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American Morning

Major League Baseball Will Fight Congress Over a Part of Its Steroid Investigation; 'Passion Replay'

Aired March 10, 2005 - 08:29   ET

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


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


BILL HEMMER, CNN ANCHOR: I want to get back to this story about a possible breaking the murder case of federal judge's husband and mother. The "Chicago Tribune" is reporting that man who shot and killed himself yesterday, just north of Milwaukee, left a suicide note claiming responsibility for the two murders. The man's name is Bart Ross. And a short time ago, talked with the "Tribune's" deputy managing editor, Jim Warren, about Ross's possible motive.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

JIM WARREN, DEP. MANAGING EDITOR, "CHICAGO TRIBUNE": He had been -- had he filed a lawsuit pro se, which meant he was defending himself, a medical malpractice case apparently stemming from some cancer treatment or cancer surgery which he felt had gone awry. He had filed it against the University of Illinois Medical Center here. The judge was Judge Lefkow. On January 25th, she dismissed the lawsuit. The note found in the van in West Alice, Wisconsin, after he was stopped on a routine traffic stop, apparently a faulty taillight, the note made specific mention of that judgment having cost him his home, his -- and his family and his life, something to that effect.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

HEMMER: That was Jim Warren from the "Chicago Tribune" about 30 minutes ago here on AMERICAN MORNING. Police in Wisconsin now expected to brief the media bit later this morning, possibly next hour. We'll keep you posted as the story continues to unfold this morning.

But first, back to the other headlines, and Carol Costello with us here. Good morning, and Bill Clinton tops your list.

CAROL COSTELLO, CNN ANCHOR: Yes, Bill Clinton, he's in the hospital now. He's back in New York for a follow-up surgery. Doctors will clear fluid and scar tissue that developed in his left lung after a quadruple heart-bypass six month ago. They described this procedure as elective and low risk. Clinton is expected back home by early next week.

Pope John Paul II will stay at a hospital in Rome for a few days longer. That's according to the Vatican. The 84-year-old pontiff had a tracheotomy two weeks ago. He's expected back at the Vatican in time for Holy Week, which begins on March 20th.

And President Bush said to be back on the road next hour, drumming up support for Social Security reforms. He's planning stops in Kentucky and Alabama today, Tennessee and Louisiana tomorrow. The president insists any plan to fix Social Security has to have private retirement accounts, despite criticism from some Republicans and Democrats.

And a 3,000-pound aircraft will soon be on display in Washington. Spaceshipone was the first privately developed rocket plane to make it into suborbital plane. Microsoft billionaire Paul Allen says he and engineer Burt Rutan will donate the spacecraft to inspire young Americans. They've been honored with this year's National Air and Space Museum Trophy for Current Achievement. I'd like to ride that thing into space. That would be fun, wouldn't it.

HEMMER: I'm telling you. Ready to pay the price though?

COSTELLO: No.

HEMMER: It's expensive.

COSTELLO: In a word, no.

HEMMER: It's a million bucks, isn't it?

O'BRIEN: Yes.

HEMMER: Thanks, Carol.

O'BRIEN: Thanks.

Well, Major League Baseball will fight Congress over a part of its steroid investigation. A House Committee has subpoenaed 11 players and officials to testify next week. The league calls that an excessive and unprecedented use of congressional power. Former broadcaster, and player and "Ball Four" author Jim Bouton is in Albany, New York this morning.

Nice to see you. Good morning to you. And thanks for being with us.

JIM BOUTON, AUTHOR, "BALL FOUR": Good morning, Soledad.

O'BRIEN: Why do you think Congress shouldn't be involved?

BOUTON: Well, I think there may be something going on here. Here's a theory, the owners want tougher drug rules; the players don't want them. The owners have a lot of contacts and connections with Congress. Maybe if Congress could hold hearings, the players would be pressured into accepting the tougher rules. So that's a possibility.

I wouldn't be surprised if there was a deal made here in which the Congress agrees to drop the hearings and the players agree to much tougher rules.

O'BRIEN: You know, John McCain said not all that long ago, either you, meaning baseball itself, does something about steroid use or we will. Do you think enough has actually been done by Major League Baseball on the steroid front?

BOUTON: No, no, I agree with the owners on this one. There need to be much tougher regulations. The notion of 10-day suspension for getting caught with steroids, taking steroids, and then a 30-day suspension, makes absolutely no sense at all. It's almost an invitation to cheat. An entire team could take steroids and if they staggered their 10-day suspensions, they'd simply be giving everybody a nice rest sometime during the season.

There needs to be tougher rules. More games have been illegally and unfairly affected by steroids, I'm pretty sure of that, certainly more than have been affected by gambling. And therefore, there should be a lifetime ban for anybody who takes steroids from this point on. You take steroids, you're out of the game.

O'BRIEN: I guess I'm confused by your point then, because it seems like you're saying, hey, they're not even coming close to do what they need to do, this is Major League Baseball. Why wouldn't you welcome Congress getting involved and getting testimony, and then eventually making strict rules, if they really want to clean up steroids in baseball?

BOUTON: Well, I mean, I think the goal is good, to get tougher rules for the players. I'm just suspicious of how they're going about it. That's it.

O'BRIEN: Couldn't players like the seven current and previous players, just sit and take the fifth in Congress? They don't have to actually say anything?

BOUTON: They could do that. But it would be really very bad for the game. I don't think you're going to see them testifying, and they're not going to have to take the Fifth Amendment. I think a deal is going to be made here.

And It's very suspicious that Barry Bonds, probably one of the, you know, the most suspect guy, is not one of the seven people. Is that because Barry Bonds is about to break some home run records and baseball needs those home run records? It's very interesting that he's not one of the seven guys.

O'BRIEN: Well, as you say, maybe a deal is on the horizon. Jim Bouton, nice to see you. Thanks for your insight on this. Appreciate it.

BOUTON: Appreciate it.

O'BRIEN: Let's turn right now to Mr. Toobin for some legal insight. There was some concern that if you reject an invitation from Congress, you could be held in contempt of Congress. These are the players and others who've been invited in. What does that mean exactly? What's the risk really?

JEFFREY TOOBIN, CNN SR. LEGAL ANALYST": Well, the congressmen have said that the players having declined their -- quote, unquote -- "invitation" are now going to move to subpoenas to testify. If you defy a subpoena to Congress, you are then liable to be held in contempt of Congress. And the way that works is first the committee that is involved here votes to hold you in contempt, then the full House of Representatives has to hold you in contempt, and that is referred to the United States attorney, who in turn would prosecute you and potentially put you in a jail for defying a subpoena.

O'BRIEN: How common is that?

TOOBIN: Never. I mean, it hasn't happened in decades. Janet Reno during the campaign-finance controversy was found in contempt by a congressional committee, but it never got any farther than that. It almost never gets any farther than that.

O'BRIEN: Is there anything inherent in Major League Baseball as an entity that would exempt them from being interviewed and interrogated by congresspeople?

TOOBIN: No, in fact, one of the famous exemptions is the baseball is exempt from the antitrust laws. That's been true since 1922. That remains in the law. That has nothing to do with this issue. They are subject to subpoena like anyone else. Their lawyer, Stan Brandt (ph), who says the players and the owners don't want to testify, I think his legal argument is incredibly weak. Congress does have jurisdiction over this area. Congress can hold congressional hearings on anything it wants. Whether it's a good idea or not is a separate issue. The only option it seems to me that's available to them is to take the Fifth. But simply not to show up doesn't seem like it's legally justified.

O'BRIEN: And refusing to answer a question on the grounds that it might incriminate me is what you'd have to say when you take the Fifth. That would look bad for the game.

TOOBIN: It would look terrible. And I think Jim is right. Jim is always right. I'm a great fan of Jim Bouton. But he's right that there may be some deal worked out here. And even though contempt is unlikely, that does seem possible here, because they don't seem to have much of a legal basis to refuse to testify.

O'BRIEN: Well, you know, as he says, we'll see what happens. Maybe a deal will be worked out. Thanks, Jeff, appreciate it.

Go back to Bill.

HEMMER: All right, Soledad, 22 minutes now before the hour.

And just in time for Easter, Mel Gibson's controversial film "The Passion of the Christ" will be re-released in about 950 theaters across the country. The movie version out this weekend, though, is recut, and it's also unrated.

Sibila Vargas explains why.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

SIBILA VARGAS, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Mel Gibson's blockbuster "The Passion of the Christ" will be back in movie theaters starting Friday, but not with the PG-13 rating Gibson was hoping for.

BOB BERNEY, PRESIDENT, NEWMARKET FILMS: In the original film, some of the scene that was the most, I guess, intense, if the scourging scene, and that has been toned down quite a bit.

VARGAS: On the film's Web site, Gibson said he heard his critics and wanted to expose it to a broader audience.

MEL GIBSON, ACTOR/DIRECTOR: Some of you actually said that, you know, you wish you could have taken your aunt Martha, uncle harry, or your grandmother, or some of your older kids, and you thought that perhaps the intensity of the film was prohibitive to those people. So I listened to that, and it inspired me to recut the film to cater to those people that perhaps might not have seen it.

VARGAS: In all, Gibson, cut out about six minutes of violent content from the film, but it wasn't enough.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Our intention was to make a film that's more like a PG-13, even though we didn't it. I think that the film itself, the way Mel Gibson, has cut the film, I think achieves the goal. Of course we're going unrated, and that leaves it up to exhibitors and parents really to make up their own mind.

VARGAS: Some theaters have chosen not to show the unrated version, while others plan to enforce the 'R' rating. Last year, Pastor Barry Bandara decided not to take his 11-year-old daughter to see the film. This year, he plans to take her and encourages others to do the same.

BARRY BANDARA, FIRST EVANGELICAL FREE CHURCH: I think it's a story they need to see and experience. So maybe they're another year a little more mature and able to handle it.

VARGAS: That sentiment has led the studio to consider making "Passion" an annual Easter release.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I hope this recut version proves us right, and if so, I'm sure we'd want to do it every year.

VARGAS: Sibila, Vargas, CNN, Los Angeles.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

HEMMER: In its original release, "Passion" was the top-grossing 'R'-rated film ever, taking in more than $600 million around the world.

(WEATHER REPORT)

O'BRIEN: Well, you think your car's pretty reliable? Find out which models have the best ratings. Andy's "Minding Your Business," coming up.

HEMMER: Also, a media breakthrough. We'll talk to a 23-year-old journalist, who's the first official blogger to step inside a White House briefing room. He's our guest next, live, after this.

HEMMER: One small step for a blogger, one giant leap for online journalism. This week, according to the White House, Garrett Graff became the first Internet blogger to be credentialed for the daily White House briefing. Graff writes the Washington blog fishbowldc.com and he joins us now from our bureau in the nation's capital.

Nice to chat with you, Garrett. Good morning to you.

GARRETT GRAFF, INTERNET BLOGGER, FISHBOWLDC.COM: Good morning, thanks for having me on.

HEMMER: Well, you're welcome for that.

I found a number of things about your story fascinating. First of all, the fact that you contacted the White House about 20 times and then you blogged about it on the Internet during the process. Then other people picked up on your story. Who took notice?

GRAFF: Well, it was actually a very interesting example on how blogs work. I was writing every day about it and other blogs started to pick up on it and they linked back to my original posts and that sort of got more and more interest and more and more traffic.

And eventually, the mainstream media began to pick up on it, and "USA Today" started to make calls and CNN actually mentioned the case. And the president of the White House Correspondent's Association finally got involved.

HEMMER: So without you blogging, chances are you would have never gotten this pass, don't you think?

GRAFF: Without a doubt almost.

HEMMER: That was a one-day pass, right?

GRAFF: Yes, it was.

HEMMER: What is your sense, now, about the sense of recognition within the world of journalism when they welcome a guy like yourself into the White House briefing room?

GRAFF: Well, I think it's another sign that blogs are maturing into a medium where they're not just commenting on the news and what's going on in the world, but are in fact becoming a medium that's going out and doing independent news gathering and becoming news sources of their own.

HEMMER: You feel a greater sense of recognition, I would assume?

GRAFF: Yes, I think. I really appreciated the support that I received from regular journalists at the White House this week, and I think there's a recognition that blogs do have something to contribute to journalism.

HEMMER: OK, then. This takes me off into another area. You consider yourself a journalist, right?

GRAFF: Yes, my blog met all the criteria that the White House has laid out for a legitimate news organizations.

HEMMER: So, what separates you from the rest of field online when it comes to bloggers?

GRAFF: Well, I think it's -- that's a very hard question to answer because everyone sort of treats their blogs differently. I think that some blogs do try to go out and gather information and report news on their own, and some of them are happy to just comment on what's going on.

HEMMER: Yes.

And I'm also wondering too about people who log online, how they'll be able to pick up on your credentials versus the other millions of people that apparently are blogging on different web sites every day.

Scott McClellan heads up the briefing every day. You had a chat with him for about 20 minutes. What was his take on the world of blogging today, especially if you go back and look at the Dan Rather story on CBS and the amount of credit that bloggers were given to keeping that story alive?

GRAFF: Well, he actually had sort of a very interesting take on it which was that he really saw that blogging had reached a point where it had something to contribute to the larger discussion going on in the world. And that, in that sense, he thought that bloggers had a rightful place in the briefing room.

HEMMER: How do you make money?

GRAFF: Well, my site accepts advertising, so that's one of the main ways that blogs attract money.

HEMMER: Listen, I know you're impressed with the White House -- who would not be, by the way, walking up there on the North Lawn. You were not so impressed with the briefing room. It's a bit cramped in there, isn't it?

GRAFF: Yes, I was really shocked at the conditions that the reporters work in. It's not a -- it's not nearly as glamorous as one might expect.

HEMMER: I'm certain of that, after being there myself.

And I tell you, it really got our attention, too, when a blogger is sitting there in the White House briefing room. It is a new time, and a new generation. Garrett Graff, thanks for your time, and congratulations to you for your one-day pass.

GRAFF: Thank you.

HEMMER: Soledad. O'BRIEN: Business news, one of the nation's most affordable cars is also one of the most reliable. Which one is it? Andy Serwer is "Minding Your Business." That's up next on AMERICAN MORNING.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

O'BRIEN: Welcome back, everybody.

JACK CAFFERTY, CNN ANCHOR: If you're wondering how your car rates in terms of reliability or whatever happened to those electric cars, Andy Serwer is "Minding Your Business." He has that and a look at the markets. Good morning.

ANDY SERWER, "FORTUNE" MAGAZINE: Good morning, Jack. All cars, all the time. Calling all cars.

Let's talk about the markets first of all. Stocks traded down yesterday. Kind of reminds me, Jack, of a conversation we were having last week where you were wondering about the underpinnings of the economy potentially impacting stocks. Here you have a down day because of higher oil prices and because of interest rates starting to climb. So I think you really could be on to something. Oil prices down this morning. You would think that would be good for futures, but jobless claims up so futures are down this morning.

SERWER: Let's talk about cars. Suppose you're on a dark desert highway, cool wind in your hair. What kind of car...

CAFFERTY: What hair?

SERWER: Nevermind. OK. It's an Eagles song. Anyway, what kind of car would you like to be driving that would be most reliable? Scared of a breakdown. "Consumer Reports" out with its list of most reliable cars. And the winner is Hyundai Sonata, which is a $16,000 vehicle. Only two breakdowns per 100 times driving. That's their scale.

Now, let's go to the other side. What are the worst cars? What would break down? How about the Lincoln Navigator? 49 out of 100. And the Nissan Quest minivan. This is "Consumer Reports" own scale. You have to check it out yourself, get the magazine. And now, finally, Jack, we have a strange car story from California. Can you imagine?

CAFFERTY: No, there's -- what a surprise.

SERWER: This is the land of strange car stories. G.M. came out with this car called the EV-1 in the 1990s, an electric car. And they spent a billion dollars making this thing and they ended up only leasing about 800 of them over four years. It was not a commercial success. And some Hollywood folks though, discovered last couple dozen of these EV-1s in a lot outside of Burbank -- that's beautiful -- and found out that G.M. was going to destroy them.

So what they've done is they've decided to hold a vigil. And these folks have been out there for 23 days protesting the demolition of the last EV-1s. Hollywood luminaries like -- there he is -- Ed Begley junior. A couple people from "Baywatch," Ted Danson supposedly was out there. They're just asking G.M. to please sell us these cars. G.M. doesn't want to do it. I think it's probably a liability thing. But some people in California got extra time on their hands.

CAFFERTY: That's just pathetic.

SERWER: I mean, they love their cars.

CAFFERTY: That's absolutely pathetic.

SERWER: It's kind of pathetic, isn't it?

CAFFERTY: Yes, it is.

SERWER: That's all I have.

CAFFERTY: Time for "The File." Elizabeth Jagger, the daughter of the Rolling Stone legend Mick Jagger, has persuaded a British judge to bury some pictures of her and her boyfriend, a guy named Calum Best (ph), getting some satisfaction, if you get my drift, in the lobby of a London nightclub. Security cameras caught the whole thing. Then the British tabloid "News of the World" got hold of the pictures. The judge agreed the couple had a legitimate expectation of privacy issues, even in the lobby with the paparazzi waiting outside. The pictures are now barred from publication; however, they'll probably be on Internet by, I don't know, 9:30.

SERWER: Soon.

CAFFERTY: Yes. He's being called "Le Turncoat and the Axle of Weasel." Lance Armstrong, six-time winner of the Tour de France, said Paris, not New York City, should host the 2012 Olympics. In an interview with the Associated Press and the Paris newspaper "Le Tourisian" (ph), Armstrong said I think Paris deserves the games. He then went on to describe Paris as marvelous and outstanding. Paris did host the Olympics in 1900 and 1924.

Kirstie Alley is making big bucks doing big jokes about her big butt, but not everybody thinks her new TV show "Fat Actress" is funny. Members of the National Eating Disorders Association are saying the show might be harmful to people with eating disorders. The head of that organization says Alley's character is not funny because she appears to be suffering from a disorder.

Alley is seen gorging herself, overdosing on laxatives and then sticking a feather down her throat so she can purge without ruining her manicure. That's pretty gross. Showtime says the show is in no way intended to ridicule eating disorders. Just fat people. The program is fictitious, loosely based on Alley's experiences in an unforgiving industry where weight is viewed as a career obstacle.

HEMMER: Like that Lance Armstrong story.

SERWER: He spends more time in Paris than in New York -- that's why. HEMMER: I'm telling you. know, the IOC, they're in Paris right now. They were just in New York a week and a half ago. They get to Paris, they get the tour of everything that's going on over there. The French are putting on their best face toward to try and get the Olympics in 2012 and they have a transit strike.

SERWER: Oh really? C'est terrible. Bummer. Terrible.

O'BRIEN: How do you say bummer in French?

SERWER: Terrible.

O'BRIEN: Break here in a moment. Sanjay Gupta is with us. He's checking in on the surgery for Bill Clinton. We'll check in with Sanjay after a break right here on AMERICAN MORNING.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

HEMMER: Good morning. In Wisconsin at this hour, police answering questions that may break open a case of murder at the home of the federal judge.

Also at this hour, former president Bill Clinton undergoing an operation to repair his lung. An update on his surgery from outside the hospital.

And the boy accusing Michael Jackson of sexual molestation is back on the witness stand for day two, on this AMERICAN MORNING.

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Aired March 10, 2005 - 08:29   ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
BILL HEMMER, CNN ANCHOR: I want to get back to this story about a possible breaking the murder case of federal judge's husband and mother. The "Chicago Tribune" is reporting that man who shot and killed himself yesterday, just north of Milwaukee, left a suicide note claiming responsibility for the two murders. The man's name is Bart Ross. And a short time ago, talked with the "Tribune's" deputy managing editor, Jim Warren, about Ross's possible motive.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

JIM WARREN, DEP. MANAGING EDITOR, "CHICAGO TRIBUNE": He had been -- had he filed a lawsuit pro se, which meant he was defending himself, a medical malpractice case apparently stemming from some cancer treatment or cancer surgery which he felt had gone awry. He had filed it against the University of Illinois Medical Center here. The judge was Judge Lefkow. On January 25th, she dismissed the lawsuit. The note found in the van in West Alice, Wisconsin, after he was stopped on a routine traffic stop, apparently a faulty taillight, the note made specific mention of that judgment having cost him his home, his -- and his family and his life, something to that effect.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

HEMMER: That was Jim Warren from the "Chicago Tribune" about 30 minutes ago here on AMERICAN MORNING. Police in Wisconsin now expected to brief the media bit later this morning, possibly next hour. We'll keep you posted as the story continues to unfold this morning.

But first, back to the other headlines, and Carol Costello with us here. Good morning, and Bill Clinton tops your list.

CAROL COSTELLO, CNN ANCHOR: Yes, Bill Clinton, he's in the hospital now. He's back in New York for a follow-up surgery. Doctors will clear fluid and scar tissue that developed in his left lung after a quadruple heart-bypass six month ago. They described this procedure as elective and low risk. Clinton is expected back home by early next week.

Pope John Paul II will stay at a hospital in Rome for a few days longer. That's according to the Vatican. The 84-year-old pontiff had a tracheotomy two weeks ago. He's expected back at the Vatican in time for Holy Week, which begins on March 20th.

And President Bush said to be back on the road next hour, drumming up support for Social Security reforms. He's planning stops in Kentucky and Alabama today, Tennessee and Louisiana tomorrow. The president insists any plan to fix Social Security has to have private retirement accounts, despite criticism from some Republicans and Democrats.

And a 3,000-pound aircraft will soon be on display in Washington. Spaceshipone was the first privately developed rocket plane to make it into suborbital plane. Microsoft billionaire Paul Allen says he and engineer Burt Rutan will donate the spacecraft to inspire young Americans. They've been honored with this year's National Air and Space Museum Trophy for Current Achievement. I'd like to ride that thing into space. That would be fun, wouldn't it.

HEMMER: I'm telling you. Ready to pay the price though?

COSTELLO: No.

HEMMER: It's expensive.

COSTELLO: In a word, no.

HEMMER: It's a million bucks, isn't it?

O'BRIEN: Yes.

HEMMER: Thanks, Carol.

O'BRIEN: Thanks.

Well, Major League Baseball will fight Congress over a part of its steroid investigation. A House Committee has subpoenaed 11 players and officials to testify next week. The league calls that an excessive and unprecedented use of congressional power. Former broadcaster, and player and "Ball Four" author Jim Bouton is in Albany, New York this morning.

Nice to see you. Good morning to you. And thanks for being with us.

JIM BOUTON, AUTHOR, "BALL FOUR": Good morning, Soledad.

O'BRIEN: Why do you think Congress shouldn't be involved?

BOUTON: Well, I think there may be something going on here. Here's a theory, the owners want tougher drug rules; the players don't want them. The owners have a lot of contacts and connections with Congress. Maybe if Congress could hold hearings, the players would be pressured into accepting the tougher rules. So that's a possibility.

I wouldn't be surprised if there was a deal made here in which the Congress agrees to drop the hearings and the players agree to much tougher rules.

O'BRIEN: You know, John McCain said not all that long ago, either you, meaning baseball itself, does something about steroid use or we will. Do you think enough has actually been done by Major League Baseball on the steroid front?

BOUTON: No, no, I agree with the owners on this one. There need to be much tougher regulations. The notion of 10-day suspension for getting caught with steroids, taking steroids, and then a 30-day suspension, makes absolutely no sense at all. It's almost an invitation to cheat. An entire team could take steroids and if they staggered their 10-day suspensions, they'd simply be giving everybody a nice rest sometime during the season.

There needs to be tougher rules. More games have been illegally and unfairly affected by steroids, I'm pretty sure of that, certainly more than have been affected by gambling. And therefore, there should be a lifetime ban for anybody who takes steroids from this point on. You take steroids, you're out of the game.

O'BRIEN: I guess I'm confused by your point then, because it seems like you're saying, hey, they're not even coming close to do what they need to do, this is Major League Baseball. Why wouldn't you welcome Congress getting involved and getting testimony, and then eventually making strict rules, if they really want to clean up steroids in baseball?

BOUTON: Well, I mean, I think the goal is good, to get tougher rules for the players. I'm just suspicious of how they're going about it. That's it.

O'BRIEN: Couldn't players like the seven current and previous players, just sit and take the fifth in Congress? They don't have to actually say anything?

BOUTON: They could do that. But it would be really very bad for the game. I don't think you're going to see them testifying, and they're not going to have to take the Fifth Amendment. I think a deal is going to be made here.

And It's very suspicious that Barry Bonds, probably one of the, you know, the most suspect guy, is not one of the seven people. Is that because Barry Bonds is about to break some home run records and baseball needs those home run records? It's very interesting that he's not one of the seven guys.

O'BRIEN: Well, as you say, maybe a deal is on the horizon. Jim Bouton, nice to see you. Thanks for your insight on this. Appreciate it.

BOUTON: Appreciate it.

O'BRIEN: Let's turn right now to Mr. Toobin for some legal insight. There was some concern that if you reject an invitation from Congress, you could be held in contempt of Congress. These are the players and others who've been invited in. What does that mean exactly? What's the risk really?

JEFFREY TOOBIN, CNN SR. LEGAL ANALYST": Well, the congressmen have said that the players having declined their -- quote, unquote -- "invitation" are now going to move to subpoenas to testify. If you defy a subpoena to Congress, you are then liable to be held in contempt of Congress. And the way that works is first the committee that is involved here votes to hold you in contempt, then the full House of Representatives has to hold you in contempt, and that is referred to the United States attorney, who in turn would prosecute you and potentially put you in a jail for defying a subpoena.

O'BRIEN: How common is that?

TOOBIN: Never. I mean, it hasn't happened in decades. Janet Reno during the campaign-finance controversy was found in contempt by a congressional committee, but it never got any farther than that. It almost never gets any farther than that.

O'BRIEN: Is there anything inherent in Major League Baseball as an entity that would exempt them from being interviewed and interrogated by congresspeople?

TOOBIN: No, in fact, one of the famous exemptions is the baseball is exempt from the antitrust laws. That's been true since 1922. That remains in the law. That has nothing to do with this issue. They are subject to subpoena like anyone else. Their lawyer, Stan Brandt (ph), who says the players and the owners don't want to testify, I think his legal argument is incredibly weak. Congress does have jurisdiction over this area. Congress can hold congressional hearings on anything it wants. Whether it's a good idea or not is a separate issue. The only option it seems to me that's available to them is to take the Fifth. But simply not to show up doesn't seem like it's legally justified.

O'BRIEN: And refusing to answer a question on the grounds that it might incriminate me is what you'd have to say when you take the Fifth. That would look bad for the game.

TOOBIN: It would look terrible. And I think Jim is right. Jim is always right. I'm a great fan of Jim Bouton. But he's right that there may be some deal worked out here. And even though contempt is unlikely, that does seem possible here, because they don't seem to have much of a legal basis to refuse to testify.

O'BRIEN: Well, you know, as he says, we'll see what happens. Maybe a deal will be worked out. Thanks, Jeff, appreciate it.

Go back to Bill.

HEMMER: All right, Soledad, 22 minutes now before the hour.

And just in time for Easter, Mel Gibson's controversial film "The Passion of the Christ" will be re-released in about 950 theaters across the country. The movie version out this weekend, though, is recut, and it's also unrated.

Sibila Vargas explains why.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

SIBILA VARGAS, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Mel Gibson's blockbuster "The Passion of the Christ" will be back in movie theaters starting Friday, but not with the PG-13 rating Gibson was hoping for.

BOB BERNEY, PRESIDENT, NEWMARKET FILMS: In the original film, some of the scene that was the most, I guess, intense, if the scourging scene, and that has been toned down quite a bit.

VARGAS: On the film's Web site, Gibson said he heard his critics and wanted to expose it to a broader audience.

MEL GIBSON, ACTOR/DIRECTOR: Some of you actually said that, you know, you wish you could have taken your aunt Martha, uncle harry, or your grandmother, or some of your older kids, and you thought that perhaps the intensity of the film was prohibitive to those people. So I listened to that, and it inspired me to recut the film to cater to those people that perhaps might not have seen it.

VARGAS: In all, Gibson, cut out about six minutes of violent content from the film, but it wasn't enough.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Our intention was to make a film that's more like a PG-13, even though we didn't it. I think that the film itself, the way Mel Gibson, has cut the film, I think achieves the goal. Of course we're going unrated, and that leaves it up to exhibitors and parents really to make up their own mind.

VARGAS: Some theaters have chosen not to show the unrated version, while others plan to enforce the 'R' rating. Last year, Pastor Barry Bandara decided not to take his 11-year-old daughter to see the film. This year, he plans to take her and encourages others to do the same.

BARRY BANDARA, FIRST EVANGELICAL FREE CHURCH: I think it's a story they need to see and experience. So maybe they're another year a little more mature and able to handle it.

VARGAS: That sentiment has led the studio to consider making "Passion" an annual Easter release.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I hope this recut version proves us right, and if so, I'm sure we'd want to do it every year.

VARGAS: Sibila, Vargas, CNN, Los Angeles.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

HEMMER: In its original release, "Passion" was the top-grossing 'R'-rated film ever, taking in more than $600 million around the world.

(WEATHER REPORT)

O'BRIEN: Well, you think your car's pretty reliable? Find out which models have the best ratings. Andy's "Minding Your Business," coming up.

HEMMER: Also, a media breakthrough. We'll talk to a 23-year-old journalist, who's the first official blogger to step inside a White House briefing room. He's our guest next, live, after this.

HEMMER: One small step for a blogger, one giant leap for online journalism. This week, according to the White House, Garrett Graff became the first Internet blogger to be credentialed for the daily White House briefing. Graff writes the Washington blog fishbowldc.com and he joins us now from our bureau in the nation's capital.

Nice to chat with you, Garrett. Good morning to you.

GARRETT GRAFF, INTERNET BLOGGER, FISHBOWLDC.COM: Good morning, thanks for having me on.

HEMMER: Well, you're welcome for that.

I found a number of things about your story fascinating. First of all, the fact that you contacted the White House about 20 times and then you blogged about it on the Internet during the process. Then other people picked up on your story. Who took notice?

GRAFF: Well, it was actually a very interesting example on how blogs work. I was writing every day about it and other blogs started to pick up on it and they linked back to my original posts and that sort of got more and more interest and more and more traffic.

And eventually, the mainstream media began to pick up on it, and "USA Today" started to make calls and CNN actually mentioned the case. And the president of the White House Correspondent's Association finally got involved.

HEMMER: So without you blogging, chances are you would have never gotten this pass, don't you think?

GRAFF: Without a doubt almost.

HEMMER: That was a one-day pass, right?

GRAFF: Yes, it was.

HEMMER: What is your sense, now, about the sense of recognition within the world of journalism when they welcome a guy like yourself into the White House briefing room?

GRAFF: Well, I think it's another sign that blogs are maturing into a medium where they're not just commenting on the news and what's going on in the world, but are in fact becoming a medium that's going out and doing independent news gathering and becoming news sources of their own.

HEMMER: You feel a greater sense of recognition, I would assume?

GRAFF: Yes, I think. I really appreciated the support that I received from regular journalists at the White House this week, and I think there's a recognition that blogs do have something to contribute to journalism.

HEMMER: OK, then. This takes me off into another area. You consider yourself a journalist, right?

GRAFF: Yes, my blog met all the criteria that the White House has laid out for a legitimate news organizations.

HEMMER: So, what separates you from the rest of field online when it comes to bloggers?

GRAFF: Well, I think it's -- that's a very hard question to answer because everyone sort of treats their blogs differently. I think that some blogs do try to go out and gather information and report news on their own, and some of them are happy to just comment on what's going on.

HEMMER: Yes.

And I'm also wondering too about people who log online, how they'll be able to pick up on your credentials versus the other millions of people that apparently are blogging on different web sites every day.

Scott McClellan heads up the briefing every day. You had a chat with him for about 20 minutes. What was his take on the world of blogging today, especially if you go back and look at the Dan Rather story on CBS and the amount of credit that bloggers were given to keeping that story alive?

GRAFF: Well, he actually had sort of a very interesting take on it which was that he really saw that blogging had reached a point where it had something to contribute to the larger discussion going on in the world. And that, in that sense, he thought that bloggers had a rightful place in the briefing room.

HEMMER: How do you make money?

GRAFF: Well, my site accepts advertising, so that's one of the main ways that blogs attract money.

HEMMER: Listen, I know you're impressed with the White House -- who would not be, by the way, walking up there on the North Lawn. You were not so impressed with the briefing room. It's a bit cramped in there, isn't it?

GRAFF: Yes, I was really shocked at the conditions that the reporters work in. It's not a -- it's not nearly as glamorous as one might expect.

HEMMER: I'm certain of that, after being there myself.

And I tell you, it really got our attention, too, when a blogger is sitting there in the White House briefing room. It is a new time, and a new generation. Garrett Graff, thanks for your time, and congratulations to you for your one-day pass.

GRAFF: Thank you.

HEMMER: Soledad. O'BRIEN: Business news, one of the nation's most affordable cars is also one of the most reliable. Which one is it? Andy Serwer is "Minding Your Business." That's up next on AMERICAN MORNING.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

O'BRIEN: Welcome back, everybody.

JACK CAFFERTY, CNN ANCHOR: If you're wondering how your car rates in terms of reliability or whatever happened to those electric cars, Andy Serwer is "Minding Your Business." He has that and a look at the markets. Good morning.

ANDY SERWER, "FORTUNE" MAGAZINE: Good morning, Jack. All cars, all the time. Calling all cars.

Let's talk about the markets first of all. Stocks traded down yesterday. Kind of reminds me, Jack, of a conversation we were having last week where you were wondering about the underpinnings of the economy potentially impacting stocks. Here you have a down day because of higher oil prices and because of interest rates starting to climb. So I think you really could be on to something. Oil prices down this morning. You would think that would be good for futures, but jobless claims up so futures are down this morning.

SERWER: Let's talk about cars. Suppose you're on a dark desert highway, cool wind in your hair. What kind of car...

CAFFERTY: What hair?

SERWER: Nevermind. OK. It's an Eagles song. Anyway, what kind of car would you like to be driving that would be most reliable? Scared of a breakdown. "Consumer Reports" out with its list of most reliable cars. And the winner is Hyundai Sonata, which is a $16,000 vehicle. Only two breakdowns per 100 times driving. That's their scale.

Now, let's go to the other side. What are the worst cars? What would break down? How about the Lincoln Navigator? 49 out of 100. And the Nissan Quest minivan. This is "Consumer Reports" own scale. You have to check it out yourself, get the magazine. And now, finally, Jack, we have a strange car story from California. Can you imagine?

CAFFERTY: No, there's -- what a surprise.

SERWER: This is the land of strange car stories. G.M. came out with this car called the EV-1 in the 1990s, an electric car. And they spent a billion dollars making this thing and they ended up only leasing about 800 of them over four years. It was not a commercial success. And some Hollywood folks though, discovered last couple dozen of these EV-1s in a lot outside of Burbank -- that's beautiful -- and found out that G.M. was going to destroy them.

So what they've done is they've decided to hold a vigil. And these folks have been out there for 23 days protesting the demolition of the last EV-1s. Hollywood luminaries like -- there he is -- Ed Begley junior. A couple people from "Baywatch," Ted Danson supposedly was out there. They're just asking G.M. to please sell us these cars. G.M. doesn't want to do it. I think it's probably a liability thing. But some people in California got extra time on their hands.

CAFFERTY: That's just pathetic.

SERWER: I mean, they love their cars.

CAFFERTY: That's absolutely pathetic.

SERWER: It's kind of pathetic, isn't it?

CAFFERTY: Yes, it is.

SERWER: That's all I have.

CAFFERTY: Time for "The File." Elizabeth Jagger, the daughter of the Rolling Stone legend Mick Jagger, has persuaded a British judge to bury some pictures of her and her boyfriend, a guy named Calum Best (ph), getting some satisfaction, if you get my drift, in the lobby of a London nightclub. Security cameras caught the whole thing. Then the British tabloid "News of the World" got hold of the pictures. The judge agreed the couple had a legitimate expectation of privacy issues, even in the lobby with the paparazzi waiting outside. The pictures are now barred from publication; however, they'll probably be on Internet by, I don't know, 9:30.

SERWER: Soon.

CAFFERTY: Yes. He's being called "Le Turncoat and the Axle of Weasel." Lance Armstrong, six-time winner of the Tour de France, said Paris, not New York City, should host the 2012 Olympics. In an interview with the Associated Press and the Paris newspaper "Le Tourisian" (ph), Armstrong said I think Paris deserves the games. He then went on to describe Paris as marvelous and outstanding. Paris did host the Olympics in 1900 and 1924.

Kirstie Alley is making big bucks doing big jokes about her big butt, but not everybody thinks her new TV show "Fat Actress" is funny. Members of the National Eating Disorders Association are saying the show might be harmful to people with eating disorders. The head of that organization says Alley's character is not funny because she appears to be suffering from a disorder.

Alley is seen gorging herself, overdosing on laxatives and then sticking a feather down her throat so she can purge without ruining her manicure. That's pretty gross. Showtime says the show is in no way intended to ridicule eating disorders. Just fat people. The program is fictitious, loosely based on Alley's experiences in an unforgiving industry where weight is viewed as a career obstacle.

HEMMER: Like that Lance Armstrong story.

SERWER: He spends more time in Paris than in New York -- that's why. HEMMER: I'm telling you. know, the IOC, they're in Paris right now. They were just in New York a week and a half ago. They get to Paris, they get the tour of everything that's going on over there. The French are putting on their best face toward to try and get the Olympics in 2012 and they have a transit strike.

SERWER: Oh really? C'est terrible. Bummer. Terrible.

O'BRIEN: How do you say bummer in French?

SERWER: Terrible.

O'BRIEN: Break here in a moment. Sanjay Gupta is with us. He's checking in on the surgery for Bill Clinton. We'll check in with Sanjay after a break right here on AMERICAN MORNING.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

HEMMER: Good morning. In Wisconsin at this hour, police answering questions that may break open a case of murder at the home of the federal judge.

Also at this hour, former president Bill Clinton undergoing an operation to repair his lung. An update on his surgery from outside the hospital.

And the boy accusing Michael Jackson of sexual molestation is back on the witness stand for day two, on this AMERICAN MORNING.

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