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American Morning
Kerry-Edwards Team Visits Florida As Election Season Warms Up
Aired July 08, 2004 - 7:00 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. John Kerry and George Bush hitting the trail and at times hitting each other.
Also...
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
SAM DONALDSON, ABC NEWS: We would not have had a premonition or an inkling that this could happen.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
HEMMER: Newsman Sam Donaldson makes a shocking discovery at his ranch in New Mexico. Police now investigating a triple murder.
And the clock runs out on former Enron chief Ken Lay, expected to turn himself in today.
We'll have it on this AMERICAN MORNING.
ANNOUNCER: From the CNN Broadcast Center in New York, this is AMERICAN MORNING with Bill Hemmer and Soledad O'Brien.
HEMMER: Morning everybody. Our best to Carol Costello. Wonderful news as off she goes. Enjoy, Carol.
Good morning everyone. Soledad is on vacation this week. Heidi Collins here in New York.
We continue the theme again today. Political news hot yet again. We'll look at what each campaign is doing. Not only today, but also the strategy down the road. Talk about the swing states, the battleground states.
A pretty good chance the election will be decided in these particular states. We'll look at how the candidates hope to win the crucial race in 2004.
HEIDI COLLINS, CNN ANCHOR: Also, the mystery surrounding Marine Corporal Wassef Hassoun, last seen blindfolded and presumably held captive in Iraq. There are now reports he's been set free in Lebanon.
But certainly a lot of questions still being raised about this. We're going to look into it.
HEMMER: Boy it is a mystery, isn't it?
COLLINS: It is.
HEMMER: Also this hour, in a moment here, we're going to get to the story about Ken Lay indicted and Jeff Toobin stops in on that. Andy Serwer as well.
Jack Cafferty stops in also. Good morning.
JACK CAFFERTY, CNN ANCHOR: Kenny boy. I wonder if we'll see him with those little bracelets on.
HEMMER: We may. Keep watching.
CAFFERTY: Walking down the street.
With the naming of Edwards to the Democratic ticket, there is some talk among Republicans now about whether Dick Cheney is the right choice for the number two spot on the Republican ticket.
We'll take a look at that and please let the record show I'm sick of the line, "We have better hair."
Get some -- I mean, it worked for like two days --now you've got to get somebody to write you some new stuff, Mr. Kerry, because that ain't going to work for all the way to November.
We'll all just be screaming in pain if you don't stop.
COLLINS: I agree.
HEMMER: Apparently, his wife said we're going to lose the bald vote now.
CAFFERTY: Yes.
COLLINS: Oh no.
HEMMER: Thank you, Jack. Politics starts us off this morning.
The Democratic presidential team of John Kerry and John Edwards start today in the state that decided the disputed 2000 race.
It could play yet again a major role determining the winner on November 2. That, of course, is Florida.
Kelly Wallace with the Kerry-Edwards campaign in Ft. Lauderdale.
Good morning.
KELLY WALLACE, CNN NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Good morning, Bill.
Well, nothing fires up Democrats more than thinking about how the 2000 race ended -- Al Gore behind in Florida by just 537 votes.
Democrats are not hoping the addition of John Edwards brings new excitement to this state, a place where a shift of just a few votes could make the difference. (BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
WALLACE (voice-over): A raucous reception last night near Tampa for what John Kerry called a "dream team," and it didn't take long for that team to bring up the subject that makes the blood of a Democrat boil.
SEN. JOHN KERRY (D-MA), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: Thank you, Florida where this time not only does every vote count, but every vote's going to be counted.
WALLACE: A recent Florida poll taken before the announcement of John Edwards as Kerry's running mate showed the race here is a dead heat.
SEN. JOHN EDWARDS (D-NC), VICE PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: Is Florida going to make this man the next president of the United States?
WALLACE: Democrats are now hoping that Edwards, with his Southern charm and his humble roots, could help win over conservative Democrats and Independents who voted for George W. Bush in 2000.
Some on the fence voters here say the Edwards choice could be decisive.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I was holding back until I saw who he was going to pick as a vice president, but I'm very excited about the ticket.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I think that with Edwards, at least the public is going to have a little bit of a kind of charismatic, young, interesting guy.
WALLACE: But the state's Republican governor, who happens to be the brother of the president, says he's not worried about John Edwards.
GOV. JEB BUSH (R), FLORIDA: He's very charismatic. He's a great talker. Made a good living off of his ability to speak in the courtroom. But I think it validates the fact that Senator Kerry is a liberal.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
WALLACE: And Florida's importance cannot be over-stated. Twenty-seven electoral votes up for grabs. One-tenth of what you need to win the presidency; the biggest electoral prize of the some 17 battleground states -- Bill.
HEMMER: Kelly, thanks.
Kelly Wallace in Florida -- Heidi.
COLLINS: President Bush will spend today off the campaign trail. He's meeting with the king of Morocco. But yesterday he was on the attack in John Edwards' home state.
White House correspondent John King now joins us with the details. Good morning, John.
JOHN KING, CNN WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT: Good morning to you, Heidi.
Remember after the contested election last time, if you looked at a map we divided them into red states for Republican, blue states for the Democrats.
Well, the South was reliably red last time, and in Senator Edwards's home state yesterday, the president made clear that despite the addition of a Southerner to the Democratic ticket, he plans very much on trying to keep it that way.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
KING (voice-over): That the president was in North Carolina, it was no coincidence that he was on the attack -- anything but.
The race in John Edwards's home state is too close for comfort from a Republican perspective, so Mr. Bush was ready. When asked to compare Vice President Cheney to a Democrat V.P. nominee described as charming, engaging, even sexy.
GEORGE W. BUSH, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: Dick Cheney can be president. Next.
KING: Democrats say adding Edwards helps their chances in North Carolina and across the South, but the president says what matters most is the name at the top of the ticket.
BUSH: I did well in the South the last time, and I'll do well in the South this time, because the Senator from Massachusetts doesn't share their values and that's the difference in the campaign.
KING: In 1992, the Clinton-Gore ticket carried five Southern and border states. If you count Florida as part of the South, it was five states again for the Democrats in 1996.
But four years ago, it was a clean sweep for the Bush-Cheney ticket, as even Al Gore's native Tennessee went Republican for president.
The president called his opponent the senator from Massachusetts and not by his name for a reason. In much of the South, Massachusetts means Dukakis, Kennedy -- liberal.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE, REPUBLICAN POLLSTER: The fact that it is -- happens to be the state that has legalized gay marriage kind of solidifies the notion that the way things work in Massachusetts are not the way things work in -- you know -- in Georgia, Mississippi, Alabama, North Carolina, South Carolina. These are huge cultural differences. KING: The Kerry campaign said Mr. Bush was on the attack in North Carolina because he has failed to address the job losses that have devastated the textile industry.
And the Democratic National Committee suggested Mr. Bush is so worried by the new ticket, he went from zero to negative in less than 24 hours.
The North Carolina trip was scheduled long before the White House knew Senator Edwards would be on the Democratic ticket. Mr. Bush came to chide Edwards and other Democrats for blocking his judicial nominees.
And before heading home, he also managed to work in a stop designed to give the local economy a little extra juice.
BUSH: Really good.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
KING: Now if nothing else, the Democrats are saying the addition of Edwards to the ticket means the Republicans will have to spend more time and more money campaigning in the South.
The Bush White House insists, though, in the end they believe the South will stay solidly Republican.
They say behind that accent many in the South might lie is a liberal who has supported higher taxes and is also out of the mainstream in the South in social issues but, Heidi, Senator Edwards on the ticket the president immediately on the attack. Some interesting campaigns to come.
COLLINS: All right, that's for sure. John King coming to us from Washington this morning.
Thanks, John.
HEMMER: Between now and November, President Bush and Senator Kerry will pay very close attention to some of the key battleground states. Michigan is one of 17 so-called swing states that may go either way highlighted here in orange.
Jennifer Granholm is the state's Democratic governor. She's our guest this hour in East Lansing.
Governor, good morning. Good to have you here on AMERICAN MORNING.
GOV. JENNIFER GRANHOLM (D), MICHIGAN: Thank you. Great to be on.
HEMMER: "The Detroit News" poll recently put out these numbers showing George Bush still with a one-point advantage over Senator Kerry and Ralph Nader with five percent.
Why do you believe this race is still so tight in your state?
GRANHOLM: I think this state, like so many other states, is going to -- excuse me -- tip on those folks who are right in the middle.
We want to hear from the candidates about jobs, and that's why this issue about John Edwards and his experience in North Carolina, in a state that has lost so many jobs, is going to be really very relevant to those of us in the Midwest. Not just Michigan but Ohio, too.
So when they come here and talk about fair trade, when they come here and talk about protecting the manufacturing sector and encouraging lots of trade but making sure we stand up for our businesses -- that is going to resonate here.
HEMMER: The unemployment rate in your state stands at 6.5 percent. That's about a point higher than the national average.
Why isn't Senator Kerry doing better at this point, then?
GRANHOLM: Well, you know, as I say he -- I think Senator Kerry is going to win this state and it's a dead heat.
It's a dead heat here, but I would like to see the numbers now that he has picked John Edwards. I think he's going to get a bump, I think that bump is going to carry through the convention and all the way to November.
But there is no doubt this is a tight race.
HEMMER: Governor, in your estimation, is the economy the most critical item in your state, or is it the events in Iraq?
GRANHOLM: I -- obviously I think it tips back and forth, but here for us because of our history of manufacturing, we're the automotive capital of the world.
We have this wonderful, rich manufacturing history. But because of that, we have lost so many jobs to off shoring.
So when -- when John Edwards and John Kerry come here and talk about robust, fair trade -- about increasing our exports and about standing up for American businesses and American workers at the World Trade Organization, preventing other countries from manipulating currency and causing our exports to be more expensive -- all of that is very, very significant for us because it's all about jobs.
HEMMER: Let me go back to the original point in all of this. Al Gore won your state with more than five percent of the vote. Which was a substantial margin for the election in 2000 given how close it was across the country.
And Democrats have essentially gone your way over the past three elections. Why then is it that the state is still so close? GRANHOLM: Oh, I just -- you know -- people aren't paying attention quite yet. I think that this will all start really focusing in September, October -- August maybe.
Ralph Nader has an impact here and that's unfortunate in my opinion. But I -- when it comes down to the end and -- you know when we get the electorate focused in Michigan because of the significance of our economy that's why I think the Democratic team, the new dream team will do very well.
HEMMER: Thank you, governor. Jennifer Granholm, the Democratic governor there in the state of Michigan.
Thanks for being with us today. Later tonight on CNN's "LARRY KING LIVE," must see TV here on CNN, Senator John Kerry and his wife Teresa in their first sit down interview since John Edwards was named to that Democratic ticket.
Become a joy every night, as it is tonight, at 9:00 Eastern -- six on the West Coast -- Heidi.
COLLINS: Determined to get to the bottom of Enron's collapse, federal prosecutors are now aiming for the man at the top.
The criminal indictment against former Enron chairman and CEO Kenneth Lay will be unsealed today in Houston and Lay will surrender to federal authorities.
CNN's senior legal analyst Jeffrey Toobin and "Fortune" magazine's Andy Serwer are here now to weigh in. Good morning to you guys.
Let's go ahead and start with the statement that Ken Lay released last night. It says this: "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."
Now as you can hear he steadfastly still denies that there's been any wrongdoing here.
But in the piece that you wrote, Jeff, for "The New Yorker," you say you thought that this indictment would really never come. What's changed?
JEFFREY TOOBIN, CNN SR. LEGAL ANALYST: Well, it is a day for me to eat crow about that. I think that...
COLLINS: Why are you going to eat crow?
TOOBIN: Well, you know, criminal law is based on individual responsibility for criminal acts, not for negligence, not for bad management.
Ken Lay was the chairman, he wasn't even the CEO at the time these -- you know that Enron was really going through its death throes. And I thought that he only had supervisory authority based on the evidence that I'd seen, but apparently prosecutors think otherwise.
I think the big turning point in this investigation was Andrew Fastow, the CFO when he flipped, when he pled guilty and decided to cooperate. Obviously that information is what led to Ken Lay's indictment.
COLLINS: He's cooperating a great deal you would have to imagine.
TOOBIN: You would have to think -- because based on the evidence that was public, or that I was able to see before Fastow cooperated, there wasn't enough evidence to indict Lay and now prosecutors think there is.
COLLINS: All right, well, Andy -- let's talk about business now for a little bit.
The indictment is going to be unsealed today as we have mentioned. Curious to know what the impact in the business world will be.
I mean, are we going to see a change in stocks? Or do you think this thing is already kind of come off the books?
ANDY SERWER, "FORTUNE" MAGAZINE: Well, I think this sends a timeless message that Americans can never get enough of and that is that no one is above the law.
I mean, Ken Lay is the ultimate architect of Enron, going back to the 1980s; he put this firm together.
He is the one with the fancy houses in Aspen, he was the one with the connections to the Bush White House and I think it really sends a message that this is a guy who is not untouchable who is someone that prosecutors can lay their hands on.
TOOBIN: You know, he was so much the symbol of this company and indeed the whole symbol of the late '90s collapse of ethics in business.
You know, so many times when I was covering the Martha Stewart case I heard well how come Ken Lay isn't indicted. You heard that over and over again.
And I think, you know, this is symbolically very important. However, it is only an indictment. And it doesn't mean he's guilty and he's going to have a real defense to put on in court.
COLLINS: What are the charges that he could be looking at here and the sentence as well?
TOOBIN: Well, we don't know for sure. Oddly the news of the indictment was released before the charges themselves. Almost certainly they will be fraud and insider trading and the gist of the fraud will be that Lay, Jeff Skilling his CEO pumped up the value of their stock while they knew that the company was in desperate financial trouble.
That they lied to investors. That's -- that will be the gist of the charges I think.
COLLINS: Andy, what about seeing this on the front-page again, this indictment? Back to corporate fraud and corporate scandal? Do you think there will be more of a crackdown now? Are we going to hear more companies doing this again?
SERWER: Well, I think there's sort of three phases here. We have the crime phase, we have the investigation phase and now we're going to start the punishment phase. I mean, it's not a clean shot.
But I think with Ken Lay we've kind of reached the culmination of the investigation phase. Two and a half years the Enron task force is been at work and it's actually been a very impressive record, I think.
And you've got about 30 people facing criminal indictments right now, another ten facing civil charges and we're going to have the trials continue with also not just Enron but also remember WorldCom, Tyco, Adelphia -- so I think it's going to keep that on the front pages and remind business people this is still very much alive.
TOOBIN: And by the way, Ken Lay is not looking at years in prison he's looking at decades in prison.
SERWER: Wow.
TOOBIN: White-collar crime sentences have gotten very long.
COLLINS: All right -- we'll talk more about this a little bit later on in the show. Thanks guys. Check in with you. Appreciate it.
SERWER: All right.
COLLINS: Back over to you, Bill.
HEMMER: All right Heidi. Michael Jackson's attorneys want a grand jury indictment against him thrown out. Attorney Robert Sanger severely criticizing the proceedings of the grand jury.
Jackson pleaded not guilty to a total of ten charges back on the 3rd of April. They included four counts of child molestation. Jackson's lawyer says, and I'm quoting now, so much of the evidence presented to the grand jurors was blacked out that it prompted one of the grand jurors to ask the prosecution did you guys get any sleep over the weekend? End quote.
A pre-trial hearing set for Friday in Jackson's sexual abuse case. About 16 minutes past the hour now. Good morning to Daryn Kagan at the CNN Center in Atlanta. Good to have you with us today but tough news out of Iraq. Good morning.
DARYN KAGAN, CNN ANCHOR: Good morning to you, Bill.
Let's begin with the violence in Iraq. There is more of it. Word of a deadly mortar attack on the National Guard headquarters in Samarra. It is coming in just over a half hour ago.
A U.S. military spokesman says that at least four American soldiers and one Iraqi guard were killed. One other U.S. soldier is unaccounted for. Some 20 other soldiers were wounded in the attack, which is just north of Baghdad.
Family members have apparently received word from U.S. Marine Corporal Wassef Ali Hassoun. A source close to the family telling CNN yesterday that Hassoun has called his family, telling them he was safe in Lebanon.
A man claiming to be Hassoun also called the U.S. Embassy in Beirut but U.S. officials are still attempting to verify the information and locate him.
Some lawmakers are warning that U.S. troops are reaching their breaking point. According to bipartisan members of a house military committee. The Pentagon is stretching troops to their limit and could discourage potential new service members.
A triple murder at the New Mexico ranch house of veteran ABC Newsman Sam Donaldson. A 14-year-old boy is suspected in the killings. He is accused of murdering his father, his stepmother and stepsister at the ranch.
Donaldson himself discovered the crime scene on Tuesday when he went to the home of his ranch manager.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
DONALDSON: So, I went over there and went on the porch and there was a large stain there, which I think is instantly recognizable. And glasses. And I looked in the door and you could see congealed reddish substance.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
KAGAN: Donaldson owns three homesteads in New Mexico.
And let's get a little bit of sports news in here. A picture perfect triple play turned by the Chicago White Sox last night. Anaheim Angels catcher Benji Molina watches one -- oh -- he hits one hopper, goes right to third base. Starts a rarely seen five-four- three triple play. Molina is considered perhaps the slowest player in the majors.
The Chicago manager summed up the play simply saying right man, right place.
A solace, though, for the Angels in the end -- they took the game 12-0. Just how rare? Bill? My fellow baseball guy?
HEMMER: Tell us.
KAGAN: OK. The White Sox haven't had a triple play since June of '96, and The Angels haven't hit into a triple play since 1992. So there you go. That's why we showed it this morning.
HEMMER: Excellent. Thank you, Daryn. Good to know.
Check in with Jack now and "Question of the Day." Good morning.
CAFFERTY: Thank you, Bill. President Bush didn't skip a beat yesterday when he was asked to compare Vice-President Dick Cheney with Senator John Edwards.
One of the better sound bites out of the president. He fired back "Dick Cheney can be president. Next."
Not everybody agrees with the president, though. Former Republican New York Senator Alfonse D'Amato -- talk about a blast from the past -- said the president should consider replacing Dick Cheney on the ticket.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
ALFONSE D'AMATO (R), FORMER U.S. SENATOR: And I will shock Republicans and probably get them angry, but I think we could do better and I have a great deal of respect for Dick Cheney. I think he's bright -- absolutely brilliant.
Having said that, I think that politically there are two other people if we're talking about who could bring help, who could bring substantial help to the ticket.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
CAFFERTY: D'Amato suggests Secretary of State Colin Powell or perhaps Senator John McCain. The "Question" is this this morning. Should President Bush consider replacing Dick Cheney?
You can send us your thoughts at am@cnn.com.
HEMMER: That was a pretty interesting comment yesterday. Says it like that. Fired back.
CAFFERTY: Yes, yes.
HEMMER: Thank you, Jack.
CAFFERTY: Sure.
COLLINS: Thank you, Jack. Power is out to at least 5,000 customers in Maryland this morning after violent rain storms pounded parts of the state. In just two hours yesterday thunderstorms dropped up to four inches of rain, causing flash floods.
Several cars swept away or stranded in the rushing waters. No injuries reported but a few drivers did have to be rescued as you can see there.
(WEATHER REPORT)
HEMMER: In a moment here, an exclusive look behind the wire at Gitmo. Preparations now underway for the first detainees to face tribunals. At least one defense attorney says her job is mission impossible.
COLLINS: Also ahead the latest in the Scott Peterson trial and why some experts say the prosecution missed out on a big opportunity.
HEMMER: Four years ago, it was all about Al Gore. Now it's almost as if the Democrats have forgotten about him in this race. "Political Pop" a little later this hour, one of the many topics ahead on AMERICAN MORNING.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
HEMMER: Welcome back everyone. Breaking news out of Houston, Texas. Ken Lay who used to run the energy trading partner -- that giant company, Enron -- has now turned himself in to FBI authorities.
Some videotape a short time ago, moments ago, in fact in Houston, Texas. The word is that the Justice Department refusing comment at this point. The two sources familiar with the case say a grand jury in Houston, that's where Enron is based, handed down a sealed indictment against Lay on Wednesday.
Charges not revealed yet but the word is Ken Lay turning himself in to the FBI there in Houston, Texas.
More in a moment as we go throughout the morning here -- Heidi.
COLLINS: The Pentagon says it will hold hearings soon for all of the nearly 600 detainees at the U.S. military prison at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba. Bob Franken got an exclusive look inside Gitmo. He is live this morning from there to tell us what he found.
Good morning to you, Bob.
BOB FRANKEN, CNN NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Good morning, Heidi.
And already its complicated here by the fact that there are tribunals being planned, three have already been charged, three others have been waiting and now they've added nine more detainees.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
FRANKEN (voice-over): That is a separate section of the prison complex on Guantanamo Bay and now there will be 15 detainees housed in special cells for those who face military tribunals.
Among them, Ibrahim Ahmed al Qosi, charged with conspiracy to commit violence against the United States.
His military lawyer, Lieutenant Colonel Sharon Shaffer has returned in the wake of the Supreme Court ruling granting U.S. legal hearings to the prisoners, even though they're held on the base in Cuba.
But she complained her bosses at the Defense Department were providing woefully inadequate resources for her to mount a defense.
LT. COL. SHARON SHAFFER, DEFENSE LAWYER: This is a mission impossible. How can it even be accomplished when we're not having a -- when we don't have the basic resources we need to do our jobs?
FRANKEN: As the Pentagon claimed it would adhere to the Supreme Court ruling by holding hearings at Guantanamo without lawyers for the detainees, officials here at the base were allowing CNN a glimpse of life behind the wire.
This was in response to lingering suspicions of abuse of treatment. It is a censored glimpse.
This videotape had scenes edited out by security officials. In addition, while reporters were allowed to witness an interrogation session, no cameras were allowed and nobody was permitted to hear what was being said.
But observers saw calm conversations between interrogators and their prisoners. Both intelligence and security officials insist that the treatment of their captives has been entirely proper.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: We don't want an interrogation -- a detainee coming into an interrogation booth upset, frightened, fearful. It doesn't help us in any way.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I don't want interrogators coming out here on this block (INAUDIBLE).
(END VIDEOTAPE)
FRANKEN: Now, this is different, they say -- the camp contenders contend, from Iraq, because it's so far from the battlefield. But, not far from the legal battles -- Heidi.
COLLINS: All right, Bob Franken coming to us from Guantanamo Bay. Thanks so much, Bob -- Bill.
HEMMER: In a moment here officials think a missing Marine in Iraq since last month is alive but the question today, why can't anyone confirm it? Get a live report in a moment on that story.
Also, a look at what may be a squandered opportunity for the prosecution in the Scott Peterson case. Back in a moment. Much more after this.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
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Aired July 8, 2004 - 7:00 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. John Kerry and George Bush hitting the trail and at times hitting each other.
Also...
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
SAM DONALDSON, ABC NEWS: We would not have had a premonition or an inkling that this could happen.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
HEMMER: Newsman Sam Donaldson makes a shocking discovery at his ranch in New Mexico. Police now investigating a triple murder.
And the clock runs out on former Enron chief Ken Lay, expected to turn himself in today.
We'll have it on this AMERICAN MORNING.
ANNOUNCER: From the CNN Broadcast Center in New York, this is AMERICAN MORNING with Bill Hemmer and Soledad O'Brien.
HEMMER: Morning everybody. Our best to Carol Costello. Wonderful news as off she goes. Enjoy, Carol.
Good morning everyone. Soledad is on vacation this week. Heidi Collins here in New York.
We continue the theme again today. Political news hot yet again. We'll look at what each campaign is doing. Not only today, but also the strategy down the road. Talk about the swing states, the battleground states.
A pretty good chance the election will be decided in these particular states. We'll look at how the candidates hope to win the crucial race in 2004.
HEIDI COLLINS, CNN ANCHOR: Also, the mystery surrounding Marine Corporal Wassef Hassoun, last seen blindfolded and presumably held captive in Iraq. There are now reports he's been set free in Lebanon.
But certainly a lot of questions still being raised about this. We're going to look into it.
HEMMER: Boy it is a mystery, isn't it?
COLLINS: It is.
HEMMER: Also this hour, in a moment here, we're going to get to the story about Ken Lay indicted and Jeff Toobin stops in on that. Andy Serwer as well.
Jack Cafferty stops in also. Good morning.
JACK CAFFERTY, CNN ANCHOR: Kenny boy. I wonder if we'll see him with those little bracelets on.
HEMMER: We may. Keep watching.
CAFFERTY: Walking down the street.
With the naming of Edwards to the Democratic ticket, there is some talk among Republicans now about whether Dick Cheney is the right choice for the number two spot on the Republican ticket.
We'll take a look at that and please let the record show I'm sick of the line, "We have better hair."
Get some -- I mean, it worked for like two days --now you've got to get somebody to write you some new stuff, Mr. Kerry, because that ain't going to work for all the way to November.
We'll all just be screaming in pain if you don't stop.
COLLINS: I agree.
HEMMER: Apparently, his wife said we're going to lose the bald vote now.
CAFFERTY: Yes.
COLLINS: Oh no.
HEMMER: Thank you, Jack. Politics starts us off this morning.
The Democratic presidential team of John Kerry and John Edwards start today in the state that decided the disputed 2000 race.
It could play yet again a major role determining the winner on November 2. That, of course, is Florida.
Kelly Wallace with the Kerry-Edwards campaign in Ft. Lauderdale.
Good morning.
KELLY WALLACE, CNN NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Good morning, Bill.
Well, nothing fires up Democrats more than thinking about how the 2000 race ended -- Al Gore behind in Florida by just 537 votes.
Democrats are not hoping the addition of John Edwards brings new excitement to this state, a place where a shift of just a few votes could make the difference. (BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
WALLACE (voice-over): A raucous reception last night near Tampa for what John Kerry called a "dream team," and it didn't take long for that team to bring up the subject that makes the blood of a Democrat boil.
SEN. JOHN KERRY (D-MA), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: Thank you, Florida where this time not only does every vote count, but every vote's going to be counted.
WALLACE: A recent Florida poll taken before the announcement of John Edwards as Kerry's running mate showed the race here is a dead heat.
SEN. JOHN EDWARDS (D-NC), VICE PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: Is Florida going to make this man the next president of the United States?
WALLACE: Democrats are now hoping that Edwards, with his Southern charm and his humble roots, could help win over conservative Democrats and Independents who voted for George W. Bush in 2000.
Some on the fence voters here say the Edwards choice could be decisive.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I was holding back until I saw who he was going to pick as a vice president, but I'm very excited about the ticket.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I think that with Edwards, at least the public is going to have a little bit of a kind of charismatic, young, interesting guy.
WALLACE: But the state's Republican governor, who happens to be the brother of the president, says he's not worried about John Edwards.
GOV. JEB BUSH (R), FLORIDA: He's very charismatic. He's a great talker. Made a good living off of his ability to speak in the courtroom. But I think it validates the fact that Senator Kerry is a liberal.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
WALLACE: And Florida's importance cannot be over-stated. Twenty-seven electoral votes up for grabs. One-tenth of what you need to win the presidency; the biggest electoral prize of the some 17 battleground states -- Bill.
HEMMER: Kelly, thanks.
Kelly Wallace in Florida -- Heidi.
COLLINS: President Bush will spend today off the campaign trail. He's meeting with the king of Morocco. But yesterday he was on the attack in John Edwards' home state.
White House correspondent John King now joins us with the details. Good morning, John.
JOHN KING, CNN WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT: Good morning to you, Heidi.
Remember after the contested election last time, if you looked at a map we divided them into red states for Republican, blue states for the Democrats.
Well, the South was reliably red last time, and in Senator Edwards's home state yesterday, the president made clear that despite the addition of a Southerner to the Democratic ticket, he plans very much on trying to keep it that way.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
KING (voice-over): That the president was in North Carolina, it was no coincidence that he was on the attack -- anything but.
The race in John Edwards's home state is too close for comfort from a Republican perspective, so Mr. Bush was ready. When asked to compare Vice President Cheney to a Democrat V.P. nominee described as charming, engaging, even sexy.
GEORGE W. BUSH, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: Dick Cheney can be president. Next.
KING: Democrats say adding Edwards helps their chances in North Carolina and across the South, but the president says what matters most is the name at the top of the ticket.
BUSH: I did well in the South the last time, and I'll do well in the South this time, because the Senator from Massachusetts doesn't share their values and that's the difference in the campaign.
KING: In 1992, the Clinton-Gore ticket carried five Southern and border states. If you count Florida as part of the South, it was five states again for the Democrats in 1996.
But four years ago, it was a clean sweep for the Bush-Cheney ticket, as even Al Gore's native Tennessee went Republican for president.
The president called his opponent the senator from Massachusetts and not by his name for a reason. In much of the South, Massachusetts means Dukakis, Kennedy -- liberal.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE, REPUBLICAN POLLSTER: The fact that it is -- happens to be the state that has legalized gay marriage kind of solidifies the notion that the way things work in Massachusetts are not the way things work in -- you know -- in Georgia, Mississippi, Alabama, North Carolina, South Carolina. These are huge cultural differences. KING: The Kerry campaign said Mr. Bush was on the attack in North Carolina because he has failed to address the job losses that have devastated the textile industry.
And the Democratic National Committee suggested Mr. Bush is so worried by the new ticket, he went from zero to negative in less than 24 hours.
The North Carolina trip was scheduled long before the White House knew Senator Edwards would be on the Democratic ticket. Mr. Bush came to chide Edwards and other Democrats for blocking his judicial nominees.
And before heading home, he also managed to work in a stop designed to give the local economy a little extra juice.
BUSH: Really good.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
KING: Now if nothing else, the Democrats are saying the addition of Edwards to the ticket means the Republicans will have to spend more time and more money campaigning in the South.
The Bush White House insists, though, in the end they believe the South will stay solidly Republican.
They say behind that accent many in the South might lie is a liberal who has supported higher taxes and is also out of the mainstream in the South in social issues but, Heidi, Senator Edwards on the ticket the president immediately on the attack. Some interesting campaigns to come.
COLLINS: All right, that's for sure. John King coming to us from Washington this morning.
Thanks, John.
HEMMER: Between now and November, President Bush and Senator Kerry will pay very close attention to some of the key battleground states. Michigan is one of 17 so-called swing states that may go either way highlighted here in orange.
Jennifer Granholm is the state's Democratic governor. She's our guest this hour in East Lansing.
Governor, good morning. Good to have you here on AMERICAN MORNING.
GOV. JENNIFER GRANHOLM (D), MICHIGAN: Thank you. Great to be on.
HEMMER: "The Detroit News" poll recently put out these numbers showing George Bush still with a one-point advantage over Senator Kerry and Ralph Nader with five percent.
Why do you believe this race is still so tight in your state?
GRANHOLM: I think this state, like so many other states, is going to -- excuse me -- tip on those folks who are right in the middle.
We want to hear from the candidates about jobs, and that's why this issue about John Edwards and his experience in North Carolina, in a state that has lost so many jobs, is going to be really very relevant to those of us in the Midwest. Not just Michigan but Ohio, too.
So when they come here and talk about fair trade, when they come here and talk about protecting the manufacturing sector and encouraging lots of trade but making sure we stand up for our businesses -- that is going to resonate here.
HEMMER: The unemployment rate in your state stands at 6.5 percent. That's about a point higher than the national average.
Why isn't Senator Kerry doing better at this point, then?
GRANHOLM: Well, you know, as I say he -- I think Senator Kerry is going to win this state and it's a dead heat.
It's a dead heat here, but I would like to see the numbers now that he has picked John Edwards. I think he's going to get a bump, I think that bump is going to carry through the convention and all the way to November.
But there is no doubt this is a tight race.
HEMMER: Governor, in your estimation, is the economy the most critical item in your state, or is it the events in Iraq?
GRANHOLM: I -- obviously I think it tips back and forth, but here for us because of our history of manufacturing, we're the automotive capital of the world.
We have this wonderful, rich manufacturing history. But because of that, we have lost so many jobs to off shoring.
So when -- when John Edwards and John Kerry come here and talk about robust, fair trade -- about increasing our exports and about standing up for American businesses and American workers at the World Trade Organization, preventing other countries from manipulating currency and causing our exports to be more expensive -- all of that is very, very significant for us because it's all about jobs.
HEMMER: Let me go back to the original point in all of this. Al Gore won your state with more than five percent of the vote. Which was a substantial margin for the election in 2000 given how close it was across the country.
And Democrats have essentially gone your way over the past three elections. Why then is it that the state is still so close? GRANHOLM: Oh, I just -- you know -- people aren't paying attention quite yet. I think that this will all start really focusing in September, October -- August maybe.
Ralph Nader has an impact here and that's unfortunate in my opinion. But I -- when it comes down to the end and -- you know when we get the electorate focused in Michigan because of the significance of our economy that's why I think the Democratic team, the new dream team will do very well.
HEMMER: Thank you, governor. Jennifer Granholm, the Democratic governor there in the state of Michigan.
Thanks for being with us today. Later tonight on CNN's "LARRY KING LIVE," must see TV here on CNN, Senator John Kerry and his wife Teresa in their first sit down interview since John Edwards was named to that Democratic ticket.
Become a joy every night, as it is tonight, at 9:00 Eastern -- six on the West Coast -- Heidi.
COLLINS: Determined to get to the bottom of Enron's collapse, federal prosecutors are now aiming for the man at the top.
The criminal indictment against former Enron chairman and CEO Kenneth Lay will be unsealed today in Houston and Lay will surrender to federal authorities.
CNN's senior legal analyst Jeffrey Toobin and "Fortune" magazine's Andy Serwer are here now to weigh in. Good morning to you guys.
Let's go ahead and start with the statement that Ken Lay released last night. It says this: "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."
Now as you can hear he steadfastly still denies that there's been any wrongdoing here.
But in the piece that you wrote, Jeff, for "The New Yorker," you say you thought that this indictment would really never come. What's changed?
JEFFREY TOOBIN, CNN SR. LEGAL ANALYST: Well, it is a day for me to eat crow about that. I think that...
COLLINS: Why are you going to eat crow?
TOOBIN: Well, you know, criminal law is based on individual responsibility for criminal acts, not for negligence, not for bad management.
Ken Lay was the chairman, he wasn't even the CEO at the time these -- you know that Enron was really going through its death throes. And I thought that he only had supervisory authority based on the evidence that I'd seen, but apparently prosecutors think otherwise.
I think the big turning point in this investigation was Andrew Fastow, the CFO when he flipped, when he pled guilty and decided to cooperate. Obviously that information is what led to Ken Lay's indictment.
COLLINS: He's cooperating a great deal you would have to imagine.
TOOBIN: You would have to think -- because based on the evidence that was public, or that I was able to see before Fastow cooperated, there wasn't enough evidence to indict Lay and now prosecutors think there is.
COLLINS: All right, well, Andy -- let's talk about business now for a little bit.
The indictment is going to be unsealed today as we have mentioned. Curious to know what the impact in the business world will be.
I mean, are we going to see a change in stocks? Or do you think this thing is already kind of come off the books?
ANDY SERWER, "FORTUNE" MAGAZINE: Well, I think this sends a timeless message that Americans can never get enough of and that is that no one is above the law.
I mean, Ken Lay is the ultimate architect of Enron, going back to the 1980s; he put this firm together.
He is the one with the fancy houses in Aspen, he was the one with the connections to the Bush White House and I think it really sends a message that this is a guy who is not untouchable who is someone that prosecutors can lay their hands on.
TOOBIN: You know, he was so much the symbol of this company and indeed the whole symbol of the late '90s collapse of ethics in business.
You know, so many times when I was covering the Martha Stewart case I heard well how come Ken Lay isn't indicted. You heard that over and over again.
And I think, you know, this is symbolically very important. However, it is only an indictment. And it doesn't mean he's guilty and he's going to have a real defense to put on in court.
COLLINS: What are the charges that he could be looking at here and the sentence as well?
TOOBIN: Well, we don't know for sure. Oddly the news of the indictment was released before the charges themselves. Almost certainly they will be fraud and insider trading and the gist of the fraud will be that Lay, Jeff Skilling his CEO pumped up the value of their stock while they knew that the company was in desperate financial trouble.
That they lied to investors. That's -- that will be the gist of the charges I think.
COLLINS: Andy, what about seeing this on the front-page again, this indictment? Back to corporate fraud and corporate scandal? Do you think there will be more of a crackdown now? Are we going to hear more companies doing this again?
SERWER: Well, I think there's sort of three phases here. We have the crime phase, we have the investigation phase and now we're going to start the punishment phase. I mean, it's not a clean shot.
But I think with Ken Lay we've kind of reached the culmination of the investigation phase. Two and a half years the Enron task force is been at work and it's actually been a very impressive record, I think.
And you've got about 30 people facing criminal indictments right now, another ten facing civil charges and we're going to have the trials continue with also not just Enron but also remember WorldCom, Tyco, Adelphia -- so I think it's going to keep that on the front pages and remind business people this is still very much alive.
TOOBIN: And by the way, Ken Lay is not looking at years in prison he's looking at decades in prison.
SERWER: Wow.
TOOBIN: White-collar crime sentences have gotten very long.
COLLINS: All right -- we'll talk more about this a little bit later on in the show. Thanks guys. Check in with you. Appreciate it.
SERWER: All right.
COLLINS: Back over to you, Bill.
HEMMER: All right Heidi. Michael Jackson's attorneys want a grand jury indictment against him thrown out. Attorney Robert Sanger severely criticizing the proceedings of the grand jury.
Jackson pleaded not guilty to a total of ten charges back on the 3rd of April. They included four counts of child molestation. Jackson's lawyer says, and I'm quoting now, so much of the evidence presented to the grand jurors was blacked out that it prompted one of the grand jurors to ask the prosecution did you guys get any sleep over the weekend? End quote.
A pre-trial hearing set for Friday in Jackson's sexual abuse case. About 16 minutes past the hour now. Good morning to Daryn Kagan at the CNN Center in Atlanta. Good to have you with us today but tough news out of Iraq. Good morning.
DARYN KAGAN, CNN ANCHOR: Good morning to you, Bill.
Let's begin with the violence in Iraq. There is more of it. Word of a deadly mortar attack on the National Guard headquarters in Samarra. It is coming in just over a half hour ago.
A U.S. military spokesman says that at least four American soldiers and one Iraqi guard were killed. One other U.S. soldier is unaccounted for. Some 20 other soldiers were wounded in the attack, which is just north of Baghdad.
Family members have apparently received word from U.S. Marine Corporal Wassef Ali Hassoun. A source close to the family telling CNN yesterday that Hassoun has called his family, telling them he was safe in Lebanon.
A man claiming to be Hassoun also called the U.S. Embassy in Beirut but U.S. officials are still attempting to verify the information and locate him.
Some lawmakers are warning that U.S. troops are reaching their breaking point. According to bipartisan members of a house military committee. The Pentagon is stretching troops to their limit and could discourage potential new service members.
A triple murder at the New Mexico ranch house of veteran ABC Newsman Sam Donaldson. A 14-year-old boy is suspected in the killings. He is accused of murdering his father, his stepmother and stepsister at the ranch.
Donaldson himself discovered the crime scene on Tuesday when he went to the home of his ranch manager.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
DONALDSON: So, I went over there and went on the porch and there was a large stain there, which I think is instantly recognizable. And glasses. And I looked in the door and you could see congealed reddish substance.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
KAGAN: Donaldson owns three homesteads in New Mexico.
And let's get a little bit of sports news in here. A picture perfect triple play turned by the Chicago White Sox last night. Anaheim Angels catcher Benji Molina watches one -- oh -- he hits one hopper, goes right to third base. Starts a rarely seen five-four- three triple play. Molina is considered perhaps the slowest player in the majors.
The Chicago manager summed up the play simply saying right man, right place.
A solace, though, for the Angels in the end -- they took the game 12-0. Just how rare? Bill? My fellow baseball guy?
HEMMER: Tell us.
KAGAN: OK. The White Sox haven't had a triple play since June of '96, and The Angels haven't hit into a triple play since 1992. So there you go. That's why we showed it this morning.
HEMMER: Excellent. Thank you, Daryn. Good to know.
Check in with Jack now and "Question of the Day." Good morning.
CAFFERTY: Thank you, Bill. President Bush didn't skip a beat yesterday when he was asked to compare Vice-President Dick Cheney with Senator John Edwards.
One of the better sound bites out of the president. He fired back "Dick Cheney can be president. Next."
Not everybody agrees with the president, though. Former Republican New York Senator Alfonse D'Amato -- talk about a blast from the past -- said the president should consider replacing Dick Cheney on the ticket.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
ALFONSE D'AMATO (R), FORMER U.S. SENATOR: And I will shock Republicans and probably get them angry, but I think we could do better and I have a great deal of respect for Dick Cheney. I think he's bright -- absolutely brilliant.
Having said that, I think that politically there are two other people if we're talking about who could bring help, who could bring substantial help to the ticket.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
CAFFERTY: D'Amato suggests Secretary of State Colin Powell or perhaps Senator John McCain. The "Question" is this this morning. Should President Bush consider replacing Dick Cheney?
You can send us your thoughts at am@cnn.com.
HEMMER: That was a pretty interesting comment yesterday. Says it like that. Fired back.
CAFFERTY: Yes, yes.
HEMMER: Thank you, Jack.
CAFFERTY: Sure.
COLLINS: Thank you, Jack. Power is out to at least 5,000 customers in Maryland this morning after violent rain storms pounded parts of the state. In just two hours yesterday thunderstorms dropped up to four inches of rain, causing flash floods.
Several cars swept away or stranded in the rushing waters. No injuries reported but a few drivers did have to be rescued as you can see there.
(WEATHER REPORT)
HEMMER: In a moment here, an exclusive look behind the wire at Gitmo. Preparations now underway for the first detainees to face tribunals. At least one defense attorney says her job is mission impossible.
COLLINS: Also ahead the latest in the Scott Peterson trial and why some experts say the prosecution missed out on a big opportunity.
HEMMER: Four years ago, it was all about Al Gore. Now it's almost as if the Democrats have forgotten about him in this race. "Political Pop" a little later this hour, one of the many topics ahead on AMERICAN MORNING.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
HEMMER: Welcome back everyone. Breaking news out of Houston, Texas. Ken Lay who used to run the energy trading partner -- that giant company, Enron -- has now turned himself in to FBI authorities.
Some videotape a short time ago, moments ago, in fact in Houston, Texas. The word is that the Justice Department refusing comment at this point. The two sources familiar with the case say a grand jury in Houston, that's where Enron is based, handed down a sealed indictment against Lay on Wednesday.
Charges not revealed yet but the word is Ken Lay turning himself in to the FBI there in Houston, Texas.
More in a moment as we go throughout the morning here -- Heidi.
COLLINS: The Pentagon says it will hold hearings soon for all of the nearly 600 detainees at the U.S. military prison at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba. Bob Franken got an exclusive look inside Gitmo. He is live this morning from there to tell us what he found.
Good morning to you, Bob.
BOB FRANKEN, CNN NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Good morning, Heidi.
And already its complicated here by the fact that there are tribunals being planned, three have already been charged, three others have been waiting and now they've added nine more detainees.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
FRANKEN (voice-over): That is a separate section of the prison complex on Guantanamo Bay and now there will be 15 detainees housed in special cells for those who face military tribunals.
Among them, Ibrahim Ahmed al Qosi, charged with conspiracy to commit violence against the United States.
His military lawyer, Lieutenant Colonel Sharon Shaffer has returned in the wake of the Supreme Court ruling granting U.S. legal hearings to the prisoners, even though they're held on the base in Cuba.
But she complained her bosses at the Defense Department were providing woefully inadequate resources for her to mount a defense.
LT. COL. SHARON SHAFFER, DEFENSE LAWYER: This is a mission impossible. How can it even be accomplished when we're not having a -- when we don't have the basic resources we need to do our jobs?
FRANKEN: As the Pentagon claimed it would adhere to the Supreme Court ruling by holding hearings at Guantanamo without lawyers for the detainees, officials here at the base were allowing CNN a glimpse of life behind the wire.
This was in response to lingering suspicions of abuse of treatment. It is a censored glimpse.
This videotape had scenes edited out by security officials. In addition, while reporters were allowed to witness an interrogation session, no cameras were allowed and nobody was permitted to hear what was being said.
But observers saw calm conversations between interrogators and their prisoners. Both intelligence and security officials insist that the treatment of their captives has been entirely proper.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: We don't want an interrogation -- a detainee coming into an interrogation booth upset, frightened, fearful. It doesn't help us in any way.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I don't want interrogators coming out here on this block (INAUDIBLE).
(END VIDEOTAPE)
FRANKEN: Now, this is different, they say -- the camp contenders contend, from Iraq, because it's so far from the battlefield. But, not far from the legal battles -- Heidi.
COLLINS: All right, Bob Franken coming to us from Guantanamo Bay. Thanks so much, Bob -- Bill.
HEMMER: In a moment here officials think a missing Marine in Iraq since last month is alive but the question today, why can't anyone confirm it? Get a live report in a moment on that story.
Also, a look at what may be a squandered opportunity for the prosecution in the Scott Peterson case. Back in a moment. Much more after this.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
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