Return to Transcripts main page
CNN Live Today
President George W. Bush Makes Statement on Death of Terri Schiavo
Aired March 31, 2005 - 11:29 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.
DARYN KAGAN, CNN ANCHOR: Just in the minute before President Bush arrives, because of our Susan Candiotti on the phone from Florida with a bit of information that we want to get in before the president begins to speak -- Susan.
SUSAN CANDIOTTI, CNN CORRESPONDENT: At any time now, we expect the body of Terri Schiavo to be arriving here at the Pinellas Park medical -- county, rather, medical examiner's office. She is being transported in a van. As a matter of fact, being -- the caravan is that we're being followed by helicopters from local television stations. But we're out here in front of the medical examiner's office. You will recall that days ago it was announced by the attorney representing Michael Schiavo, her husband, that in fact an autopsy would be performed, in part to answer any and all questions, clear up any possible discrepancies as to the cause of her death, as well as the extent of her brain damage.
Now we are standing out here under extremely tight security. Most of this parking lot has been cordoned off. There are several deputies who are watching, and we anticipate the van arriving at anytime. They will pull into a driveway, and then pull into the building itself behind steel doors that are presently being guarded by sheriff's deputies.
Susan, I'm just going to jump in here, because President Bush coming to the podium for this news conference.
Let's listen in to President Bush.
GEORGE W. BUSH, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: Today, millions of Americans are saddened by the death of Terri Schiavo.
Laura and I extend our condolences to Terri Schiavo's families.
I appreciate the example of grace and dignity they have displayed at a difficult time. I urge all those who honor Terri Schiavo to continue to work to build a culture of life where all Americans are welcomed and valued and protected, especially those who live at the mercy of others.
The essence of civilization is that the strong have a duty to protect the weak.
In cases where there are serious doubts and questions, the presumption should be in the favor of life.
The most solemn duty of the American president -- come on up, guys -- is to protect the American people.
Since September 11th, 2001, we've taken bold and vigorous steps to prevent further attacks and overcome emerging threats.
We face a new and different kind of enemy. The threats today are unprecedented. The lives of our citizens are at stake. To protect them, we need the best intelligence possible, and we must stay ahead of constantly changing intelligence challenges.
So last year I issued an executive order creating an independent commission to look at America's intelligence capabilities, especially our intelligence about weapons of mass destruction.
BUSH: I asked two fine Americans to chair this commission, Judge Laurence Silberman and former Senator Chuck Robb. They have done an excellent job.
I appreciate your service to our country.
I also want to thank the other members of the commission: Senator John McCain, Rick Levin, Harry Rowen, Walt Slocombe, Bill Studeman, Judge Patricia Wald, Chuck Vest and Lloyd Cutler.
I want to thank them for their hard work. They spent a lot of time on this project.
BUSH: I asked these distinguished individuals to give me an unvarnished look at our intelligence community, and they have delivered.
This morning the commission presented me with their recommendations, which are thoughtful and extremely significant.
The central conclusion is one that I share: America's intelligence community needs fundamental change to enable us to successfully confront the threats of the 21st century.
My administration has taken steps consistent with the commission's recommendations. In February, I named John Negroponte the first director of national intelligence, a post that was created to help ensure that our intelligence community works as a single, unified enterprise.
It's important for Congress to move quickly on John's confirmation, because he will have a key role in the continued reform and restructuring of intelligence capabilities.
Today I've directed Homeland Security adviser Fran Townsend to oversee the interagency process to review the commission's findings and to ensure the concrete action is taken.
BUSH: The commission report delivers a sharp critique of the way intelligence has been collected and analyzed against some of the most difficult intelligence targets, especially Iraq.
To win the war on terror, we will correct what needs to be fixed and build on what the commission calls "solid intelligence successes." These include the uncovering of Libya's nuclear and missile programs.
In Pakistan our intelligence helped expose and shut down the world's most dangerous nuclear proliferation network.
Where we have had success, the commission reports we have seen innovative collection techniques and a fusion of interagency intelligence capabilities.
We must work to replicate these successes in other areas.
BUSH: The men and women of our intelligence community work hard, and the sacrifices they have made have helped protect America. And our nation is grateful for their hard work.
The work they are doing is critical. We need to prevent terrorists from getting their hands on the weapons of mass murder they would like to use against our citizens.
The work of our intelligence community is extremely difficult work. Every day, dangerous regimes are working to prevent us from uncovering their programs and their possible relationships with terrorists.
BUSH: And the work intelligence men and women do is, by nature, secret, which is why the American people never hear about many of their successes. I'm proud of the efforts of our intelligence workers. I am proud of their commitment to the security of our country. And the American people should be proud too.
And that's why this report is important. It'll enable these fine men and women to do their jobs in better fashion, to be able to more likely accomplish their mission, which is to protect the American people. And that's why I'm grateful to the commission for this hard work.
The president and his national security team must have intelligence that is timely and intelligence that is accurate.
In their report today, the commission points out that America needs to know much more about the weapons programs and intentions of our most dangerous adversaries. They've given us useful and important guidance that will help us transform our intelligence capabilities for the needs of a dangerous new century. In other words, we need to adjust.
BUSH: We need to understand the threats and adjust our capabilities to meet those threats.
We will work to give our intelligence professionals the tools they need.
Our collection and analysis of intelligence will never be perfect, but in an age where our margin for error is getting smaller, in an age in which we are at war, the consequences of underestimating a threat could be tens of thousands of innocent lives. And my administration will continue to make intelligence reforms that will allow us to identify threats before they fully emerge so we can take effective action to protect the American people.
I'm grateful for your hard work.
And now the chairman of the commission and the co-chair of the commission have agreed to answer your questions.
KAGAN: A brief statement from President Bush, actually two statements, one that was not expected. He started this news conference in the statement on the death of Terri Schiavo. Once again, if you haven't been following our rolling coverage, Terri Schiavo, we're getting word, died today at 9:05 a.m. Eastern. And President Bush closely following and getting involved in the efforts in trying to have a feeding tube reinserted.
More from President Bush in a little bit. But the main part of this news conference of course was about this presidential commission that he called together to look at the failure of the intelligence community in gathering information on weapons of mass destruction, leading up to the Iraq war. It is a 607-page report that is scathing in its assessment of the intelligence agency, saying basically that their information, quote, "was dead wrong" in most of their judgments about Iraq's weapons of mass destruction before the U.S. invaded a couple years ago. President Bush defending that, saying that it is his job to make sure that he does not underestimate the threat of what faces the United States overseas and here.
Let's get back to our Terri Schiavo story. Once again, just about 2 1/2 hours ago, Terri Schiavo dying 15 years after she collapsed in other own home and 14 days after the feeding tube was removed.
Our Anderson Cooper is in Pinellas Park. This is where the hospice has been that Terri Schiavo has been for so long and where she spent her final moments -- Anderson.
ANDERSON COOPER, CNN CORRESPONDENT; Yes, Daryn, as you said, Terri Schiavo dying at 9:05 a.m. Eastern Time this morning. Some 14 days, nearly two weeks, after her feeding tube was removed. No food, no water for these last two weeks. We -- there is still a lot we don't know exactly what transpired this morning. The main issue that a lot of people have been trying to get an answer to is whether Michael Schiavo was actually by her side when she died. Michael Schiavo of course has been by her side throughout much of this time. It's been a point of contention with the Schindler family, because he controls access to Terri, though how long people are allowed to stay with her, who gets to actually see her.
CNN's David Mattingly joins me now with some exclusive information. You think you've answered that question, whether Michael Schiavo was there or not.
DAVID MATTINGLY, CNN CORRESPONDENT: I was with John Centonze, who was the brother of Michael Schiavo's fiance, of the mother of his two children. I was there at the time in Tampa when he received the phone call, receiving the bad news about Terri's passing. He tells me the entire family is taking this very hard. He says that the brother of Michael Schiavo tells him that Michael was in the room at the time of Terri's passing. So that from the Schiavo family right now. So....
COOPER: Were you -- what time were you with him today?
MATTINGLY: You know, things were happening so quickly I didn't look at my watch at the time of that phone call, but we were there when that phone call came in, and we did have our cameras rolling at the time, and we will play that for you now.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
JOHN CENTONZE, JODY CENTONZE'S BROTHER: All right. All right, man. All right. Bye.
Everybody is crying. He was crying. She got the call from Mike, and told her, and she just broke down crying. So I guess she was taking her daughter to school.
MATTINGLY: This is really affecting you. You're getting goose bumps on your arms.
CENTONZE: Yes. It's sad. It's really sad. But I'm happy for Terri. But it's still sad all the way around. I know Mike is very upset. And my sister is crying. So it's very emotional. It's been a long, long hard fight. But I believe she's happy, Terri is probably happy now, you know, To be free and not be in -- shown all over TV and -- I would imagine if that was me, I'd be very embarrassed having everybody looking at my picture, laying there, can't speak to anybody. But it's going to be very hard for everybody right now.
MATTINGLY: Through this entire thing, what has been the toughest thing for your family to put up with?
CENTONZE: Everybody getting in your face with false accusations and threats. I'm sure it's not going to go away anytime soon, just people just don't know the facts. I mean people hear what they want to hear, you know, without ever being there or without ever seeing her. You know, it's a grapevine thing -- one person says something that just goes through and everybody takes it for fact, and that's not how it's been.
MATTINGLY: How do you believe Michael is handling this right now?
CENTONZE: Right now? He's probably beside himself right now. He's just from the phone call that I got that Mike was very emotional and his brother could hardly understand what he was saying, he was just in tears. You know, it's been a long time coming, and even though reality is hitting him right now, it's hard. I mean he truly loved that woman a lot, and you know, to turn down millions of dollars shows you, it wasn't about the money, you know. He swore that he would follow out what she wanted, and he did it, no matter what, no matter what anybody said. No matter how much anybody badmouthed him, he stood by her side until the end.
MATTINGLY: You never actually met her, did you?
CENTONZE: I've seen her. I've seen her and my wife has...
MATTINGLY: But not prior...
CENTONZE: Not before, no. Not when she was up and around, I never saw her.
MATTINGLY: And yet at her passing, I can tell you're very upset by it.
CENTONZE: It's -- I mean I've -- I seem to know so much about her and listened to all the stories Mike has told me about things that they've done, or what they wanted to do. I feel like i've known her for 15 years, you know. It's very hard.
MATTINGLY: What has his life been for the past week?
CENTONZE: His life's been hell. Just I know a lot of things on TV he tried not to watch, because people would badmouth him. That's why he didn't want to go public with any of this. But it came to a point where he had no choice. People can just call you so many names and badmouth you so much, until you just can't take it anymore. And that's what this whole thing turned into, is just a lot of publicity from the other side, and you can only take so much, and you got to stand up for yourself. I mean, for the last few years, this has just been driving me crazy, not being able to speak out and say anything? But Mike just wanted it to be private. He thought, you know, nobody else should have any say so in it, especially, you know, the government.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
MATTINGLY: Anderson, the most remarkable statement I think he made, you could see how shaken up he was. He said that he was -- felt very close to her because of all the stories he's been hearing from Michael Schiavo about Terri Schiavo for past 15 years. So Michael Schiavo's new family still very much a part of her passing today.
COOPER: Fascinating. And amazing that you were actually there when he received the phone call. There has been so much bitterness, so much division in this family. There is no chance this family is going to get together, going to heal in anyway.
MATTINGLY: It doesn't appear to be, and we've been talking to them over the days, over several days, the Centonze family and the Schiavo family, made a very conscious decision to handle this privately. That's why they have not been out in front of the cameras. That's why they have not been engaging in some of the things that have been said on camera about them, and they say possibly some time in the future they might be doing that. The family does have some plans to rally, to gather together at some undisclosed location to get away from all the activity that's going on. We don't know when that's going to happen, but they will be gathering to share in their grief. COOPER: And no doubt today, more protesters will be gathering here at site of Terri Schiavo's hospice. Susan Candiotti standing by at the county coroner's office where the two white vans that we have been following that have left from the hospice have arrived.
Susan, what can you tell us?
SUSAN CANDIOTTI, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Anderson, about 2 1/2 hours after Terri Schiavo's death, the white van did pull up to the medical examiner's office here. That would be about 15 minutes ago. It was a very solemn occasion, and of course it happened very quickly. But the van did arrive under police motorcycle escort, pulled up to the entrance, a private unmarked entrance here at the medical examiner's office, and paused as a tall, steel door slowly opened so that the van could pull inside.
You will remember that on Monday of this week, George Felos, who represents the husband, Michael Schiavo, announced that Michael did decide that in fact there would be an autopsy for his wife in an effort to try to determine the extent of damage to her brain. He also announced the autopsy would be performed by the chief medical examiner, by the name of Jean Claude Parks (ph) here, very well- regarded in this area and nationwide. And following that, there will be cremation. We are not certain exactly where that will happen, then burial would be followed, according to Michael Schiavo, the husband, back in Pennsylvania, his family home -- Anderson.
COOPER: Susan, even where Terri Schiavo is laid to rest, the Schindlers saying they did not want her cremated. They said it goes against their Catholic faith. They said they wanted her buried in Florida near where they lived, but it is definite that she is going to be cremated, and return to Pennsylvania where she was born, where Michael Schiavo and her met.
Anderson, that would appear to be the case, and though it is against the wishes of the Schindler family, because of their beliefs, the Catholic faith, that she not be cremated. It is, however, acceptable in the Catholic faith to do so. Yes, the Schindler family would prefer -- wanted to see her not be cremated, to remain here in Florida, near their family home, so that they could in fact visit her more frequently. But in fact she will be interred in Pennsylvania. That is the plan.
We have of course called a number of times the medical examiner's office to seek official confirmation that this is Terri Schiavo. However, it is quite clear that the van having arrived under motorcycle and heavy police escort, it's widely believed it's her. And the sheriff's office spokesman said while he couldn't confirm, he couldn't deny it either.
Back to you.
COOPER: Susan, we've just gotten confirmation there is going to be a press conference at 2:30 at the office of George Felos. That is Michael Schiavo's attorney. I spoke to Mr. Felos two night ago, who talked about Terri Schiavo's condition, talked about the calmness in the room where she was laying, talked about her being at peace.
All along of course there are two very different sides of this story. What we've been hearing from George Felos has been in stark contrast to what we've been hearing from the Schindlers, from Terri Schiavo's parents and her brother. They say Terri Schiavo has been calling out asking, begging for her life to be saved. So there are two very different sides to this story. As we've noted, this protest area is largely people who support the Schindlers. The Schindler side of the story, that Michael Schiavo has been spending most of his time inside with Terri Schiavo. He hasn't been in the last two weeks or so appearing before the cameras. George Felos has really been his voice to the public, and a voice that we will be bringing to you live at 2:30 this afternoon.
Susan, if you're still there, at the coroner's office, are there any protesters? I mean, is there any public gathered there?
CANDIOTTI: Not at all, but they certainly appear to have been prepared for that. The parking lot is cordoned off. There is a very small area. You cannot drive into the main entrance. As a matter of fact, the van arrived here by a driveway way in the back. And so there are, however, several sheriff's deputies who are standing by here on guard at the entrance where the van pulled, at the front door, at the driveway. Other than that, it is only us and a handful of other people who are watching events as they unfold.
COOPER: And Susan, you've been following Terri Schiavo's long, sad journey, not just this, her journey to -- what seems to be her journey to the coroner's office, but this medical journey that she has been on, this struggle that has been gone over her for so long. Any sense now of time frame? I mean, what are we talking about? We know there's going to be an autopsy. How long before that begins? How long before she is cremated?
CANDIOTTI: Well, certainly, they were anticipating this. No surprise, so this will be scheduled. I would not be surprised if the autopsy took place immediately. And of course, the length of time can vary. But certainly to get some preliminary results doesn't take long. But after that, it can take one to two weeks for very precise test results to become available. Exactly when that will be, of course we don't know. But we certainly hope and expect to hear something from the medical examiner's office folks here at some point later this morning or this afternoon.
COOPER: Susan, I'd like to you stay on line. I also wanted to bring back in CNN's David Mattingly in a moment, because both of you have been covering this story for so long, following the ins and outs, and there have been so many ins and outs to this. I'd like to just get some of your perspectives both of this.
David, this battle over the body, I mean, it has taken on -- it is just one more point of contention between these two sides of the family.
DAVID MATTINGLY, CNN CORRESPONDENT: And it was a point of contention that the court got involved with. The judge in this case decided that Michael Schiavo's plans for Terri Schiavo after her death were consistent with Roman Catholicism. He approved of those plans, and he felt that Michael Schiavo had the right to decided to do this. And that's what they're going through with right now. The family -- a family member we talked to earlier today was saying that those plans have not changed at all, that there are still plans for the autopsy, the cremation and then the burial at the Schiavo family plot in Pennsylvania, not here in Florida as the Schindlers had wanted.
COOPER: Michael Schiavo has come under a lot of criticism for what his detractors have called his new life, his life with his fiancee. He has two children by her. What is that life like? I mean, you've talked to members of that side of the family.
MATTINGLY: We're told that it is a very loving relationship. In fact, his future brother-in-law was telling us that he feels that the way he treats -- Michael Schiavo treats his sister is the way he might have treated Terri. And for that reason, he feels very sorry for her passing, knows that she might have been a very, very wonderful person because of that.
COOPER: All right, David Mattingly, thank you very much. And Susan Candiotti, thanks very much.
Let's go back to Daryn Kagan now in Atlanta. Daryn.
KAGAN: Anderson, thank you. We'll be back to you shortly.
I have with me here in the studio Reverend Jesse Jackson. You've been of counsel to the Schindler family in recent days. When was the last time that you met with them or spoke with them?
REV. JESSE JACKSON, RAINBOW PUSH COALITION: Late yesterday we met. We had prayer together. As a matter of fact, Anderson was in the room when we...
KAGAN: He was talking about a very moving prayer that you conducted with the Schindler family. Was that a private moment, or are you able to share with us what that prayer was about?
JACKSON: Well, it was for them to lean on their faith and not to their own understanding, because how can one explain this? The pain of it. And that's for faith. But faith is the substance of things hoped for, evidence of things unseen. Lean to their faith. I shared with them the experience of Dr. King Sr. At one time he said to me and a group of us, he said, Jesse, you know, I lost my son Martin, Dr. King. I loved him so much. He had done so much for so many people. He was my namesake. I became be obsessed with his passing. I went to the grave site every day.
KAGAN: This is Martin Luther King Jr.'s father telling you this story.
JACKSON: Uh-huh. He said, and my focus on him is as if I forgot my other children. And one day, A.D., my next son, was found drowned, and he was dead. Before I could adjust to that, my wife playing an organ in church on a Sunday morning was killed. He said, but I'm going to thank God for what's left. And I have a lot left. I have left another daughter, and I have grandchildren left. And so he couched his pain in looking at what he'd lost, what he had left, and moving on.
And so I said to the Schindlers, you're losing Terri, but you have another daughter, another son. And have you each other. And now Terri has a legacy perhaps of health care policy for the country. So she is leaving you with an amazing legacy of service, because even as she is dying now, I said, she's healing people. We're thinking about the other 30,000 Terris. We're thinking about long-term health care. We're thinking about hospice health care.
KAGAN: Don't you think her legacy is much longer than just long- term health care. There is a spiritual legacy. There is a family legacy. You can't even count the number of families in recent weeks that have sat down and talked about what their final wishes are and have put it in writing. Isn't that ultimately Terri Schiavo's legacy?
JACKSON: You're right. That why, as I say, we're healed by strifes. By her strife, by her pain, thousands have been healed, and have had -- many more have been getting their living wills the last few weeks because of Terri. Others have looked at family squabbles and said, let's come to grips with this thing while we can, because as painful as it was these last few years, and then the last few weeks, the fact that the family now wants her body in Florida and a funeral, and Michael chooses to use his authority to have her cremated and take her to Pennsylvania, that's the ultimate tough one. I just hope somehow that Michael and that family could do a miraculous thing and choose some common ground and let her have this stage of her being and peace.
KAGAN: If there is any indication of just how divided this family is, of how bitter things have become, of just how sad this is, it is that the family cannot agree on what the funeral arrangements for Terri Schiavo will be.
Reverend Jackson, thank you. I'm sure we'll talk with you throughout the morning, throughout the afternoon here on CNN.
JACKSON: Thank you. And let all of us remain prayerful.
KAGAN: Thank you, sir.
I'm Daryn Kagan. We've been with you for the last two hours looking at the legacy and the life and ultimately the death of Terri Schiavo. We expect to hear from Michael Schiavo's attorney, George Felos, in about 2 1/2 hours. You'll see those comments live here on CNN.
Our coverage continues with my colleague, Wolf Blitzer, in Washington, D.C.
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 March 31, 2005 - 11:29 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
DARYN KAGAN, CNN ANCHOR: Just in the minute before President Bush arrives, because of our Susan Candiotti on the phone from Florida with a bit of information that we want to get in before the president begins to speak -- Susan.
SUSAN CANDIOTTI, CNN CORRESPONDENT: At any time now, we expect the body of Terri Schiavo to be arriving here at the Pinellas Park medical -- county, rather, medical examiner's office. She is being transported in a van. As a matter of fact, being -- the caravan is that we're being followed by helicopters from local television stations. But we're out here in front of the medical examiner's office. You will recall that days ago it was announced by the attorney representing Michael Schiavo, her husband, that in fact an autopsy would be performed, in part to answer any and all questions, clear up any possible discrepancies as to the cause of her death, as well as the extent of her brain damage.
Now we are standing out here under extremely tight security. Most of this parking lot has been cordoned off. There are several deputies who are watching, and we anticipate the van arriving at anytime. They will pull into a driveway, and then pull into the building itself behind steel doors that are presently being guarded by sheriff's deputies.
Susan, I'm just going to jump in here, because President Bush coming to the podium for this news conference.
Let's listen in to President Bush.
GEORGE W. BUSH, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: Today, millions of Americans are saddened by the death of Terri Schiavo.
Laura and I extend our condolences to Terri Schiavo's families.
I appreciate the example of grace and dignity they have displayed at a difficult time. I urge all those who honor Terri Schiavo to continue to work to build a culture of life where all Americans are welcomed and valued and protected, especially those who live at the mercy of others.
The essence of civilization is that the strong have a duty to protect the weak.
In cases where there are serious doubts and questions, the presumption should be in the favor of life.
The most solemn duty of the American president -- come on up, guys -- is to protect the American people.
Since September 11th, 2001, we've taken bold and vigorous steps to prevent further attacks and overcome emerging threats.
We face a new and different kind of enemy. The threats today are unprecedented. The lives of our citizens are at stake. To protect them, we need the best intelligence possible, and we must stay ahead of constantly changing intelligence challenges.
So last year I issued an executive order creating an independent commission to look at America's intelligence capabilities, especially our intelligence about weapons of mass destruction.
BUSH: I asked two fine Americans to chair this commission, Judge Laurence Silberman and former Senator Chuck Robb. They have done an excellent job.
I appreciate your service to our country.
I also want to thank the other members of the commission: Senator John McCain, Rick Levin, Harry Rowen, Walt Slocombe, Bill Studeman, Judge Patricia Wald, Chuck Vest and Lloyd Cutler.
I want to thank them for their hard work. They spent a lot of time on this project.
BUSH: I asked these distinguished individuals to give me an unvarnished look at our intelligence community, and they have delivered.
This morning the commission presented me with their recommendations, which are thoughtful and extremely significant.
The central conclusion is one that I share: America's intelligence community needs fundamental change to enable us to successfully confront the threats of the 21st century.
My administration has taken steps consistent with the commission's recommendations. In February, I named John Negroponte the first director of national intelligence, a post that was created to help ensure that our intelligence community works as a single, unified enterprise.
It's important for Congress to move quickly on John's confirmation, because he will have a key role in the continued reform and restructuring of intelligence capabilities.
Today I've directed Homeland Security adviser Fran Townsend to oversee the interagency process to review the commission's findings and to ensure the concrete action is taken.
BUSH: The commission report delivers a sharp critique of the way intelligence has been collected and analyzed against some of the most difficult intelligence targets, especially Iraq.
To win the war on terror, we will correct what needs to be fixed and build on what the commission calls "solid intelligence successes." These include the uncovering of Libya's nuclear and missile programs.
In Pakistan our intelligence helped expose and shut down the world's most dangerous nuclear proliferation network.
Where we have had success, the commission reports we have seen innovative collection techniques and a fusion of interagency intelligence capabilities.
We must work to replicate these successes in other areas.
BUSH: The men and women of our intelligence community work hard, and the sacrifices they have made have helped protect America. And our nation is grateful for their hard work.
The work they are doing is critical. We need to prevent terrorists from getting their hands on the weapons of mass murder they would like to use against our citizens.
The work of our intelligence community is extremely difficult work. Every day, dangerous regimes are working to prevent us from uncovering their programs and their possible relationships with terrorists.
BUSH: And the work intelligence men and women do is, by nature, secret, which is why the American people never hear about many of their successes. I'm proud of the efforts of our intelligence workers. I am proud of their commitment to the security of our country. And the American people should be proud too.
And that's why this report is important. It'll enable these fine men and women to do their jobs in better fashion, to be able to more likely accomplish their mission, which is to protect the American people. And that's why I'm grateful to the commission for this hard work.
The president and his national security team must have intelligence that is timely and intelligence that is accurate.
In their report today, the commission points out that America needs to know much more about the weapons programs and intentions of our most dangerous adversaries. They've given us useful and important guidance that will help us transform our intelligence capabilities for the needs of a dangerous new century. In other words, we need to adjust.
BUSH: We need to understand the threats and adjust our capabilities to meet those threats.
We will work to give our intelligence professionals the tools they need.
Our collection and analysis of intelligence will never be perfect, but in an age where our margin for error is getting smaller, in an age in which we are at war, the consequences of underestimating a threat could be tens of thousands of innocent lives. And my administration will continue to make intelligence reforms that will allow us to identify threats before they fully emerge so we can take effective action to protect the American people.
I'm grateful for your hard work.
And now the chairman of the commission and the co-chair of the commission have agreed to answer your questions.
KAGAN: A brief statement from President Bush, actually two statements, one that was not expected. He started this news conference in the statement on the death of Terri Schiavo. Once again, if you haven't been following our rolling coverage, Terri Schiavo, we're getting word, died today at 9:05 a.m. Eastern. And President Bush closely following and getting involved in the efforts in trying to have a feeding tube reinserted.
More from President Bush in a little bit. But the main part of this news conference of course was about this presidential commission that he called together to look at the failure of the intelligence community in gathering information on weapons of mass destruction, leading up to the Iraq war. It is a 607-page report that is scathing in its assessment of the intelligence agency, saying basically that their information, quote, "was dead wrong" in most of their judgments about Iraq's weapons of mass destruction before the U.S. invaded a couple years ago. President Bush defending that, saying that it is his job to make sure that he does not underestimate the threat of what faces the United States overseas and here.
Let's get back to our Terri Schiavo story. Once again, just about 2 1/2 hours ago, Terri Schiavo dying 15 years after she collapsed in other own home and 14 days after the feeding tube was removed.
Our Anderson Cooper is in Pinellas Park. This is where the hospice has been that Terri Schiavo has been for so long and where she spent her final moments -- Anderson.
ANDERSON COOPER, CNN CORRESPONDENT; Yes, Daryn, as you said, Terri Schiavo dying at 9:05 a.m. Eastern Time this morning. Some 14 days, nearly two weeks, after her feeding tube was removed. No food, no water for these last two weeks. We -- there is still a lot we don't know exactly what transpired this morning. The main issue that a lot of people have been trying to get an answer to is whether Michael Schiavo was actually by her side when she died. Michael Schiavo of course has been by her side throughout much of this time. It's been a point of contention with the Schindler family, because he controls access to Terri, though how long people are allowed to stay with her, who gets to actually see her.
CNN's David Mattingly joins me now with some exclusive information. You think you've answered that question, whether Michael Schiavo was there or not.
DAVID MATTINGLY, CNN CORRESPONDENT: I was with John Centonze, who was the brother of Michael Schiavo's fiance, of the mother of his two children. I was there at the time in Tampa when he received the phone call, receiving the bad news about Terri's passing. He tells me the entire family is taking this very hard. He says that the brother of Michael Schiavo tells him that Michael was in the room at the time of Terri's passing. So that from the Schiavo family right now. So....
COOPER: Were you -- what time were you with him today?
MATTINGLY: You know, things were happening so quickly I didn't look at my watch at the time of that phone call, but we were there when that phone call came in, and we did have our cameras rolling at the time, and we will play that for you now.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
JOHN CENTONZE, JODY CENTONZE'S BROTHER: All right. All right, man. All right. Bye.
Everybody is crying. He was crying. She got the call from Mike, and told her, and she just broke down crying. So I guess she was taking her daughter to school.
MATTINGLY: This is really affecting you. You're getting goose bumps on your arms.
CENTONZE: Yes. It's sad. It's really sad. But I'm happy for Terri. But it's still sad all the way around. I know Mike is very upset. And my sister is crying. So it's very emotional. It's been a long, long hard fight. But I believe she's happy, Terri is probably happy now, you know, To be free and not be in -- shown all over TV and -- I would imagine if that was me, I'd be very embarrassed having everybody looking at my picture, laying there, can't speak to anybody. But it's going to be very hard for everybody right now.
MATTINGLY: Through this entire thing, what has been the toughest thing for your family to put up with?
CENTONZE: Everybody getting in your face with false accusations and threats. I'm sure it's not going to go away anytime soon, just people just don't know the facts. I mean people hear what they want to hear, you know, without ever being there or without ever seeing her. You know, it's a grapevine thing -- one person says something that just goes through and everybody takes it for fact, and that's not how it's been.
MATTINGLY: How do you believe Michael is handling this right now?
CENTONZE: Right now? He's probably beside himself right now. He's just from the phone call that I got that Mike was very emotional and his brother could hardly understand what he was saying, he was just in tears. You know, it's been a long time coming, and even though reality is hitting him right now, it's hard. I mean he truly loved that woman a lot, and you know, to turn down millions of dollars shows you, it wasn't about the money, you know. He swore that he would follow out what she wanted, and he did it, no matter what, no matter what anybody said. No matter how much anybody badmouthed him, he stood by her side until the end.
MATTINGLY: You never actually met her, did you?
CENTONZE: I've seen her. I've seen her and my wife has...
MATTINGLY: But not prior...
CENTONZE: Not before, no. Not when she was up and around, I never saw her.
MATTINGLY: And yet at her passing, I can tell you're very upset by it.
CENTONZE: It's -- I mean I've -- I seem to know so much about her and listened to all the stories Mike has told me about things that they've done, or what they wanted to do. I feel like i've known her for 15 years, you know. It's very hard.
MATTINGLY: What has his life been for the past week?
CENTONZE: His life's been hell. Just I know a lot of things on TV he tried not to watch, because people would badmouth him. That's why he didn't want to go public with any of this. But it came to a point where he had no choice. People can just call you so many names and badmouth you so much, until you just can't take it anymore. And that's what this whole thing turned into, is just a lot of publicity from the other side, and you can only take so much, and you got to stand up for yourself. I mean, for the last few years, this has just been driving me crazy, not being able to speak out and say anything? But Mike just wanted it to be private. He thought, you know, nobody else should have any say so in it, especially, you know, the government.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
MATTINGLY: Anderson, the most remarkable statement I think he made, you could see how shaken up he was. He said that he was -- felt very close to her because of all the stories he's been hearing from Michael Schiavo about Terri Schiavo for past 15 years. So Michael Schiavo's new family still very much a part of her passing today.
COOPER: Fascinating. And amazing that you were actually there when he received the phone call. There has been so much bitterness, so much division in this family. There is no chance this family is going to get together, going to heal in anyway.
MATTINGLY: It doesn't appear to be, and we've been talking to them over the days, over several days, the Centonze family and the Schiavo family, made a very conscious decision to handle this privately. That's why they have not been out in front of the cameras. That's why they have not been engaging in some of the things that have been said on camera about them, and they say possibly some time in the future they might be doing that. The family does have some plans to rally, to gather together at some undisclosed location to get away from all the activity that's going on. We don't know when that's going to happen, but they will be gathering to share in their grief. COOPER: And no doubt today, more protesters will be gathering here at site of Terri Schiavo's hospice. Susan Candiotti standing by at the county coroner's office where the two white vans that we have been following that have left from the hospice have arrived.
Susan, what can you tell us?
SUSAN CANDIOTTI, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Anderson, about 2 1/2 hours after Terri Schiavo's death, the white van did pull up to the medical examiner's office here. That would be about 15 minutes ago. It was a very solemn occasion, and of course it happened very quickly. But the van did arrive under police motorcycle escort, pulled up to the entrance, a private unmarked entrance here at the medical examiner's office, and paused as a tall, steel door slowly opened so that the van could pull inside.
You will remember that on Monday of this week, George Felos, who represents the husband, Michael Schiavo, announced that Michael did decide that in fact there would be an autopsy for his wife in an effort to try to determine the extent of damage to her brain. He also announced the autopsy would be performed by the chief medical examiner, by the name of Jean Claude Parks (ph) here, very well- regarded in this area and nationwide. And following that, there will be cremation. We are not certain exactly where that will happen, then burial would be followed, according to Michael Schiavo, the husband, back in Pennsylvania, his family home -- Anderson.
COOPER: Susan, even where Terri Schiavo is laid to rest, the Schindlers saying they did not want her cremated. They said it goes against their Catholic faith. They said they wanted her buried in Florida near where they lived, but it is definite that she is going to be cremated, and return to Pennsylvania where she was born, where Michael Schiavo and her met.
Anderson, that would appear to be the case, and though it is against the wishes of the Schindler family, because of their beliefs, the Catholic faith, that she not be cremated. It is, however, acceptable in the Catholic faith to do so. Yes, the Schindler family would prefer -- wanted to see her not be cremated, to remain here in Florida, near their family home, so that they could in fact visit her more frequently. But in fact she will be interred in Pennsylvania. That is the plan.
We have of course called a number of times the medical examiner's office to seek official confirmation that this is Terri Schiavo. However, it is quite clear that the van having arrived under motorcycle and heavy police escort, it's widely believed it's her. And the sheriff's office spokesman said while he couldn't confirm, he couldn't deny it either.
Back to you.
COOPER: Susan, we've just gotten confirmation there is going to be a press conference at 2:30 at the office of George Felos. That is Michael Schiavo's attorney. I spoke to Mr. Felos two night ago, who talked about Terri Schiavo's condition, talked about the calmness in the room where she was laying, talked about her being at peace.
All along of course there are two very different sides of this story. What we've been hearing from George Felos has been in stark contrast to what we've been hearing from the Schindlers, from Terri Schiavo's parents and her brother. They say Terri Schiavo has been calling out asking, begging for her life to be saved. So there are two very different sides to this story. As we've noted, this protest area is largely people who support the Schindlers. The Schindler side of the story, that Michael Schiavo has been spending most of his time inside with Terri Schiavo. He hasn't been in the last two weeks or so appearing before the cameras. George Felos has really been his voice to the public, and a voice that we will be bringing to you live at 2:30 this afternoon.
Susan, if you're still there, at the coroner's office, are there any protesters? I mean, is there any public gathered there?
CANDIOTTI: Not at all, but they certainly appear to have been prepared for that. The parking lot is cordoned off. There is a very small area. You cannot drive into the main entrance. As a matter of fact, the van arrived here by a driveway way in the back. And so there are, however, several sheriff's deputies who are standing by here on guard at the entrance where the van pulled, at the front door, at the driveway. Other than that, it is only us and a handful of other people who are watching events as they unfold.
COOPER: And Susan, you've been following Terri Schiavo's long, sad journey, not just this, her journey to -- what seems to be her journey to the coroner's office, but this medical journey that she has been on, this struggle that has been gone over her for so long. Any sense now of time frame? I mean, what are we talking about? We know there's going to be an autopsy. How long before that begins? How long before she is cremated?
CANDIOTTI: Well, certainly, they were anticipating this. No surprise, so this will be scheduled. I would not be surprised if the autopsy took place immediately. And of course, the length of time can vary. But certainly to get some preliminary results doesn't take long. But after that, it can take one to two weeks for very precise test results to become available. Exactly when that will be, of course we don't know. But we certainly hope and expect to hear something from the medical examiner's office folks here at some point later this morning or this afternoon.
COOPER: Susan, I'd like to you stay on line. I also wanted to bring back in CNN's David Mattingly in a moment, because both of you have been covering this story for so long, following the ins and outs, and there have been so many ins and outs to this. I'd like to just get some of your perspectives both of this.
David, this battle over the body, I mean, it has taken on -- it is just one more point of contention between these two sides of the family.
DAVID MATTINGLY, CNN CORRESPONDENT: And it was a point of contention that the court got involved with. The judge in this case decided that Michael Schiavo's plans for Terri Schiavo after her death were consistent with Roman Catholicism. He approved of those plans, and he felt that Michael Schiavo had the right to decided to do this. And that's what they're going through with right now. The family -- a family member we talked to earlier today was saying that those plans have not changed at all, that there are still plans for the autopsy, the cremation and then the burial at the Schiavo family plot in Pennsylvania, not here in Florida as the Schindlers had wanted.
COOPER: Michael Schiavo has come under a lot of criticism for what his detractors have called his new life, his life with his fiancee. He has two children by her. What is that life like? I mean, you've talked to members of that side of the family.
MATTINGLY: We're told that it is a very loving relationship. In fact, his future brother-in-law was telling us that he feels that the way he treats -- Michael Schiavo treats his sister is the way he might have treated Terri. And for that reason, he feels very sorry for her passing, knows that she might have been a very, very wonderful person because of that.
COOPER: All right, David Mattingly, thank you very much. And Susan Candiotti, thanks very much.
Let's go back to Daryn Kagan now in Atlanta. Daryn.
KAGAN: Anderson, thank you. We'll be back to you shortly.
I have with me here in the studio Reverend Jesse Jackson. You've been of counsel to the Schindler family in recent days. When was the last time that you met with them or spoke with them?
REV. JESSE JACKSON, RAINBOW PUSH COALITION: Late yesterday we met. We had prayer together. As a matter of fact, Anderson was in the room when we...
KAGAN: He was talking about a very moving prayer that you conducted with the Schindler family. Was that a private moment, or are you able to share with us what that prayer was about?
JACKSON: Well, it was for them to lean on their faith and not to their own understanding, because how can one explain this? The pain of it. And that's for faith. But faith is the substance of things hoped for, evidence of things unseen. Lean to their faith. I shared with them the experience of Dr. King Sr. At one time he said to me and a group of us, he said, Jesse, you know, I lost my son Martin, Dr. King. I loved him so much. He had done so much for so many people. He was my namesake. I became be obsessed with his passing. I went to the grave site every day.
KAGAN: This is Martin Luther King Jr.'s father telling you this story.
JACKSON: Uh-huh. He said, and my focus on him is as if I forgot my other children. And one day, A.D., my next son, was found drowned, and he was dead. Before I could adjust to that, my wife playing an organ in church on a Sunday morning was killed. He said, but I'm going to thank God for what's left. And I have a lot left. I have left another daughter, and I have grandchildren left. And so he couched his pain in looking at what he'd lost, what he had left, and moving on.
And so I said to the Schindlers, you're losing Terri, but you have another daughter, another son. And have you each other. And now Terri has a legacy perhaps of health care policy for the country. So she is leaving you with an amazing legacy of service, because even as she is dying now, I said, she's healing people. We're thinking about the other 30,000 Terris. We're thinking about long-term health care. We're thinking about hospice health care.
KAGAN: Don't you think her legacy is much longer than just long- term health care. There is a spiritual legacy. There is a family legacy. You can't even count the number of families in recent weeks that have sat down and talked about what their final wishes are and have put it in writing. Isn't that ultimately Terri Schiavo's legacy?
JACKSON: You're right. That why, as I say, we're healed by strifes. By her strife, by her pain, thousands have been healed, and have had -- many more have been getting their living wills the last few weeks because of Terri. Others have looked at family squabbles and said, let's come to grips with this thing while we can, because as painful as it was these last few years, and then the last few weeks, the fact that the family now wants her body in Florida and a funeral, and Michael chooses to use his authority to have her cremated and take her to Pennsylvania, that's the ultimate tough one. I just hope somehow that Michael and that family could do a miraculous thing and choose some common ground and let her have this stage of her being and peace.
KAGAN: If there is any indication of just how divided this family is, of how bitter things have become, of just how sad this is, it is that the family cannot agree on what the funeral arrangements for Terri Schiavo will be.
Reverend Jackson, thank you. I'm sure we'll talk with you throughout the morning, throughout the afternoon here on CNN.
JACKSON: Thank you. And let all of us remain prayerful.
KAGAN: Thank you, sir.
I'm Daryn Kagan. We've been with you for the last two hours looking at the legacy and the life and ultimately the death of Terri Schiavo. We expect to hear from Michael Schiavo's attorney, George Felos, in about 2 1/2 hours. You'll see those comments live here on CNN.
Our coverage continues with my colleague, Wolf Blitzer, in Washington, D.C.
TO ORDER A VIDEO OF THIS TRANSCRIPT, PLEASE CALL 800-CNN-NEWS OR USE OUR SECURE ONLINE ORDER FORM LOCATED AT www.fdch.com
