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Lou Dobbs Tonight
Grief and Fury in West Virginia; Culture of Corruption; $2 Billion Depressed Wages; Ariel Sharon Suffers Stroke; Bush Defends War Handling Among Carnage Today; Debate Over Wiretaps Continues; How Bush Can Recover; Iran Takes Steps to Restart Nuclear Program
Aired January 04, 2006 - 18:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
LOU DOBBS, CNN ANCHOR: Good evening, everybody.
Tonight, grief and fury in West Virginia after 12 miners were killed in the Sago Mine disaster. And an unbelievable communications blunder. We'll have complete coverage tonight.
New guilty pleas today by former top lobbyist Jack Abramoff as the widening influence-peddling scandal sent shockwaves through Washington.
A deadly violence in Iraq, the worst since the Iraqi elections three weeks ago, as the United States considers new troop withdrawals. We're live at the Pentagon with the story.
President Bush and Vice President Cheney strike back at critics of their national security policies. Tonight, we examine the clash between national security and civil liberties.
Then, how the invasion of illegal aliens has cut American wages by $2 billion in one state alone. Two billion dollars, and costing us all much more for essential services such as healthcare and education.
We'll have that special report.
And we're following a breaking story for you tonight from the Middle East. Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon is in surgery at this hour after suffering a massive stroke. Power in Israel has been transferred to the deputy prime minister. We'll keep you up to date with the developments throughout this broadcast.
We begin tonight with the grief and anger in West Virginia after this country's worst mining disaster in four years. Rescue workers found only one of 13 coal miner alive after more than a day and a half in which they were trapped underground. But owing to what mine officials call a tragic miscommunication, family members were told initially that 12 of the miners had survived.
Tonight, there are many unanswered questions about what happened and why and how those miners died.
Brian Todd has the latest for us from the Sago Mine in West Virginia. Chris Huntington reporting from the West Virginia University Hospital in Morgantown on the condition of the sole survivor. We turn first to Brian Todd -- Brian.
BRIAN TODD, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Lou, today the officials from the International Coal Group spoke for the first time about the breakdown in communication late last night early and this morning. The CEO of that company, Ben Hatfield, spoke in a halting and sometimes tearful voice about the timeline of that breakdown in communications and of how the whole situation played out.
Essentially, they said at 11:45 p.m. last night, they received word from somewhere in the mine that the 12 miners were alive. It was not until 12:30 when the first rescue team got out and the celebrations had begun that they had word from the team that was furthest in the mine that the 12 miners may, in fact, not be alive. And not until 2:15 a.m. to 2:30 a.m. Eastern Time this morning did they get word that, in fact, the 12 miners had died. That was well into the celebrations.
At another instant in this news conference today, the CEO of that company, Ben Hatfield, tried to explain how the breakdown occurred.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
BEN HATFIELD, PRESIDENT, INTERNATIONAL COAL GROUP: We fully recognize the criticism that the company has received about the manner in which the news was communicated to the families. Rightly or wrongly, we believed it was important to make factual statements to the families, and we believe that word had been sent to the church to indicate that additional reports were -- may not be correct. We made what we believe to be the best decisions based on the information available, while working under extreme stress and physical exhaustion.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
TODD: Ben Hatfield said very late this afternoon after that news conference and, in fact, probably at this hour, they were going to begin the post-incident investigation with state, local, federal officials to determine not only the cause of the accident here but the breakdown in communication, to lay it all out. And we hope to get more information on that soon.
In the meantime, we spoke a short time ago with officials from the state medical examiner's office. They tell us that the bodies of the 12 miners will arrive at that office in Charleston, West Virginia, this evening. There will be autopsies conducted on Thursday and Friday -- Lou.
DOBBS: Brian, thank you very much.
Brian Todd.
The one sole survivor of this disaster tonight is in critical condition. But doctors say the miner, Randal McCloy, is slowly making progress.
Chris Huntington reports from West University Hospital in Morgantown.
Chris, what is the latest on McCloy's condition and his prognosis?
CHRIS HUNTINGTON, CNN CORRESPONDENT: To cut right to the chase on the prognosis, the doctors said it's conceivable that McCloy could leave here in 10 days. Lou, they point right to the fact that he's relatively young, 27 years old, and in good physical condition. And that played a huge part in his ability to survive the ordeal.
He came here with a collapsed lung, suffering from carbon monoxide poisoning, severe dehydration. He's also got a kidney problem as a result of that. But this afternoon, the lead trauma specialist treating McCloy had this to say about his condition.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
DR. LARRY ROBERTS, WEST VIRGINIA UNIVERSITY HOSPITALS: In the past few hours, I'm happy to report there's been some improvement. Mr. McCloy has -- we decreased the sedation, and he was able to interact a little bit with us. Some appropriate movements, responded to his wife in an appropriate manner. And I think all of that is very, very positive.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
HUNTINGTON: Now, specifically, Lou, McCloy was able to squeeze a doctor's hand upon request and respond to his wife with facial movements. They hope to be able to trim down the sedatives tomorrow and perhaps even to feed him. They've really only been rehydrating him at this point. The crucial thing they say is to get his electrolytes back up, to try and suppress that problem with his kidney -- Lou.
DOBBS: Thank you very much. Chris Huntington.
We'll be returning to both Brian Todd and Chris Huntington as new developments occur in this hour. We'll have continuous coverage throughout here on CNN.
Turning now to the day's other top stories, in Miami, federal court today, former top lobbyist Jack Abramoff pleaded guilty to two additional felony counts of conspiracy and fraud. Today's guilty pleas come as President Bush and our nation's lawmakers rush to give back tainted donations that had been tied to Abramoff and his clients.
Ed Henry has the latest for us from Capitol Hill -- Ed.
ED HENRY, CNN CONGRESSIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Lou, those charges stemming from Abramoff's fraudulent purchase of a fleet of gambling boats back in the year 2000. This puts the finishing touches on that plea deal first signed off on yesterday in Washington in which now Abramoff will basically be turning on some public officials.
It's got Washington abuzz. Several sources close to the investigation have told CNN that, in fact, Abramoff was a ferocious e- mailer, he was constantly e-mailing all of his business partners about his various activities. That could provide prosecutors with a real roadmap of corruption all over town. And as you mentioned, lawmakers now scurrying to get rid of money they got from Abramoff or his associates.
In fact, today, the Bush-Cheney campaign from 2004 acknowledging they have now turned over $6,000 in campaign money from Abramoff dating to the last presidential campaign. The Republican National Committee saying that money will be now donated to charity, the American Heart Association.
Now, the former House majority leader, Tom DeLay, tonight announcing he's giving back about $15,000 related to Abramoff. Republican Congressman Bob Ney giving back $6,500. Half of that from Abramoff, half of from Michael Scanlon, the other business partner here.
Roy Blunt, who replaced Tom DeLay as the acting majority leader, $8,500 given back. Dennis Hastert, the speaker of the House, about $70,000.
Hal Rogers of Kentucky, $32,000. He's a Republican. Republican Senator Gordon Smith, $8500. On and on. Senator Conrad Burns another one. He's given back the most, $150,000. A Democrat, Senator Byron Dorgan, has given back about $67,000.
The bottom line here as well is that Senate Majority Leader Bill Frist announced today he's giving back from his political action committee about $2,000. And perhaps more importantly, telling CNN that, in fact, he has now deputized Republican Senator Rick Santorum to craft an ethics reform package to crack down on lobbyists.
This is a sign, Lou, Republicans are very nervous about this issue, how it may play in the next election. They're trying to get head of this speeding locomotive. Time will tell whether or not they can just blame it on lobbyists, or whether or not some lawmakers will be held accountable as well -- Lou.
DOBBS: As you say, the Republican leadership moving. We're not sure precisely how profoundly or well. But Democrats have every reason to be worried here as well, as your list of those returning money suggests.
HENRY: That's right. Now, some of the Democrats, like Byron Dorgan, point out they didn't actually get the money from Abramoff directly in his pocket. They got it from some of his clients. But the bottom line is, some of the Republicans got it from Abramoff's clients as well. They didn't get it from Abramoff's pocket.
And as you mentioned, there are Democrats across town who are worried. Abramoff was somebody who had connections on both sides of the aisle, though it mostly was Republican -- Lou.
DOBBS: And since just about half of the congressmen who leave Congress eventually return as lobbyists, what are the odds that there will be any significant reform? Just how motivated are our pristine members of Congress at this point?
HENRY: Lou, every few years, as you know, there's some sort of major scandal that gets Congress scurrying around to try to pass something. The best bet is it will wind up being something that is watered down and it will be mostly business as usual.
It depends, though, how far it goes with Abramoff and whether this really rocks the town or becomes not that big of a deal. But the best bet is that it's going to be something in the end that is watered down -- Lou.
DOBBS: Unless the American people, the American voters finally have a belly full. We'll see as they're being tested to new levels.
Thank you very much. Ed Henry from Capitol Hill.
Well, as Ed just reported, our lawmakers are now insisting on immediate lobbying reform. But for year those -- for years, those Washington lobbyists have showered members of Congress with lavish gifts and cash donations, and Congress has gladly accepted on behalf of the best government that money can buy.
Lisa Sylvester reports.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
LISA SYLVESTER, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Lobbying is all about access, special interest groups paying for face time with members of Congress in the hopes of getting legislation passed. From lavish parties to the golf course, more than $2 billion is spent annually on lobbying. Almost twice as much as what's handed out in campaign contributions.
ALEX KNOTT, CENTER FOR PUBLIC INTEGRITY: When you've got huge amounts of money rolling in and lobbyists writing bill after bill, the American public deserves to know where this legislation came from and who it's going to affect.
SYLVESTER: Jack Abramoff's dealings have shined a spotlight on K Street in Washington, where most firms are based. Lobbyists are required to register and file disclosure forms, but the rules are lax. One in five required forms is not filed at all.
Currently, there are 14,000 missing disclosure forms according to the Center for Public Integrity. Senator John McCain and Chris Shays have proposed new legislation that would require more disclosure of events and fund-raisers, mandate lobbyists reports if they've ever worked in key positions in the government.
The bill changes the waiting period from one year to two years that lawmakers and senior staffers must sit out before taking a lobbying position. It requires lawmakers to pay fair market price for flights, entertainment and sports tickets, and sets up a new electronic database for disclosure forms.
REP. CHRIS SHAYS (D), CONNECTICUT: Candidly, Congress is getting bought off. I mean, it happens periodically. And when it happens, we need to take action.
SYLVESTER: Just as Watergate led to campaign finance reform, some experts say the Abramoff scandal could lead to major changes in how lobbying is done in Washington.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
SYLVESTER: Congressman Chris Shays and Senator John McCain also are proposing increasing the fines for failing to disclose from $50,000 to $100,000. They also want to have disclosure reports filed quarterly instead of twice a year. Because of situations like the Central American Free Trade Agreement, or CAFTA, lobbyists did not have to disclose until after that vote took place, so it was not easy, it was not very apparent to tell how special interests were influencing the debate -- Lou.
DOBBS: But clear to all involved what was going on. And I think perhaps in your report, reminding us of what happened in the '70s with campaign finance reform, we saw how well that worked over the succeeding three decades.
Lisa Sylvester. Thank you very much.
Just ahead here, Vice President Cheney on the offensive. The government's secret wiretap program under attack. We'll tell you what the vice president is saying.
Also, illegal aliens stealing jobs from hard-working Americans. New information tonight about the stunning impact on our struggling middle class. We'll have that special report.
And defending the rights of illegal aliens. We'll tell you why one big business group is calling the police in one California town racist just for doing their job.
Stay with us.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
DOBBS: Tonight, stunning new evidence on this nation's illegal alien crisis and its impact on our middle class. A new study shows illegal immigration is depressing wages by some $2 billion in North Carolina alone. This new evidence suggesting illegal aliens are now taking desirable jobs from our middle class workforce.
Bill Tucker reports.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
BILL TUCKER, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): The impact of Hispanics in North Carolina is noticeable but not measured until now. Seventy-six percent of Hispanics who have moved to the state since 1995 are illegal aliens according to a new study by the University of North Carolina. Five of the top seven occupations for Hispanics in North Carolina were in construction in 2004, 29 percent of the jobs held by Hispanic workers, and wages fell. JOHN KASARDA, UNIV. OF NORTH CAROLINA: From 2004, the construction industry without the Hispanic labor if they paid the wages of non-Hispanics, assuming there's a labor substitution effect of non-Hispanics, would have been almost $1 billion higher.
TUCKER: Among the studies other findings, the influx of illegals did create 90,000 new jobs, while suppressing overall wage growth by $2 billion statewide. Additional costs in 2004 included education, $476 million; health care, $299 million; and law enforcement, $51 million; for an additional $817 million in the budget.
Increasingly, state politicians nationwide are beginning to realize the cost of illegal immigration in their states.
Governor Pawlenty of Minnesota estimates that it cost his state roughly $180 million last year. He's calling for a crackdown.
GOV. TIM PAWLENTY (R), MINNESOTA: If we don't have a system that is based on illegal process above board, the support for it is going to erode. And we've been hearing mounting concerns from law enforcement, health care deliveries, social service, education, average citizens, employers, labor groups that we've got a major problem on our hands.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
TUCKER: And in Colorado today, four bills have been introduced in the state legislature to crack down on illegal immigration. That includes one bill, Lou, that would prohibit the state from doing business with contractors who hire illegal aliens.
DOBBS: It is remarkable to hear the governors coming to terms with the fact that we have got simply an extraordinary crisis on our hands, and that the economic impact is just utterly -- it's just crushing. Oh, it's great for the illegal employers who are hiring these illegal aliens, but you and I and everybody watching this broadcast is paying their bill.
TUCKER: Exactly.
DOBBS: Bill, thank you very much. Bill Tucker.
Well, the U.S. Chamber of Commerce is outlining its agenda for the new year, and among its top priorities, fighting any legislation that would crack down on illegal immigration and the businesses that hire illegal aliens. The bill, which passed last month in the House of Representatives, also increase the penalties for hiring illegal aliens.
The president of the Chamber of Commerce, Tom Donohue, calls the curbs, "unreasonable and unfair," and said, "Some provisions could potentially turn business people into criminals and workers into felons."
With all due respect, Mr. Donohue, those who hire illegal aliens are already criminals, and the businesses that knowingly hire them should be punished. I'm sure you would agree because, after all, you were a leading advocate of the reform of bankruptcy laws, and you want, I would assume, to preserve law and order in this country.
I think, Tom, it's an astonishing position you've taken. I'd be delighted to have you on the broadcast to talk about what big business is doing and why it thinks it has the right to suggest such a roll-up of legislation that has been desperately need for a decade.
A group of pro-illegal alien activists staged an outrageous protest in California. They're trying to stop one California city from prosecuting illegal aliens who commit crimes because, they claim, it's racist to do so.
Casey Wian reports from Costa Mesa, California.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
CASEY WIAN, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Police broke up a hostile protest by supporters of illegal alien rights Tuesday night in Costa Mesa, California. Protesters are angry that the city council last month approved a measure allowing the local police department to train officers to help enforce federal immigration laws.
This protester tried to take over the meeting and was forcibly removed and arrested by police. He's charged with disrupting an assembly and obstructing an arresting officer.
Others held up a sign claiming Costa Mesa's mayor, who first proposed the immigration enforcement idea, is a bigot. All this because police will now check the immigration status of criminal suspects.
MAYOR ALLAN MANSOOR, COSTA MESA, CALIFORNIA: I don't see how anyone could protest the very basics, the very least that the American public is expecting from its law enforcement and its elected officials, which is to enforce our basic laws, when people are not only here illegally, but they're breaking the law, committing a crime here while in the United States.
WIAN: Supporters of the mayor were outnumbered at the meeting about two to one.
LUPE MORENO, BORDER SECURITY ACTIVIST: I'm a Latina, but before anything else I'm an American. And one of the things that really bothers me as a Latina is that I am grouped together with people that don't have any respect for our laws, continue to break our laws, and they think they can get away with that.
No, they can't. They need to be deported.
WIAN: And that will happen to more criminal illegal aliens under Costa Mesa's new policy.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
WIAN: Costa Mesa is part of a growing national movement. Three California counties and three states have already approved similar programs for their law enforcement officers, and Costa Mesa's mayor says he's heard from several other cities around the country who want to help enforce immigration laws -- Lou.
DOBBS: Casey, give us a somewhat larger sense of just exactly who those are in protesting what seems to be a perfectly reasonable, lawful and responsible action for any city to take in this country.
WIAN: That's a good point, Lou. Frankly, many of them are folks who advocate 00 they're Reconquistas, folks who advocate returning the southwest United States or much of the Southwest United States to Mexican control.
And we're not talking about a new policy that is going to round up immigrants on the street. We're talking about checking the immigration status of criminal suspects. It's one thing to advocate for the rights of illegal aliens, quite another to advocate for the rights of criminal illegal aliens -- Lou.
DOBBS: The Reconquistas, as they are called, who suggest that large parts of the Southwest, a large part of the United States be simply returned to Mexico, they have broad support beyond their own organization? Because they're showing up increasingly at all of these -- these rallies and protests.
WIAN: They don't have broad support. The mayor of Costa Mesa says he's received overwhelming support from the citizens of this city in favor of this new measure. They're just the most vocal and they happen to show up at many of these events where illegal immigration is on the agenda.
DOBBS: And my guess is that the open borders advocates and those who are advocates for illegal aliens would personally like to see them not show up at so many of these rallies and events.
Casey Wian, thank you for that excellent report. Casey Wian, from Costa Mesa, California.
We'd like to know what you think about this issue. And in tonight's poll, our question is: Do you believe federal, state and local authorities should be compelled to determine the citizenship status of any criminal suspect?
Cast your vote at loudobbs.com. We'll bring you the results here later in the broadcast.
Still ahead, Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon tonight is fighting for his life after suffering a massive stroke. We'll have the very latest.
And our nation's middle class under attack. One health care crisis away from financial ruin, even if they are insured. A special report next.
Stay with us.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
DOBBS: Tonight, shocking new information about skyrocketing health care costs in this country and what they're doing to this nation's middle class. These costs have put tens of millions of Americans at risk of losing everything even though they are insured.
Christine Romans reports.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
CHRISTINE ROMANS, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Nancy Cantor was just an illness away from financial ruin.
NANCY CANTOR, STRUGGLING TO PAY MEDICAL BILLS: We were a middle class family living in Scottsdale, Arizona, for 44 years.
ROMANS: Middle class with a home and health insurance. Newly widowed and still paying her husband's bills, a colon cancer diagnosis nearly bankrupted her.
CANTOR: I moved out of house, I moved in with my son.
ROMANS: She has avoided bankruptcy but is struggling to stay middle class, and still has $3,000 in medical debt left to pay.
As many as 77 million Americans are like Nancy Cantor, struggling to pay their medical bills or bogged down in medical debt. And health insurance is no guarantee.
A seminal Harvard study 2001 data found of the bankruptcies caused by medical bills, 75 percent of those people had health insurance, and researchers say there is no doubt that the trend has only accelerated in the past five years.
DR. DAVID HIMMELSTEIN, HARVARD MEDICAL SCHOOL: There are more people with coverage with huge co-payments and deductibles and services that their insurance won't pay for. So undoubtedly, more and more people are being driven to financial ruin by medical problems.
ROMANS: Years of stagnant wage, a historically low savings rate and skyrocketing drug and health care costs have left the middle class but strapped.
PAUL GINSBURG, CENTER FOR STUDYING HEALTH SYSTEM CHANGE: The theme today is personal responsibility, accountability, consumer- driven health care. And people are at risk for more of the cost of care.
ROMANS: Employers shifting more responsibility for health costs onto employees. At the same time, new technology offers complicated, expensive, life-saving surgeries and devices.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
ROMANS: We are in a sense victims of our own success. A generation ago, a heart attack was treated with rest and medicine. Today, any number of expensive technologies are standard. Trouble is, even solidly in the middle class, you might not be able to afford it -- Lou.
DOBBS: Christine, thank you very much. Christine Romans.
Coming up next, presidential historian Joan Hoff on George Bush's 2006 challenge.
But first, let's take a look at the top stories of this hour.
Doctors say the lone survivor of the West Virginia mine explosion remains in critical condition with a collapsed lung. But doctors say 27-year-old Randal McCloy is making progress.
Mine officials say they regret the tragic miscommunication when family members were led to believe all the miners had survived.
In Texas today, officials say they have the upper hand on their efforts to battle the last major wildfire. But those officials warn weather conditions could start new wildfires and make them extremely likely in fact because of the weather forecast for the days ahead.
The U.S. Supreme Court tonight ordering terrorist suspect Jose Padilla transferred from military to civilian custody at the request of the White House. Padilla now faces criminal conspiracy charges in Florida.
We have the latest now on breaking news out of Israel. Executive power in Israel has been transferred tonight to Israel's deputy prime minister, Ehud Olmert, after Prime Minister Ariel Sharon suffered a massive stroke. Olmert has been a member of the Israeli parliament for 30 years, and at this hour, Sharon is undergoing emergency surgery in the hospital in Jerusalem.
Doctors say Sharon is receiving that surgery in an effort to relieve pressure on his brain. Three weeks ago Sharon suffered another stroke, but it was much less severe. Sharon is the architect of the peace plan that led to the withdrawal of Israeli settlers and troops from Gaza. Sharon recently quit his Likud Party and is now leading a new centrist party. We'll have updates on the prime minister's condition throughout the evening here on CNN.
In Iraq, the deadliest day of violence since the Iraqi elections three weeks ago. More than 50 people were killed in a series of attacks today across the country. The carnage came as President Bush in remarks at the Pentagon strongly defended his administration's handling of the war. Jamie McIntyre reports from the Pentagon.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
JAMIE MCINTYRE, CNN SENIOR PENTAGON CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): On a day when insurgents armed with rocket-propelled grenades and machine guns were able to destroy several tanker trucks in a 60- vehicle fuel convoy north of Baghdad and a suicide bomber was able to infiltrate a funeral procession, killing more than 30 Iraqis and wounding dozens of others. President Bush asserted that U.S. policy in Iraq is on track.
GEORGE W. BUSH, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: In Iraq, 2005 was a year of progress toward meeting our goal of victory.
MCINTYRE: But following a private Pentagon briefing from his national security team and top military commanders, Mr. Bush conceded he is troubled by reports that some Shia-dominated Iraqi police units are accused of abusing members of the Sunni minority. Conduct he said was unacceptable.
BUSH: First we're going to work with the Iraqi government to increase the training Iraqi police recruits receive in human rights and the rule of law. So they understand the role of the police and a Democratic society.
MCINTYRE: The president said U.S. troops would embed with the Iraqi police to provide oversight and advice. Meanwhile, the latest insurgent attacks killed more than 50 Iraqis and the Iraqi interior ministry released the first official tally of Iraqi deaths for 2005.
More than 7,000, including 4,000 civilians, 1,700 military and police, and another 1,700 insurgents. The U.S. military death toll in Iraq last year was almost identical to the year before, 846 in 2005, compared to 848 in 2004. In a speech in Washington, Vice President Dick Cheney argued the high cost in lives is worth it.
DICK CHENEY, VICE PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: As the peoples of that region experience new hope, progress and control over their own lives, we will see the power of freedom to change our world, and a terrible threat will be removed from the lives of our children and our grandchildren.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
MCINTYRE: President Bush again hinted at further troop cuts later this year, saying that would be discussed with the new Iraqi government once it is formed. But he insisted any decision on reductions would be based on the recommendations of his military commanders, not on what he called an artificial political timetable. Lou?
DOBBS: Jamie, thank you very much. Jamie McIntyre from the Pentagon.
Vice President Cheney also talking about the war on terror in this country. The vice president declaring the government's secret wiretap program in the United States is helping stop potential terrorist attacks. His comments part of what appears to be a concerted White House offensive on national security policy. Dana Bash reports from the White House.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
DANA BASH, CNN WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): At the Pentagon, the commander-in-chief predicted 2006 will be a year of major gains in the fight against terrorism. BUSH: The American people can be rest assured this administration understands the task and understands the challenges and understands our obligation to protect you.
BASH: Upbeat comments about Iraq and Afghanistan contained no new policy. But instead more of a 2005 lesson senior aides concede they learned the hard way. At a time of war, especially a controversial war, the president must constantly talk about it publicly. It was left to the vice president to defend the most controversial aspect of the administration's strategy.
CHENEY: Either we are serious about fighting this war or we are not.
BASH: The secret directive allowing domestic spying without a warrant...
CHENEY: Some in Washington are yielding to the temptation to downplay the ongoing threat to our country and to back away from the business at hand. America has been protected not by luck but by sensible-policy decisions, by decisive action at home and abroad.
BASH: ... at the conservative Heritage Foundation in Washington, Mr. Cheney rebutted critics who say the National Security Agency's domestic surveillance is a violation of privacy and perhaps the law. And recalled his experience as President Ford's chief of staff in the days after Watergate, when there was widespread concern about the abuse of executive power.
CHENEY: We were adamant about following the law and protecting civil liberties of all Americans and we did so. Three decades later, I work for a president who shares those same values.
BASH: But even some Republicans call spying on Americans without a warrant, wartime or not, indefensible.
BRUCE FEIN, CONSTITUTIONAL LAWYER: The president is really saying this is a permanent condition, where I can do anything I think is appropriate to invade civil liberties, to take shortcuts with regard to due process, if I think it helps the war effort. And that's simply wrong.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
BASH: A senior administration official says the vice president was eager not only to vigorously defend the controversial NSA program but also try to stop critics from defining it before the White House can. But Bush aides concede that is something that is not going to be easy because they will only go so far in talking about the details because they're so highly classified. Lou?
DOBBS: But what is not classified, of course, is the fact that it is occurring, and it is occurring in a way which it has never occurred before in this country. And therein lies the issue of whether one is concerned about it or having the opportunity and the desire to defend it. Thank you very much, appreciate it, Dana Bash. Now for opposing views on the wiretap program and its effectiveness in the war against radical Islamist terrorists and its impact, if any, on Americans civil liberties. In a moment I'll be talking with a leading critic of the Bush administration's policies, James Bamford.
But first I'm joined by a leading supporter of this administration, a former member of the administration, Ron Christie, former special assistant to the president, author of the new book "Black in the White House." Ron, it's good to have you here.
RON CHRISTIE, FORMER SPECIAL ASSISTANT TO PRESIDENT BUSH: Well, it's good to see you.
DOBBS: Why do you believe that this is a justified action on the part of the administration? And when I say justified action, the way in which they've gone about it.
CHRISTIE: I think it's justified because the president laid out very clearly to the American people that there are certain instances that al Qaeda or members of other terrorist organizations want to hurt us. They might make one phone call, either to the United States or to coordinate with their terrorist colleagues.
What the president wanted to do was to order the NSA in a highly classified manner to allow them to intercept these conversations with either al Qaeda members abroad or making that call under the United States.
Not disrupting American civil liberties. Not listening to everybody in the United States and their private phone calls, but only in limited circumstance. And Lou, I would stress that is not an unprecedented authority. President Clinton exercised the same authority and President Clinton's Deputy Attorney General Jamie Gorelick said that the president has the inherent constitutional ability to order wiretapped searches for electronics eavesdropping purposes.
DOBBS: But unlike President Clinton, this president has the advantage of the Patriot Act and the FBI has the responsibility to carry out wiretaps and do so under the auspices and the watchful eye, watching if you will, for the civil rights of all Americans. That's provided for in the Patriot Act, the FBI has the appropriate jurisdiction, what would be wrong with simply using this power under those codes?
CHRISTIE: Lou, I'd make the distinction with the Patriot Act, the Patriot Act lowered some of the barriers between sharing of intelligence and working across the lines in the United States government.
In this particular limited case, the president of the United States wanted to take all steps necessary to protect Americans, and I think if you go out and you ask the American people if the president of the United States was listening or ensuring that al Qaeda terrorists who are trying to harm this country had their conversation intercepted, I don't think the American people would have a problem with it.
The Fourth Amendment provides for a reasonable search and seizure. The Fourth Amendment provides for protections against unreasonable searches. This was not an unreasonable search, it was not an unreasonable seizure, and the president had the authority to act both under the Constitution and under the law.
DOBBS: Ron Christie, as always, it was good to talk with you.
CHRISTIE: Lou, my pleasure.
DOBBS: Good to see you.
CHRISTIE: Thank you.
DOBBS: I'll be talking with James Bamford here next, he has a very different view about the president's decision to go ahead with the secret wiretap program.
Also ahead here, Iran escalating its nuclear defiance, taking action that could help it produce nuclear weapons and a geopolitical confrontation. We'll have that special report next. Stay with us.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
DOBBS: James Bamford strong opposed the government's secret wiretap program saying -- it's what he calls "an arrogance of power," and it's an arrogance of power that's flowing throughout the entire administration. James Bamford is author of "A Pretext For War: 9/11, Iraq, and the Abuse of America's Intelligence Agencies," joining us tonight from Washington. Good have you here.
JAMES BAMFORD, AUTHOR, "A PRETEXT FOR WAR": Thanks, Lou, good to be here.
DOBBS: You just heard Ron Christy, a former member of this administration who strongly believes that the administration is absolutely correct in its position. What do you find fault with in the position taken?
BAMFORD: Well, it's very clear, it's a violation of the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act. That act was created specifically to keep NSA and the administration -- whatever administration happened to be in power -- from eavesdropping on U.S. citizens without going through an impartial judge to make that decision.
We're not supposed to allow the executive to make those decision, we're supposed to allow this judge, and by going around it, they violated that law. That law was supposed to be the only way that the administration could do this.
DOBBS: And you heard Ron Christie say that other administrations have done precisely the same thing. He said the Clinton administration, your thoughts?
BAMFORD: That's not true. I mean, the Clinton administration never went around the FISA court. They went right through -- they went to the FISA to get warrants. Nobody since the FISA court was created in 1978 has ever gone around the FISA court. That's why you have a judge quitting from the FISA court because of this happening.
DOBBS: And the idea that the NSA is conducting surveillance without the oversight of courts, what do you think will be the long- term impact here?
BAMFORD: Well, I think there should be criminal charges brought. This is a federal criminal violation, it's five years in jail. So whenever you have a violation, I think it should be pursued by the FBI, or whoever is doing the investigation.
I think at the minimum you should have Congress begin investigations and possibly a special counsel. This is a very serious thing when you have the administration violating a court to illegally spy on U.S. citizens.
DOBBS: James Bamford, we thank you for being here. Appreciate it.
BAMFORD: My pleasure, Lou.
DOBBS: Still ahead, Iran's nuclear defiance. Governments around the world tonight are condemning the latest nuclear threat from Tehran. We'll have a special report.
And then President Bush facing rising, significant challenges at home and abroad. I'll be talking about the state of this presidency with author and presidential historian Joan Hoff. Stay with us.
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DOBBS: President Bush is entering the second year of his second term with some of the lowest approval ratings of his presidency. The new year is expected to bring even more challenges for the president, including another congressional debate over the Patriot Act, hearings into secret domestic wiretapping.
And joining me now for some assessment on the state of this presidency is author and presidential historian Joan Hoff. Good to have you here.
JOAN HOFF, PRESIDENTIAL HISTORIAN: Thanks for having me.
DOBBS: The problems seem to mount. We've seen a slight rebound in the president's numbers. With your best instinct as historian but also, obviously, as an observer of what is happening currently, how much trouble is this president in?
HOFF: I think he's in quite a bit of trouble. And the thing is, second term presidents tend to run into trouble. So in that sense he's not out of the ordinary.
They run into trouble because past mistakes from the first administration come to haunt them, or they abuse power because they've been re-elected, or they have promised grandiose things in the first term that they can't deliver on. So they have a variety of things that come back to haunt them in that second term, and in Bush's case can you see this happening.
DOBBS: Amongst the things that, obviously, have to be dealt with successfully by this president, it seems to all of us, I'm sure, is success with the war in Iraq. Without that, it looks like his legacy would be extraordinarily diminished. Is that a correct view?
HOFF: It's a correct view, I think, because he places so much emphasis on it after 9/11. And consequently, what happens when a president does that, place so much emphasis in the first term on one issue, it does then -- he better deliver on that issue in the second term.
And I quite frankly think that the issue of Iraq is out of his control at this stage of the game. It's going to linger for years. The elections haven't produced really secular governments or secular plurality in Iraq.
And so he's got a problem there that I don't think he any longer can control. To preserve his legacy, he probably has to backup and maybe concentrate now in the second term on domestic policy.
DOBBS: Do you see in this president any backup whatsoever? Because it hasn't been obvious to most of us so far.
HOFF: No, this is true. And when you talk about a legacy, the long-term legacy is determined by scholars who take decades to figure out the importance. The short-term legacy though, is determined very often by a popular public opinion, and that is based on impressionistic, intuitive kinds of impressions they have of the president.
DOBBS: This president, until the last year, his administration -- certainly to me at least -- seemed to be extraordinarily successful in managing public perception. His P.R. was incredible.
HOFF: Exactly.
DOBBS: What happened?
HOFF: I can tell you in a word: Katrina. Until that natural disaster occurred, he had it made, it looked like. He was higher in the polls than ever before and he was higher in the polls through the election.
But the public perceived an incompetency with respect to the way the administration handled the Katrina disaster, and if he can't rebuild or have a plan for New Orleans, how is he going to reconstruct Iraq? There was, I think, a connection made -- very subtle -- and he tanked in the polls as a result of that.
DOBBS: He's also rebounded. What can this president -- what can he do to resurrect his presidency, to restore his approval ratings if you will? HOFF: Well, he's got to restore them beyond what they are. He's only up to 44, 45. Remember that Carter was at 44, 45 when he went out as a failed presidency. And even Nixon was at 45 at beginning of 1974 when he resigned.
DOBBS: When he was resigning ...
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HOFF: Yes, so 45 isn't going to make it for him. And I do think that he's come up with a plan with respect to Iraq to talk about total or complete victory, which I initially thought was a mistake. But that will allow him to dumb down the definition of victory so he can escape from Iraq perhaps as Nixon escaped from Vietnam by declaring peace and honor when neither is really the case.
DOBBS: Well, hopefully we can find honor in all of this without public relations.
HOFF: He's got a rough road to hoe.
DOBBS: As do we all. Joan Hoff, thank you very much. Appreciate it. Presidential historian Joan Hoff.
And a reminder, please consider voting in our poll tonight. The question is, do you believe federal, state, and local authorities should be compelled to determine the citizenship status of any criminal suspect? Yes or no, cast your vote at loudobbs.com. We'll have the results coming up in just a few moments.
Just ahead, Iran takes another radical step toward building a nuclear weapon. We'll have a special report on how this country and the rest of the world have decided to react. Stay with us.
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DOBBS: Tonight, Iran's radical Islamist government is defying the entire world and working to restart a nuclear program that would help it develop nuclear weapons.
The United States immediately warned Iran it could face additional measures to restrain its nuclear ambitions, but stopped short of saying just what those measures might be. Kitty Pilgrim reports.
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KITTY PILGRIM, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): The president of Iran, Mahmoud Ahmadinejad is taunting the world by starting up the country's nuclear program again. This the most radical in a series of provocative moves.
In recent weeks he has threatened to wipe Israel off the map and denied the holocaust even happened. Last fall, Ahmadinejad shocked the world community by giving blistering anti-American speeches at the United Nations. These are not just the rantings of a radical Islamist. The threat is real. Iran has a missile, the Shahab-3, that has a range of 750 miles, Capable of hitting Israel, and has a stated desire to dominate the region.
ROBERT EINHORN, CTR. FOR STRATEGIC & INTL STUDIES: Iranians have decided to keep moving forward, and they've decided that they're going to test the international community to see what they can get away with.
PILGRIM: Iran sent a letter to the U.N. watchdog group in Vienna, the IAEA, saying it is starting the nuclear program. Last year, on her first trip to Europe as secretary of state, Condoleezza Rice played down the option of an attack on Iranian nuclear facilities.
She supported European diplomatic efforts to bring Iran into line. Those efforts have now utterly failed.
RAY TAKEYH, "THE RISE & FALL OF RAD. POL. ISLAM": I never thought the European nuclear negotiations were going to succeed in terms of their ability to have some sort of a viable disarmament package. I suspect this issue will make its way from one international institution to another one, and soon it may end up as a purview of the U.N. Security council.
PILGRIM: Although it is unlikely Russia, China or any other combination of unaligned countries would support any action against Iran at the United Nations.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
PILGRIM: The U.S. Treasury Department today announced it was freezing assets on two Iranian companies, Novan Energy (ph) and Mussab (ph) Energy Company, the front companies for the atomic energy organization of Iran. For now that seems the sum total of action the United States has been willing to do other than wait for European negotiations to grind on. Lou?
DOBBS: Thank you very much, Kitty Pilgrim.
The Bush administration and the Senate have dropped a Buy American provision from a new defense bill because of concerns about offending other countries.
The bill, approved by The House, will allow for an open competition in a multi billion dollar contract to build refueling tankers for the U.S. Air Force. The chairman of the House Armed Services Committee, Congressman Duncan Hunter, inserted the Buy America provision. Congressman Hunter says he will fight for the provision in the future.
Still ahead, the results of our poll, and we'll be glad to share some of your thoughts. Stay with us.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK) DOBBS: The results of our poll tonight, overwhelming. Ninety- six percent of you saying federal, state and local authorities should be compelled to determine the citizenship status of any criminal suspect. Taking a look now at some of your thoughts.
Louis in California reacting to our poll last night said, "I've read the preliminary results of the Lou Dobbs poll regarding the banning of lobbyists. The 9% who were for continued lobbying must be the Congressman and their relatives."
William in California said, "With the exposure of this lobbyist, Americans must now know why Congress passed the new bankruptcy law, why we're outsourcing American jobs and health care, why our borders are not protected, why we're hiring illegals and why they passed this fruitless Medicare bill, which is a windfall for the drug companies. I have a hard time figuring out why I vote.
Dewey in Louisiana wrote, "Lou, if we banned the lobbyists, there wouldn't be anybody left to write the laws."
Sally in Oregon said, "Whatever made it all right for lobbyists to buy our government in the first place. This is our country and they are selling us out to the highest bidders to make the rich richer. A middle class revolt is in order."
Judy in Arizona saying, "This quote penned by George Orwell says it well: "Speaking the truth in times of universal deceit is a revolutionary act."
Bee Hodges in Georgia said, "If lobbyists were banned, then Congressional members might actually spend some time talking to constituents. What a novel idea."
Nona in Texas wrote to say, "If this is the best government money can buy, I would like a refund."
Send us your thoughts at loudobbs.com. Each of you whose email is right here receives a copy of my book "Exporting America."
We thank you for being with us tonight and please join us here tomorrow. Our guests will include Congressman Barney Frank. We'll be talking about his efforts to delay Was-Mart's hopes of becoming a bank and the Abramoff scandal. And a Texas radio station stands accused of helping illegal aliens dodge immigration officials. I'll be talking with one Texas attorney who has launched a campaign to shut down that radio station.
Be with us. For all of us here, good night from New York. THE SITUATION ROOM starts now with John King sitting in for Wolf Blitzer.
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