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House Majority Leader Tom Delay Fires Back Over Latest Reports Questioning His Actions and Ethics

Aired April 07, 2005 - 11:30   ET

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

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


DARYN KAGAN, CNN ANCHOR: First, a story that is developing out of Maryland. Authorities are investigating whether shootings that left at least two people injured are related. Schools around Salisbury, Maryland are in a lockdown situation as a precaution. Two shooting scenes are near an elementary school. Police are looking into incidents in Delaware that may or may not be connected.
A Georgia toddler is on the mend after he was thrown from a moving truck and then run over. It happened as police tried to serve a warrant on two men in the truck. The child's relationship to the men isn't clear at this point. Police are questioning the parents.

A funeral today for a Marine who survived the Iraq war, but was shot dead in a traffic altercation. Witnesses say the Marine got out of his car to confront another motorist when the shooting occurred in Atlanta. He was hit point blank in the face. A suspect is in custody.

And a pair of 16-year-old girls are in custody in Pennsylvania today. "The New York Times" said the teens are accused of planning a suicide attack. The girls are said to be in the country illegally, one from Bangladesh, the other from Guinea. Relatives called the arrest a big misunderstanding, saying the FBI misinterpreted a school essay.

RICK SANCHEZ, CNN ANCHOR: Possibly a billion or more people around the world are going to be preparing to watch the funeral mass for the pope. Church leaders say almost two million people have passed by the body of Pope John Paul II. Now the Vatican released the pope's will today. The document reveals the pope considered a funeral in his native Poland. In the end, John Paul left the decision to the cardinals, though. The Vatican reopened lines to the mourners today, allowing a few thousand more people to view the pope's body, pilgrims, as they're often called. And Rome is expecting some five million people this week. Traffic is not going to be allowed in the city during the funeral, and there's a no-fly zone that's going to be in effect for commercial and private aircraft as well.

The president and Mrs. Bush have visited the Vatican to pay respects to the pope. They were accompanied by the first President Bush and former President Bill Clinton as well. Today the president is hosting a reception for American church officials who are attending a private dinner with Italy's prime minister.

CNN's going to bring you extensive coverage of the funeral of Pope John Paul II. Our seven hours of live coverage begins tomorrow at 3:00 a.m. Eastern Time -- Daryn.

KAGAN: House majority leader Tom Delay fires back over the latest reports questioning his actions and his ethics. He says it's all just an attempt to twist the truth.

Congressional correspondent Ed Henry is here with me with details, or I guess I should say I'm here with you; I'm in your town.

ED HENRY, CNN CONGRESSIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Yes, welcome to Washington.

KAGAN: Thank you.

HENRY: Well, you know, Tom Delay was rebuked by the House Ethics Committee three times last year. Three of his associates have been indicted on campaign finance charges down in Texas, and now the heat on the majority leader is growing even more intense.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

HENRY (voice-over): House Republicans trotted out a fake barbell to try and promote the heavy lifting they're doing on President Bush's legislative agenda.

Instead, they're hit with questions about whether the ethical controversy swirling around their leader, Tom Delay, are weighing their party down.

REP. ROY BLUNT (R), MAJORITY WHIP: The support for the leader is strong, and I don't see any waning of the support for the leader.

HENRY: But at a closed-door meeting of Republicans, three Delay allies stood up and urged colleagues to rally around him. Two sources said the applause was good, but not overwhelming, a sign Republicans are nervous the allegations may hurt them in next year's election.

The latest source of angst, a story in "The Washington Post," alleging lobbyists for Russian business interest secretly paid for the majority leader's 1997 trip to Moscow. That would be a clear violation of House rules.

In an exclusive off-camera interview with CNN, Delay said he thought the trip was paid for by a conservative thinktank, which is permissible. Delay said he was -- quote -- "not responsible for going into the bowels of researching how the trip was funded." Delay also said the liberal media is out to get him, and added, what's going on here is a concerted effort to twist the truth to make it look seedy. And it's just not true."

The latest revelation comes on the heels of allegations Delay allowed lobbyists to improperly bankroll two other overseas trips.

REP. NANCY PELOSI (D), MINORITY LEADER: It's not about a trip; it's about a pattern of behavior.

HENRY: A far more ominous attack came when the conservative "Wall Street Journal" editorialized that there's an unsavory whiff of odor around the majority leader.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

HENRY: Liberal attacks on Tom Delay only help him rally his political base and solidify his power. But if more conservatives join "The Wall Street Journal" in holding the majority leader's feet to the fire, he could be in some real political trouble -- Daryn.

KAGAN: Well, since I came to your town, I decided I have a couple of Ed Henry questions for the day?

HENRY: In person.

KAGAN: Yes, in person.

The first one deals with this memo that we now know comes out of Senator Mel Martinez' office. It goes back to the Terri Schiavo story, which you're very familiar with, because you were in the state capital. Basically a political memo that said the fight over the removing Schiavo's feeding tube is a great political issue, and a tough issue for Democrats. News of the day, comes out of Mel Martinez' office. He's fired an aide who allegedly wrote this.

Ed Henry question -- what's the big deal?

HENRY: The big deal here is that Republicans were really under fire when they were handling that emergency legislation, because this memo suggested that they were doing the Schiavo legislation for political purposes. As you mentioned, they kept insisting no, and they also suggested this have been a hoax, that maybe the democrats had a little political dirty trick here, and we've seen a lot of blogs out there saying that basically this was a fake memo, maybe it was like CBS documents on the National Guard story, and everyone was running around to figured it all out.

I think it's a footnote to the entire Schiavo story. But it was a big political battle, and now we learned it, in fact, was a Republican talking points memo. It was drafted by an aide to Senator Mel Martinez, the former cabinet secretary. As you mentioned, that staffer has now resigned his job, and it's a pretty big political black eye for the Republicans, and I think, again, it's just going to be a footnote in the long run. But it's not a good day for the Republicans on that.

KAGAN: But here's what I don't get it, when I look at it, it just seems -- is this town just too sensitive. It just seems the fight over removing Schiavo's tube, it was a political issue, it did come up, and the Democrats did have a tough time with it. I think a lot of people felt they didn't speak up like they should have.

HENRY: The bottom line is that Tom Delay and other top Republicans who were pushing this legislation insisted that politics played no role in the debate. They were just trying to save Terri Schiavo's life. This memo said Republicans felt, in fact, it was going to rally their political base. This was going to be a big issue for them in the 2006 election. The other flip side of this that's kind of interesting, is that whether or not the Republicans intended it to be a political benefit, the polls now show that overwhelmingly across the country, the American people feel it was a big political loser for the Republicans; they should have stayed out of it. So sometimes the best-laid plans don't exactly work out.

KAGAN: Let's talk about the plans we had last night -- two of, what, 3,000 people in a ballroom here, the Radio and Television Correspondence Dinner. This is a dinner that honors what your beat is.

HENRY: It was a lot of fun. I mean, the bottom line is, this year, there was a little less fun, because there was a lot of talk of course about Peter Jennings just this week saying and revealing he had cancer, and also Vice President Cheney was the big speaker, and he spoke a lot about Pope John Paul II passing away. In fact the president could not attend the dinner last night. A lot of Senate and House leaders couldn't because they were at the funeral, so it was a little less fun.

KAGAN: As you say, the vice president pinch hitting for the president. He did try to inject a little bit of humor. It is part of the tradition. Let's listen to what the vice president had to say.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

DICK CHENEY, VICE PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: I don't want you to get worried, but just the other day I had this strange feeling in my chest, I found myself short of breath, shaking uncontrollably. I couldn't figure out what was going on. And then Lynn explained, she said, Dick, that's called laughing.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

KAGAN: That got a big yuk. The vice president thought he wasn't that funny. At one point, he says, I don't do funny.

It was fun evening. It's great to be in your town. And Thanks for getting up early and coming and talking with us.

HENRY: Thanks a lot.

KAGAN: And answering all of the Ed Henry questions.

HENRY: Great.

KAGAN: Rick, back to you in Atlanta.

SANCHEZ: But I saw you yesterday. As a matter of fact, you know, I can't say exactly where I saw you, because it's another network and we're not allowed to talk about here, so I'll just say the initials were CSPAN.

KAGAN: CSPAN, yes, they were all over the place. Yes, it was a fun night. SANCHEZ: Take care, Daryn. You looked great, by the way.

KAGAN: Thank you.

SANCHEZ: Well, here's another story that we're following for you. Actually this is a development on a story that Daryn had told you about just a while ago, and this is some good news coming out of that story. We're now told you that those schools that Daryn had told you were in lockdown mode in a place called Wicomico (ph) County, Maryland, those schools have now been reopened once again. This all stems from a shooting in two states, interestingly enough, Maryland and Delaware, the police are investigating, shooting that injured as many as four people, but the big news hit out of this, is those schools that were closed down are now reopen. Student were not affected. Students were not injured. It was more a precaution than anything else.

Well, the biggest and the best golf stars are waiting to tee off at the Master's golf tournament. Today's round and the weather is coming up next.

Also, a royal wedding just two days away and there's been already a security breach claimed. More on this royal embarrassment, if you can call it that, right after the break.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

KAGAN: The azaleas are the blooming; the thunder, though, is booming in Augusta, Georgia, today. The 69th Masters Golf Tournament tees off this afternoon in Georgia, several hours late. Despite the downpours, Tiger Woods is looking to end his drought. He hasn't won a major since the U.S. Open in 2002. Woods and the other fab five, Ernie Els, Vijay Singh, Phil, Mickelson, are all at or near the top of their game. Retief Goosen, we're going to put up there as well.

Well, he never won a Masters, but Walter Hagen was the Babe Ruth of golf. Veteran sports writer Tom Clavin's new back is called "Sir Walter Hagen and the Invention of Professional Golf." Joining me live now from New York City. Good morning.

TOM CLAVIN, AUTHOR, "WALTER HAGEN": Good morning. Thanks for having me here.

KAGAN: So Walter Hagen was a big-time pro before there were big- time pros and million dollar purses.

CLAVIN: Well, you never hear the word revolutionary and trailblazer and pioneer necessarily associated with golfers, but Walter Hagen was all that. He was the one who invented the profession of being a golfer, going out there, making a living by playing golf. And he's directly responsible for what we know today as the PGA Tour.

KAGAN: And how is that? Because back in the day when he was running around playing golf, trying to make a living at it, it wasn't -- not only was it a superstar way to earn your living, it was kind of looked down upon. CLAVIN: Yes, amateurs ruled the day. Bobby Jones being the most famous one. And so in that respect, being a professional golfer might not have been the best career path if you wanted respect. But Walter Hagen wanted to have fun, he wanted to make money. One of his most famous sayings is I never wanted to be a millionaire, I just wanted to live like one, and he sure did. He was the first to make a million, he was the first to spend a million. And he had a great time doing it.

KAGAN: Let's have some fun. Let's bring him from the 1920s into the present. Let's enter him in this year's Masters, the 69th Masters. What was the strength of his game, and how would he match up against this field?

CLAVIN: He was not a very good driver off the tee. He was kind of awkward. So he wouldn't be competing off the tee with people like Woods and Mickelson and Els and those long hitters. But he was a great recovery shot artist. If he got into trouble, he was the first person to get out of trouble. He was an excellent putter. I think he would have done very well at the Masters Golf Course.

KAGAN: Which sounds kind of like his lifestyle, as well. He sounds like he was a little bit of a wild man?

CLAVIN: He was. One the legends about him is that he would show up at the first tee the next morning still in his tuxedo from the night before. Sometimes that was true. Sometimes, as a psychological ploy, he would, in his hotel room,throw a tuxedo up against a wall a few times and then change into it and have his driver take him out to the course.

KAGAN: Can I pick your brain, Tom, on this year's Masters field?

CLAVIN: Yes.

KAGAN: OK. If it ever stops raining, would you like Phil Mickelson to repeat?

CLAVIN: I'd like Phil Mickelson to repeat. I -- the thing is with Phil Mickelson, as much as I like him as a golfer, I think a lot of people last year, after the Masters, thought that he was going to build on that and become an even bigger golfer and win another Major. He hasn't done that. And fresh in everybody's minds is that head-to- head loss to Tiger Woods at Doral, so...

KAGAN: But look what he did just last week at the BellSouth in Atlanta. A five-way playoff and he pulled it off.

CLAVIN: Oh, no, he can pull off play-offs like that. And I'd like him to win the Masters, and he's not the only one. There are several other people who I think would be great Masters champions. If Phil repeats, I'll be very happy for him.

KAGAN: Well, what about Tiger and putting on the green jacket again? CLAVIN: I think Tiger Woods has a really good chance because he seems to have revived his game. And I think he's going to thrive. I mean, we're talking about the four now and then throwing Retief Goosen in there. I think he's going to thrive on the increased competition. He -- in a lot of ways, when he was dominating, nobody challenged him that much. Now they're all saying Tiger is beatable.

KAGAN: Just really quickly, give me one name to watch for who I'm not expecting to see make a showing at Augusta?

CLAVIN: One name to go? I would say Padraig Harrington. I think he's got a good game and I think he's been playing very well and I think he's got a good chance.

KAGAN: Well, there are a lot of golf fanatics out there. I know personally from that, Tom Clavin, I think a lot of people are going to enjoy your book about Walter Hagen. Once again, it's "Walter Hagen and the Invention of Professional Golf." Good luck with the book and thanks for your golf insight.

CLAVIN: Thank you very much.

SANCHEZ: Good stuff. Fascinating interview. Good job, Daryn.

Well, just as the British royal family prepares for Charles' and Camilla's wedding this weekend, a tabloid has come out with a report saying that it can pull off a royal breach. What do we mean? You'll know when we come back.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

SANCHEZ: Welcome back to CNN LIVE TODAY. I'm Rick Sanchez. Jane Fonda's 67 years on the planet have been so eventful, they probably could fill a book. In fact, they have, and it's titled "My Life So Far." The actress readily admits one singular, regrettable moment from her past will probably haunt her to her grave and you probably can figure out that was, in the Vietnam era. She spoke at last night with CNN's Larry King.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

JANE FONDA, AUTHOR, "MY LIFE SO FAR": I'm sorry that I was photographed sitting on an anti-aircraft gun. To me, that image made soldiers think that I was against American soldiers, and I had spent two years prior to going there working with soldiers. They brought me into the antiwar movement. It was what I had heard from them and learned from them that turned me against the war. Because before that, I came to the anti-war movement really late. I thought that it was -- I neatly compartmentalized it, and not wanted to admit that it was very different than the war my father had fought in, and I spent two years trying to help and support antiwar GIs and returning Vietnam veterans.

And I opened an office in Washington called the G.I. Office, and then eventually I made "Coming Home."

(END VIDEOTAPE)

SANCHEZ: Fonda's newest movie, by the way, is a comedy. It's called "Monster-In-Law." It's her first film, we should add, in 15 years -- Daryn.

KAGAN: Just days weeks Prince Charles and Camilla Parker Bowles royal wedding, a tabloid claims to have pulled off a major security breach at Windsor Castle. It wasn't a real scare, but British authorities are furious all the same. A London tabloid used a rented truck said a reporter easily drove by guards and on to the place grounds. "The Sun" newspaper claims there was a box in the van marked "bomb," and it was able to drive perilously close to the royal chapel and the queen's apartment. Needless to say, royal security is now under intense scrutiny today.

Well, that wedding was originally scheduled for Friday. It delayed out of respect for the pope's funeral. Now the weather is threatening to shower the couple with rain on Saturday.

CNN.com reporter Veronica De La Cruz has more now on the star- crossed royal lovers and the CNN.com coverage of the royal wedding.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

VERONICA DE LA CRUZ, CNN CORRESPONDENT: After a 35-year history together, they will finally tie the knot. CNN.com takes a walk down the aisle for the royal wedding of Prince Charles and Camilla Parker Bowles.

With a relationship that practically defines star-crossed lovers, the two first met at a polo match in 1970. The story is a case of romantic history repeating. It said that Camilla's great grandmother was a longtime mistress of the great, great grandfather of Charles.

Charles and Camilla's history is chronicled in this timeline at CNN.com/royalwedding.

But who is this woman that stole the heart of the man set to be the king of England? In this profile, learn more about Camilla Parker-Bowles. Princess Diana often blamed her for the failure of her own marriage to Charles, but Camilla played a part in encouraging the match between the two. The prince is said to have proposed to Diana in Camilla's vegetable garden.

Britons have been long divided over whether Charles should be married. His announcement of the wedding plans didn't come without controversy. How do you feel about the wedding of Charles and Camilla? you can log on and weigh in on our interactive polls. From the dot-com newsdesk in Atlanta, I'm Veronica De La Cruz.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

KAGAN: If you didn't get your invitation in the mail, CNN is the place to keep tabs on the royal nuptials. Our special coverage begins Saturday morning at 6:00 a.m. Eastern, 3:00 a.m. Pacific. SANCHEZ: We've got breaking news that's just now coming into us. It's coming out of the area around Dallas, Texas, or the greater Dallas area. It's information regarding a shooting at a school. We're told it's taking place at Campton High School. There you see the map that we have put together for you. We are being told at that football coach at the school has been shot. The football coach at Campton High School has been shot. The information coming in from one of our affiliates. That's WFAA. We're told now, although we don't have specifics about his condition, only that he has been wounded.

Again, a shooting that has broken out there in the Dallas area at Campton High School, a story that we're just now starting to see some of the pictures coming in. These are live pictures, as you can see, of the school, and oftentimes, in situations like this, the schools are locked down so that students can't possibility be injured as they're either trying to get out of the area. Adult supervision is obviously forwarded at the time by some of the teachers in the area. We don't know if that's the case here. We do see some people outside the school. Don't know if those are school administrators, or parents that, obviously, in cases like this usually rush to the school to try to see what is going on.

We're trying to see if possibly we can get information from some of the authorities there to see exactly how they have been dealing with it. Usually, in cases like this, authorities are rushed to the scene. And by now, most large municipal areas in a city like Dallas would certainly have its own police force within the schools. It's usually called school resource officers that usually work either through the city or the country. They would be the ones who would have jurisdiction in a case like this. And their usually a school resource officer that's assigned to the school, and may have been there when this took place.

Obviously, these are important questions that need to be asked at this point, but they may be the ones who would have the better handle on this. The information that's coming into us right now, though, is the following, at Campton High School in Dallas, or the greater Dallas area, there has been a shooting. One person we know has been shot. It's the football coach. He has been injured. He has been wounded. That's the report that's coming in. Obviously, a story that we're going to stay on top of for you and bring you details as they come in.

Once again these pictures now from KDFW, although some of the information that we've been sharing with you have been coming in from our other affiliate WFAA.

(WEATHER REPORT)

SANCHEZ: From Atlanta, I'm Rick Sanchez.

KAGAN: And I'm Daryn Kagan in Washington D.C.

Before I let you go, Rick, I have to tell our viewers to see you. We're going have to start watching primetime, because you're going to go be a primetime contributor. It's been a fun six months having you hang with us in the morning. SANCHEZ: I can't tell you how much I've learned from you. I really appreciate it, Daryn. And I'm sure we're be able to work together a little bit more, but in the meantime, just call me primetime.

KAGAN: You got it, primetime Sanchez.

Wolf Blitzer is noon Wolf Blitzer. He's coming up just after this break. I'll see you tomorrow from Atlanta.

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 April 7, 2005 - 11:30   ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
DARYN KAGAN, CNN ANCHOR: First, a story that is developing out of Maryland. Authorities are investigating whether shootings that left at least two people injured are related. Schools around Salisbury, Maryland are in a lockdown situation as a precaution. Two shooting scenes are near an elementary school. Police are looking into incidents in Delaware that may or may not be connected.
A Georgia toddler is on the mend after he was thrown from a moving truck and then run over. It happened as police tried to serve a warrant on two men in the truck. The child's relationship to the men isn't clear at this point. Police are questioning the parents.

A funeral today for a Marine who survived the Iraq war, but was shot dead in a traffic altercation. Witnesses say the Marine got out of his car to confront another motorist when the shooting occurred in Atlanta. He was hit point blank in the face. A suspect is in custody.

And a pair of 16-year-old girls are in custody in Pennsylvania today. "The New York Times" said the teens are accused of planning a suicide attack. The girls are said to be in the country illegally, one from Bangladesh, the other from Guinea. Relatives called the arrest a big misunderstanding, saying the FBI misinterpreted a school essay.

RICK SANCHEZ, CNN ANCHOR: Possibly a billion or more people around the world are going to be preparing to watch the funeral mass for the pope. Church leaders say almost two million people have passed by the body of Pope John Paul II. Now the Vatican released the pope's will today. The document reveals the pope considered a funeral in his native Poland. In the end, John Paul left the decision to the cardinals, though. The Vatican reopened lines to the mourners today, allowing a few thousand more people to view the pope's body, pilgrims, as they're often called. And Rome is expecting some five million people this week. Traffic is not going to be allowed in the city during the funeral, and there's a no-fly zone that's going to be in effect for commercial and private aircraft as well.

The president and Mrs. Bush have visited the Vatican to pay respects to the pope. They were accompanied by the first President Bush and former President Bill Clinton as well. Today the president is hosting a reception for American church officials who are attending a private dinner with Italy's prime minister.

CNN's going to bring you extensive coverage of the funeral of Pope John Paul II. Our seven hours of live coverage begins tomorrow at 3:00 a.m. Eastern Time -- Daryn.

KAGAN: House majority leader Tom Delay fires back over the latest reports questioning his actions and his ethics. He says it's all just an attempt to twist the truth.

Congressional correspondent Ed Henry is here with me with details, or I guess I should say I'm here with you; I'm in your town.

ED HENRY, CNN CONGRESSIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Yes, welcome to Washington.

KAGAN: Thank you.

HENRY: Well, you know, Tom Delay was rebuked by the House Ethics Committee three times last year. Three of his associates have been indicted on campaign finance charges down in Texas, and now the heat on the majority leader is growing even more intense.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

HENRY (voice-over): House Republicans trotted out a fake barbell to try and promote the heavy lifting they're doing on President Bush's legislative agenda.

Instead, they're hit with questions about whether the ethical controversy swirling around their leader, Tom Delay, are weighing their party down.

REP. ROY BLUNT (R), MAJORITY WHIP: The support for the leader is strong, and I don't see any waning of the support for the leader.

HENRY: But at a closed-door meeting of Republicans, three Delay allies stood up and urged colleagues to rally around him. Two sources said the applause was good, but not overwhelming, a sign Republicans are nervous the allegations may hurt them in next year's election.

The latest source of angst, a story in "The Washington Post," alleging lobbyists for Russian business interest secretly paid for the majority leader's 1997 trip to Moscow. That would be a clear violation of House rules.

In an exclusive off-camera interview with CNN, Delay said he thought the trip was paid for by a conservative thinktank, which is permissible. Delay said he was -- quote -- "not responsible for going into the bowels of researching how the trip was funded." Delay also said the liberal media is out to get him, and added, what's going on here is a concerted effort to twist the truth to make it look seedy. And it's just not true."

The latest revelation comes on the heels of allegations Delay allowed lobbyists to improperly bankroll two other overseas trips.

REP. NANCY PELOSI (D), MINORITY LEADER: It's not about a trip; it's about a pattern of behavior.

HENRY: A far more ominous attack came when the conservative "Wall Street Journal" editorialized that there's an unsavory whiff of odor around the majority leader.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

HENRY: Liberal attacks on Tom Delay only help him rally his political base and solidify his power. But if more conservatives join "The Wall Street Journal" in holding the majority leader's feet to the fire, he could be in some real political trouble -- Daryn.

KAGAN: Well, since I came to your town, I decided I have a couple of Ed Henry questions for the day?

HENRY: In person.

KAGAN: Yes, in person.

The first one deals with this memo that we now know comes out of Senator Mel Martinez' office. It goes back to the Terri Schiavo story, which you're very familiar with, because you were in the state capital. Basically a political memo that said the fight over the removing Schiavo's feeding tube is a great political issue, and a tough issue for Democrats. News of the day, comes out of Mel Martinez' office. He's fired an aide who allegedly wrote this.

Ed Henry question -- what's the big deal?

HENRY: The big deal here is that Republicans were really under fire when they were handling that emergency legislation, because this memo suggested that they were doing the Schiavo legislation for political purposes. As you mentioned, they kept insisting no, and they also suggested this have been a hoax, that maybe the democrats had a little political dirty trick here, and we've seen a lot of blogs out there saying that basically this was a fake memo, maybe it was like CBS documents on the National Guard story, and everyone was running around to figured it all out.

I think it's a footnote to the entire Schiavo story. But it was a big political battle, and now we learned it, in fact, was a Republican talking points memo. It was drafted by an aide to Senator Mel Martinez, the former cabinet secretary. As you mentioned, that staffer has now resigned his job, and it's a pretty big political black eye for the Republicans, and I think, again, it's just going to be a footnote in the long run. But it's not a good day for the Republicans on that.

KAGAN: But here's what I don't get it, when I look at it, it just seems -- is this town just too sensitive. It just seems the fight over removing Schiavo's tube, it was a political issue, it did come up, and the Democrats did have a tough time with it. I think a lot of people felt they didn't speak up like they should have.

HENRY: The bottom line is that Tom Delay and other top Republicans who were pushing this legislation insisted that politics played no role in the debate. They were just trying to save Terri Schiavo's life. This memo said Republicans felt, in fact, it was going to rally their political base. This was going to be a big issue for them in the 2006 election. The other flip side of this that's kind of interesting, is that whether or not the Republicans intended it to be a political benefit, the polls now show that overwhelmingly across the country, the American people feel it was a big political loser for the Republicans; they should have stayed out of it. So sometimes the best-laid plans don't exactly work out.

KAGAN: Let's talk about the plans we had last night -- two of, what, 3,000 people in a ballroom here, the Radio and Television Correspondence Dinner. This is a dinner that honors what your beat is.

HENRY: It was a lot of fun. I mean, the bottom line is, this year, there was a little less fun, because there was a lot of talk of course about Peter Jennings just this week saying and revealing he had cancer, and also Vice President Cheney was the big speaker, and he spoke a lot about Pope John Paul II passing away. In fact the president could not attend the dinner last night. A lot of Senate and House leaders couldn't because they were at the funeral, so it was a little less fun.

KAGAN: As you say, the vice president pinch hitting for the president. He did try to inject a little bit of humor. It is part of the tradition. Let's listen to what the vice president had to say.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

DICK CHENEY, VICE PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: I don't want you to get worried, but just the other day I had this strange feeling in my chest, I found myself short of breath, shaking uncontrollably. I couldn't figure out what was going on. And then Lynn explained, she said, Dick, that's called laughing.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

KAGAN: That got a big yuk. The vice president thought he wasn't that funny. At one point, he says, I don't do funny.

It was fun evening. It's great to be in your town. And Thanks for getting up early and coming and talking with us.

HENRY: Thanks a lot.

KAGAN: And answering all of the Ed Henry questions.

HENRY: Great.

KAGAN: Rick, back to you in Atlanta.

SANCHEZ: But I saw you yesterday. As a matter of fact, you know, I can't say exactly where I saw you, because it's another network and we're not allowed to talk about here, so I'll just say the initials were CSPAN.

KAGAN: CSPAN, yes, they were all over the place. Yes, it was a fun night. SANCHEZ: Take care, Daryn. You looked great, by the way.

KAGAN: Thank you.

SANCHEZ: Well, here's another story that we're following for you. Actually this is a development on a story that Daryn had told you about just a while ago, and this is some good news coming out of that story. We're now told you that those schools that Daryn had told you were in lockdown mode in a place called Wicomico (ph) County, Maryland, those schools have now been reopened once again. This all stems from a shooting in two states, interestingly enough, Maryland and Delaware, the police are investigating, shooting that injured as many as four people, but the big news hit out of this, is those schools that were closed down are now reopen. Student were not affected. Students were not injured. It was more a precaution than anything else.

Well, the biggest and the best golf stars are waiting to tee off at the Master's golf tournament. Today's round and the weather is coming up next.

Also, a royal wedding just two days away and there's been already a security breach claimed. More on this royal embarrassment, if you can call it that, right after the break.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

KAGAN: The azaleas are the blooming; the thunder, though, is booming in Augusta, Georgia, today. The 69th Masters Golf Tournament tees off this afternoon in Georgia, several hours late. Despite the downpours, Tiger Woods is looking to end his drought. He hasn't won a major since the U.S. Open in 2002. Woods and the other fab five, Ernie Els, Vijay Singh, Phil, Mickelson, are all at or near the top of their game. Retief Goosen, we're going to put up there as well.

Well, he never won a Masters, but Walter Hagen was the Babe Ruth of golf. Veteran sports writer Tom Clavin's new back is called "Sir Walter Hagen and the Invention of Professional Golf." Joining me live now from New York City. Good morning.

TOM CLAVIN, AUTHOR, "WALTER HAGEN": Good morning. Thanks for having me here.

KAGAN: So Walter Hagen was a big-time pro before there were big- time pros and million dollar purses.

CLAVIN: Well, you never hear the word revolutionary and trailblazer and pioneer necessarily associated with golfers, but Walter Hagen was all that. He was the one who invented the profession of being a golfer, going out there, making a living by playing golf. And he's directly responsible for what we know today as the PGA Tour.

KAGAN: And how is that? Because back in the day when he was running around playing golf, trying to make a living at it, it wasn't -- not only was it a superstar way to earn your living, it was kind of looked down upon. CLAVIN: Yes, amateurs ruled the day. Bobby Jones being the most famous one. And so in that respect, being a professional golfer might not have been the best career path if you wanted respect. But Walter Hagen wanted to have fun, he wanted to make money. One of his most famous sayings is I never wanted to be a millionaire, I just wanted to live like one, and he sure did. He was the first to make a million, he was the first to spend a million. And he had a great time doing it.

KAGAN: Let's have some fun. Let's bring him from the 1920s into the present. Let's enter him in this year's Masters, the 69th Masters. What was the strength of his game, and how would he match up against this field?

CLAVIN: He was not a very good driver off the tee. He was kind of awkward. So he wouldn't be competing off the tee with people like Woods and Mickelson and Els and those long hitters. But he was a great recovery shot artist. If he got into trouble, he was the first person to get out of trouble. He was an excellent putter. I think he would have done very well at the Masters Golf Course.

KAGAN: Which sounds kind of like his lifestyle, as well. He sounds like he was a little bit of a wild man?

CLAVIN: He was. One the legends about him is that he would show up at the first tee the next morning still in his tuxedo from the night before. Sometimes that was true. Sometimes, as a psychological ploy, he would, in his hotel room,throw a tuxedo up against a wall a few times and then change into it and have his driver take him out to the course.

KAGAN: Can I pick your brain, Tom, on this year's Masters field?

CLAVIN: Yes.

KAGAN: OK. If it ever stops raining, would you like Phil Mickelson to repeat?

CLAVIN: I'd like Phil Mickelson to repeat. I -- the thing is with Phil Mickelson, as much as I like him as a golfer, I think a lot of people last year, after the Masters, thought that he was going to build on that and become an even bigger golfer and win another Major. He hasn't done that. And fresh in everybody's minds is that head-to- head loss to Tiger Woods at Doral, so...

KAGAN: But look what he did just last week at the BellSouth in Atlanta. A five-way playoff and he pulled it off.

CLAVIN: Oh, no, he can pull off play-offs like that. And I'd like him to win the Masters, and he's not the only one. There are several other people who I think would be great Masters champions. If Phil repeats, I'll be very happy for him.

KAGAN: Well, what about Tiger and putting on the green jacket again? CLAVIN: I think Tiger Woods has a really good chance because he seems to have revived his game. And I think he's going to thrive. I mean, we're talking about the four now and then throwing Retief Goosen in there. I think he's going to thrive on the increased competition. He -- in a lot of ways, when he was dominating, nobody challenged him that much. Now they're all saying Tiger is beatable.

KAGAN: Just really quickly, give me one name to watch for who I'm not expecting to see make a showing at Augusta?

CLAVIN: One name to go? I would say Padraig Harrington. I think he's got a good game and I think he's been playing very well and I think he's got a good chance.

KAGAN: Well, there are a lot of golf fanatics out there. I know personally from that, Tom Clavin, I think a lot of people are going to enjoy your book about Walter Hagen. Once again, it's "Walter Hagen and the Invention of Professional Golf." Good luck with the book and thanks for your golf insight.

CLAVIN: Thank you very much.

SANCHEZ: Good stuff. Fascinating interview. Good job, Daryn.

Well, just as the British royal family prepares for Charles' and Camilla's wedding this weekend, a tabloid has come out with a report saying that it can pull off a royal breach. What do we mean? You'll know when we come back.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

SANCHEZ: Welcome back to CNN LIVE TODAY. I'm Rick Sanchez. Jane Fonda's 67 years on the planet have been so eventful, they probably could fill a book. In fact, they have, and it's titled "My Life So Far." The actress readily admits one singular, regrettable moment from her past will probably haunt her to her grave and you probably can figure out that was, in the Vietnam era. She spoke at last night with CNN's Larry King.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

JANE FONDA, AUTHOR, "MY LIFE SO FAR": I'm sorry that I was photographed sitting on an anti-aircraft gun. To me, that image made soldiers think that I was against American soldiers, and I had spent two years prior to going there working with soldiers. They brought me into the antiwar movement. It was what I had heard from them and learned from them that turned me against the war. Because before that, I came to the anti-war movement really late. I thought that it was -- I neatly compartmentalized it, and not wanted to admit that it was very different than the war my father had fought in, and I spent two years trying to help and support antiwar GIs and returning Vietnam veterans.

And I opened an office in Washington called the G.I. Office, and then eventually I made "Coming Home."

(END VIDEOTAPE)

SANCHEZ: Fonda's newest movie, by the way, is a comedy. It's called "Monster-In-Law." It's her first film, we should add, in 15 years -- Daryn.

KAGAN: Just days weeks Prince Charles and Camilla Parker Bowles royal wedding, a tabloid claims to have pulled off a major security breach at Windsor Castle. It wasn't a real scare, but British authorities are furious all the same. A London tabloid used a rented truck said a reporter easily drove by guards and on to the place grounds. "The Sun" newspaper claims there was a box in the van marked "bomb," and it was able to drive perilously close to the royal chapel and the queen's apartment. Needless to say, royal security is now under intense scrutiny today.

Well, that wedding was originally scheduled for Friday. It delayed out of respect for the pope's funeral. Now the weather is threatening to shower the couple with rain on Saturday.

CNN.com reporter Veronica De La Cruz has more now on the star- crossed royal lovers and the CNN.com coverage of the royal wedding.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

VERONICA DE LA CRUZ, CNN CORRESPONDENT: After a 35-year history together, they will finally tie the knot. CNN.com takes a walk down the aisle for the royal wedding of Prince Charles and Camilla Parker Bowles.

With a relationship that practically defines star-crossed lovers, the two first met at a polo match in 1970. The story is a case of romantic history repeating. It said that Camilla's great grandmother was a longtime mistress of the great, great grandfather of Charles.

Charles and Camilla's history is chronicled in this timeline at CNN.com/royalwedding.

But who is this woman that stole the heart of the man set to be the king of England? In this profile, learn more about Camilla Parker-Bowles. Princess Diana often blamed her for the failure of her own marriage to Charles, but Camilla played a part in encouraging the match between the two. The prince is said to have proposed to Diana in Camilla's vegetable garden.

Britons have been long divided over whether Charles should be married. His announcement of the wedding plans didn't come without controversy. How do you feel about the wedding of Charles and Camilla? you can log on and weigh in on our interactive polls. From the dot-com newsdesk in Atlanta, I'm Veronica De La Cruz.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

KAGAN: If you didn't get your invitation in the mail, CNN is the place to keep tabs on the royal nuptials. Our special coverage begins Saturday morning at 6:00 a.m. Eastern, 3:00 a.m. Pacific. SANCHEZ: We've got breaking news that's just now coming into us. It's coming out of the area around Dallas, Texas, or the greater Dallas area. It's information regarding a shooting at a school. We're told it's taking place at Campton High School. There you see the map that we have put together for you. We are being told at that football coach at the school has been shot. The football coach at Campton High School has been shot. The information coming in from one of our affiliates. That's WFAA. We're told now, although we don't have specifics about his condition, only that he has been wounded.

Again, a shooting that has broken out there in the Dallas area at Campton High School, a story that we're just now starting to see some of the pictures coming in. These are live pictures, as you can see, of the school, and oftentimes, in situations like this, the schools are locked down so that students can't possibility be injured as they're either trying to get out of the area. Adult supervision is obviously forwarded at the time by some of the teachers in the area. We don't know if that's the case here. We do see some people outside the school. Don't know if those are school administrators, or parents that, obviously, in cases like this usually rush to the school to try to see what is going on.

We're trying to see if possibly we can get information from some of the authorities there to see exactly how they have been dealing with it. Usually, in cases like this, authorities are rushed to the scene. And by now, most large municipal areas in a city like Dallas would certainly have its own police force within the schools. It's usually called school resource officers that usually work either through the city or the country. They would be the ones who would have jurisdiction in a case like this. And their usually a school resource officer that's assigned to the school, and may have been there when this took place.

Obviously, these are important questions that need to be asked at this point, but they may be the ones who would have the better handle on this. The information that's coming into us right now, though, is the following, at Campton High School in Dallas, or the greater Dallas area, there has been a shooting. One person we know has been shot. It's the football coach. He has been injured. He has been wounded. That's the report that's coming in. Obviously, a story that we're going to stay on top of for you and bring you details as they come in.

Once again these pictures now from KDFW, although some of the information that we've been sharing with you have been coming in from our other affiliate WFAA.

(WEATHER REPORT)

SANCHEZ: From Atlanta, I'm Rick Sanchez.

KAGAN: And I'm Daryn Kagan in Washington D.C.

Before I let you go, Rick, I have to tell our viewers to see you. We're going have to start watching primetime, because you're going to go be a primetime contributor. It's been a fun six months having you hang with us in the morning. SANCHEZ: I can't tell you how much I've learned from you. I really appreciate it, Daryn. And I'm sure we're be able to work together a little bit more, but in the meantime, just call me primetime.

KAGAN: You got it, primetime Sanchez.

Wolf Blitzer is noon Wolf Blitzer. He's coming up just after this break. I'll see you tomorrow from Atlanta.

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