Return to Transcripts main page
American Morning
Two Duke Lacrosse Players Arrested; Operation Defend Donald Rumsfeld
Aired April 18, 2006 - 08:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
ALINA CHO, CNN CORRESPONDENT: A developing story in the Duke rape investigation. Two lacrosse players were arrested just hours ago. I'm Alina Cho in Durham, North Carolina with that story.
BARBARA STARR, CNN CORRESPONDENT: I'm Barbara Starr at the Pentagon with details of Operation Defend Donald Rumsfeld.
CHRIS LAWRENCE, CNN CORRESPONDENT: I'm Chris Lawrence live in San Francisco, where the city is marking 100 years since the 1906 earthquake. Is it ready for the next big one?
CHAD MYERS, CNN METEOROLOGIST: And record heat yesterday in Texas and more record heat today. Dallas reached 101. There were rolling blackouts. Will there be more today? That's coming up.
MILES O'BRIEN, CNN ANCHOR: And preparing for a pandemic. Aula pictures of Durham, North Carolina, two Duke University sophomores in the police station facing charges of rape and kidnapping in the wake of those accusations.
And then the bird flu -- a lot of big worries in some big cities. We'll check in with Los Angeles and see if they're getting ready for a pandemic.
That's ahead on AMERICAN MORNING.
Good morning to you.
I'm Miles O'Brien -- Betty, good to have you with us.
BETTY NGUYEN, CNN ANCHOR: Good morning, Miles.
And I'm Betty Nguyen in for Soledad this week.
O'BRIEN: Let's get right to it.
The secretary of defense, Donald Rumsfeld, a college wrestler. He may be on the mat, but he apparently has some moves still up his sleeve. He's holding a meeting today to try to convince retired generals and analysts that there's progress in Iraq.
CNN's Barbara Starr live now at the Pentagon -- Barbara, this is apt to be a friendly audience of generals as opposed to some of the generals we've been hearing from over the past week or so.
STARR: That's right, Miles. I think you can expect that no one in the room will be calling for don Rumsfeld's resignation, certainly not at this point. This is a regularly -- fairly regular group of analysts that the Pentagon meets with. Secretary Rumsfeld often participates in the meeting.
We are told the topic today is the success coming in Iraq. That is what they tell us the main topic will be. But certainly Secretary Rumsfeld ready and expecting questions from the analysts about the current situation.
And as we say, Operation Defend Donald Rumsfeld certainly appears, by all accounts, to be in full swing. He is making a number of appearances. Yesterday afternoon he gave an interview to talk show host Rush Limbaugh and the secretary had this to say about this situation.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP FROM THE RUSH LIMBAUGH SHOW, MONDAY, 4-17-06, COURTESY THE RUSH LIMBAUGH SHOW)
DONALD RUMSFELD, SECRETARY OF DEFENSE: This, too, will pass. I think about it and I must say there's always two sides to these things and the sharper the criticism comes, sometimes the sharper the defense comes from people who don't agree with the critics.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
STARR: Miles, the secretary's aides making sure that reporters are told the secretary is not distracted by this current situation, that he continues to do his job.
But Secretary Rumsfeld often likes to say that he understates for emphasis, so let's just say it should be an interesting day at the Pentagon.
O'BRIEN: Let me ask you this, Barbara -- interesting. I think that -- there's an understatement, for sure.
A couple of years ago, in the wake of Abu Ghraib, the secretary of defense offered his resignation and it was turned down.
Is there any rumors, indications that that he might have offered to do this in a back channel way while still offering up this public face of fighting back?
STARR: Well, I must tell you, the Pentagon press corps, all of us, have asked that question very specifically. We have absolutely been told by the secretary's closest aides he has not offered his resignation again to the president and that he is not contemplating that.
But, Miles, perhaps the other issue on the table is one of politics across the river, on Capitol Hill. How will the Republicans and the Democrats view this entire situation as the midterm elections approach? That certainly is something that an awful lot of people in Washington are talking about.
O'BRIEN: Politics meets the military.
All right, Barbara Starr, back with you in just a little bit.
Thank you.
And coming up in just a few minutes, we will talk to retired Major General Don Shepperd. He will be there at that meeting today. We'll see what he expects to hear and what he hopes to hear.
CNN will have live coverage of the Rumsfeld story all throughout the day today.
We mentioned across the river, across the river at the White House could be about to shake some things up there. Josh Bolten, the new White House chief of staff, has told senior aides to be prepared for personnel changes.
Here's what the White House spokesman, Scott McClellan, has to say about that.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
SCOTT MCCLELLAN, WHITE HOUSE SPOKESMAN: This is a time to reenergize and renew our commitments to help the president advance his agenda. And so that's the way he was looking at it. It is a time to reenergize ourselves and to really refresh ourselves.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
O'BRIEN: McClellan says no changes are expected over the next five to seven days. But stay tuned -- Betty.
NGUYEN: There is a developing story in Durham, North Carolina right now.
Two Duke University lacrosse players arrested in the rape investigation. They are identified as Reade Seligmann and Collin Finnerty.
Now, they were brought in earlier this morning, each facing three counts, including rape and kidnapping.
AMERICAN MORNING'S Alina Cho reporting this story all morning long for us.
And she once again joins us from Durham -- there's been a lot of developments, Alina.
Bring us up to speed.
CHO: All right, Betty, good morning to you.
Yes, it has been a very busy morning here in Durham, North Carolina.
I do know -- now have in my possession a copy of the arrest report here. And one of the defense attorneys described it as an arranged arrest.
Let's talk a little bit about with suspects now.
They are 20-year-old sophomore Reade Seligmann. He is an All America pick from Essex Fells, New Jersey. And Collin Finnerty, also a sophomore, from Garden City, New York.
Both are charged with first degree rape, first degree forcible rape and kidnapping.
Bond has been set at $400,000.
The two suspects, as you mentioned, arrived at the county jail earlier this morning, around 5:00 a.m. Eastern time.
Collin Finnerty, for his part, turned himself in and it says on the arrest report here that he was polite and cooperative.
One of the suspects -- both, by the way, arrived in the same squad car. But one of the suspects was in a yellow shirt and jeans, the other in jacket and tie. Both led away in handcuffs. Neither said anything to reporters as they were led into the jail.
Now, this morning they were processed, which means they were fingerprinted and photographed. They also appeared before the local magistrate, which is where bond was set.
Defense attorneys also spoke to reporters a moment ago.
Let's listen to what one of them had to say.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
KIRK OSBORN, READE SELIGMANN'S ATTORNEY: Like I say, it's hard to put in words the unfairness and the injustice of this (UNINTELLIGIBLE). We look forward to showing that he is absolutely innocent as soon as we can.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
CHO: Again, the headline is that two suspects have been arrested, charged, booked at the jail in the Duke rape investigation more than a month after the alleged rape occurred.
Betty, the next step in the process will be an arraignment, and that, we expect, will come in the coming days -- Betty.
NGUYEN: Alina, have you had time to check into these two gentlemen?
Do you know if either of them has had a run-in with the law before?
CHO: Yes. There -- one of them, we understand Collin Finnerty did. What we're learning about that is that it was an alleged assault. There was a charge, according to court papers. We do not know the outcome yet of that, but nonetheless, yes. One -- at least one of the suspects did have a bit of trouble with the law. We are learning more details about that.
And, remember, Betty, that the defense attorneys and the prosecution are working vigorously to gather evidence on both sides. One of the things that we are waiting for is the results of higher level, more sophisticated DNA tests. You'll recall last week it was determined, according to defense attorneys, that there was no match between 46 players tested and the accuser. We are waiting for more higher level tests. We are waiting for more evidence to come out. And certainly that will come out in the weeks and months ahead -- Betty.
NGUYEN: Interesting to see that.
We'll be watching as it all develops.
Alina Cho, thank you for that.
time now to get a check on the forecast outside.
Chad Myers is at the CNN Center with the latest -- I see some rain on the radar it looks like.
MYERS: Yes, a little bit of rain back in here, Betty, and also some snow back here, that white there around Casper, that is snow.
(WEATHER REPORT)
O'BRIEN: Coming up, it is the centennial today of the great quake of 1906. We're going to take you live to San Francisco. They are remembering one of the worst disasters ever to befall a U.S. city and hoping history does not repeat.
NGUYEN: Also, the Pentagon circling the wagons around Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld this morning, calling a special meeting of retired generals. One of them joins us live to tell us what he expects to hear ahead on AMERICAN MORNING.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
O'BRIEN: You're looking at live pictures from the City of San Francisco right now. A memorial service is underway there to commemorate the Great San Francisco Earthquake. It happened just before dawn. That was 5:12 in the morning local time, which is right now, 8:12 Eastern time, 100 years ago this moment.
That wreath-laying ceremony being watched by thousands, including some who survived the quake, actually. It's happening in a place called Lotta's Fountain, which, at the time, became a center for survivors to post notes from their loved ones.
There is a moment of silence there.
We're going to join in.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Ring the bell.
Silence.
(LIVE VIDEO FEED OF SAN FRANCISCO CEREMONY)
O'BRIEN: A hundred years ago the Great San Francisco Earthquake, upwards of 3,000 people dead, large portions of the city devastated, mostly by fire. Among other things, the fire chief perished early on.
NGUYEN: He was killed in it, yes.
O'BRIEN: And that caused some of the difficulties in fighting those fires.
Chris Lawrence is there at Lotta's Fountain, which was a place immediately thereafter where people came to find out about loved ones. It's a place where they come every year to commemorate it. But this is a special time -- and, Chris, you can't help but wonder, when you see that beautiful city there, what would happen if it happened again, if history repeated? How awful that would be.
LAWRENCE: Yes, it's amazing to think that, Miles.
You know, some of the estimates say that if a quake like that happened right now, 10,000 commercial buildings would be immediately unusable. They tell me that most of the buildings built after the 1970s are much safer, but that 5 percent of the buildings here would cause 50 percent of the deaths. And what a lot of the structural engineers are saying is that if you could take care of the bad buildings, you could probably cut the death toll in half.
This place where we're standing right now, Lotta's Fountain, has been described sort of as the Internet of 1906. This was a place where the survivors would come. They would leave messages for their family, trying to find out what happened to them. And they would come back after a few days to see, perhaps a family member had left a message saying they took a ferry over to Oakland or got a ride down to Palo Alto, trying to get some information. Much different than it would be, say, today, in some of the disasters that we've seen recently.
Again, some of the -- I'm going to step away here and give us a sense of what's going on. The sirens are sounding throughout the city. That is a scary sound for anyone who's been involved in an earthquake or other natural disaster, but that is the sound of what many people here in San Francisco will hear -- it's not a matter of if, it's a matter of when. And when experts say some time in the next 20 to 30 years, there's a 67 percent chance that an earthquake will hit here, you can tell that one day some time soon -- it could be next week, it could be 10, 20 years from now, but those sirens will be sounding for real.
One of the scary parts is the Red Cross recently did a survey of residents here, found that only about 6 percent have a real disaster plan. So, as we step in here and we mark this occasion, you know, all the people dead, all the damage done, a lot of it is also being focused on the future, to say how prepared are for the next big one -- Miles.
O'BRIEN: You know, it's amazing, Chris, that 100 years later, we still can't predict earthquakes with any degree of specificity.
LAWRENCE: Yes.
O'BRIEN: All right, thank you very much.
A somber ceremony there in San Francisco at Lotta's Fountain.
NGUYEN: Well, while folks in San Francisco commemorate the Great Earthquake of 1906, FEMA officials are worried about an even more devastating earthquake hitting another spot and it's one of the last places you would expect. That's coming up.
O'BRIEN: And next, Pentagon officials are enlisting the help of retired generals to defend the defense secretary. We'll talk live with one of them. He's a familiar face to you. Don Shepperd will be with us shortly.
Stay with us for more AMERICAN MORNING.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
NGUYEN: Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld plans to stay the course in the face of calls for his replacement by former military commanders.
Today at the Pentagon, Rumsfeld will meet with a group of so- called "TV generals," retired military brass serving as television and newspaper analysts.
Maj. Gen. Don Shepperd, a CNN military analyst, will be there in attendance and he joins us now from Washington -- good morning to you.
MAJ. GEN. DON SHEPPERD, CNN MILITARY ANALYST, USAF (RET.): Hi, Betty.
NGUYEN: Well, as you know, those six generals have come out asking for Rumsfeld's resignation.
Is today's meeting, truly, is it damage control?
SHEPPERD: Oh, I think you've got to say it's damage control. There was a lot of rhetoric put out about a trip was canceled and time was freed up on the schedule. But clearly it is in response to what's going on. It's what you and I would do, when a big problem comes up, we'd attack it with both feet. And this is a big problem, Betty.
NGUYEN: So how out of the ordinary is this meeting? How often does he meet with these "TV" generals?
SHEPPERD: I haven't counted, but I have been told that this is the 16th meeting. I've been invited to all of them. I've attended about 12 of them. It follows a normal format -- 15 to 30 people there. Basically, we'll get briefed by people in the chain of command and then Secretary Rumsfeld and the chairman of the joint chiefs will come in and spend anywhere between 30 minutes and two hours with us, answering questions back and forth and that type of thing.
So it's just to keep us up to speed on the things going on and the hot topics of the day, is the normal format.
NGUYEN: Is this a meeting of just friendly generals?
SHEPPERD: A lot of us generals are friends, that's for sure. And it's a respected...
NGUYEN: You know what I mean.
SHEPPERD: Yes, exactly. It's a respectful atmosphere. But you do get to ask tough questions. And I would compare the tenor to the tenor of Pentagon press conferences -- respectful but very tough questions.
And, of course, they're going to present what they want to present for the day. They're going to put their own spin on it. But it's just one piece of the picture. Then we go out and we talk to other people, we read other things, we do the best we can to give our opinion on what's going on.
NGUYEN: OK, you say tough questions are going to be asked today. It's a matter of trying to get past the spin, because some are wondering is this political or is this a military meeting?
So, let me ask you, what are those tough questions? Are you going to ask some tough questions?
SHEPPERD: I could care less about what's going on with Secretary Rumsfeld's leadership style. He certainly doesn't need me to defend him. I'm not a defender of Secretary Rumsfeld.
I want to know what's going on with the war in Iraq, what's changing. The appearance is that the war is not going well. Is that the truth or not and what are you doing in the way of tactics or strategy to change for the future, to get us out of the -- of the seeming mess that we're in over there?
That's what I want to know.
NGUYEN: All right, general, you say you could care less about Rumsfeld's style, but other generals do care and they're coming out publicly criticizing him, some calling on him to resign.
So, let me ask you this. Is there a sense in this meeting, do you feel, that the generals would be afraid to criticize because maybe they may not be invited back, you may not be invited back if you criticize?
SHEPPERD: Well, interestingly enough, the room was full of generals on both sides of the issues. One of the persons that has called for his resignation, I understand, was being invited. I don't know if that's totally true or not. But there doesn't seem to be any list of people that are invited because they're for.
They invite the people that appear regularly in the press and on TV so that they can give the background.
Now, clearly they're going to present their story. But they want to talk to the people that are talking to the American people on a regular basis. And so it's not a favored list of people. That's not the way I look at it.
NGUYEN: How long is Rumsfeld supposed to be in this meeting? Do you know?
SHEPPERD: It varies on -- depending on his schedule. He spent -- of the 12 meetings I think I've been to, he was -- attended every one. The shortest time he was there was about 30 minutes and the longest time was two hours. I'd say he averages spending 45 minutes over lunch with salad with a back and forth question and answers going on the whole time.
NGUYEN: The defense secretary says this is all going to die down, it's all going to blow over.
Do you believe that's going to happen after today's meeting?
How critical is today's meeting?
SHEPPERD: I don't think today's meeting is critical at all. The crisis that he's going through with the retired generals calling for his resignation, that's something that has to be jumped on. It is a serious thing. I think he will get past it.
But the important thing is what's going on in Iraq and what are we going to do. What's the Iraqi new government going to do? That's the important issue on the plate, not the leadership style of the secretary of defense, which does play in it, obviously.
NGUYEN: Yes, you say it's a serious thing.
Do you think those generals who did publicly criticize and call for the resignation crossed the line?
SHEPPERD: Absolutely. I think they're dead wrong, in the middle of a war, to do that. I think it's non-productive. I think it emboldens the enemy...
NGUYEN: But don't they have a right to speak out? Don't they have a responsibility to speak out?
SHEPPERD: They have an absolute right to speak out. I question whether or not it is wise -- but it is legal -- to call for the resignation of a sitting secretary of defense in the middle of a war. That's where I have the differences with them. Going against his strategy, writing about it, saying he's wrong, that's all fair game, in my opinion.
NGUYEN: General Don Shepperd, as always, we appreciate your time.
Thank you.
SHEPPERD: A pleasure.
NGUYEN: Miles.
O'BRIEN: Thank you very much, Betty.
And be sure to stay tuned to CNN all throughout the day for the very latest on this Rumsfeld story. We will keep you posted every step of the way.
Defense attorneys try to save Zacarias Moussaoui from himself. But can he blame his hatred and his hell bent support for al Qaeda on a bad childhood?
Plus, a bird flu update -- how ready are we for the inevitable? Apparently a lot of hospitals are not. We'll tell you why and will tell you what you should do to prepare.
Stay with us.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
O'BRIEN: It's time now for a trip into the wild blue yonder. Not the one above us, the one below.
Wouldn't it be nice if we could all explore the wonders of the deep?
Well, Welcome To The Future.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
GRAHAM HAWKES, FOUNDER, HAWKES OCEAN TECHNOLOGIES: It's like going to another planet. It's a totally different thing that anything you can experience on land.
We've just got this tiny little surface layer of water in the ocean that we can actually go and explore. The problem with scuba, you've got to watch that gauge all the time and suddenly I'm out of air and I have to come back up.
Every time we go a little deeper, we find a whole new layer of life. The question is what else is down there? I'd love to see the day when we have readily accessible vehicles that allow us to go down and spend some time with the fish in deeper water.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
O'BRIEN: So would a lot of others. Yet the mysteries that lie deep beneath the surface of the sea have been out of reach for most of us. But maybe not for long.
Imagine a private submarine that could take you well beyond the limits of mask, fins and scuba tanks.
(BEGIN VIDEO TAPE)
HAWKES: I'm right alongside of a manta ray.
O'BRIEN (voice-over): Graham Hawkes, founder of Hawkes Ocean Technologies, has created a vehicle that can fly through water.
HAWKES: And the Wright Brothers really did that a hundred years ago. But we're taking that into this big deep blue space.
O'BRIEN: Built like a jet, these winged submersibles dive more than 1,500 feet, with speeds up to 12 knots.
HAWKES: But in terms of filming and studying animals, it's going to be a whole new ball game. You can put on a big suction cup on the front and try and grab animals out of the water.
O'BRIEN: But you don't have to be a marine biologist to get in on the fun. Hawkes' flight schools let amateurs become deep sea explorers. And Hawkes' ultimate goal? To reach the deepest depths of the ocean, about 37,000 feet below.
HAWKES: Just Google this planet and you'll see it's all blue. Our future lies with understanding and exploring the oceans.
(END VIDEO TAPE)
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
KELLI ARENA, CNN JUSTICE CORRESPONDENT: I'm Kelli Arena outside the federal courthouse in Alexandria, Virginia, where relatives of those killed on September 11 will testify to save Zacarias Moussaoui's life.
O'BRIEN: The bird flu -- are we ready? What is inevitable might be a problem for some big city hospitals. We'll check in in Los Angeles and see what their big concerns are as a pandemic looms.
NGUYEN: And we are marking the centennial of the Great San Francisco Earthquake. We'll tell you how one expert says another quake is likely on the way -- can you believe it? And the outcome could be much worse.
O'BRIEN: Good morning.
We're glad you're with us.
I'm Miles O'Brien.
NGUYEN: And I'm Betty Nguyen in for Soledad today.
O'BRIEN: Some breaking news for you from the White House.
A staff change to tell you about.
Let's get right to our White House correspondent, Ed Henry -- Ed.
HENRY: Good morning, Miles.
O'BRIEN: You said there could be something today.
Sure enough.
HENRY: That's right.
It's going to be the first big move from White House Chief of Staff Josh Bolten. It will be today. We're now told he's focusing on his old position, the vacant post of White House budget director. The announcement coming at 9:20 a.m. this morning in the Rose Garden. And CNN has learned that it will be Rob Portman, the current U.S. trade representative.
TO ORDER A VIDEO OF THIS TRANSCRIPT, PLEASE CALL 800-CNN-NEWS OR USE OUR SECURE ONLINE ORDER FORM LOCATED AT www.fdch.com
