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CNN Live At Daybreak
Buying Uncle Sam?; CIA Nominee; Circus Ban; 9/11 Retrial
Aired August 11, 2004 - 05:30 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: Gulf of Mexico, residents of Florida and Alabama are keeping an eye on Tropical Storm Bonnie and another tropical storm as well.
Good morning -- Chad.
CHAD MYERS, CNN METEOROLOGIST: Charlie, Carol, yes.
(WEATHER REPORT)
COSTELLO: All right, thank you, Chad.
We start this half-hour with the second of several reports aimed at "Your Money and the Best Government it Can Buy." Despite campaign finance laws aimed at reining in special interest groups, it's like the U.S. mail, it gets through.
Our Lisa Sylvester has that for you.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
LISA SYLVESTER, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Congressman Joe Baca has a pretty good swing. He got to show off his skills at a tournament during the Democratic National Convention, co-sponsored by American Express. Representative Barney Frank attended a luncheon hosted by the major accounting firms. Both men sit on the House committee regulating the banking industry. Neither sees a conflict of interest.
REP. BARNEY FRANK (D), MASSACHUSETTS: I meet with a wide range of employees. No problem.
SYLVESTER: Congress suspends its ethics rules during the political conventions, which normally limit lawmakers to gifts of no more than $50. But the conventions have become a free-for-all.
Corporations can donate an unlimited amount of money to help pay for the conventions and their lavish party: one of the few areas left where corporate donors can openly buy access to lawmakers.
The American Gas Association, for example, threw this party at a swanky Boston club. The Association will spend $700,000 on events between the two conventions.
FRED WERTHEIMER, PRESIDENT, DEMOCRACY 21: These can cost $100,000, $250,000 or more. That's a huge financial favor for a powerful member of Congress. SYLVESTER: Special interest groups have found other ways to spend unlimited money to not only buy access to lawmakers, but also to keep their friends in office. One way is by channeling money to outside groups, not restricted by Campaign Finance laws. The IRS has designations for various political groups named after sections in the tax code: 527s, like move-on.org are the new magnets for soft money.
But there are other shadow groups operating under the radar: 501(c)s like "Americans for Job Security," located in this nondescript building and founded by pro-business interest. The group spent $10 million in 2000 running political ads according to tax records.
CRAIG HOLMAN, LOBBYIST, PUBLIC CITIZEN: The real problem with the 501(c)s, unlike Section 527 groups, that I think a lot of people have heard of already, with 501(c)s there's no disclosure of where they're getting their money from.
SYLVESTER: And unlike the 527s, the 501(c)s do not have to file IRS forms to show how much they spent until after the election.
MICHAEL DUBKE, AMERICANS FOR JOB SECURITY: We don't disclose that. We used to when we first started; found that that was a distraction to the issues that we wanted to talk about and decided back in 1998, that at that point, it became too much of a distraction.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
COSTELLO: Lisa Sylvester reporting tonight in our series on "The Best Government Money Can Buy," Lisa reports on the big contributors, the special interest groups with the most influence. That's on CNN's "LOU DOBBS" at 6:00 Eastern, 3:00 Pacific Time.
To the race for the White House now, both candidates are in the west today. John Kerry is campaigning in Nevada, while George Bush leaves his Texas ranch this morning for Albuquerque, New Mexico. And then later, he'll head on to Phoenix, Arizona.
Talk on the campaign trail swirling around Iraq. John Kerry told a Las Vegas crowd he was consistent when he voted to, as he says, stand up to Saddam Hussein.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
SEN. JOHN KERRY (D-MA), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: My question to President Bush is why did he rush to war without a plan to win the peace? Why did he rush to war on faulty intelligence?
(END VIDEO CLIP)
COSTELLO: The tit-for-tat world, here is what George Bush had to say about those comments.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
GEORGE W. BUSH, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: My opponent has found a new nuance, knowing everything we know today, he would have voted to go into Iraq and remove Saddam Hussein from power. I want to thank Senator Kerry for clearing that up.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
COSTELLO: That brings us to our e-mail question of the morning, is there any real difference between John Kerry and George Bush policy-wise, especially foreign policy-wise? Tell us what you think. The address, DAYBREAK@CNN.com. That's DAYBREAK@CNN.com.
And you'll be sure to want to watch this, the president and the first lady are Larry King's guests tomorrow night, Thursday at 9:00 Eastern, 6:00 Pacific Time.
Can Congressman Porter Goss rise above politics and focus on the nation's intelligence? That's what critics are asking about the man President Bush wants to be the new CIA chief.
CNN national correspondent Bob Franken has more for you.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
BOB FRANKEN, CNN NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): One lesson Porter Goss clearly learned from his time in the CIA, how to keep a secret. Just ask his son.
MASON GOSS, SON OF PORTER GOSS: This today was a huge surprise. We didn't know it was coming today.
FRANKEN: Not that it was exactly classified information that Goss was under consideration.
BUSH: He knows the CIA inside and out.
FRANKEN: Goss was in the agency for nine years, after all, but says he still can't discuss exactly what undercover work he did. He has acknowledged being in Miami during the Cuban Missile Crisis.
His murky career track also took him through Haiti, Mexico, the Dominican Republic, and Western Europe. What he did after he came in from the cold was to enter the heated world of politics in 1974; 30 years later, as chairman of the House Intelligence Committee, he's still involved with both intelligence and politics, and his critics say maybe a little bit too much with politics.
PELOSI: A person should not be the director of central intelligence who's acted in a very political way.
FRANKEN: That's exactly what Democrats complain Goss had been doing ever since he knew he was being considered for central intelligence director. On June 1, for instance, the Bush for president Web site posted his critique of John Kerry's speech on national security as political me-tooism. And a little more than two months later, he's the president's choice to head the Central Intelligence Agency.
BUSH: Now, with the agreement of the U.S. Senate, the CIA will have another strong leader in Porter Goss. FRANKEN (on camera): To use the words of the last CIA director, agreement by the Senate is not a slam dunk. There will be pointed questions about the go-slow approach advocated by Goss for the recommendations of the 9/11 Commission.
(voice-over): The most controversial would create a new national intelligence director who would oversee the entire landscape. That would include the CIA domain Goss wants to control, the shadowy one he used to prowl.
TIMOTHY ROEMER, PRESIDENT, CENTER FOR NATIONAL POLICY: That's the challenge and the big question today. Can Congressman Porter Goss use that institutional knowledge, that background, that experience in operations to change a system that has become dysfunctional?
FRANKEN: The question will be whether Porter Goss can be above politics if he runs the CIA. On that issue, the Senate decides whether his nomination will live or let die.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
COSTELLO: In news "Across America" this Wednesday morning, a Louisiana jury took just over 90 minutes to find a suspected serial killer guilty. Derrick Todd Lee faces a mandatory life sentence for the second-degree murder conviction. Still faces first-degree murder charges in two other cases. Police believe Lee is linked to at least seven killings.
Convicted child killer Joel Steinberg had to find a new home. He was kicked out of a Manhattan halfway house after he gave a magazine interview on the premises. Steinberg was paroled in June after serving 17 years in prison for killing his 6-year-old adopted daughter. He's now living in a new undisclosed location.
Jurors in Alaska have returned a not guilty verdict in a first of its kind case. Erwin Petterson had been accused of causing a fatal auto accident because he was driving while watching a DVD. Petterson denied that charge and the jury agreed. He was acquitted on two second-degree murder charges and two counts of manslaughter.
In Denver, the show will go on. Voters soundly defeated a proposed ban on animals being used as performers. The so-called circus ban failed by a nearly three-to-one margin.
We get more on the issue with part of the initiative from CNN's Chris Lawrence.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
CHRIS LAWRENCE, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): For years, families have been going to the circus to see the extraordinary and impossible.
But today, voters in Denver had to decide if they'd seen enough. They voted on an initiative that would ban the display of exotic animals for entertainment. HEATHER HERMAN, STARTED BALLOT INITIATIVE: It's not natural when you've got elephants standing on each other and tigers jumping through fiery hoops.
LAWRENCE: Heather Herman is no animal rights extremist. She goes to zoos, wears leather, and eats meat. But the 15-year-old started this movement after researching how circus animals are treated and trained.
HERMAN: It is going on because of the, you know, the documents and facts that I've seen.
LAWRENCE: And it's an issue that goes beyond Colorado. Right now, Ringling Brothers and Barnum and Bailey Brothers Circus is facing a federal investigation after one of its lions died on an animal train in California.
In other cases not involving Ringling Brothers, animal rights activists say elephants have been chained to the floor of their cages, and sometimes beaten to break their spirit.
One ex-circus employee says some trainers use bull hooks to grab animals by the ear and yank their heads down.
TOM RYDER, FORMER CIRCUS WORKER: And it's very painful to the elephant. I mean, they scream and try to get away.
LAWRENCE: Under the Animal Welfare Act, the USDA can take action against violators. And in the past, the agency has changed procedures, imposed fines and revoked licenses.
(on camera) If complaints are any indication, the problem is getting worse.
The USDA investigates allegations of commercial animal abuse. And the number of investigations has gone up each of the last three years, topping out at 365 last year.
(voice-over) But Colorado residents who support the circus say it's been coming to the state for more than 50 years.
PANCHO HAYS, "KEEP THE CIRCUS IN DENVER": It's never been a complaint or an allegation or anything enforced.
LAWRENCE: And some trainers say circus animals often live longer and better lives than the animals in our own homes.
JOHN KIRKLAND, RINGLING BROTHERS CIRCUS: Our animals receive the best treatment of any animals anywhere in the world. In fact, our animals are better taken care of than most people's pets.
LAWRENCE: Both big circus companies and animal rights activists see the Denver vote as an important test case.
Because no animals mean no circus.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
COSTELLO: That report from CNN's Chris Lawrence in Denver.
A similar measure failed in Seattle four years ago. At present, 40 cities and counties prohibit the use of wild animals in entertainment displays.
More than 3,000 people killed, more than 3,000 charges against him, so why is the only person convicted in the 9/11 attacks walking free right now? Details of his retrial coming up at 49 past the hour.
And who are these fighters in Najaf and why is that city such a hot bed of violence in Iraq right now?
First, here's a look at what else is making news this Wednesday morning.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
COSTELLO: Your news, money, weather and sports. It is 5:45 Eastern. Here is what's all new this morning.
Amber Frey heading back to the witness stand today in the Scott Peterson murder trial. Frey was Peterson's mistress before Laci Peterson was killed.
In Colorado, Republican Peter Coors will face Democratic Attorney General Ken Salazar in the fall election for the U.S. Senate. Both men won their primary contests on Tuesday.
In money news, a report in "USA Today" finds more people turning to satellite television service, that, at the expense of cable TV firms.
In culture, Donald Trump fires himself. Trump is no longer the CEO of his casino company, but he will remain as chairman. The company plans to restructure after it files for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection.
In sports, tennis star Jennifer Capriati is staying home. The 1992 gold medalist has a hamstring injury that will force her to miss this year's Games in Athens. She will be replaced by Lisa Raymond.
To the Weather Center and Chad.
Good morning.
MYERS: Good morning, Carol.
(WEATHER REPORT)
COSTELLO: Thank you, Chad.
Those are the latest headlines for you this morning.
The only man ever convicted in connection with the September 11 terrorist attacks is now back in court in Germany. He's being retried after his conviction was thrown out because of lack of evidence from the United States. Now Washington is agreeing to provide the documents that could help put this man away for good.
Chris Burns has the latest for you.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
CHRIS BURNS, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Mounir el Motassadeq, charged with more than 3,000 counts of accessory to murder, walks into court a free man. The only suspect ever convicted in the September 11 attacks walked out of prison in March when a German federal court threw out the judgement and 15-year sentence, citing what it called a black hole of evidence, a lack of testimony from U.S.-held terror suspects.
As he opened the retrial, presiding Judge Ernst-Rainer Schudt released a U.S. statement expressing willingness to plug that black hole, to provide unclassified material on September 11 suspects allegedly tied to Motassadeq, though still no court access to the suspects themselves. The U.S. citing national security, ongoing investigations into past attacks and future threats.
The defense struck back alleging any U.S. evidence could be tainted by torture. They called on the five-judge panel to throw out the case.
JOSEF GRAESSLE-MUENSCHER, DEFENSE LAWYER: On third class intelligence evidence, you can not have any idea what's going on, not in this case.
BURNS: The prosecution aims to prove Motassadeq guilty due to his close ties with September 11 hijackers in the so-called Hamburg cell, including ring leader Mohamed Atta, and his cash transfers to some of the plotters.
At the trial, one man, whose mother died on the first jetliner that crashed into the World Trade Center, he said he was outraged by the defense talk of torture and the sight of Motassadeq without handcuffs.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: He's walking in a free man, how does that feel?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Very unsettling. He's a dangerous man. He's a murderer.
BURNS: The defense contends there is no smoking gun against Motassadeq who says he knew nothing of the attacks.
(on camera): The U.S. willingness to provide documents to this court could help ease the frustration German officials have expressed in not getting direct access to terror suspects. Whether that evidence is enough to convict Mounir el Motassadeq is another matter.
Chris Burns, CNN, Hamburg, Germany. (END VIDEOTAPE)
COSTELLO: Let's talk some more about those documents and also about the finding in Najaf this morning.
Our senior international editor David Clinch is with us now.
What about these documents, will they help, will they not help?
DAVID CLINCH, CNN SENIOR INTERNATIONAL EDITOR: Right. Well there is more than one type of document. The latest information that we're getting from the court in Germany today is that the first section of documents that have been supplied by the U.S., they wouldn't supply the witnesses themselves, Khalid Shaikh Mohammed, Binalshibh, these suspects that are under U.S. detention. But they did interview them, according to the request from the court itself.
And according to the information that Khalid Shaikh Mohammed and Binalshibh have supplied, they say Motassadeq knew nothing about their plotting. Yes he helped them transfer money, yes he helped them set up apartments, but they say they told him nothing about what they were planning and he knew nothing. Therefore, he is clear.
But that may not be all of the information the U.S. has supplied, and we'll have to wait and see. And of course it may very well be in their interest to say that to protect him. It may also be a factor that, as the defense is saying, that the idea, at least from the German court's point of view, that they could have been subject to torture or something else might play a role. It's not the whole story yet. But initially the information that they have supplied is he knew nothing about what they were doing. He helped them, but he didn't know anything.
COSTELLO: Well we'll keep following the trial and see what happens.
CLINCH: Yes, the whole court process has been a bit of a mess for the Germans.
COSTELLO: Let's concentrate now on Najaf.
CLINCH: Yes.
COSTELLO: And there is still fighting there this morning?
CLINCH: There is fighting there this morning. The potential, though, for it to go to the next level is very real right now. You've got a situation where the U.S. is poised for a massive assault, and it would take a massive assault to oust the Shiite militia who are around this mosque and perhaps inside the mosque itself in Najaf.
Now the key there, inside the mosque. The U.S. making it clear that they are very uncomfortable with the idea of putting their own troops inside this mosque in Najaf. It's one of the holiest mosques for Shi'a Muslims. So while we may very well see a massive assault, the interesting thing will be how does the U.S. handle getting the militia who may actually be inside the mosque itself? So we're waiting to see.
COSTELLO: Well let me ask you this question about that, Iraqi security forces are fighting along with U.S. forces in Najaf, right?
CLINCH: Yes.
COSTELLO: So what if the Iraqi security forces would infiltrate that mosque?
CLINCH: Well that's a possibility. That's certainly something we have seen over the last 24, 48 hours, the U.S. saying that they are not comfortable with the Iraqi security forces playing a full part in the overall assault because they haven't been able to perform quite simple military tasks.
But on the other hand, if there is a very specific requirement for no U.S. troops to go inside the mosques, it's possible you might see the Iraqi security forces playing that specific role. But the whole thing is a big risk. We know the goal. The risk, of course, is what happens if they do go into the mosque.
COSTELLO: And we'll keep updating the situation in Najaf throughout the morning.
David Clinch, many thanks to you.
CLINCH: OK.
COSTELLO: In the next hour of DAYBREAK, we'll tell you about a company that's giving its products a label makeover.
And our e-mail "Question of the Day," when it comes to foreign policy, is there any real difference between John Kerry and George Bush? The address DAYBREAK@CNN.com. Keep them coming. They are interesting again this morning. Thank you.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
COSTELLO: Hulk Hogan 51.
MYERS: Hulk is 51.
COSTELLO: Wonder if he still looks like that?
MYERS: I see you looking up (ph). Yes, probably.
COSTELLO: Except his hair is gray now.
MYERS: Yes, or he looks like Jesse Ventura. Could you get those two together?
COSTELLO: Yes.
MYERS: Gray.
COSTELLO: Separated at birth. MYERS: I guess.
COSTELLO: Hey, it's time for our "Where Are They Now" segment. Speaking of Jesse Ventura, don't know where he went to, but it was 70 years ago today that the first federal prisoners set foot on The Rock.
MYERS: Have you ever been there? Yes.
COSTELLO: I've sailed around it. I don't think you can go in it, or at least you couldn't when I was there.
MYERS: Yes.
COSTELLO: Alcatraz was the ultimate prison for more than 30 years. Today, it is a top tourist attraction.
MYERS: Yes.
COSTELLO: And a starting point for swimmers. Just last week, an Italian man swam from Alcatraz to San Francisco with his hands and feet tied. How can you do that?
MYERS: A scary thought. Yes, there are the people going through. That's what I was doing, I was going through. I did the walk. It's a little bit scary.
COSTELLO: That's cool. I didn't get to do that.
If you were in San Antonio, Texas on this date in 1972, you no doubt were celebrating Cheech and Chong Day. Today, Tommy Chong is fresh from a nine-month stint in jail for selling a bong on the Internet. See, he hasn't changed. And believe it or not, the pair is reportedly planning a comeback film.
MYERS: I don't even know. If we have ampere (ph) up in smoke, would you go?
COSTELLO: I don't know.
It's been 15 years since the classic film "Nightmare on Elm Street 5" was released. I'm not sure what definition we're using for classic though. Star Robert Englund has three new movies set for release soon. They include the "Demon Spies (ph)" and "2001 Maniacs (ph)." And the man known around the world as Freddy Krueger is said to be considering a return to the role that made him famous. So "Nightmare on Elm Street 6."
MYERS: Great.
COSTELLO: Six.
MYERS: And "Friday the 13th 17" or some random thing.
COSTELLO: Our e-mail question of the day is about politics, because John Kerry came out and said that he would have voted to go to war in Iraq... MYERS: Yes.
COSTELLO: ... again, even with what he knows now.
MYERS: Right.
COSTELLO: Of course George Bush came back and said hey, thanks for like, you know, confirming everything I did. So we're asking you the e-mail question, is there any real difference between John Kerry and George Bush foreign policy-wise? And we found some interesting responses.
MYERS: We want to go through a couple of these?
COSTELLO: Sure.
MYERS: Because you know what, we're just going to read them. There's nothing in the middle. These are left or they are right, we're just going to read them so the way they came.
From Wally (ph) in North Carolina, it would appear to me that up until now Kerry's ever-shifting message to the world was a bad idea. The war was a bad idea. Bush's message is 9/11 was a bad idea. That was from Wally.
COSTELLO: Read where they are from.
MYERS: Am I reading all -- I did.
Raul (ph) from Austin. The difference is vast. Bush has lost millions of jobs, plunged the country into staggering deficits and now basically endorses companies that ship jobs anywhere other than the U.S.
COSTELLO: And this is from Kaye (ph) in Phoenix. She says I think there is a big difference between Bush and Kerry. Bush has alienated our allies. Kerry wants to correct that. Kerry can take care of terrorists and other foreign problems just as well, if not better, than Bush, and take care of those at home in the United States while he is at it.
MYERS: Keep them coming, please.
COSTELLO: Keep them coming. We'll read more, please. DAYBREAK@CNN.com.
We'll be right back.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
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Aired August 11, 2004 - 05:30 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
CAROL COSTELLO, CNN ANCHOR: Gulf of Mexico, residents of Florida and Alabama are keeping an eye on Tropical Storm Bonnie and another tropical storm as well.
Good morning -- Chad.
CHAD MYERS, CNN METEOROLOGIST: Charlie, Carol, yes.
(WEATHER REPORT)
COSTELLO: All right, thank you, Chad.
We start this half-hour with the second of several reports aimed at "Your Money and the Best Government it Can Buy." Despite campaign finance laws aimed at reining in special interest groups, it's like the U.S. mail, it gets through.
Our Lisa Sylvester has that for you.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
LISA SYLVESTER, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Congressman Joe Baca has a pretty good swing. He got to show off his skills at a tournament during the Democratic National Convention, co-sponsored by American Express. Representative Barney Frank attended a luncheon hosted by the major accounting firms. Both men sit on the House committee regulating the banking industry. Neither sees a conflict of interest.
REP. BARNEY FRANK (D), MASSACHUSETTS: I meet with a wide range of employees. No problem.
SYLVESTER: Congress suspends its ethics rules during the political conventions, which normally limit lawmakers to gifts of no more than $50. But the conventions have become a free-for-all.
Corporations can donate an unlimited amount of money to help pay for the conventions and their lavish party: one of the few areas left where corporate donors can openly buy access to lawmakers.
The American Gas Association, for example, threw this party at a swanky Boston club. The Association will spend $700,000 on events between the two conventions.
FRED WERTHEIMER, PRESIDENT, DEMOCRACY 21: These can cost $100,000, $250,000 or more. That's a huge financial favor for a powerful member of Congress. SYLVESTER: Special interest groups have found other ways to spend unlimited money to not only buy access to lawmakers, but also to keep their friends in office. One way is by channeling money to outside groups, not restricted by Campaign Finance laws. The IRS has designations for various political groups named after sections in the tax code: 527s, like move-on.org are the new magnets for soft money.
But there are other shadow groups operating under the radar: 501(c)s like "Americans for Job Security," located in this nondescript building and founded by pro-business interest. The group spent $10 million in 2000 running political ads according to tax records.
CRAIG HOLMAN, LOBBYIST, PUBLIC CITIZEN: The real problem with the 501(c)s, unlike Section 527 groups, that I think a lot of people have heard of already, with 501(c)s there's no disclosure of where they're getting their money from.
SYLVESTER: And unlike the 527s, the 501(c)s do not have to file IRS forms to show how much they spent until after the election.
MICHAEL DUBKE, AMERICANS FOR JOB SECURITY: We don't disclose that. We used to when we first started; found that that was a distraction to the issues that we wanted to talk about and decided back in 1998, that at that point, it became too much of a distraction.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
COSTELLO: Lisa Sylvester reporting tonight in our series on "The Best Government Money Can Buy," Lisa reports on the big contributors, the special interest groups with the most influence. That's on CNN's "LOU DOBBS" at 6:00 Eastern, 3:00 Pacific Time.
To the race for the White House now, both candidates are in the west today. John Kerry is campaigning in Nevada, while George Bush leaves his Texas ranch this morning for Albuquerque, New Mexico. And then later, he'll head on to Phoenix, Arizona.
Talk on the campaign trail swirling around Iraq. John Kerry told a Las Vegas crowd he was consistent when he voted to, as he says, stand up to Saddam Hussein.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
SEN. JOHN KERRY (D-MA), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: My question to President Bush is why did he rush to war without a plan to win the peace? Why did he rush to war on faulty intelligence?
(END VIDEO CLIP)
COSTELLO: The tit-for-tat world, here is what George Bush had to say about those comments.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
GEORGE W. BUSH, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: My opponent has found a new nuance, knowing everything we know today, he would have voted to go into Iraq and remove Saddam Hussein from power. I want to thank Senator Kerry for clearing that up.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
COSTELLO: That brings us to our e-mail question of the morning, is there any real difference between John Kerry and George Bush policy-wise, especially foreign policy-wise? Tell us what you think. The address, DAYBREAK@CNN.com. That's DAYBREAK@CNN.com.
And you'll be sure to want to watch this, the president and the first lady are Larry King's guests tomorrow night, Thursday at 9:00 Eastern, 6:00 Pacific Time.
Can Congressman Porter Goss rise above politics and focus on the nation's intelligence? That's what critics are asking about the man President Bush wants to be the new CIA chief.
CNN national correspondent Bob Franken has more for you.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
BOB FRANKEN, CNN NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): One lesson Porter Goss clearly learned from his time in the CIA, how to keep a secret. Just ask his son.
MASON GOSS, SON OF PORTER GOSS: This today was a huge surprise. We didn't know it was coming today.
FRANKEN: Not that it was exactly classified information that Goss was under consideration.
BUSH: He knows the CIA inside and out.
FRANKEN: Goss was in the agency for nine years, after all, but says he still can't discuss exactly what undercover work he did. He has acknowledged being in Miami during the Cuban Missile Crisis.
His murky career track also took him through Haiti, Mexico, the Dominican Republic, and Western Europe. What he did after he came in from the cold was to enter the heated world of politics in 1974; 30 years later, as chairman of the House Intelligence Committee, he's still involved with both intelligence and politics, and his critics say maybe a little bit too much with politics.
PELOSI: A person should not be the director of central intelligence who's acted in a very political way.
FRANKEN: That's exactly what Democrats complain Goss had been doing ever since he knew he was being considered for central intelligence director. On June 1, for instance, the Bush for president Web site posted his critique of John Kerry's speech on national security as political me-tooism. And a little more than two months later, he's the president's choice to head the Central Intelligence Agency.
BUSH: Now, with the agreement of the U.S. Senate, the CIA will have another strong leader in Porter Goss. FRANKEN (on camera): To use the words of the last CIA director, agreement by the Senate is not a slam dunk. There will be pointed questions about the go-slow approach advocated by Goss for the recommendations of the 9/11 Commission.
(voice-over): The most controversial would create a new national intelligence director who would oversee the entire landscape. That would include the CIA domain Goss wants to control, the shadowy one he used to prowl.
TIMOTHY ROEMER, PRESIDENT, CENTER FOR NATIONAL POLICY: That's the challenge and the big question today. Can Congressman Porter Goss use that institutional knowledge, that background, that experience in operations to change a system that has become dysfunctional?
FRANKEN: The question will be whether Porter Goss can be above politics if he runs the CIA. On that issue, the Senate decides whether his nomination will live or let die.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
COSTELLO: In news "Across America" this Wednesday morning, a Louisiana jury took just over 90 minutes to find a suspected serial killer guilty. Derrick Todd Lee faces a mandatory life sentence for the second-degree murder conviction. Still faces first-degree murder charges in two other cases. Police believe Lee is linked to at least seven killings.
Convicted child killer Joel Steinberg had to find a new home. He was kicked out of a Manhattan halfway house after he gave a magazine interview on the premises. Steinberg was paroled in June after serving 17 years in prison for killing his 6-year-old adopted daughter. He's now living in a new undisclosed location.
Jurors in Alaska have returned a not guilty verdict in a first of its kind case. Erwin Petterson had been accused of causing a fatal auto accident because he was driving while watching a DVD. Petterson denied that charge and the jury agreed. He was acquitted on two second-degree murder charges and two counts of manslaughter.
In Denver, the show will go on. Voters soundly defeated a proposed ban on animals being used as performers. The so-called circus ban failed by a nearly three-to-one margin.
We get more on the issue with part of the initiative from CNN's Chris Lawrence.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
CHRIS LAWRENCE, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): For years, families have been going to the circus to see the extraordinary and impossible.
But today, voters in Denver had to decide if they'd seen enough. They voted on an initiative that would ban the display of exotic animals for entertainment. HEATHER HERMAN, STARTED BALLOT INITIATIVE: It's not natural when you've got elephants standing on each other and tigers jumping through fiery hoops.
LAWRENCE: Heather Herman is no animal rights extremist. She goes to zoos, wears leather, and eats meat. But the 15-year-old started this movement after researching how circus animals are treated and trained.
HERMAN: It is going on because of the, you know, the documents and facts that I've seen.
LAWRENCE: And it's an issue that goes beyond Colorado. Right now, Ringling Brothers and Barnum and Bailey Brothers Circus is facing a federal investigation after one of its lions died on an animal train in California.
In other cases not involving Ringling Brothers, animal rights activists say elephants have been chained to the floor of their cages, and sometimes beaten to break their spirit.
One ex-circus employee says some trainers use bull hooks to grab animals by the ear and yank their heads down.
TOM RYDER, FORMER CIRCUS WORKER: And it's very painful to the elephant. I mean, they scream and try to get away.
LAWRENCE: Under the Animal Welfare Act, the USDA can take action against violators. And in the past, the agency has changed procedures, imposed fines and revoked licenses.
(on camera) If complaints are any indication, the problem is getting worse.
The USDA investigates allegations of commercial animal abuse. And the number of investigations has gone up each of the last three years, topping out at 365 last year.
(voice-over) But Colorado residents who support the circus say it's been coming to the state for more than 50 years.
PANCHO HAYS, "KEEP THE CIRCUS IN DENVER": It's never been a complaint or an allegation or anything enforced.
LAWRENCE: And some trainers say circus animals often live longer and better lives than the animals in our own homes.
JOHN KIRKLAND, RINGLING BROTHERS CIRCUS: Our animals receive the best treatment of any animals anywhere in the world. In fact, our animals are better taken care of than most people's pets.
LAWRENCE: Both big circus companies and animal rights activists see the Denver vote as an important test case.
Because no animals mean no circus.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
COSTELLO: That report from CNN's Chris Lawrence in Denver.
A similar measure failed in Seattle four years ago. At present, 40 cities and counties prohibit the use of wild animals in entertainment displays.
More than 3,000 people killed, more than 3,000 charges against him, so why is the only person convicted in the 9/11 attacks walking free right now? Details of his retrial coming up at 49 past the hour.
And who are these fighters in Najaf and why is that city such a hot bed of violence in Iraq right now?
First, here's a look at what else is making news this Wednesday morning.
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COSTELLO: Your news, money, weather and sports. It is 5:45 Eastern. Here is what's all new this morning.
Amber Frey heading back to the witness stand today in the Scott Peterson murder trial. Frey was Peterson's mistress before Laci Peterson was killed.
In Colorado, Republican Peter Coors will face Democratic Attorney General Ken Salazar in the fall election for the U.S. Senate. Both men won their primary contests on Tuesday.
In money news, a report in "USA Today" finds more people turning to satellite television service, that, at the expense of cable TV firms.
In culture, Donald Trump fires himself. Trump is no longer the CEO of his casino company, but he will remain as chairman. The company plans to restructure after it files for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection.
In sports, tennis star Jennifer Capriati is staying home. The 1992 gold medalist has a hamstring injury that will force her to miss this year's Games in Athens. She will be replaced by Lisa Raymond.
To the Weather Center and Chad.
Good morning.
MYERS: Good morning, Carol.
(WEATHER REPORT)
COSTELLO: Thank you, Chad.
Those are the latest headlines for you this morning.
The only man ever convicted in connection with the September 11 terrorist attacks is now back in court in Germany. He's being retried after his conviction was thrown out because of lack of evidence from the United States. Now Washington is agreeing to provide the documents that could help put this man away for good.
Chris Burns has the latest for you.
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CHRIS BURNS, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Mounir el Motassadeq, charged with more than 3,000 counts of accessory to murder, walks into court a free man. The only suspect ever convicted in the September 11 attacks walked out of prison in March when a German federal court threw out the judgement and 15-year sentence, citing what it called a black hole of evidence, a lack of testimony from U.S.-held terror suspects.
As he opened the retrial, presiding Judge Ernst-Rainer Schudt released a U.S. statement expressing willingness to plug that black hole, to provide unclassified material on September 11 suspects allegedly tied to Motassadeq, though still no court access to the suspects themselves. The U.S. citing national security, ongoing investigations into past attacks and future threats.
The defense struck back alleging any U.S. evidence could be tainted by torture. They called on the five-judge panel to throw out the case.
JOSEF GRAESSLE-MUENSCHER, DEFENSE LAWYER: On third class intelligence evidence, you can not have any idea what's going on, not in this case.
BURNS: The prosecution aims to prove Motassadeq guilty due to his close ties with September 11 hijackers in the so-called Hamburg cell, including ring leader Mohamed Atta, and his cash transfers to some of the plotters.
At the trial, one man, whose mother died on the first jetliner that crashed into the World Trade Center, he said he was outraged by the defense talk of torture and the sight of Motassadeq without handcuffs.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: He's walking in a free man, how does that feel?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Very unsettling. He's a dangerous man. He's a murderer.
BURNS: The defense contends there is no smoking gun against Motassadeq who says he knew nothing of the attacks.
(on camera): The U.S. willingness to provide documents to this court could help ease the frustration German officials have expressed in not getting direct access to terror suspects. Whether that evidence is enough to convict Mounir el Motassadeq is another matter.
Chris Burns, CNN, Hamburg, Germany. (END VIDEOTAPE)
COSTELLO: Let's talk some more about those documents and also about the finding in Najaf this morning.
Our senior international editor David Clinch is with us now.
What about these documents, will they help, will they not help?
DAVID CLINCH, CNN SENIOR INTERNATIONAL EDITOR: Right. Well there is more than one type of document. The latest information that we're getting from the court in Germany today is that the first section of documents that have been supplied by the U.S., they wouldn't supply the witnesses themselves, Khalid Shaikh Mohammed, Binalshibh, these suspects that are under U.S. detention. But they did interview them, according to the request from the court itself.
And according to the information that Khalid Shaikh Mohammed and Binalshibh have supplied, they say Motassadeq knew nothing about their plotting. Yes he helped them transfer money, yes he helped them set up apartments, but they say they told him nothing about what they were planning and he knew nothing. Therefore, he is clear.
But that may not be all of the information the U.S. has supplied, and we'll have to wait and see. And of course it may very well be in their interest to say that to protect him. It may also be a factor that, as the defense is saying, that the idea, at least from the German court's point of view, that they could have been subject to torture or something else might play a role. It's not the whole story yet. But initially the information that they have supplied is he knew nothing about what they were doing. He helped them, but he didn't know anything.
COSTELLO: Well we'll keep following the trial and see what happens.
CLINCH: Yes, the whole court process has been a bit of a mess for the Germans.
COSTELLO: Let's concentrate now on Najaf.
CLINCH: Yes.
COSTELLO: And there is still fighting there this morning?
CLINCH: There is fighting there this morning. The potential, though, for it to go to the next level is very real right now. You've got a situation where the U.S. is poised for a massive assault, and it would take a massive assault to oust the Shiite militia who are around this mosque and perhaps inside the mosque itself in Najaf.
Now the key there, inside the mosque. The U.S. making it clear that they are very uncomfortable with the idea of putting their own troops inside this mosque in Najaf. It's one of the holiest mosques for Shi'a Muslims. So while we may very well see a massive assault, the interesting thing will be how does the U.S. handle getting the militia who may actually be inside the mosque itself? So we're waiting to see.
COSTELLO: Well let me ask you this question about that, Iraqi security forces are fighting along with U.S. forces in Najaf, right?
CLINCH: Yes.
COSTELLO: So what if the Iraqi security forces would infiltrate that mosque?
CLINCH: Well that's a possibility. That's certainly something we have seen over the last 24, 48 hours, the U.S. saying that they are not comfortable with the Iraqi security forces playing a full part in the overall assault because they haven't been able to perform quite simple military tasks.
But on the other hand, if there is a very specific requirement for no U.S. troops to go inside the mosques, it's possible you might see the Iraqi security forces playing that specific role. But the whole thing is a big risk. We know the goal. The risk, of course, is what happens if they do go into the mosque.
COSTELLO: And we'll keep updating the situation in Najaf throughout the morning.
David Clinch, many thanks to you.
CLINCH: OK.
COSTELLO: In the next hour of DAYBREAK, we'll tell you about a company that's giving its products a label makeover.
And our e-mail "Question of the Day," when it comes to foreign policy, is there any real difference between John Kerry and George Bush? The address DAYBREAK@CNN.com. Keep them coming. They are interesting again this morning. Thank you.
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COSTELLO: Hulk Hogan 51.
MYERS: Hulk is 51.
COSTELLO: Wonder if he still looks like that?
MYERS: I see you looking up (ph). Yes, probably.
COSTELLO: Except his hair is gray now.
MYERS: Yes, or he looks like Jesse Ventura. Could you get those two together?
COSTELLO: Yes.
MYERS: Gray.
COSTELLO: Separated at birth. MYERS: I guess.
COSTELLO: Hey, it's time for our "Where Are They Now" segment. Speaking of Jesse Ventura, don't know where he went to, but it was 70 years ago today that the first federal prisoners set foot on The Rock.
MYERS: Have you ever been there? Yes.
COSTELLO: I've sailed around it. I don't think you can go in it, or at least you couldn't when I was there.
MYERS: Yes.
COSTELLO: Alcatraz was the ultimate prison for more than 30 years. Today, it is a top tourist attraction.
MYERS: Yes.
COSTELLO: And a starting point for swimmers. Just last week, an Italian man swam from Alcatraz to San Francisco with his hands and feet tied. How can you do that?
MYERS: A scary thought. Yes, there are the people going through. That's what I was doing, I was going through. I did the walk. It's a little bit scary.
COSTELLO: That's cool. I didn't get to do that.
If you were in San Antonio, Texas on this date in 1972, you no doubt were celebrating Cheech and Chong Day. Today, Tommy Chong is fresh from a nine-month stint in jail for selling a bong on the Internet. See, he hasn't changed. And believe it or not, the pair is reportedly planning a comeback film.
MYERS: I don't even know. If we have ampere (ph) up in smoke, would you go?
COSTELLO: I don't know.
It's been 15 years since the classic film "Nightmare on Elm Street 5" was released. I'm not sure what definition we're using for classic though. Star Robert Englund has three new movies set for release soon. They include the "Demon Spies (ph)" and "2001 Maniacs (ph)." And the man known around the world as Freddy Krueger is said to be considering a return to the role that made him famous. So "Nightmare on Elm Street 6."
MYERS: Great.
COSTELLO: Six.
MYERS: And "Friday the 13th 17" or some random thing.
COSTELLO: Our e-mail question of the day is about politics, because John Kerry came out and said that he would have voted to go to war in Iraq... MYERS: Yes.
COSTELLO: ... again, even with what he knows now.
MYERS: Right.
COSTELLO: Of course George Bush came back and said hey, thanks for like, you know, confirming everything I did. So we're asking you the e-mail question, is there any real difference between John Kerry and George Bush foreign policy-wise? And we found some interesting responses.
MYERS: We want to go through a couple of these?
COSTELLO: Sure.
MYERS: Because you know what, we're just going to read them. There's nothing in the middle. These are left or they are right, we're just going to read them so the way they came.
From Wally (ph) in North Carolina, it would appear to me that up until now Kerry's ever-shifting message to the world was a bad idea. The war was a bad idea. Bush's message is 9/11 was a bad idea. That was from Wally.
COSTELLO: Read where they are from.
MYERS: Am I reading all -- I did.
Raul (ph) from Austin. The difference is vast. Bush has lost millions of jobs, plunged the country into staggering deficits and now basically endorses companies that ship jobs anywhere other than the U.S.
COSTELLO: And this is from Kaye (ph) in Phoenix. She says I think there is a big difference between Bush and Kerry. Bush has alienated our allies. Kerry wants to correct that. Kerry can take care of terrorists and other foreign problems just as well, if not better, than Bush, and take care of those at home in the United States while he is at it.
MYERS: Keep them coming, please.
COSTELLO: Keep them coming. We'll read more, please. DAYBREAK@CNN.com.
We'll be right back.
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