Return to Transcripts main page

American Morning

Will Vice President Cheney Take Witness Stand?; President Getting Set for Primetime Press Conference with Tony Blair

Aired May 25, 2006 - 08:00   ET

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

BOB FRANKEN, CNN NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: I'm Bob Franken in Washington.
Will Vice President Cheney take the witness stand? Maybe so, maybe not.

ED HENRY, CNN CONGRESSIONAL CORRESPONDENT: I'm Ed Henry at the White House, where the president is getting set for a prime time press conference with British Prime Minister Tony Blair. I'll have a preview, coming up.

ELIZABETH COHEN, CNN CORRESPONDENT: I'm Elizabeth Cohen in Atlanta.

People are getting bird flu not from birds but from humans. In Indonesia, suspected cases -- what does it mean for the rest of the world? I'll have that coming up.

SEAN CALLEBS, CNN CORRESPONDENT: I'm Sean Callebs in New Orleans.

Another sign that the city is returning to normalcy. We will bring you to the aquarium, the grand opening scheduled tomorrow.

that's coming up on AMERICAN MORNING.

MILES O'BRIEN, CNN ANCHOR: Good morning to you.

I'm Miles O'Brien.

SOLEDAD O'BRIEN, CNN ANCHOR: And I'm Soledad O'Brien.

Lots to talk about in Washington, D.C. so let's start there this hour.

A report out this morning that the FBI wants to question top leaders in Congress as part of its investigation into just who leaked details about the NSA wiretapping program.

Only a select group of Congress people was briefed about the existence of the program.

Dennis Hastert wants ABC News to retract a story that said he was under investigation in the Abramoff corruption scandal.

And could Vice President Dick Cheney be called as a witness against his former chief of staff, "Scooter" Libby?

Let's get right to AMERICAN MORNING'S Bob Franken.

He's in Washington, D.C. this morning -- Bob, as I said, lots to talk about.

Where do you want to begin?

FRANKEN: Well, let's start with the CIA leak story and the assertion that was in court papers from the special prosecutor, Patrick Fitzgerald once again bringing up "Scooter" Libby's boss. Libby under indictment for lying about the disclosure of the identity of Valeria Plame. Valerie Plame the wife of the critic of the administration, Joseph Wilson, and an article that appeared in the "New York Times."

Now, Libby claims that he did not intentionally lie to investigators, but rather just simply forgot. It wasn't important enough when reporters found out about it, as he discussed, and the disclosure came of Valeria Plame's identity. You remember, that was part of the investigation.

Now, in an effort to rebut that, the prosecutor is talking about the role of Vice President Cheney, as described by Libby in grand jury testimony. And Libby says that the vice president said "repeatedly, let's get everything out. He wanted to get it all that."

The question becomes will the vice president have to testify? And the special prosecutor is saying maybe so, maybe not.

S. O'BRIEN: So, once again, the special prosecutor not quite going out on a limb for anybody.

If he does, if the answer is, in fact, maybe so, what do you think happens? What's the fallout for the White House credibility?

FRANKEN: Well, it's certainly not going to be a plus. The vice president appearing on the witness stand in a case like this would be sensational. We'd probably all be reporting outside the federal courthouse. And it also raises questions about the vice president's role. And we've reported long and hard about the possibilities here, up to and including somebody taking a look at the conspiracy statutes and whether this contributes to speculation about that or some sort of legal move. We'll have to see.

But this special prosecutor knows that these questions will be raised. This is not a man who has just fallen off the turnip truck when it comes to such things.

S. O'BRIEN: No, he is not.

Bob Franken for us this morning.

Bob, thanks -- Miles.

M. O'BRIEN: President Bush and British Prime Minister Tony Blair have marched in lockstep on Iraq. Today, Mr. Blair comes calling at the White House. The two meet under growing pressure to bring them home from Iraq. But don't expect to hear any mention of a withdrawal date today.

White House correspondent Ed Henry with more -- good morning, Ed.

HENRY: Good morning, Miles.

You know, these two leaders have been battered by allegations that they twisted intelligence to make the case for war. They're now hoping that some good news out of Iraq will turn around the war and also their legacies.

(BEGIN VIDEO TAPE)

HENRY (voice-over): At their first big meeting in February 2001 at Camp David, President Bush and Prime Minister Blair immediately bonded.

GEORGE W. BUSH, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: We both use Colgate toothpaste.

TONY BLAIR, BRITISH PRIME MINISTER: They're going to -- they're going to wonder how you know that, George.

HENRY: Little did they know how much closer they would become.

BUSH: I can assure you that when either of us get in a bind, there will be a friend on the other end of the phone.

HENRY: They're both in a bind now, joined at the hip defending a war that has sent their popularity plummeting.

BUSH: The progress we have made has been hard fought and has been incremental. There have been setbacks and missteps, like Abu Ghraib.

HENRY: When Baghdad fell in April 2003, 49 percent of the British people were satisfied with the job Mr. Blair was doing. Today, it's just 28 percent.

An even steeper drop for Mr. Bush. His approval rating, 70 percent when Saddam Hussein was removed, has plunged to 36 percent. That's why this week the two leaders will try to pivot off the formation of a new Iraqi government, to urge Iraqis to take a greater share of the burden.

BUSH: A watershed event that took place this weekend in Iraq.

HENRY: A theme the prime minister picked up Tuesday during a visit with new Iraqi Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki.

TONY BLAIR, BRITISH PRIME MINISTER: This is a new beginning. And we want to see what you want to see, which is Iraq and the Iraqi people able to take charge of their own destiny and write the next chapter of Iraqi history themselves. HENRY: Maliki released a written statement Wednesday declaring Iraqi forces will be able to take over security by the end of 2007.

(END VIDEO TAPE)

HENRY: But U.S. officials insist that Mr. Bush and Mr. Blair tonight will not make a major announcement about U.S. troop cuts. In the words of one senior administration official, here they don't want to be overly optimistic. So many times before they've seen Iraq take two steps forward and then two steps back -- Miles.

M. O'BRIEN: Ed, it's likely this is their last meeting as heads of state, isn't it?

HENRY: Well, it could be. Obviously, a lot of pressure on Tony Blair, questions about whether he'll be running again. The president only has a few more years in office.

Clearly, they both hope that in the end they will be vindicated on the idea that they removed Saddam Hussein from office and that that was good for the world, regardless of the rest of the circumstances. Obviously, time will tell -- Miles.

M. O'BRIEN: It will take a little bit of history writing to get it all in perspective.

Ed Henry at the White House, thank you very much.

HENRY: Thank you.

M. O'BRIEN: CNN's live coverage of the Bush/Blair news conference begins at 7:00 p.m. Eastern time. A special edition of "THE SITUATION ROOM" with Wolf Blitzer presiding. That's followed by a news conference at 7:30 Eastern, the actual news conference. And a special edition of "PAULA ZAHN" follows at 8:30 Eastern time.

Stay with CNN all throughout the evening -- Soledad.

S. O'BRIEN: If you weren't watching last night, maybe you don't know who the fifth American Idol is. Maybe you do not know. Maybe you TiVoed it and don't want to know.

Well, we're going to give you a clue.

M. O'BRIEN: Here's the clue.

S. O'BRIEN: The winner is a guy who really wants to record...

M. O'BRIEN: A guy. There you go. That's all you need to know.

S. O'BRIEN: ... or a person who really wants to record an album with soul.

That gives it away, too.

Listen. (BEGIN VIDEO TAPE FROM "AMERICAN IDOL," COURTESY OF FREEMANTLE MEDIA NORTH AMERICA, INC. 19 TV LIMITED, FOX BROADCASTING COMPANY)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: The winner of "American Idol" season five is Taylor Hicks.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

S. O'BRIEN: (UNINTELLIGIBLE) Brian Seacrest waits for six Mississippis to get to the (UNINTELLIGIBLE) (ph).

M. O'BRIEN: You know, that's all part of the thing. Everybody's got to be this, you know...

S. O'BRIEN: Oh, for two hours it was all part of the thing. Please, give me a break.

Anyway, the "Soul Patrol" clearly beat out Katharine McPhee. A majority of more than 63 million votes were cast. Apparently the highest call and text message volume on "American Idol" to date. Fans had to sit through a two hour finale, which was pretty good, jam packed with stars.

M. O'BRIEN: It was not a bad show, what I saw. Yes.

S. O'BRIEN: Last year's winner, Carrie Underwood, was there. And she performed "Don't Forget To Remember Me." Mary J. was there and did a duet with Elliot Yamin on the stage. They brought down the house.

M. O'BRIEN: That was good stuff.

S. O'BRIEN: Yes, that was really good. I love Mary J. Love. Taylor Hicks teamed up with Toni Braxton, who was just all over him. She's hot, but come on, Toni. And they were singing "In The Ghetto"...

M. O'BRIEN: I wouldn't turn it down.

S. O'BRIEN: ... which is an Elvis...

M. O'BRIEN: Put it that way.

S. O'BRIEN: ... an Elvis hit.

Meatloaf was there, the neoprime families (ph).

M. O'BRIEN: Meatloaf and Katharine Batria (ph).

S. O'BRIEN: They weren't sure who Meatloaf is, but...

M. O'BRIEN: And all the kids went, "Who is that guy? Who is that guy?"

S. O'BRIEN: He sang a duet with Katharine McPhee.

M. O'BRIEN: Why is he shaking that (ph)?

S. O'BRIEN: There is a rumor, actually, that Meatloaf is working on a new album and he wants to -- he might do a duet with McPhee.

M. O'BRIEN: Well, it actually worked.

Amazing.

S. O'BRIEN: Wait. Watch this moment. This is Clay Aiken. Comes out and makes an appearance and he's upstaging a performance that's underway already.

M. O'BRIEN: That's not his name. It's Michael...

S. O'BRIEN: I forget.

Who is that, you guys?

M. O'BRIEN: It's Michael -- anyway.

S. O'BRIEN: I can't remember.

M. O'BRIEN: OK.

S. O'BRIEN: Know at him. He looks like he's about to die.

M. O'BRIEN: I mean, really, somebody should have been back stage with the panels.

S. O'BRIEN: No, no, no. We can't stop. I want to show Prince.

M. O'BRIEN: Oh, we've got to show Prince.

S. O'BRIEN: Oh. He's looking good, as always. I love Prince.

M. O'BRIEN: You're having a little Prince moment, aren't you?

S. O'BRIEN: I am so having a Prince moment.

M. O'BRIEN: All right...

S. O'BRIEN: It was a superstar...

M. O'BRIEN: Well...

S. O'BRIEN: ... even if you didn't care about "American Idol," it was the stars they had on in addition to the American Idol, fantastic.

M. O'BRIEN: You know, truthfully, you didn't need to see the show. You just needed to watch that 40 second voice-over right there and you had it.

S. O'BRIEN: As we've done it for you.

M. O'BRIEN: It's done. It's done. S. O'BRIEN: See how he said it.

M. O'BRIEN: Really, you're set.

S. O'BRIEN: They're going to be on CNN, actually, as well, if you want to ask any questions.

Brian Seacrest is the guest host for Larry King, filling in.

That's on Friday, 9:00 p.m. Eastern time. Randy Jackson also will be involved, will be in the mix, taking your calls, as well.

Eleven minutes past the hour.

Let's check the weather with Chad -- hey, Chad.

CHAD MYERS, CNN METEOROLOGIST: You know what they were doing? They were setting themselves up for a spin-off. Singing with the stars instead of dancing with the stars.

M. O'BRIEN: Singing with the stars.

S. O'BRIEN: Interesting.

M. O'BRIEN: Go.

MYERS: U bring out a bunch of people...

S. O'BRIEN: Chad.

M. O'BRIEN: Yes.

MYERS: ... and you get their idols, you know, their big talent. You bring them out and you sing together and see how it goes.

S. O'BRIEN: Brilliant.

M. O'BRIEN: All right, you'd better call and get that trademark right now.

S. O'BRIEN: Yes, you want to get that.

M. O'BRIEN: Right now.

MYERS: I'm taking dancing lessons...

M. O'BRIEN: Take a (UNINTELLIGIBLE).

MYERS: ... but I don't think this dancing with the stars is going to go very well. So I may be working on this thing.

(WEATHER REPORT)

M. O'BRIEN: All right, Chad, I think we did mess up on here.

S. O'BRIEN: We? We? M. O'BRIEN: Remember the whole Pittsburgh thing?

S. O'BRIEN: We, Kemosabe?

MYERS: Yes, yes, yes. Yes, yes.

S. O'BRIEN: He.

M. O'BRIEN: It isn't -- KPIX is San Francisco.

MYERS: Right.

S. O'BRIEN: Right.

MYERS: WPIX is New York.

S. O'BRIEN: Right.

M. O'BRIEN: KPXI.

MYERS: And WPXI...

S. O'BRIEN: Oh, XI.

M. O'BRIEN: There's a WPXI. Oh my gosh. We, you know, we're trying to be nice to the affiliate and we just mess it up.

MYERS: I know. They're never going to give us a shot again.

M. O'BRIEN: We want to thank all of our affiliates now for every shot they've ever given us.

S. O'BRIEN: Yes. They're like yes, thanks a whole...

M. O'BRIEN: That's my cover.

S. O'BRIEN: Thanks a whole heck of a lot, Miles.

MYERS: Yes.

M. O'BRIEN: Yes.

S. O'BRIEN: We appreciate the plug, kind of.

MYERS: Too bad.

S. O'BRIEN: All right, Chad, thanks.

MYERS: You're welcome.

S. O'BRIEN: Coming up this morning, the Senate is expected to pass its immigration bill this morning. The measure, though, could end up costing Republicans in the midterm elections, say some. We'll take a look at that issue ahead.

M. O'BRIEN: All right. And Semper Paratus, that is the motto of the Coast Guard, as you already know, always prepared. And this is the man who needs to be prepared for a very difficult hurricane season ahead. Thad Allen about to take the job of commandant. And we're going to talk with him in just a little bit.

S. O'BRIEN: Also, tips on making sure that your skin looks young even as we all get older. Skin care for folks who are in their 30s and 40s and 50s ahead on AMERICAN MORNING.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

S. O'BRIEN: Senators will be heading to Capitol Hill for a vote on immigration reform today. Whatever happens, the fallout could come to House Republicans in about six months in the midterm elections.

Senior political correspondent Candy Crowley with us from Washington, D.C. -- hey, Candy, good morning.

CANDY CROWLEY, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Good morning.

S. O'BRIEN: Let's begin with what could happen here.

The Senate actually looks like they're going to have a vote and something could pass, but that's just the beginning of a lot of problems, as we heard from Senator Frist.

CROWLEY: Right. I mean it has to go -- I mean the problem is they have to have one bill coming out of Capitol Hill, not two. The president clearly would sign something should it get to him. But they have to go into a conference committee. And the House bill, as you know, is heavily on the side of border enforcement and the Senate has that so-called pathway to citizenship, which many on the House side, in particular, conservatives, say they're just simply not going to accept.

So they have to find some middle ground first.

S. O'BRIEN: We spoke to Senator Frist yesterday.

Here's what he said about leadership.

Listen for a sec.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

SEN. BILL FRIST (R-TN), SENATE MAJORITY LEADER: We will pass a bill. It's just the first step. We still do need to go to the House. It's going to be tough. It's going to take presidential leadership. It's going to take America broadly looking at, fully understanding the implications of what we do.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

S. O'BRIEN: Presidential leadership at a time when the president's poll numbers are downed, when he's being piled on, frankly, by members of his own party, what kind of presidential leadership can he really show, realistically? CROWLEY: Well, I mean realistically they're going to have to get involved in the nuts and bolts of this conference committee. I talked to someone a couple of months ago who said, you know, the conference committee used to be where the Reagan White House and the Clinton White House would really put their imprint on. They would send people up there to say look, this is acceptable, this is not acceptable.

And the Bush administration not so much, has not been involved in these details of governance.

Now, this is going to require getting involved in those details. The president has to get involved. There are cross currents politically for him. But this is also something he wants to be involved in, because it's something he's sort of felt very strongly about from the very beginning. He's been a border governor. He talked about it in his gubernatorial campaigns, in his first presidential campaign.

So he is going to -- he has to risk looking like a lame duck, frankly. If he gets in there and he gets involved and it doesn't happen, it just sort of adds to the chalkboard, you know, here's another mark for he's a lame duck.

But he's got to do it.

S. O'BRIEN: Karl Rove has already been making that trip that you've been talking about. He's trying to get support from House Republicans.

Do you think that that's the impossible dream, frankly, to bring the House Republicans closer to the Senate bill that we're expecting to come out?

CROWLEY: It's impossible to get all of them. It is. You're never going to get the Tom Tancredos, those who say look, show us first that we can really control those borders, then we'll talk about citizenship. And these are the people who believe that those who are here illegally need to go back home and start all over again in trying to enter the U.S. legally.

Obviously, the president and others think that's impractical, that it's not the way to go.

So you're not going to get the sort of hardliners.

What the White House is looking for and what the Senate, frankly, is looking for, is enough Republicans to add to the Democrats in the House that will vote for it and come up with a bill from the center.

S. O'BRIEN: We have spent a lot of time of late talking about something that many people haven't even thought about since their seventh grade civics class, which is the system of checks and balances. But when you have this raid on Congressman Jefferson's office and then you have the interviews, apparently, by the FBI and some of the top lawmakers over this NSA leak, it's really starting to become a very big issue. What are the risks here for the president?

CROWLEY: Well, you know, I'm not sure there's a lot of risk for the president and here's why. It's a Washington story at this point. If you -- I hesitate to -- I don't hesitate to tell you that if you go to Lansing, Michigan or Peoria, Illinois or Sioux Falls, South Dakota, they don't quite understand why a congressman should be exempt from a raid from the FBI, having -- their having found, you know, $90,000 worth of cash in his freezer. They apparently have him on videotape.

So this is not an issue that right now is resonating. It does, however, increase the friction between the legislative branch and the executive branch and that they don't need at this point because increasingly -- and it's not Democrats and the president, it's really Republicans and the president -- they've been on the side of this checks and balances and why did the FBI come up here and there were ways to do it and this is a, you know, a breach of the checks and balances.

It's a problem for the president and his party. I don't think it's a public problem.

S. O'BRIEN: And they certainly don't need any more friction, at least at this time.

CROWLEY: Right. Right.

S. O'BRIEN: Candy Crowley for us this morning.

Candy, thanks, as always.

CROWLEY: Sure.

S. O'BRIEN: Appreciate it.

CROWLEY: Yes.

S. O'BRIEN: Miles.

M. O'BRIEN: Al Gore is going Hollywood with his new movie, "An Inconvenient Truth." But he's doing it with a little help from, get this, myspace.com. We'll tell you why he's teaming up with the ever so popular Web site.

And later, you want to look like you did when you were in your 20s...

S. O'BRIEN: Yes.

M. O'BRIEN: ... when you hit your 30s, 40s and 50s?

Yes.

That's kind of a silly question, a rhetorical question, you might say, Soledad. Of course we do. We will give you some clues and tips ahead on AMERICAN MORNING. (BEGIN VIDEO TAPE)

UNIDENTIFIED CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): A wedding dress designer saying I do to more than fashion on today's Blue Chips.

If you're a red carpet watcher, chances are you've seen her gowns. Vera Wang's name is synonymous with modern evening and bridal wear.

The former "Vogue" editor started her label 16 years ago and is known as the woman who infused fashion into the bridal industry.

VERA WANG, FOUNDER & CEO, VERA WANG GROUP: Because design goes by so quickly and things are old by the time they get to market, you have to be very vigilant about what is going on around you.

UNIDENTIFIED CORRESPONDENT: Today, Wang's multi-million dollar empire has expanded to lingerie, jewelry, fine papers, a houseware line and much more.

WANG: One of the most important things in any career is to feel passionate about what you do. And that makes the effort that much easier.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

M. O'BRIEN: In Indonesia, seven members of one family are dead. They are victims of the bird flu. The World Health Organization is looking into this cluster of human cases in Indonesia in that specific part of the world.

There is strong reason to believe there was human to human transmission and that, in and of itself, would be very alarming. But there are a few asterisks to this story.

CNN medical correspondent Elizabeth Cohen is here to explain why the alarm bells may not be ringing as loud as we would suspect -- hello, Elizabeth.

COHEN: That's right, Miles.

Those asterisks are extremely important.

Now, usually we we're talking about bird flu, we're talking about people getting this disease from birds. But in this small cluster in one family in rural Indonesia, authorities think what they're seeing is humans getting it from other human beings.

That has happened before, but not very often.

Let's take a look at the specifics of what's happening in Indonesia.

There are seven confirmed cases, six people dead, from H5N1. That's the scientific name for this kid of bird flu. They are all in one family. It appears that only one person had actual bird contact. That would be the original person, who died May 4th.

The family lived in extremely close quarters. That's very important to note. They were, in fact, taking care of this sick person at the height of when their symptoms were very, very strong and when they would have been the most contagious.

Now, in that village right now, they are still watching a number of people to see if they, too, will develop the disease.

M. O'BRIEN: So, Elizabeth, help us understand that. Do we -- can we say for certain whether this H5N1 virus, the bird flu virus, whether it has mutated in some way to facilitate that human to human transmission?

COHEN: Right, Miles.

Authorities are extremely specific about this. They say that when they look at that virus, when they look at it genetically, it has not mutated. It's still the same virus that, by and large, has not spread human to human on any kind of large scale at all, that hardly has spread human to human at all.

So they're sort of -- they're a bit bewildered themselves about this. They say gee, this hasn't spread human to human very much, why are we seeing this one cluster now when it appears to be the same virus?

The answer is they just don't know. One hypothesis that they're researching right now is does this family have some kind of genetic predisposition to getting this virus more easily, person to person?

M. O'BRIEN: All right, so just to be clear, because I think a lot of people have been under the impression that the only way to get the bird flu is from a sick animal, typically poultry.

Not necessarily so, then?

COHEN: Correct. This is not the first time that humans have gotten this disease from humans. The vast majority of people who have gotten this disease have gotten it from birds. But you can get it from human beings. There have been a scattered number of cases over the past eight or so years where people have gotten it from people.

But it is the exception rather than the rule. It is very much the exception rather than the rule.

M. O'BRIEN: And one of the key things here, I know the World Health Organization has a fairly specific rapid response that they're prepared to deal with to isolate something like this.

Have they initiated that response protectively, do you know?

COHEN: Well, what they have done is they have gone into this rural area of Indonesia and they have asked these people to quarantine themselves, some of the villagers who live in this area, because they certainly don't want it to go beyond this one family. And at this point, it hasn't. At this point, it seems contained to just this one family.

These were people who were extremely close. Not the kind of close like when you and Soledad are sitting next to each other on the desk kind of close. Not that distance, but very close -- wiping each other's noses; very, very close; real face-to-face contact with each other. That's all the spread has been between is that kind of closeness. It hasn't happened yet where it's gone beyond that kind of family closeness.

M. O'BRIEN: Elizabeth Cohen, thank you very much for sorting that out for us.

S. O'BRIEN: Yes.

M. O'BRIEN: I think that helps quite a bit.

We'll obviously be watching it very closely -- Soledad.

S. O'BRIEN: Coast Guard rescue efforts one of the bright spots in Katrina's aftermath. What's on the agenda now as a new leader is taking the helm? Thad Allen is sworn in as commandant today.

We'll cover that live ahead on AMERICAN MORNING.

(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