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CNN Wolf Blitzer Reports

Cox to Head SEC; Deep Throat Role Explored; Israel Releases Prisoners; Michael Jackson Trial Update

Aired June 02, 2005 - 17:00   ET

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

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


WOLF BLITZER, HOST "WOLF BLITZER REPORTS": Happening now, Israelis releasing hundreds of Palestinian prisoners. Will that help the peace process?
Stand by for hard news on WOLF BLITZER REPORTS.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

(voice-over): The battle for Iraq -- day five of a massive counter-insurgency, while fresh violence claims more than a dozen lives.

Critic killed. A leading anti-Syrian journalist assassinated in Beirut. Opposition members point their fingers.

GEBRAN TUEINI, PUBLISHER, "AN NAHAR" NEWSPAPER: The Syrians have always wanted to kill any free voice in Lebanon.

BLITZER: The source. Bob Woodward's riveting account of how he got to know Deep Throat. Intriguing, new details of the fateful relationship that changed American history.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

ANNOUNCER: This is WOLF BLITZER REPORTS for Thursday, June 2, 2005.

BLITZER: Thanks for joining us.

Operation Lightning was launched this week to cripple the Iraqi insurgency and curtail the hit-and-run attacks that have terrorized Iraqi citizens. So far, there's not much evidence it's working. Today a series of bombings killed at least 19 people.

CNN's Jennifer Eccleston reports from Baghdad.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

JENNIFER ECCLESTON, CORRESPONDENT: An explosive-rigged motorcycle detonated on a busy street of the northern city of Mosul. Iraqi officials tell CNN one policeman is dead, and 16 people have been wounded.

The attack is yet another example of violence that continues to shadow large parts of Iraq and about. It began this morning as diners were eating breakfast outside the northern city of Kirkuk where a suicide car bomb ripped through a restaurant, killing 12 people, and injuring 38 others. Now among the dead is a bodyguard to Iraq's deputy prime minister, a Kurd. Six other of his bodyguards were wounded.

Almost 30 minutes later another suicide bomber targeted an American diplomatic convoy, this time in the city center of Kirkuk. Two Iraqi children died as a result of that blast and 11 people were wounded.

And then, the violence spread southward to the city Baquba. Some 10 to 15 minutes after the Kirkuk attack, a local government official and three of his bodyguards were killed after a suicide bomber attacked his convoy.

And the U.S. central command here in Baghdad also announced today that three U.S. soldiers died yesterday, too, from combat-related deaths outside of Baghdad in western Iraq, outside the city of Ramadi.

Now in an effort to stem the wave of violence, the Iraqi-led Operation Lightning involving tens of thousands of Iraqi forces and some 7,000 U.S. troops continues here in Baghdad. It's in its fifth day. The Iraqi officials are claiming success in capturing hundreds of insurgents and a number of weapons caches, but still the violence continues throughout a large part of this country.

Jennifer Eccleston, CNN, Baghdad.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

BLITZER: More political turmoil in Beirut. Lebanon's opposition is calling for the resignation of its pro-Syrian president after a prominent journalist was assassinated today in Beirut. The victim's wife, a journalist for the al Arabia television network, is also calling for an international investigation.

Here's CNN's Beirut Bureau Chief Brent Sadler.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

BRENT SADLER, CNN BEIRUT BUREAU CHIEF (voice-over): The bomb was rigged to kill one man, detonating in a Christian district of Beirut. Aimed to permanently silence, claim Lebanese opposition leaders, a high-profile critic of Syria whose work was regularly published by this newly elected opposition MP and newspaper owner.

GEBRAN TUEINI, PUBLISHER, "AN NAHAR" NEWSPAPER: The Syrians have always tried to kill any free voice in Lebanon, any free politicians in Lebanon. And what's happening today is a continuation of this regime.

SADLER: Opponents of Syria have as usual no hard proof to link Syria with this latest assassination. But the murdered journalist, Samir Qaseer, previously reported he was closely monitored by intelligence services. And his latest front-page column Friday lambasted Syria's Ba'ath Party rulers, accusing them of rejecting opposition views. NASSIB LAHOUD, LEBANESE OPPOSITION LEADER: We should close our ranks and carry on till we extract completely the murderers and criminals who have turned this country into -- into the bloodbath that we are seeing.

SADLER (on camera): Whoever ordered and carried out this killing paid scant regard to international attention directed on Lebanon through a team of investigators trying to solve February's assassination of former Lebanese prime minister, Rafik Hariri.

(voice-over): Five previous blasts have targeted Christian areas in and near the Lebanese capital since March in the wake of the Hariri murder, seen by the opposition here as an attempt to derail pro- democracy protests designed to break Syria's hold on Lebanon to allow free and fair elections that have only just started.

NAJIB MIKATI, LEBANESE PRIME MINISTER: It's a clear, clear message that every time we -- we will have certain steps forward, somebody would like to make us backward.

SADLER: It's amid fears of more violence in three weeks of electioneering that tensions and tempers are rising here. Opposition leaders who met in emergency session fear they, too, could be on a list of targets, including the late prime minister's son.

SAAD HARIRI, LEBANESE MP: God knows what's coming. We will not be afraid. We will not relent. We will not stop. We want our freedom. We want our independence. We want our sovereignty, and no one is going to stop us.

SADLER: Military investigators work this latest crime scene, but few Lebanese seriously expect any concrete results from this or any other inquiry to identify the assassins.

Brent Sadler, CNN, Beirut.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

BLITZER: Here in the United States, President Bush says he'll nominate Congressman Christopher Cox to succeed William Donaldson as head of the Securities and Exchange Commission. Donaldson announced plans to step down just yesterday.

Our economic correspondent Kathleen Hays is joining us live with more from New York. Kathleen?

KATHLEEN HAYS, ECONOMIC CORRESPONDENT: Well, Wolf, simply put, you know, there is a pretty definite link between the Securities and Exchange Commission and your 401k. If the SEC boosts investor confidence, bolsters that, that could help the stock market get on a more solid footing and that could definitely be good for your investments.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

GEORGE W. BUSH, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: Chris Cox knows that a free economy is built on trust.

HAYS: Trust. That's what investors must have in the Securities and Exchange Commission, the top regulator of the securities markets and in President Bush's nominee to head the agency, Congressman Christopher Cox.

Cox, a Harvard-educated lawyer and businessman, has helped push Bush's economic agenda, including cutting taxes on inheritances and the taxes on stock dividends. Today, he said free and efficient markets create more wealth for Americans.

REP. CHRISTOPHER COX, SEC NOMINEE: The natural enemies of the economic marvel are fraud and unfair dealing.

HAYS: If confirmed, Cox will replace William Donaldson, a Wall Street heavyweight who was brought in to restore investor confidence after scandals at companies like Enron and Worldcom tore it to shreds.

Donaldson resigned abruptly from the post yesterday, citing a desire to return to the private sector where he made his millions. The Bush administration moved quickly in naming Cox, even as some question if Cox will favor big business over the interests of small investors, which they say could decimate confidence, hurt the stock market, and undermine the economy. They base this on Cox's leading role in passing a bill in 1995 that limited some investors' ability to sue big companies for securities fraud.

PROF. JOEL SELIGMAN, WASHINGTON UNIVERSITY: He's going to have to reach out to a lot of people in the financial community, reassure Wall Street that he's a mature individual with sufficient gravitas, reassure investors that he takes preventing fraud seriously.

HAYS: Former SEC chief Harvey Pitt said it's true Cox is a savvy politician, one savvy enough to know he must walk a fine line.

HARVEY PITT, FORMER SEC CHIEF: What you'll see is somebody who is sensitive to the issues that affect businesses, is very sensitive to the need for investor protection, and we'll try to come up with an approach that is pragmatic and works to facilitate all of the commissions' objectives.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

HAYS: Harvey Pitt is one of those who feels that the Sarbanes- Oxley legislation that passed in the wake of corporate scandals to tighten up corporate governance needs a bit of fine tuning. This will be a big test for Cox. Will -- does he take steps that companies say are unnecessary, increase their paperwork and costs? Or does he side with the investor advocates who say Sarbanes-Oxley was a necessary step in the right direction that should be maintained in full.

Wolf?

BLITZER: All right. We'll watch this nomination. Thanks very much, Kathleen Hays, in New York. Uncovering one of the greatest political scandals in American history, Bob Woodward, one of the reporters who broke the Watergate story, speaks out about his relationship with Mark Felt, the man now identified as Deep Throat.

Champions who helped free a continent. What links a heroic World War II battle to former President Ronald Reagan? I'll speak with presidential historian and author Douglas Brinkley.

And California landslides. Several luxury homes destroyed and up to a thousand people evacuated. We'll go there, live.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

BLITZER: Four hundred Palestinian prisoners are back home after a mass release by Israel designed to try strengthen the Palestinian president Mahmoud Abbas. CNN's Guy Raz was in the West Bank town of Tulkarem as residents welcomed home their loved ones.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

GUY RAZ, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Mariam (ph) Abu Z'geb, wears an amulet with photos of her three sons, still in prison. In a short time, one of her boys, 22-year-old, Jasser (ph), will be home. Mariam says she hasn't seen Jasser (ph) in nearly four years. She can barely hold back her tears.

"Today, my son is finally coming home," she says. The crowd, just outside the checkpoint into Tulkarem, grows excited. The men suck on cigarettes to quell their tension. And finally, the buses arrive.

Mariam rushes to find her son. Abu Z'geb (ph), she shouts, calling out his last name. Jasser leans out the window. His relatives clamor. For the first time in four years, Mariam can hug her son.

Back at home, inside the Tulkarem refugee camp, the neighbors gather to greet Jasser. He served two-thirds of his prison sentence, convicted of belonging to the militant Al Aqsa Martyrs Brigade. His comrades fire rifle rounds in celebration. So does Jasser.

"I'm happy," Jasser says, "but with mixed feelings, my two brothers are still in jail."

All of the boys in Jasser's family have served or are serving jail time.

"It's almost like your duty," Jasser says sarcastically. "If you're a Palestinian, at some point you'll wind up in jail."

His mother Mariam says she'll cook a king's feast when all her boys are home. About 8,000 Palestinians remain incarcerated in Israeli prisons accused of everything from plotting suicide attacks to petty theft.

Palestinians like Jasser's sister-in-law Aseel want many more released, including her husband. "My husband has never seen his son and my son has never seen his father," she says.

But despite the tears of joy in some parts, a sea of guns was on show in Gaza. Militants opposed to Palestinian security reforms, protested. Palestinian reformers say their grip on power is tenuous. And they add, if Israel is serious about helping the moderates, it will have to release many more prisoners.

(on camera): Israel calls it a goodwill gesture, designed to bolster moderate Palestinian leaders. But Palestinian officials see it as a publicity stunt. Nevertheless, 400 men are now free.

Guy Raz, CNN, outside Tulkarem, in the West Bank.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

BLITZER: "Washington Post" reporter Bob Woodward finally speaks out about his relationship with Mark Felt.

Also coming up, closing arguments happening right now in the Michael Jackson child molestation trial. Our senior legal analyst Jeff Toobin inside the courtroom. He's about to step outside. He'll join us live with the latest.

And later...

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

BRIG. GEN. JOHN HOWARD, U.S. ARMY (RET.): He was utterly fearless. And as a result, many of the junior officers and noncommissioned officers did everything they could to emulate him.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BLITZER: A war hero, and a role model for his troops. We mark the passing of one of America's most-decorated soldiers, Colonel David Hackworth. Stay with us.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

BLITZER: The "Washington Post" found itself scooped this week on one of its own stories when former FBI official Mark Felt came out to "Vanity Fair" magazine as the legendary Watergate source Deep Throat. But the paper has caught up with a riveting account by reporter Bob Woodward who was seen leaving the White House earlier this afternoon. We don't know what he was doing there. We'll find out on LARRY KING LIVE," though, tonight.

Woodward in today's "Washington Post" writes of his association with Felt, how it began and became what certainly must be regarded as one of the consequential relationships in the history of American journalism.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE) BLITZER (voice-over): A frail and elderly man, once a top FBI official, and a veteran award-winning journalist. Their relationship three decades ago as source and reporter ultimately contributed to the downfall of a presidency.

But as Bob Woodward writes in today's "Washington Post," that relationship didn't blossom overnight. Woodward recounts first meeting Mark Felt in 1970 in a waiting room outside the White House Situation Room. Woodward then a Navy courier, and Felt a rising official in the FBI.

Woodward describes Felt in that first meeting as distant and formal, yet friendly and even paternal. The future reporter was looking for career guidance and asked for Felt's phone number.

Over the course of the next year, Woodward says Felt became his mentor. And Woodward, now a cub reporter, began to learn about Felt, that he was an admirer of then-FBI director J. Edgar Hoover, and deeply suspicious of the Nixon White House.

By 1972, Woodward had made it to the "Washington Post," and Felt, now number two at FBI, had already become a source, tipping Woodward on important stories.

But the fateful climax of their relationship began in June with the Watergate break-in. It was Felt who guided Woodward and fellow reporter Carl Bernstein along the path that led to the White House.

BOB WOODWARD, WASHINGTON POST: I called Felt and said, is there something here? And he said, there's no doubt. Howard Hunt is involved. So, with that kind of checking and backstop, you can go with the story, as Bradlee did, above the fold, saying this is the first White House connection.

BLITZER: Woodward says, as he and Bernstein continued to dig, as the scope of the scandal became evident, Felt grew nervous, and set up an elaborate system to keep their contacts covert.

As depicted in the movie "All the President's Men," they would meet only in the middle of the night in a parking garage.

Woodward could call a meeting only if it was urgent by moving a flowerpot on his balcony. Felt would summon Woodward by having his copy of the "New York Times" intercepted and page 20 circled.

Bernstein describes the meetings as furtive and brief.

CARL BERNSTEIN, FRM. WASHINGTON POST REPORTER: We had very little time one -- Bob and Felt, in the garage had very little time together. There were fewer than 10 meetings and conversations in the course of a couple of years. And the object was to get as much information, as much contacts, as much certainty to things we had obtained elsewhere.

BLITZER: Woodward says he was apologetic for pushing the source. But he says Felt encouraged him to persevere, which both reporters did all the way to the historic day in 1974, when President Richard Nixon resigned. To this day, Woodward and Bernstein remain somewhat puzzled by Felt.

BERNSTEIN: We had no idea of his motivations. And even now some of his motivations are unclear.

BLITZER: Yet, they defend his role in uncovering one of the greatest scandals ever to rock the White House.

WOODWARD: This is the old crowd, kind of relaunching the wars of Watergate and saying, oh let's make the conduct of the sources that we used.

BERNSTEIN: Or the press.

WOODWARD: ...the issue rather than their own. And the record about Watergate crimes is staggering, voluminous, and irrefutable.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

BLITZER: The presidential historian Douglas Brinkley is joining us now. He's here to talk about Deep Throat, the presidential historical ramifications of that. Also his new book "The Boys of Pointe du Hoc" about the U.S. Army Rangers who stormed the Normandy coast on D-Day and how President Reagan made their story the center point of two of his greatest speeches. We'll get to that shortly, Douglas.

But first of all, the historic revelation that we had in the last few days. Dive us your sense of some perspective the revelation of Deep Throat is, what it means to historians.

DAVID BRINKLEY, PRESIDENTIAL HISTORIAN: I think for Woodward and Bernstein, they must be really relieved. Just think how many people have been asking them who is Deep Throat over the decades. At last the riddle, the mystery is solved.

I think it's very important. It's more than a historic footnote. Any index of American history, any textbook has a chapter on Watergate. It was a very dramatic moment when the president of the United States resigns and our government seemed to be collapsing at many places.

And there's always been this Deep Throat figure that nobody has known who it is. If you look it up in the index of any history textbook, you'll see Deep Throat without a name. Well, now we know the name was Mark Felt. And he's become, I think, an important figure in American history to understand.

And as you rightfully said, Wolf, we still don't know his motivation. But we do know what his action was. And he cooperated with Woodward and the end result was, he was a major player in the destruction of Richard Nixon's presidency.

BLITZER: Do we care that he was a high-ranking FBI official, the number two official, as opposed to, shall we say a political operative working in the White House? Does that make a difference that he was a career FBI professional? BRINKLEY: I think it does. You know most -- though Watergate aficionados have never believed it was somebody in the White House, where they have discussions and they're taped. There was always a feeling that Deep Throat came from CIA or the FBI. David Gergen, for example, the other day, just has mentioned that very point. He was in the Nixon White House.

I think that the fact that it bothers some people, is there's a feeling is he a fink. Is Felt a fink? Is this a guy who rises to number two and now he starts telling all of the secrets of the FBI, is that good for our government?

And that's a question that's debated. It's why television shows are going back and forth, is Deep Throat a hero or a villain?

I think he's something in between. He's not a hero with a capital H, but certainly the crimes of the Nixon administration, I think, justified a concern on Felt as a patriot, as a citizen. And it's interesting he picked Woodward to be the person that he was going to walk down this kind of tortuous path of watching Richard Nixon leave the White House.

A back story, Wolf, of all of this, is Washington bureaucratic fighting. Nixon was having a very tough time with the FBI. We also have the fact, the human side of this, that Felt was passed over when Hoover resigned, Gray superseded him. There was personal animosity towards Richard Nixon.

All of these things are part of the stew of Watergate. But what we do know this week is that the biggest mystery of it all has been solved.

BLITZER: well, let's move forward now to the presidency of Ronald Reagan. You have a book, "The Boys of Pointe du Hoc." A year ago, you and I were on Normandy, Normandy Beach, commemorating the 60th anniversary of D-Day. This plays another historically role of the presidency of Ronald Reagan.

Talk a little bit about that.

BRINKELY: Well, I remember you over there, Wolf, because you were eating an ice cream cone when the news of Reagan's death occurred. In your professionalism, you were in kind of relaxed clothes and suddenly boom, you were on the air with no teleprompter talking about the eight years of Ronald Reagan and his presidency and his death.

As you know, he died June 5 last year, Reagan. And the famous time of Pointe du Hoc, D-Day was June 6. Reagan was the first American president to go back to Normandy. Ike went in '64 to talk to Walter Cronkite, but he was out of office at that point. Reagan went in June 6, 1984, gave two incredible speeches, the boys of Pointe du Hoc and Omaha Beach.

And what he did was use Word War II triumphalism (ph) in many ways to forget Korea and Vietnam and talk -- because there was no morally -- you know, it was so morally clear, World War II. We were the white hats, the good guys. Hitler and the fascists were the bad guys. And Reagan built a kind of new patriotism in '84 around these two speeches.

The genius of Reagan's stage-crafting at Normandy was Michael Deaver, who picked that dramatic spot there at Pointe du Hoc in between Omaha and Utah beaches with that sea of white crosses and stars of David that are there, which as you know, it's a chilling, haunting spot. And all Americans should go there and you really understand what these U.S. Army Rangers and others did on D-Day to help begin the liberation of Europe.

BLITZER: And if you can go there and see some of those veterans from D-Day, they're all getting pretty old right now. That makes it even more memorable. It's an important read. A good read. "The Boys of Pointe du Hoc." Douglas Brinkley, the presidential historian, joining us today. Thanks. Congratulations on the new book, Doug.

BRINKLEY: Hey, thanks, Wolf.

BLITZER: This important programming note to our viewers. A CNN primetime exclusive, a special two-hour edition of LARRY KING LIVE, tonight. The two men who kept Deep Throat's identity a secret for three decades, Carl Bernstein and Bob Woodward, they'll sit down with Larry in their first live, primetime interview. Carl Bernstein and Bob Woodward tonight at 9:00 p.m. Eastern.

Then at 10:0 p.m. Eastern, former CBS News anchor Dan Rather joins Larry King as well. Larry King on from 9:00 to 11:00 tonight. Two hours of LARRY KING LIVE.

Also on CNN primetime tonight, the actor Robert Redford. He played the "Washington Post" reporter Bob Woodward in "All the President's Men." Tonight, he sits down with our Paula Zahn to talk about this historic revelation and what it means to him.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

PAULA ZAHN, CNN ANCHOR: Do you think "All the President's Men" contributed to the mythology of Deep Throat?

ROBERT REDFORD, ACTOR: Well, I think it contributed a lot, because of the substance and the huge power that lay underneath it of being an historical event. I mean, it was such a major historical event in its time. I don't know that it would be possible today. But I think in its time it was so huge.

And the fact it had buried in the center of it this mystery, particularly labeling it Deep Throat, which had its own cottage industry at that time -- yeah, I think that contributed a lot to it.

I remember when I first got involved and was spending time with Bob and Carl, I asked Bob, just as a matter of course, I said, what -- well, you know, who's Deep Throat? And he said, I can't really reveal that. I accepted that because part of me thought, well, if this is going to be a film, that's a wonderful aspect of the film, to have the theatrical part be a mystery. So I never pushed it. I just kind of honored Bob's wishes, and the other part -- really didn't want to know, so I was just kind of left to speculation...

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BLITZER: You can hear more from Robert Redford tonight, 8:00 p.m. Eastern on PAULA ZAHN NOW.

Laguna landslides. A thousand people have been forced from their homes, many waiting for word on when they can go home, if they can go home. We'll have a live report from the scene. That's coming up.

Plus, elderly arsenal. A stunning find. One couple had almost 500 guns in their home.

And, in our look "Around the World," rescue effort to save dozens of beached whales. Stay with us.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

BLITZER: Anxious and apprehensive residents of Laguna Beach, California, are awaiting word on whether they'll be able to return to their homes, or what's left of their homes, after yesterday's devastating landslides.

CNN's Sean Callebs is joining us, now, live from the disaster area.

What's the latest, Sean?

SEAN CALLEBS, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, Wolf, I can tell you that right now emergency officials here in Laguna Beach are holding a news conference. They're talking with the residents in this area who have, as you mentioned, have simply been on pins and needles for the last 26 hours or so.

And what we can tell you is 300 homes evacuated here in the hillside, more than a thousand people.

Now, in an hour-and-a-half, 4:00 local time, 7:00 Eastern time, residents of more than 250 of the homes are going to be allowed back into their homes. However authorities are urging them to hold off another 24 hours, if they can.

Now, who can't go back? Now, these are two kinds of homes. One that's -- ones that have been red-tagged, others that have been yellow-tagged. Yellow-tagged means they are threatened, not necessarily damaged or destroyed. There are 26 of those, and there are 22 so-called red-tagged homes. These are homes that have simply been destroyed, damaged, or what the authorities call imminent danger. And there's still no word on when those residents are going to be allowed back in.

What about the utilities, because all of the residents talk about transformers going, gas lines rupturing.

Well, power should be back on in the area. As far as gas goes, it's going to be a house-by-house method. It's going to happen at, the earliest, 4:00 local time tomorrow, so still 25-and-a-half hours before gas gets turned back on to the areas. Water is still a major concern in this area as well. A boil order is in effect, meaning, simply don't drink tap water.

So, a lot of the residents here have simply been on pins and needles the past day or so. We saw what happened at the landslide yesterday. What authorities are telling us -- all of the precipitation that punished southern California in December, January, and February, it built up. It saturated the ground and there's really no bedrock in this coastal area. We're only about a quarter of a mile from the ocean. So, what happened -- that land gave way. It may have only moved 10 feet or so, Wolf, but that's what caused the damage to all of these homes.

BLITZER: A lot of those homes are multimillion dollar homes. Sean Callebs, thanks very much for that report. We'll continue to watch that story unfold.

Let's take a quick look at other stories making headlines "Around the World."

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

BLITZER (volice-over): Palestinian leader Mahmoud Abbas was released from a hospital in Jordan. Doctors say Abbas had a medical procedure to check for clogged heart arteries, but was found to be in good health.

China floods. Dozens of people are dead and tens of thousands more have been forced out of their homes after heavy rain caused flash floods in southern China. This is only the beginning of China's rainy season which runs from June to August.

Rescue effort. Volunteers managed to refloat dozens of whales that beached themselves on Australia's southwest coast. One whale died before it could be rescued, but many others were pushed out to sea.

Monkey shine. There's an orangutan at a zoo outside Tokyo who could put most of us to shame. She washes the floor almost every day, and even finds time to do some weeding. Zookeepers say she picked up the cleanliness kick watching them work. She does such a good job, they're not complaining about being aped.

And that's our look "Around the World."

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BLITZER: A smart ape.

Final arguments under way now in the child molestation case against Michael Jackson. We'll go there.

Our senior legal analyst Jeffrey Toobin's been inside the courtroom. He's about to come outside. We'll get the latest from him.

Plus, remember the runway bride? Well, she's appeared in court today. We'll give you word of her punishment and her apology. That's coming up.

And later, the story of one elderly couple who police say built an arsenal, literally, an arsenal of weapons in their home. Our Mary Snow investigates.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

BLITZER: After months of often lurid testimony, the Michael Jackson trial is finally nearing an end. Closing arguments began today. Our senior legal analyst, Jeffrey Toobin, is over at the courthouse in Santa Maria, California.

There's a break. Tell our viewers what has happen today, Jeff.

JEFF TOOBIN, SR. LEGAL ANAYLST: Well, Wolf it really was a day of great, high drama in the courtroom today because both sides gave their summations in this child molestation trial. And I have to say, after there has been shaky lawyering on both sides, both sides really did an excellent job summing up.

Summations will conclude tomorrow. But the heart of both summations were in court today and Michael Jackson is just about to leave the courtroom. The day is done.

BLITZER: So, what was the general thrust of, first of all, the summation by the prosecution?

TOOBIN: Well, the thrust of the summation by the prosecution was, believe the boy; believe the accuser. What's more, Michael Jackson has done this before. He has a pattern. He is a pedophile.

And the most effective part, I thought, of the prosecution's summation by the prosecutor Ron Zonen was, when he went through what he described as a pattern of behavior. The previous allegations of molestation showing how Jackson preyed on these fatherless boys and behaved in a -- what he described as a similar pattern and then the accuser in this case he said, fit with that pattern completely. And putting all of that evidence together was a very effective package, I thought.

BLITZER: So what about the defense? How did they sum up their case?

TOOBIN: Well, Tom Mesereau who has sort of dominated the courtroom during this trial -- the defense attorney -- I thought dominated again by talking about how this was, from day one, a shakedown operation from accuser's family.

And what he did was he showed how the accuser's family had done this before. He asserted, he said they had sued J.C. Penney -- a fraudulent case -- and both the boy and his mother lied under oath in that case.

They had both lied to authorities before about whether there had been molestation within their family and how this case was simply another example of how they lied under oath And during another, I thought, very effective part of the molestation -- I'm sorry -- of his summation, Mesereau talked about how the timing in this case makes no sense because one of the strange things about the prosecution's theory here, is that even though Jackson and this boy were together literally for years, the only time he is accused of molesting him is after the infamous Martin Bashir documentary and after the investigation started. That's when, according to the prosecution, he started molesting the boy. That's a hard chronology to accept, and Mesereau made the most of it.

BLITZER: So this could go to trial -- go to the jury as early as tomorrow, is that right?

TOOBIN: I think it will, late tomorrow. They're really -- both sides do not have even half of their summations left. So I think almost certainly this case will go to the jury tomorrow because under the unusual procedures given by Rodney Melville, they've had the legal instructions.

BLITZER: Jeffrey Toobin, our analyst out in California.

Thanks, Jeff, we'll watch it together with you.

Another case we're watching, the runaway bride. She entered a no- contest plea today to charges of making a false statement. A Georgia judge ordered Jennifer Wilbanks to spend two years on probation and do 120 hours of community service. He also ordered her to continue psychiatric treatment.

Wilbanks disappeared just days before her scheduled April wedding, prompting a costly police search. She later claimed, falsely, that she had been abducted and assaulted.

He's part of a call she made to the home of her fiance, John Mason.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

(UNINTELLIGLE)

JOHN MASON, WILBANKS' FIANCE: Are you sure you're not in Duluth?

JENNIFER WILBANKS, RUNAWAY BRIDE: No, I'm not in Duluth.

MASON: Are you in Georgia?

WILBANKS: I don't know.

MASON: OK. It's OK, sweetie. We're just trying to figure out how to come find you.

WILBANKS: They cut my hair.

MASON: They cut your hair?

WILBANKS: Yes. MASON: And that's all he did to you? Well, that's great.

WILBANKS: ...A man and a woman.

A man -- Hispanic man and Caucasian woman.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BLITZER: She said a Hispanic and a Caucasian woman. In court though today, Wilbanks offered a tearful apology.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

WILBANKS: Your, Honor, I'm truly sorry for my actions and I -- I just want to thank the Gwinnett County Police and the city of Duluth for all of their efforts. That's all.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BLITZER: Wilbanks has agreed to pay the city of Duluth, Georgia, more than $13, 000 to help reimburse police for their investigation. She's also been ordered to pay the sheriff's office about $2,500. Supposedly the wedding will still take place at some point down the road. We'll watch that.

Coming up at the top of the hour, LOU DOBBS TONIGHT. Kitty Pilgrim standing in for Lou once again tonight. She's joining us with a preview, Kitty?

PILGRIM: Hi, Wolf, thanks. At 6:00 p.m. Eastern, we'll be reporting on the massive foreign effort to steal our most valuable secrets. Nearly 100 countries are spying on American companies.

Also, deadly Iraq, the insurgents use more sophisticated tactics. Are casualties rising? Will our troops be in Iraq 10 years from now?

And the middle-class squeeze. How a rising number of cities have passed living wage laws to protect American workers.

We'll have all that and more at the top of the hour. But for now, back to you, Wolf.

BLITZER: All right, Kitty. Thanks very much.

When we come back, elderly arsenal, 100,000 rounds of ammunition confiscated from the home of an older couple.

We'll have details.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

MOHAMED ELBARADEI, IAEA: I wish you on your 25th anniversary all of the best of success.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BLITZER: New Jersey authorities are investigating a stunning discovery.

CNN's Mary Snow reports.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

MARY SNOW, CORRESPONDENT: For decades, even police in this small town knew this as the home of Doc Raymond, as they call him, and his wife, known to be very quiet. So, it came as a shock to both residents and police when officers say they discovered an arsenal of weapons.

DET. ROBERT WILLIAMS, RIDGEFIELD, N.J. POLICE: The first time we went into the house, it was amazing. The guns were stacked everywhere. There were guns in the basement. You could hardly move through.

SNOW: Police say they found nearly 500 guns, from handguns to AK- 47s, from guns in books to guns in the attic. They say over 100,000 rounds of ammunition was found along with 800 pounds of black gun powder. The National Guard was called in to help remove it and police arrested 82-year-old Sherwin Raymond, but still have more questions than answers.

CHIEF JOHN BOGAVICH, RIDGEFIELD, N.J. POLICE: We believe, at this point in time, that he was just an obsessive gun collector. It went beyond just being an avid collector to an obsession.

SNOW: Police are investigating how he obtained the guns since he has a record. Authorities say in 1975 he pled guilty to having an unregistered machine gun.

In the 1960s, according to investigators, Raymond served three years in prison for performing what was at that time a illegal abortions. Raymond is now charged with creating a hazardous situation. Police say he stored hundreds of pounds of ammunition in the garage.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: If there ever would have been a fire there, there would have been deaths.

BUZ ILCH, DAYCARE CENTER DIRECTOR: I'm just shocked that someone stockpiled this in their home.

SNOW: Buz Ilch runs a daycare center across the street. For him and other longtime residents like Detective Williams, this quiet street will never be the same.

WILLIAMS: Prior to Monday, I thought he was a nice old guy. After seeing the condition it was -- no responsible person would store the ammunition, the guns, the black powder the way he did.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

SNOW: The sheriff's department says that Sherwin Raymond posted $25,000 bond, but attempts to reach him were unsuccessful. Police say that he was being treated at the hospital today for dialysis, and they say he could face more charges. They also say that he asked -- did not ask to have an attorney represent him. Wolf?

BLITZER: Mary Snow, reporting. Thanks, Mary.

When we come back, courage and controversy. Our Brian Todd looks back at life of Colonel David Hackworth.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: "This Week in History," Chinese troops kill and arrest pro-democracy protesters in the 1989 Tiananmen Square massacre.

In 1968, presidential candidate Senator Robert F. Kennedy is shot and fatally wounded after giving a speech in Los Angeles. Oklahoma City bomber Timothy McVeigh is convicted in 1997 on 15 counts of murder and conspiracy. That is "This Week in History."

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

BLITZER: Colonel David Hackworth, the controversial soldier who died last month at the age of 74, was buried this week. CNN's Brian Todd reports.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

BRIAN TODD, CORRESPONDENT: A fitting, final tribute -- full military honors to one of America's most-decorated warriors, described by a fellow soldier as the quintessential combat commander.

BRIG. GEN. JOHN HOWARD, U.S. ARMY (RET.): He was a bona fide war hero.

TODD: Colonel David Hackworth, a born adventurer who lied about his age to enlist in the Army in his mid-teens, patrolled still- unsettled boarders in post-World War II Europe, and in Korea, won a battlefield commission while barely in his 20s, earning his first serious commendations.

But it was in Vietnam where his prowess became legend. General John Howard served under Hackworth in the deadly central highlands.

HOWARD: He was utterly fearless, and as a result, many of the junior officers and noncommissioned officers did everything they could to emulate him.

TODD: By the end of his final tour in Vietnam, Hackworth had accumulated two Distinguished Service crosses, 10 Silver Stars, eight Bronze Stars, eight Purple Hearts, a reputation for thinking like the enemy, consistently beating them, and pushing the bounds of military convention.

COLONEL DAVID HACKWORTH, MILITARY LEGEND: I ran for my soldiers a house of ill repute because my doctor told me that was the best way to control VD.

TODD: But that maverick disposition would also lead to disillusionment. In a 1971 network interview, Hackworth said Vietnam could not be won, and the U.S. should get out. Incensed at such comments from a serving officer, the Pentagon forced him to retire.

Hackworth gave up his medals in protest and went into self- imposed exile in Australia. He eventually got the medals back but later as a journalist became an unyielding critic of military leadership, sparing nothing in an interview with CNN as the first Gulf War was under way.

HACKWORTH: It's really a bitch to cover because the military here has so restricted the press. It's not like Korea or Vietnam. The press is restricted to staying around international hotels and sucking on each other like a lot of vultures. It's hard to get the truth.

TODD: Even as he was losing his final battle with cancer, Hackworth and the Pentagon never completely reconciled. In a CNN interview last year, he questioned accountability in the Abu Ghraib scandal.

HACKWORTH: You know, you can only have one captain of a ship. You can't have two. And if you and I were running that prison, I'd say, look, buddy, Anderson, are you running it or am I running it?

TODD: To the end, an emotional divide in the military community between those who view Hackworth as a self-promoter, and unshakable allies like his widow.

EILHYS ENGLAND-HACKWORTH, WIDOW: He glowed with honesty and with love for his troops. I mean, all he cared about was making sure that American troopers -- the kids out at the tip of the spear -- received the right training, leadership and equipment.

TODD: David Hackworth's farewell, fitting for another reason: hundreds of mourners at his graveside, not one member of the top brass among them.

Brian Todd, CNN, Arlington, Virginia.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

BLITZER: And, "LOU DOBBS TONIGHT" starts right now. Kitty Pilgrim standing by in New York. Kitty?

END

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Aired June 2, 2005 - 17:00   ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
WOLF BLITZER, HOST "WOLF BLITZER REPORTS": Happening now, Israelis releasing hundreds of Palestinian prisoners. Will that help the peace process?
Stand by for hard news on WOLF BLITZER REPORTS.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

(voice-over): The battle for Iraq -- day five of a massive counter-insurgency, while fresh violence claims more than a dozen lives.

Critic killed. A leading anti-Syrian journalist assassinated in Beirut. Opposition members point their fingers.

GEBRAN TUEINI, PUBLISHER, "AN NAHAR" NEWSPAPER: The Syrians have always wanted to kill any free voice in Lebanon.

BLITZER: The source. Bob Woodward's riveting account of how he got to know Deep Throat. Intriguing, new details of the fateful relationship that changed American history.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

ANNOUNCER: This is WOLF BLITZER REPORTS for Thursday, June 2, 2005.

BLITZER: Thanks for joining us.

Operation Lightning was launched this week to cripple the Iraqi insurgency and curtail the hit-and-run attacks that have terrorized Iraqi citizens. So far, there's not much evidence it's working. Today a series of bombings killed at least 19 people.

CNN's Jennifer Eccleston reports from Baghdad.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

JENNIFER ECCLESTON, CORRESPONDENT: An explosive-rigged motorcycle detonated on a busy street of the northern city of Mosul. Iraqi officials tell CNN one policeman is dead, and 16 people have been wounded.

The attack is yet another example of violence that continues to shadow large parts of Iraq and about. It began this morning as diners were eating breakfast outside the northern city of Kirkuk where a suicide car bomb ripped through a restaurant, killing 12 people, and injuring 38 others. Now among the dead is a bodyguard to Iraq's deputy prime minister, a Kurd. Six other of his bodyguards were wounded.

Almost 30 minutes later another suicide bomber targeted an American diplomatic convoy, this time in the city center of Kirkuk. Two Iraqi children died as a result of that blast and 11 people were wounded.

And then, the violence spread southward to the city Baquba. Some 10 to 15 minutes after the Kirkuk attack, a local government official and three of his bodyguards were killed after a suicide bomber attacked his convoy.

And the U.S. central command here in Baghdad also announced today that three U.S. soldiers died yesterday, too, from combat-related deaths outside of Baghdad in western Iraq, outside the city of Ramadi.

Now in an effort to stem the wave of violence, the Iraqi-led Operation Lightning involving tens of thousands of Iraqi forces and some 7,000 U.S. troops continues here in Baghdad. It's in its fifth day. The Iraqi officials are claiming success in capturing hundreds of insurgents and a number of weapons caches, but still the violence continues throughout a large part of this country.

Jennifer Eccleston, CNN, Baghdad.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

BLITZER: More political turmoil in Beirut. Lebanon's opposition is calling for the resignation of its pro-Syrian president after a prominent journalist was assassinated today in Beirut. The victim's wife, a journalist for the al Arabia television network, is also calling for an international investigation.

Here's CNN's Beirut Bureau Chief Brent Sadler.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

BRENT SADLER, CNN BEIRUT BUREAU CHIEF (voice-over): The bomb was rigged to kill one man, detonating in a Christian district of Beirut. Aimed to permanently silence, claim Lebanese opposition leaders, a high-profile critic of Syria whose work was regularly published by this newly elected opposition MP and newspaper owner.

GEBRAN TUEINI, PUBLISHER, "AN NAHAR" NEWSPAPER: The Syrians have always tried to kill any free voice in Lebanon, any free politicians in Lebanon. And what's happening today is a continuation of this regime.

SADLER: Opponents of Syria have as usual no hard proof to link Syria with this latest assassination. But the murdered journalist, Samir Qaseer, previously reported he was closely monitored by intelligence services. And his latest front-page column Friday lambasted Syria's Ba'ath Party rulers, accusing them of rejecting opposition views. NASSIB LAHOUD, LEBANESE OPPOSITION LEADER: We should close our ranks and carry on till we extract completely the murderers and criminals who have turned this country into -- into the bloodbath that we are seeing.

SADLER (on camera): Whoever ordered and carried out this killing paid scant regard to international attention directed on Lebanon through a team of investigators trying to solve February's assassination of former Lebanese prime minister, Rafik Hariri.

(voice-over): Five previous blasts have targeted Christian areas in and near the Lebanese capital since March in the wake of the Hariri murder, seen by the opposition here as an attempt to derail pro- democracy protests designed to break Syria's hold on Lebanon to allow free and fair elections that have only just started.

NAJIB MIKATI, LEBANESE PRIME MINISTER: It's a clear, clear message that every time we -- we will have certain steps forward, somebody would like to make us backward.

SADLER: It's amid fears of more violence in three weeks of electioneering that tensions and tempers are rising here. Opposition leaders who met in emergency session fear they, too, could be on a list of targets, including the late prime minister's son.

SAAD HARIRI, LEBANESE MP: God knows what's coming. We will not be afraid. We will not relent. We will not stop. We want our freedom. We want our independence. We want our sovereignty, and no one is going to stop us.

SADLER: Military investigators work this latest crime scene, but few Lebanese seriously expect any concrete results from this or any other inquiry to identify the assassins.

Brent Sadler, CNN, Beirut.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

BLITZER: Here in the United States, President Bush says he'll nominate Congressman Christopher Cox to succeed William Donaldson as head of the Securities and Exchange Commission. Donaldson announced plans to step down just yesterday.

Our economic correspondent Kathleen Hays is joining us live with more from New York. Kathleen?

KATHLEEN HAYS, ECONOMIC CORRESPONDENT: Well, Wolf, simply put, you know, there is a pretty definite link between the Securities and Exchange Commission and your 401k. If the SEC boosts investor confidence, bolsters that, that could help the stock market get on a more solid footing and that could definitely be good for your investments.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

GEORGE W. BUSH, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: Chris Cox knows that a free economy is built on trust.

HAYS: Trust. That's what investors must have in the Securities and Exchange Commission, the top regulator of the securities markets and in President Bush's nominee to head the agency, Congressman Christopher Cox.

Cox, a Harvard-educated lawyer and businessman, has helped push Bush's economic agenda, including cutting taxes on inheritances and the taxes on stock dividends. Today, he said free and efficient markets create more wealth for Americans.

REP. CHRISTOPHER COX, SEC NOMINEE: The natural enemies of the economic marvel are fraud and unfair dealing.

HAYS: If confirmed, Cox will replace William Donaldson, a Wall Street heavyweight who was brought in to restore investor confidence after scandals at companies like Enron and Worldcom tore it to shreds.

Donaldson resigned abruptly from the post yesterday, citing a desire to return to the private sector where he made his millions. The Bush administration moved quickly in naming Cox, even as some question if Cox will favor big business over the interests of small investors, which they say could decimate confidence, hurt the stock market, and undermine the economy. They base this on Cox's leading role in passing a bill in 1995 that limited some investors' ability to sue big companies for securities fraud.

PROF. JOEL SELIGMAN, WASHINGTON UNIVERSITY: He's going to have to reach out to a lot of people in the financial community, reassure Wall Street that he's a mature individual with sufficient gravitas, reassure investors that he takes preventing fraud seriously.

HAYS: Former SEC chief Harvey Pitt said it's true Cox is a savvy politician, one savvy enough to know he must walk a fine line.

HARVEY PITT, FORMER SEC CHIEF: What you'll see is somebody who is sensitive to the issues that affect businesses, is very sensitive to the need for investor protection, and we'll try to come up with an approach that is pragmatic and works to facilitate all of the commissions' objectives.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

HAYS: Harvey Pitt is one of those who feels that the Sarbanes- Oxley legislation that passed in the wake of corporate scandals to tighten up corporate governance needs a bit of fine tuning. This will be a big test for Cox. Will -- does he take steps that companies say are unnecessary, increase their paperwork and costs? Or does he side with the investor advocates who say Sarbanes-Oxley was a necessary step in the right direction that should be maintained in full.

Wolf?

BLITZER: All right. We'll watch this nomination. Thanks very much, Kathleen Hays, in New York. Uncovering one of the greatest political scandals in American history, Bob Woodward, one of the reporters who broke the Watergate story, speaks out about his relationship with Mark Felt, the man now identified as Deep Throat.

Champions who helped free a continent. What links a heroic World War II battle to former President Ronald Reagan? I'll speak with presidential historian and author Douglas Brinkley.

And California landslides. Several luxury homes destroyed and up to a thousand people evacuated. We'll go there, live.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

BLITZER: Four hundred Palestinian prisoners are back home after a mass release by Israel designed to try strengthen the Palestinian president Mahmoud Abbas. CNN's Guy Raz was in the West Bank town of Tulkarem as residents welcomed home their loved ones.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

GUY RAZ, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Mariam (ph) Abu Z'geb, wears an amulet with photos of her three sons, still in prison. In a short time, one of her boys, 22-year-old, Jasser (ph), will be home. Mariam says she hasn't seen Jasser (ph) in nearly four years. She can barely hold back her tears.

"Today, my son is finally coming home," she says. The crowd, just outside the checkpoint into Tulkarem, grows excited. The men suck on cigarettes to quell their tension. And finally, the buses arrive.

Mariam rushes to find her son. Abu Z'geb (ph), she shouts, calling out his last name. Jasser leans out the window. His relatives clamor. For the first time in four years, Mariam can hug her son.

Back at home, inside the Tulkarem refugee camp, the neighbors gather to greet Jasser. He served two-thirds of his prison sentence, convicted of belonging to the militant Al Aqsa Martyrs Brigade. His comrades fire rifle rounds in celebration. So does Jasser.

"I'm happy," Jasser says, "but with mixed feelings, my two brothers are still in jail."

All of the boys in Jasser's family have served or are serving jail time.

"It's almost like your duty," Jasser says sarcastically. "If you're a Palestinian, at some point you'll wind up in jail."

His mother Mariam says she'll cook a king's feast when all her boys are home. About 8,000 Palestinians remain incarcerated in Israeli prisons accused of everything from plotting suicide attacks to petty theft.

Palestinians like Jasser's sister-in-law Aseel want many more released, including her husband. "My husband has never seen his son and my son has never seen his father," she says.

But despite the tears of joy in some parts, a sea of guns was on show in Gaza. Militants opposed to Palestinian security reforms, protested. Palestinian reformers say their grip on power is tenuous. And they add, if Israel is serious about helping the moderates, it will have to release many more prisoners.

(on camera): Israel calls it a goodwill gesture, designed to bolster moderate Palestinian leaders. But Palestinian officials see it as a publicity stunt. Nevertheless, 400 men are now free.

Guy Raz, CNN, outside Tulkarem, in the West Bank.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

BLITZER: "Washington Post" reporter Bob Woodward finally speaks out about his relationship with Mark Felt.

Also coming up, closing arguments happening right now in the Michael Jackson child molestation trial. Our senior legal analyst Jeff Toobin inside the courtroom. He's about to step outside. He'll join us live with the latest.

And later...

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

BRIG. GEN. JOHN HOWARD, U.S. ARMY (RET.): He was utterly fearless. And as a result, many of the junior officers and noncommissioned officers did everything they could to emulate him.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BLITZER: A war hero, and a role model for his troops. We mark the passing of one of America's most-decorated soldiers, Colonel David Hackworth. Stay with us.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

BLITZER: The "Washington Post" found itself scooped this week on one of its own stories when former FBI official Mark Felt came out to "Vanity Fair" magazine as the legendary Watergate source Deep Throat. But the paper has caught up with a riveting account by reporter Bob Woodward who was seen leaving the White House earlier this afternoon. We don't know what he was doing there. We'll find out on LARRY KING LIVE," though, tonight.

Woodward in today's "Washington Post" writes of his association with Felt, how it began and became what certainly must be regarded as one of the consequential relationships in the history of American journalism.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE) BLITZER (voice-over): A frail and elderly man, once a top FBI official, and a veteran award-winning journalist. Their relationship three decades ago as source and reporter ultimately contributed to the downfall of a presidency.

But as Bob Woodward writes in today's "Washington Post," that relationship didn't blossom overnight. Woodward recounts first meeting Mark Felt in 1970 in a waiting room outside the White House Situation Room. Woodward then a Navy courier, and Felt a rising official in the FBI.

Woodward describes Felt in that first meeting as distant and formal, yet friendly and even paternal. The future reporter was looking for career guidance and asked for Felt's phone number.

Over the course of the next year, Woodward says Felt became his mentor. And Woodward, now a cub reporter, began to learn about Felt, that he was an admirer of then-FBI director J. Edgar Hoover, and deeply suspicious of the Nixon White House.

By 1972, Woodward had made it to the "Washington Post," and Felt, now number two at FBI, had already become a source, tipping Woodward on important stories.

But the fateful climax of their relationship began in June with the Watergate break-in. It was Felt who guided Woodward and fellow reporter Carl Bernstein along the path that led to the White House.

BOB WOODWARD, WASHINGTON POST: I called Felt and said, is there something here? And he said, there's no doubt. Howard Hunt is involved. So, with that kind of checking and backstop, you can go with the story, as Bradlee did, above the fold, saying this is the first White House connection.

BLITZER: Woodward says, as he and Bernstein continued to dig, as the scope of the scandal became evident, Felt grew nervous, and set up an elaborate system to keep their contacts covert.

As depicted in the movie "All the President's Men," they would meet only in the middle of the night in a parking garage.

Woodward could call a meeting only if it was urgent by moving a flowerpot on his balcony. Felt would summon Woodward by having his copy of the "New York Times" intercepted and page 20 circled.

Bernstein describes the meetings as furtive and brief.

CARL BERNSTEIN, FRM. WASHINGTON POST REPORTER: We had very little time one -- Bob and Felt, in the garage had very little time together. There were fewer than 10 meetings and conversations in the course of a couple of years. And the object was to get as much information, as much contacts, as much certainty to things we had obtained elsewhere.

BLITZER: Woodward says he was apologetic for pushing the source. But he says Felt encouraged him to persevere, which both reporters did all the way to the historic day in 1974, when President Richard Nixon resigned. To this day, Woodward and Bernstein remain somewhat puzzled by Felt.

BERNSTEIN: We had no idea of his motivations. And even now some of his motivations are unclear.

BLITZER: Yet, they defend his role in uncovering one of the greatest scandals ever to rock the White House.

WOODWARD: This is the old crowd, kind of relaunching the wars of Watergate and saying, oh let's make the conduct of the sources that we used.

BERNSTEIN: Or the press.

WOODWARD: ...the issue rather than their own. And the record about Watergate crimes is staggering, voluminous, and irrefutable.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

BLITZER: The presidential historian Douglas Brinkley is joining us now. He's here to talk about Deep Throat, the presidential historical ramifications of that. Also his new book "The Boys of Pointe du Hoc" about the U.S. Army Rangers who stormed the Normandy coast on D-Day and how President Reagan made their story the center point of two of his greatest speeches. We'll get to that shortly, Douglas.

But first of all, the historic revelation that we had in the last few days. Dive us your sense of some perspective the revelation of Deep Throat is, what it means to historians.

DAVID BRINKLEY, PRESIDENTIAL HISTORIAN: I think for Woodward and Bernstein, they must be really relieved. Just think how many people have been asking them who is Deep Throat over the decades. At last the riddle, the mystery is solved.

I think it's very important. It's more than a historic footnote. Any index of American history, any textbook has a chapter on Watergate. It was a very dramatic moment when the president of the United States resigns and our government seemed to be collapsing at many places.

And there's always been this Deep Throat figure that nobody has known who it is. If you look it up in the index of any history textbook, you'll see Deep Throat without a name. Well, now we know the name was Mark Felt. And he's become, I think, an important figure in American history to understand.

And as you rightfully said, Wolf, we still don't know his motivation. But we do know what his action was. And he cooperated with Woodward and the end result was, he was a major player in the destruction of Richard Nixon's presidency.

BLITZER: Do we care that he was a high-ranking FBI official, the number two official, as opposed to, shall we say a political operative working in the White House? Does that make a difference that he was a career FBI professional? BRINKLEY: I think it does. You know most -- though Watergate aficionados have never believed it was somebody in the White House, where they have discussions and they're taped. There was always a feeling that Deep Throat came from CIA or the FBI. David Gergen, for example, the other day, just has mentioned that very point. He was in the Nixon White House.

I think that the fact that it bothers some people, is there's a feeling is he a fink. Is Felt a fink? Is this a guy who rises to number two and now he starts telling all of the secrets of the FBI, is that good for our government?

And that's a question that's debated. It's why television shows are going back and forth, is Deep Throat a hero or a villain?

I think he's something in between. He's not a hero with a capital H, but certainly the crimes of the Nixon administration, I think, justified a concern on Felt as a patriot, as a citizen. And it's interesting he picked Woodward to be the person that he was going to walk down this kind of tortuous path of watching Richard Nixon leave the White House.

A back story, Wolf, of all of this, is Washington bureaucratic fighting. Nixon was having a very tough time with the FBI. We also have the fact, the human side of this, that Felt was passed over when Hoover resigned, Gray superseded him. There was personal animosity towards Richard Nixon.

All of these things are part of the stew of Watergate. But what we do know this week is that the biggest mystery of it all has been solved.

BLITZER: well, let's move forward now to the presidency of Ronald Reagan. You have a book, "The Boys of Pointe du Hoc." A year ago, you and I were on Normandy, Normandy Beach, commemorating the 60th anniversary of D-Day. This plays another historically role of the presidency of Ronald Reagan.

Talk a little bit about that.

BRINKELY: Well, I remember you over there, Wolf, because you were eating an ice cream cone when the news of Reagan's death occurred. In your professionalism, you were in kind of relaxed clothes and suddenly boom, you were on the air with no teleprompter talking about the eight years of Ronald Reagan and his presidency and his death.

As you know, he died June 5 last year, Reagan. And the famous time of Pointe du Hoc, D-Day was June 6. Reagan was the first American president to go back to Normandy. Ike went in '64 to talk to Walter Cronkite, but he was out of office at that point. Reagan went in June 6, 1984, gave two incredible speeches, the boys of Pointe du Hoc and Omaha Beach.

And what he did was use Word War II triumphalism (ph) in many ways to forget Korea and Vietnam and talk -- because there was no morally -- you know, it was so morally clear, World War II. We were the white hats, the good guys. Hitler and the fascists were the bad guys. And Reagan built a kind of new patriotism in '84 around these two speeches.

The genius of Reagan's stage-crafting at Normandy was Michael Deaver, who picked that dramatic spot there at Pointe du Hoc in between Omaha and Utah beaches with that sea of white crosses and stars of David that are there, which as you know, it's a chilling, haunting spot. And all Americans should go there and you really understand what these U.S. Army Rangers and others did on D-Day to help begin the liberation of Europe.

BLITZER: And if you can go there and see some of those veterans from D-Day, they're all getting pretty old right now. That makes it even more memorable. It's an important read. A good read. "The Boys of Pointe du Hoc." Douglas Brinkley, the presidential historian, joining us today. Thanks. Congratulations on the new book, Doug.

BRINKLEY: Hey, thanks, Wolf.

BLITZER: This important programming note to our viewers. A CNN primetime exclusive, a special two-hour edition of LARRY KING LIVE, tonight. The two men who kept Deep Throat's identity a secret for three decades, Carl Bernstein and Bob Woodward, they'll sit down with Larry in their first live, primetime interview. Carl Bernstein and Bob Woodward tonight at 9:00 p.m. Eastern.

Then at 10:0 p.m. Eastern, former CBS News anchor Dan Rather joins Larry King as well. Larry King on from 9:00 to 11:00 tonight. Two hours of LARRY KING LIVE.

Also on CNN primetime tonight, the actor Robert Redford. He played the "Washington Post" reporter Bob Woodward in "All the President's Men." Tonight, he sits down with our Paula Zahn to talk about this historic revelation and what it means to him.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

PAULA ZAHN, CNN ANCHOR: Do you think "All the President's Men" contributed to the mythology of Deep Throat?

ROBERT REDFORD, ACTOR: Well, I think it contributed a lot, because of the substance and the huge power that lay underneath it of being an historical event. I mean, it was such a major historical event in its time. I don't know that it would be possible today. But I think in its time it was so huge.

And the fact it had buried in the center of it this mystery, particularly labeling it Deep Throat, which had its own cottage industry at that time -- yeah, I think that contributed a lot to it.

I remember when I first got involved and was spending time with Bob and Carl, I asked Bob, just as a matter of course, I said, what -- well, you know, who's Deep Throat? And he said, I can't really reveal that. I accepted that because part of me thought, well, if this is going to be a film, that's a wonderful aspect of the film, to have the theatrical part be a mystery. So I never pushed it. I just kind of honored Bob's wishes, and the other part -- really didn't want to know, so I was just kind of left to speculation...

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BLITZER: You can hear more from Robert Redford tonight, 8:00 p.m. Eastern on PAULA ZAHN NOW.

Laguna landslides. A thousand people have been forced from their homes, many waiting for word on when they can go home, if they can go home. We'll have a live report from the scene. That's coming up.

Plus, elderly arsenal. A stunning find. One couple had almost 500 guns in their home.

And, in our look "Around the World," rescue effort to save dozens of beached whales. Stay with us.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

BLITZER: Anxious and apprehensive residents of Laguna Beach, California, are awaiting word on whether they'll be able to return to their homes, or what's left of their homes, after yesterday's devastating landslides.

CNN's Sean Callebs is joining us, now, live from the disaster area.

What's the latest, Sean?

SEAN CALLEBS, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, Wolf, I can tell you that right now emergency officials here in Laguna Beach are holding a news conference. They're talking with the residents in this area who have, as you mentioned, have simply been on pins and needles for the last 26 hours or so.

And what we can tell you is 300 homes evacuated here in the hillside, more than a thousand people.

Now, in an hour-and-a-half, 4:00 local time, 7:00 Eastern time, residents of more than 250 of the homes are going to be allowed back into their homes. However authorities are urging them to hold off another 24 hours, if they can.

Now, who can't go back? Now, these are two kinds of homes. One that's -- ones that have been red-tagged, others that have been yellow-tagged. Yellow-tagged means they are threatened, not necessarily damaged or destroyed. There are 26 of those, and there are 22 so-called red-tagged homes. These are homes that have simply been destroyed, damaged, or what the authorities call imminent danger. And there's still no word on when those residents are going to be allowed back in.

What about the utilities, because all of the residents talk about transformers going, gas lines rupturing.

Well, power should be back on in the area. As far as gas goes, it's going to be a house-by-house method. It's going to happen at, the earliest, 4:00 local time tomorrow, so still 25-and-a-half hours before gas gets turned back on to the areas. Water is still a major concern in this area as well. A boil order is in effect, meaning, simply don't drink tap water.

So, a lot of the residents here have simply been on pins and needles the past day or so. We saw what happened at the landslide yesterday. What authorities are telling us -- all of the precipitation that punished southern California in December, January, and February, it built up. It saturated the ground and there's really no bedrock in this coastal area. We're only about a quarter of a mile from the ocean. So, what happened -- that land gave way. It may have only moved 10 feet or so, Wolf, but that's what caused the damage to all of these homes.

BLITZER: A lot of those homes are multimillion dollar homes. Sean Callebs, thanks very much for that report. We'll continue to watch that story unfold.

Let's take a quick look at other stories making headlines "Around the World."

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

BLITZER (volice-over): Palestinian leader Mahmoud Abbas was released from a hospital in Jordan. Doctors say Abbas had a medical procedure to check for clogged heart arteries, but was found to be in good health.

China floods. Dozens of people are dead and tens of thousands more have been forced out of their homes after heavy rain caused flash floods in southern China. This is only the beginning of China's rainy season which runs from June to August.

Rescue effort. Volunteers managed to refloat dozens of whales that beached themselves on Australia's southwest coast. One whale died before it could be rescued, but many others were pushed out to sea.

Monkey shine. There's an orangutan at a zoo outside Tokyo who could put most of us to shame. She washes the floor almost every day, and even finds time to do some weeding. Zookeepers say she picked up the cleanliness kick watching them work. She does such a good job, they're not complaining about being aped.

And that's our look "Around the World."

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BLITZER: A smart ape.

Final arguments under way now in the child molestation case against Michael Jackson. We'll go there.

Our senior legal analyst Jeffrey Toobin's been inside the courtroom. He's about to come outside. We'll get the latest from him.

Plus, remember the runway bride? Well, she's appeared in court today. We'll give you word of her punishment and her apology. That's coming up.

And later, the story of one elderly couple who police say built an arsenal, literally, an arsenal of weapons in their home. Our Mary Snow investigates.

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BLITZER: After months of often lurid testimony, the Michael Jackson trial is finally nearing an end. Closing arguments began today. Our senior legal analyst, Jeffrey Toobin, is over at the courthouse in Santa Maria, California.

There's a break. Tell our viewers what has happen today, Jeff.

JEFF TOOBIN, SR. LEGAL ANAYLST: Well, Wolf it really was a day of great, high drama in the courtroom today because both sides gave their summations in this child molestation trial. And I have to say, after there has been shaky lawyering on both sides, both sides really did an excellent job summing up.

Summations will conclude tomorrow. But the heart of both summations were in court today and Michael Jackson is just about to leave the courtroom. The day is done.

BLITZER: So, what was the general thrust of, first of all, the summation by the prosecution?

TOOBIN: Well, the thrust of the summation by the prosecution was, believe the boy; believe the accuser. What's more, Michael Jackson has done this before. He has a pattern. He is a pedophile.

And the most effective part, I thought, of the prosecution's summation by the prosecutor Ron Zonen was, when he went through what he described as a pattern of behavior. The previous allegations of molestation showing how Jackson preyed on these fatherless boys and behaved in a -- what he described as a similar pattern and then the accuser in this case he said, fit with that pattern completely. And putting all of that evidence together was a very effective package, I thought.

BLITZER: So what about the defense? How did they sum up their case?

TOOBIN: Well, Tom Mesereau who has sort of dominated the courtroom during this trial -- the defense attorney -- I thought dominated again by talking about how this was, from day one, a shakedown operation from accuser's family.

And what he did was he showed how the accuser's family had done this before. He asserted, he said they had sued J.C. Penney -- a fraudulent case -- and both the boy and his mother lied under oath in that case.

They had both lied to authorities before about whether there had been molestation within their family and how this case was simply another example of how they lied under oath And during another, I thought, very effective part of the molestation -- I'm sorry -- of his summation, Mesereau talked about how the timing in this case makes no sense because one of the strange things about the prosecution's theory here, is that even though Jackson and this boy were together literally for years, the only time he is accused of molesting him is after the infamous Martin Bashir documentary and after the investigation started. That's when, according to the prosecution, he started molesting the boy. That's a hard chronology to accept, and Mesereau made the most of it.

BLITZER: So this could go to trial -- go to the jury as early as tomorrow, is that right?

TOOBIN: I think it will, late tomorrow. They're really -- both sides do not have even half of their summations left. So I think almost certainly this case will go to the jury tomorrow because under the unusual procedures given by Rodney Melville, they've had the legal instructions.

BLITZER: Jeffrey Toobin, our analyst out in California.

Thanks, Jeff, we'll watch it together with you.

Another case we're watching, the runaway bride. She entered a no- contest plea today to charges of making a false statement. A Georgia judge ordered Jennifer Wilbanks to spend two years on probation and do 120 hours of community service. He also ordered her to continue psychiatric treatment.

Wilbanks disappeared just days before her scheduled April wedding, prompting a costly police search. She later claimed, falsely, that she had been abducted and assaulted.

He's part of a call she made to the home of her fiance, John Mason.

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(UNINTELLIGLE)

JOHN MASON, WILBANKS' FIANCE: Are you sure you're not in Duluth?

JENNIFER WILBANKS, RUNAWAY BRIDE: No, I'm not in Duluth.

MASON: Are you in Georgia?

WILBANKS: I don't know.

MASON: OK. It's OK, sweetie. We're just trying to figure out how to come find you.

WILBANKS: They cut my hair.

MASON: They cut your hair?

WILBANKS: Yes. MASON: And that's all he did to you? Well, that's great.

WILBANKS: ...A man and a woman.

A man -- Hispanic man and Caucasian woman.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BLITZER: She said a Hispanic and a Caucasian woman. In court though today, Wilbanks offered a tearful apology.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

WILBANKS: Your, Honor, I'm truly sorry for my actions and I -- I just want to thank the Gwinnett County Police and the city of Duluth for all of their efforts. That's all.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BLITZER: Wilbanks has agreed to pay the city of Duluth, Georgia, more than $13, 000 to help reimburse police for their investigation. She's also been ordered to pay the sheriff's office about $2,500. Supposedly the wedding will still take place at some point down the road. We'll watch that.

Coming up at the top of the hour, LOU DOBBS TONIGHT. Kitty Pilgrim standing in for Lou once again tonight. She's joining us with a preview, Kitty?

PILGRIM: Hi, Wolf, thanks. At 6:00 p.m. Eastern, we'll be reporting on the massive foreign effort to steal our most valuable secrets. Nearly 100 countries are spying on American companies.

Also, deadly Iraq, the insurgents use more sophisticated tactics. Are casualties rising? Will our troops be in Iraq 10 years from now?

And the middle-class squeeze. How a rising number of cities have passed living wage laws to protect American workers.

We'll have all that and more at the top of the hour. But for now, back to you, Wolf.

BLITZER: All right, Kitty. Thanks very much.

When we come back, elderly arsenal, 100,000 rounds of ammunition confiscated from the home of an older couple.

We'll have details.

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(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

MOHAMED ELBARADEI, IAEA: I wish you on your 25th anniversary all of the best of success.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BLITZER: New Jersey authorities are investigating a stunning discovery.

CNN's Mary Snow reports.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

MARY SNOW, CORRESPONDENT: For decades, even police in this small town knew this as the home of Doc Raymond, as they call him, and his wife, known to be very quiet. So, it came as a shock to both residents and police when officers say they discovered an arsenal of weapons.

DET. ROBERT WILLIAMS, RIDGEFIELD, N.J. POLICE: The first time we went into the house, it was amazing. The guns were stacked everywhere. There were guns in the basement. You could hardly move through.

SNOW: Police say they found nearly 500 guns, from handguns to AK- 47s, from guns in books to guns in the attic. They say over 100,000 rounds of ammunition was found along with 800 pounds of black gun powder. The National Guard was called in to help remove it and police arrested 82-year-old Sherwin Raymond, but still have more questions than answers.

CHIEF JOHN BOGAVICH, RIDGEFIELD, N.J. POLICE: We believe, at this point in time, that he was just an obsessive gun collector. It went beyond just being an avid collector to an obsession.

SNOW: Police are investigating how he obtained the guns since he has a record. Authorities say in 1975 he pled guilty to having an unregistered machine gun.

In the 1960s, according to investigators, Raymond served three years in prison for performing what was at that time a illegal abortions. Raymond is now charged with creating a hazardous situation. Police say he stored hundreds of pounds of ammunition in the garage.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: If there ever would have been a fire there, there would have been deaths.

BUZ ILCH, DAYCARE CENTER DIRECTOR: I'm just shocked that someone stockpiled this in their home.

SNOW: Buz Ilch runs a daycare center across the street. For him and other longtime residents like Detective Williams, this quiet street will never be the same.

WILLIAMS: Prior to Monday, I thought he was a nice old guy. After seeing the condition it was -- no responsible person would store the ammunition, the guns, the black powder the way he did.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

SNOW: The sheriff's department says that Sherwin Raymond posted $25,000 bond, but attempts to reach him were unsuccessful. Police say that he was being treated at the hospital today for dialysis, and they say he could face more charges. They also say that he asked -- did not ask to have an attorney represent him. Wolf?

BLITZER: Mary Snow, reporting. Thanks, Mary.

When we come back, courage and controversy. Our Brian Todd looks back at life of Colonel David Hackworth.

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UNIDENTIFIED MALE: "This Week in History," Chinese troops kill and arrest pro-democracy protesters in the 1989 Tiananmen Square massacre.

In 1968, presidential candidate Senator Robert F. Kennedy is shot and fatally wounded after giving a speech in Los Angeles. Oklahoma City bomber Timothy McVeigh is convicted in 1997 on 15 counts of murder and conspiracy. That is "This Week in History."

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

BLITZER: Colonel David Hackworth, the controversial soldier who died last month at the age of 74, was buried this week. CNN's Brian Todd reports.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

BRIAN TODD, CORRESPONDENT: A fitting, final tribute -- full military honors to one of America's most-decorated warriors, described by a fellow soldier as the quintessential combat commander.

BRIG. GEN. JOHN HOWARD, U.S. ARMY (RET.): He was a bona fide war hero.

TODD: Colonel David Hackworth, a born adventurer who lied about his age to enlist in the Army in his mid-teens, patrolled still- unsettled boarders in post-World War II Europe, and in Korea, won a battlefield commission while barely in his 20s, earning his first serious commendations.

But it was in Vietnam where his prowess became legend. General John Howard served under Hackworth in the deadly central highlands.

HOWARD: He was utterly fearless, and as a result, many of the junior officers and noncommissioned officers did everything they could to emulate him.

TODD: By the end of his final tour in Vietnam, Hackworth had accumulated two Distinguished Service crosses, 10 Silver Stars, eight Bronze Stars, eight Purple Hearts, a reputation for thinking like the enemy, consistently beating them, and pushing the bounds of military convention.

COLONEL DAVID HACKWORTH, MILITARY LEGEND: I ran for my soldiers a house of ill repute because my doctor told me that was the best way to control VD.

TODD: But that maverick disposition would also lead to disillusionment. In a 1971 network interview, Hackworth said Vietnam could not be won, and the U.S. should get out. Incensed at such comments from a serving officer, the Pentagon forced him to retire.

Hackworth gave up his medals in protest and went into self- imposed exile in Australia. He eventually got the medals back but later as a journalist became an unyielding critic of military leadership, sparing nothing in an interview with CNN as the first Gulf War was under way.

HACKWORTH: It's really a bitch to cover because the military here has so restricted the press. It's not like Korea or Vietnam. The press is restricted to staying around international hotels and sucking on each other like a lot of vultures. It's hard to get the truth.

TODD: Even as he was losing his final battle with cancer, Hackworth and the Pentagon never completely reconciled. In a CNN interview last year, he questioned accountability in the Abu Ghraib scandal.

HACKWORTH: You know, you can only have one captain of a ship. You can't have two. And if you and I were running that prison, I'd say, look, buddy, Anderson, are you running it or am I running it?

TODD: To the end, an emotional divide in the military community between those who view Hackworth as a self-promoter, and unshakable allies like his widow.

EILHYS ENGLAND-HACKWORTH, WIDOW: He glowed with honesty and with love for his troops. I mean, all he cared about was making sure that American troopers -- the kids out at the tip of the spear -- received the right training, leadership and equipment.

TODD: David Hackworth's farewell, fitting for another reason: hundreds of mourners at his graveside, not one member of the top brass among them.

Brian Todd, CNN, Arlington, Virginia.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

BLITZER: And, "LOU DOBBS TONIGHT" starts right now. Kitty Pilgrim standing by in New York. Kitty?

END

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