Return to Transcripts main page

American Morning

Royal Impostor; Fugitive Polygamist Makes FBI's Top 10 List

Aired May 08, 2006 - 08:00   ET

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

SOLEDAD O'BRIEN, CNN ANCHOR: A royal phony uncovered. Now a Florida family says the man who faked his royal blood lines is, in fact, their long lost son.
And crowded skies. That's the forecast for air travel this summer. Our summer travel series kicks off today with a look at how you can get the best deals and what you need to know before you go. Those stories, all ahead on this AMERICAN MORNING.

Good morning. Welcome, everybody. Happy Monday.

I'm Soledad O'Brien.

MILES O'BRIEN, CNN ANCHOR: And I'm Miles O'Brien. We're glad you're with us this morning. There's a political battle brewing in Washington inside the Republican party over who should lead the civilian spy program here in the U.S. The White House is poised to formally announce it wants this man, Air Force General Michael Hayden to head the CIA. There's some concern about a military person running the spy agency.

Kathleen Koch at the White House. National Security Correspondent David Ensor, at our bureau.

Kathleen, let's begin with you. When do we expect to hear the announcement from the president?

KATHLEEN KOCH, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well Miles, President Bush leaves this afternoon for a three-day trip to Florida, so we expect him to make the announcement before that, we're hearing this morning.

Of course, as you pointed out, lots of criticism over the weekend to this announcement of Michael Hayden which, again, we're expecting very shortly. Concerns about Hayden's involvement in the domestic surveillance program, which he helped to establish as director of the NSA shortly after 9/11. Also concerns about putting a military man at the helm of the nation's spy agency.

But this morning, National Security Adviser Stephen Hadley says that the White House does not see that as a drawback.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

STEPHEN HADLEY, NATIONAL SECURITY ADVISER: President actually thinks it's a strength. He understands the military aspect of the intelligence business. But as I say, he's also had broad experience and can be an integrator and an agent of reform. (END VIDEO CLIP)

KOCH: Hadley added that others in the military in the past have led the CIA, and the most important issue here is that the president sees Hayden as the best man for the job. Back to you, Miles.

M. O'BRIEN: Kathy, any sense if the White House was prepared for that kind of criticism?

KOCH: The White House almost expects criticism of its nominees, but there was so much so fast and it came from so many quarters, from both Democrats and Republicans. So, Miles, that really did have a lot to do with this, with Hayden coming out or Hadley, I should say, coming out this morning in advance of the president's announcement to begin mounting this positive defense of this controversial nominee.

M. O'BRIEN: Kathleen Koch at the White House, thank you very much.

David Ensor at our bureau. David, you know, General Hayden -- and I've covered him extensively over the years -- a man with a lot of respect inside the intelligence committee, as gifted an intelligence officer as anybody out there.

DAVID ENSOR, CNN NATIONAL SECURITY CORRESPONDENT: That's right. He -- on the plus side, General Michael Hayden is smart, I mean, really smart. He's articulate, he's personable and he can be quite tough minded.

On the negative side, in terms of a nominee, as Kathleen mentioned, he might face some tough questions on the NSA surveillance program and he is a serving military man. Of course, he could always resign from the Air Force, but he might not want to. Finally, of course, he has no experience running human intelligence, running spies. So, he's got a steep learning curve over at the CIA.

M. O'BRIEN: Let's talk about the concern of having a military person there, whether he trades in suits and wears pinstripes or not. The fact is, coming straight out of the Air Force and an intelligence background in the military, the concern would be the Pentagon would have too much sway over the civilian side of the program and specifically, the secretary of defense. Do those two men, Secretary Rumsfeld and General Hayden have a close relationship?

ENSOR: I would say they do not. And in fact, it's kind of ironic in a way that this issue is being raised about General Michael Hayden. He's probably Donald Rumsfeld's least favorite general. He has gone head to head with Rumsfeld on a number of key issues and at least one case, very publicly so. He is hardly the Pentagon's general. So, I think this is a man who puts national security over military security. And, it's slightly strange in a way that this issue is being focused on.

M. O'BRIEN: What are the issues that divide them?

ENSOR: Well, Mr. Rumsfeld wants the bulk of U.S. intelligence assets, the spy satellites in the air, and all the rest of it to be focused on protecting the troops in Iraq and Afghanistan, tactical intelligence of that sort. Mr. Negroponte, the boss of U.S. intelligence and his Deputy Mr. Hayden want to see some of those assets, more of those assets focused on issues like where are the al Qaeda leaders? What does the president need to protect civilians in this country? The national security, writ large.

M. O'BRIEN: That's very interesting because Congressman Hoekstra, must a moment ago, said his big concern was just the opposite. So, as you say, a bit of irony in all that. David Ensor...

ENSOR: Right.

M. O'BRIEN: ...thank you very much -- Soledad.

S. O'BRIEN: Well, some of the White House shakeup is taking shape right now. It's Tony Snow's first day on the job. The former FOX News commentator takes over for Scott McClellan as White House spokesman this morning. Snow is President Bush's third press secretary. We're going to be watching to see how he does on his first briefing.

Happening in America today, a polygamist sect leader joins the likes of Osama bin Laden on the FBI's 10 most wanted list. Officials say a $100,000 reward could entice somebody to turn in Warren Jeffs. He is accused of arranging marriages between underage girls and older men. We're going to get the very latest on the investigation from the FBI coming up at the half hour mark.

A suspected burglar caught by computer and behind bars in Cincinnati. The man accused of breaking into the same house five times, was finally nabbed on Friday. He was caught with the help of the items he stole, a computer camera. Own Scott Peter (ph), says he got fed up with all the robberies.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

SCOTT PETER (ph), BURGLARIZED FIVE TIMES: Don't break into my house. I'm going to catch you. Especially if you do it five times. Give me a break. I'm not that stupid. I work on computers.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

S. O'BRIEN: Police say the suspect's admitted to the robberies and now he's being held on $50,000 bond.

In Massachusetts, the last American survivor of the Titanic is dead. Lillian Asplund was 99 years old. She was just 5 years old when the supposedly unsinkable ship went down back in 1912. She lost her father and three brothers. Her mother and a younger brother survived. Two survivors are still living in England.

And about 800 people forced to evacuate. Another 200 asked to leave ahead of a fast-moving brush fire. The fire in east central Florida has grown to about a thousand acres. It's only 20 percent contained. Three homes have burned to the ground. I-95 is closed because of the smoke. At this hour, there is no word on just how this fire started.

Brings at 6 minutes past the hour to the weather and Chad.

Hey, Chad, what are you looking at?

CHAD MYERS, CNN METEOROLOGIST: I'm going to look at I'm going to show you what we actually saw on the radar yesterday at 4:30 in the afternoon, really almost the peak of the wind storm down there. Winds were gusting to about the 22, 23 miles per hour. The smoke, because the radar can't tell the difference between smoke and rain, it just sees stuff in the air, it sees particles, was actually picked up on the radar, seeing that plume of smoke blow completely offshore around New Smyrna Beach.

Not New Smyrna Beach proper here. Actually, west of the city, right along the I-95 corridor there, from Pioneer Trails and Glencoe Road, that area there, about two square miles burned yesterday. That's a little over a thousand acres. So you kind of get the idea -- 640 acres in a square mile.

We'll move you ahead and move you on, see what's going on for today. The wind will still be coming out of the southwest air for today, and about 6 miles per hour, but the wind and the rain will slow things down in Baltimore, Boston, New York City, Philadelphia, and even into to Richmond and Hampton Roads, not seeing too many airport delays, except right now -- Atlanta, 25 minutes.

Rain showers down from Dallas and east of there, Tyler, right into New Orleans. Severe weather, at least a little bit. Partly severe weather, I guess we'll call it, all the way from Minnesota down through the Plains. Tomorrow, sets up a little bit bigger of a day for strong weather. Notice Denver today is 70. Tomorrow, there's a cold front. That cold front blows through and makes the severe weather from the Quad Cities down to Dallas and Denver goes from 70 to 61. That's the cold air that interacts with the warm air -- Miles.

M. O'BRIEN: Thank you very much, Chad Myers.

An odd and cryptic twist in the growing crisis with Iran. The Iranian president has apparently penned a letter to President Bush, suggesting some solutions without specifically mentioning the nuclear standoff.

CNN's Aneesh Raman, on the phone with us now. He's one of the few Western journalists in Iran.

Aneesh, tell us about this letter.

ANEESH RAMAN, CNN INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Miles, good morning. This is the first time correspondence between Iran's president and his U.S. counterpart has been publicly acknowledged since the U.S. cut off ties diplomatic ties with Iran back during the hostage crisis in 1980. So, a historic first, but we are still waiting to find out the specifics.

The government spokesman here says the letter offers quote, "new ways for getting out of the current critical conditions in the world." What those new ways are, they relate to the current nuclear crisis, unclear at the moment. We understand that the specifics won't be released publicly at least, until President Bush has the letter in hand.

So the big questions, beyond what those solutions are is how President Bush will respond and perhaps whether this could lead to direct talks between the U.S. and Iran, something officials at the U.N. have been calling for, but that it hit huge hurdles in recent weeks -- Miles.

M. O'BRIEN: Well, on the one hand, you might look at this and say, well that's good. There's communication there. But do you suppose it's part of some effort to at least offer the world a perception that he is toning down the rhetoric?

RAMAN: I think so. If you will recall, there has been no direct evidence, credible, direct evidence saying that Iran has a weapons program. It has maintained it's a peaceful, civilian program, but what has raised concerns among the West, and especially the U.S. has been statements from Iran's president about Israel, about the U.S. That is what has fueled the pressure against Iran to curtail its suspension of uranium enrichment. So it could be that Iran's president is aware of that and that the U.N. is about to take action against the country, is looking to do exactly that, tone down it's rhetoric -- Miles.

M. O'BRIEN: Very interesting. Aneesh Raman, who is doing some great work inside Iran, thank you very much -- Soledad.

S. O'BRIEN: Well, it's official. We're expecting to hear from President Bush at 9:30 this morning, Eastern Time, where he is going to announce General Hayden as his pick for the CIA top post. We're going to bring that to you live when it happens.

Also, we'll follow up between now and then of the -- more of the shakeup in the CIA. What does General Hayden's nomination mean for this agency that really is already under fire? We'll take a look at that.

M. O'BRIEN: Also, he was called the Earl of Buckingham for more than a decade. He was just a guy from Florida, though. So why did he do it? We'll ask his brother.

S. O'BRIEN: And then later, high fuel prices means you're going to pay more to fly this summer. You can still find some cheap tickets though. We'll tell you how in our special series, called "Surviving Summer Travel."

Stay with us. We'll be back after this short break.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

S. O'BRIEN: Back to the shakeup at the CIA this morning. We have learned that President Bush is going to nominate Air Force General Michael Hayden to head the agency. CNN's going to bring you that announcement at 9:30 a.m., Eastern Time.

What does a general running the CIA mean for the civilian agency? What does it mean for intelligence gathering? This morning, we talked to former CIA Officer Gary Berntsen. He's a former CIA field commander in Afghanistan. He's also the author of book, "Jawbreaker: The Attack on Bin Laden and Al Qaeda." He's in our Washington bureau this morning.

Gary, good morning. Nice to see you. Thanks for talking with us.

GARY BERNTSEN, AUTHOR, "JAWBREAKER": Good morning, Soledad.

S. O'BRIEN: What do you make of this pick -- General Hayden?

BERNTSEN: I think it's a good pick. He has experience with intelligence. He has experience running a large bureaucracy. The question will be, is he prepared to embrace human intelligence? Is he prepared to lead the clandestine service? He has experience on the technical side of the house. He's going to have to make the adjustment.

S. O'BRIEN: Critics say the fact that he's an active military guy is a big problem. Do you agree with them?

BERNTSEN: I don't see that as a problem.

S. O'BRIEN: Why not?

BERNTSEN: Well, first off, you know, where you stand on something depends on where you sit and he's likely to be sitting at CIA. I think as David Ensor had said in earlier piece, he's likely to be lined up with Negroponte, and not embracing the Pentagon's programs, and he'll be pursuing those programs that are important for policymakers and not just the Pentagon.

S. O'BRIEN: Yes, well what makes you so confident in that? Because many critics, as I'm sure you well know, have said, listen, there's sort of two approaches to intelligence. Military intelligence, what you're going to need on the ground while you're fighting a war; and policymaking intelligence, what the Congress needs to look at, what the president needs to see in sort of a long view approach to how you behave toward another nation or maybe even as we have seen al Qaeda or fill in the blank, whatever. Why are you so confident that he's not going to have these conflicts?

BERNTSEN: Well, I think CIA does both of those things. They do the tactical and they do the policy things. And, he's been as the -- you know, as the number two to Negroponte, having to deal with all of those issues. And just because someone's in uniform doesn't mean they're not going to be able to, you know, handle those things. People assume, they stereotype and think that military officers don't have that sort of flexibility. The number two officer over at CIA right now is Admiral Tallon (ph). He's fabulous.

S. O'BRIEN: Why did Porter Goss quit? BERNTSEN: You know, I don't know. I wasn't in the meetings. I've read in the newspapers that there was some pressure for him to leave because things -- he had problems dealing with personnel there.

S. O'BRIEN: But you haven't heard from any of your sources inside the CIA?

BERNTSEN: No, I have not.

S. O'BRIEN: Because he sort of just quit without really telling anybody. Today we're hearing, certainly, from Stephen Hadley and others, that it was just, you know, he really was only meant to be the interim guy and that, you know, his time was -- he was ready to go.

BERNTSEN: It was clearly an abrupt departure, which surprised people. And, you know, we'll -- you know, the CIA is going to have to move on.

S. O'BRIEN: The CIA has been described by some as being in chaos, dysfunctional. There's been a massive brain drain. These aren't my words. I'm just quoting various articles and various interviews that I've read with people. Is that a fair assessment...

BERNTSEN: Not accurate. No.

S. O'BRIEN: No, not at all?

BERNTSEN: No, look, there's...

S. O'BRIEN: Not even close?

BERNTSEN: There's things that go in the bureaucracy in Washington that are a problem, but actual CIA operations are led by chiefs of station in the field. The chiefs of station usually are not affected by what goes on in Washington and proceed with their collection plans and with their operations.

S. O'BRIEN: You know, when you say not affected by things that go on in Washington, I guess that brings us back to sort of this military issue, because of course, as you well know, there have been high ranking former CIA officials say said, listen, intelligence comes in and you have opportunities to pick and choose. You can pick the things that support what you might want to do militarily, you can ignore -- chose to ignore the things that may not support what you want to do militarily. Doesn't this kind of bring us back around to General Hayden and maybe what his perspective might be coming in as a military man?

BERNTSEN: Well, you know, he'll have certain things that he has more interest in than others. But still, the nation has collection needs which are generally agreed upon by most people in the country and then, of course, different chiefs of station around the world have to decide -- and working with headquarters, how they fulfill those requirements. And if you're in the Balkans, you're collecting on those issues. If you're in Iraq, you're focusing on that. I don't see his assignment there as being disruptive and I think that he'll -- he's very likely to make the adjustment. And as I stated earlier, he's got experience in intel and he has experience running a large organization as -- and leadership skills.

S. O'BRIEN: Let me take two seconds to ask you a quick question. Something you mentioned before, the big problem with human intelligence. I mean how -- what kind of shape are we in when it comes to Iran? I mean, do we know less about Iran than we knew about Iraq? And we obviously had a lot of misintelligence. Does it support intelligence about...

BERNTSEN: There's been steady collection against Iran for many years. It's a denied area, which makes it, of course, more difficult to function in. It's a place where the agency had had some problems in the past. We had some disasters where they lost a number of assets many years ago. They've had time to rebuild collection...

S. O'BRIEN: Let me ask you a question -- I don't mean to -- forgive me, I'm not trying to be flip, but are you saying like we don't have a clue what's happening inside Iran?

BERNTSEN: No, no, I didn't say that. I think that we have a sense of what's going on there, but you have to realize that many of the key policy people there never travel out. It's difficult to collect on. But I don't think -- you have to remember that 95 percent of the information we need on Iran is overt. There's a small part that's covert. We can tell what the Iranians are doing. The international community can tell that the Iranians are pursuing a nuclear weapons program. I mean, the -- you know, Al Baradei from the U.N., from the Atomic Energy Commission, has been clear in his disappointment and his serious concerns. We know what they're doing.

S. O'BRIEN: Gary Berntsen is a former CIA officer. Thank you so much.

BERNTSEN: You're welcome.

S. O'BRIEN: Just absolutely illuminating. Appreciate it.

BERNTSEN: A pleasure.

S. O'BRIEN: Miles.

M. O'BRIEN: Tensions on the rise in the Darfur region of Sudan, prompting a scary moment for one of our own. A demonstration inside a refugee camp spun out of control just a little while ago. And a high ranking U.N. with our own Nic Robertson, in toe, right in the middle of it as things turn violent. Let's listen.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

NIC ROBERTSON, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Keep driving! Keep driving!

I don't know. Are you okay?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Driver, quickly! Just get out of here!

ROBERTSON: Keep driving. Just drive.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: What's happening?

Are you ready? Are you ready to do this job?

ROBERTSON: I'm good. I'm good.

Well, I don't know exactly what happened then, but seemed to be -- I don't know exactly...

(END VIDEOTAPE)

M. O'BRIEN: Wow. That incident played out just days after a peace deal was reached between -- in Nigeria between the Sudan's government and rebel groups. Nic Robertson on the line with us.

Nic, you've been in some tough situations in the past. Why don't you tell us a little bit more about what happened before and after what we just saw on tape?

ROBERTSON (on the phone): This was a displaced people's camp. It is one of the biggest displaced peoples' camps in the world. There's about 100,000 displaced people there. This mood has been quite uplifting. The calls had been for the demonstration of about a couple of thousand of people. The calls have been for U.S. and international troops to come and bolster a peace deal and come and protect the people in the camp from the Sudanese government forces. That's what people are asking for. But on a moment, the atmosphere changed. Somebody in the crowd thought that one of the U.N. translators was, in fact, a Sudanese government spy and tried to pull him out of -- he tried to duck into our car for cover. They tried to pull him out of our car. I saw somebody try to stomp him. Bricks were thrown at the car. It was beaten with sticks. They were literally trying to kill this translator. Fortunately he made it out of there in our vehicle. The vehicle was quite badly beaten up, though -- Miles.

M. O'BRIEN: All right, Nic, so this translator was the focus. Was it also your impression that there was anger directed at the U.N., as well?

ROBERTSON: There's frustration and tensions at the U.N. In this particular camp, it appears that the Sudanese government is sort of trying to divide and conquer, if you will. That it is trying to undermine the unity in this particular camp and tensions have risen. The displaced people in this camp have been there for several years. Jan Egeland was on a mission to the camp, to meet with the newly displaced people to assess the security situation. Because of that peace deal, that's been struck with the rebels and the Sudanese government, tensions have been rising. It's harder to deliver humanitarian aid. It is much less safe than it used to be for U.N. officials. And today was an example of how those tensions can turn against the U.N., can turn in a matter of seconds -- Miles.

M. O'BRIEN: Well this kind of concern about the safety for aid workers there, ultimately could lead to people losing their lives there. Is there a way to provide some kind of level of security to ensure aid gets to these people who need it so badly?

ROBERTSON: The real answer to that question, when I asked it of Jan Egeland is that it needs to happen with a willingness of the rebels, with a willingness of the Sudanese government.

There are about 7,000 African union peacekeepers, more then a thousand different refugee camps, more than 4 million people displaced in the conflict or disrupted by the conflict so far. Half a million of those beyond the reach of the U.N. for most of the time. They can't get food to them. And there is no way in Mr. Egeland's assessment that the current African union troops, because there are too few, can provide the sort of security that's required to deliver the food that's required for all of these people.

The U.N. force that is expected or proposed under the new peace deal to come in is not significantly large. And Mr. Egeland, when asked, when does that force need to arrive in Sudan and Darfur, he said yesterday. It needs to be there immediately to help bolster security.

At the root of the demonstration today was exactly a request for that, for additional security. What the people did in the demonstration when it turned ugly was really undermine their own cause. That's how it appeared and that was Mr. Egeland's concern. How does he inspire the international community to support the situation in Darfur, to bring more money that's asked for and to bring better security for the people? The tensions are high and that's what he witnessed today -- Miles.

M. O'BRIEN: And Nic, is it safe for you and your crew to go back into those camps?

ROBERTSON: Mr. Egeland, lest we beat a hasty retreat for a U.N. office in the nearby towns, Mr. Egeland canceled his other trips to another camp today. There was a report that another -- at another camp, African union peacekeepers had been attacked. They were attacked at the camp we were at. It wouldn't be safe for us to go back into the camp today.

The U.N. aid agency here plans to talk to the tribal -- plan to talk to the leaders in these camps and try and go back and continue the work that they've been doing there --Miles.

M. O'BRIEN: Nic Robertson, you and your crew be safe. OK? Thank you very much. Back with more in a moment.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

M. O'BRIEN: Well, he didn't exactly build himself as sirloin of beef, but how about the Earl of Buckingham? Charles Stopford is his real name. He disappeared from his home in Florida under a cloud of accusation -- I'll tell you a little about that in a moment -- about 20 years ago.

And now he's in a British jail on a passport charge. His family is hoping he'll be deported back home. But the Earl of Buckingham, or so he likes to call himself, will have nothing of it. Wesley Stopford is Charles Stopford's brother.

Wesley, thanks for being with us this morning. You had some suspicion that your brother was using the name Christopher Buckingham. But you really didn't know the full extent of his deceit, did you?

WESLEY STOPFORD, SAYS BROTHER POSING AS EARL: No, we were not aware.

M. O'BRIEN: Tell us how it became evident to you what was going on?

STOPFORD: Well, I guess it's about four days ago, four to five days ago, we got a call from Slovenia. When we looked up the country code, we found out that that was the area that the call came from, and tried to call the number back. When we called the number back, it said that it was not a working number. So, my mother, believing that this may be our brother, had my sister go online and look to see if she could find anything under the name Christopher Buckingham.

M. O'BRIEN: And that's when you saw the picture and the story unfolded from there, huh?

STOPFORD: Yes, sir.

M. O'BRIEN: Tell us, what was it like seeing that picture on the Internet, first of all?

STOPFORD: Very emotional. I know my mother and sister had a very good cry over it. The first time I heard, I was just ecstatic. My brother was alive. Now there was an opportunity for him to come see us again and meet the 25 nieces and nephews that he never knew.

M. O'BRIEN: The way the story plays out here, it shows he was pretty clever at assuming another identity, and taking on the heirs of royalty. Tell us what you know about what he was able to do.

STOPFORD: Well, from what I've heard, he took on the title, lord. I, myself, don't understand why he did that part of it, but my belief is that, you know, he loved England, he loved the culture and the people. And he wanted to be something more. He often times would dream about, you know, being royalty or, you know, alluding to that fact.

M. O'BRIEN: How did he pull off the accent, do you know?

STOPFORD: Well, that all started when he worked at Epcot for Walt Disney World.

M. O'BRIEN: Really?

STOPFORD: Yes. He worked for the United Kingdom Pavilion and he was asked at one point to go on stage because he had perfected the accent so well.

M. O'BRIEN: He was picked up on a passport violation January of 2005. He's still being held because he won't admit his true identity. What happens next?

STOPFORD: From what we understand, he's being held under immigration law. And as soon as they confirm his fingerprints and DNA, I guess deportation proceedings will begin.

M. O'BRIEN: And I presume that the family would look forward to the deportation proceedings?

STOPFORD: Oh, absolutely.

M. O'BRIEN: Will you have the opportunity to communicate with him or see him in the interim?

STOPFORD: At this point, he's refusing all visitation and contact. Although we haven't directly contacted the prison, my sister has been in contact with Lindsey (ph), which is his eldest daughter. And like I said, he's refusing all contact at this time.

M. O'BRIEN: Do you think he'll come around?

STOPFORD: I believe so, I think. We did some taping yesterday and hopefully he will get a chance to see that, letting him know that we love him and miss him, and, you know, we look forward to seeing him again.

M. O'BRIEN: Any thoughts on what was the origin of that mysterious call that set this all off?

STOPFORD: You know, I really don't know. That's one of the mysteries of this whole situation.

M. O'BRIEN: One of many. Wesley Stopford, we wish you well. We hope you're reunited with your brother soon.

STOPFORD: Why, thank you very much, sir.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

S. O'BRIEN: What a bizarre story.

Ahead this morning, a polygamist on the FBI's most wanted list, alongside murders and terrorists. We'll tell you why authorities think he's such a threat.

Plus, the president's nominee to head up the CIA. Reaction on Capitol Hill is mixed. We'll take you there live to see what lawmakers are saying this morning. We're back in just a moment.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

M. O'BRIEN: Air Force General Michael Hayden, the president's nominee to be head of the CIA. The announcement from the White House, an hour away. We'll have it for you.

The search for a fugitive polygamist intensifies. He's now on the FBI's most wanted list. We'll find out more about the investigation from the FBI agent in charge.

And coping at the nation's airports -- never easy. What you need to know to deal with the crowds and the rising ticket prices. Our summer travel series, just ahead.

Good morning to you. I'm Miles O'Brien.

S. O'BRIEN: And I'm Soledad O'Brien.

(NEWSBREAK)

M. O'BRIEN: So where in the world is Warren Jeffs? The man, known to his followers as "The Prophet" is on the lam and now on the ten most wanted list.

Tim Fuhrman is the special agent in charge at the FBI's Salt Lake City office. He joins us from there. Good to have you with us, Mr. Furhman. Why is he on the list? Why now?

TIMOTHY FUHRMAN, SPECIAL AGENT IN CHARGE, FBI: Well, the FBI has determined that Mr. Jeffs fits the two criteria. Number one, that the nationwide and international publicity that we're going to afford him by placing him on the top ten list will enable him to be apprehended. And secondly, we have had a request from state and local authorities to assist in apprehending him, because he is considered to be either a dangerous menace to society and/or he has an extensive criminal record.

M. O'BRIEN: He is head of the fundamentalist Latter Day Saints Church, which is a really more of a sect, not at all affiliated with the Mormon Church. And this is a group that embraces, figuratively and literally, polygamy. Tell me...

FUHRMAN: That is correct.

M. O'BRIEN: Tell me about what it is -- what it is alleged he has done.

FUHRMAN: Well, he has been charged in both the states of Arizona and Utah. In the state of Arizona, he has been charged with sexual conduct with a minor and conspiracy to conduct sexual conduct with a minor. In the state of Utah, he has been charged with rape as an accomplice, two counts of that charge.

M. O'BRIEN: And he is -- when you say rape as an accomplice, he is -- the accusation is that, as head of this sect, that he arranges marriages between men and underage women?

FUHRMAN: That's correct. And in this particular instance, he was charged with one particular situation involving an underage female, arranging her marriage to an adult male.

M. O'BRIEN: All right. And this sect is doing a pretty good job protecting him, aren't they?

FUHRMAN: At this point in time, we have not been able to locate him and we believe that he is being protected by members of the organization.

M. O'BRIEN: He's getting a lot of money. I'm told he gets $1,000 per month from every able-bodied man that's in the sect. Is that right?

FUHRMAN: There have been reports to that effect. I can't confirm or deny that. But there is no question that there is a substantial sum of money involved in that particular organization.

M. O'BRIEN: Well, let me ask you this. He's 6'4" or 6'5" and he weighs 150 pounds. He's lean, to say the least. I mean, I guess he can hide behind a telephone pole.

But I'm curious with the entourage and that -- his unusual characteristics, why has he been so hard to find?

FUHRMAN: Well, we're not necessarily certain he's traveling with a lot of people. And there are various property -- pieces of property that the sect owns around the country. And for that reason, he has probably been able to evade capture to this point in time.

M. O'BRIEN: We're told there's a possibility there's a compound in Texas he could be at. When you hear about religious sect and Texas, must send chills up the spine of any federal agent. What do you do then?

FUHRMAN: Well, with any particular fugitive and, you know, in his particular situation, we do have some indications he may be traveling with armed bodyguards. So we don't consider that to be a situation that any individual should approach Mr. Jeffs or try and apprehend him without contacting their state or local law enforcement agencies.

Additionally, with respect of him being a member of this particular organization and having followers, we are concerned that some people who blindly follow his sayings and his teachings will support him if there is an attempt to apprehend him.

M. O'BRIEN: We'll leave it on that ominous note. Timothy Fuhrman is FBI special agent in charge at the Salt Lake City office of the Bureau. Thank you.

FUHRMAN: Thank you, Miles -- Soledad.

S. O'BRIEN: Business news ahead on AMERICAN MORNING. What have you got for us, Andy?

ANDY SERWER, "FORTUNE" MAGAZINE: Soledad, C-SPAN, would you believe, C-SPAN, has the hottest video clips out there. C-SPAN. Now it's fighting to keep them.

Plus, fired for surfing the Web at work. It could happen to you. We'll explain, coming up next on AMERICAN MORNING.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

(BUSINESS HEADLINES)

S. O'BRIEN: No surprise it's going to cost you more to fly this summer. That's, of course, thanks to rising fuel prices. You can still find some good deals, though. We're going to tell you how in our special series, which is called, surviving summer travel. That's coming up next on AMERICAN MORNING.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

S. O'BRIEN: This morning, we begin our week-long summer travel series, starting at New York's La Guardia Airport, where the travel forecast is familiar: more passengers and bigger delays.

Nilou Motamed is from "Travel and Leisure Magazine." She's at La Guardia this morning. Few survival tips for people who are taking flights this summer.

Hey, Nilou. Nice to see you again, as always.

NILOU MOTAMED, "TRAVEL AND LEISURE": Hey, Soledad.

S. O'BRIEN: know you cannot be surprised that the prices are going up, right?

MOTAMED: The prices are absolutely going up, and it has something to do with fuel prices going up. We're definitely seeing that the airlines are trying to recoup whatever they can of the fuel charges they're getting passed on to the passengers. Domestic flights, it can be anywhere -- when you're flying Delta from $20 to $30. And even the low cost carriers are jumping in there -- $5 to $10 increases on fuel surcharges there, as well.

S. O'BRIEN: Let me throw up, since you're mentioning them now, some of these domestic carriers so people can get a good idea of what they're really going to be paying in a surcharge. Delta, as you say, $20 to $30 bucks. Jet Blue, $5 to $10. American, $10 to $20. Spirit, $5 to $20. And United, no surcharge whatsoever. These are for round trip tickets. Why is United not charging anything? I mean, they've got to be hit by fuel -- high fuel costs, too, right?

MOTAMED: You know what, they could be actually rolling it into their prices. But I wouldn't be surprised if they add a fuel surcharge any time soon. Because they can't be enjoying the prices they're paying for fuel right now.

S. O'BRIEN: Yes. I would imagine that's going to change pretty soon. Let's take a look at the international carriers. You got Qantas at $196. Lufthansa at $152. British Airways at $122.

MOTAMED: That's where you're really going to feel the pain. I mean, if you're flying to Sydney, $200 almost increase almost beyond your regular seat price. That's a lot.

S. O'BRIEN: This year, I've read that there are more travelers -- I guess more than back in 2000, which is really great news for the airline industry... MOTAMED: Exactly.

S. O'BRIEN: ... which, as you well know, had been struggling since 9/11. But they're -- that in and of itself brings some big problems like what?

MOTAMED: Well, the main problem we're having right now is the domestic flights are going to be decreased this summer, which means that there are going to be more crowds, less seats, some more likelihood that you're going have to pay more prices, higher prices. But the good news, the silver lining, is that there's going to more international flights. So if you're going to fly across the pond, as it were, you're going to have a better deal.

S. O'BRIEN: Let me ask you some questions about baggage. I mean, they've always charged you for bag -- if you over -- you know, if your baggage is overweight, you're going to have to pay. Now, I see people -- any flight you're on, everybody's carrying as much as they possibly can, you know, on their carry-on bags. It's completely out of control now.

MOTAMED: Well something that people don't realize is actually the airlines always had policies about overage, about excess baggage. But sometimes they'd look the other way. This is another area where they're really trying to recoup money. So it's more likely that you're going to actually pay that $25 charge for any bag that's over 50 pounds. If you don't know what size your -- how heavy your bag is, there are actually new luggages coming out that have a little built-in scale, which is really useful for me.

But it is true that people are carrying on way more than they used to. And they are getting stopped. I just got stopped recently. I had a purse, I had a carry-on bag, and my lunch. And the attendant said, you need to put that third bag away. I was like, but it's lunch! And he said, I don't care. You need to put it away.

S. O'BRIEN: Wow. So you stuck your lunch in your handbag, of course.

MOTAMED: I did, of course. Yes. The spillage was a problem.

S. O'BRIEN: Because you know you're not going to check anything through.

MOTAMED: No.

S. O'BRIEN: Let me talk to you about some of the fees. You know, Andy Serwer has been reporting on this for us over the last several months, What it costs for things that you used to get for free. American Airlines, $4 for a snack pack. Virgin Atlantic, $75 for an exit row seat. Air Canada, $2 if you want a pillow and a blanket. And if you want an aisle or exit row seat, $15 on Northwest. Again, are you surprised by any of this, Nilou?

MOTAMED: No. Not at all. This is very par for the course. I mean, people are getting used to the idea that they would pay for their meal on American, as you say. But this whole aisle seat for money on Northwest is a pilot program they're trying right now. But one thing that I really like about something pay you can for is on American now, you can actually pay for an upgrade to business. If there's availability, all you need to do is ask at the check-in counter if you're one of their gold members. Which is a great policy, I think. A hundred a fifty bucks for an upgrade to business, it's a great deal.

S. O'BRIEN: Can I still get a good deal right now if I go online or should I just expect to pay a lot more this time of year?

MOTAMED: Well, two places to check if you're going online is airfarewatchdog.com. And what they do is they actually scour the Internet for you and they send you 30 days a day. Another one is kayak.com, and they actually check for deals from your specific hometown and, again, send it to the e-mail. Which is, you know, no fuss, no muss. The easier you can do it, the better.

S. O'BRIEN: No fuss, no muss. That's what I like to hear when it comes to travel, certainly summer travel. Nilou Motamed, nice to see you as always. Thanks, Nilou.

MOTAMED: Thank you.

S. O'BRIEN: Tomorrow in the second part of our series, how to be safe, not sorry, when you're traveling this summer. Miles?

M. O'BRIEN: Thank you very much, Soledad. In a moment, the top stories, including President Bush poised to announce his choice to run the CIA. That will happen at 9:30 Eastern. We'll carry it live here on CNN.

Snow day at the White House. Tony Snow's first day as White House press secretary.

A judge weighs in in the Apple versus Apple case. We'll tell you whether the computer maker or the record company won.

The FBI adds a self-proclaimed prophet and polygamist to its most wanted list.

And a story we've been watching for you all morning, those fires in Florida. A thousand people chased from their homes. We're live in the New Smyrna Beach area. Stay with us.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

TO ORDER A VIDEO OF THIS TRANSCRIPT, PLEASE CALL 800-CNN-NEWS OR USE OUR SECURE ONLINE ORDER FORM LOCATED AT www.fdch.com