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President Bush and Brazilian President Address; Outcry Over Government Snooping in War on Terror; Deborah Jean Palfry Pleaded Not Guilty To Running Prostitution Ring in Washington, D.C.

Aired March 09, 2007 - 13:00   ET

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

DON LEMON, CNN ANCHOR: Hello everyone I'm Don Lemon live at the CNN world headquarters in Atlanta.
FREDRICKA WHITFIELD, CNN ANCHOR: And I'm Fredricka Whitfield, you're live in the NEWSROOM. And we want to take you straight to Sao Paolo, Brazil where the president -- President Bush is expected to arrive in moments there, along with the Brazilian President Luiz Inacio Lula Da Silva. And President Bush will be applauding the country of Brazil for its efforts in using the use of sugar cane to help fuel everything there, from vehicles, energy and other sorts, homes, etc. About eight in ten vehicles are fueled by ethanol or sugar cane produced fuels. And the president will be applauding that country for those efforts as he continues his five Latin American nation tour. More on that when we get it.

LEMON: Yeah, we'll continue to follow the president's entire trip through Latin America. Meantime, a new outcry over government snooping in the war on terror. CNN's senior justice correspondent Kelli Arena joins us now from Washington to tell us about that. Hi, Kelli.

KELLI ARENA, CNN SENIOR JUSTICE CORRESPONDENT: Hey, there. You know it is getting ugly here. This report shows that the FBI improperly and sometimes illegally used the Patriot Act to get private information. At issue are so-called national security letters. They're used to getting information from phone companies, banks and other businesses, without a judge's approval. Now the inspector general found that the FBI underreported to Congress how many of those letters were issued. Says that it improperly used the letters, sometimes even getting information on the wrong individuals. The report also says that the FBI didn't report all of its violations and that prompted a startling mea culpa from FBI Director Robert Mueller.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

ROBERT MUELLER, FBI DIRECTOR: I am the person responsible, I am the person accountable and I am committed to ensuring that we correct these deficiencies and live up to these responsibilities.

(END OF VIDEO CLIP)

ARENA: The lawmakers were furious after reading that report promising tougher oversight and possibly a cutback in FBI power.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP) SEN. PATRICK LEAHY, (D) VERMONT: I have long been troubled by the lack of accountability in these national security letters. They need to be reassessed. The report indicates abuse of the authority that needs to change. You've got to have people who are responsible and in charge and you cannot have people act as free agents on something where they're going to be delving into your privacy.

(END OF VIDEO CLIP)

ARENA: Now, Don, it is important to remember the IG did not find any indication of criminal misconduct. Instead, his report blames errors made by agents, bad recordkeeping, a lack of direction for field agents, from headquarters. Now Director Mueller said that changes are already under way. The attorney general has asked the inspector general to issue a follow up report in four months. But I can tell you, this is an issue that definitely has legs and the critics are screaming.

LEMON: And you know what, this is one, Kelli, for the civil liberties groups, what are they saying about this?

ARENA: Absolutely. The ACLU was right out of the gate this morning saying that the Patriot Act, certain powers in the Patriot Act should be repealed. You have privacy groups that are up in arms. This is something that will get certainly a lot of discussion on Capitol Hill. And we may -- we may see -- if the threats are taken for real, and you know today it's all heated, we'll see if there's any actual change in the law. The Justice Department lobbied very hard for the Patriot Act. Even in this report, despite all of the criticism, the inspector general said that these national security letters are a vital tool in the war on terror. So we'll see exactly how much of a trust issue there is.

LEMON: All right, Kelli Arena, thank you so much for that.

ARENA: You're welcome Don.

WHITFIELD: Deborah Jean Palfry, you know that name? Well get ready to hear a lot about it. She's an alleged madam and right now the talk of the town in Washington, D.C. She was in court this morning in a case that has a lot of people nervous. CNN's Brianna Keilar is standing by with details. Where are we in this case, Brianna?

BRIANNA KEILAR, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well Fred, Deborah Jean Palfry pleaded not guilty to five charges including racketeering and money laundering this morning. She is as you said accused of running a prostitution ring here in Washington, D.C. from 1993 to 2006. Her lawyer in her civil proceeding says what she did was not illegal. He said that she, quote, ran a high-end adult fantasy firm. Now, what -- the big deal here is that Palfry alleges that she's broke and she can't pay her defense fees so what she's trying to do to raise money, she says she wants to sell information, records from this company that she ran to pay for her defense. Her attorney says it includes the contact information for 10,000 plus of Ms. Palfry's clients. You can imagine that makes some people nervous, it certainly makes a lot of people curious. And actually the judge in this case, Fred, is considering a gag order that would prevent her from doing this. But at this point, it's not in place. Fred?

WHITFIELD: And so Brianna, who would be the takers, who would be the buyers of this list if she were allowed to sell them?

KEILAR: Well, that would be completely up to speculation, of course. Some people have said those who would stand to have the most to lose if they didn't want their names to be out there, perhaps, would bid for this silently if they could. But, of course, you know, we don't know.

WHITFIELD: And where is the alleged madam right now?

KEILAR: She has not been detained. She was booked today after her appearance in court. She is going to be electronically monitored. Her lawyer -- her criminal lawyer in the criminal proceedings argued against this. But the judge really saw eye-to-eye with the prosecution, with the government. So she's going to have some sort of electronic monitoring device on her. She'll be able to travel within California where she lives, she'll be able to go to Florida where her mother is. But she had to turn over her passport and she's going to have to report weekly to the court. Fred?

WHITFIELD: All right Brianna Keilar, thanks so much from Washington.

LEMON: Another tragic turn in that fatal bus crash in Atlanta. A fifth baseball player from Bluffton University has died of his injuries. Freshman Zach Arend had been in critical condition since last Friday's crash with his family by his side. Four other players were killed when their charter bus careened off an overpass to the interstate below, also killed the bus driver and his wife. More than two dozen others were hurt, four are still in Atlanta hospitals.

Moments after the bus plunged off of that bridge, help was on the way. Witnesses and survivors were dialing 911. Most understandably confused about what they'd seen or been through. Here's a call one of the passengers made.

(BEGIN AUDIO CLIP)

OPERATOR: Atlanta, 911 emergency.

CALLER: Yeah, we've just been in a bus accident... uh... I don't know where we're at.

OPERATOR: I need a location.

CALLER: Uh, where are we at, sir?

BACKGROUND: You're on 75 South.

CALLER: 75 South.

BACKGROUND: I've got somebody coming. CALLER: Ok, we've got somebody coming. Ok... a lot of people, please hurry.

OPERATOR: Ok, what all is going on, Sir? Talk to me.

CALLER: Ok...

OPERATOR: What's going on?

CALLER: A lot of people laying down on the ground in different places.

OPERATOR: About how many? Give me an estimate so we'll know how many ambulances. How many?

CALLER: Uh... we're talking 50... not 50.... about, at least 33... 33 people on this bus.

OPERATOR: Ok, y'all on the expressway or are you on the street?

CALLER: I think we fell off the expressway, we hit a road and fell off the actual bridge.

OPERATOR: Uh huh.

CALLER: Um... yeah.

OPERATOR: The bus fell over the bridge?

CALLER: Yeah... I...

OPERATOR: Ok... now we've got help coming out there now. They'll be there shortly. Ok?

CALLER: I gotta get out of here.

OPERATOR: Alright.

CALLER: Alright. Bye-bye.

(END OF AUDIO CLIP)

LEMON: Federal investigators have gone over the crash scene inch by inch and even re-enacting that accident. The definitive cause has yet to be released. Well this weekend CNN's special investigations unit also retraces that fatal journey. Drew Griffin is the host, it's at 8:00 p.m. eastern, the time is on Saturday and Sunday nights right here on CNN.

WHITFIELD: We know more today about what's behind a delay in the release of Anna Nicole Smith's autopsy results. The Broward County medical examiner says he wants to look at Smith's computer. Dr. Joshua Perper says what's on it could affect his conclusions about how Smith died. Perper says the autopsy is done, but some so-called new evidence still needs to be obtained and evaluated before he will publicly announce a cause of death. And that is expected to take up to two more weeks. In the meantime, the spokesman for the Broward County state attorney says police are not conducting a criminal investigation into Smith's death. Several investigators continue to maintain foul play is not suspected.

LEMON: All right, well the president is in Sao Palo, Brazil and he is talking fuels, specifically alternative fuels. We will bring that to you live. He's there today. There's a live picture. Press conference where he is expected to speak and talk with the Brazilian president. So we'll check in with the president just a little bit later on right here in the CNN NEWSROOM.

WHITFIELD: So it wasn't exactly a secret, but Newt Gingrich is finally coming clean about an affair in the late '90s. So why now? We'll ask our Bill Schneider straight ahead in the NEWSROOM.

LEMON: And talking presidential politics with Nation of Islam leader Louis Farrakhan.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

LEMON: Do you think that Barack Obama is the answer to George Bush?

LOUIS FARRAKHAN: No. I think he's --

(END OF VIDEO CLIP)

LEMON: And wait until you hear what he has to say about Senator Hillary Rodham Clinton and Rudy Giuliani. My conversation with Louis Farrakhan straight ahead in the CNN NEWSROOM.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

WHITFIELD: In Pompano Beach, Florida, after a shooting this morning in an office workplace, now the search for two suspects, police thought that they identified just one of the suspects, that being Roger Murray who was identified as last wearing blue jeans, a blue and black denim shirt and now they believe that he allegedly did not act alone but that there is a second suspect that they are looking for who may be about 6'2" in height and last seen wearing a white long sleeve or -- I'm sorry, a long white short sleeve shirt and light- colored trousers and has dreads that were tied up on the top of his head. So the search continues now for two suspects involved in a shooting early this morning. One woman was shot and injured and is being treated for her injuries right now in Pompano Beach, Florida.

LEMON: Almost 15 past the hour and here are a few of the stories we're working on for you right here in the CNN NEWSROOM. Protests greet President Bush as he begins his five nation Latin America tour. His first stop to date, Brazil. He'll have a press conference shortly, we'll bring that to you live. You're looking at live pictures right now. Also, FBI Director Robert Mueller promises changes after a government audit accuses the agency of misusing the Patriot Act. And a Florida medical examiner wants to look at Anna Nicole Smith's computer. He says there is a new piece of evidence that has to be evaluated with that. WHITFIELD: Security is tight south of Baghdad today where some four million Shiite pilgrims have gathered at a shrine in Karbala. More than 300 have died in attacks on their pilgrimage since Monday. The Shiites are observing the end of a 40 day mourning period following the anniversary of the death of Mohammed Prophet's grandson.

LEMON: In Iraq nowadays, whether you live or die can depend on whether you're a Shiite or Sunni or whether you happen to be standing in a Shiite or Sunni neighborhood. For Iraqi refugees, all that matters is they're refugees and they want their old lives back. CNN's Aneesh Raman reports from Cairo.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

ANEESH RAMAN, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): A successful pediatrician in Iraq for the past year, the only kids Dr. Bahaa Essa's seen are his own. An unemployed refugee in Egypt, Bahaa is one of tens of thousands here watching his country destroy itself from afar.

DR. BAHAA ESSA, IRAQI REFUGEE IN EGYPT: I usually feel sad, sometimes depression come to my heart.

RAMAN: Bahaa's kids are too young to really know what's going on. Mohammed and Danya were both born after the war began. But even they know something just isn't right.

ESSA: They ask me sometimes, they ask me, papa, why don't we return to Iraq. We miss our grandfather. We like to play in our building, especially the young one he misses his toys. I think it's difficult for any father. But what can I do? I try always to be strong in front of them and in front of my wife.

RAMAN: Bahaa's neighborhood is an area that could be called little Iraq, rising in the past year in a Cairo suburb, it is a square filled with refugees, all struggling to survive. Khalid Ibrahim came to Egypt eight months ago with his family and now runs this restaurant. He is Sunni, his wife, Shia. And while Iraq is being torn apart along sectarian lines among refugees, he says, there is only one identity.

KHALID IBRAHIM, IRAQI REFUGEE IN EGYPT: Here, he tells me, there is no difference between Sunni and Shia, even in Iraq, the difference is not among the people, it is among the politicians. They are making things worse.

RAMAN: Every Iraqi we met here described a life in limbo. Former businessmen like Mohammed serve up food just to keep busy. Everyone just letting time pass day after day, worried about only one thing -- when they will be able to go home.

IBRAHIM: Maybe 10 years, maybe.

ESSA: I think that politics, people, they kiss their hand. Please, sit on the same table and shake hands and make our country as it was. RAMAN: A desperate plea from a desperate people. Left to kill time month after month until the killing at home comes to an end. Aneesh Raman, CNN, Cairo.

(END OF VIDEOTAPE)

LEMON: We're going to get you to Sao Paolo, Brazil. You're looking at live pictures now where the president, President Bush and the president there, President Inacio Lula Da Silva, they're going to hold a press conference shortly to talk about biofuels. You see Condoleezza Rice there, the secretary of state entering the room. We're going to stay with this for a little bit. But this whole trip, at least a big portion of it, was to be directed to alternative fuels and Bush has been heralded as this new ethanol agreement with Brazil as a way to boost alternative fuel production across the Americas. So as soon as that happens for you, which should happen very shortly, we're going to bring it to you live right here in the CNN NEWSROOM. We're going to take a quick break, we'll be right back.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

LEMON: All right, you're looking at live pictures from Brazil, the podium there. We know the secretary of state, Condoleezza Rice is in the room we're waiting for the Brazilian president and also President Bush to show up. They're going to talk about biofuels in a new agreement with the U.S. and also that's supposed to spread across the Americas here. So this is supposedly ground breaking. The president is there. He's got -- he's going to be on a seven-day trip to South America. We're going to continue to follow this as soon as this press conference happens in Sao Paolo, Brazil, we'll bring it to you live right here in the CNN NEWSROOM.

WHITFIELD: And in this country, jobs, jobs, and jobs. That's the word on Wall Street today. So how is the labor market looking? Let's go to Felicia Taylor at the New York Stock Exchange for some answers on that. Give us good news Felicia?

FELICIA TAYLOR: You know what, actually Fredricka it is pretty good news.

WHITFIELD: Good.

TAYLOR: The labor market here it's not too hot, it's not too cold. The government's latest jobs report shows that employers added 97,000 jobs last month. While that is the smallest gain in two years, the readings from January and December were revised higher. So Wall Street is taking it as good news, a sign that the economy remains on solid ground. Despite an early jump, the major averages are little changed right now. Let's take a look at the markets, the Dow industrials are better by 10 points, the NASDAQ is off fractionally and the S&P is gaining just fractionally. Rebounding a bit after last week's big slide. Fredricka?

WHITFIELD: And so meantime, healthcare, that's always a big issue and lots of problems that go along with it, but Massachusetts apparently has come up with an innovative step or two, tell us more. TAYLOR: Yeah, this is actually really interesting that they're going to try and provide everybody with insurance. States around the country are obviously going to watch what happens here. Massachusetts has passed a law requiring that all residents carry health insurance. Yesterday the state got one step closer to implementing it. The board overseeing healthcare reform gave its seal of approval to 28 coverage plans. Now the cost of the plans are going to vary with young adults paying the least, older residents, the most. But in an effort to get everyone covered, there will be subsidies for families whose income is up to three times the federal poverty level, that's about $30,000. Coverage for those most in need will run as low as $18 a month. But the plan is still drawing criticism. Healthcare advocates are reportedly concerned that large deductibles and other out of pocket expenses will make the plans unaffordable. The big question is, will this idea of a state mandate for everyone to carry insurance actually be successful. If it is, other states are likely to follow suit. By the way, there are still 47 million Americans in this country that do not have health insurance. In Massachusetts alone, it's estimated between 450,000 to 600,000 people don't have insurance. So it's going to be really interesting to see how this actually turns out. That's the latest from Wall Street, you're watching CNN, the most trusted name in news.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

LEMON: Bottom of the hour, live in Sao Paolo Brazil, the Brazilian president and President Bush speaking now.

PRES. LUIZ INACIO LULA DA SILVA, BRAZIL: That our governments respect each other mutually explains the excellent moment that relations between Brazil and the United States are going through. It also reveals the great potential for cooperation between our countries. If we are able to continue building common objectives. This has been the basis of the conversations we held today. When we went over our broad bilateral agenda and evaluated how we could best work on regional and multilateral issues. The relationship between Brazil and the U.S. historically has gone beyond individual governments at the head of either of our countries.

One proof of this is the broad range of relations amongst business leaders, representatives of civil society and the citizens of our two countries. The United States, our largest individual trade partner, and the largest investor in Brazil. During my first mandate in government, trade between our countries increased over 50 percent. U.S. investments in Brazil doubled over the past decade.

During my first mandate in government, trade between our countries increased over 50 percent. U.S. investments in Brazil doubled over the past decade.

Brazilian companies are more and more active inside the U.S. economy. They, alongside the major Brazilian community that lives there, are contributing to generate jobs and income in that country.

Ladies and gentlemen, Brazil is proud of having contributed to the decision by the U.S. government to increase the share of biofuels in its energy mix.

I recall the enthusiasm with which President Bush was first exposed in the meeting we had in Brazil in 2005 to Brazil's success story in terms of biofuel.

Here in Brazil, we have an extremely successful program, considered a model, which came out of the investment of over 30 years in research and development.

It's a program which brings together respect for the environment, with the preservation and intensification of the food security of our society. It's a program which has a major social impact because of its capacity to generate jobs, to strengthen family farming and to distribute income.

This is a field where our two countries can cooperate. The memorandum of understanding on biofuels which our ministers signed today is a decisive step in that direction.

Bringing together their efforts, the U.S. and Brazil can further push the democratization of energy and bring biofuels to all.

One of the most complex tasks that we face will be to ensure access to major consuming centers.

Brazil hopes that the ethanol market will be benefited by free trade, free of protectionisms. That is the only way that the fuel of the future will be able to promote sustainable development, and also benefit poor and developing countries.

By making trade a factor of prosperity for all, this will be a challenge about which I spoke at length with President Bush.

We need to eliminate imbalances that still constrain world trade and that aggravate the asymmetries of today's world.

I expressed to the president my feeling that we are closer than ever to a successful conclusion of the negotiations of the Doha round. All should come out winning with an ambitious and balanced agreement, especially the poorest countries.

More opportunities for growth and for development would be created in the poorest regions of the world. International trade in agriculture would increase, thereby reducing poverty, generating jobs and income in the least favored countries and regions.

That is why I repeated to President Bush my willingness to participate in a meeting in any part of the world to bring together leaders, if this can help us overcome the final difficulties between us and the truly historic agreement.

My dear, Mr. President, your visit to Brazil coincides with an exceptional moment that our continent is going through, particularly South America.

The dictatorships which our region suffered from for two decades are no more than a painful memory of the past.

All South American governments have arisen from free elections with broad popular participation.

All of them are working in projects for growth with income distribution capable of putting an end to terrible social inequalities that we have inherited and which has been aggravated by macroeconomic adventures in the past.

We are all, finally, involved in a project for South American integration. The countries in our region has associated their destiny with that of the Mercosur and that of the South American community of nations.

We know that integration is the best pathway to strengthen democracy and to achieve regional prosperity. It creates wealth and promotes development. It guarantees a more sovereign presence of our region in the world.

Our integration is taking place amongst independent nations where diversity and tolerance are also factors of strength. We respect the political and economic options of each country.

This has allowed us to make notable advances, expanding trade, carrying out infrastructure works, strengthening our energy security, the well-being of our societies and bringing closer together peoples that will be able to move down their own roads.

Integration also opens the way for investments from outside the region in the area of infrastructure and will have a multiplying effect on our economies, dynamizing all forms of exchange.

Mr. President, re-democratization and the conquering of political freedom were not enough to keep millions of Brazilians and Latin Americans out of a situation of extreme poverty.

That is why all governments in our region have implemented programs to develop our countries and to fight social exclusion.

We, the presidents, must think about the lives of those people who suffer the most and who, in addition to having democracy to elect their rulers, also have the right to health, to education, to housing, to public safety, to bring up their children.

As citizens, we all know that political democracy prospers when we have economic and social development, when we eradicate poverty, when we fight exclusion and social inequities.

LEMON: And you're listening to the Brazilian president speaking there, talking about an agreement now among his country and the U.S. to incorporate biofuels or alternative fuels. Him saying that he is excited about this agreement, it's gonig to help the poorest countries and all of the poorest countries in South America should get involved in this, saying that it will bring jobs to the economy was well. So we will continue to listen to the president of the United States and also the Brazilian president. Let's check back in. LULA: ... to be able to discuss freely and sovereigntly about how rich countries can help poorer countries to develop. And more important than al lof that, to assure that democracy will be the reason why the benefits of wealth, the building of wealth itself, and the social benefits that the people need, can fully justify the hard fight to win democracy in our continent.

President Bush, I would like to conclude by saying to you that Brazil is aware of the meaning of the integration of South America. Brazil is aware of the meaning of the integration of Latin America. Just as Brazil is aware of the meaning of coming closer to Africa, and also the U.S. coming closer to Africa.

I think the U.S. and Brazil, working together, could carry out some projects that could have the meaning for poorer countries to be able to provide certainty that people would not see in richer countries just exploiters, but to see richer countries in the world as something else.

And that is why the Doha round is important. That's why the WTO agreement is important.

And I see that your negotiating minister is here, the USTR is here. My minister is here. And I think that we should give them one single order: Come to an agreement as soon as possible.

LEMON: And the president should be speaking soon. We're going to get a quick break in here. We'll be right back in the CNN NEWSROOM.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

LEMON: Back to Brazil and President Bush.

BUSH: ... to recognize the democracy is only as strong as -- as the people feel that the society benefits them.

Part of the message on my trip to South America and eventually Guatemala as well as Mexico is to say that the American people care deeply about social justice, that we believe in education and health, that we believe in supporting programs that help lift people out of their current conditions and we want to help.

Thank you very much for our strong discussion on trade. It turns out America and Brazil are in the center of the WTO debate; that if we're despondent on the trade talks, a lot of the world will be despondent on the trade talks.

BUSH: And if we're unable to work together on the WTO talks, the world can't work together on the WTO talks.

And that's why our conversation was vital, because success of the Doha round for the WTO is necessary for a lot of reasons, not the least of which is the most effective anti-poverty program is trade.

And so, I commit to you the same thing that you have just committed, and that is we will work together. We will lock our trade ministers in a room, all aimed at advancing this important round.

I share your optimism about what can get done. And it's going to take a lot of work.

I caution other countries, though, that if the United States and Brazil agree, that does not let them off of the hook in terms of making the concessions necessary so that everybody's a winner in these trade negotiations.

I -- one thing that I strongly believe in is that I think America needs to be more open to students coming to our country, and I talk to Secretary Rice about that a lot. And I hope a lot of Brazilian students are coming to the United States of America. I hope it's a -- it'll be -- I think you'll find it to be a fantastic opportunity to study and learn.

And it's in our interests that we have people come and see what we're like, to have people come and see the compassion of the American people.

We talked about foreign policy in our discussions. We spent time on Central America. And one of the messages we will send to our Central American friends is that one way to help develop your countries is for you to adopt ethanol and biodiesel industries.

We talked about Haiti. And I congratulate the president for his strong leadership in accepting the responsibilities for helping Haiti. Brazil has been a strong leader in helping provide stabilization and providing troops.

I know it's a strain, Mr. President, but you made a tough choice.

BUSH: And it's a humanitarian choice, and it's a decent choice. And the people of Brazil ought to be proud of your leadership on this important issue.

We talked about Africa. The president shares deep concerns about Africa, as do I. And we talked about how we can work together on specific projects aimed at helping people.

And so our foreign ministries will talk about specific programs, a Brazilian-American joint venture to help eliminate poverty and lift people's lives up.

I thank you for your leadership.

People don't understand this probably, but I spent a lot of time on world affairs. And the president of this country is highly respected around the world. People listen to him. He speaks clearly, but he speaks with a set of values that are noble.

And so, Mr. President, I'm so glad you're here -- I'm so glad I am here. I'm looking forward to welcoming you to the United States, later on this month, at Camp David, to be able to continue our dialogue and our discussion about how we can work together for the common good.

Thank you.

LULA (THROUGH TRANSLATOR): Thank you very much.

As we agreed earlier, we will have two questions from Brazilian journalists and two from U.S. journalists. I will open the floor for the first question from Salsa De Shera (ph), from the Brazilian television record station.

QUESTION: Good afternoon, Mr. President Bush.

(inaudible) President Lula.

I will ask you in Portuguese...

BUSH: OK.

QUESTION (THROUGH TRANSLATOR): ... how could we believe that these possibilities, these commitments that you're taking on, to negotiate the opening up for the Doha round will be possible since you have a very recent experience in negotiating FTAA which did not work out?

QUESTION (THROUGH TRANSLATOR): So what's the difference now in trade negotiations where you'll be trying to speak the same language, despite the difference between Portuguese and English, you'll try to speak the same language to the rest of the world that these two countries are willing to negotiate? Why is this negotiation at this time different?

And perhaps your meeting in Washington will be another chance to set a deadline for the negotiations. Maybe by the end of this month you can have a commitment.

BUSH: That's a very legitimate question.

First, you know, I think deadlines are a little dangerous when two countries set them and we're dealing with a lot of other countries. Remember, we can agree, but if other major trading partners don't agree, then all of a sudden we have set ourselves up for failure.

I'm an optimist that we can get it done. Therefore, I think we need to be careful about creating the conditions for the world to say, "Oh, look: They failed."

Since we did discuss the FTAA, the United States has entered into a series of agreements, as have Brazil. In other words, there's a lot of bilateral and regional trade agreements going on.

And so just because we had difficulty getting the FTAA done should discourage one from trying to do something globally. I mean, after all, there's been a lot of successes on the trade front, just not on that particular trade front.

And no question it was hard on the FTAA, and no question it's going to be hard on Doha. But the thing that's important about Doha is that it is -- it really is an opportunity for the world to get together to help eradicate world poverty. And there's a compelling reason to keep trying.

And so I'm not the least bit discouraged by past failures, nor am I overly optimistic because we've had a lot of successes in trade agreements.

I'm realistic in knowing that that it's hard work, but it's going to require the leadership of Brazil and the United States to stay at it and work hard and see if we can't reach a positive agreement.

LULA (THROUGH TRANSLATOR): Well, my dear friend, Salsa (ph), first of all, to achieve an agreement between nations is not a simple thing to do. The complexity of economic problems, as well as political and social problems, involved in final decisions may have extraordinary or disastrous results.

I think that we have talked a lot about the Doha round in recent months. And I think that we are moving. We've moving on solid ground to find a chance to prevent so-called G (ph) points to come to an agreement.

I am convinced of the willingness, as President Bush said, if Brazil and the U.S. both find a point of equilibrium where we can make offers to other countries (inaudible) the U.S. had an advantage in this negotiation, there's a lot of people that depend on the negotiations from the U.S., but they negotiate in their own name.

We in Brazil have to negotiate together with the G-20 and the European Union as a group of countries.

So you can see that we, in addition to convincing the richer partners, we also have to convince our poorer partners to accept an agreement. And we accept that challenge. We take it on.

We missed (ph) taking on that challenge because at this point the success of negotiations is no longer just economic in nature.

LULA (THROUGH TRANSLATOR): It's not just a matter of who's going to win or lose economically.

The problem now is eminently political. The problem now is whether, as world leaders, we will be competent or not ...

LEMON: That's the Brazilian president speaking now. President Bush spoke just a moment ago. The men talking about -- what they talked about in the meeting congratulating each other. They spoke about Africa, they said. They spoke about students coming to the United States. The president says he welcomes that. He welcomed the president of Venezuela -- or the Brazilian president -- rather, to Camp David this weekend.

We're going to continue to bring this to you. But it will be on our pipeline service, cnnpipeline.com.

The president is expected to go to Mexico, Guatemala, Colombia -- he's in Brazil, now, and then to Uruguay. Check out CNNpipeline.com, cnn.com/pipeline if you want to continue to watch this.

WHITFIELD: Also that terrifying bus crash in Atlanta takes another tragic turn. That's straight ahead. We'll retrace the fatal journey in the NEWSROOM.

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LEMON: It is getting close to the top of the hour. Here are a few of the stories we're working on here in the NEWSROOM.

Protests greet President Bush as he begins his five-nation Latin American tour. His first stop today, Brazil. He's been speaking live this hour with Brazilian President Lula.

FBI Director Robert Mueller promises changes after a government audit accused the agency of misusing the Patriot Act.

And the Florida medical examiner wants to look at Anna Nicole Smith's computer. He says there's a new piece of evidence that has to be evaluated.

WHITFIELD: Well some prescriptions are just what the doctor ordered but sometimes they cause more problems than they actually solve. A look at painful prescription side-effects, and what to do about them, straight ahead in the NEWSROOM.

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