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Government Says It's Broken Up Al Qaeda's Plan to Blow Up Shopping Mall; Saudi Government Assuring U.S. It's Doing All It Can to Locate Kidnapped American
Aired June 15, 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, CNN ANCHOR: Good morning. Soft target. The government says it's broken up al Qaeda's plan to blow up a shopping mall.
A suspect now faces federal charges.
Anger in the courtroom. Scott Peterson's lawyer gets mad about the call for a mistrial -- then he gets laughed at in court.
And a portrait of gentility, in many ways, at the White House. And ahead on this AMERICAN MORNING.
ANNOUNCER: From the CNN Broadcast Center in New York, this is AMERICAN MORNING with Bill Hemmer and Soledad O'Brien.
SOLEDAD O'BRIEN, CNN ANCHOR: And good morning, welcome everybody.
Some of the news making headlines this morning -- Saddam Hussein will remain in U.S. custody. That's according to the Pentagon. But the Iraqi interim prime minister is actually saying just the opposite.
This morning we're going to talk directly to him, Ayad Allawi, and find out what he thinks, and why he is differing with the Pentagon this morning.
HEMMER: A bit of confusion there, you're right. Also this hour, Americans in Saudi Arabia -- is it time now to heed the warnings?
We'll look at how attacks on specific individuals, like the kidnapping of contractor Paul Johnson, may be changing minds and may change the attitude of a major oil supplier. We'll get to that story in a second.
O'BRIEN: Also this morning, the Pledge of Allegiance will still include the words "Under God," but the Supreme Court's decision does not end the debate.
We'll hear from Michael Newdow, who brought the lawsuit, on his new plan to get God out of the Pledge of Allegiance.
HEMMER: More ahead on that story. He's not done yet. So he says.
Jack Cafferty, good morning to you. JACK CAFFERTY, CNN ANCHOR: Good morning, Bill. Time of the year when the financial disclosure forms from members of the United States Senate are made public. Its interesting reading. We will take a look.
HEMMER: All right. Thank you, Jack.
O'BRIEN: Thank you, Jack. Federal officials say a Somali man plotted to blow up a shopping mall in the Columbus, Ohio area. The man, Nuradin Abdi, has been indicted for providing material support to al Qaeda.
Here's justice correspondent Kelli Arena this morning.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
KELLI ARENA, CNN JUSTICE CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): U.S. officials say they may have thwarted a devastating attack on an Ohio shopping mall.
JOHN ASHCROFT, ATTORNEY GENERAL: The American heartland was targeted for death and destruction by an al Qaeda cell, which allegedly included a Somali immigrant who will now face justice.
ARENA: Nuradin Abdi, a 32-year-old Somali, is charged with providing material support to al Qaeda for allegedly conspiring to set off a bomb at an unidentified mall.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE, FBI: There can be a presumption, perhaps, that because the conspirators were in our area that they were looking at malls in our area, but we don't have that specificity.
ARENA: As the charges were read in court, Abdi did not enter a plea. His brothers insist he is innocent.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I think it is all lies and stuff, because it's not something that Abdi would be capable of doing. Usually he would be the guy that would hate terrorism.
ARENA: One of Abdi's coconspirators, according to the government, was convicted al Qaeda operative Iyman Faris, who is already serving 20 years in prison. Law enforcement officials say Abdi was under surveillance before being taken into immigration custody in November.
He's also charged with fraud and misuse of documents.
The FBI says the shopping mall plot was just one of the threats associated with Abdi, but it's the only one listed in the indictment.
Terror experts say malls are wide open to attack.
KEN PENNICK (PH) HOMELAND SECURITY (PH) OFFICIAL: The bomb, if it's a suicide bomb, can be constructed just about anyplace and then freely transported. We don't have internal security checkpoints to stop people, to look for the contents of their vehicles. ARENA: The FBI and homeland security officials insist there was no imminent danger and sources say the plot was in its early stages.
Still officials say the investigation into Abdi and anyone he associated with continues.
Kelli Arena, CNN, Washington.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
O'BRIEN: The Saudi government is assuring the United States its doing all it can to locate a kidnapped American, Paul Johnson, a Lockheed Martin employee, who was apparently abducted there over the weekend by militants expressing anger at prisoner abuses in Iraq.
Johnson's son pleaded for kidnappers to release his father and spoke about his family's hopes for his father's safe return.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
PAUL JOHNSON II, SON OF KIDNAP VICTIM: Dad said many times he loved living in Saudi Arabia. He felt he never had any fear for his safety. We are extremely distraught by this unforeseen situation and continue to pray for the safe and speedy return of my father.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
O'BRIEN: The younger Johnson also said he would trade places with his father in, quote, "a heartbeat."
For tens of thousands of U.S. contractors working in Saudi Arabia these are very tense times, but most of them are not leaving the country.
Barbara Starr for us live at the Pentagon this morning.
Barbara, good morning.
BARBARA STARR, CNN PENTAGON CORRESPONDENT: Good morning to you, Soledad.
Well, after a series of deadly attacks against American contractors in Iraq, now Americans living and working in Saudi Arabia are reassessing and trying to determine if that country is safe.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
STARR (voice-over): A message for Paul Johnson, Jr. and his family on Lockheed Martin's Web site. In April the State Department told corporate America to pull its contractors like Johnson out of Saudi Arabia as the terrorist threat grew, but so far it appears most of the 35,000 Americans working in the country are staying put.
RICHARD (PH) BOUCHER (PH) STATE DEPARTMENT SPOKESMAN: We need to give them our best advice on how to handle any particular situation overseas. We've done that here; we've been very forthright and up front about that in urging Americans to depart.
STARR: Americans support Saudi military programs, such as the Apache helicopter, the contract Johnson worked on. Thousands also are employed in the oil and finance sector. Saudi and American business want the world to see the Kingdom as a secure place.
WYCHE FOWLER, FMR. U.S. AMBASSADOR TO SAUDI ARABIA: The corporate leadership as well as the political leadership in the embassy have a very sophisticated communications network. They talk to each other all the time; they warn each other all the time. They watch each other's backs.
STARR: Terrorists with al Qaeda affiliations kidnapped Johnson as part of a campaign to drive out foreigners and destabilize the royal family.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Its very much attacking the economic lifeblood, not just of the West but of the kingdom of Saudi Arabia.
STARR: The death toll is rising. Among those killed, Saturday June 12, the same day Johnson is abducted, Kenneth Scroggs, a defense contractor. Tuesday June 8, Robert Jacobs, an employee of the defense firm Vinnell.
Last month more than 20 are killed when authorities tried to rescue them from gunmen.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
STARR: And perhaps most disturbing, the U.S. now believes that the most recent victims were under surveillance by terrorists inside Saudi Arabia before they were attacked -- Soledad.
O'BRIEN: Barbara Starr at the Pentagon for us this morning. Barbara, thanks. Bill.
HEMMER: Well, at seven minutes past the hour.
As Iraq's new government gets ready to take charge at the end of the month the interim prime minister says they will take charge of all detainees, including Saddam Hussein, in about a two week period.
The Pentagon, however, does not see it quite that way. Officials say there are no immediate plans to transfer custody of Saddam Hussein and thousands of other Iraqis from Baghdad.
With us now, Iraq's interim Prime Minister Ayad Allawi is our guest here, and we appreciate your spending time with us today.
There seems to be a bit of confusion over this. What did the U.S. tell you about when Saddam Hussein would be in your hands?
AYAD ALLAWI, IRAQ'S INTERIM PRIME MINISTER: We are currently negotiating with the United States, with the multinational forces and with the coalition authority here in Iraq the handing over of the criminal Saddam who also committed crimes against the Iraqi people, and some other -- terrorists who...
HEMMER: I believe we may have a bit of confusion here in our line. If you can still hear me, sir, you said the negotiations are still underway. How does that square with what was said yesterday by yourself with Al-Jazeera saying would happen in two weeks?
HEMMER: OK, that's going to be a bit of an issue here from New York to Baghdad if he can not hear me -- Ayad Allawi is the interim prime minister. I'm going to hang with this just for a moment -- maybe we can establish the line here without sacrificing this interview.
Sir, if you can hear me I'm going to try one more time here. Yesterday you told Al-Jazeera that this would happen in two weeks. Is that not the case now?
All right, I give up. My apologies to the interim prime minister. Once we re-establish the line, we'll get you back to Baghdad -- Soledad.
O'BRIEN: All right, Bill, thanks we'll get to working on that.
More testimony today in Scott Peterson's double murder trial. There were some legal fireworks in court yesterday following testimony from police officers who were first on the scene after Laci was reported missing.
It prompted an angry response from defense attorney Mark Geragos who then asked for a mistrial. The request was denied.
CNN's senior legal analyst Jeff Toobin with more on the courtroom confrontation and potential damage for the defense. Good morning. Nice to see you.
JEFFREY TOOBIN, CNN SR. LEGAL ANALYST: Good morning.
O'BRIEN: Kind of a dramatic day in court. First let's talk a little bit about what trigged Geragos' reaction which was sort of this missing statement which some prosecutors said actually wasn't a statement at all.
TOOBIN: Right. What happened was a detective was testifying about Peterson's reaction when he was confronted about his -- accounting for his whereabouts on the day that Laci disappeared.
At one point, he threw a flashlight on the ground and uttered an expletive. Geragos got very upset at that and said we were sandbagged, we weren't told that...
O'BRIEN: It wasn't in the police report originally...
TOOBIN: It wasn't in the police report. Jury removed from the courtroom, jury -- they then say -- I'm trying to remember what happened here -- oh, the jury. Loses the -- I'm sorry.
O'BRIEN: Wasn't Geragos wanting a mistrial? Didn't he want a mistrial?
TOOBIN: That's right. He said I -- a mistrial.
O'BRIEN: And people laughed.
TOOBIN: Well then -- then people laughed and Geragos said judge, you should clear the courtroom and the judge said you know, Mr. Geragos that only happens in the movies.
So, everybody calmed down, but the judge made and interesting point. He said, you know, this could actually help your client not hurt your client because his upset could be at the loss of his wife not at being questioned by the police.
So it could be much ado about relatively little.
O'BRIEN: I was going to ask net gain out of this whole thing? Is that -- I mean as much as Geragos loves to have a dramatic flair did he lose great ground by having people sort of chuckle at him in the courtroom and then the judge gently chide him, or do you think it's kind of a wash?
TOOBIN: I would imagine its kind of a wash. However, there was a very important piece of testimony from that detective entirely separate from this controversy, which was that Peterson could not tell the detectives when he was interviewed that day what he was fishing for or what kind of lure he was using.
O'BRIEN: There are some people who would say here's a guy whose wife has gone missing who is obviously freaked and panicked -- it's understandable. You could see that every piece of sort of circumstantial evidence that comes up you could say, well, clearly Scott he was a mess, he couldn't get it together.
TOOBIN: Could be interpreted in two ways. And I reacted to this somewhat as a city boy who doesn't know anything about fishing and I said, well, how do you know -- I mean is it a big deal not to know what you're fishing for? But I was talking to some more expert fishermen on our staff and...
O'BRIEN: And they said it is a big deal.
TOOBIN: And they said it is a big deal. They said you usually when you go fishing have a sense of what you're fishing for and what kind of lures you're using so to draw a complete blank is pretty incriminating. But that's this case. It is not direct evidence; it is calling on the jury to assume.
O'BRIEN: Make an assessment about behavior.
TOOBIN: Right. A guilty person would behave this way. An innocent person would behave that way. It's not easy.
O'BRIEN: Do you think we have five months of this?
TOOBIN: I mean it's going to be. Look, there is other evidence coming. There is the single hair found in the little boat.
There is the single most incriminating factor in the case, which is that her body is discovered in the precise area 50 miles away from their home where Scott says he was.
I mean that remains in the case. But in terms of direct evidence there's not a lot there.
O'BRIEN: A lot of it could come down to do you believe him or not. Jeff Toobin as always thank you, appreciate it -- Bill.
HEMMER: Soledad, thanks. Going to give it another shot here in Baghdad. Back to the interim Prime Minister Ayad Allawi back with us.
And, sir, before we were interrupted technically you said that negotiations are still underway. How are we to interpret that statement what you said yesterday with Al-Jazeera when you mentioned that in two weeks time you will have your hands on Saddam Hussein?
ALLAWI: Well, I definitely will be trying our best to -- to get custody of Saddam and the other criminals. We have so far some definite promises from the coalition. That this would be the case. The negotiations are underway and are progressing well.
HEMMER: Who told you that from the U.S. government, sir?
ALLAWI: The Coalition Authority here in Baghdad.
HEMMER: The Pentagon is saying it will happen as more is worked out. What do you believe has to be worked out for this to happen?
ALLAWI: Well, I guess this having to do (UNINTELLIGIBLE) within the U.S. administration. We Iraqis want to -- to get control of the criminals who committed the crimes against the Iraqi people. CPA we are in constant negotiations and discussions of this issue.
HEMMER: On another front, sir, knowing that the heart of Baghdad has been hit so many times in the month of June alone. Seventeen car bombs alone. What is your strategy for defeating those who are tying to assassinate all new members of the Iraqi government?
ALLAWI: Well, the escalation of terrorist activities in Iraq has been expected. It will increase even more. We have laid a lot of contingency plans to base terrorist activities in Iraq and that will be implemented once sovereignty is transferred.
We definitely are determined that we will win and we are going to win and we are going to prevail.
HEMMER: Some of the protesters in the streets of Baghdad yesterday shouting where's the democracy? Shouting down with America. I mentioned 17 car bombs in this month alone. You know the handover officially takes place in about two weeks, a little less than that. How long do you believe this war will last?
ALLAWI: Well, I don't really know but the -- those who burned the flags yesterday were not representatives of the Iraqi people.
The Iraqi people, by and large, the majority, the vast majority really are indebted to the United States and to Britain and to the coalition for ridding Iraq of Saddam and his evil regime.
Definitely we and the government of Iraq respect what the coalition has done and we, as I said, expect terrorists to increase their activities against us and we are ready to face it.
HEMMER: I didn't hear a time frame in your answer. Does that mean it's impossible to say at this point?
ALLAWI: It is very difficult to put a time frame on events and things. We need to build out capabilities and forces, which we are doing. We need to build our security assets to confront the evil forces of terrorism and this is what we are doing and we hope that our plans will be put to action once sovereignty is transferred to our government and to the government of Iraq.
HEMMER: Dr. Ayad Allawi is the Iraqi interim prime minister. Thank you for your time live in Baghdad. Thanks for being patient too while we can work out a problem on our end. Appreciate that.
All right, about 15 minutes past the hour. To Heidi Collins, check of the other news this morning. Heidi, good morning to you.
HEIDI COLLINS, CNN ANCHOR: Good morning Bill and good morning to you, everyone.
We begin this morning with a meeting at the White House between Afghan leader Hamid Karzai and President Bush.
The two leaders are expected to discuss security in Afghanistan and plans for long-awaited elections in September. Karzai will address a joint meeting of Congress before holding talks with President Bush.
CNN will have live coverage of the Rose Garden ceremony at 11:25 a.m. Eastern.
A new report claims original plans for the September 11 terrorist attacks were put on hold. According to sources cited in "The Washington Post," al Qaeda leaders postponed the attacks because a lead hijacker was not ready.
The delay is reportedly part of evidence unearthed by the commission investigating the 9/11 attacks. The panel is expected to discuss its findings during a final public hearing tomorrow.
A California atheist says he will continue his fight after the Supreme Court rejected his lawsuit on blocking the Pledge of Allegiance in public schools. Michael Newdow had argued that reciting the pledge in public schools is unconstitutional because it contains the phrase "under God."
In an eight to zero ruling, the high court threw out Newdow's suit on a technicality citing he does not have custody of his daughter. We will hear from Michael Newdow himself coming up a little bit later.
A judge has decided not to reduce bail for pop star Michael Jackson. Jackson's attorney had claimed the $3 million bail was a bit excessive but in a ruling released yesterday, the judge wrote Jackson posted the bail twice already without apparent difficulty so the bail will stay as set.
And some kind words for former President Bill Clinton at the unveiling of his official portrait at the White House yesterday and former first lady and current senator, Hillary Clinton.
During the event, President Bush praised Mr. Clinton for his knowledge and compassion and even took a few good-natured jabs at the former president.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
GEORGE W. BUSH, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: I mean, after all, you got to be optimistic to give six months of your life running the McGovern campaign in Texas.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
COLLINS: The oil paintings of the Clintons are both by Simmie Knox, a former sharecropper and the first African-American to paint a presidential portrait for the mansion. Had an opportunity to interview him last night, and just a lovely man. Said he was shocked when asked to do it.
HEMMER: Oh, very nice. That's an honor. Thank you Heidi.
O'BRIEN: Time for the Cafferty File -- hello.
CAFFERTY: Good morning. That time of the year. Financial disclosure forms show what an elite club the United States Senate can be. A lot of incomes go way beyond the senator's yearly salary, about $155,000.
For example, Massachusetts senator Ted Kennedy reports between $8-40 million in family trust funds. Kennedy also lists a $2500 in regular income from a single parking space in Boston.
Senator Jon Corzine of New Jersey -- $25-50 million in stock in Goldman Sacks and a tax-free fund worth another $25-50 million.
At the other end of the there are these examples. Iowa Senator Charles Grassley says he earned $45,000 on his farm last year.
Utah Senator Orrin Hatch earned $33,000 in royalties from patriotic and religious songs.
And Senator Richard Lugar of Indiana lists a 1993 Ford Taurus that he says is worth $1,060.75. So here's the question: how much do you think you have in common with your U.S. senator? You can e-mail us at am@cnn.com and we'll compare financial...
HEMMER: I like that. Intriguing.
O'BRIEN: Twenty-five hundred bucks a month for a parking space -- is it a month for a parking space in Boston do you think?
CAFFERTY: I don't know if it's a month or a year. What I'd really like to know is where it is.
HEMMER: So true.
O'BRIEN: He rents it out. He's not parked there.
HEMMER: The Prudential building downtown. Thank you, Jack.
(WEATHER REPORT)
O'BRIEN: Still to come this morning, the scary facts about identity theft. Criminals stole the identities of almost two millions of Americans last year. All they had to do was ask. We'll explain ahead.
HEMMER: Also ahead, an energy shortage left much of California in the dark. New audiotapes now concerning Enron's alleged involvement. Hear them for yourself -- "Minding Your Business" with Andy in a moment on that.
O'BRIEN: And a big battle for the Material Girl -- finally over -- find out how it was resolved as AMERICAN MORNING continues right after this short break.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
O'BRIEN: Welcome back everybody. More of those Enron tapes are out. Is there more bad news for that company?
With that and a preview of the market this morning, Andy Serwer is "Minding Your Business."
I'm going to guess yes.
ANDY SERWER, "FORTUNE" MAGAZINE: Yes, it is. If it's possible it's true. More bad news for Enron, more tapes out. Not quite as colorful, Soledad as those that were previously released what with cheating grandma Millie. Remember those?
But these are -- I think even more incriminating. New documents and tapes released by a Washington State utility that's fighting a lawsuit against Enron.
Let's listen in to hear what some of these Enron traders are talking about now.
(BEGIN AUDIOTAPE)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: If the line's not congested, then I just look if I can congest it, cause then it's worth -- 'cause those are going to be your shoulder hours anyway, and that's when replacement is super cheap, right?
So, like those hours, if you can congest it, that's a moneymaker no matter what, 'cause you're not losing any money to move it down that line -- you're actually just making money.
(END AUDIOTAPE)
SERWER: All right, let me decipher a little bit of that. First of all, shoulder hours are your peak hours in the utility business, you guys.
But the real operative phrase there is congest it. OK, think about that. What they're doing basically is creating a problem; they're congesting the lines, overloading the grid and then getting paid to solve the problem.
Regulators are charging that Enron now defrauded or gauged California consumers out of $1.1 billion around 2000 and 2001 and we're going to have U.S. Senator Maria Cantwell of Washington State as our guest to talk about that in the next hour. She's leading the investigation here.
O'BRIEN: Yes, it's really -- we can congest it.
SERWER: Yes, we'll congest it. We'll create a problem and...
HEMMER: What she says -- she alleges that there was excess energy at a certain time in California and the energy company would take that for free, take it out of the state of California and then sell it back to Sacramento at a premium price.
Which is essentially double dipping.
O'BRIEN: And she's alleging other things as well. Let's talk about the market this morning.
SERWER: Yes, very quickly. Yesterday a down day. Dow was down 75 points. This morning it's going to be a big day because you can see here at 8:30 this morning the CPI, consumer price index for May comes out obviously inflation on everyone's mind. Greenspan testifying today and futures are up this morning.
O'BRIEN: Andy, thanks. We'll check in with you again.
SERWER: You're welcome.
O'BRIEN: Still to come this morning, once a hero well now the Afghan interim president is a man under fire. What exactly is happening with Hamid Karzai? We'll explain.
Also ahead this morning the U.S. Supreme Court says the Pledge of Allegiance stays as it is but the atheist who took the case to court says he's not through fighting. What's he going to do next?
We're going to ask him -- there he is -- Michael Newdow -- just ahead on AMERICAN MORNING.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
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Aired June 15, 2004 - 07:00 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. Soft target. The government says it's broken up al Qaeda's plan to blow up a shopping mall.
A suspect now faces federal charges.
Anger in the courtroom. Scott Peterson's lawyer gets mad about the call for a mistrial -- then he gets laughed at in court.
And a portrait of gentility, in many ways, at the White House. And ahead on this AMERICAN MORNING.
ANNOUNCER: From the CNN Broadcast Center in New York, this is AMERICAN MORNING with Bill Hemmer and Soledad O'Brien.
SOLEDAD O'BRIEN, CNN ANCHOR: And good morning, welcome everybody.
Some of the news making headlines this morning -- Saddam Hussein will remain in U.S. custody. That's according to the Pentagon. But the Iraqi interim prime minister is actually saying just the opposite.
This morning we're going to talk directly to him, Ayad Allawi, and find out what he thinks, and why he is differing with the Pentagon this morning.
HEMMER: A bit of confusion there, you're right. Also this hour, Americans in Saudi Arabia -- is it time now to heed the warnings?
We'll look at how attacks on specific individuals, like the kidnapping of contractor Paul Johnson, may be changing minds and may change the attitude of a major oil supplier. We'll get to that story in a second.
O'BRIEN: Also this morning, the Pledge of Allegiance will still include the words "Under God," but the Supreme Court's decision does not end the debate.
We'll hear from Michael Newdow, who brought the lawsuit, on his new plan to get God out of the Pledge of Allegiance.
HEMMER: More ahead on that story. He's not done yet. So he says.
Jack Cafferty, good morning to you. JACK CAFFERTY, CNN ANCHOR: Good morning, Bill. Time of the year when the financial disclosure forms from members of the United States Senate are made public. Its interesting reading. We will take a look.
HEMMER: All right. Thank you, Jack.
O'BRIEN: Thank you, Jack. Federal officials say a Somali man plotted to blow up a shopping mall in the Columbus, Ohio area. The man, Nuradin Abdi, has been indicted for providing material support to al Qaeda.
Here's justice correspondent Kelli Arena this morning.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
KELLI ARENA, CNN JUSTICE CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): U.S. officials say they may have thwarted a devastating attack on an Ohio shopping mall.
JOHN ASHCROFT, ATTORNEY GENERAL: The American heartland was targeted for death and destruction by an al Qaeda cell, which allegedly included a Somali immigrant who will now face justice.
ARENA: Nuradin Abdi, a 32-year-old Somali, is charged with providing material support to al Qaeda for allegedly conspiring to set off a bomb at an unidentified mall.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE, FBI: There can be a presumption, perhaps, that because the conspirators were in our area that they were looking at malls in our area, but we don't have that specificity.
ARENA: As the charges were read in court, Abdi did not enter a plea. His brothers insist he is innocent.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I think it is all lies and stuff, because it's not something that Abdi would be capable of doing. Usually he would be the guy that would hate terrorism.
ARENA: One of Abdi's coconspirators, according to the government, was convicted al Qaeda operative Iyman Faris, who is already serving 20 years in prison. Law enforcement officials say Abdi was under surveillance before being taken into immigration custody in November.
He's also charged with fraud and misuse of documents.
The FBI says the shopping mall plot was just one of the threats associated with Abdi, but it's the only one listed in the indictment.
Terror experts say malls are wide open to attack.
KEN PENNICK (PH) HOMELAND SECURITY (PH) OFFICIAL: The bomb, if it's a suicide bomb, can be constructed just about anyplace and then freely transported. We don't have internal security checkpoints to stop people, to look for the contents of their vehicles. ARENA: The FBI and homeland security officials insist there was no imminent danger and sources say the plot was in its early stages.
Still officials say the investigation into Abdi and anyone he associated with continues.
Kelli Arena, CNN, Washington.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
O'BRIEN: The Saudi government is assuring the United States its doing all it can to locate a kidnapped American, Paul Johnson, a Lockheed Martin employee, who was apparently abducted there over the weekend by militants expressing anger at prisoner abuses in Iraq.
Johnson's son pleaded for kidnappers to release his father and spoke about his family's hopes for his father's safe return.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
PAUL JOHNSON II, SON OF KIDNAP VICTIM: Dad said many times he loved living in Saudi Arabia. He felt he never had any fear for his safety. We are extremely distraught by this unforeseen situation and continue to pray for the safe and speedy return of my father.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
O'BRIEN: The younger Johnson also said he would trade places with his father in, quote, "a heartbeat."
For tens of thousands of U.S. contractors working in Saudi Arabia these are very tense times, but most of them are not leaving the country.
Barbara Starr for us live at the Pentagon this morning.
Barbara, good morning.
BARBARA STARR, CNN PENTAGON CORRESPONDENT: Good morning to you, Soledad.
Well, after a series of deadly attacks against American contractors in Iraq, now Americans living and working in Saudi Arabia are reassessing and trying to determine if that country is safe.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
STARR (voice-over): A message for Paul Johnson, Jr. and his family on Lockheed Martin's Web site. In April the State Department told corporate America to pull its contractors like Johnson out of Saudi Arabia as the terrorist threat grew, but so far it appears most of the 35,000 Americans working in the country are staying put.
RICHARD (PH) BOUCHER (PH) STATE DEPARTMENT SPOKESMAN: We need to give them our best advice on how to handle any particular situation overseas. We've done that here; we've been very forthright and up front about that in urging Americans to depart.
STARR: Americans support Saudi military programs, such as the Apache helicopter, the contract Johnson worked on. Thousands also are employed in the oil and finance sector. Saudi and American business want the world to see the Kingdom as a secure place.
WYCHE FOWLER, FMR. U.S. AMBASSADOR TO SAUDI ARABIA: The corporate leadership as well as the political leadership in the embassy have a very sophisticated communications network. They talk to each other all the time; they warn each other all the time. They watch each other's backs.
STARR: Terrorists with al Qaeda affiliations kidnapped Johnson as part of a campaign to drive out foreigners and destabilize the royal family.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Its very much attacking the economic lifeblood, not just of the West but of the kingdom of Saudi Arabia.
STARR: The death toll is rising. Among those killed, Saturday June 12, the same day Johnson is abducted, Kenneth Scroggs, a defense contractor. Tuesday June 8, Robert Jacobs, an employee of the defense firm Vinnell.
Last month more than 20 are killed when authorities tried to rescue them from gunmen.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
STARR: And perhaps most disturbing, the U.S. now believes that the most recent victims were under surveillance by terrorists inside Saudi Arabia before they were attacked -- Soledad.
O'BRIEN: Barbara Starr at the Pentagon for us this morning. Barbara, thanks. Bill.
HEMMER: Well, at seven minutes past the hour.
As Iraq's new government gets ready to take charge at the end of the month the interim prime minister says they will take charge of all detainees, including Saddam Hussein, in about a two week period.
The Pentagon, however, does not see it quite that way. Officials say there are no immediate plans to transfer custody of Saddam Hussein and thousands of other Iraqis from Baghdad.
With us now, Iraq's interim Prime Minister Ayad Allawi is our guest here, and we appreciate your spending time with us today.
There seems to be a bit of confusion over this. What did the U.S. tell you about when Saddam Hussein would be in your hands?
AYAD ALLAWI, IRAQ'S INTERIM PRIME MINISTER: We are currently negotiating with the United States, with the multinational forces and with the coalition authority here in Iraq the handing over of the criminal Saddam who also committed crimes against the Iraqi people, and some other -- terrorists who...
HEMMER: I believe we may have a bit of confusion here in our line. If you can still hear me, sir, you said the negotiations are still underway. How does that square with what was said yesterday by yourself with Al-Jazeera saying would happen in two weeks?
HEMMER: OK, that's going to be a bit of an issue here from New York to Baghdad if he can not hear me -- Ayad Allawi is the interim prime minister. I'm going to hang with this just for a moment -- maybe we can establish the line here without sacrificing this interview.
Sir, if you can hear me I'm going to try one more time here. Yesterday you told Al-Jazeera that this would happen in two weeks. Is that not the case now?
All right, I give up. My apologies to the interim prime minister. Once we re-establish the line, we'll get you back to Baghdad -- Soledad.
O'BRIEN: All right, Bill, thanks we'll get to working on that.
More testimony today in Scott Peterson's double murder trial. There were some legal fireworks in court yesterday following testimony from police officers who were first on the scene after Laci was reported missing.
It prompted an angry response from defense attorney Mark Geragos who then asked for a mistrial. The request was denied.
CNN's senior legal analyst Jeff Toobin with more on the courtroom confrontation and potential damage for the defense. Good morning. Nice to see you.
JEFFREY TOOBIN, CNN SR. LEGAL ANALYST: Good morning.
O'BRIEN: Kind of a dramatic day in court. First let's talk a little bit about what trigged Geragos' reaction which was sort of this missing statement which some prosecutors said actually wasn't a statement at all.
TOOBIN: Right. What happened was a detective was testifying about Peterson's reaction when he was confronted about his -- accounting for his whereabouts on the day that Laci disappeared.
At one point, he threw a flashlight on the ground and uttered an expletive. Geragos got very upset at that and said we were sandbagged, we weren't told that...
O'BRIEN: It wasn't in the police report originally...
TOOBIN: It wasn't in the police report. Jury removed from the courtroom, jury -- they then say -- I'm trying to remember what happened here -- oh, the jury. Loses the -- I'm sorry.
O'BRIEN: Wasn't Geragos wanting a mistrial? Didn't he want a mistrial?
TOOBIN: That's right. He said I -- a mistrial.
O'BRIEN: And people laughed.
TOOBIN: Well then -- then people laughed and Geragos said judge, you should clear the courtroom and the judge said you know, Mr. Geragos that only happens in the movies.
So, everybody calmed down, but the judge made and interesting point. He said, you know, this could actually help your client not hurt your client because his upset could be at the loss of his wife not at being questioned by the police.
So it could be much ado about relatively little.
O'BRIEN: I was going to ask net gain out of this whole thing? Is that -- I mean as much as Geragos loves to have a dramatic flair did he lose great ground by having people sort of chuckle at him in the courtroom and then the judge gently chide him, or do you think it's kind of a wash?
TOOBIN: I would imagine its kind of a wash. However, there was a very important piece of testimony from that detective entirely separate from this controversy, which was that Peterson could not tell the detectives when he was interviewed that day what he was fishing for or what kind of lure he was using.
O'BRIEN: There are some people who would say here's a guy whose wife has gone missing who is obviously freaked and panicked -- it's understandable. You could see that every piece of sort of circumstantial evidence that comes up you could say, well, clearly Scott he was a mess, he couldn't get it together.
TOOBIN: Could be interpreted in two ways. And I reacted to this somewhat as a city boy who doesn't know anything about fishing and I said, well, how do you know -- I mean is it a big deal not to know what you're fishing for? But I was talking to some more expert fishermen on our staff and...
O'BRIEN: And they said it is a big deal.
TOOBIN: And they said it is a big deal. They said you usually when you go fishing have a sense of what you're fishing for and what kind of lures you're using so to draw a complete blank is pretty incriminating. But that's this case. It is not direct evidence; it is calling on the jury to assume.
O'BRIEN: Make an assessment about behavior.
TOOBIN: Right. A guilty person would behave this way. An innocent person would behave that way. It's not easy.
O'BRIEN: Do you think we have five months of this?
TOOBIN: I mean it's going to be. Look, there is other evidence coming. There is the single hair found in the little boat.
There is the single most incriminating factor in the case, which is that her body is discovered in the precise area 50 miles away from their home where Scott says he was.
I mean that remains in the case. But in terms of direct evidence there's not a lot there.
O'BRIEN: A lot of it could come down to do you believe him or not. Jeff Toobin as always thank you, appreciate it -- Bill.
HEMMER: Soledad, thanks. Going to give it another shot here in Baghdad. Back to the interim Prime Minister Ayad Allawi back with us.
And, sir, before we were interrupted technically you said that negotiations are still underway. How are we to interpret that statement what you said yesterday with Al-Jazeera when you mentioned that in two weeks time you will have your hands on Saddam Hussein?
ALLAWI: Well, I definitely will be trying our best to -- to get custody of Saddam and the other criminals. We have so far some definite promises from the coalition. That this would be the case. The negotiations are underway and are progressing well.
HEMMER: Who told you that from the U.S. government, sir?
ALLAWI: The Coalition Authority here in Baghdad.
HEMMER: The Pentagon is saying it will happen as more is worked out. What do you believe has to be worked out for this to happen?
ALLAWI: Well, I guess this having to do (UNINTELLIGIBLE) within the U.S. administration. We Iraqis want to -- to get control of the criminals who committed the crimes against the Iraqi people. CPA we are in constant negotiations and discussions of this issue.
HEMMER: On another front, sir, knowing that the heart of Baghdad has been hit so many times in the month of June alone. Seventeen car bombs alone. What is your strategy for defeating those who are tying to assassinate all new members of the Iraqi government?
ALLAWI: Well, the escalation of terrorist activities in Iraq has been expected. It will increase even more. We have laid a lot of contingency plans to base terrorist activities in Iraq and that will be implemented once sovereignty is transferred.
We definitely are determined that we will win and we are going to win and we are going to prevail.
HEMMER: Some of the protesters in the streets of Baghdad yesterday shouting where's the democracy? Shouting down with America. I mentioned 17 car bombs in this month alone. You know the handover officially takes place in about two weeks, a little less than that. How long do you believe this war will last?
ALLAWI: Well, I don't really know but the -- those who burned the flags yesterday were not representatives of the Iraqi people.
The Iraqi people, by and large, the majority, the vast majority really are indebted to the United States and to Britain and to the coalition for ridding Iraq of Saddam and his evil regime.
Definitely we and the government of Iraq respect what the coalition has done and we, as I said, expect terrorists to increase their activities against us and we are ready to face it.
HEMMER: I didn't hear a time frame in your answer. Does that mean it's impossible to say at this point?
ALLAWI: It is very difficult to put a time frame on events and things. We need to build out capabilities and forces, which we are doing. We need to build our security assets to confront the evil forces of terrorism and this is what we are doing and we hope that our plans will be put to action once sovereignty is transferred to our government and to the government of Iraq.
HEMMER: Dr. Ayad Allawi is the Iraqi interim prime minister. Thank you for your time live in Baghdad. Thanks for being patient too while we can work out a problem on our end. Appreciate that.
All right, about 15 minutes past the hour. To Heidi Collins, check of the other news this morning. Heidi, good morning to you.
HEIDI COLLINS, CNN ANCHOR: Good morning Bill and good morning to you, everyone.
We begin this morning with a meeting at the White House between Afghan leader Hamid Karzai and President Bush.
The two leaders are expected to discuss security in Afghanistan and plans for long-awaited elections in September. Karzai will address a joint meeting of Congress before holding talks with President Bush.
CNN will have live coverage of the Rose Garden ceremony at 11:25 a.m. Eastern.
A new report claims original plans for the September 11 terrorist attacks were put on hold. According to sources cited in "The Washington Post," al Qaeda leaders postponed the attacks because a lead hijacker was not ready.
The delay is reportedly part of evidence unearthed by the commission investigating the 9/11 attacks. The panel is expected to discuss its findings during a final public hearing tomorrow.
A California atheist says he will continue his fight after the Supreme Court rejected his lawsuit on blocking the Pledge of Allegiance in public schools. Michael Newdow had argued that reciting the pledge in public schools is unconstitutional because it contains the phrase "under God."
In an eight to zero ruling, the high court threw out Newdow's suit on a technicality citing he does not have custody of his daughter. We will hear from Michael Newdow himself coming up a little bit later.
A judge has decided not to reduce bail for pop star Michael Jackson. Jackson's attorney had claimed the $3 million bail was a bit excessive but in a ruling released yesterday, the judge wrote Jackson posted the bail twice already without apparent difficulty so the bail will stay as set.
And some kind words for former President Bill Clinton at the unveiling of his official portrait at the White House yesterday and former first lady and current senator, Hillary Clinton.
During the event, President Bush praised Mr. Clinton for his knowledge and compassion and even took a few good-natured jabs at the former president.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
GEORGE W. BUSH, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: I mean, after all, you got to be optimistic to give six months of your life running the McGovern campaign in Texas.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
COLLINS: The oil paintings of the Clintons are both by Simmie Knox, a former sharecropper and the first African-American to paint a presidential portrait for the mansion. Had an opportunity to interview him last night, and just a lovely man. Said he was shocked when asked to do it.
HEMMER: Oh, very nice. That's an honor. Thank you Heidi.
O'BRIEN: Time for the Cafferty File -- hello.
CAFFERTY: Good morning. That time of the year. Financial disclosure forms show what an elite club the United States Senate can be. A lot of incomes go way beyond the senator's yearly salary, about $155,000.
For example, Massachusetts senator Ted Kennedy reports between $8-40 million in family trust funds. Kennedy also lists a $2500 in regular income from a single parking space in Boston.
Senator Jon Corzine of New Jersey -- $25-50 million in stock in Goldman Sacks and a tax-free fund worth another $25-50 million.
At the other end of the there are these examples. Iowa Senator Charles Grassley says he earned $45,000 on his farm last year.
Utah Senator Orrin Hatch earned $33,000 in royalties from patriotic and religious songs.
And Senator Richard Lugar of Indiana lists a 1993 Ford Taurus that he says is worth $1,060.75. So here's the question: how much do you think you have in common with your U.S. senator? You can e-mail us at am@cnn.com and we'll compare financial...
HEMMER: I like that. Intriguing.
O'BRIEN: Twenty-five hundred bucks a month for a parking space -- is it a month for a parking space in Boston do you think?
CAFFERTY: I don't know if it's a month or a year. What I'd really like to know is where it is.
HEMMER: So true.
O'BRIEN: He rents it out. He's not parked there.
HEMMER: The Prudential building downtown. Thank you, Jack.
(WEATHER REPORT)
O'BRIEN: Still to come this morning, the scary facts about identity theft. Criminals stole the identities of almost two millions of Americans last year. All they had to do was ask. We'll explain ahead.
HEMMER: Also ahead, an energy shortage left much of California in the dark. New audiotapes now concerning Enron's alleged involvement. Hear them for yourself -- "Minding Your Business" with Andy in a moment on that.
O'BRIEN: And a big battle for the Material Girl -- finally over -- find out how it was resolved as AMERICAN MORNING continues right after this short break.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
O'BRIEN: Welcome back everybody. More of those Enron tapes are out. Is there more bad news for that company?
With that and a preview of the market this morning, Andy Serwer is "Minding Your Business."
I'm going to guess yes.
ANDY SERWER, "FORTUNE" MAGAZINE: Yes, it is. If it's possible it's true. More bad news for Enron, more tapes out. Not quite as colorful, Soledad as those that were previously released what with cheating grandma Millie. Remember those?
But these are -- I think even more incriminating. New documents and tapes released by a Washington State utility that's fighting a lawsuit against Enron.
Let's listen in to hear what some of these Enron traders are talking about now.
(BEGIN AUDIOTAPE)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: If the line's not congested, then I just look if I can congest it, cause then it's worth -- 'cause those are going to be your shoulder hours anyway, and that's when replacement is super cheap, right?
So, like those hours, if you can congest it, that's a moneymaker no matter what, 'cause you're not losing any money to move it down that line -- you're actually just making money.
(END AUDIOTAPE)
SERWER: All right, let me decipher a little bit of that. First of all, shoulder hours are your peak hours in the utility business, you guys.
But the real operative phrase there is congest it. OK, think about that. What they're doing basically is creating a problem; they're congesting the lines, overloading the grid and then getting paid to solve the problem.
Regulators are charging that Enron now defrauded or gauged California consumers out of $1.1 billion around 2000 and 2001 and we're going to have U.S. Senator Maria Cantwell of Washington State as our guest to talk about that in the next hour. She's leading the investigation here.
O'BRIEN: Yes, it's really -- we can congest it.
SERWER: Yes, we'll congest it. We'll create a problem and...
HEMMER: What she says -- she alleges that there was excess energy at a certain time in California and the energy company would take that for free, take it out of the state of California and then sell it back to Sacramento at a premium price.
Which is essentially double dipping.
O'BRIEN: And she's alleging other things as well. Let's talk about the market this morning.
SERWER: Yes, very quickly. Yesterday a down day. Dow was down 75 points. This morning it's going to be a big day because you can see here at 8:30 this morning the CPI, consumer price index for May comes out obviously inflation on everyone's mind. Greenspan testifying today and futures are up this morning.
O'BRIEN: Andy, thanks. We'll check in with you again.
SERWER: You're welcome.
O'BRIEN: Still to come this morning, once a hero well now the Afghan interim president is a man under fire. What exactly is happening with Hamid Karzai? We'll explain.
Also ahead this morning the U.S. Supreme Court says the Pledge of Allegiance stays as it is but the atheist who took the case to court says he's not through fighting. What's he going to do next?
We're going to ask him -- there he is -- Michael Newdow -- just ahead on AMERICAN MORNING.
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