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American Morning

Special Prosecutor in CIA Leak Case to Hold News Conference

Aired October 28, 2005 - 09:31   ET

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

MILES O'BRIEN, CNN ANCHOR: All right. 2:00 p.m. Eastern Time, get to a TV, turn it on CNN.
ZAIN VERJEE, CNN ANCHOR: Some major developments today, Miles.

O'BRIEN: The special prosecutor Patrick Fitzgerald is going to hold a news conference, and that in and of itself is significant because it seems to us pretty likely that if he's holding a news conference there will be something pretty significant to report. We've already reported this morning, using our reporters all over the story that the chief of staff for the vice president, Scooter Libby, is the focus of an indictment, or has been told that he is likely to be indicted.

CNN's David Ensor in our Washington bureau, Bob Franken in front of the courthouse and Dana Bash at the White House covering every facet of this story for us this morning.

Let's begin with David.

What do we know, first of all, about the 2:00 p.m. news conference, and what is likely to come out of that, David?

DAVID ENSOR, CNN CORRESPONDENT: It would be very unusual for a special prosecutor like Mr. Fitzgerald to hold a news conference like this, Miles, without having indictments to announce. At the same time, it is up to the grand jury to decide whether or not it accepts the argument Mrs. Fitzgerald is making. But we understand that Mr. Fitzgerald at least went into the grand jury intending to argue that Lewis Libby, Scooter Libby, the vice president's chief of staff, should be indicted.

We also understand that Karl Rove, the president's very close adviser, at least for the moment, is in the clear, that Mr. Fitzgerald was not intending to recommend that he be indicted today. However, that there may well be a request for a short extension of the grand jury, and Mr. Rove is not entirely out of the legal thickets at this point, but our understanding from our sources is it's not expected that he'll be indicted today. If the grand jury agrees with Mr. Fitzgerald, it looks like Scooter Libby will be.

VERJEE: All right, David Ensor, thank you.

Let's move it over to Bob Franken now, kind of a bad news-bad news scenario. Not only is an indictment possible, or seems likely at this point, but the investigation continues in a certain sense, Bob, that's kind of a worst-case scenario at the White House. Let's remind people, though, what the possible charges are. We keep saying indictment. We don't know what the charges are.

BOB FRANKEN, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, here are the charges that have been explored. The underlying charge was a law that made it a crime to disclose the identity of an undercover government agent. It is a law that requires intentional disclosure of an agent that the government was trying to protect the identity, in this case, Valerie Plame, undercover CIA operative, and the wife of Joe Wilson, who was a harsh administration critic back in 2003.

But typically in an investigation, possibilities arise about an alleged cover-up, allegations that there may have been in testimony before investigators of the grand jury, false statements that were made, possible perjury charges, obstruction of justice, or a false statement charge. There's also conspiracy, which could ensnare people who although they did not break the law themselves, were part of an effort to discredit Valerie Plame, all of these allegations that can be considered.

In the case of Karl Rove, a number of sources who said there have been a ferocious negotiation over whether inconsistencies of his testimony before the grand jury, alleged inconsistencies, were intentional. Willfulness is necessary for the prosecution of any of these crimes. That is why the investigation is continuing, we're told, and the special prosecutor would possibly make his intentions known fairly quickly. We do know that the special prosecutor talked at length about the chief judge about perhaps an extension. All of this will be made more clear with this afternoon's news conference.

VERJEE: Bob Franken at the courthouse, thank you very much.

Let's move it along to Dana Bash at the White House this morning.

Dana, I was talking to Ann Coulter, leading Republican voice just a little while ago. She said this is the worst-case scenario, not only do you have an indictment, but you have a continuing investigation. I'm sure that is not something that is not unnoticed at the White House this morning.

DANA BASH, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Not at all, Miles. You're absolutely right. And as a matter of fact, talking to some of the top officials here, they're actually getting their information from all of us. They're trying to figure out what is going to happen to people they work very closely with on a day to day, minute by minute basis, just as we are.

But let's just start with Scooter Libby. You heard Bob and David report, Kelli Arena earlier reporting, that it is our understanding from lawyers close to the investigation that he is likely to be indicted.

Now it is an understood notion here at the White House that whomever would be indicted that they would resign. Now the vice president actually just left the White House, maybe about 0 minutes ago. He's going to be traveling in the state of Georgia today, but we understand that earlier this morning he was in a meeting in his office with Scooter Libby. Now it is not an unusual thing for the vice president to meet with his chief of staff, but given everything that is going and given the uncertainty here about Scooter Libby, whether or not he will survive the danger without resigning, and it is certainly a noteworthy thing that the two were meeting before Vice President Cheney left.

And I should tell you lastly about Karl Rove. You're right, the uncertainty is certainly something politically that is pretty dicey for them around here. Rove associates say they feel that he is in good shape. They say that he is probably, they believe, not going get indicted now or in the future, but they understand here that they won't know anything until they hear it from Fitzgerald's mouth.

O'BRIEN: Dana Bash at the White House.

There you see Air Force One, Norfolk, Virginia is the location. The president arriving there for a speech on terror. We will carry that for you. It should begin in 25 minutes' time 10:00 a.m. Eastern Time, and then ultimately, the president will end his day at Camp David. We are told his schedule will not change at all in any way related to what happens with Mr. Fitzgerald and his schedule -- Zain.

VERJEE: All this coming, Miles, a day after Harriet Miers withdrew her nomination to the Supreme Court, and President Bush is said to have a short list of possible Supreme Court nominees to replace her, and he says he's going to name one soon. But on Capitol Hill, a new fight on whomever he picks could lie ahead.

Congressional correspondent Ed Henry is on Capitol Hill and he joins us now.

Andy, is the fight already brewing?

ED HENRY, CNN CONGRESSIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Absolutely, Zain. In fact the president short circuited an already ugly battle within the Republican Party with Harriet Miers now stepping aside. But you're right, an even nastier fight could be brewing. We're seeing the battle lines already being drawn. Democrats pushing the notion that Harriet Miers stepped aside because the right wing of the president's party pushed her overboard, and they're now charging, the Democrats are charging, that they think the president with the sinking poll numbers, relative to the CIA leak case, regarding this Supreme Court fight, also the ongoing war in Iraq, that he will need to get his conservative base onboard, and that's why Democrats are predicting he will go hard right with his next pick for the Supreme Court.

Here's Senator Patrick Leahy just a few moments ago on CNN.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

SEN. PATRICK LEAHY (D), VERMONT: Will the president now reward this right-wing faction that humiliated him by making him withdraw the Harriet Miers nomination? If he's going to reward them by setting up one of theirs, I think that would be a colossal mistake.

(END VIDEO CLIP) HENRY: Now Republicans reject the notion that they would be rewarding the conservative wing of their party. Instead, the way they put it, is that President Bush campaigned both in 2000 and 2004 on the notion that he would pick conservatives for the high court. They say he won the election fair and square, and it's time for him to reshape the high court. In fact, Republicans like Orrin Hatch a short time ago on CNN as well, basically saying bring this fight on, pick a conservative, because the Democrats are not likely to support any of the president's picks.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

SEN. ORRIN HATCH (R), UTAH: He's certainly going to pick a conservative. The Democrats are not going like it. They're already screaming he should pick a moderate so they can accept whoever it is. Man, 22 of them voted against John Roberts.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

HENRY: Obviously, if the president were to pick a hardcore conservative, that could rally his base, but it also could spark a tougher battle with Democrats here on the Hill, could even spark a filibuster fight -- Zain.

VERJEE: Ed Henry reporting for us on Capitol Hill. Thanks, Ed.

(NEWSBREAK)

VERJEE: How would you like to spend your honeymoon in an evacuation shelter? Yes, Todd and Paige Lester were enjoying their first days of wedded bliss last week in sunny Cozumel, Mexico, completely unaware that hurricane Wilma was bearing down on them. Soon they were struggling for survival. Todd and Paige made it back in one piece and join us from Birmingham in Alabama.

Thank you so much. My goodness. What kind of a honeymoon was this? Todd, give us a sense of your experience.

TODD LESTER, HONEYMOONED IN HURRICANE: Well, it was really one of those things that you just wouldn't believe unless, you know -- that's one reason I videoed it along the way. It was just one of those -- it was unreal. It was like we were in a surreal world, I guess.

VERJEE: Paige?

PAIGE LESTER, HONEYMOONED IN HURRICANE: It was -- of course we didn't expect all of that to happen, especially on our honeymoon, but you just kind of have to roll with the punches and make the best of your situation.

VERJEE: Todd, what was the whole shelter experience like?

T. LESTER: Well, as far as the staff taking care of us, it was excellent. The downside of that is that our shelter had open areas at the top of the gymnasium. So we got a lot of the wind, the rain. And we had to squeegee all the water out pretty much constantly from Friday until Sunday.

VERJEE: When you were evacuating, Paige, finally, when -- your evacuation bus overturned as well, right? Tell us what happened?

P. LESTER: Right.

VERJEE: I mean, this is complete nightmare on a honeymoon.

P. LESTER: Well, you think you're safe after the, you know, Category 4 hurricane passes through, but then when we get on our bus, about an hour outside of Cancun, we're going through floodwater and our bus starts to lurch to the side. So we all have to immediately evacuate the bus and wade through waist-deep water to get to some dry land.

VERJEE: Todd, are you taking her on another honeymoon?

T. LESTER: We hope to.

VERJEE: You better because -- after this...

T. LESTER: I will tell you, it won't be during hurricane season in the Caribbean.

O'BRIEN: Skiing.

VERJEE: Skiing, says Miles. Stick to skiing, it's safer.

Just quickly and finally, Todd, what about the other people you were with? I mean, did you make good friends? What about them? Did they get out safely, too?

T. LESTER: Oh, yes. We met a couple from Boston, Jennifer and Mark and then another guy, Tom, from North Carolina. And Patrick from New York. And those guys were great. That's how we made it through it, because we just kept each other laughing. We told stories and just carried on with them and really we made friends for life. I told them I would have to add them to our Christmas card list now.

VERJEE: Todd and Paige Lester...

O'BRIEN: I have a quick question.

VERJEE: Miles has a quick question.

O'BRIEN: Do you guys believe in omens? Do you think this is a bad omen at all?

P. LESTER: Not at all. I think it actually proves we can survive just about anything.

O'BRIEN: There you go. Excellent, excellent answer.

VERJEE: Todd and Paige Lester, thanks.

O'BRIEN: Best to you. They got a story to tell the kids. VERJEE: Absolutely. And pictures to prove it.

O'BRIEN: Yes, indeed. All right. We're going to take a break. When we come back, we'll get you up to speed and keep you informed on what's going on in Washington today as that CIA leak probe investigation reaches an important milestone. Stay with us for more.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

VERJEE: We've got new information now about some changes at bankrupt Delta Airlines, but first we want to check in on the markets early and here's Andy Serwer.

ANDY SERWER, "FORTUNE" COLUMNIST: Thank you, Zain.

Let's talk about what's going on on Wall Street, check out the big board. Stocks moving upwards up 61 on the Dow Jones industrials. Big news this morning. First read on the gross domestic product for the third quarter. How fast did the economy grow: 3.8 percent. Very strong, especially considering the hurricanes. Faster than economists expected and faster than the second quarter. So good stuff there, Zain.

VERJEE: SBC's going to be taking on AT&T's name, so AT&T brand survives.

SERWER: That's true. And people had expected it would die with this merger, but SBC, which bought AT&T, is going to adopt the name of the company it bought. So look for AT&T to continue.

VERJEE: And Song Airlines, Delta going pull the plug.

SERWER: They are. In fact, we have confirmation now, Zain, from the airline. In May of next year, Song will be no more. Its 48 planes will be folded into the Delta fleet. They will keep some of the amenities from the carrier, such as televisions on the back of the seats and things like that. But look for Song to be no more next spring.

VERJEE: All right. Andy Serwer, thank you so much. It's been a good week.

SERWER: Nice working with you, Zain.

VERJEE: My pleasure -- Miles.

O'BRIEN: Will the Song martinis live on, though?

SERWER: We can only hope.

O'BRIEN: Thank you.

Coming up, more breaking news out of Washington. An indictment against Vice President Cheney's chief of staff apparently imminent. Lewis Scooter Libby is expected to be in the spotlight today in the CIA leak case. We got complete coverage, reporters covering every facet of this for you and we will check in with them after a short break.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

O'BRIEN: A big day in Washington D.C., the special prosecutor, Patrick Fitzgerald, has been looking into the CIA leak case for nearly two years now, is going to tip his hand a little bit. 2:00 p.m. Eastern Time is the news conference, and the indications are that there will be an indictment announced, aimed at the chief of staff for the vice president of the United States Lewis Scooter Libby.

Let's go to the White House right now. Dana Bash has more on what the potential political fallout will be here. One of the things worth pointing out here is Karl Rove, the president's chief political adviser apparently, will not be indicted. However, it is not over for him, is it?

BASH: It's not, Miles. And actually, as you just and said, as we've been reporting all morning, the indication was that he would not be indicted and we have a formal statement from his lawyer, Robert Luskin, and I'll read it. It's very short. "The special counsel has advised Mr. Rove that he has made no decision about whether or not bring charges, and that Mr. Rove's status has not changed. Mr. Rove will continue to cooperate fully with the special counsel's efforts to complete the investigation. We are confident that when the special counsel finishes his work, he will conclude that Mr. Rove has done nothing wrong." That's the official statement from Robert Luskin, Karl Rove's attorney -- Miles.

O'BRIEN: All right, the key point in there, is that on it goes for Karl Rove. We don't know whether there will be an extension of the current grand jury, perhaps a new grand jury, but nonetheless, this story won't go away.

BASH: That's right. You know, when you talk to people close to Karl Rove, associates and even people close to the status of his legal status, not only his political status, they say that he is feeling very good this morning, that he does feel like the fact that he is not going get indicted today is a good sign.

But they do all know that just because they feel like they've convinced perhaps for now Fitzgerald that something he thought Karl Rove that he was not completely -- excuse me, wasn't completely truthful about, and that is conversations about "Time" magazine's Matt Cooper and what he actually discussed with him with regard to this whole case. That is something that is out there still, Miles, and it is something that because it is not fully buttoned up they don't know for sure. But again, at this point, they think that he is, for now, OK, and that is clearly what his lawyer's statement is trying to clarify.

O'BRIEN: You know, I often marvel at the wheels of justice and how slowly they move. It has been 22 minute months, and granted there was the whole Judith Miller sidetrack there which slowed things down. We're talking about "The New York Times" reporter who refused to cooperate. But having said that, what could be left to discuss? Who could be left to talk to that Mr. Fitzgerald hasn't already brought before the grand jury?

BASH: You know what? That is such a good question, and the thing that I've been saying, I know you've been saying, throughout this time in the last couple of weeks, we only know what we know. There's been such a long investigation, 22 months. He's had dozens and dozens of witnesses before the grand jury. So we really don't know what else could be out there, in terms of what source he could have been talking to, what potential targets could be out there that we simply do not know about, but again, because right now in terms of Karl Rove specifically, they do feel good that he won't be indicted today. But if this is an ongoing investigation, it could take any turn, and people close to Karl Rove do understand that as well.

O'BRIEN: Dana Bash at the White House watching it for us. Thank you very much. She and the rest of the team keeping a close pulse on what is going on in Washington right now, a quickening pulse you might say this morning.

Coming up, more on all of that and an apparent indictment against Scooter Libby as we told you. Wolf Blitzer in "THE SITUATION ROOM" will have complete coverage at 10:00 a.m. Eastern. That's about five minutes from now.

We will be back in just a moment.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

VERJEE: Welcome to AMERICAN MORNING. I'm Zain Verjee, in for Soledad. I'd like to welcome our international audience.

O'BRIEN: Everyone in the international audience knows my partner here Zain Verjee, who's been here all this week, sitting in for Soledad. And we have been covering all morning, of course, what is going on in Washington, D.C. First of all, the president of the United States, we'll tell you what he's doing right now. Norfolk, Virginia is where he's headed, giving a speech on the war on terror. That's expected to begin. You see him getting off of Air Force One just a little while ago, expected to begin in just a couple of minutes from now.

Meanwhile, for as long as you're scheduling out your day, 2:00 p.m. Eastern Time -- I don't know what that is in GMT for our international viewers.

VERJEE: It's hours ahead.

O'BRIEN: 1900 GMT, Patrick Fitzgerald, who is the special prosecutor in this case, for 22 months now, will be holding a news conference which you'll see al over the world, and we will find out once and for all what is the fruits of his labor. It's been 22 months, as you say, and Patrick Fitzgerald, someone that Americans consider, many of them today's Elliott Ness, someone who is a straight arrow, a straight shooter, apolitical, has been investigating potentially explosive case of the CIA leak, and the uncovering of a covert CIA agent, which in this country is illegal, and it could have severe implications for the White House.

VERJEE: We are learning today that President Bush's top political strategist Karl Rove will not be indicted, although we have yet to hear the specifics, from the press conference that we're going to at 2:00, but the investigation will go on.

O'BRIEN: That's the interesting part. Karl Rove not to be indicted, or so we're told. That has been the indication to his attorneys and what we've been hearing through our reporters, but very clearly stated through his own attorney. We just heard Dana Bash report that from the White House, very clearly stated by Karl Rove's attorney that the matter is not a dead issue by any stretch of the imagination. So this story, in many respects, is at a midpoint, as opposed to a conclusion, which is perhaps what many people in the White House had hoped for this morning.

VERJEE: It's been one of the toughest weeks for the White House in five years, with the president's nominee for the Supreme Court Harriet Miers withdrawing her nomination yesterday as well. So pretty tough for the White House, and they're bracing themselves for the rest of the day.

O'BRIEN: And a tough week for us here. It began with Hurricane Wilma. It ends right here with a bit of a political typhoon.

And, Zain Verjee, thanks for dropping by. Please come back again sometime.

VERJEE: It was a pleasure to be your victim. And I don't care what they say about you, I think you're great.

O'BRIEN: All right, next week, Soledad is back. We won't get into that. Next week Soledad is back, and I'll be in New Orleans. We're going to check in on a lot of the people we've been telling you about there, the road to recovery in the city of New Orleans. We'll bring you every facet of it, and we'll tell you about where the red tape is, where the problems are, and where people are succeeding as they try to get back now as -- what's the milestone? How long has it been now? Two months, two months since Hurricane Katrina struck.

And now...

VERJEE: We want to take you to the one and only Wolf Blitzer.

O'BRIEN: The SITUATION ROOM begins right now.

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