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Battle Over War; Chinese Imports; McCain Campaign Shake-up; Gerri's Top Tips; Sara Taylor's Judiciary Hearing

Aired July 11, 2007 - 10:00   ET

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

HEIDI COLLINS, CNN ANCHOR: I'm Heidi Collins.
TONY HARRIS, CNN ANCHOR: And I'm Tony Harris. Stay informed all day in the CNN NEWSROOM. Here's what's on the rundown.

A bomb locked around his neck, forced to rob a bank, so he claimed. Today, new developments in this bizarre heist.

COLLINS: She says she won't talk about fired federal prosecutors. But a former aide to the president on Capitol Hill this hour anyway.

HARRIS: Americans in over their heads with their ARMs. Fighting the foreclosure surge.

It is Wednesday, July 11th, and you are in the CNN NEWSROOM.

COLLINS: New information expected today on an odd bank robbery case in Erie, Pennsylvania. You may remember the pictures. Pizza delivery man Brian Wells sitting in front of police wearing a collar bomb and pleading for help. He was killed by that bomb as police stood by.

Now, almost four years later, the federal investigators may be ready to charge two people in the case. They're expected to make that announcement in just a few hours. It is still unknown whether authorities believe Wells himself was part of the plot. His family says he was just an innocent victim. CNN will have live coverage of that news conference coming up at 1:30 Eastern this afternoon.

HARRIS: Increased concern for America's safety this summer. Homeland Security Secretary Michael Chertoff warning of a greater risk of a terrorist attack. Chertoff says there's no new specific intelligence suggesting any imminent plot and no reason to raise current threat levels nationwide.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

MICHAEL CHERTOFF, HOMELAND SECURITY SECRETARY: We're entering a period this summer of increased risk. We've seen a lot more public statements from al Qaeda. These things give me a kind of a gut feeling that we are in a period of -- not that I have a specific threat, you know, that I have in mind right now, but that we are entering a period of increased vulnerability.

(END VIDEO CLIP) HARRIS: Chertoff insists al Qaeda's intent to attack the U.S. remains as strong as it was before 9/11. CNN "Security Watch" keeps you up to date on safety. Stay tuned day and night for the most reliable news about your security.

COLLINS: Sara Taylor is not talking. At least not now. President Bush's former political director says she'll follow orders. She won't testify about the firings of eight federal prosecutors. But Taylor says she will talk if courts rule against the president's use of executive privilege. Democrats have subpoenaed Taylor and former White House counsel Harriet Miers. The Senate Judiciary Committee hearing this hour. We'll bring you live coverage.

HARRIS: Firing up the battle over the Iraq War again. Senators begin new debate on a troop withdrawal plan. Live to CNN congressional correspondent Dana Bash.

Dana, good morning to you.

DANA BASH, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Good morning.

HARRIS: A quick question here. A key debate in the Senate this morning on how long to keep troops in the combat zone. How is this going to all play out?

BASH: Well, it's really unclear, Tony. It is -- it's an important debate, an important first vote. This will be the first vote of this round of Iraq debate and votes that we're going to see in the Senate in the next couple of weeks. And, as you said, it's a measure from Democrat Jim Webb of Virginia, which requires troops to be home in the United States longer between deployments to Iraq and Afghanistan.

But what's significant about it is the procedural fight that's going on, on the floor of the Senate because Republicans are requiring that this essentially has 60 votes to pass. And what we're hearing from Republicans this morning is that it likely will not get the 60 votes. So this particular measure could fall short.

And so what that means and what that portends for the future is that the other much more controversial measures, like requiring that the troops come home from Iraq, a deadline for troop withdrawal that Democrats are planning to have maybe this week or early next week, that is going to be a lot harder for Democrats to pass if they do need this 60-vote threshold. So this is sort of an indicator, a telltale sign of what will happen potentially with the votes to come, even though and despite the fact that there's no question, there is growing opposition in the Republican ranks and growing frustration about the direction of the war.

HARRIS: So maybe you just answered this next one, but I'll ask it anyway. How well is the White House doing in keeping frustrated Republicans on their side? And what is it -- do we know what Stephen Hadley, the president, what they're actually saying?

BASH: Well, Stephen Hadley, we understand, is actually coming -- returning to Capitol Hill today in order to lobby, Tony. He was here yesterday. He has certainly been trying to work Republicans and to essentially try to stop the revolt from getting stronger. What we understand is that he is trying to explain what the process and this strategy will be in the months to come, as the White House and the Pentagon promises, as you heard from the president yesterday, that they are going to give General Petraeus and this current strategy a little bit more time to work.

So, essentially, what he's trying to do is explain what their strategy is. Because I'll tell you, Tony, what you hear more than not from these frustrated Republicans in the halls of Congress here is that they just don't think that the White House has a plan, ultimately, to bring troops home. So that is likely a lot of what Stephen Hadley and other White House officials are doing behind closed doors, is trying to explain what that plan is and that they do have a plan to these Republicans to try to stop these vocal opposition from turning into actual votes.

HARRIS: Got you. All right. Our congressional correspondent Dana Bash following it all for us on Capitol Hill.

Dana, thank you.

COLLINS: I want to just show you some video that we are monitoring here. We've been telling you about what will be happening with the Senate Judiciary Committee hearing today regarding the federal prosecutors that were fired. Sara Taylor, who you see there, arrived a little while ago. This is the former political director for President Bush, of course. We've been telling you that she will not testify about the firings of the eight federal prosecutors, but she says she will talk if the courts rule against the president's use of executive privilege. That has been sort of at the heart of this case.

So, again, new video coming in. You see Sara Taylor taking her seat. Lots of photographers there. Many people interested in hearing more information about those federal prosecutors. We will monitor it for you and let you know if anything happens there.

Meanwhile, an update on the dramatic story you saw breaking on NEWSROOM yesterday. The National Transportation Safety Board says it will look at the maintenance records of a small plane that crashed in suburban Orlando. Five people were killed, including the husband of a major figure in the Nascar organization, one of two people onboard.

The plane slammed into a row of houses and broke into pieces while trying to make an emergency landing. Three people in the homes died, including two small children. A 10-year-old boy remains hospitalized with burns over more than 80 percent of his body.

We do understand there will be a news conference coming up shortly. Actually, under way right now. This looks like the Sanford Police Department. We're going to monitor this for you and bring you any new information that we may learn from that.

HARRIS: Some laughs this morning. This was actually pretty good. President Bush cutting the ribbon and welcoming the White House, yes, welcoming the White House press corps through their refurbished digs. The renovation includes new chairs, lighting, audio, and air conditioning. Wow.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

GEORGE W. BUSH, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: Welcome back to the West Wing. We missed you. Sort of. I can already tell this place has improved. The last time I was in here to hold a press conference, I broke out into a sweat. Not because of your questions, but because of the climate. The air conditioner seems to work well. I hope the facility is -- suits your needs.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

HARRIS: This is pretty good. The final renovation cost unknown. Early estimates of $20 million were for a three-month project. This project, it took almost a year.

COLLINS: It's all in the moves and those dance moves by this suspected burglar caught on surveillance tape. This from CNN affiliate -- Atlanta affiliate, that is, WSB. Suspect Stephen Ray Edwards (ph), now in custody on suspicion of burglary, doing the quick step for cash. Police say they nabbed Edwards after he crashed into two patrol cars following a high-speed chase. It's believed the suspect may be behind more than 100 other burglaries in the Atlanta area.

HARRIS: New hot spots, old worries in the western U.S. Is the weather on the side of firefighters today?

COLLINS: Should troops stay or should they go? While politicians debate, we get the public's opinion on that and more.

HARRIS: Taking credit for a senator admitting sin. "Hustler" magazine's Larry Flynt now saying he was behind Republican David Vitter's mea culpa.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

COLLINS: Safety questions about Chinese-made products. But they haven't seem to slow the global appetite for Chinese import. CNN's Christine Romans takes a look.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

CHRISTINE ROMANS, CNN CORRESPONDENT, (voice over): It's been four months now since the recall of millions of bags of pet food. A stunning safety failure followed up by lead painted toy trains and toxic toothpaste. And this doll, clearly a choking hazard. All of them made in China.

The Consumer Product Safety Commission has announced recalls of 128 Chinese products, 68 percent of all recalls. The FDA has banned the sale of five kinds of fish from China. The result, China is exporting more than ever. New Chinese customs statistics, carried by their Ginua (ph) news agency, show China's June surplus rose 85.5 percent compared with a year ago. For the first half of this year, the surplus jumped 83 percent.

GORDON CHANG, "THE COMING COLLAPSE OF CHINA": Although the trade statistics for the first half were just gruesome vis-a-vis China, I think that what we're going to see later on is that China will not be exporting as much to the United States because the American consumer is just not going to use bad toothpaste or bad cat food.

ROMANS: Chang says if China can't prove its products are safe, importers will switch to other sources. That could take six months. But the Chinese customs figures reveal that, for now, the world, and particularly Americans' appetite for cheap Chinese products, continues unabated.

SEN. AMY KLOBUCHAR, (D) MINNESOTA: We have a situation here where we have seen just a monumental increase in exports from China, particularly with toys and other items. And yet our agencies haven't changed. No one's minding the store in the United States of America when it comes to these Chinese imports.

ROMANS: The U.S. is on track to top last year's record, $232,000,000,000 trade deficit with China, safety concerns or not.

A cascading series of faulty products and recalls. Yet the appetite for Chinese products only grows.

Christine Romans, CNN, New York.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

HARRIS: Senator David Vitter keeping quiet right now. The Louisiana Republican has kept out of public and the Senate since admitting to a link to the alleged D.C. madam. "Hustler" magazine's Larry Flynt is now taking credit for exposing Vitter. Now the question is whether Vitter will continue as the southern regional chairman for Rudy Giuliani's presidential campaign. Giuliani only said he was disappointed but hadn't decided to Vitter's future with the campaign.

COLLINS: A drop in donations and the polls. Now key staffers gone. What's next for John McCain? CNN's senior political correspondent Candy Crowley reports.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

CANDY CROWLEY, CNN CORRESPONDENT, (voice over): A major implosion in the presidential campaign of John McCain. His top two people, the campaign manager and the chief political guru, are out.

TODD HARRIS, FORMER MCCAIN 2000 CAMPAIGN ADVISER: There were a lot of people on the outside of this campaign who were demanding change and they were in charge. I think that it was important for the campaign to send some kind of signal that things are going to be different.

CROWLEY: The departures are the result of a series of events that have turned the once presumed frontrunner into an underdog. But the trigger point was money. Camp McCain spends too much and raises too little. Last week, almost half the staff was laid off. Of the $24 million raised since the beginning of the year, about $2 million is left. Said one source, McCain went nuts about the overspending. Not much in the campaign of John McCain has added up the way they thought it would.

SEN. JOHN MCCAIN, (R) PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: Thank you, my dear friends.

CROWLEY: In his 2000 presidential bid, he was a media fav and a maverick who shook up George Bush and the presidential race. This year, his campaign hauled out the straight-talk express, a symbol of 2000, and took off.

MCCAIN: Deja vu all over again.

CROWLEY: But '08 pales by comparison. Critics say McCain looks like yesterday's news. He is now more mainstream than maverick and a man buffeted by his political tenants. He is an unbending supporter of the war and thus no longer appeals to the independents who won New Hampshire for him in 2000. He was the father of campaign finance reform and a prominent backer of the now failed immigration bill, all infuriating conservatives. He's run fourth in some polls and his job now is to convince voters that the staff changes signal a campaign on the mend, not a campaign on its last legs.

LYNN SWEET, "CHICAGO SUN-TIMES": People who were big donors, who want to help you raise money, don't necessarily get up the enthusiasm to do it if they think it's a campaign in trouble.

CROWLEY: The shake-up reignites persistent talk that McCain will abandon his bid. Certainly not, McCain says, and there is support from a rival.

RUDY GIULIANI, (R) PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: This is way too early for anybody to be, you know, written off. John McCain is a fighter.

CROWLEY: In the hallway of the Senate, as he finished his speech on Iraq, McCain was pummeled with questions about the staff departure and what they mean for his campaign. "People can make their own assessments," he said. "I think we are doing fine. The campaign is going well."

Candy Crowley, CNN, Washington.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

COLLINS: What would you ask the presidential candidates if you could? Well, here's your chance. CNN is teaming up with YouTube for the next presidential debate. You can submit your videotape questions to our CNN/YouTube presidential debate. It airs July 23rd. Just go to cnn.com/youtubedebates. CNN, home of the best political team on television.

HARRIS: Heidi, look here. Gerri Willis with us in the NEWSROOM in Atlanta. You're accommodations . . .

GERRI WILLIS, CNN CORRESPONDENT: I'm actually -- I'm here.

HARRIS: Your accommodations OK? Anything you need?

WILLIS: Everything's going great. I love it here in Atlanta.

HARRIS: OK. Anything you need, just talk to Heidi, OK. She's the boss around here.

COLLINS: I'm talking about you in the makeup room already.

HARRIS: I'm sure.

WILLIS: It was a short conversation.

HARRIS: Oh, man. Cha-ching.

WILLIS: I'm never getting invited back. I know that. I know that.

COLLINS: Oh, yes, you are. Oh, yes, you are.

HARRIS: (INAUDIBLE).

Good see you, ladies.

WILLIS: Good to see you.

Let me tell you what I've got coming up here. It's a fabulous story. You know, foreclosures are spiking and you may think there's no way around this problem. If you are struggling to pay your mortgage right now, I've got great ideas on how to save your home. That's coming up next in "Top Tips" in the NEWSROOM.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

COLLINS: Want to take a minute to look at the big board right now. The Dow Jones Industrial averages about 38, 39 points. As we keep watching it, it will just keep changing. You can do that for the next, what do you think, hour and a half?

HARRIS: No. No, no, no, no.

COLLINS: OK. Resting now at 13,539. This is good considering yesterday, down about 148 points by the end of the day. Nasdaq also up five. We've got some great business stories. A lot of bathroom- type topics, believe it or not.

HARRIS: Excuse me?

COLLINS: Very funny. Yes. Stick around for that. That's all I'm going to say.

HARRIS: All right. Now that's a tease. Foreclosures on the rise. What should you do if you're worried about missing your mortgage payments. CNN personal finance editor Gerri Willis sitting right here to talk us through this.

Look, Gerri, give us the outlook for the foreclosure market. I mean, how tricky, how bad could this get?

WILLIS: Well, you've seen the numbers already. They've been bad this year. Really terrible. And they are going to get worse. That's what I'm here to tell you. October will be the high point for foreclosures. In fact, what we're looking at right now, Tony, $50 billion worth of adjustable rate mortgages are resetting. That means that their interest rates are going higher. You know how ARMS work?

HARRIS: Absolutely. Absolutely.

WILLIS: You know you have an initial period of time where the rate is fixed and then it adjusts and it goes higher, then people can't afford their homes and they can go into foreclosure. Best estimates over the next two years, we're going to have some 2.5 million people losing their homes, Tony. So that is not good news. And, of course, there are ways around it.

HARRIS: Well, let's talk about that. What if you are experiencing some difficulty in making that monthly mortgage. Is help available to you? What do you do?

WILLIS: Well, OK. Tip number one here, contact your lender. I know it's the last thing that you want to do. You probably just want to put your head under the pillow, right, and forget all about it. But if you are struggling right now, the best thing you can do, call your lender, ask for the loss litigation department. Not the fellow who underwrote the loan. Not that fellow. He's a salesperson.

HARRIS: Got you.

WILLIS: Call loss litigation. Those are the people who are empowered to make changes, make differences in your mortgage, that may mean the difference between keeping your house and staying in it and losing it.

HARRIS: Which gets us to our second tip. You get into the situation, you may feel as though you don't have many options. But you have some.

WILLIS: Well, you can ask the bank for some help. When you call them up you can ask for forbearance. That's where you're going to change some of the terms of the loan. They may let you pay less each month than you're currently scheduled to pay. They may actually allow you to refinance a loan and extend it over a longer period of time.

So let's say you had a 15-year loan at this point. You can't afford it. You're having trouble. What you can do is say, I want a longer-term loan that will reduce your payments.

There's all kinds of things they can do to this loan to help you out. And the reason they're thinking about this now is these mortgage companies are having a very big problem with foreclosures. Believe me, they don't want to own your house. It costs them thousands and thousands of dollars to sell each and every house. They want to help you work out a way. Only, though, if you get out in front of it, Tony. That's the big thing.

HARRIS: Be proactive.

WILLIS: Absolutely.

HARRIS: I am so intrigued by this next tip here. You tell us that we should think about a short sale. What is a short sale?

WILLIS: This is interesting. If you find your own buyer, maybe they won't even, you know, pay you the amount of the home that you owe to the bank, maybe they're going to pay less because, let's face it, prices have gone down in some markets, right?

HARRIS: That's right. That's right.

WILLIS: That's OK. Some banks will accept a short sale. If you bring the buyer to the table, they're not going to have to own that house. It take the pressure off of them. Now here's the -- the devil's in the details here.

HARRIS: OK. OK.

WILLIS: You know, you have to be in default already. And you have to prove hardship. Did you lose a job? Did you get sick? I mean those are big reasons that people default on their mortgages.

HARRIS: Absolutely.

WILLIS: You have to prove that you tried to sell this house on your own, absolutely, and that you gave it your best effort. But I've got to tell you, it's all about getting in front of the problem. You know, every time you talk to that lender, take notes. Make sure you have documentation of everything. But I've got to tell you, there is -- I know people are so worried. There is help out there.

HARRIS: Sub prime. We were talking about it a moment ago. We've talked about it so much. We've covered some aspects of this in the past here. I mean this -- when you talk about the foreclosures coming up in October, a lot of that is in the sub prime sector, isn't it? I mean this is a real issue.

WILLIS: Let's explain.

HARRIS: Yes.

WILLIS: Let's explain some of this. You know, sub prime loans are the ones that went to people who did not have the best of credit. And normally, in the normal market, they wouldn't even have gotten a loan, Tony.

HARRIS: Right. WILLIS: But I think that -- normally you wouldn't even have gotten a loan. But now what's going on, those people got loans. Now they're struggling. They weren't qualified for the highest rates that could reset. So now we have problems out there. Lots of people in foreclosure.

And one other thing I've really got to mention here. Some states out there are starting to say, hey, we realize this is a problem. We're going to help you out. They are creating funds to help out people who are in a bad situation. Ask your lender. Call the A.G.'s office. See if there's something available in your state to help you out if you're struggling.

HARRIS: Beautiful.

How long you here? Here for another couple of days?

WILLIS: 1:45.

HARRIS: You've got a flight this afternoon.

All right, Gerri, great to see you. Thanks for coming in.

WILLIS: Great to see you, Tony.

COLLINS: The collar bomb case. It ended with the death of a pizza delivery man. There is new information now today. Investigators just hours from talking.

HARRIS: Is Osama bin Laden and company planning something sinister for this summer? A top member of the Bush team says he has a gut feeling.

COLLINS: Should troops stay or should they go? While politicians debate, we get the public's opinion on that and more.

HARRIS: New hot spots, old worries in the western U.S. Is the weather on the side of firefighters today? We certainly hope so.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

COLLINS: Quickly want to get you straight to these live pictures. That is the back of Sara Taylor, the former White House political director. She had said she would not speak, but right now she is. Let's go ahead and listen in just for a moment about the firings of the U.S. attorneys.

(JOINED IN PROGRESS)

SARA TAYLOR, FMR. W.H. POLITICAL DIRECTOR: ...wrote to the chairman and the ranking member.

SEN. PATRICK LEAHY, (D-VT) CHAIRMAN OF SENATE JUDICIARY COMMITTEE: That will be made part of the record (ph).

TAYLOR: OK, thank you. The president has made the determination that the disclosure of this information would interfere with the operation of the executive branch. I intend to follow the president's instruction. I do not have the ability independently to assess or question the president's determination. The current dispute between the executive and congressional branches of our government is much bigger than me or my testimony here today.

In light of the president's direction, I will answer faithfully those questions that are appropriate for a private citizen to answer while also doing my best to respect the president's directive that his staff's communications be privileged. To the extent that I am not able to answer questions because of the president's directions, I commit to abide by judicial determination that may flow from the subpoena enforcement action against the White House.

While I may be unable to answer certain questions today, I will answer those questions if the courts rule that this committee's need for the information outweighs the president's assertion of executive privilege. I look forward to answering your questions not covered by the president's assertion of executive privilege.

I understand that during this hearing, we may not agree on whether answers to particular questions fall within the prohibitions of Mr. Fielding's (ph) letter. This may be frustrating to both you and me. I would ask that this committee not infer that an invocation of Mr. Fielding's letter signals knowledge on my part. Within the constraints of Mr. Fielding's letter, I will do my best to answer your questions.

Thank you.

LEAHY: Miss Taylor, why did you resign as White House political director?

TAYLOR: I am 32-years-old, Senator. I have worked for the president for eight years. At my age, almost 33, I have additional career and additional personal goals in my life. And I thought that this was the right time for me to head off and look at other career opportunities.

LEAHY: When did you first consider leaving the White House?

TAYLOR: I considered it last year. I thought a lot about it, I don't know when I first -- probably around, you know, the summer, wondered if I would stay 'til the end, if I would -- you know, and I informed Mr. Rove of my decision to leave in December.

LEAHY: Were the investigations into the replacement of so many U.S. attorneys at all a factor in your consideration?

TAYLOR: Not whatsoever.

LEAHY: And you did not tell anyone that that may have been a factor?

TAYLOR: I'm sorry, I didn't understand ...

LEAHY: And you have not told anyone at any time that that might have been a factor?

TAYLOR: I have never told anyone that.

LEAHY: Thank you.

Has anybody at the White House or otherwise made a commitment to you that you'd be protected from legal consequences if you declined to testify today?

TAYLOR: I have never heard from anyone at the White House that they would protect me if I chose to follow this course.

LEAHY: Anyone outside the White House?

TAYLOR: I have not heard from anyone outside the White House.

LEAHY: Thank you.

Now, we're going to have -- if the staff could give you a copy of a document, number 08-g1814.

TAYLOR: Oh OK, thanks.

LEAHY: Series of e-mails. Are you -- this is a February 16th, 2007, e-mail exchange between you and Kyle Sampson (ph). Is that correct?

TAYLOR: It is.

LEAHY: Are you familiar with this document?

TAYLOR: I have seen this document.

LEAHY: The last e-mail in the string is an e-mail from Mr. Sampson to an e-mail address stgwb43.com.

TAYLOR: Yes.

LEAHY: Is that your Republican National Committee e-mail address?

TAYLOR: That is a domain controlled by the Republican National Committee that I used when I had political matters.

LEAHY: So that was your Republican National Committee e-mail address?

TAYLOR: Yes, that is in fact my address, was my address.

LEAHY: How frequently did you use this e-mail address?

TAYLOR: I used it a fair amount. I mean, people had the address, and e-mailed me, and I got a lot of news clips on it and I read those. So I think it's fair to say I used it regularly.

LEAHY: Any idea how often?

TAYLOR: I don't. I know from your press accounts, that there are 66,000 e-mails and I've heard that and I know that from the press. But -- so I believe that there are 66,000 e-mails.

LEAHY: That'd be using it on occasion?

TAYLOR: Well, it is -- it's a lot of e-mail, I believe, and I don't know this with certainty that the -- e-mail that I have goes back to either 2001 or 2002.

LEAHY: Why did you send these e-mails regarding the department's handling of the U.S. attorney firings from your Republican National Committee e-mail account?

TAYLOR: Because I can tell you as an end user of the system, that was set up early in the administration to make sure that the president's appointees, who on occasion had to address political matters, never violated the Hatch Act. And the reason for the e-mail account was so that I never put myself in a situation where I was violating the hat checks. We particularly didn't want to spend taxpayer dollars on political matters.

And so the -- as a result of that system, I had, you know, two computers, two BlackBerries. And as somebody who just generally tried to be efficient with her time, sometimes just used the wrong computer.

LEAHY: If you were to use that to -- well you or anyone would use it to involve yourself in hirings that were violative of the Hatch Act, that would not be a non-violation simply because it was done on an RNC, the computer, rather than the White House, is that correct?

TAYLOR: I'm not sure ...

LEAHY: If you were to do something on there that violated the Hatch Act, political manipulations of hirings and firings that were precluded by the Hatch Act, I'm asking you as a hypothetical, that would still be a violation, whether you did it on the White House account or an RNC account, would it not?

TAYLOR: Well, I -- I assume a violation of the law is a violation of the law. I think that the -- again, the purpose of the e-mail account was to make sure that if, you know, the president was doing Republican fund-raising as he has done in the past, that we were doing it on political equipment and not official equipment.

LEAHY: The law is the law.

TAYLOR: I mean -- I am not -- I am not an expert on the Hatch Act, I just ...

LEAHY: (INAUDIBLE). I'm trying to -- trying to -- I'm trying to understand your answer. You said the law is the law. TAYLOR: Well, I'm -- I understand that if you -- that if you were to break a law, you would, obviously, break the law. But again, I'm not -- I'm having trouble following where you're headed here, what you're trying to ...

LEAHY: According to a report by the House Government of the Reform Committee, and this goes to the reports you've referred to. The RNC has recovered over 66,000 e-mails of which you are a part.

TAYLOR: Yes.

LEAHY: Have you reviewed these e-mails to determine whether they're responsive to our subpoena compelling you to produce all the documents related to our investigation?

TAYLOR: My attorney has looked through my e-mails. That's correct.

LEAHY: What did you do with these e-mails?

TAYLOR: My attorney sent those e-mails to the White House for their determination as to whether those e-mails fell within executive privilege.

LEAHY: So you have not determined whether they were responsive to our subpoena?

TAYLOR: We -- yes. We have -- I mean, mine understanding is that my attorney went through my materials and submitted them ...

LEAHY: That's not my question. Have you determined whether they are responsive to our subpoena?

TAYLOR: I -- I guess the answer to your question would be yes. We went through ...

COLLINS: All right, we have been listening in to the very beginning of the Senate Judiciary Committee on the firings of the federal prosecutors. And you're looking at Sara Taylor, of course, President Bush's former political director. At the heart of the issue today is whether or not she is going to be able to speak about that particular issue of the eight federal prosecutors that were fired.

Right now, of course, the president has asserted executive privilege in that matter, and so we are watching some of the questioning here by Senator Patrick Leahy, who is the chairman of the Senate Judiciary Committee.

Interesting to watch. We will continue to monitor it for you and let you know, of course, if she does touch on the prosecutors -- the fired prosecutors.

In the meantime, you can always watch whatever you like of it at CNN.com, and there it is for you.

HARRIS: A renewed battle over the Iraq war. Senators starting new debate this morning on a plan to begin withdrawing troops within four months, to be completed by April. Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid points to the numbers.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

SEN. HARRY REID, (D-NV) MAJORITY LEADER: The surge is not working. No matter how many different ways you explain it, it hasn't worked. Six months, 600 dead Americans, $60 billion. I think it's very important that the American people understand that we are going forward, as we speak, with legislation that has some teeth in it, it means something to the American people. The American people are outraged. They're demanding a change of policy in Iraq.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

HARRIS: President Bush calls the Democratic plan, "Setting a date for failure." He vows to veto any legislation that sets a withdrawal timetable. He's defending his strategy, hold troop levels in Iraq steady until he hears otherwise from his top general.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

GEORGE W. BUSH, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: But I believe that it's in this nation's interest to give the commander a chance to fully implement his operations. And I believe Congress ought to wait for General Petraeus to come back and give us assessment of the strategy that he's putting in place before they make any decisions.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

HARRIS: The president is sending his national security adviser back to Capitol Hill today. Stephen Hadley will try to shore up eroding GOP support for the war.

COLLINS: Some strong public opinion about the Iraq war. CNN's Senior Political Analyst Bill Schneider has the latest facts and figures.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

WILLIAM SCHNEIDER, SENIOR POLITICAL ANALYST (voice-over): Records are being broken and we're not talking about the weather. A new "Gallup USA Today" poll gives President Bush a record low job approval rating: 29 percent. There's also a record high in the Gallup poll. More than 60 percent of Americans now believe the Iraq War was a mistake.

SEN. OLYMPIA SNOWE, (R-ME): That time, you know, has evaporated along with our patience.

SCHNEIDER: The troop buildup is now complete, but only 22 percent of Americans believe the situation in Iraq is any better. The White House argues that it's too early to judge that this is the beginning of the new policy, not the end.

TONY SNOW, WHITE HOUSE PRESS SECRETARY: What Congress is going to get this week is a snapshot at the beginning of a re-tooled mission in Iraq. Everybody says we want to do it a new way, we agree. It's now started.

SCHNEIDER: Many members of Congress see this as the end, not the beginning.

SEN. LAMAR ALEXANDER, (R-TN): There are a growing number of bipartisan senators, senators on both sides of the aisle, who're trying to come to a conclusion.

SCHNEIDER: What's driving them is the failure of the Iraqis to meet benchmarks for a political settlement.

SEN. CARL LEVIN, (D-MI): Although the surge is now complete, there is no evidence of political progress on the part of Iraqi leaders. None whatsoever.

SCHNEIDER: Critics don't see a military failure on our part. They see a political failure on their part.

SNOWE: Our troops are making the military sacrifice and yet they're not willing to make the political compromises.

SCHNEIDER: The public has clearly run out of patience. Seventy- one percent favor removing all U.S. troops from Iraq by next April, except for a limited number of counterterrorism forces. Forty-two percent of Republicans agree.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

COLLINS: CNN's Senior Political Analyst Bill Schneider is joining me now live from Washington.

Good morning to you, Bill. Hey, President Bush talks a lot about victory. Of the Americans that were pulled here in this particular poll, do you see that the Americans think that's likely?

SCHNEIDER: No, they don't. I don't think victory is likely. The president has been talking about it for a few years now. They think it's less and less likely. And as I indicated in the piece, not because the U.S. military is failing, but because the Iraqi government is failing to reach any kind of political settlement.

Americans have always felt about this, in fact they felt about Vietnam, we should either win or get out. And the view that we can win this war has become smaller and smaller.

COLLINS: What about the Republican base here? The president -- do you think he is losing that important base?

SCHNEIDER: Well, there are cracks beginning to show, some very serious fissures within the Republican base. His rating among Republicans is dropping into the 60s, which sounds pretty high, but it had once been in the 90s. And these are people who are -- who have been sticking with this president. And we're seeing, of course, some breaks in the Senate, particularly among senators who have to face the voters next year. That's where there are a lot -- a number of them have come out, criticizing the president, breaking ranks with him on Iraq policy because they're getting a lot of pressure from their constituents back home.

COLLINS: How about the debate on Iraq and what it might sound like among the presidential candidates in the 2008 campaign?

SCHNEIDER: Well, the Republicans are likely to argue that if we get out of Iraq, in fact they're already making this argument, if we get out too soon, it'll become more dangerous for the United States. They're saying that the terrorists will follow us here, that the Middle East will degenerate into turmoil.

The Democrats counter-argument is if we stay in Iraq, it'll become more and more dangerous for the United States, that Iraq has become a recruiting ground for terrorists, that the United States is turning into a target, has already has become a target. We heard the Secretary of Homeland Security talk about the increased risk now to the United States, Iraqis exporting terrorists in the Middle East and to the rest of the world, and of course, there's evidence the Middle East is already disintegrating.

So, that's likely to be the debate in the 2008 campaign. Which is the greater threat? Getting out too soon or staying too long?

COLLINS: That's a complicated one, it goes without saying, certainly.

CNN's Bill Schneider, Bill, thank you.

SCHNEIDER: Sure.

HARRIS: Is Osama bin Laden planning something sinister for the summer? A top member of the Bush team says he has a gut feeling.

COLLINS: Real life towns named Springfield competing to host the fictional Springfield's best known residents: Homer, Marge, and the Simpson kids. The big-time movie premiere will be held in Springfield. Who'd have thunk?

STEPHANIE ELAM, CNN CORRESPONDENT: I'm Stephanie Elam at the New York Stock Exchange. Are you trying to live a healthier life, but results are taking you longer than you expected? Well, for one insurance company, trying may not be enough. I'll explain, coming up in the NEWSROOM.

You're watching CNN, the most trusted name in news.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

HARRIS: You know, we've heard of insurance companies rewarding workers who go to the gym or join a wellness program. But now, one company is saying those things are just not enough. What? Stephanie Elam, I am shocked! Stephanie Elam is at the New York Stock Exchange to tell us about that program.

Stephanie, good morning.

(BUSINESS HEADLINES)

COLLINS: Many Springfields are called. Only one is chosen. Who will host the premiere of "The Simpsons Movie?" We'll tell you, but you've to wait. Doh!

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

COLLINS: Every day after our program here that ends at noon, we stay a little late and we record this thing, the podcast. If you haven't checked it out yet, feedback is good. We have a lot of stuff on there that you haven't seen here. No, not always. But we do have some cool stuff on there. You might want to check it out, CNN.com/podcast.

HARRIS: Well, here's a question for you, what is in your toothpaste? There are more concerns about that today. This time the focus is Connecticut. More than a thousand tubes confiscated from some discount and dollar stores in the past week. State officials are worried about counterfeit Colgate and other toothpastes made in China. Officials say they can actually contain an antifreeze component. Massachusetts issued a strong warning about potentially harmful toothpaste last week.

COLLINS: Remember yesterday when we were covering this story of the plane crash, the small plane that went into two homes in Sanford, Florida. This is the firefighter, Ryan Cooper, who went over to help yesterday. We want to go ahead and listen in, talking just a few minutes ago at a press conference. Let's listen to what he has to say.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

RYAN COOPER, INJURED FIREFIGHTER: At that time I think while I was helping him out, I believe the father had gone back in, even though he was still severely burned, had gone back in to look for the small child.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

COLLINS: Very, very dramatic account. In fact, we're going to show you that entire interview, or press conference, if you will, in just a moment, when we come back right here in the CNN NEWSROOM.

HARRIS: And still ahead, the bizarre case of the pizza delivery man. He claimed he was forced to wear a bomb and rob a bank. Today, new developments to tell you about.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

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