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Autopsy Results Possible Today for Anna Nicole Smith; Palestinian, Israeli Forces Clash at Disputed Jerusalem Holy Site; Several Feet of Snow in Upstate New York
Aired February 09, 2007 - 09:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
TONY HARRIS, CNN ANCHOR: And good morning, everyone. You are in the CNN NEWSROOM.
Happy Friday to you.
I'm Tony Harris.
HEIDI COLLINS, CNN ANCHOR: And I'm Heidi Collins.
For the next three hours, watch events as they come in to the NEWSROOM, live on Friday, the 9th of February.
Here's what's on the rundown now.
Autopsy ahead. The fast life and sudden death of model-actress Anna Nicole Smith -- what killed her, and what about her baby?
HARRIS: One senator calls it a damning report. Investigators accusing the Pentagon of manipulating prewar intel on Iraq.
COLLINS: Murder on the streets of New Orleans. A mother accused of ordering her son to take revenge on the boy who beat him up.
Deadly retaliation, in the NEWSROOM.
She started out a stripper. She ended up a celebrity whose troubled life played out in the tabloids. The sudden death of Anna Nicole Smith, we could learn the cause today. The Broward County, Florida, medical examiner performing an autopsy.
CNN National Correspondent Susan Candiotti joins us now live from Broward County.
Susan, fill us in. What are the latest developments in the case?
SUSAN CANDIOTTI, CNN NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Well, you know, Heidi, you could say that Anna Nicole Smith's life was played out under a microscope and the same kind of thing is happening even in her death. That autopsy should be getting under way any time now.
The Broward County medical examiner, the chief medical examiner, arrived within the last half-hour, and he is the one that will be leading the way with some help from one of his top assistants. He said he doesn't know how long the autopsy will take, but he does hope to be able to release some kind of preliminary findings, some kind of information at some point today.
If she died of natural causes, of course, this probably will not take him long at all, he has said. But, if they have to do a lot of toxicology work, that, of course, could take several weeks.
In the meantime, Heidi, there is that separate track that this investigation is running on, the Seminole Police Department. This hotel and casino is located on an Indian reservation. That small police agency is the lead on this case, and they spent hours in the hotel room yesterday with assistance from the Broward sheriff's office.
They took photographs. They collected whatever clues they could, and removed at least a half-dozen paper evidence bags from the room. They will not tell us what was in those bags -- Heidi.
COLLINS: Boy, there's so many questions to ask, Susan. I guess the main one that people are really wondering about this morning is about her baby, her baby daughter, and who is taking care of that little girl right now.
CANDIOTTI: We wish we knew more about that. We don't.
Remember, the little infant, Dannielyn, was born in September in the Bahamas. Of course we don't know -- she wasn't here on this trip. Anna Nicole Smith and her partner, Howard K. Stern, arrived at this hotel on Monday of this week. They were supposed to check out today.
The baby was not with them, only a nurse and a bodyguard. So who was taking care of the little one, we don't know.
COLLINS: All right. Susan Candiotti covering the story for us, live this morning from Broward County.
Susan, thank you.
HARRIS: "Entertainment Tonight" host Mark Steines has followed Smith's roller-coaster career, including the most recent dispute over the father of her young daughter -- over the last few days of her life. He also reveals she attempted suicide after the death of her son Daniel.
Smith's attorney and her partner, Howard K. Stern, found her.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
MARK STEINES, "ENTERTAINMENT TONIGHT": We have found out that after the death of Daniel, at some point Anna did jump in her pool, attempt suicide at that point, and was found by Howard face down in the pool. Howard screamed for help. Her bodyguard Mo (ph) came out, who is a paramedic, and took her from the pool, administered CPR, and saved her life at that point.
So I don't know if that led up to this, where she just didn't feel like she could conquer all of the DNA stuff that's going on in her life, the accusations of Howard K. Stern murdering her son Daniel, and a TrimSpa lawsuit that is pending as well, and J. Howard Marshall. I mean, there was so much going on, and I don't know if that was just too much for her.
She never indicated that to me. I mean, that certainly could be -- it's a great observation.
She was depressed quite often. In fact, after the interview last week, in our conversations with Howard, he told us she never really, really recovered from the final part of that interview where she was talking about Daniel.
She did have a fever. I can tell you, the last few days of her life, when she came here, she had a fever when they got here. Before they came, Howard was actually suffering from the -- from the flu.
When they got into the hotel room behind me, there was a point where Anna's fever had reached 105 degrees, at which time they put her in an ice bath. This was when her private nurse was with her, Howard was there in the room, to get her temperature back down.
Her temperature went back down, they got her out of the ice bath, she was OK. The next day, which would have been Wednesday, Anna was in the bathroom, she slipped, she fell. They heard something.
They went to her and she was in her tub with no water, nothing else. And they had asked her if she had fallen, and she seemed a little bit out of it. But they checked her for any bruising or contusions or swelling and there was nothing.
She got out of the tub, she had a nice meal. Everything was fine. Then she went to bed. And that led to yesterday, when after taking a nap, I believe, she never came to and never woke up.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
HARRIS: So what of the legal fight over Anna Nicole Smith's baby girl? Her status uncertain.
A paternity hearing is scheduled later this morning in California. CNN Entertainment Correspondent Brooke Anderson will follow that hearing for us, and she'll join us in the 11:00 a.m. Eastern hour with the very latest.
Also, the death of Anna Nicole Smith raising legal questions. Who is the child's father, and what about her late husband's oil fortune?
Our legal analyst, Jeffrey Toobin, tries to untangle these real life soap opera questions coming up live in the NEWSROOM.
Faith and fury colliding at a Jerusalem holy site. Israeli police facing off with Palestinian protesters at the third holiest shrine in all of Islam. The site also revered by Jews. Tear gas, rock-throwing and outrage at a frequent flash point sparks yet again.
Ben Wedeman joins us from Jerusalem. And Ben, is it true Israeli intelligence had warnings that this could happen?
BEN WEDEMAN, CNN INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: It was well -- it was obvious from several days ago that there was going to be some sort of confrontation in the old city today. We have heard for days now Palestinian leaders calling on people to come to Jerusalem, to come to the Aqsa mosque to pray, and also to express their anger over this project, the Israeli renovation of a ramp leading to one of the gates to the Aqsa mosque.
Many of these leaders claiming that this work, this renovation work, would undermine or somehow damage the structure of the complex of the Aqsa mosque, which that complex also known to Jews as the Temple Mount. Israeli officials say that that simply isn't the case.
They've offered to install 24-hour Web cameras to provide visual proof, in their words, that no damage is being caused to the structure. But that obviously was not enough. So it was well- expected by many people, not just Israeli intelligence, that there would be trouble today. And as we saw, they were right -- Tony.
HARRIS: So Ben, I'm just curious, obviously some coordination of this, some planning and forethought, but why today? Has the construction that is at the center of this protest, has it reached a particularly sensitive stage?
WEDEMAN: Basically the sensitive phase, Tony, is that it began. They began the work on Tuesday, and that is really something that was, in a sense, almost certain to cause this sort of trouble. In fact, we heard the Israeli defense minister asking the Israeli prime minister to stop the work, because he expected this sort of violence to break out -- Tony.
HARRIS: OK. Ben Wedeman for us.
Ben, appreciate it. Thank you.
COLLINS: It just keeps coming, doesn't it? Foot after foot of snow in western New York, and yes, more in the forecast.
CNN's Chad Myers will have more on that and the weather for the rest of the country.
But first, let's get out to a very chilly, windy Rob Marciano. He's in the thick of it for a second day now in Oswego, New York.
Rob, how are things looking there this morning?
ROB MARCIANO, CNN METEOROLOGIST: Windy, cold. We've set up shop on the southern shore of Lake Ontario, where there's ice that's built up from all the cold air and the winds whipping up here. And the winds are blowing right now, gusting at times 30 to 40 miles an hour.
We've got a 15-degree temperature, wind-chills miserably cold. The good news is it's not snowing nearly as hard as it was yesterday. Still, you can imagine with all of the snow that has fallen across upstate New York, trying to keep the roads clear and the towns open is an ongoing battle.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: This lever here is the front plow.
MARCIANO (voice over): For Dave Barnett (ph), the job of keeping roads open in Oswego County is endless. With snow falling at a rate of up to five inches per hour, visibility can drop quickly.
(on camera): It looks pretty heavy. You see a big sheet of White out there.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Slow down. As soon as you see a whiteout, the first thing you do is slow down. Move it into the curb (ph) a little bit and you can feel your wing there so you know where you are, basically.
MARCIANO (voice over): Cleared roads can also mean buried cars, clogged sidewalks, and stranded residents. And when there's nowhere else to push the snow, it gets hauled and dumped here, an old reservoir, where it will sit to spring.
SCOTT STEIGER, METEOROLOGIST PROFESSOR: They've been plowing since Friday, last Friday.
MARCIANO: Dr. Scott Steiger teaches meteorology at Oswego State.
STEIGER: Hey, Jason. So what's going on right now?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Well, you can see there's more northwesterly winds.
MARCIANO: With labs and instruments right on Lake Ontario, he and his students know lake-effect snow, and they're trying to figure out who's getting it and how much.
STEIGER: Well, it's very difficult to forecast exactly where it's going to hit. These bands are only five to 10 miles wide.
MARCIANO: They're also trying to determine how much longer this area will have to deal with this marathon-like event.
STEIGER: It's definitely not over yet. And then as we go into Saturday, the winds are going to realign out of the west in the same area. Northern-central and northern Oswego County could see another two to three feet on top of the 70 inches they already have -- 78 inches they already have.
MARCIANO (on camera): An historic event?
STEIGER: Historic event, I would say, for sure.
MARCIANO (voice over): And this arctic blast has made southern shores of Lake Ontario look more like the South Pole. Waves freeze as huge mounds of ice and white caps break in the distance against darkening clouds, as the next band of lake-effect snow rolls in.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
MARCIANO: And that scene is still with us. Snow is falling, the winds are blowing, and behind me, as this ice builds up and basically huge waves of snow and ice, in the distance you see broken ice kind of rolling in on the swells. Beyond that, where it's completely liquid, big breakers with white caps, breaking in here about the 10, 12, even 15 feet at times.
Five feet officially here in Oswego. Seven feet further east, in the eastern part of the counties.
When you get four feet of snow on your roof, you know, people get on top of the roofs and they start sweeping it off for fear of collapse. We've heard people doing that, snow blowing accidents. You know, it's kind of a dangerous situation there and officials are saying, hey, make sure that tailpipe of your car is dug out before you get in it to start it up for fear of carbon monoxide poisoning.
But even as we speak, Heidi, winds are picking up and the snow is picking up as well. So, lake-effect snow warnings have been extended until Monday morning with another couple of feet possible. And we may very well break records -- Heidi.
COLLINS: Boy, I can't begin to tell you the picture that we have of you right now Rob. I mean, there's just absolutely no difference between the wakes behind you and the snow and the ice. It is unbelievable.
When you talk about the tailpipes of the cars and everything there, it makes me wonder, do you even see anybody outside? I mean, are people moving around?
MARCIANO: Yes. You know, upstate New Yorkers are a hearty bunch. And a lot of them aren't fazed by this too much. They get out, they dig it out, and they get out about their business.
So there have been some breaks, and that's been the saving grace. When it comes down, it comes hard and fast.
COLLINS: Yes.
MARCIANO: But then there will be a few hours break and they get a handle on the roadways. And if anybody can knows how to clear the roads, it's the people who live across the snow belt here in upstate New York.
COLLINS: Yes.
MARCIANO: So, you know, they're going to break some records it looks like, but people are, for the most part, going on about their lives -- Heidi.
COLLINS: Boy. Rob Marciano, thanks so much for bringing that picture to us there. Yikes. Very, very cold. (WEATHER REPORT)
HARRIS: And still to come in the NEWSROOM, the death of Anna Nicole Smith. An autopsy is being performed today, but her death is also raising legal questions. Who is her child's father? And what about her late husband's oil fortune?
Our legal analyst, Jeffrey Toobin, tries to untangle these real- life soap opera questions coming up live next in the NEWSROOM.
COLLINS: Also, flawed intelligence linking Saddam Hussein and al Qaeda. A new report out today pointing fingers at the Pentagon. The investigation in the NEWSROOM.
HARRIS: And the high-profile trial of the vice president's former aide and the debate over the Iraq war. The week in review in the NEWSROOM.
You are watching CNN, the most trusted name in news.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
COLLINS: A life and death surrounded by tawdry headlines and troubling issues. Many questions this morning over the death of Anna Nicole Smith.
An autopsy today to determine how the former "Playboy" playmate died. Legal issues could take much longer, though, to resolve.
CNN senior legal analyst Jeffrey Toobin joining us now live from New York.
Boy, what a story we have here, Jeffrey. Unbelievable.
JEFFREY TOOBIN, CNN SR. LEGAL ANALYST: Where do you start?
COLLINS: I know. There are so many questions.
Let's start though with what we were talking about a little bit earlier with Susan Candiotti, and that is the little baby of Anna Nicole Smith. There are some legal fights going on already about all of this.
What will happen by way of the questions about who the father is of this baby?
TOOBIN: Well, the first thing that needs to be done, obviously, is someone has to care for this child. This is a four-month-old baby...
COLLINS: Right.
TOOBIN: ... or five months old. And the question is, who is her legal guardian? That leads to the question of, who is her father? That's what the first hearing this morning is aimed at resolving. There are two people who claim to be the father. There's Howard K. Stern, who also claims to be the husband of Anna Nicole Smith, although that's not entirely -- we don't know for sure if that's true, and Larry Birkhead, who was her boyfriend for awhile, who has been asking even before Anna Nicole Smith died for DNA tests. Curiously, Anna and her supposed husband have been reluctant to do that, but, you know, that is the one question here, who is the father, that will likely be resolved with some certainty pretty soon.
COLLINS: Yes. And obviously someone is taking care of that small child right now. Just not sure of those details. Probably none of our business at this point.
But the next thing to talk about is her deceased husband, Howard Marshall's estate. I mean, just a phenomenally huge estate, a huge sum of money.
Where does that stand? I mean, we saw so much publicity about this case, and whether or not she was going to get the money that he left.
TOOBIN: Right. You know, that lawsuit has been going on for 12 years already. So there is a long way -- I mean that has been a legal nightmare, and, you know, everybody's called Anna Nicole Smith a fortune hunter. She's never gotten a dime out of that lawsuit yet.
As many people know, there was -- that case went all the way to the Supreme Court last year.
COLLINS: Right.
TOOBIN: And Anna Nicole Smith won that round, but that didn't resolve the case for all time. And it's still on appeal in the 9th Circuit Court of Appeals in California.
The latest ruling is that she was going to get $88 million, but she may actually wind up getting more. But the question is, who inherits her right to pursue that litigation? When a litigant dies, the interest in the lawsuit becomes part of their estate. But what we don't know is whether Anna Nicole Smith left a will, because that would presumably...
COLLINS: Yes. That would determine who would fight the fight.
TOOBIN: Who would get -- but chances are -- I mean, she was only 39. Most people in their 30s don't have wills.
So, I mean, it seems likely she didn't have a will. Then the question is, was she married? Because a spouse has a legal right to inherit. But this supposed marriage to Howard K. Smith (sic) -- Howard K. Stern, no one knows whether...
COLLINS: Can't somebody get a hold of documents, whether or not there's a marriage certificate or legal documents certifying that union? TOOBIN: Well, that is what undoubtedly will be investigated. But, you know, this was, as if matters weren't complicated enough, allegedly in the Bahamas this marriage, so we'd have to see whether it comported with the laws of the Bahamas.
COLLINS: Yes.
TOOBIN: Then you have to figure out what state Anna Nicole Smith was a resident of, what state's laws control because they're different. Is it Florida? Is it Texas? Is it California?
COLLINS: Yes.
TOOBIN: I mean, you know, there are so many issues out there, wills, custody, marriage.
COLLINS: It would be amazing if she didn't have a will, wouldn't it, after all of the legal battles that she's been through? And also, we didn't even get a chance to talk about the death of her son, Daniel, back in September and all that that meant to her.
Also, Jeffrey, I want to point out real quickly that we are learning something here about the case, and that is that CNN has just confirmed that the autopsy is under way as we speak, and apparently the medical examiner's office is going to be holding a press conference. Not sure what time yet, but that could mean some progress.
TOOBIN: There's not going to be a lot of progress in the legal side for years. I mean, this is a really bizarrely complicated story, and when you consider that the dispute over her late husband's will has been going on for 12 years, and it's not even close to over, that gives you an idea of what's likely ahead in this situation.
COLLINS: Sure.
All right. Jeff Toobin, we'll be talking about it again. I am sure of that. Thanks so much.
CNN's senior legal analyst, Jeffrey Toobin.
HARRIS: Rocketing to the top of people making their mark this weekend, a most unfortunate way, astronaut Lisa Nowak. The 43-year- old mother of three faces attempted murder and kidnapping charges in an alleged love triangle.
Police say Nowak drove 900 miles from Texas to Florida, wearing diapers to reduce stops along the highway. She allegedly tried to pepper-spray Air Force captain Colleen Shipman at the airport in Orlando. Police allegedly found a plastic bag in a nearby trash can. The bag contained a BB pistol, four-inch knife, rubber tubing and large plastic garbage bags.
Nowak is out of jail on bond. She's back in Houston but must wear a global positioning device on her ankle. NASA says it will view the way it screens the mental health of its astronauts. Lisa Nowak making her mark this week.
COLLINS: Want to get back to the story on Anna Nicole Smith and her death.
Our Susan Candiotti is standing by in Broward County now with some more developments.
So I guess this autopsy is now under way, Susan?
CANDIOTTI: We just received the official word on that. A spokesperson for the Broward County medical examiner's office announcing that the autopsy, the examination, has begun. It will be led by the man in charge of this office with assistance, help from his chief medical examiner as well. And they don't know how long this is going to take, but they did say that there will be a news conference sometime later this afternoon.
Again, the medical examiner has said that if she died of natural causes, then they will be able to put out some information in fairly short order about what led to Anna Nicole Smith's death. If not, this could take some time -- in fact, several weeks for toxicology reports to come through. Obviously they have a lot to look at here and a lot of evidence to put together about what might have been recovered from her hotel room -- Heidi.
COLLINS: All right, Susan. We'll be watching for that to happen and come back to you just as soon as it does.
Thanks so much for that.
And we are "Minding Your Business" this morning. Stephanie Elam is in for Ali Velshi. She's here now with a preview.
Hi there, Stephanie.
STEPHANIE ELAM, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Hi, Heidi.
Well, we are going to take a look at the future of TrimSpa in light of the passing of its very famous spokesperson.
That's coming up in the NEWSROOM.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
COLLINS: Good morning once again, everybody.
I'm Heidi Collins.
HARRIS: And I'm Tony Harris.
Welcome back to CNN NEWSROOM.
Anna Nicole Smith led a high profile and sometimes troubled life. An autopsy is under way this hour, preliminary results from that could be released later today. That autopsy is being done at the Broward County, Florida, medical examiner's office.
"Entertainment Tonight" host Mark Steines says Smith was still having nightmares about the death of her 20-year-old son last fall.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
STEINES: After the interview, we talked about Daniel -- or at the end of the interview we talked about Daniel, and she talked about the emotional toll it took on her life, how she stills has nightmares about him -- of him trying to find his way in the afterlife, trying to find someone that he can connect to, perhaps J. Howard Marshall. And she was really concerned about him.
And I felt a drifting away from Dannielynn. She didn't seem to be the attentive mother that she used to be back in October when I saw her. She didn't seem to know at times where Dannielynn was, where in October she knew exactly where she was and would hear her cries.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
HARRIS: The paternity of Smith's young daughter at issue in a Los Angeles courtroom this morning. Later this morning, we'll hear from CNN's Brooke Anderson about that.
Also, again, we are following developments in Florida where an autopsy on the body of Anna Nicole Smith is under way. We'll have it all for you here in the NEWSROOM.
COLLINS: So, what does the death of Anna Nicole Smith mean for the product she endorsed? Stephanie Elam is "Minding Your Business".
And, Stephanie, you can't help of think of Anna Nicole Smith when you think of Trimspa.
STEPHANIE ELAM, CNN FINANCIAL CORRESPONDENT: Yes, Heidi, they're definitely intertwined and that is actually part of the reason why the future of Trimspa isn't very clear at this point.
Over the time period we've seen here since October of 2003, when she became the spokes model for Trimspa after losing a reported 60 to 70 pounds, the closely held small company has been under scrutiny for some of their ads claiming their diet pills could lead to weight loss. Both Smith and Trimspa faced legal issues claiming their ads were misleading.
In fact, in January of this month the FTC actually fined a Trimspa marketer, as well as other companies, for false advertising. The FTC there saying the weight loss claims were not supported by scientific evidence.
So obviously these legal matter also still be ongoing for the company, and in light of that, and the fact that they were so closely mirrored with Anna Nicole Smith, it doesn't seem like it would be very easy for them to keep on going after this. Might be too big of a hill for them to actually get over. COLLINS: Seems like sometimes, too, when things like this happen, the company comes out and makes some sort of statement or runs some sort ad about what has happened.
ELAM: Yes, sometimes do you see that. At this point, we haven't seen anything like that coming out of Trimspa. Again, they are a small company. It's not like they're owned by a big conglomerate that has the resources to make things happen as quickly.
At this point it seems with all of the legal issues, and there's a lot of money involved in that, without the one person who was really the face of the company, just might be too hard.
COLLINS: Remind me, since January, as you said, the FTC did fine Trimspa for some possible false advertising or misleading advertising. How about their sales? Did they do well after that?
ELAM: Since they're a small, and private company, we don't really know. It's not like a public company where we get the results every quarter and we know how much they're making. We don't know how their sales have been turning out. Obviously, it would seem the big heyday for them would have been back in 2003, when Anna Nicole Smith first came out after that weight loss.
COLLINS: That was a coup for them for sure.
ELAM: Definitely.
COLLINS: All right, Stephanie Elam, "Minding Your Business" today, thank you.
ELAM: Thanks.
HARRIS: Still to come, a New Orleans mother allegedly tells her son to go out and get revenge.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Miss Johnson, after hearing the details of the story, provided her son, the 17-year-old, with a handgun.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
HARRIS: And a teen is left dead. This chilling story straight ahead in the NEWSROOM.
COLLINS: A crossroads of religion, a collision course in the Middle East, what sparked this morning's violence at a holy site? The answer coming up in the NEWSROOM.
HARRIS: The high profile trial of the vice president's former aide, and the battle over the Iraq war. The week in Washington from two Beltway insiders. I don't know if they'd appreciate that, Frank Sesno and Susan Paige join us in the NEWSROOM.
(CLANING BELL) COLLINS: And the opening bell on this fine Friday. Dow Jones industrial average down 30 points yesterday. We'll watch it for you today, and will bring you the business headlines coming up a little later. Dow resting at 12,656, for now.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
HARRIS: Faith and fury collide.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
(GUNFIRE, MEN SHOUTING)
(END VIDEO CLIP)
HARRIS: New violence erupts in Jerusalem's Old City; it's a holy site revered by both Jews and Muslims. Earlier today Israeli police stormed the site as Muslim worshipers finished their noon prayers. The latest flash point? Sparked by Israel's repair work at the compound. An Israeli-Arab lawmaker helped broker a deal to diffuse the standoff; at last report 15 Israeli police officers were injured along with some 15; another 17 Palestinians were arrested.
COLLINS: Targeting insurgents in Iraq, on the ground and from the air, but one strike apparently missed its target. Here now the latest developments in the fight for Iraq. The U.S. military says a raid targeting Al Qaeda terrorists in Mosul killed five men who turned out to be Kurdish police officers. Kurdish officials gave a different casualty figure. They say eight of their guards were killed.
A coalition air strike killed eight suspected terrorists south of Baghdad, according to the military. Coalition troops came under fire but none were wounded. Police say 11 Iraqi men were kidnapped by gunmen and killed today. Their bodies were found floating down a river.
The military said today, three U.S. soldiers have died from fighting in Anbar Province.
Pointing fingers at the Pentagon over what's described as dubious intelligence about Iraq. A report being released, this hour, criticizes Defense Department officials for trying to link Saddam Hussein and Al Qaeda. A top Democrat calls the report very damning. Pentagon Correspondent Barbara Starr joining us now live with details.
Barbara, what can we expect to learn out of today's release of this report?
BARBARA STARR, CNN PENTAGON CORRESPONDENT: Well, you know, Heidi, we're coming up on the fourth anniversary of the war, and people are still talking, still trying to figure out what really happened with that faulty intelligence that was the basis for the country going to war in Iraq.
Today, this will be a report from the Pentagon's inspector general, about an office run by a man you may not have heard of; his name is Douglas Feith, he was the undersecretary of Defense for policy in the run up to the war. He's no longer here.
But he ran an operation that took a look at some of the intelligence that was out there in the community and asked some critical questions about the intelligence being gathered by the CIA. He came up with some very different conclusions. And that is the subject of this report, was he doing something that he shouldn't have been doing, by analyzing intelligence?
What the report says is Mr. Feith's office, quote, "Developed, produced and disseminated alternative intelligence assessments on the Iraq and Al Qaeda relationship which included some conclusions that were inconsistent with the consensus of the intelligence community."
That's becoming the basis for a lot of continuing political criticism that that office then came up with faulty intelligence. A lot of people have a lot of different opinions. Mr. Feith says his office did nothing wrong, that they were simply asking questions -- Heidi.
COLLINS: Hmm. Is the report making Feith something of a scapegoat here? Donald Rumsfeld was the man in charge of the Pentagon at the time.
STARR: Well, you've really touched on a point. A lot of what clearly is going on here, four years later continues to be, some political -- has had some political overtones between Congress, especially the new Democratic Congress, and the Bush administration, and the Pentagon officials that were here at the time.
There's no question that this has been a matter of great controversy for the last four years. This report has been in the works for some time. It's coming out today so it looks a little bit after the fact. But, you know, inside Washington, this has been a brewing controversy for some time.
COLLINS: Real quickly, Barbara, is there also a question about whether or not his activities or his information -- or as he calls it -- the questions he was asking is even deemed intelligence?
STARR: Well, that's part of the difference of opinion. You know, he offered a different analysis. An analysis that, by all accounts, was different than some of the CIA's and by all accounts did not pan out to be true. One of the key questions that he looked at, did Mohammad Atta, one of the 9/11 hijackers, prior to that, meet with members of Iraqi intelligence? Key question, was Al Qaeda actually tied to Saddam Hussein? Was there a link between the two?
Some different conclusions. Was it something that was illegal to look at that information? Clearly not. Some people say it was an inappropriate activity for the Pentagon to engage in.
COLLINS: All right, CNN's Barbara Starr reporting live from the Pentagon this morning. Barbara, thanks.
HARRIS: He is a dealer in demand.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: If you need three hand grenades, you can get them in two hours.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: And how much?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: No more than 25 to 30,000 Iraqi denars, around $20.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: For grenades?
(END VIDEO CLIP)
HARRIS: Business is booming, literally. The story in the NEWSROOM.
And the trial of the vice president's former aide. How is the case unfolding? We go behind the scenes next.
And quickly, we are watching these microphones. They are set up outside the medical examiner's office of Broward County, Florida. We are learning here, at CNN, that an autopsy is underway for Anna Nicole Smith, as we speak. We believe the medical examiner will be holding a press conference there, and is expected to come to the microphones and share some details. We will bring it to you live when it happens.
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HARRIS: From war and politics on Capitol Hill to the high- profile trial of the vice president's former top aide, what a week it has been. For some perspective on the war debate and Scooter Libby trial, let's bring in Frank Sesno. Frank is a CNN special correspondent and former Washington bureau chief for the network.
Frank, great to see.
FRANK SESNO, CNN SPECIAL CORRESPONDENT: Likewise, Tony.
HARRIS: And Susan Page, Washington Bureau chief for "USA Today."
Susan, great to see you as always.
SUSAN PAGE, WASHINGTON BUREAU CHIEF, "USA TODAY": Tony, great to be back.
HARRIS: I have to ask you something, for those of us who haven't be able -- well, I guess I've been following it a little more closely than maybe folks involved in the lives of their kids, and everything else, tell us why this Scooter Libby trial really matters?
PAGE: You know, Tony, I'd say the reason that -- the most interesting thing about it is the picture it gives us from behind the scenes in the administration.
This is an administration that has been pretty close to that kind of perspective, but now we see extraordinary things. The strong reaction from within the vice president's office, to this op-ed piece written in July, 2003, criticizing the run up to war. Even the vice president, Dick Cheney giving talking rights for his spokesman. That's a very compelling picture within the administration. And I think the most interesting thing we've seen in this trial.
HARRIS: Yeah, Frank, what do you think? Why does this really matter? What's the real story that's being told here? It's not a trial about Scooter Libby leaking the name of a covert CIA agent. This is about obstruction. What are we really learning here?
SESNO: What we're really learning is the determination of the administration to stay on message and keep its Iraq policy moving forward. As Susan was saying, the vice president was deeply involved in watching every op-ed and every comment that was being made. And he and Scooter Libby were talking, and I think the 800-pound gorilla in all of this, is if Scooter Libby is on trial for perjury -- which he is -- what was the role of his boss, the vice president, in trying to move this whole thing forward. Who knows? Cheney, himself, may end up on the stand in this thing.
What this really, I think, shows us, Tony, is the determination of the administration to stay on the offensive, and to keep its Iraq war plan moving forward, and to be as ruthless as it takes to get that done, back when it was moving.
HARRIS: OK, that brings me to my next question. Susan, let me take it up with you. Do you believe this trial gives more or less weight to the proposition that this administration was determined to take down Saddam Hussein? Critics be damned, come what may?
PAGE: Yes, I think you definitely see an administration with that goal, and you know, and the reason I think the administration, the vice president's office took this op-ed piece so seriously, is that I think with the benefit of hindsight, it turns out to be kind of a hinge, in terms of public attitudes, and scrutiny of the justification for going to war. That was the reason, I think, that they were responding with such intensity behind closed doors.
SESNO: And, Tony, if I may just to jump in here.
HARRIS: Yes, please.
SESNO: It's really like a jigsaw puzzle that now we're putting together. As we're going through this it's more like a kaleidoscope and we're heading to war in Iraq. But now the jigsaw puzzle, you put the pieces. You've got the trial with Scooter Libby and you see what's happening inside, and the determination of the administration to sort of undermine the critics, as they were coming along.
Meanwhile, the other story, you were talking about with Barbara Starr, is all about how intelligence may have been manipulated to make the case for going to war in Iraq more compelling. All of this, further erodes the support and the logic for the situation in Iraq, which is very damaging, not just to the administration, but to moving forward. HARRIS: OK, Frank, for people -- and Susan -- for people who, you know have checked in and out of this, understand that this Iraq debate, the lead up to the war, is just a huge part of the tapestry of this country right now.
Are we getting to a place, Frank you, in your work and Susan, in your writing, where we're able to craft a kind of narrative of the events leading up to this war, so that we all have a general understanding of what happened, in the lead up to the war, that is understandable for everyone in this country?
PAGE: You know, I think we're moving in that direction but I don't think we're there yet. And these hearings that we're going to be seeing held now by the Senate Armed Services Committee, by other congressional committees now controlled by Democrats, there are still big disclosures to come that will give us a fuller picture about what's exactly was going on.
SESNO: Here's the real question. The real question is, the basic premise and rationale for going to war in Iraq was built around the fact that Saddam Hussein was obtaining, or making, or pursuing weapons of mass destruction that might fall into the hands of terrorists. It was built around the fact that there was some fear that whether it was Al Qaeda, or some other terrorist group, he was going to be the vehicle, the funnel for some of these bad things to get out there and pose big threats to the region and to the world.
If that comes undone in all of this, in the way that Scooter Libbys of the world are trying to undermine the critics who spoke up at the time, in the way intelligence was handled going into it, then there's a real even more damaging case. And I think, as you say, the narrative emerges that this was just a rush to war, built on the flimsiest house of cards.
HARRIS: Let me leave it there. Susan Paige, great to see you.
PAGE: Nice to see you.
HARRIS: Happy Friday to you. You, too, Frank. Great to see you.
SESNO: Tony.
HARRIS: Take care.
COLLINS: We are watching for the events to unfold a little bit further in the death of Anna Nicole Smith. Those microphones are outside of the medical examiner's office at Broward County, Florida. The medical examiner likely -- or at least a spokesperson for the office -- likely to come to those microphones, and give us the very latest with the autopsy that is being conducted right now. We will bring it to you when it happens, live here on CNN.
Two stars, similar orbits, plotting the parallels between Anna Nicole Smith and Marilyn Monroe, coming up in the NEWSROOM.
And winter wonderland, not if you're in it, though. Parts of New York shoveling and shivering coming up in the NEWSROOM.
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ANNOUNCER: Live breaking news, unfolding developments, see for yourself in the CNN NEWSROOM.
COLLINS: We want to get this information out to you now, just in here at CNN. New developments in that series of letter bombs that exploded in London Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday, three different bombs. We go straight to CNN Alphonso Van Marsh for the very latest.
An arrest has been made, Alphonso?
ALPHONSO VAN MARSH, CNN INT'L. CORRESPONDENT: That's right, Heidi. We have some new information coming on in, that is of the detainment of 48-year-old man, in this country, in suspicion and connection of those bombings.
Now, it is important to mention that this 48-year-old man was detained under Britain's Mental Health Act, meaning that he is, in essence, police tell us off the record, he is in essence in custody of health care professionals.
Now this comes after news, we were told by police officers here, that this man had tried to get on to a national radio show to basically claim responsibility for at least one of those letter bombs. Now, again, we do want to stress to put this into context that the man was detained. Detained with the Mental Health Act, again that means that they're pretty much taking a look at him, trying to understand where his claims are coming from.
Police also told us today that as a result of this detainment, they are looking at two residences either to clarify/verify his claims, or either to knock him out to eliminate him from their investigation.
Again, this news comes after seven letter bombs detonated, or seven letter bombs were discovered over the course of three weeks, injuring some eight people at locations around this country -- Heidi.
COLLINS: All right, so just to be clear Alfonso, you're saying he is only -- this 43-year-old -- is in the custody of mental health officials, being detained, not arrested as we know the term.
VAN MARSH: Yes, the terminology here that this 48-year-old man has been detained under the Mental Health Act, in essence, that means that he is under the care, the custody, as police told me, of mental health care professionals. They say one could read into that what they want to.
They say the most important thing, police officers are telling us, is that people should still take care with the mail. Again, the thought is that many of these parcels were in padded A5-style envelopes. In most of the cases, five of the seven cases, those parcels did actually explode, injuring eight people. In two of the instances, smart folks were able to contact the police and tell them come here, we have a suspicious package. And police were able to get that package before they exploded -- Heidi.
COLLINS: All right, Alphonso Van Marsh, keep us posted.
HARRIS: A New Orleans mother allegedly tells her son to go out and get revenge.
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UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Miss Johnson, after hearing the details of the story, provided her son, the 17-year-old, with a handgun.
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HARRIS: And a teen is left dead. The chilling story straight ahead in the NEWSROOM.
COLLINS: Again, waiting for some information to come from the medical examiner's office outside -- in Broward County, Florida. Those microphones we expect to have someone come forward and tell us what they are learning from the autopsy that was being conducted right now on Anna Nicole Smith.
Meanwhile, questions today about custody of her five-month-old baby. That, too, coming up in the NEWSROOM.
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