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CNN Wolf Blitzer Reports

Top lawyer for Bush campaign resigns; has Swift Boat connections, Interview with Ben Ginsberg, former Bush general counsel, Two Russian airlines crash 450 miles apart

Aired August 25, 2004 - 17:00   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.


WOLF BLITZER, CNN ANCHOR: Happening now: In the Swift Boat battle, a top lawyer for the Bush campaign has just abandoned ship. Have the attacks on John Kerry back fired on George W. Bush? Were any laws broken? I'll ask the lawyer at the center of the storm. Ben Ginsberg, in his first television interview since he made some headlines.
Stand by for hard news on WOLF BLITZER REPORTS.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

BLITZER (voice-over): A dual between Vietnam vets.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: These scurrilous attacks on John Kerry's credibility in war, his courage, his valor are false and George Bush is behind it.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: We're saying, basically, you can't have it both ways.

BLITZER: Rescue the city: A top Iraqi cleric calls on Shiites to march on Najaf. But there's already trouble.

Twins tragedies: Russian airliners go down 450 miles, and just minutes apart. Is it just a horrible coincidence?

Overboard.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Get air up under the board, let the gas out of the tank, anything you could do to help the boat stay afloat, he did.

BLITZER: A tale of heroism and sacrifice at sea.

ANNOUNCER: This is WOLF BLITZER REPORTS for Wednesday August 25, 2004.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

BLITZER: Vietnam veterans were back in action today, fighting a verbal battle near the president's Texas ranch. At issue, those Swift Boat ads which have targeted the Democratic candidate. The ads today also claimed a casualty, a self-inflicted wound which has led a top Bush campaign adviser to step down. (BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

MAX CLELAND, (D) FMR. U.S. SENATOR: We're asking George Bush today to put up or shut up.

BLITZER (voice-over): Former Democratic senator and Vietnam War veteran Max Cleland in Crawford, Texas, tried to deliver a letter to the president signed by several current U.S. Senators, all veterans, asking the president to denounce the Swift Boat attack ads against John Kerry.

CLELAND: We want George Bush to stand up, come to the plate and say, this is wrong, that attack on a valorous service of a fellow American is wrong.

BLITZER: Cleland was joined by Jim Rassman, the former U.S. Army Green Beret who was saved by Kerry on a river in Vietnam in 1969.

JIM RASSMAN, VIETNAM VETERAN: I had bullets flying around me. Now they're telling me that I'm a liar. I am not a liar. I know it when a bullet comes near me.

BLITZER: Despite repeated White House denials, Cleland charged that Kerry was but the latest Vietnam War veteran smeared by the president, saying the same thing happened to Republican Senator John McCain during the 2000 presidential primary and himself.

CLELAND: I'm one of the three Vietnam veterans that George Bush went after. He came to my state five different times and they ran millions of dollars worth of ads with my and Saddam Hussein up there.

BLITZER: Bush did not personally receive Cleland or the letter at the ranch. Instead, Jerry Patterson, the Texas state land commissioner, also a Vietnam War veteran was outside the ranch with a pro-Bush letter for Cleland endorsed by several members of Congress.

JERRY PATTERSON, TEXAS LAND COMMISSIONER: The letter was drafted by Bush/Cheney '04. Either we pull them all down, or all get their piece. Either they all go down, or they all have their piece. It's not mutually exclusive, all veterans are a right to speak, but if we have 527s, you can't selectively say this one's good, that ones bad.

BLITZER: The exchange was the latest in the uproar following the release of the two attack ads put out by the anti-Kerry group Swift Boat Veterans for Truth

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: John Kerry has not been honest.

BLITZER: By law, the groups that release those ads, known as 527s, are supposed to be completely independent of presidential campaigns or political parties. But Kerry and other Democrats charged the Swift Boat ads are merely a front for the president.

That's a charge denied by the Bush/Cheney campaign. Though last night it was revealed one of the president's top campaign lawyers, Benjamin Ginsburg, was also providing legal advice to the Swift Boat group.

Together with former secretary of state James Baker, Ginsburg was one of the key Bush lawyers involved in the 2000 Florida election recount uproar. He has now resigned from the campaign.

In a letter to the president, he said he simply wanted, quote, "to ensure that the giving of legal advice to decorated military veterans, which was entirely within the boundaries of the law, doesn't distract from the real issues upon which you and the country should be focusing."

He insisted he was merely offering the same kind of legal advice to the Swift Boat veterans group as Democratic Party lawyers have been providing to anti-Bush attack groups.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

WOLF BLITZER, CNN ANCHOR: So let's hear directly now from Ben Ginsberg, he's joining us live here on CNN.

Ben, thanks very much for joining us.

BENJAMIN GINSBERG, FMR. BUSH CAMPAIGN LAWYER: Thank you, Wolf.

BLITZER: You're about one of the most experienced lawyers in Washington when it comes to politics. You know the rules as well as anyone. How could this have happened? You're working for the campaign and then going to work for the Swift Boat Veterans for Truth at the same time?

GINSBERG: Well, Wolf, my working for both those groups was an honor, a privilege and totally within the bounds of the law. The simple fact is, is that a group of decorated Vietnam veterans came to me and said, we have an important point of view to get out in the First Amendment debate over this election.

They said there are complicated new laws and we want to follow those new laws, will you help us? I said, yes, I absolutely would do that. There's nothing wrong with the that, the way the laws' coordination are written, that is perfectly appropriate. It's as appropriate as my Democratic colleagues on the other side doing precisely the same thing.

BLITZER: If there was nothing wrong, why did you resign?

GINSBERG: I resigned because the smear campaigns that the Kerry folks were putting up was frankly distracting from the important and crucial message about the future that the president of the United States wants to get out and wants this campaign to be about. And, sadly, especially from my perspective, when a lawyer gets in the way of that, it's time to get out of the way.

BLITZER: But the resignation, doesn't that give ammunition to the Kerry campaign that you did perhaps do something inappropriate?

GINSBERG: Well, only if they distort it, Wolf, which they've certainly been adept at trying to do today. What I did was totally appropriate, and within the bounds of the law just as what my Democratic colleagues are doing.

By stepping down, what I hope will happen is that the president's message about the hope and future of this country will come out loud and clear and not be distracted by these constant smear campaigns that the Kerry campaign seems to feel the need to put up on this particular issue, Wolf.

And let's remember, this was an ad that had a half million dollars behind it. The Democratic 527 groups put out ads valued at over $63 million, 126 times that amount. There was not a peep about the role of lawyers when those ads were coming up. There was now fueled by the Kerry campaign. It is a double standard that is terribly objectionable.

BLITZER: But didn't you understand the appearance -- that there could be an appearance of impropriety given the fact that you knew the Swift Boat ads -- for Truth group was one of these 527s which could not coordinate in any way with either the campaign or the Republican Party?

GINSBERG: But, Wolf, we didn't coordinate within -- the campaign flatly did not coordinate with this group and this group did not coordinate with the campaign. And I was at the nexus of making sure that didn't happen. To suggest otherwise is flat wrong, as Senator Cleland was doing today.

As for the appearance, this appearance that I had, as you phrase it, was no different from the Kerry campaign's lawyer with Americans Coming Together, and with the Democratic National Committee lawyer with MoveOn.org. If the appearance, as you refer to it, was wrong in my case, why was there not this scrutiny on the other cases?

BLITZER: Did you tell people at the Bush-Cheney campaign that you were also giving legal advice to the Swift Boat Veterans for Truth?

GINSBERG: Not until yesterday with the exception of a conversation on the legalities, a generic conversation of legalities of representing both campaigns and 527 groups. But nobody at the Bush campaign or the White House knew of my dual representation, which is appropriate under the legal ethics rules.

BLITZER: Since you were working for the campaign earlier, wouldn't it have been appropriate first to ask the campaign, do you have a problem if I also give advice to this other Swift Boat group?

GINSBERG: Well, Wolf, I didn't do that for three reasons. The first is that the legal ethics rules really require lawyers not to talk to different clients about the work that they're performing for other clients.

Number two, the campaign finance laws have strict provisions on any coordination, so to even raise the subject could potentially jeopardize my clients. And number three, starting months before I ever did this, my Democrat colleagues were doing precisely the same thing.

BLITZER: Did the Swift Boat Veterans for Truth organization know you were also working for the campaign?

GINSBERG: I assume that they did, Wolf. That certainly was not a secret.

BLITZER: Was that appropriate for them to hire a lawyer who is also working for a political campaign as well as for the Republican Party?

GINSBERG: Well, again, Wolf, the rules and the laws that went into effect do not include the provision of legal services amongst the prohibited coordination activities. And secondly, as I said, the Democratic lawyers were doing precisely the same thing.

And as the fact of the matter is, we discussed that with the Swift Boat Veterans and we decided, and I advised them that it was perfectly appropriate, again, because of the law and what the Democratic lawyers were already doing.

BLITZER: The final question is this. Did people at the Bush- Cheney campaign ask you to submit your letter of resignation?

GINSBERG: I offered it up. As I said, Wolf, what a lawyer cannot do is become a distraction. It has been the highest honor to represent this president and I would never get in the way and distract from the forward-looking message that he has for this country which is what the Kerry campaign's smear machine is trying to do.

BLITZER: Have you heard from the president or the vice president? Did anyone in a senior position ask you to rethink your resignation?

GINSBERG: There was no grounds to rethink it. My decision was firm. Everyone at the campaign and in the organization has been the gracious and honorable people they always are.

BLITZER: And you didn't hear directly from either the president or the vice president?

GINSBERG: I wouldn't tell you if I had, Wolf.

BLITZER: All right. Ben Ginsberg, joining us for a few moments to explain what has happened from his perspective. Ben, thanks very much for coming on our program.

GINSBERG: Thank you for having me on, Wolf.

BLITZER: Appreciate it.

Our coverage of this story will continue ahead. We'll got live to the White House. I'll also speak live with the communications director for the Kerry campaign, Stephanie Cutter, she'll join us later this hour.

Here's your chance to weigh in on this story. Our web question of the day is this, "should a Bush campaign lawyer have resigned because he was advising a group running anti-Kerry TV ads?" You can vote. Go to CNN.com/wolf. We'll have the results for you later in this broadcast.

Turning now to the latest report on the Iraqi prisoner abuse scandal. The U.S. army general who released it today says, in some cases Iraqi prisoners were tortured. Our Pentagon correspondent Barbara Starr is joining us live now with more -- Barbara.

BARBARA STARR, CNN PENTAGON CORRESPONDENT: Indeed, Wolf, accounts of torture, violent abuse, commanders not paying attention, and not enough troops at the prison.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

STARR (voice-over): 53 people who worked at Abu Ghraib either participated in the violent sexual abuse that took place, knew about it and didn't report it, or failed to command their troops. The Fay- Jones investigation of the intelligence operations at the prison emphasized that Abu Ghraib was understaffed, interrogation policies were confused and it wasn't clear who was in charge. In at least one case, there was torture. But investigators stopped short of holding the top commander in Iraq, Lieutenant General Ricardo Sanchez, directly accountable for the prison scandal.

GEN. PAUL KERN, U.S. ARMY: We did not find General Sanchez culpable but we found him responsible for the things that did or did not happen.

STARR: There was limited cooperation from the CIA on eight ghost detainees, Iraqis secretly held at the U.S. military prison by the agency.

MAJ. GEN. GEORGE FAY, U.S. ARMY: They made it very clear to me that they are going to conduct their own thorough, detailed investigation.

STARR: The report found the commander of the intelligence brigade at Abu Ghraib, Colonel Thomas Pappas failed to make sure his troops were fully trained, improperly authorized the use of dogs during interrogations and failed to make sure dogs were muzzled.

The use of military dogs at the prison horrific in the words of General Kern.

KERN: MP dog handlers were subjecting two adolescents to terror from the dogs with the purposes of playing a game between the two dog teams to see how poorly they could get these kids to behave. And that's specifically to see if they could get their bowel movements and urination to work.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

STARR: And Wolf, it will now be up to army criminal investigators to pursue many of these cases -- Wolf.

BLITZER: I'm sure they will. Thanks very much, Barbara Starr, for that report.

John Kerry minced few words today in responding to the latest report on Iraqi prisoner abuse. On the stump in Philadelphia, Kerry recalled President Harry Truman's oft quoted dictum, "the buck stops here." But added that the buck doesn't stop at the Pentagon.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

SEN. JOHN KERRY (D-MA), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: The lack of responsibility for what has been one of the most severe miscalculations in any deployment of American forces in American history, I believe, lands in civilian responsibility. And I called months ago for Secretary Rumsfeld to take that responsibility, for the president to take that responsibility and again today, as I have previously, I call for the resignation of the secretary of defense for failure to do what he should have done.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BLITZER: Just after Kerry spoke at that town hall meeting his campaign issued a statement from Kerry saying, and I'm quoting now, "the time has come for our commander-in-chief to take charge."

For the fifth straight night American warplanes have fired on militants in the Iraqi city of Najaf. The targets were around the Imam Ali mosque where fighters loyal to the Shiite cleric Muqtada al- Sadr are holed up. U.S. forces have fought fierce battles with al- Sadr's fores in a bid to gain control of the key city. Now Iraq's most powerful Shiite cleric is vowing to end the Najaf bloodbath. CNN's John Vause is in Iraq with more.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

JOHN VAUSE, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Destination: Najaf. A convoy of SUVs and pickup trucks surrounded by Iraqi national guardsmen and police protecting the one man who perhaps has the respect and the following to bring the standoff at the Imam Ali mosque to a peaceful end.

For three weeks the Grand Ayatollah Al-Sistani watched from his hospital bed in London where he underwent heart surgery. Now he's back in Iraq and Thursday plans to return to his home in Najaf, calling on all Iraqis to join him, a call supported by other senior Shiite leaders.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE (through translator): The crisis has to be solved through reason and logic and peaceful means. And through the departure of the armed elements from the city and the holy shrine and then restoring law and order.

VAUSE: A sign of Al-Sistani's influence, within hours the faithful were leaving Baghdad for Najaf. UNIDENTIFIED MALE (through translator): We obey Said Al-Sistani and we're going on foot to the Imam Ali mosque to protect him with our souls.

VAUSE: At least two of his followers may have already paid with their lives. About 1,000 were marching from the city of Kufa to neighboring Najaf when gunfire erupted. It is not known who was shooting.

It's widely believed that Al-Sistani brokered a short-lived ceasefire back in June. And earlier this year, when he called for demonstrations demanding national elections be held sooner, hundreds of thousands took to the streets in Baghdad alone.

The Mehdi militia remains inside the Imam Ali mosque, their numbers dwindling. Outside they're completely surrounded by U.S. and Iraqi forces. The police chief there is warning the grand ayatollah, it's too dangerous right now. But for the people of Najaf who have endured three weeks of heavy fighting, news Al-Sistani is coming home is reason for hope.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: (through translator): We hope that Said Al- Sistani will come to Najaf and get rid of this crisis for us. We are getting tired. We are starving.

VAUSE: Al-Sistani's focus it seems is getting Muqtada al-Sadr's militia out of the Imam Ali shrine and for all armed men including U.S. and Iraqi forces to leave the city. He's not addressing what to do with the junior cleric and his followers after that. John Vause, CNN, Baghdad.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

BLITZER: Most of our coverage of the Iraq war has naturally focused on events in that country. But the war continues to have a huge impact on the families of the American military men and women serving in Iraq.

There was a dramatic and heartbreaking example of that today in Florida. The father of a U.S. marine killed in Iraq yesterday became so distraught on hearing the news that he set himself on fire. It happened when he got into the vehicle of the marines who delivered the news, doused the inside of it with flammable liquid and set it on fire. The marines put out the blaze and rushed the man to a hospital. Police say he suffered serious burns. Nearly 1,000 U.S. military personnel have died in Iraq since the start of the war.

Two Russian planes crashed just minutes and hundreds of miles apart. Are there signs of a terrorist act? We're live from Moscow with the investigation.

All for a good cause. Why the actor Danny Glover gets taken to jail here in Washington today.

Plus this...

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: It was just survival. To hang on to boat was our sanctuary at the time.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BLITZER: Stranded in the Gulf for days clinging to their capsized boat. A dramatic story of sacrifice and survival.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

BLITZER: Two airliners take off from the same place and crash nearly simultaneously hundreds of miles apart. 89 people are dead. And Russian officials are scrambling to find out why. Let's go live to CNN's Ryan Chilcote. He's in Moscow with the latest on the investigation -- Ryan.

RYAN CHILCOTE, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Wolf, it's been more than 26 hours since those two planes went down. As you said, nearly simultaneously, hundreds of miles apart. While we know a whole lot about what Russian officials are doing to do things, like evacuate the bodies from the fields where these two crashes took place, we still don't have answers to the critical question exactly what happened to these two planes that caused them to come down yesterday?

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

CHILCOTE (voice-over): This is what remains of the first of two Russian passenger planes to disappear from radar screens. A half hour after it took off, it crashed into the Russian countryside just outside of Moscow, taking all on board to their graves.

Nearby villagers say they heard it coming, even before it hit the ground.

"I heard the roar of a plane that sounded as if it was really low," he says, "then an explosion like the sound of thunder. Then there was was silence and more explosions."

Then another plane, hundreds of miles away from the first, vanishes just minutes after the first one. On board it, 46 people, mostly vacationers who were going to spend the last week of the Russian summer on the beach before school starts.

There are unconfirmed reports that the second plane's crew was attacked, and that a hijacking signal was sent from the plane and picked up by air traffic control.

The Russian Federal Security Service, Russia's successor to the Soviet KGB, leads the investigation. A spokesman says, there is no evidence yet that the two crashes were caused by terrorism. Saying they are checking quality of the fuel in the planes and the possibility of mechanical failure.

The Russian president returns to the capital for an emergency meeting at the Kremlin, leaving the working vacation in the same resort town the plan with the tourists was destined for.

Russia's chief prosecutor says there are many possible causes for the crashes, including terrorism.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

CHILCOTE: Wolf, the question that's being asked here, is this Russia's 9/11, some brutal blow dealt out by Chechen terrorists that want to send Russia a message just days before a regional election that area, some sign of a protest? Or this is some kind of horrible coincidence of what's now being called twin tragedies, these two crashes caused by something seemingly as insignificant and menial as perhaps a bad as fuel in those 2 planes? This is still very much a mystery -- Wolf.

BLITZER: All right. Thanks very much, Ryan Chilcote with the latest on this mystery. Appreciate it.

Public pressure to end the humanitarian crisis in Sudan. Now a very familiar face gets directly involved.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

DANNY GLOVER, ACTOR: We want an end to the hostility. We also want a peacekeeping force.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BLITZER: But this protest for peace ends with consequences for the actor, Danny Glover.

Cheney's stand: Does the vice president's opinions on same-sex marriage signal a split from his party's platform.

And a possible suspect cleared in the case of 2 murdered camp counselors. And update on a story we brought you yesterday.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

BLITZER: Welcome back. And uninvited guest at ranch, the Vietnam veteran, former Senator Max Cleland arrives in Crawford, Texas with a message for President Bush. We'll get to that.

First, though, a quick check of stories now in the news.

(voice-over): A U.S. military tribunal formally charged an Australian man with conspiracy to commit war crimes. David Hicks pleaded not guilty. He's accused of fighting for the Taliban against U.S. forces in Afghanistan. Hicks has been held in a prison camp on the U.S. Naval Base in Guantanamo Bay, Cuba since 2000. His trial is set for January. He could be sentenced to life in prison if convicted.

Homeland Security Secretary Tom Ridge says, and I'm quoting now, "multiple layers of protection are in place for the Republican National Convention that begins Monday in New York City." Ridge calls security unprecedented and comprehensive. New York Mayor Michael Bloomberg says 10,000 police will help guard the city, about one-third of the force.

A Wisconsin man questioned as a possible witness in the recent killing of two camp counselors in California has been released. Nicholas Edward Scarseth told Sonoma County sheriffs he was in the area at the time, but never met Lindsay Cutshall and her fiance, Jason Allen. Both were found shot to death last Wednesday on a remote beach in California.

Keeping you informed, CNN, the most trusted name in news.

Sudan faces increasing calls to end what some describe as genocide by militias within its borders. And some prominent people are lending their name to the cause.

An update now from CNN's Brian Todd.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

BRIAN TODD, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): From more than 6,000 miles away, the government of Sudan is under intense political pressure. In Washington, protesters swarm the embassy, demanding the Sudanese end their support of the Janjaweed militia, those Arab militants accused of conducting an ethnic cleansing campaign against black Muslim villagers in the western Sudanese region of Darfur.

Human rights groups and Western governments say the Janjaweed have murdered, displaced or systemically raped thousands of black villagers for the better part of a year, all with the help of the Sudanese military, a charge the Sudanese government has consistently denied. Actor Danny Glover has been out front in the campaign to pressure the government in Khartoum.

DANNY GLOVER, ACTOR: We want an end to the hostile. We also want a peacekeeping force, a multinational peacekeeping force in Sudan. We also want to pressure -- continue to pressure the Sudanese government to make sure that they hold fast and hold true to the demands made by the world.

TODD: At this rally, Glover joined other activists in marching to the embassy doors and getting arrested by the Secret Service.

(on camera): These protests are taking place in front of a closed embassy. Sudanese officials tell us the closure is only temporary and say these demonstrations have nothing to do with it.

(voice-over): At his residence a few blocks from the protest, we caught up with the top Sudanese diplomat in Washington.

KHIDIR H. AHMED, SUDANESE CHARGE D'AFFAIRS: The media is talking every day about genocide, ethnic cleansing. They never reported one single case of improvement there. So this will strengthen our feelings for many different reasons. We are an easy target here without any constituency in this country. TODD: Sudanese officials say they have disarmed, arrested and even handed out death sentences to members of the janjaweed militia, who they call criminals. Adding to the pressure, the Sudanese government faces a U.N.-imposed deadline this Monday to really crack down on ethnic cleansing or face possible sanctions.

U.N. officials tell CNN, so far the Sudanese have made serious efforts, but much more needs to be done. The U.N. still will not call this genocide, preferring the terms ethnic cleansing and catastrophe.

Brian Todd, CNN, Washington.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

BLITZER: CNN's Andrea Koppel tells us the State Department now has a team on the ground interviewing refugees in Chad in an effort to determine whether the situation in the Darfur province should be considered genocide.

Coming up, political theater in Crawford, Texas.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

MAX CLELAND (D), FORMER U.S. SENATOR: This president has gone after three Vietnam veterans in four years. That's got to stop.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BLITZER: Supporters of John Kerry and supporters of President Bush, both sides sending a message.

Gay marriage, the private side of a public debate. We'll take a look inside the Cheney family.

And the latest on former chess champ Bobby Fischer's battle to avoid being deported to the United States.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

BLITZER: More now on our top story.

The Secret Service prevented former Democratic Senator Max Cleland from delivering a letter directly to President Bush at his Texas ranch earlier today.

More on the letter wars now. Our White House correspondent Suzanne Malveaux picks up the story -- Suzanne.

SUZANNE MALVEAUX, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, Wolf, sometimes it's about the law. Sometimes it's about politics and other times it's about image. And Republican watchers looking at this today say it was all about image. It was not a good day for the White House.

It was just yesterday that Senator Kerry said he wanted to put all of this behind him. But, of course, that visit by Max Cleland to President Bush's Texas ranch did anything but. And the White House is trying to downplay this by calling it a publicity stunt.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

MALVEAUX (voice-over): Max Cleland, Vietnam veteran, Kerry supporter and triple amputee, went to President Bush's Texas ranch to deliver a message.

CLELAND: We're asking George Bush to put up or shut up.

MALVEAUX: Cleland and Lieutenant Jim Rassmann, the man who credits Kerry for saving his life in Vietnam, went to the Crawford ranch to give a letter to Mr. Bush signed by nine senators asking the president to denounce the ads by the group Swift Boat Veterans For Truth, which criticize Kerry's service.

President Bush sent out Vietnam veteran and local Bush supporter Jerry Patterson to receive Cleland's letter and to give him a note in return written by the Bush with a message to Kerry condemning him for not supporting the troops. The letter was signed by Patterson and seven other vets. Cleland refused to exchange letters with the Bush surrogate. Instead, he turned to the cameras.

CLELAND: The question is, where is George Bush's honor? The question is, where is his shame to attack a fellow veteran who has distinguished himself in combat, regardless of the political combat involved, is disgraceful.

JIM RASSMANN, VIETNAM VETERAN: I was an eyewitness. I had bullets flying around me. And now they're telling me that I'm a liar. I am not a liar.

MALVEAUX: Bush aides dismiss Cleland's visit as political theater.

SCOTT MCCLELLAN, WHITE HOUSE PRESS SECRETARY: Now, Senator Kerry says that he wants to talk about the issues. Today's political stunt is an interesting way of showing it.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

MALVEAUX: Well, of course, who wins and who loses? Bush aides say, of course, this allows him to bring up the issue that some $60 million have been used against the president in negative ads. And they also say it does not allow Kerry to talk about the real issues that voters support.

But, on the other side, of course, never a good day for the White House when you have a resignation by a campaign adviser, as well as a protest that creates quite a bit of publicity outside the president's ranch -- Wolf.

BLITZER: Suzanne Malveaux at the White House -- thanks, Suzanne, very much.

Let's get some more reaction now from the Kerry side to today's war of the letters. For that, we turn to Stephanie Cutter, the communications director for the Kerry campaign, joining us from the campaign headquarters here in Washington.

Stephanie, thanks very much for joining us.

Before we get to the actual uproar over the law -- and I know you're a lawyer, so you understand this -- if the Kerry campaign wanted the subject to go away, why engage in what the White House calls as this publicity stunt today, sending Max Cleland to the Crawford ranch?

STEPHANIE CUTTER, KERRY CAMPAIGN COMMUNICATIONS DIRECTOR: Well, Wolf, it's not about John Kerry wanting to the issue to go away. John Kerry was all over the country today talking about real issues that affect the American people, including creating better paying jobs.

But what we do want is the president to take responsibility for the lies and smears and attacks that are targeted right back to the Bush campaign. The right thing to do is for the president to stand up and say, these ads should stop. And we just don't understand why he can't do that.

BLITZER: Well, for one reason, the Democrats are doing it a lot more -- with a lot more money than the Republicans are doing that. Do you acknowledge that the pro -- the anti-Bush 527 independent attack ads are much more plentiful than the anti-Kerry ads?

CUTTER: I do acknowledge that.

But what I also acknowledge is that the ad that is running right now against John Kerry is above and beyond exactly what's running against George Bush. When an ad went after George Bush just last week that attacked him personally, dishonored his service, John Kerry had the courage to stand up and say, you know what? That's wrong. Take that ad down.

Anybody who serves in the military should not be dishonored in that way. The same is true with the ad that is running against John Kerry. George Bush should stand up and say this is a pack of lies, the ads should be taken down, and we should move on to the bigger issues of the campaign.

BLITZER: Well, why don't you do -- why doesn't Senator Kerry do what the president is asking him, appealing him to do, in the aftermath of the McCain-Feingold law, call for the elimination of all of these attack, these independent attack ads?

CUTTER: If the president wants to have a debate about campaign finance law, we're happy to have a debate about that. But we're not going to let him confuse this issue. He's not going to hide behind the law.

The right thing to do is to stand up and denounce these ads. Every day, another person from his campaign resigns. Every day, the web of connection gets stronger and stronger back to the president. Do you believe for one second that Ben Ginsberg, a top person in their campaign, who has a seat at the table at their meetings, didn't tell anybody that he was attached to this smear campaign?

Do you mean to tell me that the president did not know that his lawyer who represented him in the Florida recount didn't know about this? Anybody finds that hard to believe.

BLITZER: He says the campaign only found out yesterday when he told him in the aftermath of news reports. But let me get to

(CROSSTALK)

BLITZER: Hold on one second.

Do you know who Bob Bauer is?

CUTTER: Yes, I do.

BLITZER: Who is Bob Bauer?

CUTTER: Bob Bauer is an election law attorney here in Washington.

(CROSSTALK)

BLITZER: Does he work for your campaign?

CUTTER: No. We've been very clear about this. We have nothing to hide here. Bob Bauer offered legal advice when we were in the primary season. He now offers legal advice for the DNC on voter protection.

BLITZER: Did Bob Bauer's law firm, Perkins Coie, get $360,000 from the Kerry campaign?

CUTTER: I'm not sure of the figure, but what I do know is that Bob did offer us advice, but he didn't offer us any advice on lies about George Bush.

BLITZER: So right now, he's not associated with the campaign, but he was...

CUTTER: No, but his partner is. We have nothing to hide here.

His partner is our attorney. And he actually has another partner who represents some 527s. See, that's the problem here. They're trying to confuse the issue. The issue is not about who represents who. The issue is about standing up and doing the right and saying that, if somebody's lying about somebody's honorable military service, stop. Take the ad down.

BLITZER: But you know that Bob Bauer's law firm also works for America Coming Together, one of these 527 attack groups attacking the president. So you confirm that he worked for your campaign and his associates work for your campaign, but they're also working for this 527. What's the difference between what Bob Bauer is doing and what Ben Ginsberg did for the Republican side?

CUTTER: The difference is that Ben Ginsberg sat there for three weeks, when the president and his campaign claimed that they knew nothing about these attack ads, about these lies.

We are both facing attack ads on both sides of this campaign. Everybody knows that. We're not disputing that. But there's an ad running that lies about John Kerry's military service. This is something that we have seen starting with John McCain, Max Cleland and now we see it with John Kerry. This is what the president does when he's in trouble. And it's wrong.

(CROSSTALK)

BLITZER: We're almost out of time. Now that Ben Ginsberg has resigned, should Bob Bauer and his law firm be disassociated from your campaign, since they work for one of these 527s?

CUTTER: Bob Bauer does not work for a 527. Bob Bauer's law firm works for a 527. We've been perfectly clear about that.

When an ad came up about Bush that dishonored his service, John Kerry stood up and said it's wrong, take it down. George Bush should do the same thing.

BLITZER: All right, so nobody at that law firm works for you and that 527? Is that right?

CUTTER: That's right.

BLITZER: All right, we'll leave it over there and we'll continue this conversation down the road. Stephanie Cutter, thanks very much for joining us.

CUTTER: Thank you, Wolf.

BLITZER: Same-sex stand. The vice president backs his lesbian daughter, but does he back his party's platform?

Desperate measures to stay afloat. One man makes the ultimate sacrifice after a boating trip goes terribly wrong.

Plus, seeing red in Spain, the world's biggest tomato fight.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

BLITZER: Welcome back.

Vice President Cheney draws both criticism and praise from various groups on his declaration involving the same-sex marriage issue. It comes a day after the vice president distanced himself from President Bush, who supports a constitutional amendment banning such marriages. Cheney and his wife, Lynne Cheney, have a lesbian daughter, Mary. For more on this, I'm joined by "New York Daily News" correspondent Tom DeFrank, who has covered Dick Cheney now for, what, 30 years.

Is that right, Tom?

TOM DEFRANK, "NEW YORK DAILY NEWS": Well, give or take a couple of weeks.

BLITZER: All right, that's a long time.

Were you surprised yesterday when the vice president, not prompted, didn't ask necessarily to confirm this, but on his own said, with Mary there, I -- Lynne and I have a gay daughter?

DEFRANK: Well, I was surprised.

He didn't change his position. People knew that this business about leaving it to the states is the way he feels. What is different, of course, is that he said it and he broke with the president. I don't think for a moment it was just coincidental. I think this is part of a larger strategy. So that's why I was surprised.

BLITZER: So what is the larger strategy that he has in mind?

DEFRANK: The larger strategy is to soften the edges of President Bush. I mean, I think there's a feeling that some of the president's macho tendencies have hurt him politically.

And you look at the convention schedule, you see it's really dominated by moderates and centrists, at least in prime time. And I think the president is going to come across or try to come across as a guy with a vision, a guy who's more thoughtful and more likable maybe than his image. And I think what the vice president did is part of that strategy.

BLITZER: So you think there was a political motive here, as opposed to simply a loving father, with his daughter there, he loves Mary, he loves Liz, his other daughter, who is not a lesbian, is simply speaking from his heart?

DEFRANK: Well, I think he was speaking from his heart, but the two are not mutually exclusive, Wolf.

I think he was speaking from his heart, but I think there was a political impact to that. And I don't think that was just happenstance. As you know, the vice president's a very disciplined guy. And I don't think for a moment that this just kind of blurted out. I think this was part of a strategy. But I also believe it was very heartfelt on his part.

BLITZER: Well, take us inside this family a little bit and give us a little flavor of what makes this family work. You've known them for a long time.

DEFRANK: Well, I am going to tell you a quick story, because it's one of my favorite stories.

In 1975, I wrote a story saying that President Ford was thinking about not running for reelection in 1976. And Ford was furious.

BLITZER: You were working for "Newsweek."

DEFRANK: I was working for "Newsweek" magazine at the time. And he was so furious, he threw a golf shoe against a locker at Burning Tree Golf Club.

And then he had chief of staff Dick Cheney call me. And Cheney -- history repeats itself -- he uttered a barnyard epithet.

BLITZER: Not the F-word, though.

DEFRANK: "Absolute B.S., and you can quote me." Well, "Newsweek" quoted him. And three or four days later, I got a call from him saying my daughter Liz has given me a lot of grief about this, because she said, daddy, you shouldn't words like that in public. So 30 years later, Liz, who is now 37, is stilled advising her dad and now the vice president.

BLITZER: And so is Mary as well.

Tom DeFrank, thanks so much for joining us. Who would have thought that, on the eve of the Republican Convention, Dick Cheney would be getting praise from the Democrats and would be getting criticism from the conservative base of the Republican Party? Politics, a strange business.

DEFRANK: Overnight is a lifetime in politics. You never know what to expect, Wolf.

BLITZER: All right, Tom DeFrank, thanks very much.

Stranded in the Gulf of Mexico for more than 50 hours, four men left clinging to their capsized boat. We'll hear their dramatic story. That's coming up.

And going for the gold. Did American wrestler Rulon Gardner defend his Olympic title?

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

BLITZER: The U.S. Coast Guard has just released pictures of a rescue this month along Florida's Gulf Coast. Four men from Georgia were on a fishing trip went their boat capsized.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

BLITZER (voice-over): Now they can talk about it.

MIKE JACKSON, RESCUED BOATER: It was just survival. To hang on to the boat was our sanctuary at the time.

BLITZER: A 54-hour nightmare ended with this dramatic rescue in the Gulf of Mexico. Mike Jackson, Keith Smith, John Fish and his father, Calvin, were fishing off the Florida coast when the water started getting choppy and their boat's motor conked out.

Suddenly, the bow went up in the air and all four were tossed into the sea with just six bottles of water, six packs of crackers and a can of sausage. They clung to the capsized boat, as stingrays and jellyfish attacked their legs and arms. In a bid to keep it afloat longer, John Fish swam beneath the vessel.

KEITH SMITH, RESCUED BOATER: He pretty much helped saved us. He kept air up under the boat and let the gas out of the tank. Anything he could do to help the boat stay afloat, he did.

BLITZER: John Fish's act of heroism turned out to be his undoing. While struggling beneath the vessel, he swallowed some of the gasoline. Despite efforts at mouth-to-mouth resuscitation, Fish died, leaving behind a message he had carved on the capsized boat.

SMITH: That he loved his wife and kids.

BLITZER: After more than two days adrift, the three survivors finally were spotted and rescued by the Coast Guard; 2 1/2 weeks later, Calvin Fish remains in a hospital. For the two other survivors, there are painful memories. Mike Jackson says whenever he takes a shower, he still feels the waves washing over him.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

BLITZER: What a story.

And let's move on to the Olympic Games. For those who don't necessarily want to wait for tonight's television coverage, here's a look at today's Olympic highlights. Allyson Felix won a silver medal for the United States in the women's 200-meter run. She finished close behind Veronica Campbell of Jamaica.

Rulon Gardner, one of the top U.S. stars in the 2000 Olympics, had to settle for third place this year. After losing his semifinal wrestling match, Gardner defeated an Iranian opponent for the bronze.

Japan has decided to deport former world chess champion Bobby Fischer to the United States, where he's wanted for violating international sanctions. Fischer's lawyers filed suit to block the order. The move came after the Justice Ministry rejected Fischer's application for political asylum. Fischer has been in detention in Japan since last month, when he was stopped at an airport for traveling on a U.S. passport, a U.S. passport that officials said was invalid.

Painting the town red in Spain, it's our picture of the day. And we'll show it to you when we come back.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

BLITZER: Here's how you're weighing in on our Web question of the day. Take a look at this. Remember, though, it's not a scientific poll.

Food fight in Spain; 40,000 revelers today got pasted at the annual festival that dates back to 1945, tomatoes flying in every direction.

"LOU DOBBS TONIGHT" starts right now.

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


Aired August 25, 2004 - 17:00   ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
WOLF BLITZER, CNN ANCHOR: Happening now: In the Swift Boat battle, a top lawyer for the Bush campaign has just abandoned ship. Have the attacks on John Kerry back fired on George W. Bush? Were any laws broken? I'll ask the lawyer at the center of the storm. Ben Ginsberg, in his first television interview since he made some headlines.
Stand by for hard news on WOLF BLITZER REPORTS.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

BLITZER (voice-over): A dual between Vietnam vets.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: These scurrilous attacks on John Kerry's credibility in war, his courage, his valor are false and George Bush is behind it.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: We're saying, basically, you can't have it both ways.

BLITZER: Rescue the city: A top Iraqi cleric calls on Shiites to march on Najaf. But there's already trouble.

Twins tragedies: Russian airliners go down 450 miles, and just minutes apart. Is it just a horrible coincidence?

Overboard.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Get air up under the board, let the gas out of the tank, anything you could do to help the boat stay afloat, he did.

BLITZER: A tale of heroism and sacrifice at sea.

ANNOUNCER: This is WOLF BLITZER REPORTS for Wednesday August 25, 2004.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

BLITZER: Vietnam veterans were back in action today, fighting a verbal battle near the president's Texas ranch. At issue, those Swift Boat ads which have targeted the Democratic candidate. The ads today also claimed a casualty, a self-inflicted wound which has led a top Bush campaign adviser to step down. (BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

MAX CLELAND, (D) FMR. U.S. SENATOR: We're asking George Bush today to put up or shut up.

BLITZER (voice-over): Former Democratic senator and Vietnam War veteran Max Cleland in Crawford, Texas, tried to deliver a letter to the president signed by several current U.S. Senators, all veterans, asking the president to denounce the Swift Boat attack ads against John Kerry.

CLELAND: We want George Bush to stand up, come to the plate and say, this is wrong, that attack on a valorous service of a fellow American is wrong.

BLITZER: Cleland was joined by Jim Rassman, the former U.S. Army Green Beret who was saved by Kerry on a river in Vietnam in 1969.

JIM RASSMAN, VIETNAM VETERAN: I had bullets flying around me. Now they're telling me that I'm a liar. I am not a liar. I know it when a bullet comes near me.

BLITZER: Despite repeated White House denials, Cleland charged that Kerry was but the latest Vietnam War veteran smeared by the president, saying the same thing happened to Republican Senator John McCain during the 2000 presidential primary and himself.

CLELAND: I'm one of the three Vietnam veterans that George Bush went after. He came to my state five different times and they ran millions of dollars worth of ads with my and Saddam Hussein up there.

BLITZER: Bush did not personally receive Cleland or the letter at the ranch. Instead, Jerry Patterson, the Texas state land commissioner, also a Vietnam War veteran was outside the ranch with a pro-Bush letter for Cleland endorsed by several members of Congress.

JERRY PATTERSON, TEXAS LAND COMMISSIONER: The letter was drafted by Bush/Cheney '04. Either we pull them all down, or all get their piece. Either they all go down, or they all have their piece. It's not mutually exclusive, all veterans are a right to speak, but if we have 527s, you can't selectively say this one's good, that ones bad.

BLITZER: The exchange was the latest in the uproar following the release of the two attack ads put out by the anti-Kerry group Swift Boat Veterans for Truth

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: John Kerry has not been honest.

BLITZER: By law, the groups that release those ads, known as 527s, are supposed to be completely independent of presidential campaigns or political parties. But Kerry and other Democrats charged the Swift Boat ads are merely a front for the president.

That's a charge denied by the Bush/Cheney campaign. Though last night it was revealed one of the president's top campaign lawyers, Benjamin Ginsburg, was also providing legal advice to the Swift Boat group.

Together with former secretary of state James Baker, Ginsburg was one of the key Bush lawyers involved in the 2000 Florida election recount uproar. He has now resigned from the campaign.

In a letter to the president, he said he simply wanted, quote, "to ensure that the giving of legal advice to decorated military veterans, which was entirely within the boundaries of the law, doesn't distract from the real issues upon which you and the country should be focusing."

He insisted he was merely offering the same kind of legal advice to the Swift Boat veterans group as Democratic Party lawyers have been providing to anti-Bush attack groups.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

WOLF BLITZER, CNN ANCHOR: So let's hear directly now from Ben Ginsberg, he's joining us live here on CNN.

Ben, thanks very much for joining us.

BENJAMIN GINSBERG, FMR. BUSH CAMPAIGN LAWYER: Thank you, Wolf.

BLITZER: You're about one of the most experienced lawyers in Washington when it comes to politics. You know the rules as well as anyone. How could this have happened? You're working for the campaign and then going to work for the Swift Boat Veterans for Truth at the same time?

GINSBERG: Well, Wolf, my working for both those groups was an honor, a privilege and totally within the bounds of the law. The simple fact is, is that a group of decorated Vietnam veterans came to me and said, we have an important point of view to get out in the First Amendment debate over this election.

They said there are complicated new laws and we want to follow those new laws, will you help us? I said, yes, I absolutely would do that. There's nothing wrong with the that, the way the laws' coordination are written, that is perfectly appropriate. It's as appropriate as my Democratic colleagues on the other side doing precisely the same thing.

BLITZER: If there was nothing wrong, why did you resign?

GINSBERG: I resigned because the smear campaigns that the Kerry folks were putting up was frankly distracting from the important and crucial message about the future that the president of the United States wants to get out and wants this campaign to be about. And, sadly, especially from my perspective, when a lawyer gets in the way of that, it's time to get out of the way.

BLITZER: But the resignation, doesn't that give ammunition to the Kerry campaign that you did perhaps do something inappropriate?

GINSBERG: Well, only if they distort it, Wolf, which they've certainly been adept at trying to do today. What I did was totally appropriate, and within the bounds of the law just as what my Democratic colleagues are doing.

By stepping down, what I hope will happen is that the president's message about the hope and future of this country will come out loud and clear and not be distracted by these constant smear campaigns that the Kerry campaign seems to feel the need to put up on this particular issue, Wolf.

And let's remember, this was an ad that had a half million dollars behind it. The Democratic 527 groups put out ads valued at over $63 million, 126 times that amount. There was not a peep about the role of lawyers when those ads were coming up. There was now fueled by the Kerry campaign. It is a double standard that is terribly objectionable.

BLITZER: But didn't you understand the appearance -- that there could be an appearance of impropriety given the fact that you knew the Swift Boat ads -- for Truth group was one of these 527s which could not coordinate in any way with either the campaign or the Republican Party?

GINSBERG: But, Wolf, we didn't coordinate within -- the campaign flatly did not coordinate with this group and this group did not coordinate with the campaign. And I was at the nexus of making sure that didn't happen. To suggest otherwise is flat wrong, as Senator Cleland was doing today.

As for the appearance, this appearance that I had, as you phrase it, was no different from the Kerry campaign's lawyer with Americans Coming Together, and with the Democratic National Committee lawyer with MoveOn.org. If the appearance, as you refer to it, was wrong in my case, why was there not this scrutiny on the other cases?

BLITZER: Did you tell people at the Bush-Cheney campaign that you were also giving legal advice to the Swift Boat Veterans for Truth?

GINSBERG: Not until yesterday with the exception of a conversation on the legalities, a generic conversation of legalities of representing both campaigns and 527 groups. But nobody at the Bush campaign or the White House knew of my dual representation, which is appropriate under the legal ethics rules.

BLITZER: Since you were working for the campaign earlier, wouldn't it have been appropriate first to ask the campaign, do you have a problem if I also give advice to this other Swift Boat group?

GINSBERG: Well, Wolf, I didn't do that for three reasons. The first is that the legal ethics rules really require lawyers not to talk to different clients about the work that they're performing for other clients.

Number two, the campaign finance laws have strict provisions on any coordination, so to even raise the subject could potentially jeopardize my clients. And number three, starting months before I ever did this, my Democrat colleagues were doing precisely the same thing.

BLITZER: Did the Swift Boat Veterans for Truth organization know you were also working for the campaign?

GINSBERG: I assume that they did, Wolf. That certainly was not a secret.

BLITZER: Was that appropriate for them to hire a lawyer who is also working for a political campaign as well as for the Republican Party?

GINSBERG: Well, again, Wolf, the rules and the laws that went into effect do not include the provision of legal services amongst the prohibited coordination activities. And secondly, as I said, the Democratic lawyers were doing precisely the same thing.

And as the fact of the matter is, we discussed that with the Swift Boat Veterans and we decided, and I advised them that it was perfectly appropriate, again, because of the law and what the Democratic lawyers were already doing.

BLITZER: The final question is this. Did people at the Bush- Cheney campaign ask you to submit your letter of resignation?

GINSBERG: I offered it up. As I said, Wolf, what a lawyer cannot do is become a distraction. It has been the highest honor to represent this president and I would never get in the way and distract from the forward-looking message that he has for this country which is what the Kerry campaign's smear machine is trying to do.

BLITZER: Have you heard from the president or the vice president? Did anyone in a senior position ask you to rethink your resignation?

GINSBERG: There was no grounds to rethink it. My decision was firm. Everyone at the campaign and in the organization has been the gracious and honorable people they always are.

BLITZER: And you didn't hear directly from either the president or the vice president?

GINSBERG: I wouldn't tell you if I had, Wolf.

BLITZER: All right. Ben Ginsberg, joining us for a few moments to explain what has happened from his perspective. Ben, thanks very much for coming on our program.

GINSBERG: Thank you for having me on, Wolf.

BLITZER: Appreciate it.

Our coverage of this story will continue ahead. We'll got live to the White House. I'll also speak live with the communications director for the Kerry campaign, Stephanie Cutter, she'll join us later this hour.

Here's your chance to weigh in on this story. Our web question of the day is this, "should a Bush campaign lawyer have resigned because he was advising a group running anti-Kerry TV ads?" You can vote. Go to CNN.com/wolf. We'll have the results for you later in this broadcast.

Turning now to the latest report on the Iraqi prisoner abuse scandal. The U.S. army general who released it today says, in some cases Iraqi prisoners were tortured. Our Pentagon correspondent Barbara Starr is joining us live now with more -- Barbara.

BARBARA STARR, CNN PENTAGON CORRESPONDENT: Indeed, Wolf, accounts of torture, violent abuse, commanders not paying attention, and not enough troops at the prison.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

STARR (voice-over): 53 people who worked at Abu Ghraib either participated in the violent sexual abuse that took place, knew about it and didn't report it, or failed to command their troops. The Fay- Jones investigation of the intelligence operations at the prison emphasized that Abu Ghraib was understaffed, interrogation policies were confused and it wasn't clear who was in charge. In at least one case, there was torture. But investigators stopped short of holding the top commander in Iraq, Lieutenant General Ricardo Sanchez, directly accountable for the prison scandal.

GEN. PAUL KERN, U.S. ARMY: We did not find General Sanchez culpable but we found him responsible for the things that did or did not happen.

STARR: There was limited cooperation from the CIA on eight ghost detainees, Iraqis secretly held at the U.S. military prison by the agency.

MAJ. GEN. GEORGE FAY, U.S. ARMY: They made it very clear to me that they are going to conduct their own thorough, detailed investigation.

STARR: The report found the commander of the intelligence brigade at Abu Ghraib, Colonel Thomas Pappas failed to make sure his troops were fully trained, improperly authorized the use of dogs during interrogations and failed to make sure dogs were muzzled.

The use of military dogs at the prison horrific in the words of General Kern.

KERN: MP dog handlers were subjecting two adolescents to terror from the dogs with the purposes of playing a game between the two dog teams to see how poorly they could get these kids to behave. And that's specifically to see if they could get their bowel movements and urination to work.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

STARR: And Wolf, it will now be up to army criminal investigators to pursue many of these cases -- Wolf.

BLITZER: I'm sure they will. Thanks very much, Barbara Starr, for that report.

John Kerry minced few words today in responding to the latest report on Iraqi prisoner abuse. On the stump in Philadelphia, Kerry recalled President Harry Truman's oft quoted dictum, "the buck stops here." But added that the buck doesn't stop at the Pentagon.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

SEN. JOHN KERRY (D-MA), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: The lack of responsibility for what has been one of the most severe miscalculations in any deployment of American forces in American history, I believe, lands in civilian responsibility. And I called months ago for Secretary Rumsfeld to take that responsibility, for the president to take that responsibility and again today, as I have previously, I call for the resignation of the secretary of defense for failure to do what he should have done.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BLITZER: Just after Kerry spoke at that town hall meeting his campaign issued a statement from Kerry saying, and I'm quoting now, "the time has come for our commander-in-chief to take charge."

For the fifth straight night American warplanes have fired on militants in the Iraqi city of Najaf. The targets were around the Imam Ali mosque where fighters loyal to the Shiite cleric Muqtada al- Sadr are holed up. U.S. forces have fought fierce battles with al- Sadr's fores in a bid to gain control of the key city. Now Iraq's most powerful Shiite cleric is vowing to end the Najaf bloodbath. CNN's John Vause is in Iraq with more.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

JOHN VAUSE, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Destination: Najaf. A convoy of SUVs and pickup trucks surrounded by Iraqi national guardsmen and police protecting the one man who perhaps has the respect and the following to bring the standoff at the Imam Ali mosque to a peaceful end.

For three weeks the Grand Ayatollah Al-Sistani watched from his hospital bed in London where he underwent heart surgery. Now he's back in Iraq and Thursday plans to return to his home in Najaf, calling on all Iraqis to join him, a call supported by other senior Shiite leaders.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE (through translator): The crisis has to be solved through reason and logic and peaceful means. And through the departure of the armed elements from the city and the holy shrine and then restoring law and order.

VAUSE: A sign of Al-Sistani's influence, within hours the faithful were leaving Baghdad for Najaf. UNIDENTIFIED MALE (through translator): We obey Said Al-Sistani and we're going on foot to the Imam Ali mosque to protect him with our souls.

VAUSE: At least two of his followers may have already paid with their lives. About 1,000 were marching from the city of Kufa to neighboring Najaf when gunfire erupted. It is not known who was shooting.

It's widely believed that Al-Sistani brokered a short-lived ceasefire back in June. And earlier this year, when he called for demonstrations demanding national elections be held sooner, hundreds of thousands took to the streets in Baghdad alone.

The Mehdi militia remains inside the Imam Ali mosque, their numbers dwindling. Outside they're completely surrounded by U.S. and Iraqi forces. The police chief there is warning the grand ayatollah, it's too dangerous right now. But for the people of Najaf who have endured three weeks of heavy fighting, news Al-Sistani is coming home is reason for hope.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: (through translator): We hope that Said Al- Sistani will come to Najaf and get rid of this crisis for us. We are getting tired. We are starving.

VAUSE: Al-Sistani's focus it seems is getting Muqtada al-Sadr's militia out of the Imam Ali shrine and for all armed men including U.S. and Iraqi forces to leave the city. He's not addressing what to do with the junior cleric and his followers after that. John Vause, CNN, Baghdad.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

BLITZER: Most of our coverage of the Iraq war has naturally focused on events in that country. But the war continues to have a huge impact on the families of the American military men and women serving in Iraq.

There was a dramatic and heartbreaking example of that today in Florida. The father of a U.S. marine killed in Iraq yesterday became so distraught on hearing the news that he set himself on fire. It happened when he got into the vehicle of the marines who delivered the news, doused the inside of it with flammable liquid and set it on fire. The marines put out the blaze and rushed the man to a hospital. Police say he suffered serious burns. Nearly 1,000 U.S. military personnel have died in Iraq since the start of the war.

Two Russian planes crashed just minutes and hundreds of miles apart. Are there signs of a terrorist act? We're live from Moscow with the investigation.

All for a good cause. Why the actor Danny Glover gets taken to jail here in Washington today.

Plus this...

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: It was just survival. To hang on to boat was our sanctuary at the time.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BLITZER: Stranded in the Gulf for days clinging to their capsized boat. A dramatic story of sacrifice and survival.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

BLITZER: Two airliners take off from the same place and crash nearly simultaneously hundreds of miles apart. 89 people are dead. And Russian officials are scrambling to find out why. Let's go live to CNN's Ryan Chilcote. He's in Moscow with the latest on the investigation -- Ryan.

RYAN CHILCOTE, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Wolf, it's been more than 26 hours since those two planes went down. As you said, nearly simultaneously, hundreds of miles apart. While we know a whole lot about what Russian officials are doing to do things, like evacuate the bodies from the fields where these two crashes took place, we still don't have answers to the critical question exactly what happened to these two planes that caused them to come down yesterday?

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

CHILCOTE (voice-over): This is what remains of the first of two Russian passenger planes to disappear from radar screens. A half hour after it took off, it crashed into the Russian countryside just outside of Moscow, taking all on board to their graves.

Nearby villagers say they heard it coming, even before it hit the ground.

"I heard the roar of a plane that sounded as if it was really low," he says, "then an explosion like the sound of thunder. Then there was was silence and more explosions."

Then another plane, hundreds of miles away from the first, vanishes just minutes after the first one. On board it, 46 people, mostly vacationers who were going to spend the last week of the Russian summer on the beach before school starts.

There are unconfirmed reports that the second plane's crew was attacked, and that a hijacking signal was sent from the plane and picked up by air traffic control.

The Russian Federal Security Service, Russia's successor to the Soviet KGB, leads the investigation. A spokesman says, there is no evidence yet that the two crashes were caused by terrorism. Saying they are checking quality of the fuel in the planes and the possibility of mechanical failure.

The Russian president returns to the capital for an emergency meeting at the Kremlin, leaving the working vacation in the same resort town the plan with the tourists was destined for.

Russia's chief prosecutor says there are many possible causes for the crashes, including terrorism.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

CHILCOTE: Wolf, the question that's being asked here, is this Russia's 9/11, some brutal blow dealt out by Chechen terrorists that want to send Russia a message just days before a regional election that area, some sign of a protest? Or this is some kind of horrible coincidence of what's now being called twin tragedies, these two crashes caused by something seemingly as insignificant and menial as perhaps a bad as fuel in those 2 planes? This is still very much a mystery -- Wolf.

BLITZER: All right. Thanks very much, Ryan Chilcote with the latest on this mystery. Appreciate it.

Public pressure to end the humanitarian crisis in Sudan. Now a very familiar face gets directly involved.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

DANNY GLOVER, ACTOR: We want an end to the hostility. We also want a peacekeeping force.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BLITZER: But this protest for peace ends with consequences for the actor, Danny Glover.

Cheney's stand: Does the vice president's opinions on same-sex marriage signal a split from his party's platform.

And a possible suspect cleared in the case of 2 murdered camp counselors. And update on a story we brought you yesterday.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

BLITZER: Welcome back. And uninvited guest at ranch, the Vietnam veteran, former Senator Max Cleland arrives in Crawford, Texas with a message for President Bush. We'll get to that.

First, though, a quick check of stories now in the news.

(voice-over): A U.S. military tribunal formally charged an Australian man with conspiracy to commit war crimes. David Hicks pleaded not guilty. He's accused of fighting for the Taliban against U.S. forces in Afghanistan. Hicks has been held in a prison camp on the U.S. Naval Base in Guantanamo Bay, Cuba since 2000. His trial is set for January. He could be sentenced to life in prison if convicted.

Homeland Security Secretary Tom Ridge says, and I'm quoting now, "multiple layers of protection are in place for the Republican National Convention that begins Monday in New York City." Ridge calls security unprecedented and comprehensive. New York Mayor Michael Bloomberg says 10,000 police will help guard the city, about one-third of the force.

A Wisconsin man questioned as a possible witness in the recent killing of two camp counselors in California has been released. Nicholas Edward Scarseth told Sonoma County sheriffs he was in the area at the time, but never met Lindsay Cutshall and her fiance, Jason Allen. Both were found shot to death last Wednesday on a remote beach in California.

Keeping you informed, CNN, the most trusted name in news.

Sudan faces increasing calls to end what some describe as genocide by militias within its borders. And some prominent people are lending their name to the cause.

An update now from CNN's Brian Todd.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

BRIAN TODD, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): From more than 6,000 miles away, the government of Sudan is under intense political pressure. In Washington, protesters swarm the embassy, demanding the Sudanese end their support of the Janjaweed militia, those Arab militants accused of conducting an ethnic cleansing campaign against black Muslim villagers in the western Sudanese region of Darfur.

Human rights groups and Western governments say the Janjaweed have murdered, displaced or systemically raped thousands of black villagers for the better part of a year, all with the help of the Sudanese military, a charge the Sudanese government has consistently denied. Actor Danny Glover has been out front in the campaign to pressure the government in Khartoum.

DANNY GLOVER, ACTOR: We want an end to the hostile. We also want a peacekeeping force, a multinational peacekeeping force in Sudan. We also want to pressure -- continue to pressure the Sudanese government to make sure that they hold fast and hold true to the demands made by the world.

TODD: At this rally, Glover joined other activists in marching to the embassy doors and getting arrested by the Secret Service.

(on camera): These protests are taking place in front of a closed embassy. Sudanese officials tell us the closure is only temporary and say these demonstrations have nothing to do with it.

(voice-over): At his residence a few blocks from the protest, we caught up with the top Sudanese diplomat in Washington.

KHIDIR H. AHMED, SUDANESE CHARGE D'AFFAIRS: The media is talking every day about genocide, ethnic cleansing. They never reported one single case of improvement there. So this will strengthen our feelings for many different reasons. We are an easy target here without any constituency in this country. TODD: Sudanese officials say they have disarmed, arrested and even handed out death sentences to members of the janjaweed militia, who they call criminals. Adding to the pressure, the Sudanese government faces a U.N.-imposed deadline this Monday to really crack down on ethnic cleansing or face possible sanctions.

U.N. officials tell CNN, so far the Sudanese have made serious efforts, but much more needs to be done. The U.N. still will not call this genocide, preferring the terms ethnic cleansing and catastrophe.

Brian Todd, CNN, Washington.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

BLITZER: CNN's Andrea Koppel tells us the State Department now has a team on the ground interviewing refugees in Chad in an effort to determine whether the situation in the Darfur province should be considered genocide.

Coming up, political theater in Crawford, Texas.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

MAX CLELAND (D), FORMER U.S. SENATOR: This president has gone after three Vietnam veterans in four years. That's got to stop.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BLITZER: Supporters of John Kerry and supporters of President Bush, both sides sending a message.

Gay marriage, the private side of a public debate. We'll take a look inside the Cheney family.

And the latest on former chess champ Bobby Fischer's battle to avoid being deported to the United States.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

BLITZER: More now on our top story.

The Secret Service prevented former Democratic Senator Max Cleland from delivering a letter directly to President Bush at his Texas ranch earlier today.

More on the letter wars now. Our White House correspondent Suzanne Malveaux picks up the story -- Suzanne.

SUZANNE MALVEAUX, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, Wolf, sometimes it's about the law. Sometimes it's about politics and other times it's about image. And Republican watchers looking at this today say it was all about image. It was not a good day for the White House.

It was just yesterday that Senator Kerry said he wanted to put all of this behind him. But, of course, that visit by Max Cleland to President Bush's Texas ranch did anything but. And the White House is trying to downplay this by calling it a publicity stunt.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

MALVEAUX (voice-over): Max Cleland, Vietnam veteran, Kerry supporter and triple amputee, went to President Bush's Texas ranch to deliver a message.

CLELAND: We're asking George Bush to put up or shut up.

MALVEAUX: Cleland and Lieutenant Jim Rassmann, the man who credits Kerry for saving his life in Vietnam, went to the Crawford ranch to give a letter to Mr. Bush signed by nine senators asking the president to denounce the ads by the group Swift Boat Veterans For Truth, which criticize Kerry's service.

President Bush sent out Vietnam veteran and local Bush supporter Jerry Patterson to receive Cleland's letter and to give him a note in return written by the Bush with a message to Kerry condemning him for not supporting the troops. The letter was signed by Patterson and seven other vets. Cleland refused to exchange letters with the Bush surrogate. Instead, he turned to the cameras.

CLELAND: The question is, where is George Bush's honor? The question is, where is his shame to attack a fellow veteran who has distinguished himself in combat, regardless of the political combat involved, is disgraceful.

JIM RASSMANN, VIETNAM VETERAN: I was an eyewitness. I had bullets flying around me. And now they're telling me that I'm a liar. I am not a liar.

MALVEAUX: Bush aides dismiss Cleland's visit as political theater.

SCOTT MCCLELLAN, WHITE HOUSE PRESS SECRETARY: Now, Senator Kerry says that he wants to talk about the issues. Today's political stunt is an interesting way of showing it.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

MALVEAUX: Well, of course, who wins and who loses? Bush aides say, of course, this allows him to bring up the issue that some $60 million have been used against the president in negative ads. And they also say it does not allow Kerry to talk about the real issues that voters support.

But, on the other side, of course, never a good day for the White House when you have a resignation by a campaign adviser, as well as a protest that creates quite a bit of publicity outside the president's ranch -- Wolf.

BLITZER: Suzanne Malveaux at the White House -- thanks, Suzanne, very much.

Let's get some more reaction now from the Kerry side to today's war of the letters. For that, we turn to Stephanie Cutter, the communications director for the Kerry campaign, joining us from the campaign headquarters here in Washington.

Stephanie, thanks very much for joining us.

Before we get to the actual uproar over the law -- and I know you're a lawyer, so you understand this -- if the Kerry campaign wanted the subject to go away, why engage in what the White House calls as this publicity stunt today, sending Max Cleland to the Crawford ranch?

STEPHANIE CUTTER, KERRY CAMPAIGN COMMUNICATIONS DIRECTOR: Well, Wolf, it's not about John Kerry wanting to the issue to go away. John Kerry was all over the country today talking about real issues that affect the American people, including creating better paying jobs.

But what we do want is the president to take responsibility for the lies and smears and attacks that are targeted right back to the Bush campaign. The right thing to do is for the president to stand up and say, these ads should stop. And we just don't understand why he can't do that.

BLITZER: Well, for one reason, the Democrats are doing it a lot more -- with a lot more money than the Republicans are doing that. Do you acknowledge that the pro -- the anti-Bush 527 independent attack ads are much more plentiful than the anti-Kerry ads?

CUTTER: I do acknowledge that.

But what I also acknowledge is that the ad that is running right now against John Kerry is above and beyond exactly what's running against George Bush. When an ad went after George Bush just last week that attacked him personally, dishonored his service, John Kerry had the courage to stand up and say, you know what? That's wrong. Take that ad down.

Anybody who serves in the military should not be dishonored in that way. The same is true with the ad that is running against John Kerry. George Bush should stand up and say this is a pack of lies, the ads should be taken down, and we should move on to the bigger issues of the campaign.

BLITZER: Well, why don't you do -- why doesn't Senator Kerry do what the president is asking him, appealing him to do, in the aftermath of the McCain-Feingold law, call for the elimination of all of these attack, these independent attack ads?

CUTTER: If the president wants to have a debate about campaign finance law, we're happy to have a debate about that. But we're not going to let him confuse this issue. He's not going to hide behind the law.

The right thing to do is to stand up and denounce these ads. Every day, another person from his campaign resigns. Every day, the web of connection gets stronger and stronger back to the president. Do you believe for one second that Ben Ginsberg, a top person in their campaign, who has a seat at the table at their meetings, didn't tell anybody that he was attached to this smear campaign?

Do you mean to tell me that the president did not know that his lawyer who represented him in the Florida recount didn't know about this? Anybody finds that hard to believe.

BLITZER: He says the campaign only found out yesterday when he told him in the aftermath of news reports. But let me get to

(CROSSTALK)

BLITZER: Hold on one second.

Do you know who Bob Bauer is?

CUTTER: Yes, I do.

BLITZER: Who is Bob Bauer?

CUTTER: Bob Bauer is an election law attorney here in Washington.

(CROSSTALK)

BLITZER: Does he work for your campaign?

CUTTER: No. We've been very clear about this. We have nothing to hide here. Bob Bauer offered legal advice when we were in the primary season. He now offers legal advice for the DNC on voter protection.

BLITZER: Did Bob Bauer's law firm, Perkins Coie, get $360,000 from the Kerry campaign?

CUTTER: I'm not sure of the figure, but what I do know is that Bob did offer us advice, but he didn't offer us any advice on lies about George Bush.

BLITZER: So right now, he's not associated with the campaign, but he was...

CUTTER: No, but his partner is. We have nothing to hide here.

His partner is our attorney. And he actually has another partner who represents some 527s. See, that's the problem here. They're trying to confuse the issue. The issue is not about who represents who. The issue is about standing up and doing the right and saying that, if somebody's lying about somebody's honorable military service, stop. Take the ad down.

BLITZER: But you know that Bob Bauer's law firm also works for America Coming Together, one of these 527 attack groups attacking the president. So you confirm that he worked for your campaign and his associates work for your campaign, but they're also working for this 527. What's the difference between what Bob Bauer is doing and what Ben Ginsberg did for the Republican side?

CUTTER: The difference is that Ben Ginsberg sat there for three weeks, when the president and his campaign claimed that they knew nothing about these attack ads, about these lies.

We are both facing attack ads on both sides of this campaign. Everybody knows that. We're not disputing that. But there's an ad running that lies about John Kerry's military service. This is something that we have seen starting with John McCain, Max Cleland and now we see it with John Kerry. This is what the president does when he's in trouble. And it's wrong.

(CROSSTALK)

BLITZER: We're almost out of time. Now that Ben Ginsberg has resigned, should Bob Bauer and his law firm be disassociated from your campaign, since they work for one of these 527s?

CUTTER: Bob Bauer does not work for a 527. Bob Bauer's law firm works for a 527. We've been perfectly clear about that.

When an ad came up about Bush that dishonored his service, John Kerry stood up and said it's wrong, take it down. George Bush should do the same thing.

BLITZER: All right, so nobody at that law firm works for you and that 527? Is that right?

CUTTER: That's right.

BLITZER: All right, we'll leave it over there and we'll continue this conversation down the road. Stephanie Cutter, thanks very much for joining us.

CUTTER: Thank you, Wolf.

BLITZER: Same-sex stand. The vice president backs his lesbian daughter, but does he back his party's platform?

Desperate measures to stay afloat. One man makes the ultimate sacrifice after a boating trip goes terribly wrong.

Plus, seeing red in Spain, the world's biggest tomato fight.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

BLITZER: Welcome back.

Vice President Cheney draws both criticism and praise from various groups on his declaration involving the same-sex marriage issue. It comes a day after the vice president distanced himself from President Bush, who supports a constitutional amendment banning such marriages. Cheney and his wife, Lynne Cheney, have a lesbian daughter, Mary. For more on this, I'm joined by "New York Daily News" correspondent Tom DeFrank, who has covered Dick Cheney now for, what, 30 years.

Is that right, Tom?

TOM DEFRANK, "NEW YORK DAILY NEWS": Well, give or take a couple of weeks.

BLITZER: All right, that's a long time.

Were you surprised yesterday when the vice president, not prompted, didn't ask necessarily to confirm this, but on his own said, with Mary there, I -- Lynne and I have a gay daughter?

DEFRANK: Well, I was surprised.

He didn't change his position. People knew that this business about leaving it to the states is the way he feels. What is different, of course, is that he said it and he broke with the president. I don't think for a moment it was just coincidental. I think this is part of a larger strategy. So that's why I was surprised.

BLITZER: So what is the larger strategy that he has in mind?

DEFRANK: The larger strategy is to soften the edges of President Bush. I mean, I think there's a feeling that some of the president's macho tendencies have hurt him politically.

And you look at the convention schedule, you see it's really dominated by moderates and centrists, at least in prime time. And I think the president is going to come across or try to come across as a guy with a vision, a guy who's more thoughtful and more likable maybe than his image. And I think what the vice president did is part of that strategy.

BLITZER: So you think there was a political motive here, as opposed to simply a loving father, with his daughter there, he loves Mary, he loves Liz, his other daughter, who is not a lesbian, is simply speaking from his heart?

DEFRANK: Well, I think he was speaking from his heart, but the two are not mutually exclusive, Wolf.

I think he was speaking from his heart, but I think there was a political impact to that. And I don't think that was just happenstance. As you know, the vice president's a very disciplined guy. And I don't think for a moment that this just kind of blurted out. I think this was part of a strategy. But I also believe it was very heartfelt on his part.

BLITZER: Well, take us inside this family a little bit and give us a little flavor of what makes this family work. You've known them for a long time.

DEFRANK: Well, I am going to tell you a quick story, because it's one of my favorite stories.

In 1975, I wrote a story saying that President Ford was thinking about not running for reelection in 1976. And Ford was furious.

BLITZER: You were working for "Newsweek."

DEFRANK: I was working for "Newsweek" magazine at the time. And he was so furious, he threw a golf shoe against a locker at Burning Tree Golf Club.

And then he had chief of staff Dick Cheney call me. And Cheney -- history repeats itself -- he uttered a barnyard epithet.

BLITZER: Not the F-word, though.

DEFRANK: "Absolute B.S., and you can quote me." Well, "Newsweek" quoted him. And three or four days later, I got a call from him saying my daughter Liz has given me a lot of grief about this, because she said, daddy, you shouldn't words like that in public. So 30 years later, Liz, who is now 37, is stilled advising her dad and now the vice president.

BLITZER: And so is Mary as well.

Tom DeFrank, thanks so much for joining us. Who would have thought that, on the eve of the Republican Convention, Dick Cheney would be getting praise from the Democrats and would be getting criticism from the conservative base of the Republican Party? Politics, a strange business.

DEFRANK: Overnight is a lifetime in politics. You never know what to expect, Wolf.

BLITZER: All right, Tom DeFrank, thanks very much.

Stranded in the Gulf of Mexico for more than 50 hours, four men left clinging to their capsized boat. We'll hear their dramatic story. That's coming up.

And going for the gold. Did American wrestler Rulon Gardner defend his Olympic title?

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

BLITZER: The U.S. Coast Guard has just released pictures of a rescue this month along Florida's Gulf Coast. Four men from Georgia were on a fishing trip went their boat capsized.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

BLITZER (voice-over): Now they can talk about it.

MIKE JACKSON, RESCUED BOATER: It was just survival. To hang on to the boat was our sanctuary at the time.

BLITZER: A 54-hour nightmare ended with this dramatic rescue in the Gulf of Mexico. Mike Jackson, Keith Smith, John Fish and his father, Calvin, were fishing off the Florida coast when the water started getting choppy and their boat's motor conked out.

Suddenly, the bow went up in the air and all four were tossed into the sea with just six bottles of water, six packs of crackers and a can of sausage. They clung to the capsized boat, as stingrays and jellyfish attacked their legs and arms. In a bid to keep it afloat longer, John Fish swam beneath the vessel.

KEITH SMITH, RESCUED BOATER: He pretty much helped saved us. He kept air up under the boat and let the gas out of the tank. Anything he could do to help the boat stay afloat, he did.

BLITZER: John Fish's act of heroism turned out to be his undoing. While struggling beneath the vessel, he swallowed some of the gasoline. Despite efforts at mouth-to-mouth resuscitation, Fish died, leaving behind a message he had carved on the capsized boat.

SMITH: That he loved his wife and kids.

BLITZER: After more than two days adrift, the three survivors finally were spotted and rescued by the Coast Guard; 2 1/2 weeks later, Calvin Fish remains in a hospital. For the two other survivors, there are painful memories. Mike Jackson says whenever he takes a shower, he still feels the waves washing over him.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

BLITZER: What a story.

And let's move on to the Olympic Games. For those who don't necessarily want to wait for tonight's television coverage, here's a look at today's Olympic highlights. Allyson Felix won a silver medal for the United States in the women's 200-meter run. She finished close behind Veronica Campbell of Jamaica.

Rulon Gardner, one of the top U.S. stars in the 2000 Olympics, had to settle for third place this year. After losing his semifinal wrestling match, Gardner defeated an Iranian opponent for the bronze.

Japan has decided to deport former world chess champion Bobby Fischer to the United States, where he's wanted for violating international sanctions. Fischer's lawyers filed suit to block the order. The move came after the Justice Ministry rejected Fischer's application for political asylum. Fischer has been in detention in Japan since last month, when he was stopped at an airport for traveling on a U.S. passport, a U.S. passport that officials said was invalid.

Painting the town red in Spain, it's our picture of the day. And we'll show it to you when we come back.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

BLITZER: Here's how you're weighing in on our Web question of the day. Take a look at this. Remember, though, it's not a scientific poll.

Food fight in Spain; 40,000 revelers today got pasted at the annual festival that dates back to 1945, tomatoes flying in every direction.

"LOU DOBBS TONIGHT" starts right now.

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