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Federal Office Building on Fire, Fred Thompson Still Has Hope, Destruction of CIA Investigation Tapes Questioned
Aired December 19, 2007 - 10:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
TONY HARRIS, CNN ANCHOR: We want to welcome everyone back to the CNN NEWSROOM, including our international viewers, who are watching us right now from around the world.
We are showing you pictures out of Washington, D.C., and a building very close to the White House. It is part of the White House campus really, the Eisenhower Executive Office Building. A beautiful, beautiful, ornate, old building, the third floor of which, the scene of a fire this morning. Some kind of an electrical fire was what we received in terms of the information just moments ago from Alan Etter of the Washington, D.C., Fire Department. An electrical fire perhaps in a telephone bank area.
The entire building, as you would imagine for an event like this, has been evacuated, and at this point in time no injuries being reported, but, boy, the firefighters are going to be on this scene for some time today, Heidi.
HEIDI COLLINS, CNN ANCHOR: Yes, absolutely, and we keep on seeing them go in and out. We saw water -- we see the water pouring out of that window right there.
HARRIS: Yes.
COLLINS: Again, we're talking about the third floor here.
Kathleen -- Kathleen Koch standing by now. Normally reporting from the White House, but now looking sort of across the way at the Eisenhower building.
I wonder, Kathleen, have you heard any more about where specifically this fire may have started? There's some reports out there, but you might have a little bit more information on that?
KATHLEEN KOCH, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Heidi, we are getting some reports we're working to confirm right now that the fire began in an electrical closet adjacent to the vice president's ceremonial office. We're working to confirm that report right now.
But, again, while the vice president does have his ceremonial office in this building, he rarely uses it. He normally uses his office in the West Wing. So certainly, there was no indication that the vice president was in the office anywhere near it when this fire apparently may have begun -- again, we're still working to nail that down -- in an electrical closet. But again, as I've mentioned, there is all this renovation work underway in this old building, and so certainly may have had something to do with that, but we really can't confirm that.
And perhaps Alan Etter and the folks with the D.C. Fire Department, fire police, will get back with us and give us more information on that when they have it.
HARRIS: Yes. I'm still curious as to what kind of an event we're dealing with right now. Is it principally a smoke event -- water, a smoke event? Or are we still talking about firefighters in that building having to knock down flames?
And you know, Kathleen, we were talking about how often that building is used, A, by White House staff -- and I'll give you an opportunity to sort of tell everyone again the numbers of people who actually use that building. It's part of the White House campus.
But we also mentioned that this is a place where the president often holds events, press availabilities. Case in point, I understand yesterday -- yesterday, I'm being told that the president held an availability there in that particular building.
But all that to say this is a building that is used by a lot of White House staffers.
KOCH: Yes, indeed, Tony. And as I mentioned, again, the White House -- the vice president has his ceremonial office there.
So, yes, there are people who work for the president, for the vice president, hundreds of people who work in this very large building.
And as I had mentioned to you earlier, it really is one of the most fabulous, amazing buildings architecturally.
HARRIS: Well, it is a beautiful building.
KOCH: I told you that it reminded me of buildings that I had seen when I used to live in France. And indeed, I looked it up. It is an example of French Second Empire-style architecture. So...
COLLINS: Kathleen, I'm wondering. This is probably a pretty elementary question, but at least some of the good news here, when we're talking about the type of structure, and as you look at it, you can just see, you know, we're talking about granite and slate and cast iron.
Hopefully, this will be something that will help the firefighters, because those are not, obviously, materials that are quite as combustible as other materials that we have -- we have seen go up in flames before.
KOCH: Certainly, Heidi. And you know, that's a very interesting point because, having also covered, sadly, many hurricanes in my time, you often find that they don't build them like they used to. And some of those older, more historic structures really do withstand the forces of flames, of water and wind even better, much better than modern-day structures.
But again, Alan Etter seemed to indicate, when he was on earlier, that this was fairly limited and fairly contained. But they don't want to take any chances, obviously, with a building this historic. And obviously, just consider all the important papers that are in here...
HARRIS: That's a great point.
KOCH: Certainly -- and one would hope everything is also on computer and backed up and preserved, but certainly, there's a lot of history in this building that they don't want to see go up in smoke.
HARRIS: OK. Kathleen, we're going to give you an opportunity here at four minutes after the hour to do us a bit of -- to do what you do so well, which is to give us a bit of a reset on what you know and I guess basically when you knew it.
When did you first indicate or get word that there was a fire? I believe you were in this informal briefing this morning with White House spokesperson Dana Perino when you were kind of yanked from that unceremoniously.
KOCH: Yes, Tony. That was just shortly after 9:30 this morning. When I was in the middle of what was becoming a bit of a shouting match, which is quite unusual.
HARRIS: Really? OK.
KOCH: The press secretary, Dana Perino, who is very calm and very reserved and actually very committed to keeping our so-called gaggles and our briefings very cordial, but we were in the middle of quite a fiery exchange when I got this e-mail to leave, to leave and come right out here immediately.
And I simply could not fathom why, at that moment in the middle of such important breaking news, I would have to leave, and then I got the e-mail that the Eisenhower Executive Office Building is on fire.
HARRIS: Yes, yes.
KOCH: So I jumped up from my seat and I ran outside. And I saw the smoke pouring out of the windows and the fir trucks, and I heard the glass breaking. And then moments later firefighters were running down this driveway that is between the West Wing of the White House and the Eisenhower Executive Office Building. And they were not walking, Tony. They were running as fast as they could.
HARRIS: Really?
KOCH: Now you see we've got fire hoses that are unrolled down the driveway, but I can tell you that right now they still appear to be flat. They don't appear to have any water coursing through them right now. So apparently they are dealing with the fire inside with something at least other than water from these hoses that they have deployed and strung down this very long driveway.
But the smoke is billowing out really -- I mean, just giant, giant clouds of smoke for -- gosh, really since 9:30, but now I barely see any. Tony, do you see any from your vantage point there?
HARRIS: No, no, not right now. It's interesting you mention the hoses, because unless they've got -- and of course, they've got water sources inside the building.
But otherwise it would seem to indicate that maybe principally they're dealing with a smoke event at this point, sort of going through that electrical closet. As you mentioned, adjacent to the vice president's ceremonial office.
KOCH: Tony, I have some new information.
HARRIS: OK.
KOCH: We have a photographer who, as I mentioned, we needed to get someone over to 17th Street. And our photographer, Brian Aklovic (ph), says that right now from his point of view there are 15 fire trucks, three ladder trucks. One of them, the ladder trucks actually in use on that side of the building. That would be the west side of the Eisenhower Executive Office Building.
He says he sees no smoke on that side of the building, but they are going to try to get his tape out and feed it to us very shortly.
HARRIS: Great. Well, that seems to coincide with what Alan Etter from the D.C. Fire Department was telling us a bit last hour, that they have the situation under control right now, that they did everything that you would expect. They evacuated the entire building, that they have it under control. No injuries at this time to report.
And, again, this is the Eisenhower Executive Office Building on the White House campus there. And Kathleen, as you mentioned, this is a fire, an event that apparently took place -- oh, is that what this is, a live traffic cam shot right now? OK.
This is a fire that took place -- it happened on the third floor of the building, and I guess the indication from Alan Etter, and Kathleen has been able to confirm that, as well, this happened in an electrical closet, again, adjacent to the vice president's ceremonial office, an office that he doesn't use very often. Maybe having something to do with a telephone bank, a bank of phones.
Again, the entire building evacuated, and no injuries to report at this time. And this is a building that is well-staffed by White House staffers. This is also a place where the president holds press availabilities often, was just in that building for a press briefing yesterday. I understand signed a trade agreement in that building just last week. So stay with us here as we sort of mix in the live images and the pictures from earlier when this building was pretty much fully involved, at least the third floor of the building was involved, and then firefighters were on the scene knocking out windows and gaining the upper hand on this.
COLLINS: Yes. I mean, it's really been -- you know, it's sad when you see stuff like this. Again, we don't know the extent of the damage. We should be clear on that. But as we watch a building like this, of such historical significance, on fire, it reminds me a lot of how I feel when we see some of the fires that have happened in the national parks.
It is an unbelievable building, architecturally speaking, and the history significance of this building is quite amazing. So obviously, we are hoping here, as probably the rest of the country is hoping, that they will get this thing contained.
Very important to remind everybody, there have been no injuries reported when we were talking with the public information officer with the Washington, D.C., Fire Department. That is what he had told us. People have been evacuated that were in that building at the moment this all happened.
Another good thing, as we pointed out earlier, is just sort of the nature of the structure, being granite and slate and cast iron. That will help, hopefully, to knock this thing down a little bit quicker than maybe some other types of structures.
I know that Kathleen Koch is still standing by.
Kathleen, as we continue to look at these live pictures now, we can finally see some of the fire crews there on the ground that have been able to pull up next to the building and obviously have been fighting this thing now for -- not exactly sure how long. Maybe about half hour or so?
HARRIS: Yes.
COLLINS: About right?
KOCH: Yes, about that, Heidi. Again, I raced out here just about a half an hour ago, a little more than that, and CNN, I will tell you that we are most fortunate to have assignment editor Vito Maggiolo on our staff. He works with the D.C. Fire Department, and he was the one who was able to give us first word that this was going on, so I'm not certain that we were one of the first to get on the air. I think at least we were the first of the major networks with a reporter on the air talking about this. We were able to really quickly get on top of this situation.
As you can see we have the fire trucks on this side, as I told you. One of our cameramen on 17th street on the west side of the building, said he has seen some 15 engines over there right now, again, and several ladder trucks that have been deployed. One of them, again, with its ladder apparently extending upwards. Now, from our vantage point over here, the fire, where we saw the smoke coming out, the glass being broken, was on the third floor. Not sure, again, if that's the same floor they would be entering on the other side.
But quite a deployment of resources on the part of the D.C. Fire Department to protect and preserve this historical building.
HARRIS: Well, Kathleen, we want to bring folks the latest information that we have on this, obviously, and we want to replay a bit of the interview last hour. Heidi talked to Alan Etter. He is the public information officer for the Washington, D.C., Fire Department. Let's give you a listen.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
ALAN ETTER, WASHINGTON, D.C., FIRE DEPARTMENT: I can tell you the situation is on the third floor.
COLLINS: OK.
ETTER: There apparently was a fire reported, what appears to be an electrical closet or possibly a telephone bank area. The firefighters responded very quickly, got up there very quickly to make sure that they had this contained.
There's a lot of smoke associated with this. We're going to be here for a while to try and ventilate the smoke and make sure that no one is affected.
Of course, the building has been evacuated. The whole building has been evacuated.
COLLINS: OK.
ETTER: And we have no reports of injuries, which is very good news.
COLLINS: Yes. Very good news. Alan, listen, while we have you on the line and while we are looking at the live pictures, tell us a little bit more about exactly how this works. I mean, obviously, the firemen get in there as fast as they can and they try to do this ventilation, but it's a little alarming when you look at it, just as a layperson, to see all that smoke come rushing out each time they knock out one of those windows.
ETTER: Well, you know, we want people to rest assured that we have this under control. We have -- we responded with a second alarm response just to make sure that we have the proper manpower and the equipment here to handle if this -- if this evolves into something greater.
Again, firefighters responded very quickly. We got up, we identified where the situation was, with the help of the Secret Service, working with a number of agencies here on the scene to identify where the problem is. And we have, you know, staged units outside, which might be a little disturbing to some folks who are looking outside who aren't used to seeing this kind of activity around here.
COLLINS: Yes. Yes, absolutely.
ETTER: But you know, again we have no reports of injuries. We are working to clear up the situation right now. There's a lot of smoke associated with this, so we're working very diligently with the folks in the building to make sure that nobody gets hurt.
COLLINS: Yes. And you know, we've been talking a little bit about the renovations that have been going on there. Any idea from where you are and what you're hearing from crews inside about the type of system they may have had in place in that old, old building to contain fire or at least knock it down a bit: with sprinkler systems or is this completely being done by the fire crews?
ETTER: I don't have any information relative to that. I mean, I have not been inside, but, you know, I do know that in some parts of the building are sprinklers. I don't know if the sprinklers activated in this case or not. I don't believe they did because there was -- there was an effort by firefighters to actually contain this fire. So I don't know.
Again, the issue at hand is the fact that there's smoke inside the building, and we need to get that out of there before we can let people back in.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
HARRIS: Well, there you have it, Alan Etter, public information officer for the Washington, D.C., Fire Department. Sounding calm, cool, and collected in the middle of all of this.
It looked pretty dramatic to us, but Alan indicated that his team has got this completely under control right now. Third floor of the Eisenhower Executive Office Building.
Boy, you get a fire on the White House campus, and, man, it is all hands on deck. Fifteen fire trucks, we understand, were responding to that, and as we mix some of the live pictures, still some smoke there. But as we mix some of the live pictures with some of the pictures from a short time ago, it was quite a scene, oh, coming up on an hour ago, this electrical fire, third floor of the building.
But according to Alan Etter, everything is under control right now. No injuries reported. The entire building has been evacuated, and firefighters will be there for some time on that location, clearing out everything before folks are allowed back into that building.
We are going to keep an eye on this situation, obviously, for you.
COLLINS: Yes. In fact, we have sort of a unique opportunity here now. We have scheduled speaking with General Don Shepperd, who often stops by and talks about several different things happening in the military and with the Iraq war. And today we're going to be talking about Afghanistan.
But uniquely, General, I know that in your 40 years with the Air Force, you did a stint at the Pentagon, and when you were head of the Air National Guard I know that you spent some time in this building. What can you tell us about it for people who are just really not familiar?
GEN. DON SHEPPERD (RET.), CNN MILITARY ANALYST: Yes. It's a really nice office building. First of all, the outside is basically stone and masonry and that type of thing. It's been rehabilitated several times, built in the 1800s, late 1800s.
And it's just a bunch of office buildings. The administrative staffs of the president, the vice president, national security members and that type of thing, meet in there.
I never went to a meeting over there that I wanted to be at. I remember one -- I met one with Richard Clark over there. It was a very, very uncomfortable meeting. So I was glad to be out of there when I was.
COLLINS: Yes. I can -- well, maybe you can tell me that off camera.
SHEPPERD: Exactly.
COLLINS: You know, as I'm looking at some statistics here that we have been able to pull up, we're talking about 553 rooms. There's about 1,300 interior doors, 1,500 exterior windows. And when we're talking about...
SHEPPERD: Yes.
COLLINS: ... knocking out some windows to relieve some of the pressure and the ventilation of this thing, there's a whole lot of them obviously.
SHEPPERD: There is. And let me make a point, too. When the Pentagon fire took place on 9/11...
COLLINS: Right.
SHEPPERD: ... the new OSHA standards for paint and that type of thing saved a lot of lives -- paint, glass, that type of thing. So this building probably would have had the same type of stuff.
In the old days when you get lots of smoke like that, people would actually be killed by the smoke. They couldn't breathe.
COLLINS: Sure.
SHEPPERD: There'd be toxic fumes. The new standards save a lot of people. You can get the people out. The firefighters can go in, put out the fires, and then, you know, move happily on their way.
COLLINS: Yes. It's not a very tall building. We were talking earlier. I believe -- what is it -- five? Five floors?
SHEPPERD: Five or six stories. It's right down by the White House, you know, right down the middle of D.C. So it's a very nice office building and lots of work for the government goes on there.
COLLINS: Yes. Absolutely. No question about it. In fact, as you mentioned, the government, we are getting some word here according to our Kathleen Koch, that -- actually, this is from the press secretary, deputy White House press secretary Emily Lawrimore, that everyone has been evacuated safely. We have been told that by D.C. Fire Department, as well.
Just to give you some information about where the president and the vice president were, because we are hearing that this originated, this fire originated in some type of electrical closet adjacent to the vice president's ceremonial office. As you mention, a lot of business goes on here. Usually when we're talking about the vice president, he conducts his business over at the White House.
Both the president and the vice president are now aware of the fire. They were actually together, apparently, when this fire started. So Vice President Cheney is now in his West Wing office.
So we haven't heard of any schedule changes for either of them, particularly the president today, because of this. But just letting you know that they are aware of the fire, and I'm sure pretty much everybody in Washington, D.C., is aware of this fire.
SHEPPERD: I think everybody in Washington, D.C., has practiced evacuating buildings for emergencies, too. They're pretty good at it.
COLLINS: Yes, and it is a really good point you make about the -- about the paint and everything. Because this building is so old, again, we're talking about marble and slab here.
But Kathleen Koch, I believe, still standing by to tell us a little bit more about what you're seeing. We continue, Kathleen, just so you know, what we're showing on the air so we don't confuse anyone at home. We are showing video that was shot a little bit earlier. So maybe you can update us as to what you're seeing with your own two eyes right now.
KOCH: Heidi, actually we're seeing a very interesting plume of smoke coming out of the third floor of EEOB which, frankly, looks like it's not like the dark, full, billowing clouds of smoke we saw earlier. OK. That apparently, I'm told now, is water that we're seeing being sprayed. From our vantage point, it's very hard to see. But it's water being sprayed. So they must be putting out the fire.
Obviously, a lot of water there because we're seeing it spew out of that third floor window.
But not only is this fire occurring in this office adjacent to the vice president's ceremonial office, also on that floor very near where the fire is going on, many offices of the vice president's staff, including David Addington. He is one of those attorneys mentioned in the "New York Times" report today as being -- at least according to "The New York Times"-- someone who knew about the CIA tapes and was involved, according to "The New York Times," in the discussions over whether or not to destroy them.
Now, this floor also houses the senior staff of the Office of Management and Budget. Directly below where the fire is occurring, I'm told, is where the White House speechwriter has his office. Also White House communications. And right above where the fire is burning are some of the National Security Council offices.
So that's sort of a blow-by-blow of what areas would be impacted, one would assume, by both the smoke going upwards and the water coming downwards as they fight this fire -- Heidi.
COLLINS: All right, Kathleen. Boy, it's a -- it's a morning in Washington, D.C.
HARRIS: It is. It really is. And the best news in all of this, obviously -- I mean, you first -- you know, you're overjoyed that no one has been hurt. You're -- boy, a great building that's going to suffer some serious damage, it looks like.
Firefighters have had to be pretty aggressive about putting this thing out. General, you would agree with that, had to be pretty aggressive at going to work to put this thing out.
Again, it's the third floor of the Eisenhower Office Building right now, and, again, it looks like -- boy, as close as we can get to it, and Kathleen is right there, it looks like the firefighters have the upper hand on this thing.
General Shepperd, what do you think? I mean, you have to be aggressive about this thing, and you get a fire on the campus here of the White House. And I said it a moment ago, all hands on deck. As you look at live DOT camera shot here and 15 fire trucks involved.
SHEPPERD: Looks like they're on top of it. I've got a friend with a book coming out on the Pentagon fires that will be published next summer.
HARRIS: Yes.
SHEPPERD: And you've got to talk about exciting reading. What goes on with these firefighters inside a building...
HARRIS: When they mobilize.
SHEPPERD: ... when they mobilize in there, can't talk to each other, get trapped, get lost. It's amazing.
HARRIS: Yes.
SHEPPERD: You're going to want to read this book. HARRIS: OK.
SHEPPERD: I'll plug it later when it comes out.
HARRIS: All right. So there you go. That's the scene right now. As you see, the firefighters doing -- they're doing their work. Looks like they've done a tremendous job.
This is -- this is an event that started somewhere around 9:15, 9:30 this morning. And it looks like at this point, just due to the sheer volume of people -- resources thrown at this event, it looks like they've got it pretty much under control. No injuries to report. The building evacuated early on in this whole process as firefighters went to work.
I'm sorry, what was that Aaron (ph)?
COLLINS: Kathleen.
HARRIS: Oh, Kathleen. Kathleen, you've got some additional information for us?
KOCH: Yes, we have a number of people, Tony and Heidi, who work for CNN who also, again, are affiliated with local fire departments, do a lot of work with them. And one of them is our cameraman, Peter Morris.
And he's just told me that what we saw as we see this water spewing relatively high, and one would think, well, why are they spraying it so high out this window? He says they're using it to ventilate the smoke. He said that's a technique that firefighters used to move smoke out of a building, out of a room until they can get fans in place. So that's why we see it spraying in such an unusual way. And now it's stopped.
HARRIS: Well, Kathleen, and that would also indicate that the firefighters have this thing under control, as well. If they're -- if they've turned this thing into a process now where they're ventilating the building, getting the smoke out, it indicates that it really is a smoke event at this point, and whatever fire started this, initiated this in that electrical closet, they've handled that. And now they're just trying to clean up, make sure of hot spots, and ventilate...
KOCH: Tony...
HARRIS: Yes, yes.
KOCH: Tony, let me add something, though.
HARRIS: Yes.
KOCH: And I think this could certainly be an issue in ventilating the smoke out of this building. As anyone who will tell you -- who's been in the building will tell you, this building has very striking, remarkable, huge, enormous, stairways that circle from the bottom floor at the four corners of the building all the way up to the top floor.
HARRIS: Right.
KOCH: And these -- so these are not enclosed, modern stairwells. These are enormous, circular winding stairwells.
So the smoke has probably traveled all through this building. I could not see how it would stay contained in this area, and in particular because of the way these stairwells are constructed and located, again, definitely on the four corners of the building.
HARRIS: Well, you paint a picture that seems to suggest -- I mean, you could almost imagine the firefighters going to work in this.
Job one is to locate the fire. Boy, if you're talking about such an ornate building with staircases -- well, you're talking about a situation now where that might have been the most difficult part of this job, is just to sort of identify the fire, locate it there on the third floor, then find the particular electrical closet that served as the point of origination for this and then go to work on the fire as you're, at the same time, getting everybody out of the building and out of harm's way.
Wow. It looks like firefighters have done a tremendous job at this, in handling this, and now are at the place where they're using the hoses to take the smoke out of the building, to actually ventilate the building. So it looks like a tremendous job has been done by the firefighters here in Washington, D.C.
COLLINS: Yes. Certainly, they are the professionals.
HARRIS: Yes.
COLLINS: That is the case there. But just again, that live picture for you. It's -- it's upsetting to see, no question about that.
We're going to stay on top of it for you. Kathleen Koch doing an excellent job from her vantage point very near where all of this is happening. So we will continue to check in with her.
In the meantime, we mentioned just a little earlier today that we are waiting for President Bush to sign the energy bill, and Kathleen made it very clear to us that that is taking place over at the Energy Department.
Sometimes these bills are signed into law over at the building that we've been talking about all morning long, the executive office building. So that is not the case today. We are awaiting him to come to the podium there and actually eventually sit down to put his signature on that energy bill.
So we will continue to follow that. Should be happening any minute now, within about five minutes. You see all the other leaders lined up there and waiting for that signing to take place. We'll bring it to you when it happens. For now though, a quick break right here on the CNN NEWSROOM.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
COLLINS: All right. Happening right now in Washington, D.C., firefighters are inside that building. It's the executive -- let me try that again. Executive Eisen [SIC] Office -- you say it, Tony.
HARRIS: It's the -- I don't know what the heck it is now, Heidi.
COLLINS: The Eisenhower Executive Office Building.
HARRIS: OK. All right.
COLLINS: It's a very, very old building. It is on fire. I actually probably shouldn't even say that right now...
HARRIS: Yes, yes.
COLLINS: ... because the firefighters have been there for so long. And we are looking at those live shots of a couple of gentlemen there that have actually taken off their helmets, at least one of them has. It looks very much like things have wound down a bit.
Evacuations happened immediately. There are no injuries to report. This is all according to the public information officer with the Washington, D.C., Fire Department.
But again, the Eisenhower Executive Office Building, where quite a bit of White House staff has their offices there, at least ceremonial offices. So it looks to be the case, anyway, that that fire is out.
We've been following it all morning long for you, and we will continue to watch it for you.
HARRIS: And Heidi, let's take a look at the Energy Department right now. The president on the stage right now, prepared to sign the brand-new energy bill.
How about this? Fuel economy rules for vehicles about to be raised for the first time in 32 years. Soon you won't be able to find those old-fashioned 100-watt incandescent light bulbs. It's going to be a while though, 2012, before that takes effect, a total ban on those bulbs.
You will be able -- thanks to this bill -- you can do it now. But more so, you will be able to buy more energy-efficient appliances.
Eight-hundred-twenty-two pages to this bill. It was sent up to Pennsylvania Avenue yesterday in a hybrid Prius, so the president in just moments to sign the new energy bill from the Energy Department, and not from the Eisenhower Executive Office Building where we often see bills like this. The trade agreement was signed there last week.
Let's listen now to the president. GEORGE W. BUSH, PRES. OF THE UNITED STATES: Mr. Secretary, thank you for that introduction. We're all pleased to be here at the Department of Energy, particularly want to thank the employees here for their daily efforts to help our country meet its energy needs. Thanks for your hard work. Sam, thank you for your leadership.
As Sam mentioned, I firmly believe this country needs to have a comprehensive energy strategy, and I appreciate the members of the Congress for understanding that as well.
Two years ago I was pleased to stand with members, many of whom are here, to sign a bill that was the first major energy security legislation in more than a decade. At the time I recognized that we needed to go even further, and so in my State of the Union, I proposed an aggressive plan to reduce oil consumption of gasoline by 20 percent over ten years.
Today we make a major step with the Energy Independence and Security Act. We make a major step toward reducing our dependence on oil, confronting global climate change, expanding the production of renewable fuels and giving future generations of our country, a nation that is stronger, cleaner and more secure.
(APPLAUSE)
I do welcome members of the Cabinet who have joined us. I particularly want to thank the speaker and the leader. Appreciate your leadership on this important issue.
(APPLAUSE)
Speaker Pelosi is here with Congressman Steny Hoyer, House majority leader. Welcome, Mr. Leader. Leader Reid has brought members of the Senate with him. Senator Inouye, Senator Bingham, Senator Stephens. I think that's Senator Domenici there in disguise.
(LAUGHTER)
Looking pretty handsome, isn't he?
(APPLAUSE)
Appreciate Congressman Dingell, and Congressman Markey, Congressman Gordon. These are all leaders on their respective committees that helped bring this bill to my desk. I also want to welcome the other members of Congress that joined us.
One of the most serious long-term challenges facing our country is dependence on oil, especially oil from foreign lands. It's a serious challenge. Members of Congress up here understand the challenge, and so do I. Because this dependence harms us economically through high and volatile prices at the gas pump. Dependence creates pollution and contributes to greenhouse gas emissions. It threatens our national security by making us vulnerable to hostile regimes in unstable regions of the world. It makes us vulnerable to terrorists who might attack oil infrastructure. The legislation I am signing today will address our vulnerabilities and our dependence in two important ways. First it will increase the supply of alternative fuel supplies. I proposed an alternative fuel standard earlier this year. The standard would require fuel producers to include a certain amount of alternative fuels in their products. The standard would create new markets for farm products used to produce these fuels. The standard would increase our energy security by making us less vulnerable to instability -- to the instability of oil prices on the world market. The bill I signed today takes a significant step, because it will require fuel producers to use at least 36 billion gallons of biofuel in 2022. This is nearly a fivefold increase over current levels.
HARRIS: All right, President Bush just moments away from signing the new energy bill. Chief among the components of the bill, the first increase in automobile fuel standards in 32 years. The final bill, 822 pages in length. The president about to sign it from the Energy Department this morning.
COLLINS: The war in Afghanistan under review now. I'll discuss the rising violence with our resident expert. We'll hear again retired Air Force Major General Don Shepperd in just a moment.
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HARRIS: The U.S. military mission in Afghanistan under review right now. The problem, slow progress. Why? I'm going to ask our CNN military analyst, retired Major General Don Shepperd. He is joining us today to talk a little bit more about this. Thanks for being with us, general.
Admiral William Fallon has actually ordered -- he's the head of U.S. Central Command, obviously -- has ordered sort of a top-to-bottom review of the war in Afghanistan. What is he looking for?
SHEPPERD: Yes, he's looking for what are we going to do now? Basically things have settled into Afghanistan where you've got a secure government in Kabul. You've got an improving Afghan army and Afghan police, but the southern provinces, Kandahar, Helmund, Gardez, Paktia province, all of those down there are infiltrated by Taliban who can have a sanctuary in Pakistan, and then move across the border into Afghanistan and cause small-scale contingencies. They can't control the countryside. They can't take over the government. They can't take over the cities, but the question is, how do you deal with this for the future. That's what he's dealing with, Heidi.
COLLINS: Yes, and the question also is there seems to be a little bit of dissension on whether or not the violence -- and when we talk about the violence, what particularly are we referring to? What types of violence, and whether or not it's escalating?
SHEPPERD: Yes, I was on a conference call this morning, a background conference call with high-level NATO officials, if you will. And remember, this is a NATO operation in Afghanistan, not just the United States.
And what they're finding is that they can go out with even small numbers of troops and they can -- they may get shot at, but there are no big military incursions of any type from these Taliban and Pakistan and what have you.
You've also got al Qaeda across the border. The CIA is involved in trying to get the tribal chiefs to kick al Qaeda out of the Pakistan tribal areas, just like the Sunnis are doing in Iraq.
And so basically, what they're trying to do is come up with a strategy as how can we either get the Taliban to join the government of Afghanistan or how can we stop these small-scale incursions? I was at a lunch with the Afghan ambassador about three weeks ago, and he was much more optimistic, and you would expect that from the Afghan ambassador.
COLLINS: Sure.
SHEPPERD: But he said, look, these people can cause problems, they can blow up a bomb every now and then, but they cannot control the southern countryside, so the north is going well. The south is the real problem, and how to do that with more NATO troops or increase the actual (ph) NATO troops or get the Taliban to join the government is what everybody's dealing with and it's a complex problem.
COLLINS: Yes, and it is complex. I think mainly because it seems like NATO has one mission, if you will, and the military has another. Do they not -- how do they get on board so that they're fighting the same fight?
SHEPPERD: Everybody knows the solution to any war in the end is not military. It's basically political. How do you get the economy and the government working again and the government in control ...
COLLINS: Sounds like Iraq.
SHEPPERD: Exactly, it's a microcosm of Iraq. Iraq, by the way, is going better, but Afghanistan now is having some troubles. So the question is how do you switch from the military action, the shooting, if you will, to rebuilding a government, gaining the confidence of the people, and then inserting calm and security across the country. And it's a battle that they're going to be fighting in Afghanistan and by the way, in Iraq for a long time.
COLLINS: Yes, and on the heels of this new bill that has been passed, budget for the funding of the war, $30 million is going to go to Afghanistan. Is that going to make a difference?
SHEPPERD: Well, remember, Afghanistan's population -- Iraq is 25 million. Afghanistan is 26 million, about the same size. So that's a drop in the bucket when you start talking $50 million.
COLLINS: Yes.
SHEPPERD: So, it's going to take a lot of money and a lot of time to help things in Afghanistan. We're going to be involved one way or another for a long time, either militarily or certainly helping reconstruction of the country.
COLLINS: What about the notion of "the forgotten war?" I mean, we have been hearing that for a very long time, almost as long as we have -- this country has been in Iraq. I know that Congressman Ike Skelton of Missouri recently referred to Afghanistan as "the forgotten war." Is there truth to that?
SHEPPERD: I think there's some truth in that. In other words, all of our attention has been focused on Iraq. And the reason is the level of violence in Iraq was very high. We had a lot going on with our troops in action there. And now, that's started to quiet down. So, it gives us opportunity to focus our news coverage and attention on other problem areas, and Afghanistan is still clearly a problem, but it's not as much of a problem as Iraq is. Bringing Iraq to a successful closure will allow us to focus attention and bring Afghanistan to successful closure, hopefully.
COLLINS: Yes, hopefully, certainly. All right, retired Major General Don Shepperd. Thanks for your thoughts today ...
SHEPPERD: It's a pleasure (ph).
COLLINS: ...and thanks for helping us out with the fire in D.C. ...
SHEPPERD: Yes.
COLLINS: ...as well. You're a man of many talents.
SHEPPERD: Thank you.
COLLINS: Thank you.
HARRIS: Yes, author, add that to the list. Fred Thompson on the move. Looking for momentum, but is it too late?
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COLLINS: A search in a storm. Heavy snow in northern California making it tougher to find a father and his three children. They went out Sunday to cut down a Christmas tree. They haven't been seen since.
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LISA SAMS, MOTHER OF MISSING KIDS: Freddie did call the pastor at our church and asked for a Christmas tree stand, and so, they were assuming that they were going to come before they got the tree, but they never showed up. So, they just assumed that they didn't need it and that was the last anybody heard of them.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
COLLINS: Nearly 60 searchers are looking for the family this morning. Their pickup truck was found Monday night. The children are 18, 14 and 12. And coming up in just a few minutes, we're going to be getting a live update. Someone from the Paradise, California, police department is going to be joining us to talk more about what happened to the family.
HARRIS: What happened to Fred Thompson? You know, just weeks 'til the first votes, and he seems nearly an after thought. CNN's Dana Bash is in Des Moines, Iowa this morning.
Dana, great to see you. You spoke with Fred Thompson one-on-one. What has he got to say about his campaign there in Iowa?
DANA BASH, CNN CONGRESSIONAL CORRESPONDENT: It's really interesting, Tony. He is now in his second full day of a 15-day bus tour that's going to take him to about 50 cities here in Iowa and take him right up to the January 3rd caucuses. And this really is the kind of aggressive approach to campaigning that he was lacking when he first started. He got in late, of course, just in the fall. And many of his critics said, you know, we just don't think he has the fire in the belly.
So, I asked him on his bus why he waited until now to have this kind of approach.
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FRED THOMPSON (R), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: I've been working hard for several months now. You know, I think sometimes the media had a notion, you know, that because I've been in the movie business that I'd be well scripted, that I'd be slick, that I'd be perfect. And it was a standard nobody else was held to, but I think I was held to it, and so they concentrated on the negative and I've been doing basically the same thing the entire time. I've even started out with a bus.
So now, we're back on the bus, and having a good time doing it, and, you know, people are entitled to their opinions, but I haven't lost an election yet.
BASH: Do you feel though, now that you've been at it for a few months, do you feel more comfortable? Do you feel like you've got your mojo now?
THOMPSON: Well, you know -- I've probably to a fault, felt like I had my mojo the whole time.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
HARRIS: OK, Dana, so there you go. Great question on the mojo, and nice response. So, Fred Thompson says, look, I've never really lost my mojo. OK, he can say that, but what are the people saying who are following him?
BASH: It really is different, Tony. I was with him for the first day and a half or so, and he definitely has a different approach. He's trying to make his arguments sharper and crisper. His -- basically, trying to tell the people, especially conservatives, that he is sort of the true conservative in the race because here's what's going on here in Iowa.
He's still a distant third. This is going to be very hard for him to make a strong showing, but what he's trying to do is take advantage of the fact that Mitt Romney is somebody who is doing well here, but he is not necessarily appealing to social conservatives and Mike Huckabee is somebody who is appealing to social conservatives, but may have had a couple of stumbles, especially on foreign policy.
So, that is why you hear Fred Thompson make the argument that he is the best on all of those issues. He stands up both in style and in substance to make the point that he believes he can be the best commander in chief. So, he is going to try to close the deal, if you will, and have a surprise showing, you know, and he's been studying history. He knows that history shows that where we are, even though we're very close to the Iowa caucuses, where we are now isn't necessarily ...
HARRIS: Yes.
BASH: ...the way it's going to be on election day.
HARRIS: And there she is, Dana Bash, part of the best political team on television in Des Moines, Iowa, for us this morning.
Dana, great to see you. Thanks.
And Mike Huckabee is defending his new Christmas ad, poking fun at his critics. Some say a white bookcase in the background of the ad is shaped like a cross and meant to be a subliminal message.
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MIKE HUCKABEE, (R) PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: That was a bookshelf behind me, a bookshelf, and so now I have these people saying, oh there was a subtle message there. Actually, I will confess this, if you play the spot backwards, it says Paul is dead, Paul is dead, Paul is dead.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
HARRIS: Now, OK, Huckabee said the spot was done at the last minute and he that basically ad-libbed it. It will air in the early primary states of Iowa, South Carolina and New Hampshire. A sneak preview of Rudy Giuliani's new ad, it will be released today. In it, we see a lighter side of the Republican presidential candidate. He's in front of the Christmas tree talking about the lack of time for holiday shopping. So everyone is getting the same gift.
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RUDY GIULIANI, (R) PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: Probably a fruitcake or something.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: A fruitcake? GIULIANI: It will be a really nice fruitcake with a big red bow or something on it. I'm Rudy Giuliani and I approved this message. Merry Christmas, happy holidays.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
HARRIS: Nice, (INAUDIBLE). That was good. We will see what Giuliani says about that ad later today. He will go on one-on-one with Wolf Blitzer in "THE SITUATION ROOM" this afternoon, 4:00 Eastern, 1:00 Pacific.
COLLINS: What did the White House know and when. New questions this morning about the destruction of CIA interrogation tapes. The "New York Times" reports top White House lawyers were in the mix early on. The White House firing back. It heatedly denies the newspaper's claim that the administration has underplayed its role in the case. It calls the "Times" report "pernicious and troubling."
Next up, the Bush administration has to answer to a judge. Details from CNN justice correspondent Kelli Arena.
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KELLI ARENA, CNN JUSTICE CORRESPONDENT: Judge Henry Kennedy didn't elaborate. He simply ordered the government to appear before him this Friday. Justice department officials had warned that a court proceeding could complicate or even disrupt its ongoing investigation into the destruction of CIA tapes. Apparently, Judge Kennedy didn't buy it.
TIM HEAPHY, FMR. FEDERAL PROSECUTOR: If it goes the next step and Judge Kennedy allows the plaintiffs in this civil suit to subpoena representatives of the CIA, who have personal knowledge about this destruction, that is a very damaging fact for the department.
ARENA: Back in 2005, Kennedy ordered the government to safeguard all evidence of possible torture or mistreatment to prisoners at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba. When it was revealed earlier this month that the CIA destroyed interrogation tapes, some questioned whether the government had violated that order.
The Bush administration says it didn't. That's because in 2005 the al Qaeda operatives who were taped were being held at secret locations, not at Guantanamo Bay. David Remes, who represents several detainees at Gitmo, requested the hearing.
DAVID REMES, DEFENSE ATTORNEY: As far as the government is concerned, it wants to keep the foxes in charge of the hen house. It only wants the justice department and the CIA to look into this question of document destruction.
ARENA: Even if the government didn't violate the court order, legal experts say it could be guilty of breaking other laws regarding evidence.
(on camera): For its part, the CIA says it hasn't done anything wrong and the justice department investigation into the matter is still in its preliminary stage.
Kelli Arena, CNN, Washington.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
HARRIS: Boy, have you been with us this morning? We've been watching these pictures. Fire within shouting distance of the Oval Office. A developing story in the NEWSROOM.
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HARRIS: Well, it was a blueprint for the Declaration of Independence and the Constitution, and it is staying in America. A copy of the Magna Carta sold at auction in New York yesterday for, wow, $21.3 million. It is one of 17 known copies of the declaration dated 1297. This one's previous owner, Ross Perot. The new owner says the parchment may be changing hands, but not countries.
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DAVID RUBENSTEIN, ATTORNEY: As a beacon for freedom, I think there's no document that's more important than this. There are 17 of these, I believe, now, one in Australia, and 15 in England, and this is the only one in our hemisphere. And I think it's important that it stay here.
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HARRIS: Just a little quick history lesson for you. The Magna Carta is the foundation of English civil law. It lays out certain basic rights, like no taxation without representation and everyone should get a fair trial. There will be a quiz later.
COLLINS: Dad does all for his daughters. Boston area fathers top off with blond wigs for a musical chairs showdown. We have seen some of this before, but never quite so violent. The goal, to be the last man sitting. The prize, Hannah Montana tickets and backstage passes. The winner -- they are not messing around -- Rodney Elliot who called his daughter to celebrate.
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RODNEY ELLIOT, WON TICKETS: We won! We won! It's unbelievable.
LORI ELLIOT, RODNEY'S WIFE: He loves his daughter. He's a great dad, and he would do anything for them. And he didn't care I signed him up. So I'm just so happy, for him too.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
COLLINS: Good thing dad won those tickets. One Web site has seats for Saturday's concert going for as much as $942 each.
HARRIS: All right, 'tis the season, but not everybody loves those big flashy holiday displays. One homeowner could soon get pinched by the grinch. Grant Greenberg, of affiliate WHDH, reports from Massachusetts.
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GRANT GREENBERG, WHDH: A half million holiday lights and a crown on top of this Jamaica Plain castle you can't miss. Christmas decorations, councilman John Tobin says, could cause a lot of crashes.
JOHN TOBIN, BOSTON CITY COUNCIL: With the amount of people that come out there night in and night out and more and more closer we get to Christmas day, I just think it's a recipe for disaster that's waiting to happen.
GREENBERG: So Tobin wants Dominic Luberto to pay for police detail along the Arborway, that's a couple of hundred dollars a day to make sure people who stop to see Santa and his sleigh don't get hurt.
TOBIN: So it'd all be for nought if someone were to get hurt or worse.
DOMINIC LUBERTO, HOMEOWNER: Stop all this and just come in here and enjoy with us.
GREENBERG: Roberto says he just wants to provide holiday happiness without any hassle.
LUBERTO: There's 47,000 cars coming through here summer and winter, and what do they say about the drivers that hit the trees over here in the summertime? Obstructed by what? By the leaves on the trees?
GREENBERG: In fact, he thinks the decorations may actually do more good than the detail would.
LUBERTO: The traffic, as you see, is slowing down.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: So you're doing a service?
LUBERTO: Well, they should pay me really.
GREENBERG: The councilman says he's no scrooge, he just wants people to be safe.
TOBIN: While nothing may have happened last year, nothing has happened so far this year. I think we're just tempting fate.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
HARRIS: In case you were wondering, Dominic Luberto has about, wow, half of a million lights on his property.
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