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FBI Agents Digging for Remains of Jimmy Hoffa; On Capitol Hill Today, Public Grilling Awaits General Michael Hayden

Aired May 18, 2006 - 07:00   ET

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

DAVID MATTINGLY, CNN CORRESPONDENT: I'm David Mattingly in Milford, Michigan, where FBI agents are digging for the remains of Jimmy Hoffa. Could this be the break they've been looking for in a 30-year-old case?
SOLEDAD O'BRIEN, CNN ANCHOR: The Dow drops, and the world reacts this morning. The stock market waking up 200 points lower. And the punch may not be over.

MILES O'BRIEN, CNN ANCHOR: From their cold, wet hands, where New Orleans police started disarming citizens after Katrina they stirred up another kind of storm. And now the National Rifle Association wants to change some laws. We'll check in on that.

BARBARA STARR, CNN PENTAGON CORRESPONDENT: I'm Barbara Starr at the Pentagon, where the embattled defense secretary is still in charge, but is he the powerhouse he once was?

S. O'BRIEN: And a landmark no more. Atlantic City's famed Boardwalk gets the boot. Monopoly's change of scenery. Ahead on this AMERICAN MORNING.

Good morning. Welcome back, everybody. I'm Soledad O'Brien.

M. O'BRIEN: I'm Miles O'Brien. We're glad you're with us this morning. One of the longest running mysteries we can remember, now 30 years running. Where in the world is Jimmy Hoffa, or more accurately Jimmy Hoffa's remains. He has been declared officially dead. There is some reason to believe the FBI is on a tip which might lead them to some clues as to where he might be. They're digging in a farm in eastern Michigan, not far from the restaurant where he disappeared in 1975.

CNN's David Mattingly live now from Milford, Michigan. That's about 35 miles outside of Detroit.

Good morning, David.

MATTINGLY: Good morning, Miles.

All it took was one credible tip for the FBI to come to this horse farm behind me. This is about 15 miles away from where Jimmy Hoffa was last seen back in 1975.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE) MATTINGLY (voice-over): Whatever happened to Jimmy Hoffa, the former Teamsters boss who disappeared over 30 years ago. It's been an enduring mystery, up there with, did Oswald act along? And who's Deep Throat? We now know about Deep Throat. But now another puzzle could be solved.

FBI and Michigan police are digging for Hoffa's bones on a rural horse farm outside Detroit. Investigators say they are searching for evidence of criminal activity that may have occurred under previous ownership on the property. They say their tip is credible, but they won't identify their source. But it has the locals talking.

DEB KOSKOVICH, LIVES ON NEIGHBORING PROPERTY: It's very unusual. It's just a big surprise. I'm still trying to ferret it out, soak it in.

MATTINGLY: Jimmy Hoffa made his share of enemies in his time as leader of the influential Teamsters labor union during the '70s. He also had run-ins with Robert F. Kennedy, who investigated Hoffa's links to organized crime. Hoffa disappeared in July, 1975, last seen at a Michigan restaurant, ostensibly meeting with a reputed Mafia enforcer Anthony Giacalone, and New Jersey Teamster Anthony Provenzano. Hoffa believed the meeting had been set up to settle their feud with Provenzano. He was never seen again.

GENE ZAFFT, HOFFA ATTORNEY: We thought at that time he'd been kidnapped, and they were kind of waiting to hear from someone making a demand. Never came.

MATTINGLY: There is no shortage of conspiracy theories on what happened to Hoffa -- buried in Giants stadium, put in a steel drum and buried in a toxic waste site, or shot by a Teamster in a Detroit home. Investigators dug up the floor boards of that home two years ago but found nothing. They also dug up a backyard pool in Michigan a year before that, and again nothing.

ZAFFT: No one really knows; those who know aren't talking.

MATTINGLY: Will this latest search answer history's questions? The mystery continues.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

MATTINGLY: The FBI clearly believing there is something to this tip this time. They have a number of agents on the scene this morning. They were here yesterday with shovels doing some site surveying. We're expecting some digging going on at multiple locations at this farm today -- Miles.

M. O'BRIEN: Well, aside from that, though -- obviously the FBI tends to be cryptic about these things -- do we have more tips about the tip, where it might have come from?

MATTINGLY: According to the associated press, it has to do with reports back from 1975, the night that Hoffa disappeared. There were reports of some suspicious activity at this farm, a backhoe seen at a barn on the property that was known to be used at the time by mob figures for their private meetings. After Hoffa disappeared, that barn was never used again for those meetings, according to that tip. So again, the FBI thinking this is credible enough tip that they should act on this and they will be digging out here again today -- Miles.

O'BRIEN: Why did it take 31 years to get that tip to come to the surface?

MATTINGLY: Well, we're wondering about that here as well, because some of the neighbors here are saying that they've heard rumors for years that Jimmy Hoffa buried here. The FBI however saying this credible tip is what's bringing them here today.

All right, David Mattingly, in Milford, Michigan, keep us posted there -- Soledad.

S. O'BRIEN: A mystery in a mystery, as they'd say.

Global markets taking a big hit this morning after the tripe- digit plunge of the Dow. The market plunged more than 200 points to close at 11, 205. Worst day in more than three years. Is it a bottom? Andy Serwer joins us with a look.

What do you think?

ANDY SERWER "FORTUNE" MAGAZINE: I think it could be. There's some signs here that the markets are stabilizing globally.

But let's talk about the damage first of all, Soledad. You know, it was just last Wednesday we were talking about breaking through to a new record on the Dow. Look at what happened yesterday, down 214 points, 29 of 30 Dow components closed lower. The Nasdaq is now negative for 2006, and we are down over 400 points since last Wednesday.

World markets also taking a beating today, especially in Asia, Japan, Hong Kong and India in particular are all down.

Some good news, you can see, though, or some good news, I should say over in Europe where the markets have stabilized. Actually indexes in France, Germany and England are all up. And in fact, stock futures here are higher as well.

Now what's going on? Well, what's going is the approximate cause, the trigger event yesterday, was a report suggesting that inflation in the month of April was starting to percolate, and that is a problem.

But the bigger issue here, Soledad, is that the stock market had just gotten a bit ahead of itself. When I talked to people on Wall Street this year, they kept saying that the market was reflecting a picture perfect scenario, a best-case scenario globally. And in fact, there are problems. There are problems internationally. There are problems with oil markets. There are problems with gas prices. There are problems with housing markets. S. O'BRIEN: And it wasn't reflecting those problems as it climbed, climbed, climbed, climbed.

SERWER: That's right.

S. O'BRIEN: So this is a correction and not necessarily a big plunge.

SERWER: I think that's exactly right. I mean, these things happen, and we overreact to the upside, and now we're perhaps overreacting a little bit to the downside. I would think that things may stabilize here, but you know, if there's more problems, the market could go down. I just think we got a little bit ahead of ourselves.

S. O'BRIEN: All right, thank you. Appreciate it.

SERWER: Thank you.

S. O'BRIEN: Let's take a look at the Gas Gauge this morning. The national average is 2.92 a gallon for regular unleaded. A month ago, you might remember it was 2.79. A year ago, 2.15. Boy, those were the days, right, a year ago? High gas prices expected to put a big old damper on Memorial Day travel. AAA says the number of Americans driving and flying is expected to rise only slightly this year. AAA also expects flights over the holiday weekend be about 10 percent more expensive. And a huge yuck for people who live, work or plan to visit New York City: The city's cab driver want to raise the base fare from 2.50 to $4? What? What?

M. O'BRIEN: Yes, that's a bargaining point, I would think.

S. O'BRIEN: They are saying the gas prices have raised over the last two years, and the taxi fares haven't budged, so they want to see that reflected in their bottom line.

M. O'BRIEN: Should have been the lead story this morning.

S. O'BRIEN: Wow, that's crazy, $4 just to get in to the cab. That's insane.

SERWER: To turn the meter on, yes,

S. O'BRIEN: That's insane. That can't happen.

SERWER: That's not going to happen.

M. O'BRIEN: It's such a cheap city otherwise, so what the heck.

S. O'BRIEN: Uh-huh.

M. O'BRIEN: Yes, uh-huh.

On Capitol Hill today, a public grilling awaits a top spymaster, General Michael Hayden. The president's choice to head the CIA to face the Senate Intelligence Committee. hearings to begin in about two-and-a-half hours. Hayden is the former head of the super secret National Security Agency, and a big proponent of those warrantless wiretaps on Americans, as well as that huge database of our phone calling records.

CNN national security correspondent David Ensor live now from Washington with a preview.

Good morning, David.

DAVID ENSOR, CNN NATL. SECURITY CORRESPONDENT: Good morning, Miles.

There's no question about it, the story suggesting that the government might be scooping up the phone call records of millions of Americans has complicated the calculations for the general.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

ENSOR (voice-over): As a former director of the National Security Agency, General Michael Hayden probably summed up best last January why his nomination to lead the CIA is now so controversial.

GEN. MICHAEL HAYDEN, CIA DIRECTOR NOMINEE: NSA has an existential problem: In order to protect American lives and liberties, it has to be two things, powerful in its capabilities and secretive in its methods. And we exist in a political culture that distrusts two things most of all, power and secrecy.

ENSOR: General Hayden used the NSA's awesome power and secrecy after the 9/11 attacks to put into place, with the president's strong approval, a program to eavesdrop on Americans making or receiving international calls where one party is suspected of terrorists ties. And since Hayden's nomination for the CIA, news that the NSA may be collecting Americans phone call records has angered some senators, and guaranteed contentious hearings.

SEN. PATRICK LEAHY (D), VERMONT: Shame on us on being so far behind and being so willing to rubber stamp anything this administration does.

ENSOR: But in fact, General Hayden is widely regarded as one of the brightest, most seasoned intelligence officers of his generation, who even did some of his own real-life spying years in Bulgaria years ago. Surprisingly open with the media, an avid Pittsburgh Steelers football fan, brainy, eloquent, charming.

JOHN MCLAUGLIN, CNN NATL. SECURITY ANALYST: Mike Hayden is a professional intelligence officer with a knack for innovation, a capacity to lead change in organizations, and a strong streak of independence.

ENSOR: But his critics believe General Hayden has been far too willing to accept what they say is the Bush administration's exaggerated view of presidential power.

JAMES BOMFORD, AUTHOR, "BODY OF SECRETS": You can't just spy on everybody just because you have the capability. In a democracy, you've got to have a probable cause to spy on somebody, a reason.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

ENSOR: In the confirmation hearings today, administration officials will try to make the vote on Hayden a simple yes or no to a qualified nominee. Critics will try to make it a vote of no confidence in the anti-terror approach of what is a politically weakened president -- Miles.

M. O'BRIEN: David Ensor, who will be watching this for us all day, thank you very much. Our coverage of the hearing begins with a special edition of "THE SITUATION ROOM" beginning at 9:25 a.m. Eastern. David will be there.

If you're away from your TV, you can catch the hearing live, commercial free, on our Pipeline service. CNN.com/pipeline is the place to find that.

(WEATHER REPORT)

S. O'BRIEN: Atlantic City, New Jersey no longer in Monopoly. That's sad news, kind of. The maker of the board game is dropping Boardwalk from its new edition. And Boardwalk, of course, has been the most expensive property in Monopoly. Now players can buy and sell properties in Chicago, and San Francisco and New Orleans, all overlooked in the original.

M. O'BRIEN: You can still get the traditional ones, can't you? They dropped Boardwalk? it's gone?

S. O'BRIEN: Yes, in the new edition, yes.

M. O'BRIEN: Wow. All right, well, coming up on the program...

S. O'BRIEN: You're shocked, I can tell.

M. O'BRIEN: I'm shocked. I'm shocked. I have the space shuttle monopoly, so I'm not a little bit surprised that they have a derivative, but I thought they had the original still.

All right, coming up on the program, this, a serious one. In the wake of Hurricane Katrina, police in New Orleans decided to disarm the populous. Well, that has stirred up a controversy which persists to this day. We're going to check in with the National Rifle Association. They'd like to change some laws as result of that effort -- Soledad.

S. O'BRIEN: Also another heckler takes on Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld. Is all of the criticism starting to take a toll on the secretary of defense? We'll take a look at that.

M. O'BRIEN: Plus, and a lot of folks worry about putting troops on the border with Mexico. But guess what? The National Guard has been there, been there for years. We'll explain ahead on AMERICAN MORNING.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

(NEWSBREAK)

S. O'BRIEN: Just over an hour from now, President Bush is scheduled to leave for a tour of the U.S.-Mexico border. The president's headed to Yuma, Arizona. He's going to speak to border agents there and others about the immigration proposals he made during Monday's nationally televised address. Agents in Yuma catch more than 400 people crossing the border illegally every day.

Also, along the Arizona-Mexico border, police captured more than 70 undocumented immigrants who were in the back of a truck. That truck crashed into a neighborhood in Sierra Vista in Arizona during a short police chase. About a dozen immigrants ran away from the scene.

And the Senate gets back to work on an immigration built this morning. On Wednesday, the Senate approved an amendment to build more than 870 miles of fencing and vehicle barriers along the U.S.-Mexico border. They defeated an attempt, though, to kill a proposal that would allow some undocumented immigrants to work their way toward legal status.

An amendment making it harder for guest workers who come to the U.S. to apply for permanent residency was approved, and an amendment to excluded undocumented immigrants with a criminal record from the legalization process was approved -- Miles.

M. O'BRIEN: President Bush wants National Guard troops help out border agents on the U.S.-Mexico border. We know about that. Critics are worried that that would militarize the border.

But as CNN's Keith Oppenheim explains, those Guard troops are already there.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

KEITH OPPENHEIM, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Second Lieutenant Mark Williams has become very familiar with the U.S./Mexico border. He commands the raid unit for the New Mexico National Guard at Las Cruces. Today he is on a maintenance run with an observation helicopter, but he works mostly at night, sometimes six nights a week, flying in the dark to help the U.S. Border Patrol.

(on camera): The border patrol to you is like a client, correct?

2ND. LT. MARK WILLIAMS, NEW MEXICO NATL. GUARD: That's correct. They're one of our customers.

(voice-over): Since 1989, the National Guard has provided air support, mainly to stop drug trafficking.

But National Guard pilots also spot immigrants, sometimes in large groups, who are crossing the border illegally.

(on camera): You are providing light and kind of backup for... WILLIAMS: And then as the group comes up, we make sure that they can walk safely to vehicles without the group breaking apart on them, or the group turning on them, or that they didn't leave anybody back in the bushes somewhere.

OPPENHEIM (voice-over): Lieutenant Williams has been doing this for three years. We asked him about the fear among some people here that the border is being militarized, and that could spark tension and violence.

WILLIAMS: Well, I'd say that the military has been on the border for quite some time now. We've been successful in our relationship with the Border Patrol and in the manner in which we conduct our business.

OPPENHEIM (on camera): Doing it in a peaceful way?

WILLIAMS: That's correct.

OPPENHEIM: Without escalating violence?

WILLIAMS: That's right.

OPPENHEIM: Do you feel like if there's more National Guard helping Border Patrol that that will make a difference, or do you really not know?

WILLIAMS: I really don't know. But I believe that it will assist the Border Patrol in their mission. There's no doubt they can use the additional manpower or the additional assets while they're continuing to build their program.

WILLIAMS (voice-over): The question is, how long will that take? And how long will it be that thousands of National Guard troops will provide back-up until the border patrol gets bigger?

Keith Oppenheim, CNN, Las Cruces, New Mexico.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

M. O'BRIEN: Keith's report first aired on "PAULA ZAHN NOW." You can watch it 8:00 p.m. Eastern Time weeknights, right here on CNN -- Soledad.

S. O'BRIEN: New developments in the Duke rape case. Jason Carroll is live from Durham, North Carolina this morning.

JASON CARROLL, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Hello to you, Soledad. An accused Duke lacrosse player has his day in court. He'll be facing a judge. I'll tell you why, coming up.

S. O'BRIEN: Also ahead, an update on that family that's fighting a city order to move out of their home because the parents aren't married. There they are right there. Well, it looks like the city's made a final decision on their appeal. And later, "Will and Grace" bows out tonight. We're going to take a look at how the hit show broke boundaries with laughs. That's ahead on AMERICAN MORNING.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

(NEWSBREAK)

M. O'BRIEN: One of the three Duke lacrosse players charged with rape, Reade Seligmann, set to make his first court appearance since his arrest exactly a month ago. CNN's Jason Carroll live now from Durham, North Carolina with more.

Jason, what do we expect to see today?

CARROLL: Well, this is what we expect. Today's court proceeding is called a first setting. It's supposed to be relatively short normally. But this time, Seligmann's attorney, Kirk Osborne, has filed a number of motions that he's going to ask the judge to rule on,these motions dealing with evidence he wants the district attorney, Michael Nifong, to turn over a lot of evidence he has recovered so far, including the alleged victim's cell phone records. These are some things that Seligmann's attorney is going to ask for today. He's also going to as for a bond reduction. Bond is set at $400,000. He's going to ask the judge to reduce that bond to about $40,000.

I think what might happen today is that the district attorney Michael Nifong will argue that these are the types of things we don't have to deal with today. We can deal with them later. The judge is going to be ruling on this, and this court proceeding will be getting under way at about 2:30 this afternoon -- Miles.

M. O'BRIEN: Jason, is this a mandatory appearance? Last court appointment he had was not mandatory, he didn't show.

CARROLL: That is correct. Not mandatory, but the word that we're hearing is that Reade Seligmann might, in fact, show up for this particular proceeding. That is what some people are saying here today, especially because his attorney is going to be asking for a bond reduction. Oftentimes defendants will show up for this type of proceeding, and we;re also hearing from people who have been watching this case closely that there is a light possibility that Reade Seligmann might even speak when the proceeding is over, so we're going to be waiting to hear if that happens -- Miles.

M. O'BRIEN: Perhaps taking a cue from the former captain of the team, who spoke last week, huh?

CARROLL: Absolutely right, David Evans, who spoke earlier this week, yes.

M. O'BRIEN: Jason Carroll in Durham, watching it for us there. Thank you very much. Another day, another protest against the defense secretary, Donald Rumsfeld.

Coming up, we'll tell you about the latest heckler. And we'll look at whether all this criticism is chipping away at Rumsfeld's power base at all.

Plus, what do the NRA and the right to bear arms have do with Hurricane Katrina? We'll ask about a new ad campaign with one of the leaders of the NRA in just a moment.

Stay with us for more AMERICAN MORNING.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

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