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American Morning

Ramsey Murder Case; Judge Halts Wiretaps; Deployment Delay?; 'Fair' Politics

Aired August 18, 2006 - 06:59   ET

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

MILES O'BRIEN, CNN ANCHOR: A day after that stunning, disturbing television confession, a lot of questions this morning about John Mark Karr and claims that he killed JonBenet Ramsey. Was he in Colorado at the time of the murder? Why does he say he picked up the 6-year-old girl at school on the day after Christmas?
Did he drug her? He says yes, but an autopsy says no.

Ed Lavandera joining us from Boulder, Colorado, where the murder occurred nearly 10 years ago, with more.

Hello, Ed.

LAVANDERA: Good morning, Miles.

Well, many people here in Boulder wondering if what John Karr said yesterday, that sensational -- what appeared to sound like a confession is, quite frankly, just starting to unravel.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

LAVANDERA (voice over): With John Karr confessing to being with JonBenet Ramsey when she died, and hope building that a 10-year murder mystery might finally be solved, Boulder County district attorney Mary Lacy stood before the cameras and popped the balloon of anticipation.

MARY LACY, BOULDER COUNTY DISTRICT ATTORNEY: There's a great deal of speculation and a desire for quick answers. I am not commenting on the particular nature of this investigation.

ED LAVANDERA, ABC CORRESPONDENT, (voice over): Prosecutors revealed no details of what led them to arrest Karr. Court documents containing some of that information have been sealed. Now the focus is intensifying on the credibility of John Karr. Is his story true or is he making it up? Karr's ex-wife has said they were both in Alabama during that Christmas season 10 years ago, and Karr's family in Georgia says they'll soon have information to suggest why the charge is wrong.

NATE KARR, SUSPECT'S BROTHER: It's ridiculous, without a doubt. And we'll go over some more specifics of why we think that is.

LAVANDERA: Perhaps that is why prosecutors and investigators have been very cautious about what they say. After 10 years of looking for JonBenet Ramsey's killer, no one here is officially saying John Karr is the man. Even the journalism professor who exchanged e- mails with Karr for several years won't say what spooked him about the 41-year-old schoolteacher and convinced him to turn his name over to investigators.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Is there a single thing that (INAUDIBLE) say, OK, I've got to go to the cops now?

PROF. MICHAEL TRACEY, UNIVERSITY OF COLORADO: There was, but I'm not going to say what it is. It was one particular thing, yeah.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

LAVANDERA: So John Karr's family in Georgia is also saying that they have information that they will release later today that will prove his innocence. We'll see if that happens. In the meantime, the district attorney here in Boulder, Colorado, continues to say that everyone needs to slow down, let them do their investigation and no one should be speculating.

Carol.

CAROL COSTELLO, CNN ANCHOR: Thank you very much, Ed. Ed Lavandera reporting live from Boulder, Colorado.

Miles.

MILES O'BRIEN, CNN ANCHOR: John Mark Karr is currently being held in Bangkok, Thailand, where he was arrested. He'll be extradited, we'll told, within the next week or so. CNN's Atika Schubert is there with more.

Atika.

ATIKA SCHUBERT, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, Miles, Karr has not made any new statements today. We didn't have any of the chaotic press conference that we had yesterday. But some new developments on what exactly he was doing in Thailand. We were also able to speak to Thailand's immigration chief and he gave us some more insight into that initial admission that John Karr made to Thai officials. Here's what he said.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

LT. GEN. SUWAT THAMRONGRISAKUL, CHIEF OF IMMIGRATION: Told him that you know that you have a warrant, arrest warrant, from U.S. with a first-degree murder? And he stayed quiet, keep quiet, kept quiet. And then in the morning he said, it's not first degree. It's second degree.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

SCHUBERT: We've also been able it get a little bit more reaction on the ground here from people who might have interacted with Karr. For example, at the guest house where he was staying in southern Bangkok. The receptionist said he was an very anti-social man. He was never seen with anybody. He paid -- otherwise seem to pay his rent on time. But pretty much kept to himself. We've also learned that he taught at two separate international schools here in Bangkok. He taught there for only a few weeks before the schools decided not to hire him. One school official telling us that the reason was because he was too strict with the children.

Miles.

O'BRIEN: Atika, it just gets more odd as you unfold further details about this person. Give us a sense then, to what extent is there an active investigation, interview process underway right now of Karr? Or is he just being held and will be interviewed when he gets back to the United States?

SCHUBERT: I have to say, Miles, that's been one of the most confounding aspects of this case is that there does not seem to be any sort of official interrogation or investigation process going on. When we talked to the Thai immigration chief, he said it was basically like a casual conversation that his officer was having with Karr and that it was not an official interrogation by any means. In fact, the way Thai officials seem to look at it, is that they're simply holding him for U.S. authorities. They want to get rid of him as soon as possible and get him deported to the U.S. That's why they're hoping that it will take perhaps two day, perhaps up to a week.

Miles.

M. O'BRIEN: All right. Atika Schubert in Bangkok. Thank you.

Carol.

COSTELLO: A big defeat for the Bush administration's warrantless wiretapping program. A federal court ruled its unconstitutional and said the government was overstepping its bounds. The judge wrote, "it was never the intent of the framers to give the president such unfettered control, particularly where his actions blatantly disregard the parameters clearly enumerated in the Bill of Rights." She went on to say, "there are no hereditary kings in America." CNN White House correspondent Elaine Quijano joins us like from Washington with more reaction to this.

Good morning.

ELAINE QUIJANO, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Good morning to you, Carol.

And those wiretaps will continue until a hearing next month. But clearly, as you noted, this is a setback for the Bush administration. The administration calls the NSA surveillance program legal and necessary. But that federal judge in Michigan, as you noted, calling it unconstitutional.

Now the president himself made no comment when he was asked about this as he left the White House yesterday en route to Camp David. But White House Press Secretary Tony Snow says that the administration couldn't disagree more with this ruling and Attorney General Alberto Gonzales staunchly defended the program, saying there are checks in place. (BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

ALBERTO GONZALES, ATTORNEY GENERAL: It is a program that is reviewed periodically for its continued effectiveness. It is reviewed periodically to ensure that it remains lawful. It has been very important for the security of our country.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

QUIJANO: Now the ruling and the ensuing debate over -- or the continuing, I should say, debate over the NSA surveillance program comes just 80-some days before those Congressional midterm elections. And as we've seen ahead of those elections, both President Bush and Republican have been trying to tout their national security credentials. Well now Democrats have pounced on this ruling. They are trying to make the argument that, in fact, they feel the Bush administration has mismanaged the war on terrorism.

So, Carol, even as these legal maneuverings take place, clearly the political maneuverings are well underway.

Carol.

COSTELLO: I just wondered, is the surveillance program continuing?

QUIJANO: The wiretaps will go on. And essentially what you have is an appeals hearing set for next month. And that is something that certainly this administration welcomes, the idea that these wiretaps will be allowed to go on. In fact, they pointed to this on Monday. President Bush himself singled out this very program, the terrorist surveillance program as the administration calls it, as an example of something that is working. And, of course, in the wake of that recently foiled British terror plot, certainly there is a heightened sense here at the White House that national security is an issue that is very much on people's minds.

Carol.

COSTELLO: Elaine Quijano live at the White House this morning. Thanks.

U.S. military officials say North Korea may be quietly getting ready to test a nuclear bomb underground. Recent imagery shows some movement at a suspected nuclear site. Now it's not clear whether the imagery came from a satellite or a US-2 aircraft. But military and intelligence officials warn that while the recent activity could signal a test, there is absolutely no way to determine exactly what it all means.

O'BRIEN: Plans for a peacekeeping force coming together today in Lebanon. The United Nations says it will contribute as many as 15,000 peacekeepers. But there are doubts about which countries will participate and how quickly they could be deployed. CNN's Anthony Mills watches things for us in Beirut.

Anthony.

ANTHONY MILLS, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Good morning, Miles.

The things on the Lebanese army's side have really got underway fairly fast in the last 24 hour with thousands of Lebanese army troops deploying across the Litani River into the south of country. They've also been landing at the port city of Tyre, on the coast, down below the Litani River level. And a high-ranking army source here says that he expects all 15,000 Lebanese army troops to be in place by the end of the day.

Now the question is turning to the international force, which could be as strong as 15,000. Initially it had been hoped by many that France would lead that force. But it's a sensitive topic as France is now reportedly saying that it may not send very many troops at all.

The reason it's so sensitive, Miles, is back in the '80s, for example, France was involved in a pretty disastrous peacekeeping mission here -- it was part of the multi-national force -- along with the United States. And both of those countries pulled their contingents out after two bombings of their respective barracks. Of course, the United States lost 241 soldiers and France 58. And so there is much sensitivity, much concern in France and indeed elsewhere in Europe, for example, that their troops could conceivably be perceived by Hezbollah to be taking sides, and, therefore, become a target without clear rules of engagement.

Miles.

O'BRIEN: So what countries would be acceptable? I mean there might be a long list. But if there were a short list, who would be on that list?

MILLS: Well, it's a good question. This society here is fragmented, of course. And what might be acceptable to certain parties, such as Hezbollah, might not be acceptable to others. There's a sizable Christian minority here.

Now a number of predominantly Muslim nations, such as Turkey, Malaysia, and Pakistan have offered troops. But, of course, that might be of concern to the Christians in Lebanon who would rather see a strong presence by, for example, France or other European countries. So it really is a problem in a country with as many divisions and as many sects at this.

Miles.

O'BRIEN: Anthony Mills in Beirut. Thank you very much.

Let's get a check of the forecast. The weekend is ahead, in case you didn't notice, and Chad has your weekend plans, either good news or bad news for them, depending where you are, as usual.

(WEATHER REPORT) O'BRIEN: Still to come on the program, most state fairs are looking for the fattest pig and all that stuff. You know how that goes. But at this one, it's . . .

COSTELLO: What?

O'BRIEN: You know, it's a contest. You know, the biggest, you know, cucumber and all that stuff. This one -- I mean livestock, all right?

COSTELLO: You obviously are not from the Midwest!

O'BRIEN: The fattest pig. That wins!

Anyway, here they're looking for the -- we're not going to talk about girth, but the most potentially successful presidential hopeful. How's that?

COSTELLO: OK, my Midwest friends, I'm taking him out back.

Also, a fiery display in South America. Take a look at this. Nature's fury lights up the night sky.

O'BRIEN: And "Snakes on a Plane." They don't make them better than this, do they, folks? A hyped up movie. They've been talking about this movie longer -- months -- for months now and maybe -- oh, my God, look at that. That's great stuff, isn't it? That is Hollywood at its finest. We'll talk to one of the stars, Samuel L. Jackson, about that ahead.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

COSTELLO: Happening this morning.

An investigation into last November's massacre at Haditha finds new information about U.S. Marines destroying and withholding evidence. This is according to a report in "The New York Times" this morning.

Iraqi soldiers have captured a suspect they're calling a facilitator of terrorist activity. Taken in a morning raid, the alleged agitator is responsible for car bombings and other terrorism west of Baghdad.

Later this morning, President Bush and his economic advisers are scheduled to meet at Camp David. Under discussion, financial markets and pro-growth tax policy. This as the economy continues to slow.

A news briefing with FEMA Director David Paulison today will explore what the government learned from Hurricane Katrina. The Partnership for Public Service also will release a report on trends in Katrina media coverage during the past year.

And in Equador, thousands are running for their lives after a volcano erupted in the Andes Mountains. Lava and molten rocks have buried entire villages, killing at least one person. O'BRIEN: Joe Lieberman's bold move to bolt his party may be paying off. A new poll shows Lieberman, now an independent, has a double-digit lead over Ned Lamont. Lieberman decided to run as an independent when Lamont defeated him in the Democratic primary last week.

But check out these numbers. Fifty-three percent of those in Connecticut supporting Lieberman, 41 percent for Lamont. That's according to the Quenpiak (ph) poll. Another possible candidate who may be looking out for his political future says he made a mistake.

Former Senator John Edwards said his vote authorizing the Iraq war was wrong. The 2004 Democratic vice president's candidate made his comments at a rally for Ned Lamont. Edwards says he still hasn't decided whether he'll run for president in 2008.

A state fair. You know, butter, a cow, corn, the big pig, all that stuff.

COSTELLO: Oh, man.

O'BRIEN: Well, and the cattle and all that stuff. But you might not associate presidential politic with a poll. But in Iowa, things are a little different, especially around this time of year. It's getting to be that time of year, believe it or not. AMERICAN MORNING's Bob Franken is at a state fair where as much as anything there are contests over who might be the next president.

Hello, Bob.

BOB FRANKEN, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Have you ever been in a barn at all, ever, Miles?

O'BRIEN: I've been in a barn. They have big pigs. A fat pig. They do contests on fat pigs! Bail me out on this.

FRANKEN: You're the new meaning of the term city slicker, which is (INAUDIBLE).

But we have the Iowa State Fair here. You can see all the stands behind me. There's about as much food and as much politics as anyone can stomach.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

FRANKEN, (voice over): Did you know there are 20 different foods on a stick at the Iowa State Fair?

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Welcome to Iowa State Fair.

GOV. BILL RICHARDSON, (D) NEW MEXICO: Nice to see you. How are you?

FRANKEN: And about a dozen possible candidates for president.

RICHARDSON: Nice to see you. Bill Richardson. FRANKEN: Democratic New Mexico Governor Bill Richardson happened to be in the neighborhood yesterday. So was one of the Republicans.

SEN. SAM BROWNBACK, (R) KANSAS: Sam Brownback.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Nice to meet you.

FRANKEN: So far this month, 10 potential candidates have stopped by the state fair here. A year and a half before the all-important Iowa party caucuses. Joe Biden, Delaware Democrat, was here Wednesday. A day after Republican John McCain. The visitors have included a roll call of presidential wannabes. Among then, Pataki, Bayh, Gingrich. Bill Frist and John Kerry are coming. Meanwhile, those they'll need to impress are waiting to have their pet issues address.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Cutting taxes.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Yes, cut taxes. Stopping crime. Family values.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I'd like to see them address renewable energy. And emphasize that it isn't the price of energy but our dependence on foreign oil.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: In my opinion, for the next election, I really want to see that they're pro-military and that they treat our military guys right and don't just leave them high and dry overseas.

BROWNBACK: What's the core issues for you? What are you . . .

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Well, right now it's the war.

FRANKEN: Right now, the candidates are here mainly to be seen.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Media comes to Iowa, the candidates come to Iowa, the media comes to Iowa. There's sort of a back and forth symbiotic relationship.

FRANKEN: But for normal people, the political cattle show doesn't compare to the real thing. Or the real bull. Or to the butter sculpture of a cow. Or to Waldo, the huge hog. No lipstick on this pig.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

FRANKEN: And, of course, there's a lesson for presidential candidates here at an agriculture fair. That lesson, Miles, watch your step.

O'BRIEN: All right. And I just want to note for our viewers, and particularly, Carol, there was a huge hog in the piece right there.

COSTELLO: Bit it's more than weight! I can explain this to you, being from the farm country. O'BRIEN: Bob Franken. I do have a political question for you, Bob. Let me ask you this, though.

FRANKEN: Well, and I also want to point out . . .

O'BRIEN: Yes, go ahead, go ahead. Say what you're going to say.

FRANKEN: I wanted to point out, there was also a boar. An I'm talking about an animal boar that was in there, too.

O'BRIEN: I am going to resist the temptation to pick that low- hanging fruit as I talk to you, Mr. Franken, and I will ask you this. I will ask you this. It's August. It is before the midterm election, in advance of the presidential election. Anybody there saying, I really don't care at this point?

FRANKEN: A lot of people are saying that. But the politicians care. Of course, Iowa really bases a little bit of its identity on the Iowa caucuses. And this is the price they have to pay.

O'BRIEN: All right, there you have it. There you have it. It's a duty. That is true. All right, Bob Franken, thank you very much.

Carol.

COSTELLO: I'm forcing you to go to a state fair this summer.

O'BRIEN: I've been to many. Geez. Anyway.

COSTELLO: A judge rules tobacco companies deceived smokers about the risks of cigarettes, but the companies will not have to pay up. We'll explain why in "Minding Your Business."

And a fuzzy surveillance tape captures a clown caper in progress. But police say there was no funny business going on here. Stay with us on AMERICAN MORNING.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

O'BRIEN: Federal judge says big tobacco did wrong. But what does it mean in the end? Carrie Lee has the answers, as always.

CARRIE LEE, CNN CORRESPONDENT: As always. This is one of those cases where big tobacco lost but won, really, because a federal judge finding that big tobacco companies did mislead smokers for decades about the dangers of smoking. However, she said there's not much she can do to make them pay up. So, in a way, they're getting off the hook. Altria, parent company of Philip Morris, rising about 3 percent on this news last night.

Basically the judge saying yes tobacco suppressed research, yes they destroyed documents. So why don't they have to pay? The reason. Well, a lower appeals court ruling said that remedies have to be designed to prevent future wrongdoing, not to punish bad behavior. Now this also comes on the heels of government folks who said the companies should pay $10 billion for smoking cessation programs. The Justice Department's only expert said $130 million was needed. But this is pretty much the end of it.

One interesting thing here. The judge did order tobacco to stop labeling cigarettes at low tar, light, ultra light or mild because those are misleading. So we're not going to see those names or those words on cigarette packs anymore.

O'BRIEN: So that lower court appeal, that lower appeals court ruling . . .

LEE: Right.

O'BRIEN: Basically says, you can't punish these companies anymore. They've -- it's essentially they've suffered enough at this point financially?

LEE: They've suffered enough. They've settle with the states years ago. We know this. That was worth $246 billion. So what this means going forward, well Altria stock seeing nice gains last night. That also means for Altria, that they can now move ahead spinning off Kraft Foods. You know, they've been planning to do this for a while. Break it up into tobacco, Altria, the parent company, and Kraft Foods. Basically splitting it up and unlocking shareholder value. So this could very well be the end of it. I mean there's no reason for tobacco to appeal because they don't have to pay in the first place.

O'BRIEN: So once Altria has a pure play tobacco stock, you think that will do well?

LEE: I don't know.

O'BRIEN: It's going to be interesting.

LEE: I mean, you know, I think in the U.S. people aren't smoking more. But go to places like Asia and everyone is lighting up.

O'BRIEN: Overseas. People still got those Marlboro's going.

LEE: So there's a growth area somewhere, even though isn't probably in the U.S. as much.

O'BRIEN: All right, thanks, Carrie.

LEE: Sure.

O'BRIEN: See you in a bit.

COSTELLO: Coming up, new questions about John Mark Karr's confession on the JonBenet Ramsey killing. We'll look at why his story seems to be unraveling.

Plus, the loopholes in the teacher background checks. Karr was a teacher in the United States before he got a job in Thailand, you know, at a school there. What's being done to keep your children safe? That, too, ahead on AMERICAN MORNING.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK) COSTELLO: Happening this morning.

Raul Castro speaking publicly for the first time since taking power in Cuba. He says his brother Fidel is recovering and that Cuban's troops are on standby in case the U.S. has any ideas about invading.

A major break in the serial rapes and killings along the U.S./Mexico border. Edgar Alvarez Cruz now under arrest. The U.S. Embassy says he may have taken part in at least 10 murders.

And in Wyoming, firefighters say they're making progress against an 11,000 acre wildfire on Casper Mountain. So far no evacuations have been ordered.

O'BRIEN: Welcome back to the program.

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