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Former White House Insider Lewis 'Scooter' Libby Headed to Prison; JFK Terror Plot; Foreign Weapons in War Zone

Aired June 05, 2007 - 14:00   ET

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


T.J. HOLMES, CNN ANCHOR: Hello there, everybody. I'm T.J. Holmes, at the CNN world headquarters in Atlanta, Georgia.
Don Lemon is on assignment.

KYRA PHILLIPS, CNN ANCHOR: And I'm Kyra Phillips.

Trinidad's most wanted. The fourth and final suspect in the Kennedy airport terror plot steps out of the shadows and into the headlines.

HOLMES: Also, the U.S. congressman known to some as "Dollar Bill" steps down from some of his duties while he tries to stay out of prison.

You're in the CNN NEWSROOM.

A one-time White House insider is headed to prison. In the words of our legal analyst, the judge threw the book at Lewis "Scooter" Libby, once the vice president's top aide.

CNN's Brianna Keilar joins us now from the federal courthouse in Washington.

Hello, Brianna.

BRIANNA KEILAR, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Hi there, T.J.

Yes, a 30-month prison sentence for Scooter Libby, as well as a $250,000 fine and two years of probation. That is the sentence that Judge Reggie Walton handed down here just a couple of hours ago.

Now, the 30-month sentence is stemming from his -- from Libby's conviction on an obstruction of justice charge, one of four charges that he was convicted of back in March. The jury had agreed with the government argument that Libby purposely lied to investigators, that he obstructed their investigation into how the covert identity of CIA operative Valerie Plame was leaked. The prosecution argued today that by obstructing that investigation, there were ramifications in this investigation, ramifications that may never been known because of Libby's obstruction.

Now, he showed little emotion as this sentence was read, but before this sentence was handed down, he did address the court. And this was something to witness, because this is the first time that Libby had spoken publicly since he was charged in 2005. So, in part, what he said was that, "It is respectfully my hope the court will consider, along with the jury verdict, my whole life."

There were a number of letters sent from people supporting Libby saying that he was a selfless friend, that he was a distinguished public servant. And Judge Reggie Walton said he took that into consideration, but at the same time he said, "If public officials are going to step over the line, there are going to be consequences."

And he handed down that 30-month sentence -- T.J.

HOLMES: So, Brianna, what's next? Will we find out whether or not he's going to have to report to jail anytime soon, the status of his appeal? What's next in this process? .

KEILAR: Well, his lawyers have said they are going to appeal, but maybe some questions will be answered here in a week. In a week, we're going to hear if Libby will be released on bail, if he'll be able to post bail so that during this appeals process he won't actually be in jail, he'll be out of jail.

So that's really an important question to answer, because some legal experts have said if his lawyers drag this out, this appeals process, it could go until the end of President Bush's term, and if President Bush were to give him a pardon, it would be possible that Libby would never serve any prison time at all.

So we're going to be waiting here in a week for this hearing to see if he's able to post bail or if he does report to jail -- T.J.

HOLMES: Brianna Keilar for us in Washington.

Brianna, thank you so much.

PHILLIPS: Well, the manhunt is over for a fourth suspect accused of plotting to attack JFK airport. Today the man turned himself in, in Trinidad. That means all the known suspects are now in custody.

Susan Candiotti in Port-of-Spain, Trinidad, joins us by phone with the latest -- Susan.

SUSAN CANDIOTTI, CNN NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Hi.

We have some latest information just in to us at this hour. In fact, I'm just about to go into the court.

He is making his initial appearance before a senior magistrate. This is 57-year-old Abdel Nur, who authorities say turned himself in to police at about 11:30 this morning.

They haven't provide us with any other details, but ever since the weekend, they haven't been able to find him. Apparently, he'd been in hiding. But starting between yesterday and today, his photograph has been on the front page of every newspaper here saying that he's a wanted man. So, for whatever reason, Mr. Nur has now turned himself in to authorities. And he makes his first court appearance, it is likely he will ask for bail. Plus, given what happened to the other two men, who made a court appearance yesterday, it's likely that a court date will be set for that. This would be the start of the extradition process to try to move Mr. Nur and two other suspects to New York to face their charges there.

PHILLIPS: Our Susan Candiotti in Trinidad.

Susan, thanks.

HOLMES: The U.S. has long accused Iranians of meddling in Iraq, but do they also have their hands in the other war zone? The Pentagon held a briefing on Afghanistan a couple of hours ago, and our Barbara Starr was there.

Good afternoon, Barbara.

BARBARA STARR, CNN PENTAGON CORRESPONDENT: Well, good afternoon to you, T.J.

And you're right. You know, normally what we've been hearing about is Iran's involvement in the war in Iraq, shipping weapons into Iraq. But today the top U.S. and NATO commander from Afghanistan held a press conference with the Pentagon news media and talked about Iranian involvement in Afghanistan.

Just look at the map, and that pretty much tells you the lay of the land, with Iran on Afghanistan's western border. General Dan McNeill, the top U.S. and NATO commander -- he holds two jobs there right now -- talked about Iran's involvement in the war in Afghanistan and the types of weapons that they are now finding.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

GEN. DAN MCNEILL, U.S. ARMY: Thank you. We have intercepted at least two convoys that have contained munitions or weapons. Some of those munitions and weapons clearly are of Iranian origin. We don't have conclusive evidence to say that this was something officially sanctioned by the government of Iran.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

STARR: But General McNeill went on to say that the two convoys they've intercepted in the last couple of months with Iranian origin weapons inside Afghanistan, those, indeed, were found out west, not all that far, at least one of them not all that far, from the Iranian border.

What did they find, T.J.? They found mortars, they found explosives, and, very interestingly, they found plastic explosives with what appeared to be fake U.S. markings, trying to show that those explosives might have come from the United States, which, of course, they did not. So, officials, military commanders in Afghanistan, also now keeping a very tight eye on Iran -- T.J. HOLMES: All right. Barbara Starr with the new concerns there from the Pentagon.

Barbara, thank you so much.

PHILLIPS: President Bush in Germany now for the G8 summit, which begins tomorrow. He flew in from Prague in the Czech Republic and continues his European tour after this -- Poland, the Vatican and Rome all on the itinerary.

CNN European Political Editor Robin Oakley joins us now from Rostock, Germany, just a few miles from the summit site.

Those protesters already gathering, Robin.

ROBIN OAKLEY, CNN EUROPEAN POLITICAL EDITOR: Well, Kyra, yes, we haven't heard too much from the protesters today. As you say, President Bush arrived here not long ago in Rostock. He spent the day in the Czech Republic, in Prague, really pursuing his freedom agenda, a big speech to freedom activists, promising that he would fight tyranny all across the world.

He said he would have U.N. ambassadors in any unfree countries instructed to make contacts with people who were working to advance democracy. But at the same time, he did chide some of America's friends, countries like Egypt, Pakistan, Saudi Arabia, saying they weren't doing enough on the democratic front. But he really set his sights on China, which he said should be encouraging political freedoms, as well as economic freedoms.

And he wouldn't have done anything to improve the mood of President Vladimir Putin of Russia, who's already coming to this summit pretty well determined to pick a fight with anybody because he's irritated by the U.S. plans for a missile shield in Europe. And Mr. Bush said that the democratic reforms in Russia have been derailed.

But he did come up with one more encouraging invitation to Mr. Putin on the question of the U.S. missile shield. And this, he said, was what he was going to be saying to the Russian President when they met on the sidelines of the summit.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

GEORGE W. BUSH, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: And my message will be, you know, Vladimir -- I call him Vladimir -- that you shouldn't fear a missile defense system. As a matter of fact, why don't you cooperate with us on a missile defense system? Why don't you participate with the United States? Please send your generals over to see how such a system would work.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

OAKLEY: He invited Mr. Putin to send scientists, too, and said they could get together and do the whole thing on an open and transparent basis. But there have been feelers set out of this kind before, and Moscow has turned them down. It doesn't seem any more likely that President Putin is going to accept the offer this time -- Kyra.

PHILLIPS: All right. Robin Oakley, live from Rostock, Germany. We'll follow the G8 summit.

HOLMES: Vice President Dick Cheney's former chief of staff is going to prison, it appears, and the White House says President Bush is upset about it. Lewis "Scooter" Libby learned his sentence today for lying and obstructing a probe into the outing of CIA operative Valerie Plame. The judge sentenced Libby to 30 months in prison.

CNN Chief National Correspondent John King on this story for us.

Hello to you, sir.

JOHN KING, CNN CHIEF NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Hello to you, T.J.

In Manchester tonight you'll have 10 presidential candidates here, and timing is everything in politics. And you can be certain the Scooter Libby sentencing back in Washington will be an issue for these 10 candidates.

Certain to be asked, should President Bush pardon the former chief of staff to his vice President? And Scooter Libby, of course, was much more than Dick Cheney's chief of staff. He was also his national security adviser. He was with Mr. Cheney and Mr. Bush in all the key sensitive meetings about planning to go to war in Iraq.

So, the Iraq war already a debate in the presidential campaign. The Republicans largely support President Bush's policy in Iraq, but this will be a new political wrinkle, if you will, as the 10 Republican candidates gather here in New Hampshire tonight.

One of them who won't be here, former senator Fred Thompson, who is soon to get into the race, has been very public in saying he thinks the prosecutor in the Libby case went well beyond the scope of what he should have done in the investigation. He calls this a miscarriage of justice.

So, as we ask the question of the White House, would the president ever consider pardoning Scooter Libby, you can be sure it will be asked of the Republicans who want to succeed Mr. Bush as well -- T.J.

HOLMES: All right. And you've got 10 of them up there, as you say. Expecting they're going to have to address this question. But for those 10, is there one out of the 10 that's got most at stake tonight?

KING: Well, that is an interesting question. Of course all 10 are trying to make a good impression, but when you look at any presidential race, any political race, you're often judged not necessarily whether you came in first, but how you were expected to do beforehand. Sometimes an underdog who scores second or third can get a boost of momentum. There is one Republican in this race, because of where he calls home, who is expected to do extraordinarily well here in New Hampshire.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

KING (voice over): New Hampshire is a welcoming, neighborly place. They tend to like the Boston teams here, often read the Boston papers.

MICHAEL DUKAKIS, FMR. PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: Thank you all very, very much on this spectacular New England spring day.

KING: And when it comes to presidential politics, history suggests a Massachusetts factor.

1988, Massachusetts governor Michael Dukakis wins New Hampshire's presidential primary.

1992, former Massachusetts senator Paul Tsongas takes top prize.

PAUL TSONGAS, FMR. MASSACHUSETTS SENATOR: Well, New Hampshire, you did it again.

KING: And in 2004, victory for Massachusetts senator John Kerry.

So, then, why this from respected New Hampshire political veteran Tom Rath?

TOM RATH, NEW HAMPSHIRE REPUBLICAN ACTIVIST: Nobody has any special expectations about how you're going to do here. Geography is not a factor.

KING: Spin, pure and simple. Rath is a top adviser to Republican candidate Mitt Romney, as in former Massachusetts Governor Romney. Pressed, Rath gives a little ground, but just a little.

RATH: Geography is nice. It makes it easy for him some nights to sleep in his own bed. But it is competitive, it's grueling up here, no special advantages given, nor should one be expected because of where you come from.

KING: But Romney isn't just from neighboring Massachusetts. He also owns a second home here in Wolfeboro, the hometown of state Republican Party chairman Fergus Cullen.

FERGUS CULLEN, NEW HAMPSHIRE STATE GOP CHAIRMAN: I've seen him and his family out on their mountain bikes in town, and people see them, you know, going to church, and in the hardware store.

KING: A recent American Research Group poll put Romney second in New Hampshire, with Senator John McCain on top and former mayor Rudy Giuliani in third. Camp Romney says it's McCain who should be considered the one who has to win here. After all, McCain won the New Hampshire primary in campaign 2000. But former governor Jeanne Shaheen, a Democrat, says Romney will have a hard time shaking the high expectations that come from being a neighbor.

JEANNE SHAHEEN (D), FMR. NEW HAMPSHIRE GOVERNOR: A lot of us feel like we know them. There's an expectation, and sometimes in New Hampshire, as we've seen, the expectations are really more important than where you turn out.

KING: By that, she means if Romney's New Hampshire finish is seen as at all disappointing, the road to the White House could give way to the shorter trip home.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

KING: So, high expectations for former Governor Romney tonight.

And T.J., as we get ready for the debate, look for him to be very aggressive in this open and public setting, nationally televised audience, in going after Senator John McCain, who, again, won here back in campaign 2000. Those two are having quite a public disagreement over immigration policy. And immigration is really the issue that divides the Republicans just as the Iraq war divides the Democrats.

So, look for some fireworks on that front tonight -- T.J.

HOLMES: Well, hopefully, they can match the fireworks we saw the other night with the Democrats.

Have a good time, John. Good to see you.

KING: All right.

HOLMES: Well, Republican presidential hopefuls, yes, debate tonight right here on CNN. And you can join the best political team on television at 6:00 Eastern for a pre-game lineup of the players, their weaknesses, and who needs to shine.

At 7:00, our Wolf Blitzer moderates the debate. Then we'll talk about who scored and who stumbled when you join Wolf, Larry King, Anderson Cooper and John Roberts, live for "Raw Politics," the post- debate breakdown on winners and losers.

PHILLIPS: Scooter Libby, he's the one facing 30 months in prison. So why does our Jeffrey Toobin think the sentence puts too much pressure on President Bush?

And is a Louisiana congressman jumping before he's pushed? William Jefferson says he'll take a temporary leave of absence from a House committee while he faces criminal bribery charges.

HOLMES: Plus, what happened to this Kansas teen after she appeared on this store surveillance tape? She hasn't been seen since.

You're watching CNN, the most trusted name in news. (COMMERCIAL BREAK)

HOLMES: 2:18 here in the CNN NEWSROOM.

Say hello to Betty Nguyen there.

Here are three of the stories we are working on right now.

A White House insider now facing the inside of a prison cell. A federal judge has sentenced Lewis "Scooter" Libby to two and a half years in prison. Vice President Cheney's former top aide was convicted of lying to agents investigating the leak of a CIA operative's identity. Libby's lawyers are appealing.

The waves are rolling, palm trees bending, and U.S. warships in the Persian Gulf are on alert. A cyclone with winds topping 120 miles an hour is turning towards the Arabian peninsula. Thousands of people in Amman have fled their homes.

Also, police in Kansas looking for this man seen by a security camera at a Target store in Overland Park. He's described as a person of interest in the search for 18-year-old Kelsey Smith. Surveillance video shows the recent high school grad being forced into her car in the store's parking lot.

PHILLIPS: One more negative is a big positive for tuberculosis patient Andrew Speaker. The results are in on Speaker's third sputum test, and it confirms he is not very contagious.

Speaker's wedding trip to Europe sparked an international health scare. He's now in Denver being treated far a highly drug-resistant form of TB. Doctors say with three negative tests, Speaker may be allowed outside his hospital room after two weeks of drug therapy.

Tomorrow night, Andrew Speaker, his wife and family join "LARRY KING LIVE," 9:00 p.m. Eastern, right here on CNN.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

SEN. HARRY REID (D-NV), MAJORITY LEADER: Madame President, I would ask that the Senate now stand for a moment of silence in recognition of Senator Craig Thomas, Wyoming.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

HOLMES: A solemn tribute and praise from both sides of the aisle for Wyoming senator Craig Thomas. The low-key Republican lawmaker died last night after a seven-month battle with leukemia. He was 74 years old.

President Bush called Thomas a man of character and integrity. Wyoming Democrats remember Thomas for his dignity and thoughtfulness.

State law requires Wyoming's governor, a Democrat, to appoint a Republican to fill Thomas's turn with the help of the state GOP. Thomas handily won re-election in November, just two days before learning he had leukemia.

PHILLIPS: A new E. coli warning. It involves ground beef sold in 10 states.

We'll have the details straight ahead in the CNN NEWSROOM.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

PHILLIPS: Food warnings for people in 10 states. Prepackaged ground beef is being recalled over fears it may be tainted with E. coli. The meat was sold at some Albertsons and Save-A-Lot storts in the West and Midwest. The parent company, SUPERVALU Foods, says the ground beef had sell by dates between April 20th and May 7th. Most of it was sold under the Moran's brand name.

HOLMES: The FCC is cussing up a storm over a court decision on the government's indecency rules.

Susan Lisovicz is going to be quite decent today at the New York Stock Exchange when she tells us about this heated debate.

(STOCK MARKET REPORT)

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

PHILLIPS: Hello, everyone. I'm Kyra Phillips live at CNN World Headquarters in Atlanta.

HOLMES: And I'm T.J. Holmes sitting in today for Don Lemon.

An 18-year-old Kansas girl last seen being forced into her own car in a store parking lot.

PHILLIPS: Now, the car has turned up, but she has not. You're live in the CNN NEWSROOM.

A missing teen, a terrified family, and a mystery man caught on tape. Kansas police say they're looking for this man in connection with the disappearance of a new high school grad Kelsey Smith. Authorities describe him as a person of interest who they'd like to talk to. Parking lot video showed Smith apparently being abducted outside a shopping center over the weekend.

The story now from KMBC's Peggy Breit.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

STEVIE HOCKERSMITH, SISTER: She's just a great person, full of life. Never would hurt anyone. She's the sweetest girl you could meet.

PEGGY BREIT, KMBC REPORTER (voice-over): It's almost more than Kelsey's sister can bear. Kelsey Smith made a quick run to Target to buy her boyfriend a gift Saturday night, but after getting in her 1987 Buick Regal and apparently leaving, Kelsey disappeared. Her car was dropped off two hours later by Macy's. The poor quality of the store surveillance video makes it impossible to tell who was driving.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: We're starting as close to the mall as possible.

BREIT: Friends and family have organized search parties, groups going door to door in a five-mile radius, passing out flyers and talking to everyone who's home.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Hi, good morning. I don't know if you've been watching the news or not, but my friend Kelsey Smith went missing two nights ago from the Oak Park Mall.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Sure. I'll let you know if I see anything.

BREIT: By mid-afternoon, the crowd of volunteers swelled to well over a hundred, among them strangers who simply want to help, and one mother whose daughter also disappeared years ago. Anna Kipper's (ph) daughter Crystal has never been found. But while there is discouragement here, there is also hope that Kelsey will be found safe and there is immeasurable gratitude for the amount of help and concern from Kelsey's family.

GREG SMITH, FATHER: I just want to thank everybody that took the time out of their day to help us find our daughter. God bless you all. And we love you. Thank you very much.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

PHILLIPS: Authorities don't know if Smith was picked at random or abducted by someone she knew. Anyone who's seen her or has other information is urged to call the Tips hotline at 816-474-TIPS. Once again, 816-474-8477.

HOLMES: Well, the best political team in television and the ten Republicans hoping to be president might be seeking shelter right about now.

Rob Marciano watching a tornado warning in, of all places ...

ROB MARCIANO, AMS METEOROLOGIST: Manchester, New Hampshire.

HOLMES: Yes, sir.

MARCIANO: Well, just at ease (ph). It looks like they're going to -- they're going to scoop out (ph). But there's some heavy weather to their south and west, so we've been talking about this severe thunderstorm watch box that's in effect for much of New England until 7:00 tonight. It does include upstate, parts of eastern New York. And now, we've seen some impressive cells pop up across parts of southern New Hampshire.

And now, the National Weather Service has just put a tornado warning out for this cell, which is in southern Stratford County. It's moving to the northeast about 25 miles an hour, but definitely close to Manchester. Folks affected by this particular storm near Dover, 18,000, and it's about to head into parts of Maine. But just to the south, southwest of Manchester, we do have a severe thunderstorm warning for this cell that's heading toward Nashua in Massachusetts right now. And this may clip parts of Manchester as well.

So, that debate starts at 7:00, that's just when this severe thunderstorm watch box should expire. But until then, those folks may be dodging some bullets or at least -- not bullets, rain drops.

HOLMES: All right, yes, we got it. We understand. Wolf Blitzer, seek shelter.

MARCIANO: Yes.

HOLMES: All right Rob, thank you so much.

MARCIANO: You bet.

HOLMES: Well, he asked for probation and got it, but only after a hefty prison term. Lewis "Scooter" Libby has been sentenced to 30 months in prison for lying to investigators in a CIA leak case.

Our Senior Legal Analyst Jeffrey Toobin is under a tornado warning actually right now there in Manchester, New Hampshire. You all got some weather coming in. But we'll talk about this other story.

JEFFREY TOOBIN, SENIOR LEGAL ANALYST: Very dramatic weather, yes sir.

HOLMES: Very dramatic weather and dramatic day for Scooter Libby. So, did the judge throw the book at him here?

TOOBIN: You bet, T.J. I mean, this is a very heavy sentence in a white-collar case, especially now that the federal sentencing guidelines are advisory, so the judge really had a lot of discretion here and he very much went towards the high end. And keep in mind, in federal prison, you have to serve 80 percent of your term, so a 30- month sentence means that Scooter Libby, if the sentence stands, will have to serve at least two years in prison, which is a seriously long time.

HOLMES: What are the chances he could find a way to stay out of prison? He has appeals. Is there a chance he could stay out of prison while the appeal is going on? And what are the chances of that?

TOOBIN: Well, big, big hearing next week on that very issue. Does he get -- stay out on bail pending appeal? The prosecution said no, lock him up right away. Defense said no. His appeals could last a year, if not longer, so that's a very important decision. But as for your larger question of, you know, can he avoid this sentence, I think his appeal is very unlikely to succeed. There were not many complicated legal issues in the case. But the pardon will be an ever-greater issue now that the stakes are so high. If there had just been a probationary sentence, a pardon wouldn't really matter much. But here, with this long sentence, you can expect, I think, a lot of people will want to ask these ten presidential candidates here in Manchester, what do they think of a pardon, and the president will have a very tough decision to make, probably pretty soon.

HOLMES: What were the judge's reasons? You said he threw the book at him. He had a lot of discretion here. So, what -- I guess, why wasn't the judge really feeling like being a nice guy on this one?

TOOBIN: Because he said people in Libby's high level of responsibility, chief of staff to the vice president, assistants to the president, have a special obligation to behave in an honest way, and he went into the grand jury under oath and repeatedly lied about his role in this Valerie Plame spy outing matter involving the CIA. And the judge said that's a very serious thing.

You know, T.J., judges listen to people testify under oath all day long in their courtrooms. And they take it very seriously when people lie. And Libby had a chance to change his story. Libby had a chance to correct the record, to apologize. He did none of those things, and the judge threw the book at him.

HOLMES: All right, and he had a chance, as well, to show some remorse. He did not decide to do that. I guess maybe a strategic move for his appeal. He can't admit that he did anything wrong if he wants to appeal later, but could he have helped himself out even though the judge didn't like all the lying? Could he have helped himself out by saying you know, I messed up, I'm sorry? Go ahead.

TOOBIN: My guess is the judge had probably made up his mind when he went into the courtroom of what sentence he was going to give, so what he said today probably wouldn't have mattered much.

But, the chance to correct his error was months ago, when he went into the grand jury, when he realized that he was digging himself into a big hole. That's the time he should have gone to Pat Fitzgerald, the prosecutor, and said look, I want to change my story, I realize I did wrong.

To this day, he's not expressed any remorse, and I guess it really wasn't a surprise that he didn't today either.

HOLMES: All right, Jeffrey Toobin up there dealing with literal and figurative -- political -- figurative storm up there actually, got some weather moving in on Manchester, tornado watches and warnings. You all seek shelter if need be. We don't want to lose the best political team on television.

TOOBIN: We are seeking shelter, (INAUDIBLE).

HOLMES: All right, thanks Jeffrey.

PHILLIPS: No hands-down winner but lots of hands up at the presidential debate.

CNN's Jeanne Moos takes a look at the new debate tool.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

PHILLIPS: The that saying politics and religion don't mix doesn't appear to hold true in the modern election cycle. President Bush frequently talks about the importance of faith in his life, and some of those who want to replace him in the White House are following suit. Democrats Hillary Clinton, John Edwards, and Barack Obama talked about their faith last night during a forum moderated by CNN's Soledad O'Brien. Here's some of what they had to say beginning with Senator Clinton asking answering a question about the Monica Lewinsky scandal.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

SEN. HILLARY CLINTON, (D-NY) PRES. CANDIDATE: I'm not sure I would have gotten through it without my faith, and, you know, I take my faith very seriously and very personally. And I come from a tradition that is perhaps a little too suspicious of people who wear their faith on their sleeves. So that a lot of the -- a lot of the talk about and advertising about faith doesn't come naturally to me.

JOHN EDWARDS, (D-NC) PRES. CANDIDATE: My faith, my belief in Christ, plays an enormous role in the way I view the world. But I think I also understand the distinction between my job as president of the United States, my responsibility to be respectful of and to embrace all faith beliefs in this country, because we have many faith beliefs in America.

SEN. BARACK OBAMA, (D-IL) PRES. CANDIDATE: We tend to tout our individualism and self-reliance. And those are important things, but we also arrived at this place because we rose and fell together. And I think it's that spirit that's been lost in our politics over the last several years. So, my starting point as president, is to restore that sense that we are in this together. That's the starting point. And faith informs that.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

PHILLIPS: CNN plans to host a similar event with Republicans in the coming months. Faith and politics is also the focus when some of the other Democrats running for president spoke with our Paula Zahn last night. Here's where they stand on some of the hot button issues.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

SEN. JOE BIDEN, (D-DE) PRES. CANDIDATE: I don't think God takes sides, but I do think it's not moral relativism. I think there's good and there's bad, there's evil and there's not. Those engaging in the brutal elimination of women and children, suicide bombers, I think God -- I think there's a place in hell for them, but those who believe that the sharia should be the law of the land, that is the Koran, you know, their religion, they think God's on their side. GOV. BILL RICHARDSON, (D-NM) PRES. CANDIDATE: When you look at many gay couples, their families, they are individuals that shouldn't be discriminated because of sexual orientation. They love each other. They're promoting family values of love. And my view is that I believe in civil unions, protecting against those that are discriminated against. I hate initiatives like hate crimes that prevent discrimination of human beings.

SEN. CHRIS DODD, (D-CT) PRES. CANDIDATE: Abortion isn't something that I take very great joy in occurring. I think it ought to be rare, safe and legal. That's been my position on it for years. We ought to be working together on how we reduce the incidents of abortion. Why not do more to help out, in terms of expanding the opportunities for adoption? Giving people other choices. We've been screaming at each other about abortion now for 34 years. It's about time, the law being what it is, that we try to reduce the number of incidents of it, provide the kind of support for families and women so they're not confronted with only that choice.

REP. DENNIS KUCINICH, (D-OH) PRES. CANDIDATE: We're in Iraq based on lies. And, you know, the bible has a line that says that which is crooked cannot be made straight. Nothing will ever be made straight about our presence in Iraq. We must leave Iraq, we must bring our troops home, and we must work to achieve a kind of reconciliation with the people of Iraq, with the people of our world, and within our own country for -- in order to establish truth once again, and make that truth the single principle upon which our country is based.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

PHILLIPS: Again, Republican presidential hopefuls debate tonight, right here on CNN. Join the best political team on television at 6:00 eastern for a pregame lineup of the players, their weaknesses, and who needs to shine. Seven eastern, our Wolf Blitzer moderates the debate.

Then who scored, who stumbled. Join Wolf, Larry King, Anderson Cooper and John Roberts live for "Raw Politics" a post-debate breakdown on the winners and the losers.

HOLMES: Well, did you notice hands up at the Democratic presidential debate? CNN's, Jeanne Moos, takes a look at this political show of hands.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

JEANNE MOOS, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice over): Ah, the frantic waving to get the teacher's attention, sometimes so exhausting you had to support your arm with your other hand. Those days are over by the time you run for president. Right?

WOLF BLITZER, HOST: And I want you to raise your hand.

Let me do a show of hands.

If you would raise your hand.

MOOS: It's the latest in presidential debate technique.

UNIDENTIFIED HOST: Any gentleman want to raise his hand and say pardon him?

MOOS: Whether it be asking Republicans about pardoning Scooter Libby or asking Democrats about making English America's official language.

BLITZER: The only hand I see is Senator Gravelle.

MOOS: With candidates' stretched as far as the eye can be can see, at least you get a snapshot of opinion.

BLITZER: If you think it's time to get rid of the don't ask, don't tell policy in the U.S., raise your hand.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Should have been gotten rid of 20 years ago.

MOOS: Raise your hand if you saw the debate last night? Raise your hand if you like the idea of that they are being asked to raise their hands.

SANDRA BERNHARDT, COMEDIENNE: I keep my hands firmly in my pockets, Jeanne Moos.

MOOS: Oh, yes? Sandra Bernhardt, comedienne?

BERNHARDT: It's the Paris Hilton school of, you know, debate. You know, it's like, huh?

MOOS: But it makes for good TV. For instance, when the Republicans were asked:

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Is there anybody on the stage that does not agree -- believe in evolution?

MOOS: And three hands went up! But just when hand raising comes to debates, it's under attack at these kids' school.

(on camera): Show me what you do.

UNIDENTIFIED STUDENT: No, no, no. In school, we have to do this because it's too hard to --

UNIDENTIFIED STUDENT: Our teacher doesn't like when we do that.

MOOS (voice over): When the debate questions got lethal, the candidates got jittery. How many would authorize a hit on Osama bin Laden if civilians would also die?

BLITZER: If you would, raise your hand.

UNIDENTIFIED CANDIDATE: It would depend how many innocent civilians. MOOS: At one point, Senator Obama protested under his breath to a chuckling Senator Clinton.

OBAMA: I don't want to raise hands anymore.

MOOS: When asked for a show of hands on using force in Darfur, the candidates mutinied. Hillary spoke for the class.

CLINTON: Wolf, we're not going to engaging in these hypotheticals.

UNIDENTIFIED STUDENT: Please will you put us on TV?

MOOS (on camera): Raise your hand if you want to be on TV.

UNIDENTIFIED STUDENTS: Yay!

MOOS (voice over): Now that's a question even the candidates would answer unanimously.

Jeanne Moos, CNN, in New York.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

HOLMES: Zero tolerance for applause. Ahead in the NEWSROOM, members of the class of '07 pay a stiff price for a rowdy crowd.

BROOKE ANDERSON, CNN ENTERTAINMENT CORRESPONDENT: I'm Brooke Anderson in Hollywood. The bitter custody battle between two award- winning actors heats up in court and takes a new twist involving a celebrity web site. I'm going to have the full story when the CNN NEWSROOM returns, stay with us.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

HOLMES: A cup of java, and a spoonful of Paul McCartney at Starbucks around the world today. A heck of a way to sweeten your coffee fix, perhaps. Entertainment correspondent, Brooke Anderson, here with us now. Good afternoon to, you ma'am.

ANDERSON: Good afternoon, T.J. Yes, no need for the sugar today. You've got McCartney. Listen to what you'll be getting with your double mocha latte at Starbucks today.

He does, there he goes -- he starts singing eventually. That's what I heard when I stopped in for my caffeine fix this morning. In fact, Paul McCartney's new album, "Memory Almost Full," will be playing nonstop on a continuous loop all day long in more than 10,000 Starbucks in 29 countries today. It's all part of a promotional effort by Starbucks as McCartney is the first artist on the company's Hear Music label. The disc is out today sold in Starbucks, other retailers and on I Tunes. And, T.J., actually in some Starbucks locations, there will be film crews on hand so that patrons can send McCartney a birthday message. He actually turns 65 in about two weeks.

HOLMES: Wow. A lot more you can get at Starbucks these days, apparently.

ANDERSON: That's right.

HOLMES: Well, we've got to move to this other story, and we don't want to have to go back here.

ANDERSON: No.

HOLMES: Alec Baldwin, Kim Basinger, he didn't leave another nasty voice mail, did he?

ANDERSON: I hope not.

HOLMES: OK.

ANDERSON: Not one that we've heard, thankfully, T.J., but indeed the contentious custody battle between Alec Baldwin and Kim Bassinger continues. Its really unfortunate. This thing has been going on for years and years. In a hearing today, a Los Angeles judge will inquire into who leaked to tmz.com that voice mail tape of Baldwin angrily calling his daughter Ireland a rude little pig. Baldwin's attorney asserts the release of that voice mail violates a court order that everything pertaining to the case, remain confidential.

TMZ's Managing Editor, Harvey Levin, tells us he obtained the voice mail legally. Bassinger, by the way, is facing a dozen misdemeanor contempt of court charges for allegedly blocking Baldwin from visiting their daughter. It just gets nastier and nastier, T.J.

HOLMES: My goodness. Alright, we will turn now to "Law and Order." We are talking about a couple of promotions here, one real- life promotion and one fictional promotion. Of course, the star wants a pretty big promotion. He wants to be president, but that could lead to something else on the show.

ANDERSON: That's right. A major political shake-up, T.J., for "Law and Order." Fred Thompson, who plays District Attorney Arthur Branch on the NBC show, has asked to be let out of his contract because he's exploring, as you say, a possible presidential run. Now, that is real life. The conservative Thompson is a former Tennessee Senator.

Back to fiction now, on the series, Sam Waterston, who plays Assistant D.A., Jack McCoy, will reportedly be promoted to the slot left open by Branch, played by Thompson. "Law and Order" will soon begin its 18th season. Been around awhile.

Alright. Moving now to "Showbiz Tonight," coming up tonight, we've got Jerry Springer and he is unplugged. The controversial over- the-top talk show host speaks his mind about everything and everyone from David Hasselhoff to, of course, Paris Hilton. It's the explosive interview you will see only on TV's most provocative entertainment news show, you don't want to miss it, "Showbiz Tonight" at 11:00 p.m. eastern and pacific, headline prime. A.J. Hammer and I hope to see you then. HOLMES: Well we certainly will and you will see Kyra now because you mentioned Paris Hilton. She always waits for the Paris mention. If Paris isn't in the entertainment show, she ain't watching, so thank you, Brooke.

ANDERSON: She'll be tuning in.

HOLMES: She certainly will now. Brooke, good to see you.

ANDERSON: Thanks.

PHILLIPS: Oh, boy. Well, it's the biggest divorce settlement ever. Stick around to hear why one woman is getting big bucks from her ex-hubby. You are watching CNN.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

PHILLIPS: I'm Kyra Phillips at the CNN center in Atlanta.

HOLMES: And I'm T.J. Holmes, in today for Don Lemon who is on assignment in India.

Beg pardon. That's one possibility as Dick Cheny's former top aide faces two and a half years in prison. What you say can be used against you.

PHILLIPS: Could this man bring down the JFK airport? He's one of the four men accused of trying and he's not the only one on the run any longer. You are live in the CNN NEWSROOM.

If his appeal falls flat and a pardon doesn't come to pass, the one time White House insider is headed to prison, for at least two years. In the words of one legal analyst, the judge threw the book at Lewis Scooter Libby. Once the vice president's top aide. CNN's Brianna Keilar joins us now from the Federal Courthouse in Washington. Brianna?

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