Return to Transcripts main page

American Morning

Bush, Olmert Talk; What, Me Resign?; Fighting the Taliban

Aired May 23, 2006 - 06:29   ET

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

SOLEDAD O'BRIEN, CNN ANCHOR: Welcome back, everybody. Here's a look what's happening this morning.
Mexican President Vicente Fox visits Utah today to kick off a trip to the U.S. Immigration is the focus of his visit.

The Senate Intelligence Committee is set to vote today on the nomination of General Michael Hayden to head up the CIA. The full Senate could confirm General Hayden later this week.

And Lee Boyd Malvo is expected to take the stand today in the Maryland trial of convicted sniper John Allen Muhammad. He'll be a witness for the prosecution. Both Malvo and Muhammad have already been convicted in Virginia.

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

MILES O'BRIEN, CNN ANCHOR: And I'm Miles O'Brien.

Some big items on the agenda as President Bush and Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert meet today in Washington. They are considering the threat from Iran, how the West Bank will be carved up, and it's also an opportunity for the two leaders to size each other up in person.

Suzanne Malveaux at the White house.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

SUZANNE MALVEAUX, CNN WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT: Today Israel's new prime minister, Ehud Olmert, will make his first official visit to the White House with President Bush. We are told by officials, really a chance for the two to sit down and get to know one another since Olmert was actually sworn in about a month ago.

The two leaders first met when Olmert was the mayor of Jerusalem, President Bush the governor of Texas. Clearly, the agenda and, of course, the stakes much higher this time around.

In their talks, they will cover establishing the final border between Israel and the West Bank. Also, of course, the U.S.-led sanctions against the Hamas government. And finally, Iran's intentions for nuclear ambition and its intention by the president to wipe Israel off the map.

These and many other subjects in just the first of many meetings expected by these two leaders. Suzanne Malveaux, CNN, the White House.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

S. O'BRIEN: Despite an FBI investigation that led to an unprecedented raid of his Capitol Hill office this weekend, Louisiana Congressman William Jefferson says he's staying put, he has no plans to resign, and, in fact, he intends to run again in November.

More now from CNN's Dana Bash.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

DANA BASH, CNN CONGRESSIONAL CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): From Saturday evening, overnight through Sunday afternoon, for nearly 18 hours, FBI agents searched Louisiana Congressman William Jefferson's Capitol office.

MICHAEL LEVY, FORMER FEDERAL PROSECUTOR: To actually have the executive branch of the government go in and spend 18 hours going through a sitting member of Congress's office up on Capitol Hill, as far as anyone knows, never occurred before.

BASH: All this, a hunt for evidence to back a bribery case the government has been building for 14 months against the eight-term Democrat. The 82-page affidavit supporting the search warrant told of the congressman being secretly videotaped outside this Virginia hotel taking $100,000 in 100 dollar bills from a businesswoman turned FBI informant, according to a government official.

When the FBI raided his D.C. home three days later, it found 90,000 of that cash stuffed in a freezer in "various frozen food containers wrapped in aluminum foil." The breathtaking narrative details multiple taped conversations with the informant, including Jefferson at one point laughing as he says "all these damn notes we're writing to each other as if we're talking as if the FBI is watching."

Though he has not been charged, the affidavit accuses the congressman of taking hundreds of thousands in bribes and using his office to help a small technology company he had a stake in to secure business in Nigeria and Ghana.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

S. O'BRIEN: Dana's story first aired in "THE SITUATION ROOM". You can catch that weekdays at 4:00 p.m. and 7:00 p.m. Eastern right here on CNN.

M. O'BRIEN: Happening "In America" now, a daring rescue in Los Angeles to tell you about. A helicopter rescue crew able to reach a homeless man stuck on a small island in the rushing L.A. River you see below there. The river rose quickly when a late spring storm dumped a record amount of rain on L.A. over the weekend.

A giant alligator, this one right there, won't be trying to eat anyone's pet anymore. The 400-pounder trapped in a back yard near Houston. The homeowners noticed it when it tried to take a bite out of their dog. Wildlife officials say the gator is a threat and so it will be destroyed.

John Gotti, Jr. says he quit the mob. He can't seem to quit having to deal with trials, however.

A third time facing charges of racketeering, extortion and conspiracy to commit murder. Jurors deadlocked in his last two trials. Again, he's accused of ordering attacks on Curtis Sliwa, the radio talk show host who publicly criticized Gotti's father, the late mob boss, John Gotti.

Riverside, Ohio, a city manager could face charges over his desire to see naked women. The "Dayton Daily News" reports that James Anello (ph) spent about $1,100 at one strip club over the past year. That in itself is illegal, of course, but records show Anello (ph) used the city's credit cards to pay his tab.

Anello (ph) claims he was at the club for government meetings. Obviously, revealing meetings.

Time to check on the forecast now. Chad Myers with more on that.

Hello, Chad.

CHAD MYERS, CNN METEOROLOGIST: Maybe just under cover.

M. O'BRIEN: Yes. We're not going any further with this. You know that.

(WEATHER REPORT)

S. O'BRIEN: Chad, thank you.

MYERS: You're welcome.

S. O'BRIEN: Still to come this morning, Amnesty International unleashes stinging criticism on some of the world's most powerful nations, including the U.S. We'll tell you about that.

M. O'BRIEN: And later, how thieves got their hands on the personal data of more than 25 million veterans.

S. O'BRIEN: Plus, don't ask these Chicks to make nice. It's the Texas trio's first album since those comments when they blasted President Bush. Are country fans opening their arms and maybe, more importantly, their wallets? We'll tell you.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

S. O'BRIEN: We're getting this word just in to CNN. It looks like a Greek fighter jet and a Turkish warplane have collided and crashed near the island of Karpathos in the Aegean Sea. That's according to state-run television.

It looks like it happened in an area of disputed airspace. Greece says their national airspace extends 10 miles. Turkey says, well, we only recognize six miles. And, of course, the relationship between Greece and Turkey has long been very bad. But recently, in recent months, it's actually been deteriorating.

Now, the Greek Defense Ministry has confirmed, in fact, that a search and rescue mission is under way, it's been launched. No word yet, though, on the fate of the pilots of that Greek fighter jet and the Turkish warplane.

We'll update that story as soon as we get more details.

Taliban fighters stepping up their attacks in Afghanistan. And American forces striking back.

Just this week, a major U.S. offensive on Taliban targets killed up to 80 people. Locals in southern Afghanistan say, though, many of those killed were actually civilians.

Senior Pentagon Correspondent Jamie McIntyre has more for us.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

JAMIE MCINTYRE, CNN SR. PENTAGON CORRESPONDENT: The U.S. military says it doesn't target civilians and, in fact, takes every reasonable precaution to limit the risk of unintended casualties. Still, it's not willing to give the Taliban safe quarter in civilian areas. And that's what the U.S. military claims happened Sunday night and Monday morning, when air strikes killed as many as 80 people.

The U.S. says it believes 20 of those were confirmed Taliban fighters, and 60 other casualties may have had links to terrorist organizations. But locals claim that as many as 16 of those were in fact innocent civilians, including women and children. The U.S. military says it's looking into those claims.

The military does not use body counts as a measure of success, but nevertheless, U.S. commanders insist that over the last three or four weeks, the Taliban have suffered heavy casualties at the hands of the coalition, losing as many as several hundred fighters.

Jamie McIntyre, CNN, the Pentagon.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

M. O'BRIEN: Violence among Palestinians tops our look at stories CNN correspondents around the world are covering today.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

JOHN VAUSE, CNN CORRESPONDENT: I'm John Vause, reporting from Gaza City.

Here, a day after a deadly shootout, the Hamas militia is still on the streets. So, too, forces loyal to the Palestinian Authority president, Mahmoud Abbas. Overnight, Egyptian officials held urgent talks between both sides, but so far they've made little progress. Mahmoud Abbas will meet with the Hamas prime minister, but there are fears if those talks fail, Gaza will move closer toward civil war.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

ROBIN OAKLEY, CNN EUROPEAN POLITICAL EDITOR: I'm Robin Oakley, reporting from London, where today, Amnesty International in its annual report says the war against terrorism is being lost because governments operating narrow nationalist security policies are operating double standards on human rights, turning a blind eye to massive abuses by their allies. The report criticizes the continued operation of Guantanamo Bay by the United States, where hundreds are held without trial or charge. It accuses Russia of abuses in Chechnya and says China consistently supports regimes which flout human rights in return for access to their oil.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

M. O'BRIEN: For more on these and any of our top stories, head to our Web site, CNN.com -- Soledad.

S. O'BRIEN: Much more to come on AMERICAN MORNING.

President Bush plans a "get to know you" meeting with Israel's new prime minister. We're going to tell you what they're going to be talking about and, of course, what's at stake.

And the Dixie Chicks say they're "Not Ready to Make Nice". The name, in fact, of their new album after criticism of President Bush. Are audiences buying it? We'll take a look ahead on AMERICAN MORNING.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

M. O'BRIEN: Here's what's happening this morning.

President Bush and Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert meet today in Washington. They'll discuss Israel's plans for the West Bank, how to keep the Mideast peace process moving.

Another leader in the U.S. on a call. Mexican President Vicente Fox kicks off a U.S. tour with a stop in Utah. The issue of immigration, of course, on the top of his agenda.

And Mayor Ray Nagin will help lead a hurricane drill in New Orleans today. It's all part of a new evacuation plan unveiled earlier this month.

S. O'BRIEN: A new album with the same in-your-face attitude, that's what fans of the Dixie Chicks can expect from the group's new album, which comes out today, and from their lead singer, Natalie Maines.

CNN Entertainment Correspondent Sibila Vargas has the story this morning.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

SIBILA VARGAS, CNN ENTERTAINMENT CORRESPONDENT (voice over): Those may be fighting words, but any political message in the new Dixie Chicks's album is between the lines.

CHRIS WILLMAN, AUTHOR, "REDNECKS & BLUENECKS": It's not a political album, but it is political by inference, in that they're directly and indirectly addressing their own situation, and through being defensive and defiant about it. And through that I think you can read into the fact that they still feel the same way or worse about Bush and the war and all the things that got them into the trouble they are talking about on the album.

VARGAS: "Taking the Long Way" is the Texas trio's first CD since 2003, since before the U.S. invasion of Iraq when lead singer Natalie Maines told London concert goers she was, "embarrassed to be from the same state as George Bush."

NATALIE MAINES, LEAD SINGER, DIXIE CHICKS: My apology was for the words that I used but not for the motivation the words and for my beliefs.

VARGAS: Despite that semi-apology, the fallout in the conservative country community was immediate. Some called the Chicks unpatriotic, treasonous even. People picketed their shows, and radio stations refused to play their music.

But with the president's approval rating at an all-time low, some are rethinking Nashville's harsh treatment of the Dixie Chicks.

VINCE GILL, RECORDING ARTIST: I have a big problem with what they did to the Dixie Chicks. You know, I don't think that their political stance should in any way have their career taken away from them. You know, that's just wrong.

VARGAS: Sony Music isn't taking any chances with the new release. Wal-Mart, Amazon.com and iTunes are all selling the disc at a discount. Throw in high profile appearances, and the Chicks could end up with a No. 1 album, despite a whole new batch of strong opinions from Maines in a "Time Magazine" cover story.

WILLMAN: She said, I don't respect Bush. It's part of her so- called apology was that you have to respect the office, no matter who's in it. Now she's say that doesn't matter, I don't respect him at all.

VARGAS: Dixie Chicks's opinions might have lost them a lot of their old fans, but just may gain them a lot of new ones.

Sibila Vargas, CNN, Hollywood.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

S. O'BRIEN: Sibila's report first aired on "PAULA ZAHN NOW". That's at weeknights at 8:00 p.m. Eastern Time.

Andy Serwer is "Minding Your Business" coming up next.

Good morning.

ANDY SERWER, EDITOR-AT-LARGE, "FORTUNE": Good morning to you, Soledad.

The two trials of Ken Lay, plus the tribulations of the University of Missouri as it decides what to do with Mr. Lay's money.

S. O'BRIEN: All right. Looking forward to that. Andy, thank you.

Also ahead this morning, what would you do if a 500-pound bear came after you in your own home?

M. O'BRIEN: Run.

S. O'BRIEN: It happened to one Ohio woman. Well, you know, don't laugh. She tried. Oh, it was horrible.

M. O'BRIEN: Yes.

S. O'BRIEN: We're going to talk to her teenage daughter, and she'll tell us how the family dog even had to try to help fight the bear off.

That's ahead. Stay with us.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

S. O'BRIEN: Welcome back, everybody.

Let's talk about Ken Lay, the Enron founder who's embroiled in trials on both fronts.

SERWER: A couple trials, Soledad.

Yesterday, in his bank fraud trial in Houston, he acknowledged for the first time that he may have crossed a legal line but wasn't aware he did so. Listen to this line.

"Clearly, we were not in compliance in different investments and different paybacks. I regret I did not have more time to spend on my personal matters." Meaning, I didn't know I did a bad. Well, that doesn't really work too well in legal circles. Does it?

S. O'BRIEN: What does he mean by personal matters?

SERWER: Well, it just means that he was so wrapped up in his life, that he wasn't aware that he might have violated bank covenants.

M. O'BRIEN: So wrapped up in his life he didn't have time for his life.

SERWER: Right.

M. O'BRIEN: Does that make sense?

SERWER: No, it doesn't.

M. O'BRIEN: No, OK. Just checking.

SERWER: Then there is a nice line from his accountant, Sherry Gibson (ph). She was asked about a line of credit that she was using and picking and wasn't sure whether it was the right one. And she said, "I never think in terms of sneaky." I like some of these lines.

S. O'BRIEN: That's the accountant?

SERWER: Yes, that's the accountant.

S. O'BRIEN: Every good accountant never thinks in terms of sneaky.

SERWER: No. That's what you're supposed to do.

M. O'BRIEN: If you don't think it, it isn't sneaky.

SERWER: Right. Yes.

M. O'BRIEN: And that...

S. O'BRIEN: Kind of.

SERWER: There's a lot of big legal issues here.

M. O'BRIEN: There are a few holes in these arguments.

SERWER: Yes, I think so.

S. O'BRIEN: This is the defense?

SERWER: Yes, that's the defense. That's maybe not going so well.

Let's move over to the other Enron trial. Jury deliberations going on, three days in now, and the big news yesterday was the jury asked for external speakers for a laptop computer.

Now, OK, not a whole lot going on. In other words, they're playing audiotapes and videotapes on a laptop. And they're all huddling in. They're hearing all these tiny little -- we need an audio visual specialist, OK? That's what they're saying there.

And the real question here is, of course, the old saw, the longer the deliberations go, is that better for the defendants? You know, as we start to get to three, four, five, six days, you wonder if that's a good thing for Mr. Lay and Mr. Skilling.

S. O'BRIEN: There might be exceptions to that old saw when it comes to these complicated legal -- complicated financial transaction- type cases...

SERWER: Right.

S. O'BRIEN: ... because I think that there's just a lot of slogging through the material that people have to understand. So I don't necessarily think that it would be...

SERWER: Well, I don't think we've reached that point yet. I mean, we get 10, 15 days in, and that may be the case.

M. O'BRIEN: Well, a lot of it has to do with the instructions the judge gives the jury.

S. O'BRIEN: Right. Right.

M. O'BRIEN: What -- were they a complicated set of instructions? I presume they were. Everything else about this trial has been complicated, right?

SERWER: Absolutely.

Let's move over to the University of Missouri, Ken Lay's alma mater. Do you remember this? He gave this university $1.1 million of stock, a smart thing. They sold the stock as soon as they got it back in '99 and '98, so they actually were able to keep the money.

M. O'BRIEN: Good call. Good call.

SERWER: Now, listen to this. New stories saying that Ken Lay first last fall asked that they use the money for Hurricane Katrina relief. Then several months ago, his lawyer called up and asked for the money back. Just wanted...

S. O'BRIEN: To give it back to Ken Lay?

SERWER: Give it back to Ken to use for legal purposes.

M. O'BRIEN: Yes.

S. O'BRIEN: And they said?

SERWER: They said, no, that's our money.

S. O'BRIEN: I'm sorry, we can't hear you.

M. O'BRIEN: I assume it won't found a school of accounting there or anything, right?

SERWER: It actually is. It's the Ken Lay chair of accounting.

M. O'BRIEN: No, it is not.

SERWER: And they can't actually do that.

M. O'BRIEN: You're kidding. You can't make that up. SERWER: They should use that for corporate ethics. I mean, to teach a business ethics class. I can't believe they're actually going to have a chair there like that. They still may not use the money if he is found guilty, they said. So it's still a little bit up in the air.

S. O'BRIEN: Well, then what happens to it?

SERWER: I'm not clear. It wouldn't necessarily go back to Mr. Lay. It's a fluid situation, as we say in the business world.

M. O'BRIEN: All right.

S. O'BRIEN: All right, Andy. Thank you.

M. O'BRIEN: Whatever you do...

SERWER: Thank you.

M. O'BRIEN: ... don't think sneaky ever.

SERWER: No.

M. O'BRIEN: All right.

A look now at some of the stories we're working on this morning.

President Bush meets with Israel's new prime minister today.

And then one of the biggest data breaches in history. More than 26 million veterans' identities stolen, including their Social Security numbers.

Mortgage giant Fannie Mae being slapped with a massive fine to settle an accounting scan.

New Orleans tests its evacuation plans.

And a terrifying ordeal in Ohio. A family attacked by a 500- pound bear. It storms right into their own home.

Let's get a check of the forecast now. Chad Myers has that.

Hello, Chad.

MYERS: Good morning, Miles.

(WEATHER REPORT)

MYERS: That's it for now. The next hour of AMERICAN MORNING starts right now.

S. O'BRIEN: Thanks, Chad.

A dry run for disaster. New Orleans tests the new evacuation plan with just a week to go before hurricane season starts again. M. O'BRIEN: Top executives cook the books to fatten their wallets, and now a giant mortgage company is paying the price, perhaps a half-billion-dollar fine.

JOHN KING, CNN CHIEF NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: I'm John King in Washington. Computer files containing sensitive personal data on more than 25 million military veterans are stolen, and the government waits nearly three weeks to give them a warning. I'll have the latest just ahead.

CAROL COSTELLO, CNN ANCHOR: I'm Carol Costello in New York. When animals attack. A 500-pound bear muscles its way into a family's home. The horrific outcome in four minutes.

S. O'BRIEN: And severe storms tear through homes across the nation. We are going to show you damage in South Carolina and in Colorado. And take a look at the forecast, too.

Also...

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: We hope that somebody can enter our contest just off the street and get discovered.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

M. O'BRIEN: A character, a prop, a line, a camera, and 48 hours to shoot a movie. We'll show you the results ahead on this AMERICAN MORNING.

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