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CNN Live At Daybreak

Jailed Reporter Freed, Will Testify Before Grand Jury in CIA Leak; Fight For Iraq; Fires Spread in California

Aired September 30, 2005 - 06:30   ET

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


KELLY WALLACE, CNN ANCHOR: And turning to our top story this half-hour. "New York Times" reporter Judith Miller is free this morning. Miller spent 85 days in jail for refusing to testify about a confidential source.
In a statement last night, Miller says -- quote: "I went to jail to preserve the time-honored principle that a journalist must respect a promise not to reveal the identity of a confidential source. I chose to take the consequences, 85 days in prison, rather than violate that promise. The principle was more important to uphold than my personal freedom" -- end quote.

Well, now Miller will appear before a federal grand jury today, and she will testify about the disclosure of an undercover CIA officer's identity.

Joining us live to talk about all of this is "Newsweek's" senior editor, Michael Isikoff.

Michael, thanks so much for talking with us. This was a surprising development, hearing that Judith Miller got out of jail about 4:00 yesterday. Give us a sense of what you're hearing from your sources about how this came about that she got this sort of personal and voluntary agreement, really, from her source that she should go ahead and testify before the federal grand jury.

MICHAEL ISIKOFF, "NEWSWEEK": Well, there's still a lot that's unclear, Kelly. What we have is essentially some conflicting accounts coming from the Miller and "TIME" side and, on the other hand, the side of "Scooter" Libby, who does appear to have been the source at the heart of this, at least in terms of Miller.

"Scooter" Libby is the top aide, chief of staff, to Vice President Dick Cheney. He has been central in this investigation all along, clearly has been one of the targets of the Fitzgerald probe.

And he apparently had at least two conversations with Judy Miller in which the question of Joe Wilson and his wife came up. And in the second conversation, it is now -- we're now being told that Libby did indeed share with Judy Miller the information that Joe Wilson's wife had a role in sending him on the trip, and that she worked for the CIA.

That is a very crucial acknowledgement, because that is very close to the information that was given to Robert Novak and published. There does seem to be a continuity there. Now, Joe Wilson -- the "Scooter" Libby side is saying, no, but he did not know that she was a covert operative, and he did not share her name. That may be exculpatory, it may not. But the fact that "Scooter" Libby did share this information with Judy Miller -- and she's apparently going to testify to that to the grand jury today -- is a very important development.

WALLACE: And something else, Michael, that we all found quite interesting, because Joseph Tate, "Scooter" Libby's attorney, talking to our colleague, our White House correspondent Dana Bash, last night, and he is saying that more than a year ago he had kind of given indication to one of Miller's attorneys, Floyd Abrams, that basically there's a waiver, waiving the confidentiality. And that it was only around Labor Day Weekend that he was hearing from Miller's attorneys now to talk about this, facing the question if they had any concerns about this waiver of confidentiality, why didn't they get in touch with him much sooner and prevent perhaps Judith Miller from ever going to jail in the first place?

ISIKOFF: Well, I think the position of "The New York Times" and Judy Miller was that these waivers, which all White House aides were asked to sign, are not really voluntary; that they were not really given -- they were implicitly coerced, because they were asked to sign them, and that, in effect, people had no choice but to sign them.

And I think that, to some degree, I think Judy Miller and "The New York Times" wanted to make a point here, a stand on principle, that that shouldn't be overcome, the promise of confidentiality that a reporter gives a source.

But I think what happened is Judy Miller was spending time in jail. It was not a very pleasant place to be. She was hoping that it wouldn't -- she wouldn't have to spend a long time there, and she was facing the prospect of perhaps spending a lot more time there. Pat Fitzgerald could have re-extended the grand jury, which expires in October. He could have kept her there for quite some time.

And so, I think that at that point, the principle stand that "The New York Times" was trying to make was re-evaluated. And just as in Matt Cooper's case, where a similar arrangement was reached with Karl Rove, the lawyers for Judy Miller reached out to the lawyers for -- or the lawyer for "Scooter" Libby, and they were willing to take this personal assurance as a way of reinforcing that waiver.

WALLACE: A fascinating and complicated story. And we'll be watching it with Judy Miller expected to testify this morning. Michael Isikoff with "Newsweek" magazine joining us this morning. We appreciate it.

Turning now overseas to the situation in Iraq. New bombings to tell you about this morning. A car bomb in a mostly Shia town in the southern city of Hilla killing at least seven people and injuring dozens. Many of them are children.

We go live now to Baghdad and our own Aneesh Raman.

Aneesh, hello. What's the latest from there?

ANEESH RAMAN, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Kelly, good morning.

Civilians yet again the target. That car bomb detonating at a vegetable market in Hilla, as you say, north of the Iraqi capital. Among the seven dead, we understand from officials, are women and children.

As that explosion was taking place, residents of the town of Balad north of the Iraqi capital, were waiting waking, Kelly, to a gruesome scene after last night's massive assault by the insurgency. At least 81 people now are confirmed dead, over 120 wounded, after a coordinated attack that involved some there car bombs, as well as mortar and small-arms fire. The first car bomb detonating, Kelly, on a main street in Balad around 6:30 p.m.

As is often the case, Iraqis gather around the scene of these explosions, and 10 minutes later a suicide car bomb detonated at the same location, dramatically, of course, increasing the casualty numbers.

And then, 10 minutes after that on another main street in Balad, a third car bomb.

And Thursday nights here, Kelly, are Friday nights -- the equivalent of Friday nights back in the U.S. The weekend is now under way. So, there would have been a good number of Iraqis out on the street, not just last night in Balad, but, of course, this morning at that vegetable market in Hilla.

The violence, of course, officials say, is expected to rise, including President Bush who recently said that, as we head towards that October 15 referendum -- Kelly.

WALLACE: And also, talking, Aneesh, with the violence we're seeing today and the violence we saw yesterday, is the sense that these are all coordinated attacks?

RAMAN: Well, clearly the insurgency does rage on, but it is a hard-to-define term. The main backbone of that, in terms of rhetoric at least, is al Qaeda in Iraq. And on Sunday, the U.S. military in a joint operation with the Iraqis was able to kill the number two in that organization.

Yet, this insurgency continues to mount attacks, not just showing its resilience in terms of al Qaeda in Iraq, but also the very real issue, which is that there are any number of entities that make up this insurgency -- former loyalists of Saddam Hussein, foreign fighters that are coming in to wage global jihads here in Iraq against U.S. forces and the Iraqi civilians.

It is that which makes this so incredibly difficult, Kelly, to fight against.

WALLACE: Very difficult indeed. Aneesh, thanks for giving us the latest from Baghdad. Aneesh Raman reporting live for us. Still to come on this busy Friday morning here on DAYBREAK, burning fast and furious in California, but the firefighters may be getting a helping hand from Mother Nature. We're live from the West Coast next.

And plenty of you are helping out in the hurricane relief efforts. While some organizations are putting out the welcome mat, others are putting up some roadblocks. We'll explain.

But first, here's a look at what else is making news this Friday morning, the last day of September.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

WALLACE: And a look now at how the international markets are trading on this Friday. Tokyo's Nikkei is down 42 points, the London FTSE up 5, the German DAX is up about 15.

Your news, money, weather and sports. It's about 42 minutes after the hour. And here is what is all new this morning.

Call him "Mr. Chief Justice." John Roberts was easily confirmed by the Senate and has been sworn in as the 17th chief justice of the United States. The court's next term begins Monday morning.

In money news, Delta Airlines says it plans to be profitable again by the end of 2007. The airline's chief operating officer says the airline will move quickly to reorganize in the wake of the company's bankruptcy protection filing.

In culture, a couple of London newspapers report supermodel Kate Moss is in a rehab clinic in Arizona. Moss lost millions of dollars in contracts after a tabloid reported she had used cocaine.

In sports, the Yankees and Red Sox go head to head in the final three games of the year in Boston. And if the Red Sox wins two games, it will force a one-game playoff Monday in New York to determine who goes to the playoffs.

(WEATHER REPORT)

WALLACE: And, again, we'll all be watching very closely to see what happens tonight and the weekend between New York and Boston.

Turning now to more serious news, the firefight -- the wildfires, excuse me, out West. Thousands of people have been forced from their homes in southern California due to fast-moving wildfires. Mandatory evacuations are ordered as the fire grows. Around 17,000 acres have been destroyed so far. But firefighters are working overtime to try and stop it from spreading.

Dan Simon is joining us now live on the phone from Los Angeles with more on the fires.

Dan, thanks so much for joining us. You know, listening to Bonnie, it looks like firefighters might get some help from Mother Nature today.

DAN SIMON, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, they surely got some help last night. You know, the temperatures dropped, and the winds were calm. And that's the key to really, you know, battling this blaze. It's to make sure that it doesn't spread. And we're really getting some help from Mother Nature today.

WALLACE: Give us a sense. I know it's something like 3,000 firefighters are taking part in this. Are they pretty much working, Dan, around the clock? Are they getting some breaks and getting some help from other volunteers around the country?

SIMON: Well, you know, with so many firefighters out here, you know, there have been some, you know, shift changes. So, we're actually here at a fire station. I see a couple of them actually taking a nap, and they definitely deserve it.

The real story so far has not been what has burned down; it's really what's been saved. Only one house thus far has been destroyed. Two thousand homes -- at least 2,000 homes have been saved. They've really done an outstanding job.

And the other story is, even if you don't live in the affected areas, you have been affected, because the smoke has really drifted many, many miles. I basically have to wear an oxygen mask where I am right now, because the smoke is just so thick. And if you have asthma problems or any type of breathing issues, you're really going to have a problem.

So, I would suspect that you'll see some people going to some area hospitals for treatment.

WALLACE: Yes. It must be difficult to speak as well as you're doing now.

You know, Dan, also give us a sense. Put this in perspective for people who might not be familiar with the area and the landscape, how many neighborhoods, how many people are really affected by these fires right now.

SIMON: Well, they've evacuated folks from nine areas, and you're talking about several hundred people. The Red Cross has opened five shelters so far, and about 600 people have taken advantage of those shelters. So, you're really talking about a widespread area, where these flames are coming down on these homes.

But as long as the winds continue to stay calm -- and they stayed calm last night -- hopefully the amount of containment will go up. Right now, we'll still at about 5 percent, but we're going to get some estimates here hopefully, you know, in a few minutes.

WALLACE: Yes. And, Dan, hopefully the weather helps. Dan Simon, thanks for getting up early with us. Dan Simon reporting live on the phone with us from Chatsworth, California. And you can see Dan's reports on "AMERICAN MORNING" coming up at the top of the hour. You have probably taken part in the hurricane relief effort by donating money, clothes or water. More and more people are donating time by actually traveling to the Gulf Coast region. But here's a question: Is this helping or hindering the relief agencies? We'll talk about it coming up next on DAYBREAK. Don't go away.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

WALLACE: And welcome back. It's 50 minutes after the hour. And here is what will be making news today.

The White House sends out the troops to shore up support for the war in Iraq. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice delivering a speech on the war at Princeton University.

General Richard Myers steps down as chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff today. Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld will host a farewell tribute this morning. President Bush plans to attend.

And Expedition 12 launches from the Russian Cosmodrome on a mission to the International Space Station. An American scientist among the crew. It is the third non-astronaut on a mission to the space station.

Well, Americans in unprecedented numbers are pitching in to help hurricane victims, everything from drives to collect clothing and other supplies, to donating millions of dollars, to selflessly giving their time and effort in the devastated towns and cities.

"USA Today" has been covering the huge surge in volunteerism. Reporter Ginger Gadsden joins us live with more.

Ginger, it really is incredible. Are we seeing more volunteerism now after the hurricanes than we did after September 11?

GINGER GADSDEN, "USA TODAY": Oh, absolutely, Kelly. Good morning to you. In the wake of Hurricane Katrina, tens of thousands of Americans are turning out to help by volunteering.

Some charities, as you mentioned, are reporting record numbers of people who, in some cases, are taking vacation time from paying jobs just to volunteer to help the survivors of Hurricanes Katrina and Rita.

The Red Cross is seeing a record number of volunteers. The organization says it has some 163,000 people from all 50 states providing relief in the region right now. And that's just the Red Cross.

Habitat for Humanity, for example, says it has more than 12,000 volunteers signing up to help build houses that will be transported to the hurricane zone. And that's just on line, Kelly.

And you're right. They are seeing more volunteers for this tragic event than they did see for after September 11. I believe after September 11, nearly 55,000 people signed up. And here we have nearly 200,000 with just the Red Cross and Habitat for Humanity.

So, people are really, really giving of their time.

WALLACE: And, Ginger, this is interesting, because last week at this time we were talking about how people are donating so much clothing. And we talked about sometimes too much of a good thing is actually a bad thing. In this case, is it a bad thing too many volunteers showing up? Are they hindering relief efforts in the Gulf Coast region?

GADSDEN: You know, they don't want to turn anyone away. But what some volunteers have been finding is that they go to the hurricane zone, and they realize that, well, there's really not anything for me to do here.

There's a doctor in our story that we talked to. And he says once he got there that there were many other doctors there, a number of other doctors there, but very few patients to see in the hospital in Louisiana.

So, it's a case of just not getting the right people in the right places at the right time. But they don't want to discourage people from helping out.

And most people, they do join a church or a charity, and they go with those groups. But some people are striking out on their own. And that's causing a little bit of a problem, too, because you want people to remain safe, and you don't want them doing things that they are not qualified to do.

One great example of that, though he is qualified, is former NBA star Carl Malone. He has a logging company that he owns in Arkansas. And he just took his logging trucks, went down to the zone, and just started clearing away debris. And FEMA told him to stop.

And for a while, he just sat there and he thought about it, and he said, these people need help. And they were so grateful to see him. So, he just started. And now, his company has cleared thousands of acres of land. And just they've helped so many people, and so many people have expressed their gratitude to him.

WALLACE: It's really an incredible story about the turnout of volunteers after these tragedies. Ginger Gadsden with "USA Today" joining us. We appreciate it. Thanks so much.

GADSDEN: You're welcome, Kelly.

WALLACE: Switching gears a little bit. One of our favorite moments here on DAYBREAK. Time to give away a DAYBREAK coffee mug.

Here are the answers to Thursday's coffee quiz. When did the Dover, Pennsylvania, school system approve the required statement on intelligent design? The answer, October 2004. And how old is Kermit the Frog? The answer, 50 years old.

Well, the winner, Sharon Holst from Rockford, Illinois. She will be getting her own CNN DAYBREAK mug in the mail very, very soon.

Time now for today's questions. You need to write these down. How many days did Judith Miller serve in jail? We said that a lot here on DAYBREAK. The second question, how much money did the United States Senate set aside to fight bird flu?

You can submit your answers online. The address is CNN.com/daybreak. And you can tune in to find out if you won on Monday morning.

When we come back, more headlines and a look at your travel forecast. This is DAYBREAK for a Friday. We'll be right back.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

WALLACE: And time now for a travel forecast. Bonnie, first, though, we want to give this information to our viewers. AAA is reporting that gas prices are up a tick. Regular self-serve unleaded up to $2.84 a gallon. So that's the situation on the ground.

(WEATHER REPORT)

WALLACE: Now these stories in the news.

"New York Times" reporter Judith Miller will appear before a federal grand jury today. She spent 12 weeks in prison after refusing to reveal her confidential source in connection with the investigation into who leaked the name of an undercover CIA operative. Miller left prison yesterday after that source apparently gave her permission to testify.

Firefighters in Southern California are battling wildfires that already have scorched about 17,000 acres. Hundreds of people have evacuated. Only 5 percent of the fire is contained.

John Roberts took the oath as the new chief justice of the United States Thursday. President Bush is expected to announce his nominee to replace retiring Justice Sandra Day O'Connor in the next few days.

Well, From the Time Warner center in New York, I'm Kelly Wallace in today for Carol Costello. Thanks so much for being with us. Have a terrific weekend. "AMERICAN MORNING" starts right now.

MILES O'BRIEN, CNN ANCHOR: Thanks, Kelly. I'm Miles O'Brien.

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