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American Morning
Bernie Madoff Faces Sentencing, Victims; Michael Jackson's Final Moments; Autopsy Planned for Billy Mays; Climate Bill Face-Off; Lieutenant Choi Faces Army Retention Board Tomorrow; Dispute Over President Obama's Campaign Promise to Not Raise Taxes on the Middle Class
Aired June 29, 2009 - 08:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
JOHN ROBERTS, CNN ANCHOR: And that brings us around to the top of the hour. It's Monday, the 29th of June. You're watching the most news in the morning.
KIRAN CHETRY, CNN ANCHOR: Right.
ROBERTS: I'm John Roberts.
CHETRY: And I'm Kiran Chetry and it really is 8:00, a little earlier I fast-forwarded the time by about ten minutes. And I'm sorry about that, but anyway.
I don't think anybody remembers. All of those folks who are with us for those time check. They're at work now.
CHETRY: Right. Ten minutes early.
ROBERTS: They're on their way.
CHETRY: We're going to work 10 minutes early.
ROBERTS: Think of how much more productive they're going to be, more productive as a result of what you did.
Here's what's on this morning's agenda. The stories we'll be breaking down for you in the next 15 minutes. It is sentencing day for con man Bernie Madoff. Prosecutors are seeking 150-year prison sentence. In the meantime, the defense is asking for a 12-year term citing Madoff's age. CNN's senior legal analyst Jeffrey Toobin is going to be joining us for the very the latest on that.
ROBERTS: This morning, we're learning more about the last moments of Michael Jackson's life. His doctor spent three hours yesterday outlining exactly what he says happened inside of Jackson's home. And for the first time, Michael Jackson's family breaks their silence.
JANET JACKSON, MICHAEL JACKSON'S SISTER: I'd just like to say that to you Michael is an icon. To us, Michael is family. And he will forever live in all of our hearts.
On behalf of my family and myself, thank you for all of your love. Thank you for all of your support. (END VIDEO CLIP)
ROBERTS: And in just a few moments, the latest on the investigation into Michael Jackson's death. We'll have it for you.
CHETRY: Also an autopsy is scheduled in a few hours on the body of TV pitchman Billy Mays. He was found dead in his home yesterday. Now Mays earlier had said in an interview with a Web site that he was hit on the head when an airplane he was on made a rough landing Saturday. We are looking into reports suggesting that that may have had something to do with his sudden death.
Meantime, it's judgment day for the biggest Wall Street swindler in history. In fact, in just about two hours from now, a judge will sentence convicted con man Bernie Madoff. He could end up spending the rest of his life in prison, although his attorney is asking for far less than that.
CNN's legal analyst Jeffrey Toobin is here with the preview of what we can expect. And we also have with us Christine Romans who has been following this case very closely from day one.
Good to have you both with us this morning.
CHETRY: But I want to start with you, Jeff, because prosecutors are asking for the maximum 150 years. And Madoff's attorney is saying, look, you need to have some leniency here.
We think that 12 years is appropriate given his age. He's 71. And they're saying that he would be likely to only live for about another 13 years. So what are all the factors that Judge Denny Chin is going to be taking into account today?
JEFFREY TOOBIN, CNN SENIOR LEGAL ANALYST: Well, the main factor is the magnitude of the crime, which is enormous. Perhaps the biggest white-collar crime in history. So I think there is no chance that Madoff will get anything like 12 years. He will likely get probably something in the nature of 25 to 35 years. That tends to be what's standard in these enormous white-collar cases. But in federal court, you have to serve 80 percent of any sentence you get. So if he gets 30 years, that virtually guarantees that he will die in prison.
ROBERTS: You know, a big question, a lot of people have. We were talking about this over the weekend. When you got a scheme this big, does anybody think that he did this alone? Or did he have help?
CHRISTINE ROMANS, CNN BUSINESS CORRESPONDENT: Well, the question will be, can the government prove that somebody else did it with him? His victims all say this is so complicated and so big they are screaming for blood. More than just -- he has an outside accountant who was actually arrested, I think, and is now going to be facing justice on this, as well.
But such a huge crime, unraveling this has taken months and there have been, you know, hundreds of millions of dollars they haven't been able to find. A lot of people are saying they can't believe he could do something of this size alone.
TOOBIN: Well, in just in a physical, practical sense, all of these clients got statements every month.
ROMANS: Right.
TOOBIN: Full of false information about trades that did not take place. How were those reports generated? Someone other than Bernie Madoff had to know that stock transactions were being described that did not take place. But Madoff may have a small smile on his face today, because think about it, his wife gets off with $2.5 million. Not so bad. His two sons have not been charged. No one that he worked with closely has been charged, except for the accountant, we should point out.
ROMANS: Right.
CHETRY: Right.
ROBERTS: He's really effectively fallen on the sword now.
TOOBIN: He is fallen on the sword now.
CHETRY: And they also say that's one of the factors working against him getting a lighter sentence is that he did not cooperate with prosecutors and give any more information. But the other question remains.
What about all that money? What about restitution? As you said, his wife gets to keep, what, $2.5 million, and we're able to, what, gather together about $80 million.
Will any of these people get paid back?
TOOBIN: Well, certainly, the victims of this crime are going to get something. There is a federal program, the CPIC Program, which will get everyone $500,000. But many people lost a great deal more than $500,000. The bankruptcy trustee is -- has already assembled more than $1 billion, which will be divided up among the victims, but that will be probably pennies on the dollar.
ROMANS: And not all people qualify for that CPIC coverage.
TOOBIN: Right.
ROMANS: With the consumer protection, but not everybody qualifies. It depends on how you invested. And under that protection, you can only get back what you put into it. Not what you thought you had. Not what you invested over 30 years or whatever. And you thought it was $1 million. It turns out that initial investment is all you really are.
TOOBIN: Some of the victims are actually suing because they think that calculation is unfair. So, as always, this is going to be messy and wind up with the lawyers about how much everybody gets back.
ROBERTS: Madoff is expected to speak out on his behalf today at the sentencing here. Is there anything that he could say...
TOOBIN: Maybe yes, maybe no.
ROBERTS: Maybe yes. But is there anything he could say to sway the judge to give him the lower sentence? You know, closer to 12 years that Ira Sorkin is asking for?
TOOBIN: Abraham Lincoln himself, who could not be eloquent enough to help him out of this jam. I think, you know, he'll probably say how sorry he is, he'll probably say he's sorry what he did to his own family, to the victims. But this deed is of such a magnitude and of such calculation. I mean, think about it. This guy was engaged in a fraud every single day for decades.
ROMANS: And we still don't know why.
CHETRY: And that's what I was going to ask you.
ROMANS: Why did he do it?
CHETRY: Why risk all of that? Why?
ROMANS: I just don't know why he did it. That's what I would like to hear him say. Why in the world did he drag down all these people and these charities? Some of these charities blew up after this.
ROBERTS: Oh, yes.
ROMANS: You know, I mean, he destroyed the futures of all these people. Why did he do it?
ROBERTS: Tens of millions of dollars.
ROMANS: Was it ego? Was it narcissism?
ROBERTS: We may never know, right?
TOOBIN: Probably not.
ROBERTS: All right. Thanks, guys. Good to see you this morning.
CHETRY: All right. So how does it feel to finally get a chance to be face-to-face with this notorious swindler?
One of Bernie Madoff's victims is outside the courthouse. And before she goes in to make sure her voice is heard, she's going to be talking to AMERICAN MORNING live.
ROBERTS: Looking forward to that.
This morning, there are more questions than answers involving the death of Michael Jackson. Dr. Conrad Murray who was with the singer when he died, told police that Jackson still had a slight pulse when he found him unconscious in bed. CNN's Special Investigations Unit correspondent Drew Griffin has got more on all of that for us this morning.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
DREW GRIFFIN, CNN SPECIAL INVESTIGATION'S UNIT CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Dr. Conrad Murray found Michael Jackson in bed and not breathing, Thursday, in this Los Angeles mansion shortly before this 911 call.
CALLER: We have a gentleman here that needs help and he stopped breathing.
GRIFFIN: Murray immediately began performing CPR, and now through his attorney, we're learning Michael Jackson was still warm, still had a pulse when he was found. But Jackson never responded. Rumors immediately began circulating the death was drug-related, possibly a lethal dose of Demerol or an overdose of OxyContin.
Last night, Jackson's father Joe Jackson appearing for the first time in public since his son died told CNN's Don Lemon on the red carpet of the BET Entertainment Awards that the family is still looking for answers.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
JOE JACKSON, MICHAEL JACKSON'S FATHER: I have a lot of concern.
LEMON: What are your concerns?
JACKSON: I can't get into that, but I don't like what happened.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
(END VIDEOTAPE)
GRIFFIN: John, all the attention this week focusing on that doctor, the doctor who was basically in the room when Michael Jackson was passing away. But it is also Dr. Conrad Murray's attorney who was going on the record now officially saying what did not happen.
That the drugs were not administered. And just a short while ago on AMERICAN MORNING, this Ed Chernoff, the attorney, told Kiran Chetry what exactly did take place as best as he could.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
ED CHERNOFF, ATTORNEY FOR MICHAEL JACKSON'S DOCTOR: Dr. Murray prescribed certain things to Michael Jackson as a doctor. You know, he had medical conditions and medical complaints. Now, there have been some questions about whether or not he was taking substances that Dr. Murray did not know about. But as far as we know, Dr. Murray knew what Michael Jackson was taking, knew what he was doing, and can kept up with that one.
CHETRY: Right. So can you clarify some of the reporting that's out there about whether or not Michael Jackson was taking narcotic painkillers like Demerol, like OxyContin.
Did your client, Dr. Murray, prescribe or administer those narcotic painkillers to Michael Jackson?
CHERNOFF: Yes, I've heard those rumors. And one of the things that we agreed with LAPD was although we are not allowed to discuss and we certainly wouldn't want to discuss the substances that Michael Jackson might or might not have been taking, we can say this with clarity.
Dr. Murray never prescribed Demerol, never administered Demerol, never saw Michael Jackson take Demerol. And that goes, as well, for Oxycontin. So I think those are just rumors. When toxicology comes back, Kiran, that's going to be all cleared up.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
GRIFFIN: And John, if we kind of look at what's taking place here, the doctor has given this three-hour interview to detectives in Los Angeles. His car remains impounded because it may contain medications pertinent to the investigation. But the police are saying this man is not a suspect. He is just a witness in what is a death investigation. And the doctor, although free to go, has voluntarily agreed to stay in Los Angeles until this plays out.
We also do note, John, that the family, Michael Jackson's family did conduct a second autopsy or had one conducted. Now, those results could be in within days or at most a week because a private autopsy would take a lot quicker time to get the results back. Whether they share that or not is another story.
ROBERTS: All right. Well, if they do, we certainly know, Drew, that you'll be on top of it.
Fascinating to hear what the Attorney Chernoff had to say this morning.
Drew Griffin...
GRIFFIN: Absolutely. A great interview, specifically on this Demerol question because as you know, John, that rumor about Demerol, a hot shot even talked about over the weekend being administered. This attorney on record, and that Attorney Chernoff, was in the room with those police detectives. So he heard the three-hour conversation. Flatly denying that took place.
ROBERTS: Fascinating new details. Drew Griffin for us this morning.
Drew, thanks so much.
CHETRY: The other thing that was really fascinating when I asked him why 25 to 30 minutes of CPR was taking place in Michael Jackson's home before the police were called. They said, well, it's very difficult to get an outside line in Michael's home.
ROBERTS: Yes. That there wasn't one in the bedroom.
CHETRY: Right. That there wasn't one in the bedroom, and that guards had to be summoned and people had to call them. It just gives you a picture in to what might have been going on at the time.
I mean, you know, he's there in his house getting treatment with cardiac arrest. I mean, you know...
ROBERTS: And the fact that some of the CPR was taking place on the bed, which is a soft surface, with the doctor putting one hand behind his chest to support the compressions before they put him down on the floor to continue CPR.
CHETRY: Right. Put down on the floor after the dispatcher said do that -- get him off the bed, get him on the floor.
All right. Well, we'll have much more on this throughout the day.
Also new this morning, there's a bogus tweet that really shocked Britney Spears fans that went out there.
Hackers broke into Twit Pic, which is a part of Twitter where you can go in to there and post a picture, saying the pop star was dead Sunday. Twit Pic allows Twitter users to share these photos. Well, the Internet messaging system then shut down part of its service after that hacking was discovered because of what it described as a vulnerability in the mobile posting system. They went on to say they were, quote, "implementing a fix immediately."
Brigham Young University lifting its almost three-year ban on YouTube. The school is part of the Mormon Church. They blocked the site because too much content violated the university's strict standards. The university has since changed its stance, saying that YouTube has an increasing amount of educational value.
And "Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen" is well on its way to becoming the year's top grossing movie. Studio estimates say that this film took in $112 million in the sequel's first weekend and more than $200 million since opening Wednesday. "The Proposal" came in second this weekend earning $18.5 million.
ROBERTS: We were talking an awful lot in the last few days about Michael Jackson's death. But we also found out over the weekend that pitchman extraordinaire, the king of the infomercials, Billy Mays died.
He died the morning after he was on an aircraft that experienced a hard landing and was hit in the head by a piece of luggage that fell out of one of the overhead bins. We all know what happened to Natasha Richardson.
CHETRY: Right. She suffered a fall on a ski slope. She thought she was fine, and then hours later she passed away.
So there are a lot of questions this morning as to whether or not his death when he apparently died in his bed was related to that head trauma that he possibly suffered on that plane.
ROBERTS: Yes. He said he went to bed. He told a friend of his that he was going to go to bed early that night, because he was feeling kind of woozy. He wasn't feeling well. So was it related to that? What killed Billy Mays? Something we'll tackle coming up next.
Thirteen and a half minutes after the hour.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
CHETRY: Welcome back to the Most News in the Morning. It's a story that everyone's talking about this morning. It's a tragic and sudden death of TV pitchman Billy Mays.
You may have known him for his thick beard and his very, very signature voice that you could identify no matter what rim you were. And he sold things like OxyClean and Orange Glo and others.
Well, he was 50 years old. And he died just hours after suffering a blow to the head during a rough plane landing. We don't know what -- if anything that had to do with his death. But they are planning an autopsy for today.
Our John Zarrella is live in Tampa with new details for us.
Hi, John.
JOHN ZARRELLA, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Hi, Kiran.
Well, once that autopsy is completed, at least the preliminary results of that autopsy, we may all have some answers as to whether there was any connection between getting hit on the head by a piece of luggage on that flight or if it's just a strange coincidence.
You know, Mays started his career as a young man pitching products on the Atlantic City boardwalk. Well, yesterday morning at about this time, he was pronounced dead.
Now, many people out there may not recognize the name, but you'll certainly recognize the face.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
ZARRELLA (voice-over): At 50 years old, Billy Mays' career was at its height. He was the king of the pitchmen. You know the face and the booming voice from commercials for products like Orange Glo and OxyClean.
BILLY MAYS, PITCHMAN: That's the power of OxyClean.
ZARRELLA: Mays was on a U.S. Airways flight from Philadelphia that blew a nose gear tire during a hard landing in Tampa, Saturday.
Afterwards, a Tampa television station talked with him briefly.
MAYS: All of a sudden as we hit, you know, it was just the hardest hit, all the things from the ceiling started dropping, and it hit me on the head, but I've got a hard head.
ZARRELLA: Airport officials say there were no reports of serious passenger injuries from the landing or falling bags. But according to Tampa police and a friend radio personality Todd Schnitt, Mays was feeling out of sorts when he went to bed.
TODD SCHNITT, HOST, "THE MJ MORNING SHOW": I called him just to give him a hard time. Hey, Billy, how was the flight. And he spoke to me for about 6-1/2 to 7 minutes. He said he was groggy. He said he wasn't, you know, feeling that great, he wanted to get some sleep.
ZARRELLA: Mays' wife Deborah found him unresponsive Sunday morning.
LAURA MCELROY, SPOKESWOMAN, TAMPA POLICE DEPT.: His wife woke up this morning, discovered that he wasn't breathing and immediately called 911.
ZARRELLA: He was pronounced dead by paramedics a short time later. Mays have become a pop culture celebrity, appearing on the "Tonight Show."
CONAN O'BRIEN, HOST, "LATE NIGHT WITH CONAN O'BRIEN": I hear your voice when I try to go to sleep at night.
ZARRELLA: He also co-hosted a Discovery Channel series appropriately titled "Pitchmen."
MAYS: Wow, what an entrance.
ZARRELLA: People with big dreams would bring them products and Mays and his co-host would decide whether the items were worthy of a pitch from the best pitch man in the business.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
ZARRELLA: Now, his family says that Billy Mays had no history of any medical problems. He was set to undergo a hip replacement surgery not too long from now. And the medical examiner's office here in Tampa behind me will perform that autopsy today. But it's unclear at this point, Kiran, whether or not any of the results of that preliminary autopsy will be released today.
Kiran?
CHETRY: All right. John Zarrella for us this morning. Thanks.
Nineteen minutes past the hour.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
ROBERTS: Twenty-one minutes after the hour. This morning, a showdown over climate and energy legislation. The House passed a bill on Friday with just a few votes to spare. Virtually no Republican support. If it passes the Senate, it will dramatically change the way our whole energy structure is based in this country. CNN's Jim Acosta is live in Washington.
Critics of the bill certainly aren't holding back their fire here, Jim?
JIM ACOSTA, CNN GENERAL ASSIGNMENT CORRESPONDENT: Not at all, John. The Capitol has generated some of its own greenhouse gases over the last few days in the super heated debate on the energy bill. It just barely passed the House after the defection of dozens of Democrats. And the House Minority leader had at least one choice word to describe the bill.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
REP. JOHN BOEHNER (R), HOUSE MINORITY LEADER: How about in page 42.
ACOSTA (voice-over): Members of the House don't have the power of the filibuster, but don't tell that to House minority leader John Boehner.
BOEHNER: Are you kidding me?
ACOSTA: Who spent an hour, far longer than the time granted to members on the floor...
BOEHNER: Oh, here we are on page 96.
ACOSTA: ... reading and reading huge chunks of the Democratic- backed energy and climate change bill.
BOEHNER: And page 97.
ACOSTA: Boehner later said he wasn't trying to stall the measure. He told "The Hill" newspaper people deserve to know what's in this pile of (BLEEP).
BOEHNER: This is the biggest job killing bill that's ever been on the floor of the House of Representatives, right here -- this bill.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: The bill is passed.
ACOSTA: In the end, the bill squeaked past the House by just seven votes.
REP. NANCY PELOSI (D), SPEAKER OF THE HOUSE: Just remember four words about it -- jobs, jobs, jobs, jobs.
ACOSTA: For a nation that hasn't radically changed the way it uses energy since that "Schoolhouse Rock" classic on electricity, it's an ambitious plan.
The bill aims to cut greenhouse gases like carbon dioxide in the U.S. by 83 percent in 40 years by switching Americans over to more green power. But critics predict the measures limits on power plants and other polluters will be expensive driving up energy costs for families and factories.
SEN. CHARLES GRASSLEY (R), IOWA: And you're going to find signs on manufacturing doors if this bill passes that says "move, gone to China."
ACOSTA: Democrats point to a congressional budget office study that found the energy bill would cost the average American household $175 a year.
DAVID AXELROD, SENIOR ADVISER TO PRESIDENT-ELECT OBAMA: I think this is a phony issue. And the real issue is what is the Republican strategy for creating jobs this. This bill actually, they call it a job killer. It will create millions of green jobs.
ACOSTA: Still more than 40 House Democrats voted against the bill.
SEN. LINDSEY GRAHAM (R), SOUTH CAROLINA: The news is that red state Democrats are bailing out on the president's agenda faster than Republicans.
ACOSTA: Which is why the president is already spending some of his energy on the Senate.
BARACK OBAMA, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: My call to every senator as well as every American is this, we cannot be afraid of the future.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
ACOSTA: The president has his work cut out for him. This bill could have the most trouble in the Senate, where the threat of a filibuster is alive and well. But the White House says it is still confident this energy bill will have plenty of steam to make it to a final vote sometime this fall.
John?
ROBERTS: We'll keep watching it. Jim Acosta for us in Washington this morning.
Jim, good to see you this morning. Thanks.
ACOSTA: You bet.
ROBERTS: Kiran?
CHETRY: Well, we talked about Bernard Madoff, the guy behind the biggest Ponzi scheme in history. Well, he's getting sentenced today and there are people who lost their entire life savings and their way of life because of him, and they want to make sure they are heard.
We're going to be joining one of Madoff's victims next.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
CHETRY: Twenty-seven minutes past the hour now.
We have more on our developing story this morning.
How does it feel to finally face the man who swindled your entire life savings? Con man Bernie Madoff bilked investors out of $65 billion, all told. And some of the money that he stole belonged to Sharon Lissauer. So before today's sentencing for Bernie Madoff, she's going to make sure he hears from her.
Sharon joins us now in front of the U.S. district courthouse in New York City this morning.
Sharon, thanks for being with us.
SHARON LISSAUER, FORMER MADOFF INVESTOR: Thank you.
CHETRY: I know it's a big day. Certainly, Bernie Madoff getting sentenced, could face the rest of his life behind bars. Now you lost more than $1 million of your savings, that you had earned over the years from modelling, some inheritance money to Madoff's scheme.
What are you going to tell him when you face him in the courtroom during his sentencing?
LISSAUER: I want a chance to tell him that he's ruined my life, and not only my life, but the lives of thousands of people. And, of course, I -- as you said, I put all my savings from modelling and my mom had recently died. And I trusted him so much because he was beyond reproach.
So a few days later after I got my mom's inheritance, I put it all with him, and now, I lost everything. So I didn't put a half in, I put everything in. So I'm really in trouble.
And I -- of course, I want him to apologize, but apologizing isn't -- I don't believe he's sorry. I don't believe he has any remorse. And if he really does, then I would love for him to give any, you know, I'd love for him to disclose any hidden assets that he or his family have. So that's the only thing that would make the victims' lives a little bit better.
CHETRY: You know, his wife Ruth Madoff agreeing to give up almost all of her property. This includes her New York City apartment. They also had homes on Long Island, homes in Palm Beach. So she's going to be facing a drastic change in her life.
Sorry, can you still hear me, Sharon? I know it's a little noisy back there, because of all the press and so many people gathered for the commotion. But for someone like you, how has losing your life savings, how is that going to change the way that you live your life day-to-day?
LISSAUER: Oh, it's...
CHETRY: Hi, Sharon, are you all right? Can you hear me still?
LISSAUER: No, I can't...
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: How is it changing the way your life is now?
LISSAUER: Well, things are very difficult. It's very difficult to pay my bills. And because of the economy, I don't make very much modeling. So I'm really in trouble, and I'm very frightened. And I'm praying that somebody who is watching this, I would work very hard if somebody would, you know, would want me for a television commercial or a voiceover or something to do with a movie.
I know Edmund Druilhet. He saw my interviews that I have done, and he's making a feature film "Madoff with America," and he cast me as myself. And this will -- I'm not doing it for the money, I'm doing it so I can tell this story and they can see the life of one victim. How her life has been totally ruined.
CHETRY: And before we leave you, do you think you're going to get any money out of this? Do you think there's going to be some sort of settlement (INAUDIBLE), and that you're actually going to be able to receive at least some of your money?
LISSAUER: I can't. I'm sorry. I can't hear at all.
CHETRY: It's all right, Sharon. Listen, I understand it's a difficult situation out there with so many people going by, buses behind you, you poor thing.
Well, listen, I hope everything goes great in the courtroom today. I hope that you get to speak your mind and let Bernie Madoff know how you feel. Thanks so much for joining us, as well.
ROBERTS: Thirty minutes now after the hour. And checking our top stories. Iran's state-run media is reporting a partial recount of the country's disputed presidential election is now underway. It is said to include a random 10 percent of the ballots. Iran says five British diplomats who were arrested have been arrested have now been released, four of them are still being held.
CHETRY: All right. Now, two men, both say they're in charge of one country. The democratically elected president of Honduras woke up Sunday morning to gunfire, he was detained in a military coup and he was flown to exile in Costa Rica in his pajamas. Now the head of the country's legislature was then promptly sworn in as the new president imposing a curfew on citizens. The U.N. is now discussing the political crisis today.
South Carolina Governor Mark Sanford says he is not stepping down. Sanford told the Associated Press his inner circle convinced him to serve out the remaining 18 months of his term. His mistress in Argentina also broke her silence, but all the former television reporter says is that she does not want to discuss the affair.
Well, this morning, an update to a story that we first brought you in AMERICAN MORNING. U.S. Army First Lieutenant Dan Choi, a West Point graduate, an Arab linguist who is being forced out of the military because he's openly gay. And President Obama still has not moved on a campaign promise on getting rid of the "don't ask, don't tell" policy in the military. Tomorrow, Choi is scheduled to appear before an Army retention board to make his case on why he should not be discharged.
Joining us now from San Francisco is Lieutenant Dan Choi. Dan, it's good to talk to you this morning. Thanks for the update. What do you plan to tell the retention board tomorrow?
LT. DAN CHOI, BEING DISCHARGED FOR BEING GAY: Well, I originally thought that I would open up in Arabic. (Speaking in foreign language.) But I heard that they're having a hard time retaining and recruiting Arabic linguists so that might not be very fair. But seriously, I do want to tell them, and I appreciate the opportunity to tell them, that the Army values and the lessons that I learned at West Point, honesty and courage and integrity, those are the things that we don't just give those lip service. We actually act those out in our lives and in our duty and in our jobs. We can't just talk about it like reading it in a book and that's enough.
ROBERTS: Yes, that's something I wanted to ask you about. Because you talked about this in Davis, California, the California Progress Report. It had some of the quotes of what you said there. One of them was "they are firing people from their units in a time of war when you need people to serve in their country. And these people are able, capable, willing, and trained. You're firing them for the sole basis of who they are and the sole basis of their honesty. You learn that code of honor there at West Point."
And I'm wondering, how does the "don't ask, don't tell" policy fit in with that code of honor that was instilled in you at West Point?
CHOI: It absolutely does not fit in. And one of the most disgusting things that we see is the kind of threats that don't ask don't tell imposes on some of the soldiers that are honest, that are telling the truth about who they are. I faced and other than honorable discharge tomorrow morning simply for being honorable and saying who I am in truth. And that can really strip away a lot of the veterans' benefits to include an education, home loan, and even veterans' hospital and medical benefits. These benefits that I've earned by being a combat veteran of the Iraq war.
And so really what we're seeing is in the face of these threats and in the face of so many immoral things, we go back on our training. And we see that having honor and having integrity, those things are important as officers, as leaders, and as Americans.
ROBERTS: At the same time, Lieutenant, you're a member of an organization that is based on stringent rules, you broke those rules as they were written. Regardless of whether you think they're fair or not, if you break the rules, should you suffer the consequences?
CHOI: We all know the consequences. And if you look at the risks and you take a look at what you're up against, of course. It's an informed decision, but more important than the consequences, more important than punishments or those fears that we might have, we take courage and we take those things very seriously of the values that we were taught. And it's more important that we be honest with ourselves, we have integrity, and we have courage. Those are American values and they're under assault because of immoral policies like "don't ask, don't tell." Don't ask...
ROBERTS: I was just going to say, do you have any hope that you're not going to be discharged? Or are you just going to go there tomorrow to make a point?
CHOI: Well, I have a huge hope and a desire to continue serving in the military and, of course, whatever the outcome tomorrow, I'm going to work as hard as I can and continue marching for equality and the repeal of "don't ask, don't tell" and when that law does get repealed, I'll raise my right hand one more time and I will say I'll serve my country.
ROBERTS: All right. So just one more time, if you would for us, Lieutenant, the president has not moved on his campaign promise to repeal "don't ask, don't tell." What do you have to say to the president this morning?
CHOI: Well, I think the time is now. We can't wait to support our troops, we can't wait to end immoral policies that really are an assault on everything that we stand for as Americans. So we shouldn't wait one more day to stand up for American values.
ROBERTS: Lieutenant Dan Choi, it's good to talk you again. We'll be watching you very closely tomorrow, and I think we'll have you on afterwards and find out how it went. Lieutenant Dan Choi for us this morning from San Francisco.
CHOI: Thanks, John.
ROBERTS: Thanks very much, Lieutenant.
By the way, Lieutenant Choi wrote an open letter to President Obama about why he should not be fired. You can read it on our blog, cnn.com/amfix. Thirty-six minutes now after the hour.
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CHETRY: Thirty-nine minutes past the hour. We have more in our developing story this morning. Michael Jackson's last moments alive and the mystery surrounding his death. For the first time, his family's talking, an emotional Janet Jackson tearfully expressed her family's gratitude at the B.E.T. awards last night in Los Angeles.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
JANET JACKSON, MICHAEL JACKSON'S SISTER: On behalf of my family and myself, thank you for all of your love, thank you for all of your support. We miss him so much. Thank you so much.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
CHETRY: And our Dan Simon was there as all of this went down. Hey, Dan.
DAN SIMON, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Good morning, Kiran. Well, the sun just beginning to rise here on the West Coast. And you can see, this giant makeshift memorial behind me in front of the Jackson's family home in Encino. Meanwhile, at the B.E.T. Awards, it was all about Michael Jackson on the red carpet.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
SIMON (voice-over): From P. Diddy...
SEAN "P. DIDDY" COMBS, ENTERTAINER: He changed my life. He made me believe that anything was possible. He made me believe in magic.
SIMON: ... to Alicia Keys.
ALICIA KEYS, SINGER: His voice, a young Michael Jackson is a big influence on the way that I sing in a lot of big ways. So we miss him and we love and we just feel devastated.
SIMON: The celebs at this year's B.E.T. awards were speaking out about the death of Michael Jackson.
Arsenio Hall talked about Jackson's sense of humor.
ARSENIO HALL, COMEDIAN: Chris Tucker does a Michael Jackson move in "Rush Hour" where he kicks his leg up and slaps his thigh. Michael called him and said, "Chris, wrong leg," and hung up.
SIMON: Actress Taraji P. Henson said Jackson opened doors to other African-Americans.
TARAJI P. HENSON, ACTRESS: He's the biggest star in America, in the world. I feel like he's part of the gap so that Obama could be the president.
SIMON (on camera): A lot of these fans here were not even alive when Michael Jackson's "Thriller" album came out in 1982, yet all seem to understand his legacy.
RESA ANUNKWO, MICHAEL JACKSON FAN: Well, when I first heard about it, I couldn't believe it because he's had such a big impact on everybody, especially my community, the black community.
MARCQUISE JONES, MICHAEL JACKSON FAN: I think it was a huge tragedy to us all. I'm grateful we're able to celebrate here at the B.E.T. Awards.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Michael sent it to me a week later.
SIMON (voice-over): From those who knew him personally to those who loved his music from afar, reaction to his death is the same.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
SIMON: Meanwhile, still no word about funeral arrangements. Joe Jackson says the family is still working out all those details. We can tell you that Reverend Al Sharpton expected here in a couple of hours to help the family plan for the funeral. Kiran, back to you.
CHETRY: All right. Forty-two minutes after the hour. Dan Simon for us, thanks.
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ROBERTS: Yes, folks, believe it or not, that is actually that summer haze over the city of New York this morning. Just about 70 degrees there now, later on today, it's going to be partly cloudy, going up to a high of 82. No rain in the forecast for today, but don't worry, it's coming back tomorrow.
CHETRY: Yes, if you missed the rain...
ROBERTS: And the day after that. So if you're missing the rain, don't worry, there's plenty of it in store for you.
CHETRY: Rob Marciano is keeping track of that for us this morning. Hey, Rob.
ROB MARCIANO, AMS METEOROLOGIST: Hey, guys, it's shaping up to be the third wettest June on record in New York.
ROBERTS: Really. You'd never have known it, Rob.
MARCIANO: No. Well, would've by the way you guys have been talking. I guess your complaining has some validity to it, guys. Summer right around the corner, it will be dry today across New York. Boston seeing a little bit of rain. And so that seems to be an ongoing issue for them.
But, you know, would you rather it be 60s, 70s, or 104 in Lake Charles? That was a record yesterday. One hundred and two in Houston, Vicksburg, Mississippi also seeing some action, and New Orleans seeing 97-degree heat. Or would you rather it be so hot that you get thunderstorms that produce tornadoes like this one in Charleston, South Carolina? Big trees down and a lot of damage. It was only an EF-0, so winds are about 80, 90 miles an hour, but certainly enough to do damage across parts of South Carolina.
Temperatures today will be on the toasty side, but not quite as warm as it has been. Eighty-two degrees in New York. It will be 95 in Dallas, and that's a little bit cooler than what they have seen. But the ongoing trend is going to be one where the heat and humidity continues to stay in check here across the southern plains. But the cool trend continues across parts of the northeast. Highs might only get, might not even get into the 70s across parts of Chicago. Tomorrow 71 degrees, expected high temperature there, and 81 degrees in New York City. So the trend is, your friend as we say in the forecasting business and that means on the cool side. And at times, showery for much of the northeast and the western great lakes. But would you rather that or 104 degrees in the shade, not including humidity?
CHETRY: I'm kind of deciding.
ROBERTS: I don't think I want 104 degrees in New York City. That would be awful.
CHETRY: So it's the third wettest June on record for New York? So we're allowed to complain, okay? We can complain -- we only can complain two times more than this. Sometime down the road.
MARCIANO: Okay.
CHETRY: Two times more as often. Never mind.
MARCIANO: July 1 is only just a couple of days away.
ROBERTS: He's got the math thing going on there. It never worked so well.
CHETRY: Fifty-five minutes past...
ROBERTS: Thanks, Rob.
MARCIANO: Thanks, guys.
CHETRY: Rob, thanks so much. It's really 47 minutes past the hour.
Right now, we're going to be talking about -- you everyone's saying be fit, be fit, be fit. But do skinny people actually die years before chubby people?
ROBERTS: It depends on how neurotic they are about staying skinny, I would think.
CHETRY: Well, we have to see. There's a new study with some interesting results there. Don't worry about it, and even if it's bikini season, you guys might have the right idea. We'll see.
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CHETRY: It's 50 minutes past the hour right now. There's a live look from Atlanta, Georgia, where it's clear, 75 degrees, and later on today, it's going to be sunny and 90.
Well, after all we've heard about the benefits of getting in shape and staying in shape, it comes to this. There's a new report that says if you're a little bit overweight, you may actually live longer. So what does that mean? Is it actually good for you to be a little chubby? Our senior medical correspondent Elizabeth Cohen joins us now.
So tell us what is the deal with this study? I know it's a study out of Japan and they were using people's body mass index and they were seeing how long these people lived.
ELIZABETH COHEN, CNN SENIOR MEDICAL CORRESPONDENT: Right. What they did was they looked at a variety of folks over time. Over 12 years and they looked at their weights and they said how long are people living? And then let's look at their weight. So here is a sample of the kind of results that they got, Kiran.
What they found, for example, let's say someone's 5'6" and weighed 130 pounds versus another person 5'6" and weighs 165 pounds. The person who weighed 165 pounds was 17 percent less likely to die during the course of the study, which was 12 years long. Now, that seems sort of counterintuitive. You would think the thinner person would be more likely to live a longer life, but that's not what they found in this study.
CHETRY: And so what were some of the factors, I mean, that they took into it? I mean, did some of them die from things other than what we talk about? The biggest risks of heart disease?
COHEN: Well, they sort of ruled out people who got hit by a truck or something like that. The bottom line of what the study is that, a, this is just one study and there are plenty of studies to disagree with it. Two, Kiran, as you and I have talked often, BMI is a funky thing. If you're big and muscle-y, your BMI will say that you're obese. So that could sort of throw the results off. But thirdly, the bottom line, the thing we all really need to pay attention to is that weight is not the only thing that matters. Pay attention to what your blood pressure is. Pay attention to what your cholesterol is. Those things really matter, as well as weight.
CHETRY: So this is not an excuse to sit on the couch, eat the bonbons and not work out.
COHEN: No. I wish I could say that. Wouldn't that be great? But no, that's not the case.
CHETRY: Elizabeth Cohen for us this morning. Thanks.
COHEN: Thanks.
CHETRY: John.
ROBERTS: So President Obama pledged that he would not raise taxes in the middle class people making less than $250,000 a year. Well, can he stick with that pledge? Maybe, maybe not. Carol Costello's just saying this morning. She's coming right up. It's 53 minutes after the hour.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK) ROBERTS: It's beautiful enough to be a postcard this morning. Good morning, Washington, D.C.. As the sun comes up from the Capitol building. Mostly cloudy. Who writes this flipping stuff that goes in the teleprompter. It's not cloudy there, it's gorgeous.
CHETRY: The clouds are a little higher up, okay. This is the only part of Washington where there's no clouds right now. If you turn a little to the left or right, you'll see the clouds.
ROBERTS: It still looks like there's not a cloud in the sky this morning.
They do this just to annoy me, you know, mostly sunny, 86 degrees later on today.
CHETRY: Can you see the hail in the background, too?
ROBERTS: Not only is it hail, it's flaming hail.
Keeping taxes down in the middle class is a huge campaign promise for President Obama. And at least when it comes to your federal income tax. So far, nothing has changed. But we're just saying. There are plenty of other ways that the government can get your money. Carol Costello's live this morning in Washington.
Carol, you were the one who put that in the teleprompter right because you loved it so much, a week ago Friday when we had it wrong in Myrtle Beach and Charleston.
CAROL COSTELLO, CNN CORRESPONDENT: I like when you use words like flipping on the air and worse sometimes.
ROBERTS: I've decided to follow the Napoleon Dynamite principle, flipping is as racy as it gets here. All right.
COSTELLO: OK. That's good. That will not insult anyone, at least I think so.
ROBERTS: There you go.
COSTELLO: Back to facts we go. Right now, we've heard the promises the middle class will not see a tax increase. You can bank on it. The problem is republicans and even some democrats are charging average Americans will see huge tax increases. Some say they already have. Just saying. There's more than one way to tax the taxpayer.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
COSTELLO (voice-over): Gerry Bringmann puts in a long day as a construction superintendent. And he's worried about the economy.
GERRY BRINGMANN, CONSTRUCTION SUPERINTENDENT: Absolutely brutal. Everyone's tightening their belts, and nothing happening. It's the worst I've seen it my whole career. COSTELLO: So it's a given he really doesn't want to pay more taxes. That's why President Obama's campaign promise sounded so appealing.
BARACK OBAMA, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: No family making less than $250,000 a year will see any form of tax increases.
COSTELLO: And the president has followed through. He wants to give guys like Bringmann a break by making the Bush tax cuts permanent for them and by giving middle class Americans millions in tax credits. It sounds good, but just saying. Why do middle class Americans feel so overtaxed?
RYAN ELLIS, AMERICANS FOR TAX REFORM: President Obama, I think, and this isn't an unfair criticism is trying to have it both ways.
COSTELLO: Because he says there's more than one way to tax a taxpayer. Keep in mind, Ellis' organization opposes all tax increases. But as he points out, just one month into the president's term, Mr. Obama signed a bill nearly tripling the tax on cigarettes. And the White House hasn't exactly rejected the idea of taxing employee health plans to pay for health care reform.
BRINGMANN: It's nickel and dime, the stuff you don't see that gets you and that's how they do it. They make it so you don't notice it.
COSTELLO: State governments are playing that game too. The New York Transit Authority is raising fares to make up for huge deficits. Hence, Bringmann is paying more for his ride to work.
ELLIS: Well, on the state and local level, there's been a large push for tax increases because, of course, states have to balance their budgets whereas the federal government does not.
COSTELLO: So at least 23 states have raised taxes and fees this year, some in creative ways. Wisconsin, for example, is proposing a 75-cent monthly fee for any device that can make 911 calls. In Maine, there's an additional 5 percent tax on most candy. Kentucky has doubled the state's cigarette tax and now taxes alcohol. And Massachusetts, it's proposed a 25 percent increase in its sales tax. No wonder the middle class feels overtaxed. And is more cynical than ever.
BRINGMANN: It's just the nature of the beast. They're going to try and find ways to sneak things past you. Again, it's just part of the nickel and diming you.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
COSTELLO: Of course, President Obama is not responsible for raising state taxes, but states are strapped and they say they're not getting help from the federal government to balance their budgets. So they're adding taxes and fees. I asked for your comments on our blog, and boy did I get some. Some of them were quite feisty. We like that. Okay, this is from David. Perhaps instead of questioning taxes, we should be questioning where our tax money is going. If you're looking for quick reasonable tax relief, cut the bloated military industrial budget and the ruinous agri-business subsidies.
This from Jay Lovi (ph). "While I do not agree with all of the hidden taxes, money is needed somewhere. I smoke three packs of cigarettes a week, and while I don't like that the price has gone up, it's a necessary evil." And this from Tracy, "Three years ago, just for the heck of it, I decided to keep track of all of the various taxes and fees I pay in one month. I was absolutely floored by the amount. The number in kinds of taxes and fees I pay, you may be, too. All told, the taxes and fees account for 35 percent of my gross salary."
Keep them coming, cnn.com/amfix. We're enjoying them.
ROBERTS: Good deal. Carol, thanks so much for that.
COSTELLO: Sure.
CHETRY: And you're always welcome to continue the conversation on our blog at cnn.com/amfix.
We read it and we love to hear from you guys.
ROBERTS: All right. Make sure you keep those cards and letters coming because we love to see them. That's going to wrap it up for us. We'll see you bright and early tomorrow. Right now here's CNN NEWSROOM with Heidi Collins.
