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CNN Live At Daybreak

Bush Makes Judicial Nominations Campaign Issue; DOD Plans to Review Legal Status of Gitmo Prisoners

Aired July 08, 2004 - 06:30   ET

THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.

THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.


CAROL COSTELLO, CNN ANCHOR: John Kerry says his choice of John Edwards as a running mate gives him a dream ticket. Polls suggest most voters like Kerry's choice. A CNN/"USA Today"/Gallup Poll said 57 percent of people asked believe Edwards is qualified to be president. The two are barnstorming through some key battleground states, taking on the Bush-Cheney team over key issues and highlighting a few not so important differences.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

SEN. JOHN KERRY (D-MA), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: We are a new team for a new America. We're going to lead this country into different directions. We have better ideas. We have a better vision. We have a better sense of what's happening to people in this country every single day. We have a better sense of right and wrong and what's fair. And we have better hair!

(END VIDEO CLIP)

COSTELLO: Oh, my!

President Bush made a previously-scheduled campaign stop in John Edwards' home territory of North Carolina. He took a jab at what he says is Edwards' lack of experience by saying he believes Dick Cheney can be president. He also used the opportunity to criticize senators, including Edwards, for blocking many of his judicial nominations.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

GEORGE W. BUSH, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: They're the ones blocking the nominees in the first place. They're the types of senators who are blocking the advance of these nominees. Take, for example, here in North Carolina. Senator Edwards will not allow two of the nominees, to whom I referred, to even get to the committee for a hearing.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

COSTELLO: So, why did President Bush make one of his main talking points on Wednesday the battle for the judiciary?

Joining us live from Washington is Mary Cheh, a constitutional law professor at George Washington University.

Good morning.

MARY CHEH, CONSTITUTIONAL LAW PROFESSOR: Good morning.

COSTELLO: So, what does the president gain by highlighting an issue that voters probably -- well, they probably don't pay much attention to?

CHEH: Well, I think generally voters don't pay that much attention, at least not at the court of appeals level. But I think he's speaking basically to his right-wing base. They do pay attention, because they understand that many issues -- for example, abortion issues -- will be determined in large measure by what courts say.

So, what he's doing is reassuring them that he has that issue in mind, and that he thinks that it's important for them to rally around his candidacy because he does have that issue in mind.

COSTELLO: Oh, and this has become quite a nasty fight between Democrats and Republicans, hasn't it?

CHEH: Yes, it has. But I think that it goes beyond President Bush. It dates back to the time of President Reagan when the Republicans first began this rather systematic and aggressive attempt to place very conservative people on to the courts and remake the courts really in a very conservative vein.

COSTELLO: You talked about the conservative right being very concerned, but shouldn't all voters be concerned about who is appointed as a federal judge?

CHEH: Well, I think they should, and they tend to focus more when the appointment is at the Supreme Court level. But the fact of the matter is that appointments to the intermediate courts of appeal in the system are just as important, because those judges decide most of the cases on appeal. The Supreme Court only takes about 80 cases a year. The rest are decided at lower levels.

COSTELLO: But hasn't President Bush found a way to get his appointees into office without the approval of Congress? Didn't he sneak one in?

CHEH: No, actually two. What has happened is the Senate Democrats probably surprising even themselves even though they're in a minority have been able to use a filibuster method to talk against candidates and keep them off the bench, which can only be stopped by a vote of 60 senators. And the Republicans don't have that many. And so, they have been able to use this device.

Meanwhile, the president has been frustrated, and on two occasions has used what is called a recess appointment. When the Senate goes into recess for even a very brief period, the Constitution provides that the president can appoint a member to the court. But that is not lifetime tenure. It's only until the congressional session ends.

Now, that provoked Democrats recently, and they held up all appointments until the president promised not to do that again. And recently, as early as May, they broke that logjam, because the president made that promise.

COSTELLO: See, I asked you that because it's so very complicated, so you'll have to wonder if President Bush will continue in this vein.

CHEH: Well, you know what? It's not complicated when they use the labels that they use, I mean, and it's typical. The Republicans will simply say that the Democrats are being obstructionists, that these are high-qualified candidates. And the Democrats, on the other hand, will say that they're putting forward candidates who are not moderate, who are not in the mainstream, and that they deserve to be blocked.

And so, it'll be on that level that they'll talk about it and not get into the sort of intricate details about the appointment process.

COSTELLO: Yes, not get into the minutia.

CHEH: That's right.

COSTELLO: Mary Cheh from George Washington University joining us this morning. Thank you.

CHEH: Sure.

COSTELLO: The Defense Department will create review panels to decide if detainees at the Guantanamo Bay military prison are being held legally. But that's not satisfying the lawyers who challenged the policy of indefinite detention. But the Pentagon hopes it will satisfy the Supreme Court.

CNN's Bob Franken is at Guantanamo Bay. He joins us live by telephone.

Good morning -- Bob.

BOB FRANKEN, CNN NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Good morning.

And it's going to just confuse the legal picture a little bit. Already the officials here, the ones who run Guantanamo Bay's prison camp, say that they're not quite sure how they're going to comply with the Supreme Court ruling. They're waiting for orders from above.

Well, we're getting an inkling of what the orders from above are doing. We're told that by July 17 each of the detainees will know that somebody from the military will represent him to try to prove he is not an enemy combatant. The idea being that those who are able to prove that will then be returned.

We're being told that Secretary of the Navy Gordon England is coming down here today to try and improve on that process. Like so many things here, the trip is being carried off with quite a bit of secrecy. We're hoping to get a chance to talk to him later. But they don't like to talk about what they're doing here.

COSTELLO: It sounds like it's going to be a very long process. They have to review all, what, some 500 detainees there?

FRANKEN: Five-hundred and ninety-five. They have been letting some of them go on occasion, particularly when they get in conversations with allied countries whose detainees they're holding.

And it's a process they now have to figure out a way to try and satisfy the courts that they've complied with the Supreme Court ruling. Of course, lawyers on the other side are saying that they've done nothing of the sort, that it's really a charade.

COSTELLO: You know, Bob, I was talking to David Clinch, our senior international editor, last week about the access that reporters were going to be granted at Guantanamo Bay. Has there been access granted for you?

FRANKEN: Yes, it's pretty much the way it's always been. We are given exceedingly limited access. We're allowed to, for instance, show some of the detainees from the shoulders down. That is a claim made that they're complying with the Geneva Convention, even though the Geneva Convention is not in effect here. We're obviously not shown anything that would show any untoward treatment.

But what they're trying to do is to let us see as much as possible, to try and make their point that unlike Iraq, which was close to the battlefield, this location, this prison far away from the battlefield, has not really had much abuse. There have been extremely, extremely minor cases, they say, that have been just a case of soldiers overreacting over the years.

But they say that they run a very tight ship here or a very tight prison, and that that tight control extends to the people who are the guards and the security people here.

COSTELLO: But basically, you're just allowed to see the prisoners there. You're not allowed to actually talk to them.

FRANKEN: No. No surprise. They would make the argument that that would violate their rights or would violate their ability to try and interrogate the prisoners to get intelligence out of them. Of course, there's a debate about the value of the intelligence here. But they really insist here that they've gotten valuable intelligence that has aided in the war on terror.

And as a matter of fact, they worry that if lawyers do start coming down here and representing each of the prisoners, that that, too, is going to interfere with the interrogations.

COSTELLO: Bob Franken live on the phone from Cuba this morning. Thank you.

You can learn more about Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, and the U.S. naval base there and get an interactive look at the camp on our Web site, CNN.com.

His empire fell apart in the spotlight of a scandal. Now, Kenneth Lay is expected to surrender today and face charges from a grand jury. We'll talk about the legal road ahead for Enron's former chief.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

COSTELLO: The Enron debacle has spawned indictment No. 30, and this time the man heading to court is none other than former chairman Ken Lay. Lay did release a statement saying: "I have been advised that I have been indicted. I will surrender in the morning. I have done nothing wrong, and the indictment is not justified."

For a look at the Enron legal saga, we turn to our legal analyst, Kendall Coffee, for some "Coffey Talk" this morning. He joins us by phone from Miami.

Good morning -- Kendall.

KENDALL COFFEY, CNN LEGAL ANALYST: Hey, good morning.

COSTELLO: So, why is the indictment still sealed?

COFFEY: Well, it's sealed basically because it's not uncommon that it's released and then it's unsealed at the time of the actual arrest is announced, which is going to be today.

And when it is unsealed, we will know whether or not Ken Lay is being made part and parcel of the Medda (ph) conspiracy, which includes a 42-count indictment already returned against former Enron president, Jeffrey Skilling, and the chief accounting officer. Or whether they're going to carve out a more specific, more limited case against Ken Lay based upon the last five months of the life of Enron when he clearly had to know that things were going bad, going fast, and yet was apparently continuing to make very, very optimistic statements about the future of Enron.

COSTELLO: Yes, he was. But he does say (INAUDIBLE) what his CFO was doing, or anyone else in the company for that matter.

COFFEY: Well, his defense seems to be built around saying that he was asleep at the switch, heard no evil, saw no evil. And it was all the fault of evil geniuses like Andrew Fastow, the former CFO, who were in their kitchen cooking books. But, according to Lay, he was the public face, he was the community relations guy, not the detail guy.

So, while ignorance isn't always bliss, in this case Ken Lay hopes that it can be a defense, if, in fact, the jury believes it.

COSTELLO: Well, you have to wonder if there will be any sympathy from the jury for Ken Lay, because the public relations surrounding him, you know, upon -- you know, when the allegations first came out, it wasn't good.

COFFEY: Well, the jury selection is going to be fascinating, because he was a local hero for many, many years. And so, there are undoubtedly people in the Houston area that may have some good feelings about him. But you're right. In the last few years he has been the symbol of corporate greed, of a disaster that caused so many people so much money. And I think for people in Houston and for people around the country, there has been a giant empty space on the corporate (UNINTELLIGIBLE) gallery of America that has now been filled with the indictment of Ken Lay.

COSTELLO: Kendall Coffey live on the phone from Miami for some "Coffey Talk" this morning. Thank you.

Your news, money, weather and sports. It is 6:44 Eastern. Here's what's all new this morning.

A report is just coming in. Reuters says three U.S. soldiers and one Iraqi National Guard member have been killed in an attack in Samarra. It's being reported the deaths came during a mortar attack on the Iraqi guard headquarters there.

The head of the United Nations nuclear watchdog agency met today with Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon. Mohamed ElBaradei was in Israel to discuss its alleged nuclear weapons program. He believes that could help reopen Middle East security talks.

Ten years after his death, North Korea has spent a week honoring its former leader, Kim Il Sung. The 10 years of rule by Kim's son has been plagued by widespread poverty and the ongoing nuclear crisis.

In money news, Ford is recalling more than 170,000 vehicles due to problems ranging from wheels to power seats. The biggest problem comes from their 2003 super duty trucks and Excursion SUVs, which may catch fire because of problems with battery cables.

In culture, Chinese officials say no to Spidey, Harry Potter and "Shrek," but apparently Bush-bashing and the annihilation of American cities are A-OK. The government is banning some of Hollywood's hottest summer movies in an attempt to strengthen China's morals. But "Fahrenheit 9/11" and "The Day After Tomorrow" have been cleared.

In sports, track and field's world governing body says it won't ban any American athlete from the Olympics unless they have failed a drug test. A number of elite athletes are facing allegations of steroid use even though they have never tested positive for drugs. The cases may not be resolved before next month's Summer Games in Athens.

(WEATHER BREAK)

COSTELLO: Those are the latest headlines for you.

Let's head live to New York to check in with Bill and Heidi, who is in for Soledad today, to tell us what's coming up on "AMERICAN MORNING."

I bet you're going to be talking politics.

HEIDI COLLINS, CNN ANCHOR: Yes.

BILL HEMMER, CNN ANCHOR: Just a little bit, huh? It's on our minds. How are you, Carol? COSTELLO: Good.

HEMMER: Listen, we are quite well, too, today. The presidential campaign rolls on. We saw Kerry and Edwards in Florida yesterday. They continue with another event later this morning.

President Bush, meanwhile, was talking in North Carolina yesterday. He's back at the White House today. We'll talk to one governor today of one critical battleground state to see how voters in that state right now are sizing up the two sides now that they have more to gauge at this point.

COLLINS: And you may have heard about this one, too. Ken Lay indicted, expected to turn himself in today. We're going to be talking with Jeffrey Toobin and Andy Serwer about the business impact of that. And, Carol, you had Kendall Coffey on a little bit earlier saying the people of Houston now and the people of Enron in particular are starting to feel a little bit vindicated, hopefully.

HEMMER: All right, also the Peterson trial continues. Experts say the prosecution missed a big opportunity yesterday. We'll have that for you as well. Top of the hour is 13 minutes away. Carol, we'll see you then, OK?

COSTELLO: We'll be here. Thanks.

HEMMER: All right.

COSTELLO: Chad and I will be giving away that DAYBREAK coffee mug when we come back. We'll also have more news. Stick around.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

COSTELLO: I found the mug.

CHAD MYERS, CNN METEOROLOGIST: You did? Or did you just get a new one out of the safe?

COSTELLO: No. It was hidden somewhere, and someone hid it so well that we weren't able to find it for three weeks.

MYERS: Well, it's the only way to keep it, exactly. You weren't here yesterday. The mug question of the day was the "what is it" question. We always do that "what is the picture?" And this was the picture. And the most interesting answer I got was Don King's hair. But no. The best answer actually was the business end of a porcupine, and there you go. It is a porcupine chilling in a pool in the Shanghai zoo after a heat wave this weekend.

And the winner, Dan Melcher of Aventura, Florida.

COSTELLO: Congratulations, Dan. The cup is in the mail, of course, wrapped in lots of bubble wrap.

MYERS: We hope so, because a couple had been arriving without handles, and we've had to send them back and then do it again. So, we're packing them better now.

And the question for today: What artist painting just sold for $30 million? And name the two summer films banned in China. We just had that just a second ago.

COSTELLO: I did. Daybreak@CNN.com. Daybreak@CNN.com. And, of course, we'll announce the winners on Friday.

MYERS: Right.

COSTELLO: It is Thursday, right?

MYERS: But you will be gone. We'll get to that.

COSTELLO: It's not a sad thing. It's a happy thing!

MYERS: All right.

COSTELLO: Anyway, now that the teams are set, let's talk about this.

MYERS: Yes.

COSTELLO: It's time for the political playoff. All four contenders are lining up their best shots, and CNN's Bruce Morton is ready for the jump ball between the No. 2s.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

BRUCE MORTON, CNN NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): This time, you surely will be able to tell them apart.

Incumbent Dick Cheney, Mr. inside, Mr. Iraq war, he was one an aide to young Congressman Donald Rumsfeld, was President Gerald Ford's chief of staff, was a congressman, was the first President Bush's secretary of defense, spent seven years running Halliburton, a company now deeply involved in Iraq. He is a believer in keeping in secrets, a staunch defender of alleged links between Iraq and al Qaeda, whether the 9/11 Commission agrees with him or not.

DICK CHENEY, VICE PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: When we took office, Saddam Hussein was providing financial rewards to the families of suicide bombers in Israel and safe haven and support for terrorists and terror groups, such as Abu Nidal, Palestinian Islamic Jihad and Abu Abbas, the mastermind of the 1985 hijacking of the Achille Lauro. Saddam's regime also had long-established ties with al Qaeda.

MORTON: John Edwards, poor man's son. His dad had to borrow $50 at 100 percent interest to pay the hospital bill when he was born. The same dad told him, hit bigger boys on the nose, they'll back down. Edwards' family finally made it into the middle class, but he grew up with a feeling for victims, made a fortune as a lawyer by winning suits for people, often poor, against hospitals, insurance companies and so on.

Tragedy: his 15-year-old son died in a car accident. He looks young, a Senate colleague says, but there's an old man in there who knows life isn't perfect.

His political career, like his law practice, has been for the underdog.

SEN. JOHN EDWARDS (D-NC), VICE PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: Most of America, if I can just be personal about this for a minute, people like my dad, I promise you, he has no lobbyist here in Washington, D.C. And he is not an insider. The only hope he has is that his president will stand up for him, that his president will fight his fight.

MORTON: Cheney is 63, Edwards 51. Neither served in the military. Edwards had a high draft number, Cheney a string of deferments and then parenthood. I had other priorities than military service, he has said.

STUART ROTHENBERG, ROTHENBERG REPORT: I think the contrast of age and style is really significant. I think John Kerry wants to talk about the future, not the past. And John Edwards, who is 10 years younger than -- looks 10 years younger than he is, has a significant amount of charisma, I think is good as a candidate talking about the future.

MORTON: The Cheney-Edwards debate should be fun.

Bruce Morton, CNN, Washington.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

COSTELLO: I know I can't wait. It should be fun.

We'll be right back after these headlines.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

MYERS: I don't know if you're going to see a movie this weekend, are you?

COSTELLO: I was planning on seeing "Spider-Man."

MYERS: Were you really?

COSTELLO: Yes.

MYERS: Probably not, though, unless it's on the plane to Hawaii maybe. We are...

COSTELLO: What is going on? I'm supposed to throw it to Tom O'Neal.

MYERS: Yes, well, that's what you thought. We are -- I hired a personal chef or you this morning, Carol.

COSTELLO: Bad trick!

MYERS: A little room service. The executive chef from (UNINTELLIGIBLE). We have coffee for you.

COSTELLO: Oh, my goodness!

MYERS: And possibly the chef can go through the menu here, but I know the main course is a lobster omelet.

COSTELLO: Oh, my gosh!

MYERS: Yes, you probably will be well taken care of. What do we have here, sir?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: We have steak and eggs, but not your normal steak and eggs. We have some prime beef tenderloin from Nebraska. We have a lobster and caviar omelet. We have I think one of your favorites, smoked salmon and bagel.

COSTELLO: Oh, my! Oh, yes!

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Smoked salmon from Maine.

MYERS: But the cheese is not cream cheese.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Too plain and ordinary. This is Hudson Valley camanbare (ph). Outstanding stuff.

MYERS: This is just to die for.

COSTELLO: I believe I could eat that (UNINTELLIGIBLE).

MYERS: I believe you will.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: You certainly can.

COSTELLO: And look at the beautiful fruits.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Well, because we heard you were headed over the water to Hawaii. We got you some fresh pineapple and some Kona (ph) coffee.

COSTELLO: That smells so good. And orange juice so we can toast.

MYERS: And, in fact, we even put the cream in here for you, so let me pour you this cup of coffee.

COSTELLO: I love this!

MYERS: We want to congratulate you. All of the folks on your Yahoo! group, "fans of Carol Costello," also would like to wish you a happy nuptial. And, of course, I will be there, so I'll take notes and I'll tell you what it was like on Monday.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Congratulations.

COSTELLO: Thank you so much. It's so awesome.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: You're very welcome.

MYERS: Chef Patrick, thank you.

COSTELLO: Of course, for those of you who don't know, I'm getting married on Saturday. And I waited a long time to get married, so I'm kind of scared and nervous but happy at the same time.

MYERS: Well, you're going to need your energy, so...

COSTELLO: And you both have happy marriages.

MYERS: So far.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Yes. Yes, yes!

MYERS: Chef Patrick, thank you very much. It's been great. That's why I've been running around all day today.

COSTELLO: I know. He's been sweating!

MYERS: (UNINTELLIGIBLE) cooking all of this stuff up for you.

COSTELLO: We've got to go to "AMERICAN MORNING" now. Thank you. I'll be back in two weeks.

MYERS: We'll miss you.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Take care.

TO ORDER A VIDEO OF THIS TRANSCRIPT, PLEASE CALL 800-CNN-NEWS OR USE OUR SECURE ONLINE ORDER FORM LOCATED AT www.fdch.com.


Aired July 8, 2004 - 06:30   ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
CAROL COSTELLO, CNN ANCHOR: John Kerry says his choice of John Edwards as a running mate gives him a dream ticket. Polls suggest most voters like Kerry's choice. A CNN/"USA Today"/Gallup Poll said 57 percent of people asked believe Edwards is qualified to be president. The two are barnstorming through some key battleground states, taking on the Bush-Cheney team over key issues and highlighting a few not so important differences.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

SEN. JOHN KERRY (D-MA), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: We are a new team for a new America. We're going to lead this country into different directions. We have better ideas. We have a better vision. We have a better sense of what's happening to people in this country every single day. We have a better sense of right and wrong and what's fair. And we have better hair!

(END VIDEO CLIP)

COSTELLO: Oh, my!

President Bush made a previously-scheduled campaign stop in John Edwards' home territory of North Carolina. He took a jab at what he says is Edwards' lack of experience by saying he believes Dick Cheney can be president. He also used the opportunity to criticize senators, including Edwards, for blocking many of his judicial nominations.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

GEORGE W. BUSH, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: They're the ones blocking the nominees in the first place. They're the types of senators who are blocking the advance of these nominees. Take, for example, here in North Carolina. Senator Edwards will not allow two of the nominees, to whom I referred, to even get to the committee for a hearing.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

COSTELLO: So, why did President Bush make one of his main talking points on Wednesday the battle for the judiciary?

Joining us live from Washington is Mary Cheh, a constitutional law professor at George Washington University.

Good morning.

MARY CHEH, CONSTITUTIONAL LAW PROFESSOR: Good morning.

COSTELLO: So, what does the president gain by highlighting an issue that voters probably -- well, they probably don't pay much attention to?

CHEH: Well, I think generally voters don't pay that much attention, at least not at the court of appeals level. But I think he's speaking basically to his right-wing base. They do pay attention, because they understand that many issues -- for example, abortion issues -- will be determined in large measure by what courts say.

So, what he's doing is reassuring them that he has that issue in mind, and that he thinks that it's important for them to rally around his candidacy because he does have that issue in mind.

COSTELLO: Oh, and this has become quite a nasty fight between Democrats and Republicans, hasn't it?

CHEH: Yes, it has. But I think that it goes beyond President Bush. It dates back to the time of President Reagan when the Republicans first began this rather systematic and aggressive attempt to place very conservative people on to the courts and remake the courts really in a very conservative vein.

COSTELLO: You talked about the conservative right being very concerned, but shouldn't all voters be concerned about who is appointed as a federal judge?

CHEH: Well, I think they should, and they tend to focus more when the appointment is at the Supreme Court level. But the fact of the matter is that appointments to the intermediate courts of appeal in the system are just as important, because those judges decide most of the cases on appeal. The Supreme Court only takes about 80 cases a year. The rest are decided at lower levels.

COSTELLO: But hasn't President Bush found a way to get his appointees into office without the approval of Congress? Didn't he sneak one in?

CHEH: No, actually two. What has happened is the Senate Democrats probably surprising even themselves even though they're in a minority have been able to use a filibuster method to talk against candidates and keep them off the bench, which can only be stopped by a vote of 60 senators. And the Republicans don't have that many. And so, they have been able to use this device.

Meanwhile, the president has been frustrated, and on two occasions has used what is called a recess appointment. When the Senate goes into recess for even a very brief period, the Constitution provides that the president can appoint a member to the court. But that is not lifetime tenure. It's only until the congressional session ends.

Now, that provoked Democrats recently, and they held up all appointments until the president promised not to do that again. And recently, as early as May, they broke that logjam, because the president made that promise.

COSTELLO: See, I asked you that because it's so very complicated, so you'll have to wonder if President Bush will continue in this vein.

CHEH: Well, you know what? It's not complicated when they use the labels that they use, I mean, and it's typical. The Republicans will simply say that the Democrats are being obstructionists, that these are high-qualified candidates. And the Democrats, on the other hand, will say that they're putting forward candidates who are not moderate, who are not in the mainstream, and that they deserve to be blocked.

And so, it'll be on that level that they'll talk about it and not get into the sort of intricate details about the appointment process.

COSTELLO: Yes, not get into the minutia.

CHEH: That's right.

COSTELLO: Mary Cheh from George Washington University joining us this morning. Thank you.

CHEH: Sure.

COSTELLO: The Defense Department will create review panels to decide if detainees at the Guantanamo Bay military prison are being held legally. But that's not satisfying the lawyers who challenged the policy of indefinite detention. But the Pentagon hopes it will satisfy the Supreme Court.

CNN's Bob Franken is at Guantanamo Bay. He joins us live by telephone.

Good morning -- Bob.

BOB FRANKEN, CNN NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Good morning.

And it's going to just confuse the legal picture a little bit. Already the officials here, the ones who run Guantanamo Bay's prison camp, say that they're not quite sure how they're going to comply with the Supreme Court ruling. They're waiting for orders from above.

Well, we're getting an inkling of what the orders from above are doing. We're told that by July 17 each of the detainees will know that somebody from the military will represent him to try to prove he is not an enemy combatant. The idea being that those who are able to prove that will then be returned.

We're being told that Secretary of the Navy Gordon England is coming down here today to try and improve on that process. Like so many things here, the trip is being carried off with quite a bit of secrecy. We're hoping to get a chance to talk to him later. But they don't like to talk about what they're doing here.

COSTELLO: It sounds like it's going to be a very long process. They have to review all, what, some 500 detainees there?

FRANKEN: Five-hundred and ninety-five. They have been letting some of them go on occasion, particularly when they get in conversations with allied countries whose detainees they're holding.

And it's a process they now have to figure out a way to try and satisfy the courts that they've complied with the Supreme Court ruling. Of course, lawyers on the other side are saying that they've done nothing of the sort, that it's really a charade.

COSTELLO: You know, Bob, I was talking to David Clinch, our senior international editor, last week about the access that reporters were going to be granted at Guantanamo Bay. Has there been access granted for you?

FRANKEN: Yes, it's pretty much the way it's always been. We are given exceedingly limited access. We're allowed to, for instance, show some of the detainees from the shoulders down. That is a claim made that they're complying with the Geneva Convention, even though the Geneva Convention is not in effect here. We're obviously not shown anything that would show any untoward treatment.

But what they're trying to do is to let us see as much as possible, to try and make their point that unlike Iraq, which was close to the battlefield, this location, this prison far away from the battlefield, has not really had much abuse. There have been extremely, extremely minor cases, they say, that have been just a case of soldiers overreacting over the years.

But they say that they run a very tight ship here or a very tight prison, and that that tight control extends to the people who are the guards and the security people here.

COSTELLO: But basically, you're just allowed to see the prisoners there. You're not allowed to actually talk to them.

FRANKEN: No. No surprise. They would make the argument that that would violate their rights or would violate their ability to try and interrogate the prisoners to get intelligence out of them. Of course, there's a debate about the value of the intelligence here. But they really insist here that they've gotten valuable intelligence that has aided in the war on terror.

And as a matter of fact, they worry that if lawyers do start coming down here and representing each of the prisoners, that that, too, is going to interfere with the interrogations.

COSTELLO: Bob Franken live on the phone from Cuba this morning. Thank you.

You can learn more about Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, and the U.S. naval base there and get an interactive look at the camp on our Web site, CNN.com.

His empire fell apart in the spotlight of a scandal. Now, Kenneth Lay is expected to surrender today and face charges from a grand jury. We'll talk about the legal road ahead for Enron's former chief.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

COSTELLO: The Enron debacle has spawned indictment No. 30, and this time the man heading to court is none other than former chairman Ken Lay. Lay did release a statement saying: "I have been advised that I have been indicted. I will surrender in the morning. I have done nothing wrong, and the indictment is not justified."

For a look at the Enron legal saga, we turn to our legal analyst, Kendall Coffee, for some "Coffey Talk" this morning. He joins us by phone from Miami.

Good morning -- Kendall.

KENDALL COFFEY, CNN LEGAL ANALYST: Hey, good morning.

COSTELLO: So, why is the indictment still sealed?

COFFEY: Well, it's sealed basically because it's not uncommon that it's released and then it's unsealed at the time of the actual arrest is announced, which is going to be today.

And when it is unsealed, we will know whether or not Ken Lay is being made part and parcel of the Medda (ph) conspiracy, which includes a 42-count indictment already returned against former Enron president, Jeffrey Skilling, and the chief accounting officer. Or whether they're going to carve out a more specific, more limited case against Ken Lay based upon the last five months of the life of Enron when he clearly had to know that things were going bad, going fast, and yet was apparently continuing to make very, very optimistic statements about the future of Enron.

COSTELLO: Yes, he was. But he does say (INAUDIBLE) what his CFO was doing, or anyone else in the company for that matter.

COFFEY: Well, his defense seems to be built around saying that he was asleep at the switch, heard no evil, saw no evil. And it was all the fault of evil geniuses like Andrew Fastow, the former CFO, who were in their kitchen cooking books. But, according to Lay, he was the public face, he was the community relations guy, not the detail guy.

So, while ignorance isn't always bliss, in this case Ken Lay hopes that it can be a defense, if, in fact, the jury believes it.

COSTELLO: Well, you have to wonder if there will be any sympathy from the jury for Ken Lay, because the public relations surrounding him, you know, upon -- you know, when the allegations first came out, it wasn't good.

COFFEY: Well, the jury selection is going to be fascinating, because he was a local hero for many, many years. And so, there are undoubtedly people in the Houston area that may have some good feelings about him. But you're right. In the last few years he has been the symbol of corporate greed, of a disaster that caused so many people so much money. And I think for people in Houston and for people around the country, there has been a giant empty space on the corporate (UNINTELLIGIBLE) gallery of America that has now been filled with the indictment of Ken Lay.

COSTELLO: Kendall Coffey live on the phone from Miami for some "Coffey Talk" this morning. Thank you.

Your news, money, weather and sports. It is 6:44 Eastern. Here's what's all new this morning.

A report is just coming in. Reuters says three U.S. soldiers and one Iraqi National Guard member have been killed in an attack in Samarra. It's being reported the deaths came during a mortar attack on the Iraqi guard headquarters there.

The head of the United Nations nuclear watchdog agency met today with Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon. Mohamed ElBaradei was in Israel to discuss its alleged nuclear weapons program. He believes that could help reopen Middle East security talks.

Ten years after his death, North Korea has spent a week honoring its former leader, Kim Il Sung. The 10 years of rule by Kim's son has been plagued by widespread poverty and the ongoing nuclear crisis.

In money news, Ford is recalling more than 170,000 vehicles due to problems ranging from wheels to power seats. The biggest problem comes from their 2003 super duty trucks and Excursion SUVs, which may catch fire because of problems with battery cables.

In culture, Chinese officials say no to Spidey, Harry Potter and "Shrek," but apparently Bush-bashing and the annihilation of American cities are A-OK. The government is banning some of Hollywood's hottest summer movies in an attempt to strengthen China's morals. But "Fahrenheit 9/11" and "The Day After Tomorrow" have been cleared.

In sports, track and field's world governing body says it won't ban any American athlete from the Olympics unless they have failed a drug test. A number of elite athletes are facing allegations of steroid use even though they have never tested positive for drugs. The cases may not be resolved before next month's Summer Games in Athens.

(WEATHER BREAK)

COSTELLO: Those are the latest headlines for you.

Let's head live to New York to check in with Bill and Heidi, who is in for Soledad today, to tell us what's coming up on "AMERICAN MORNING."

I bet you're going to be talking politics.

HEIDI COLLINS, CNN ANCHOR: Yes.

BILL HEMMER, CNN ANCHOR: Just a little bit, huh? It's on our minds. How are you, Carol? COSTELLO: Good.

HEMMER: Listen, we are quite well, too, today. The presidential campaign rolls on. We saw Kerry and Edwards in Florida yesterday. They continue with another event later this morning.

President Bush, meanwhile, was talking in North Carolina yesterday. He's back at the White House today. We'll talk to one governor today of one critical battleground state to see how voters in that state right now are sizing up the two sides now that they have more to gauge at this point.

COLLINS: And you may have heard about this one, too. Ken Lay indicted, expected to turn himself in today. We're going to be talking with Jeffrey Toobin and Andy Serwer about the business impact of that. And, Carol, you had Kendall Coffey on a little bit earlier saying the people of Houston now and the people of Enron in particular are starting to feel a little bit vindicated, hopefully.

HEMMER: All right, also the Peterson trial continues. Experts say the prosecution missed a big opportunity yesterday. We'll have that for you as well. Top of the hour is 13 minutes away. Carol, we'll see you then, OK?

COSTELLO: We'll be here. Thanks.

HEMMER: All right.

COSTELLO: Chad and I will be giving away that DAYBREAK coffee mug when we come back. We'll also have more news. Stick around.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

COSTELLO: I found the mug.

CHAD MYERS, CNN METEOROLOGIST: You did? Or did you just get a new one out of the safe?

COSTELLO: No. It was hidden somewhere, and someone hid it so well that we weren't able to find it for three weeks.

MYERS: Well, it's the only way to keep it, exactly. You weren't here yesterday. The mug question of the day was the "what is it" question. We always do that "what is the picture?" And this was the picture. And the most interesting answer I got was Don King's hair. But no. The best answer actually was the business end of a porcupine, and there you go. It is a porcupine chilling in a pool in the Shanghai zoo after a heat wave this weekend.

And the winner, Dan Melcher of Aventura, Florida.

COSTELLO: Congratulations, Dan. The cup is in the mail, of course, wrapped in lots of bubble wrap.

MYERS: We hope so, because a couple had been arriving without handles, and we've had to send them back and then do it again. So, we're packing them better now.

And the question for today: What artist painting just sold for $30 million? And name the two summer films banned in China. We just had that just a second ago.

COSTELLO: I did. Daybreak@CNN.com. Daybreak@CNN.com. And, of course, we'll announce the winners on Friday.

MYERS: Right.

COSTELLO: It is Thursday, right?

MYERS: But you will be gone. We'll get to that.

COSTELLO: It's not a sad thing. It's a happy thing!

MYERS: All right.

COSTELLO: Anyway, now that the teams are set, let's talk about this.

MYERS: Yes.

COSTELLO: It's time for the political playoff. All four contenders are lining up their best shots, and CNN's Bruce Morton is ready for the jump ball between the No. 2s.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

BRUCE MORTON, CNN NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): This time, you surely will be able to tell them apart.

Incumbent Dick Cheney, Mr. inside, Mr. Iraq war, he was one an aide to young Congressman Donald Rumsfeld, was President Gerald Ford's chief of staff, was a congressman, was the first President Bush's secretary of defense, spent seven years running Halliburton, a company now deeply involved in Iraq. He is a believer in keeping in secrets, a staunch defender of alleged links between Iraq and al Qaeda, whether the 9/11 Commission agrees with him or not.

DICK CHENEY, VICE PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: When we took office, Saddam Hussein was providing financial rewards to the families of suicide bombers in Israel and safe haven and support for terrorists and terror groups, such as Abu Nidal, Palestinian Islamic Jihad and Abu Abbas, the mastermind of the 1985 hijacking of the Achille Lauro. Saddam's regime also had long-established ties with al Qaeda.

MORTON: John Edwards, poor man's son. His dad had to borrow $50 at 100 percent interest to pay the hospital bill when he was born. The same dad told him, hit bigger boys on the nose, they'll back down. Edwards' family finally made it into the middle class, but he grew up with a feeling for victims, made a fortune as a lawyer by winning suits for people, often poor, against hospitals, insurance companies and so on.

Tragedy: his 15-year-old son died in a car accident. He looks young, a Senate colleague says, but there's an old man in there who knows life isn't perfect.

His political career, like his law practice, has been for the underdog.

SEN. JOHN EDWARDS (D-NC), VICE PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: Most of America, if I can just be personal about this for a minute, people like my dad, I promise you, he has no lobbyist here in Washington, D.C. And he is not an insider. The only hope he has is that his president will stand up for him, that his president will fight his fight.

MORTON: Cheney is 63, Edwards 51. Neither served in the military. Edwards had a high draft number, Cheney a string of deferments and then parenthood. I had other priorities than military service, he has said.

STUART ROTHENBERG, ROTHENBERG REPORT: I think the contrast of age and style is really significant. I think John Kerry wants to talk about the future, not the past. And John Edwards, who is 10 years younger than -- looks 10 years younger than he is, has a significant amount of charisma, I think is good as a candidate talking about the future.

MORTON: The Cheney-Edwards debate should be fun.

Bruce Morton, CNN, Washington.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

COSTELLO: I know I can't wait. It should be fun.

We'll be right back after these headlines.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

MYERS: I don't know if you're going to see a movie this weekend, are you?

COSTELLO: I was planning on seeing "Spider-Man."

MYERS: Were you really?

COSTELLO: Yes.

MYERS: Probably not, though, unless it's on the plane to Hawaii maybe. We are...

COSTELLO: What is going on? I'm supposed to throw it to Tom O'Neal.

MYERS: Yes, well, that's what you thought. We are -- I hired a personal chef or you this morning, Carol.

COSTELLO: Bad trick!

MYERS: A little room service. The executive chef from (UNINTELLIGIBLE). We have coffee for you.

COSTELLO: Oh, my goodness!

MYERS: And possibly the chef can go through the menu here, but I know the main course is a lobster omelet.

COSTELLO: Oh, my gosh!

MYERS: Yes, you probably will be well taken care of. What do we have here, sir?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: We have steak and eggs, but not your normal steak and eggs. We have some prime beef tenderloin from Nebraska. We have a lobster and caviar omelet. We have I think one of your favorites, smoked salmon and bagel.

COSTELLO: Oh, my! Oh, yes!

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Smoked salmon from Maine.

MYERS: But the cheese is not cream cheese.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Too plain and ordinary. This is Hudson Valley camanbare (ph). Outstanding stuff.

MYERS: This is just to die for.

COSTELLO: I believe I could eat that (UNINTELLIGIBLE).

MYERS: I believe you will.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: You certainly can.

COSTELLO: And look at the beautiful fruits.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Well, because we heard you were headed over the water to Hawaii. We got you some fresh pineapple and some Kona (ph) coffee.

COSTELLO: That smells so good. And orange juice so we can toast.

MYERS: And, in fact, we even put the cream in here for you, so let me pour you this cup of coffee.

COSTELLO: I love this!

MYERS: We want to congratulate you. All of the folks on your Yahoo! group, "fans of Carol Costello," also would like to wish you a happy nuptial. And, of course, I will be there, so I'll take notes and I'll tell you what it was like on Monday.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Congratulations.

COSTELLO: Thank you so much. It's so awesome.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: You're very welcome.

MYERS: Chef Patrick, thank you.

COSTELLO: Of course, for those of you who don't know, I'm getting married on Saturday. And I waited a long time to get married, so I'm kind of scared and nervous but happy at the same time.

MYERS: Well, you're going to need your energy, so...

COSTELLO: And you both have happy marriages.

MYERS: So far.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Yes. Yes, yes!

MYERS: Chef Patrick, thank you very much. It's been great. That's why I've been running around all day today.

COSTELLO: I know. He's been sweating!

MYERS: (UNINTELLIGIBLE) cooking all of this stuff up for you.

COSTELLO: We've got to go to "AMERICAN MORNING" now. Thank you. I'll be back in two weeks.

MYERS: We'll miss you.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Take care.

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