. According to "USA Today," around 145,000 troops could be in Iraq this summer. That number up from the 140,000 now stationed there.

A senior official claims force level could go even higher as the tour of duty for Marines already in Iraq is extended.

The September 11 commission drafted a final report that sharply criticizes the FBI and the CIA. Some commission members say the report does not blame individuals or the Bush or Clinton administrations. Instead it takes aim at the federal investigative agencies for failing to prevent the attacks.

There's a move to rename the Pentagon after Ronald Reagan. Sources tell CNN Senate Majority Leader Bill Frist introduced the idea yesterday as an amendment to the defense authorization bill. The proposed new name is the Ronald Reagan National Defense Building.

Three Italian hostages are now back with their families. The men arrived in Rome today after being held in Iraq for two months. U.S. Special Forces freed the group yesterday in a raid south of Baghdad. The men were abducted April 12. A fourth man originally with the group was executed a short time later. To basketball now. A win for the Los Angeles Lakers in game two of the NBA finals. Kobe Bryant scoring a three-point shot with seconds left on the clock, sending the game into overtime. The Detroit Pistons tried to regain control but fall short. Final score, 91-90.

The series is tied at one game apiece now. The teams head to Detroit for game three tomorrow. And that's what you want to see, a tie -- so far in the finals. Makes it much more exciting.

O'BRIEN: Absolutely. All right, Heidi, thanks.

COLLINS: You bet.

(WEATHER REPORT)

O'BRIEN: Jack's here with the question of the day. Hello.

CAFFERTY: How are you doing?

Boston transit system will be the first in the nation to randomly search passengers' bags and check their identification. Transit police will start these searches on subway and commuter trains in Boston next month, just in time for the Democratic National Convention.

Officials say the new policy was prompted by the Madrid train bombings. The American Civil Liberties Union, though, says the program may violate the Constitution's ban on unreasonable search and seizure, and they're telling passengers they have the right to refuse these I.D. checks.

The question is, is the random searching of train passengers a good idea? AM@CNN.com. The city of New York, no doubt, will be watching how this works, because we have the Republican convention coming here in August.

The first passenger to refuse probably will be arrested, probably will be taken to jail, probably will file a lawsuit. The stuff will start through the courts. It will take 300 or 400 years to get this resolved, but eventually, we'll find out whether it's constitutional or not.

In the meantime, you can tell us whether you think it's a good idea.

O'BRIEN: There's got to be 10 or 12 good questions of the day in there as that whole process goes on for 300 or 400 years.

CAFFERTY: This is material for long after my retirement.

O'BRIEN: Exactly! That's what you aim for. Right?

CAFFERTY: Whoever's here after me, yes.

O'BRIEN: All right, Jack. Thanks. Well, at first Laci's stepfather didn't believe Scott Peterson had anything to do with Laci's disappearance. But when he saw a picture of Scott and his mistress, Ron Grantski says he changed his mind.

Grantski was one of five friends and family members who testified at Scott Peterson's double murder trial yesterday. He told the court he was suspicious of Scott's story about going fishing on the day that his pregnant wife went missing.

He said this. He said, "'I think your fishing trip is a fish story. Did you do something else? Do you have a girlfriend?' He said no, and he turned around and he walked away."

But under cross-examination, Grantski admitted that he, too, had gone fishing that day.

We're going to have more on this, of course, in just a little bit. We're going to be talking to Jeffrey Toobin with some analysis of how this case is going so far.

Also still to come this morning, a live interview with first lady Laura Bush. We'll talk about the legacy of the former President Ronald Reagan.

And this morning as well, what do Saudis really think about Osama bin Laden?

Those stories all ahead as we continue right after a short break.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

O'BRIEN: Welcome back, everybody.

Taxpayer dollars flying into thin air. With that and a preview of the market, Andy Serwer, "Minding Your Business."

Hello.

ANDY SERWER, "FORTUNE" MAGAZINE: Good morning to you.

It's about the Pentagon: wasteful spending. It's your tax dollars not at work this morning.

The A.P. is reporting a new congressional study showing the Pentagon wasted $100 million over the past six years on airline tickets that they never used and could have been reimbursed for. Truly amazing.

From 1997 to 2003, the Pentagon racked up all of these plane tickets, Soledad, and its employees never used the tickets. They could have simply reimbursed them. They never did that.

And actually what's even more amazing here, the study found that they were reimbursing the employees in their expense accounts. So they were actually making the problem worse by giving the employees money for the tickets and then reimbursing...

O'BRIEN: Paid them for the tickets. An example of wastefulness.

SERWER: Right. Exactly.

O'BRIEN: Wow.

SERWER: Yes, it's amazing, and Congress is outraged. The Pentagon says it's dealing with the problem and fixing it.

O'BRIEN: That is a ton of money. You're only talking about six years.

SERWER: Right. And especially with everything going on in world and all the money they're spending, it's just horrible that they're wasting it on that.

O'BRIEN: You want to preview the market for me?

SERWER: Yes, quickly. Futures are a little bit lower this morning, Soledad, after a nice little bump up yesterday. We've been up all this week, so it looks to continue. And we will check that out later.

O'BRIEN: All right. Thanks, Andy.

SERWER: You're welcome.

O'BRIEN: We'll check in with you later. Appreciate it.

Well, Saddam Hussein hasn't been topping the news -- excuse me -- recently, as we well know, but that did not keep David Letterman from updating his audience on the former Iraqi dictator last night.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

DAVID LETTERMAN, HOST, "LATE SHOW WITH DAVID LETTERMAN": You know, remember Saddam Hussein? How many of you remember Saddam Hussein? Remember? And remember during the winter, they pulled him out, he was living in a hole, he had himself a hole. And it was like a month-to-month rental, and he a hole.

And the troops got him and yanked him out of the hole, and they've been interrogating him ever since. And listen to this. They're getting -- they can't anything on him. There's no evidence.

Prosecutors are having a difficult time building a case against Saddam Hussein. Isn't that amazing, when you think about it? They can't build a case against Saddam Hussein.

Well, I'll tell you something, the guy was very smart. He was very smart, because when he tortured people, he didn't take snapshots! Very...

(END VIDEO CLIP) O'BRIEN: Still to come this morning a conversation with first lady Laura Bush. We'll talk to her about what lies ahead for the president this election year, and also about the legacy of Ronald Reagan.

Plus, "90-second Pop" just ahead this morning.

So here's the question. Is she or isn't she? We're still not sure whether J. Lo tied the knot again. But of course, we're not talking about that. We're talking about whether or not she's having a baby.

Plus, Nicole Kidman discovers a creepy secret this weekend at the movies. That's ahead as we continue. Stay with us.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

O'BRIEN: Welcome back, everybody. Just about half past the hour on this AMERICAN MORNING.

In just a few moments, we're going to take a look at all the tradition that goes into a state funeral. Final preparations now being made in Washington for former President Reagan.

Ed Henry has a look at that coming up in just a few moments.

Also this morning, in "90-second Pop," we're asking the burning question: just what is up with Jennifer Lopez? I call her J. Lo.

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