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N.C. Bar Mulls Nifong Actions; Missing G.I.s IDs Found in Iraq Raid
Aired June 16, 2007 - 10:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
BETTY NGUYEN, CNN ANCHOR: From the CNN Center, this is CNN NEWSROOM. And it's Saturday, June 16th, 10:00 a.m. Eastern here in Atlanta. It's 6:00 p.m. in Iraq. Good morning, everybody, I'm Betty Nguyen.
Look who's here.
RICK SANCHEZ, CNN ANCHOR: And I'm Rick Sanchez. That's who's here.
NGUYEN: Nice to have you. Got up early for us.
SANCHEZ: I did, as a matter of fact.
NGUYEN: And you will be staying up late.
SANCHEZ: A story there as well. T.J. Holmes is off this morning. I'm going to be picking up the slack here for him. Straight ahead in the NEWSROOM.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
CPT. BUDDY FERRIS, U.S. ARMY: Yes. I think we had every single form of contact there was, hand grenades, small arms fire, RPG, mortars, IED.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
SANCHEZ: Another day on patrol in Iraq. CNN's Karl Penhaul is with the troops in Samarra. That's where the big mosque bombing took place. So we're going to go to him this morning to see how things are shaping up there.
NGUYEN: Also, raw emotions and a courtroom bombshell as Durham's embattled district attorney faces an ethics committee. That's taking place right now. We're monitoring it for you.
And this...
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Just a miracle. Just a miracle. She was healthy, like she was hungry. She had a lot of scratches on her from walking through the branches and weeds and sticker bushes and stuff.
(END VIDEO CLIP) SANCHEZ: This is an amazing story of survival. This 5-year-old girl, she was lost in the woods, out there for two days. Most people thought she was dead. Many weren't even looking for her. You will have to see what happens next to believe it.
NGUYEN: But first we begin in North Carolina where a rare Saturday hearing is under way to consider the future of Mike Nifong. You're looking at it live right now. That hearing just resumed about an hour ago. The state's bar association is looking into the way that District Attorney Nifong handled the now debunked Duke lacrosse rape case. So let's head to Raleigh and CNN national correspondent Susan Candiotti, who has been listening to this.
Susan, we're waiting for Nifong's defense to make their closing remarks.
SUSAN CANDIOTTI, CNN NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Hasn't started just yet, though, Betty. But for the last hour or so we've been listening to closing arguments from prosecutors who are summing up their case against embattled Durham D.A. Mike Nifong. He's accusing the prosecutor of making false or at the very least dishonest statements and misleading statements in this case.
For example, that the players were refusing to talk in the beginning when the prosecutor said that the D.A. knew full well that at least three of the players have come in willingly, voluntarily talking to police.
Also, that Nifong, the prosecutor charges, said there was no doubt that a crime occurred. Never used the word "alleged" when he knew very well that according to his own investigators that the alleged victim was making inconsistent statements about what happened.
So this is how -- in part, how the prosecutor has summed up Nifong's actions.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
DOUGLAS BROCKER, N.C. STATE BAR PROSECUTOR: Through this systematic abuse of trust, power and discretion provided to district attorneys in North Carolina, Mr. Nifong did not act as a minister of justice but a minister of injustice.
He was a minister of injustice first and foremost to the three innocent lacrosse players that he prosecuted and their families, but also to the other players and their families, to the actual victims of sexual assault, to the reputation and integrity of prosecutors and lawyers throughout the state, and finally, to the entire system of justice of North Carolina.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
CANDIOTTI: Now, during Friday's testimony, for the very first time, Mike Nifong apologized for what he had -- did and said that he plans to quit.
NGUYEN: All right. Susan, so...
CANDIOTTI: Now if -- yes.
NGUYEN: Oh, I'm sorry.
(CROSSTALK)
NGUYEN: I guess you were waiting for a piece of sound which apparently we don't have. Let me ask you this question, though. If Nifong says he is going to step down as district attorney, this hearing that we're seeing is going to affect him in what way? That he may be disbarred if that's what they rule?
CANDIOTTI: Right. If he plans to resign as district attorney, that is irrelevant to this proceeding because this panel has to decide how he will be punished for his actions. And that can include anything from mere sanctions, fines, to -- all the way up to losing his license.
Now, it is possible that someone might try to bring a criminal case against him, but that's not at play here. It is also entirely possible that the families of the Duke lacrosse players who were wrongly accused might decide to take their own legal action, file a civil lawsuit against Mike Nifong, so his troubles are far from over.
NGUYEN: All right. CNN's Susan Candiotti joining us live there in Raleigh. Thank you for that, Susan.
Rick, I understand you have some breaking news for us.
SANCHEZ: Yes. Finally there seems to be movement in the story that we've been following of these two soldiers that the military is trying to do everything they can to find over in Iraq. You remember it started as an ambush. One soldier was killed, two others went missing.
And it has been thought that they were abducted. Still nobody has been able to find them. There's news on this. There's an update. This is information that has just gone out. Coalition forces apparently raided a safehouse and they have found the IDs for both of these, Specialist Alex Jimenez and Private Byron Fouty.
Apparently the identification cards for both of these soldiers were found in this house. Also found there, computers, video production equipment, rifles, ammunition. Apparently this was all found in the area near Samarra.
Now, Samarra, as you may know, is the area where this bombing just took place -- this mosque bombing. So there has been an increase of U.S. troops in that area. Hala Gorani is following this story for us now. I think we have got contact -- yes.
Hala, would you fill us in as to what you know about this.
HALA GORANI, CNN CORRESPONDENT: All right. Well, what you mentioned there is information that had come to us from the U.S. military. You may remember that a group linked to al Qaeda a few weeks ago put out a video. There was video of these military ID cards from these two specialists who were missing after an ambush on their unit in May.
Well, we're learning from the U.S. military that the actual ID cards were recovered on June 9th. So about a week ago. And that is as a result of a raid on a safehouse in Samarra. You mentioned there, Rick, as well, that some computers, video production equipment and other items were recovered by the U.S. military in that raid.
There was no sign of anyone in this safehouse, according to the U.S. military. But we do know that the physical identification cards of these two specialists, Jimenez and Private Byron Fouty, as well, both of those soldiers missing after that ambush on their unit.
Well, those physical ID cards are now in the possession of the U.S. military. So perhaps providing more clues for investigators and military officials as to exactly who is behind or -- was behind this ambush and perhaps more clues as to what exactly happened to these two soldiers still missing, still unaccounted for today.
SANCHEZ: So here's the question I think I would have and a lot of our viewers would probably have. If they found the IDs of these soldiers in this safehouse, the next obvious question is, who was in that safehouse? Was it a faction of al Qaeda? Was it al Qaeda specifically? And do we know the answer to those questions?
GORANI: Well, we have an idea of who issued the video of those ID cards. And it was from a group that is linked to al Qaeda. So that much we know. So that could provide clues to those who are investigating the ambush, trying to figure out where these two American soldiers are.
The question now is, of course, the physical whereabouts of the missing specialist and private. So this is going to provide more clues. Because if military equipment, video equipment, video editing equipment, computers are found as well, one could presume that more information is going to be able to be gathered by investigators and military officials as well. And giving them perhaps more of a lead as to exactly what happened on May 12th and where these two young American soldiers are.
SANCHEZ: As a matter of fact, I remember, you and I were talking when we first broke this story here. And it involved a faction of al Qaeda claiming responsibility for having them in the first place. But you've been following this story, perhaps, more. So I think what we still need to catch our viewers up on is whether there have been any claims since then or has anyone said, yes, we got them and we're willing to give them up if you do this for us? Has there been any communication that would lead us to believe these guys are still alive?
GORANI: No, since the video, there has been no communication. And this is the latest element that we have as journalists regarding the incident and the ambush that occurred on May 12th. So essentially this is another piece to the puzzle. We know from the video that this faction of al Qaeda is claiming responsibility for the ambush. In the video, and this is important, this is something we cannot confirm, they claim that they killed these soldiers. That is something we cannot confirm based on the video because we did not see any video of the actual missing soldiers.
The second piece to the puzzle now is the U.S. military saying that on June 9th they raided a safehouse and found all this equipment and, importantly, found the physical documents, the physical ID cards of these two soldiers. This is the other piece.
Now as to the whereabouts of the soldiers, as to how they're doing, as to whether or not they are alive, as really their families are waiting to hear and others who were concerned for their safety are waiting to hear, that's something we don't have information on. And we don't have is a lead as to what the answer to that question might be.
SANCHEZ: I've got to ask you one final thing, because there has been a lot of news coming out of Samarra in the last couple days. We have the huge mosque bombing out there. What is the significance of this safehouse? And I'm reading it from this press release that we essentially received just a moment ago from the government. Essentially telling us that it was near Samarra. What's the significance of that, Hala?
GORANI: Well, Samarra is significant in that it is crushingly Sunni as a town. Over 95 percent of Samarra is Sunni. Now the mosque bombing you're referring to is one of the holiest Shiite shrines in Iraq and for Shias across the region.
So the significance of this town is as a flashpoint for sectarian violence. You'll remember 16 months ago, the first bombing of that same shrine that took out the Golden Dome of the Al-Askari Mosque happened, sparking 16 months of sectarian carnage.
Now the two minarets that were taken down by the bombing that happened a few days ago did not necessarily spark the same kind of sectarian violence. But you have to keep in mind that a full lockdown of Baghdad and other major urban centers is in place right now. And that curfew is due to be lifted at 5:00 a.m. local time Sunday morning. That's 9:00 p.m. Eastern time in the U.S.
SANCHEZ: Right.
GORANI: And the big question, the question on everyone's mind is, what will happen when that curfew is lifted?
SANCHEZ: Right. Because it hasn't been particularly quiet even with the curfew and the security measures and lock down, so one can't help but wonder if...
(CROSSTALK)
GORANI: Yes. But things could be so much worse, Rick. That is the thing to keep in mind is that by Iraqi standards, things could be so much worse. So at this point what we're waiting for is once the curfew is lifted and once people are free to move about, vehicles and individuals, what will happen then?
SANCHEZ: That's an interesting point. Hala, you know what we're going to do, we're going to be checking back with you as this story develops and obviously the security situation there perhaps worsens as well.
Betty, back over to you.
NGUYEN: Yes. We want to give you some more details on this story and specifically what we got from the U.S. government, the press release that we received. I want to read to you a little bit of it. It says that the coalition forces raided, as Rick was saying, a suspected safehouse near Samarra, discovering the identification cards belonging to two U.S. soldiers missing for nearly a month.
We have their pictures. The identification cards are of Specialist Alex Jimenez and Private Byron Fouty. They were discover at that house along with computers, video production equipment, rifles, ammunition, but no one was found at the house.
And that leads to the question Rick was asking, who was there before they raided it? But just a little background here. Fouty and Jimenez, they were assigned to the 10th Mountain Division and they disappeared after an attack on their patrol on May 12th outside of the town of Yusufiya.
Now CNN has our Karl Penhaul embedded with troops in Samarra. And we're trying to get him on the line to get more information on that particular area, who might have been in that safehouse as we try to piece together what has happened there and who may have been there so it will lead to who may be holding these two U.S. soldiers.
SANCHEZ: And you know, there's another question. As you're reading this, I was looking over your shoulder and thinking, the fact that they've also found video equipment -- video production equipment, which I think is important, along with computers in this safehouse, begs the question as to whether or not the IDs were being used as we've seen this trend develop over there, as some form of propaganda tool that they were about to unleash saying essentially, look, we have them, here's their IDs to prove it. We don't know.
NGUYEN: Or, here is video of them.
SANCHEZ: Well, why would the IDs be there with them in this area where they do video production equipment? Or right, as you say, that maybe they were there.
NGUYEN: And so as we're getting this information and we're piecing it together, also want to let you know that our Pentagon correspondents, they are also working this story, they are on the line with their sources. So as soon as we get more information, we'll bring it straight to you.
In the meantime... SANCHEZ: And we should probably mention...
NGUYEN: ... there is much more to come.
SANCHEZ: We should just mention as well that a lot of the things that we were alluding to there were questions, nothing that we have confirmed at this point, questions as to why these IDs were found in that particular place next to equipment that's used for video production, which is something we'll hopefully be able to try and nail down for you as this story progresses.
NGUYEN: Yes. So as soon as we get that, as I said, we'll get it straight to you. In the meantime, though, there is a lot of or other stories that we want to get you information of. And as soon as we come back from this break, we'll start on that. Stay with CNN, you're watching CNN NEWSROOM.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
NGUYEN: Let's get you a little bit more on that breaking news out of Iraq today. We're learning more in the search for those two missing U.S. soldiers. According to the U.S. military, we have learned today that coalition forces raided a suspected safehouse near Samarra, discovering identification cards belonging to the two men that you see there, those two U.S. soldiers missing for nearly a month now.
They are Specialist Alex Jimenez and Private Byron Fouty. Their identification cards were discovered at that safehouse, along with this. It's very interesting. Computers, video production equipment, rifles, ammunition. Now no one was found in that house, so the search is on to determine exactly who was in the house and then possibly if these men are alive, where have they been taken?
Fouty and Jimenez, as you recall, disappeared after an attack on their patrol on May 12th out side the town of Yusufiya. But their identification cards were found in a safehouse in Samarra -- at least near Samarra today. This according to the military. And as soon as we get more information on this story, we'll bring it to you.
SANCHEZ: Let's do this now. Let's try and pick up the headlines from the region and stay in the Iraq area. Fourth time since he became defense secretary in December, Robert Gates is visiting the troubled country. He's meeting with Iraqi leaders and U.S. military commanders.
Gates is in this city, but all but shut down now by lockdowns and curfews as we were discussing a moment ago with Hala Gorani when we were and having a conversation with her.
These curfews were put in place in Baghdad and other cities right after that mosque was bombed in Samarra Wednesday. Authorities are hoping to prevent any more violence or any more revenge attacks, but then what's going to happen, as she was asking, when they're lifted?
It didn't work in southern Iraq, by the way, so far. The Sunni shrine was bombed there near Basra yesterday. And we're just learning an abandoned Sunni mosque was attacked in that same area today.
NGUYEN: Well, meanwhile, Rick, anger is still simmering in Samarra just days after the bombing that prompted those curfews, a joint U.S.-Iraqi patrol is dealing with all sorts of danger on the streets. CNN's Karl Penhaul went along for the ride.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
KARL PENHAUL, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): A roadside bomb has just exploded.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: All right. Let's get the cordon -- I've got my truck down here. He's going to lock down that intersection.
PENHAUL: The U.S. soldiers and Iraqi police were lucky. It jangled nerves, but no casualties.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Wherever that IED went off, start in that house.
PENHAUL: They hunt for the bombers and more explosives.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Second room clear.
PENHAUL: The enemy is elusive.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Hadji (ph) says, no bad guys?
PENHAUL: At the next house, soldiers hand out leaflets offering rewards. Nobody helps. Captain Buddy Farris tells his men to forget the bombs and move on.
FERRIS: That wasn't very big. And if it was, it was buried too deep. So it was a good day for us.
PENHAUL: While the troops were searching, a young boy lobbed a hand grenade at one of their armored Humvees. It failed to go off.
SPC. KEVIN PARSONS, U.S. ARMY: My gunner was facing the other direction. So he watched it come over and he just yelled, pull forward, pull forward.
PENHAUL: Few civilians are on Samarra's streets. Tension is still high after insurgents brew up the minarets of Samarra's golden mosque.
(on-camera): We just heard an explosion. Some of the soldiers think it was a rocket-propelled grenade. After a brief car chase, they pulled over a vehicle and are now searching it.
(voice-over): They find nothing, but insurgents are harassing the patrols. From inside an armor-plated Humvee, the sound of gun fire outside is muffled. The Humvees chase insurgents speeding away in a car. Soldiers narrowly miss shooting their target.
FERRIS: Yes. I think we had every single form of contact there was, hand grenades, small arms fire, RPG, mortars, IED.
PENHAUL: There's no sign of a sectarian backlash in Samarra after the golden mosque bombing, but the insurgents seem emboldened and are looking for a fight.
Karl Penhaul, CNN, Samarra, Iraq.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
NGUYEN: All right. Let's get you a little more information on the breaking news dealing with the identification cards of those missing soldiers in Iraq. They have been found in a raid on a safehouse near Samarra. And to be clear about this, we saw a few weeks ago pictures of their identification cards, that of Specialist Alex Jimenez and Private Byron Fouty.
Well, these identification cards that were found were not the pictures that we saw on the Islamic Web site, but the actual identification card. So this may lead to clues as to where these two men are. So as soon as we get more information on that, of course, we'll bring it straight to you.
SANCHEZ: As a matter of fact, I think we might be able to hook up with Karl Penhaul. Penhaul is there in Samarra...
(CROSSTALK)
NGUYEN: Embedded.
SANCHEZ: ... he has been covering, exactly. He has been covering the mosque bombing. So hopefully we'll be able to get him on the horn and see if he can share with us some reaction to what this -- this area where this safehouse was found.
And there's another story that we're following. Sharing the gift of life, 216 times and counting.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I don't know who these people that I'm helping, but I'm helping somebody. And if I'm helping to keep them alive, it makes me feel good.
SANCHEZ: A CNN hero and his commitment to helping others. We'll bring it to you right here. Stay with us.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
NGUYEN: More on this breaking news that we've been telling you about this morning, the identification cards of two U.S. soldiers have been found in a raid on a safehouse near Samarra. Here are those cards now.
We saw this on Islamist Web sites just a few weeks ago. But those -- in fact, those ID cards, their actual physical cards, had been found today which may lead to the whereabouts of Specialist Alex Jimenez and Private Byron Fouty.
And they were discovered at, as I mention, a safehouse, along with computers, video production equipment, rifles and ammunition. But no one was found inside that house.
As for Fouty and Jimenez, they disappeared in an attack on their patrol on May 12th outside the town of Yusufiya. Now we do have CNN's Karl Penhaul embedded with U.S. troops in Samarra, which is where these ID cards were found. And as soon as we get him on the line, we'll talk to him about the search not only for these two U.S. soldiers, but what he knows about that area and who may have been held up in that house before the raid on it.
So as soon as we get that, we'll bring it to you -- Rick.
SANCHEZ: This is a story we here at CNN always love bringing you because it's about good people helping good people. A medical miracle in Long Island. This is a man whose commitment to helping others is carried out one blood donation at a time.
This morning we'll introduce you to Wilbur Armstrong, because he is a "CNN Hero."
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
WILBUR ARMSTRONG, "MEDICAL MARVEL": My name is Wilbur Armstrong. I've been donating blood for 33 years.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Wilbur is a very good donator. He never flinches and he never complains.
ARMSTRONG: So many people are afraid of needles, but it doesn't hurt at all.
Every other Thursday, I go to donate blood. When I became legally blind, I couldn't drive anymore.
Hi there.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Hey. How are you?
ARMSTRONG: Thank you.
I can travel around in public by myself. I take three buses. Roughly an hour-and-a-half each way.
HARVEY SCHAFFLER, DIRECTOR OF MARKETING & DONOR RECRUITMENT: Wilbur is exceptional. Today he makes his 216th platelets donation. Patients with cancer undergoing chemotherapy require platelet treatment. So it's really urgent that people donate.
ARMSTRONG: They told me I had a high platelet count and I was what they call a splitter.
A split is a double donation. Whole blood takes about 10 minutes. To split for platelets will take you an hour-and-a-half, but you'd be helping out two people instead of one.
RICHARD PRENDERGAST, RECRUITER: For all the platelets he has donated, you're bound to run into people that have his platelets running through their blood and they're alive because of him.
ARMSTRONG: I don't know who these people are that I'm helping, but I'm helping somebody. And if I'm helping to keep them alive, makes me feel good.
I lost three kids in my neighborhood to cancer. Something like that shakes you up. These kids, they're just beginning to live and they're gone already. So I said, if I can prevent somebody else from dying like that, let me do it.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
SANCHEZ: By the way, if you'd like to make your own life-giving contribution like Wilbur Armstrong, you're going to find links to organizations that he supports on our Web site. And what is our Web site you ask? Here you go, cnn.com/heroes, cnn.com/heroes.
NGUYEN: Well, the search is on right now for two missing U.S. soldiers in Iraq. And new clues may lead to their whereabouts. It was discovered today -- actually, on June 9th. We're just getting the information today, that coalition forces raided a suspected safehouse near Samarra, and they found the ID cards for Specialist Alex Jimenez, you see there on the left, and Private Byron Fouty on the right. Along with computers, video production equipment, rifles, ammunition.
We have CNN's Karl Penhaul embedded with U.S. troops in Samarra where this safehouse was found. And as soon as we get him on the line, he'll provide a little more information into the search for these two men.
SANCHEZ: Also another story that we're following, he's a Marine and he's fighting two different wars. One in Iraq, the other in family court. And he's not alone. More and more single service members are fighting these same battles. Why? Stay with us.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
SANCHEZ: And we are following a whole lot of breaking news on this morning. Let's first of all try to get you caught up on the situation over in Iraq. And this is around Samarra where U.S. forces have raided a safe house. And in that safe house they have found the two actual I.D.s for these soldiers that have been missing now, and the U.S. military is frantically been looking for them. Still no signs as to whether or not they're alive or not.
But there was a posting not long ago on a Web site that actually showed their I.D.s. Now what the military is saying to us this morning is they've actually found the physical I.D.s in their hand. And they found them in a safe house where they also found computers and production equipment. Which one would lead to the conclusion then that maybe that's where some of the information or some of that Web site was shot where they put the picture together with the I.D.s on it.
o here's what we're trying to do for you. We're trying to see if we can nail down parts of this story by talking to our own correspondents that happen to be in Samarra because that's where that mosque bombing took place Wednesday. We've got Hala Gorani, we talked to her a while ago. And we also got Karl Penhaul who is standing by on this story because he's been there. We're going to hopefully get him on the horn with him in just a little bit and bring you up to date on what's going on with this. Betty, over to you.
BETTY NGUYEN, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, other military news for you. Servicemen and women, many of them single parents that are deployed in Iraq, but having to fight for their families on the home front. CNN's Deborah Feyerick explains how the war is wreaking havoc with some parents and their custody arrangements.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
CPL. LEVI BRADLEY, USMC: Yeah. Get in it.
DEBORAH FEYERICK, CNN CORRESPONDENT: When he left for Iraq, Marine Corporal Levi Bradley was sure of only one thing.
His little boy Tyler would be home safe in Kansas, well looked after by Bradley's own mom. That's the deal he had made with his estranged wife Amber. In a signed letter, she gave him sole custody, with the understanding they would work out the details during their divorce proceedings when he got back.
But while he was away, Amber, who refused our interview requests, had a change of heart. She wanted Tyler and couldn't wait.
You had an arrangement.
BRADLEY: Yes.
FEYERICK: She was not honoring that arrangement.
BRADLEY: No.
FEYERICK: There are 140,000 single parents in the military. And like an untold number, Corporal Bradley was left fighting two wars, one in Iraq, the other in family court.
(on camera): You're fighting for your kids over the phone?
BRADLEY: Yes.
FEYERICK (voice-over): This despite a federal ruling intended to freeze civil court proceedings during deployment. It is called the Service Members' Civil Relief Act, and it is supposed to give service members a minimum 90-day extension. Bradley's attorney applied for a delay under this act but the custody hearing went on without him.
The judge ruled the act does not apply in child custody fights. Citing instead an obligation to consider the best interests of the child. The judge awarded his estranged wife joint custody. And then ruled it was best for Tyler to live not with his paternal grandmother but with his mom, who was also pregnant with the couple's second child.
(on camera): You have your ex-wife, you have the judge, you have lawyers, but the one person not in that courtroom.
BRADLEY: That is me.
FEYERICK (voice-over): Corporal Bradley appealed, but as this official court reporting shows, the lawyer for his soon to be ex-wife argued his deployment was not an issue.
AMBER BRADLEY'S LAWYER: We don't believe he had relevant evidence to add to the case because he had been away from the family unit so much of their married time.
FEYERICK: Bradley's lawyer disagrees. She says they weren't asking for special treatment. Just an equal playing field.
JEAN ANN UVODICH, CPL. BRADLEY'S LAWYER: Here he is defending his entire country, but we're not allowing him to come home and defend himself.
FEYERICK: If somebody were to say to you, quit the Marines, you get your kids back, what kind of a choice is that?
BRADLEY: I'd take it. If they said that if you got out of the marines today, then you could have your kids back, I'd be out in a heartbeat.
FEYERICK: Deborah Feyerick, CNN, Ottawa, Kansas.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
SANCHEZ: To stay on the subject of soldiers. In this case there are two soldiers that have been missing for quite some time. There may be a break in this case. Because as we've been talking about, there's the possibility of two of their I.D.s have been found, which may give some clues to U.S. officials over there who have been frantically searching for these guys all over that area. It's Samarra we're talking about now.
NGUYEN: That search has been on since May 12th when they came under attack. And we're talking about Specialist Alex Jimenez and Private Byron Fouty. Let's take you now to Baghdad and CNN's Paula Hancocks we understand is now with us, with the latest on not only what we're learning but especially about this area in Samarra and possibly who may have been in that safe house. You may not have that information just yet, but what do you know about it?
PAULA HANCOCKS, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, at this point, what we've been told from the U.S. military is they believed it was a safe house that had something to do with al Qaeda in Iraq. Now, we also know from the U.S. military, they did take small arms fire as they were going into this particular area, that two coalition soldiers were wounded that were trying to go into this area back on June 9th.
And certainly what they took out of the house could give them some indication of who was in there and what they were up to. Because they did have this raid, this raid was carried out on June 9th, they've had a week to look through computers, video equipment that they extracted from this particular property as well as those two I.D. -- identifications from those two soldiers. So certainly, within a week, they should have had some indication of who was actually inhabiting this house at this point.
SANCHEZ: It is, do you think, Paula, that they've found video production equipment, which is what the release actually says that they found. What does that tell you?
HANCOCKS: Well, certainly we did have video release from the Islamic State of Iraq. That was just back on the 4th of June. And within this particular video that was posted on the Internet, we did see the copies of those two identifications, and we also saw some planning stages or alleged planning stages. They were saying that this was some of the planned attack on May 12th. They were standing outside. They had a billboard, if you like, on a tree, and they were discussing how they were going to carry out this particular nighttime attack.
Now, of course, this attack happened on May 12th. There were also four American soldiers and one Iraqi who was killed in this particular attack. And so certainly the fact that they have video production equipment would suggest, according to the U.S. military, that perhaps this could be related and certainly the fact that they're releasing this information now, a week after they actually took this equipment must mean that they have some kind of confidence to be able to make this public.
Because certainly they kept it quiet for seven days.
SANCHEZ: Is there any possibility at all -- I know we don't know if they're alive or dead at this point and that's, obviously, one of the crucial questions, but can they go into this safe house now and look for any possible DNA evidence or fingerprints that would lead to any kind of investigation to see if perhaps the soldiers were at some point, Jimenez and Fouty, taken there?
HANCOCKS: Well, certainly they have the capability to do that. And you would expect that that is possibly something they would look into. If they do have the actual I.D. cards of these two soldiers, then certainly they're going to be scouring that house, they're going to be picking through that house making sure they have any evidence possible that they could work with.
Now no one was actually in the house when they carried out this raid, but there was small arms fire as they were going into this house in the area surrounding. There was certainly some hostile fire. And as I say, two of their soldiers were wounded. But inevitably that is something they're going to be looking at. They're going to be trying to pick through every single piece of evidence they have. Because at this point, according to the U.S. military, or at least what they're telling us, there's no evidence as to whether or not these two are still alive or any evidence that they have any more concrete information about their whereabouts.
NGUYEN: Well, Paula, as we're waiting for any sign of life here, you've talked about that small arms fire as coalition forces went in to raid that safe house. Was anyone injured or wounded that they may have been able to pick up there and provide some information?
HANCOCKS: Well, the U.S. military is giving very limited information at this point. We have many calls in to them, as you can imagine, but they're not giving too much information. All they have said really is as they were going into this particular area, they did have some small arms fire, which came from a nearby tree line. Soldiers were actually moving into this particular area where the safe house was.
Now two coalition soldiers were injured. There's no indication from the limited information we have from the U.S. military that any of those who were actually carrying out the small arms fire were injured and whether they were able to talk to them. So at this point, very limited information from the U.S. military. They really are just giving us the bare necessities.
NGUYEN: You're right. This is limited. And we also want to take into consideration that you this raid occurred on June 9th. So they've had some time to put all this together very carefully on what they want to disseminate out to the press as they're continuing this massive search for those two soldiers. Paula Hancocks joining us live from Baghdad. Paula, we appreciate that. Of course, we're going to stay on top of this story, just as anything develops, we'll bring it to you.
SANCHEZ: Well, we should probably mention just as a footnote that Paula is in Baghdad, but Karl Penhaul is ...
NGUYEN: Is in Samarra.
SANCHEZ: Is near Samarra. We can't disclose his exact location because he's embedded right now and we wouldn't want to put him or the troops in danger at this point. I think the producer just said something to me, I'm not quite sure what it is.
NGUYEN: We're waiting for Penhaul to get on the phone. We're working on that, the audio problems so that we can speak with him and he can provide more information. As you mentioned, he is embedded there, he knows the area, he knows that the search is going.
He has more information as to perhaps where they're going with it now that this information is out there.
SANCHEZ: As a matter of fact, I think we're ready to go to him. Let's just try this. Karl Penhaul, are you there?
KARL PENHAUL, CNN CORRESPONDENT (on phone): Rick, yes. In the last few moments, as you know now, there has been a press release put out by multinational forces from Baghdad, in fact. But the action itself centered in a suspected al Qaeda safe house in the region of Samarra, where we are.
Now, that raid was on June 9th. And in the raid, a company of 82nd airborne paratroopers found two identity cards of Specialist Alex Jimenez and Private Byron Fouty. Those were the two U.S. soldiers captured during an attack in the triangle of death, an area south of Baghdad.
Of course, Samarra is a long way north of Baghdad and so something that is obviously having commanders scratch their heads as to what these identity cards are doing in a suspected al Qaeda safe house so far from the area where these two soldiers were captured.
But according to that press release, no word on the fate of these two soldiers, where they physically may be right now or what may have happened to them, Rick.
SANCHEZ: What do you know, Karl, if you could tell us, about the area itself, the safe house was apparently near Samarra. We're not being told specifically where. How big an al Qaeda hangout is that?
PENHAUL: There are a number of important intelligence breaks that the U.S. has had over the last few weeks that they've been working this area and also neighboring Diyala Province. Much of that information has not been released publicly because of operational security aspects of that.
In broad terms, what General Mixon (ph), the commander of this division has said to us over the last two days now is that both Diyala Province and Saladin Province which is where Samarra is located are now considered major strongholds for al Qaeda in Iraq. And also major strongholds for the leadership. He says that he believes the leadership of al Qaeda has switched from western Iraq, from provinces like al Anbar and there are also other fighters have pulled out from Baghdad and moved up to these provinces, which are very strategic.
And the area surrounding Samarra -- Samarra, a large city, an urban area. Not too many tall buildings. But as we flew up from a town called Baqubah south of Samarra the other day, you can make out that it is largely agricultural land. There is some desert, but the rest of it is largely agricultural land, wheat fields, remote houses, remote farming houses. And at this stage, as you say, it's not clear whether that find was made in a suburb of the city itself or in one of these more remote farming communities, Rick.
SANCHEZ: Hey, Karl, staying with geography for just a little bit, then, how far is a Samarra from where the ambush took place?
PENHAUL: In fact, we were just trying to work the same thing out, Rick, and so far I haven't got an answer on that for you. But looking at the geography, the area where the two soldiers were captured is south of Baghdad and the area where we are is, I would guess, about 100 miles north of Baghdad. And so this is a large area to cover. Now, from what U.S. generals have told us, there are natural transit routes, if you like, from Baghdad up to Samarra and from Samarra out west towards al Anbar Province, but no natural lines of insurgent communication from the south of Baghdad up to this area north of Baghdad.
And so difficult to detect at this stage how those identification cards would have been passed up to this area, whether they came through Baghdad up north or whether they went out west towards al Anbar and then were funneled north of Baghdad to the near where we are now, Rick.
SANCHEZ: That's the question. Karl Penhaul, good job catching up to that story. You're embedded. We know that. We'll let you continue to your work. And if we can hook up later we'll try and do so.
NGUYEN: We have so much more to come on this story right after this break. We're going to continue to follow it all morning long.
We're also following the closing arguments of Mike Nifong's ethics hearing. He's the district attorney there in Durham, North Carolina, dealing with the Duke lacrosse case, which all those accused have -- essentially this case has fallen apart. Now it is a determination as to whether Nifong will hold on to his law license.
SANCHEZ: Now he's on trial.
NGUYEN: Yes. So we're looking at the courtroom there as they're going to be deciding that today. So we've got a lot of breaking news to tell you about. You don't want to miss any of it. We'll be right back.
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NGUYEN: Well, there are new clues in search for two missing U.S. soldiers. Those clues found in a safe house near Samarra. And they being the identification cards of the men that you see here. Specialist Alex Jimenez on your left and Private Byron Fouty on your right. We want to take you by phone to Byron Fouty's step-father, Gordon Dibler, just joining us now. Just hearing this information we got not too long ago from the U.S. military.
Mr. Diebler, talk to me about your reaction to it. Does it provide you some hope as to just thinking that they may still be alive?
GORDON DIBLER, PVT. BYRON FOUTY'S STEPFATHER: Well, absolutely. It was the first tangible thing that we found that I've understood. And to me it's exciting to keep the hope alive.
NGUYEN: They found this in a safe house near Samarra. And very little information has been given. What we do know is that these identification cards were found along with computers, video production equipment, rifles and ammunition. But no one was found in that home. But this is important, too, and you know this as well because we saw just a couple of weeks earlier on Islamist Web sites that there was video of these I.D. cards. And now we're finding the actual I.D. cards. So I guess as your family is getting news of this and you're obviously keeping hope alive, watching all of this, especially since he's been missing since May 12, how are you able to keep that hope alive?
DIBLER: Well, we are a strong family. We very much are grateful for all the support and all the prayers that are going out for us. And every day somebody new saw the stories and the more I can keep the hope alive, maybe one more prayer, maybe one more thought will be the one that helps us show how this is just a person that needs to be coming home.
NGUYEN: We got this press release from the military this morning. Have you heard from the U.S. military today?
DIBLER: I have talked with them. I heard this earlier in the week. And I was under the understanding that it was the beginning of last week or the end of last week that they heard this. And to me, my first reaction was that at least this is something that we can physically know and see they're actively searching and my prayers go out for those guys that are searching, too.
NGUYEN: Yeah, a massive search is under way. And they're really spending a lot of time, a lot of personnel on this. This is just the latest break in this month-long search so far. This has to be a tough time for you, no doubt. How are you holding up through all of this?
DIBLER: Well, it's been tough, eating's been tough. We've been doing it, though. I try to make sure that I help his daughter -- my daughter that is -- his nephew we're waiting for him to come home and meet. The more I can support and be there for her, I know I'm helping be there for him.
NGUYEN: Being around the family, especially with that little one now, has got to really tear at the heartstrings. And as this family copes with this, what was the last time that you spoke with Byron, and what was some of that conversation?
DIBLER: Well, our last conversation was on his birthday, April 17th. And he had been discussing his desire to go into being a medic. And I was real proud of him for that for wanting to be a healer. And our last actual words were that we loved each other.
NGUYEN: And if you could send a message out today, what would you say?
DIBLER: If I could send out a message today, that our anxiously waiting his return and that we love him very much and that his sisters and I are both waiting with everything we have and his brothers and sisters that are helping support him are always thinking of him.
NGUYEN: Have you been in contact at all with Specialist Alex Jimenez's family? DIBLER: Actually, no, I haven't. I am keeping their hearts in my heart all the time. I know that we did an interview. And like them, I'm keeping a candle lit by Byron's picture. And I know they are by Alex's. And I know that their hopes are alive, too.
NGUYEN: I know it is a very difficult time. I really appreciate you spending time with us. But no doubt this is at least a sign and a direction that may lead to the whereabouts of Byron and Alex Jimenez as well.
They've been missing for over a month now since their patrol came under attack near Yusufiyah. And as we watch, of course, the news, we'll continue to bring the information to you. Gordon, we appreciate you spending, as I mentioned, a little of your time with us and sharing what you've been dealing with as a family. This has been so difficult for you and all those who care so deeply about Byron. Thanks so much.
DIBLER: Thank you very much.
SANCHEZ: Boy, that's got to be so tough for a parent to know that their child is -- you know, the toughest thing when you're a dad is to lose control where you don't know where your kids are. And I know, he's older, but still a difficult situation for him.
NGUYEN: And you are getting these little nuggets of information, and it causes you to hold on to hope. You sit there and wait for the best. And hopefully this will provide some kind of clue.
SANCHEZ: Well, it's not a lot, but something they can go on. What it really confirms is that he seems to be in the hands of al Qaeda or some al Qaeda faction, which is really not huge news because that was suspected from the very beginning when we first got the report on that day. So at this point, what we know is that they found the physical I.D.s and that they also found in that same safe house, computers and video equipment. In fact, video production equipment, which is a little different.
The nuance say they may have been using these I.D.s to put out some kind of Web site or some kind of video. And apparently just several weeks ago there was a video that was released.
NGUYEN: We want to take you now to Raleigh, North Carolina, where we're looking live at the closing arguments in Nifong's ethics hearing which is under way right now. You're hearing his defense right now speak. We heard from the prosecutor a little bit earlier. We're going to be listening in to this. And as news develops, we'll bring it to you.
But right now we have to take a short break. We'll be back with so much more news right here on CNN. You are in the NEWSROOM.
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