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American Morning
Obama Weighs in on Professor's Arrest; Obama Pushes Health Care Plan; Michael Jackson Doctor's Office Searched; N.Y. Man Allegedly Helped Al Qaeda, then Informed; Freshman Years in Congress
Aired July 23, 2009 - 06:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
KIRAN CHETRY, CNN ANCHOR: Good morning. Welcome to everyone to this AMERICAN MORNING. It's Thursday, July 23rd. You had a little bit of a late night watching the president last night.
JOHN ROBERTS, CNN ANCHOR: Yes, and it was kind of like a policy discussion right up until the very end when he rang in on Harry Louis Gates and the arrest there at his house the other day. So, a pretty interesting press conference.
We're following several developing stories for you this morning. We'll break them down for you in the next 15 minutes here in the "Most News in the Morning."
President Obama, as we said, weighing in on the arrest of Harvard professor Henry Louis Gates Jr. who claims that he was the victim of racial profiling. The president's take on the police response and what it says about the state of race relations in America. We're live in Washington with all the developments this morning.
CHETRY: Also, new twist in the Michael Jackson investigation. Police execute a surprise raid on the Houston clinic that was run by the doctor, Conrad Murray, who was with Jackson when he died. We're going to tell you what police and the DEA seized in the search for evidence of manslaughter in the singer's death.
ROBERTS: And he's an American accused of giving al Qaeda information about New York City's transit system and firing on American troops in Afghanistan. Now we are learning he was also a secret informant for the U.S. government. CNN's Deborah Feyerick is working that story for us today.
CHETRY: And we begin, though, with the hard sell on President Obama's big promise of getting health reform passed, and quickly. The president taking it on the road today to Ohio for a tour of the famed Cleveland Clinic, and he's also holding a town hall meeting.
But last night, the president used a prime-time news conference to reassure Americans about his prescription for overhauling health care and also to keep the pressure on Congress to deliver. The president also addressing allegations of racial profiling involving Harvard Professor Henry Louis Gates Jr. who is also his friend.
CNN's Suzanne Malveaux is following all of it for us live from Washington this morning. You know, so it was sort of a slow and steady discussion. A lot of the questions involving health care until quite near the end of that news conference last night when the president was very candid about how he felt about what went down.
SUZANNE MALVEAUX, CNN WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT: Really a rare moment when you think about it, Kiran. You're talking about six months into his presidency. President Obama is putting all of his political clout behind overhauling health care. The stakes very high for him because it's really going to test whether he can get the rest of his agenda through.
But the president made news addressing something that a lot of folks have been talking about, this controversial case of alleged racial profiling.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
MALVEAUX (voice-over): It was the very last question that made the news, off script, off health care. President Barack Obama weighing in forcefully in race relations, commenting on the arrest of Harvard African-American professor Henry Louis Gates, who was hauled off by police after mistakenly being accused of breaking into his own home.
BARACK OBAMA, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: The Cambridge police acted stupidly in arresting somebody when there was already proof that they were in their own home.
MALVEAUX: The president made the point that even having a black commander in chief doesn't mean racism is history.
OBAMA: I am standing here as testimony to the progress that's been made, and yet the fact of the matter is is that this still haunts us.
MALVEAUX: But Mr. Obama also tried to diffuse the controversial subject with humor.
OBAMA: If I was trying to jigger -- well, I guess this is my house now. So it probably wouldn't happen. But let's say my old house in Chicago. Here I'd get shot.
MALVEAUX: The remainder of the evening all about selling his top domestic priority, overhauling health care.
OBAMA: Absolutely, it's my job. I'm the president. And I think this has to get done.
MALVEAUX: Mr. Obama threw down the gauntlet.
OBAMA: I'm not going to sign a bill that, for example, adds to our deficit. I'm won't sign a bill that doesn't reduce health care inflation.
MALVEAUX: But he did say he supported limiting tax deductions for wealthy Americans and imposing a surtax for those making more than $1 million a year, efforts to raise money to cover America's uninsured. The plan that has been -- that I put forward and that what we're seeing in Congress would cover the estimates are at least 97 to 98 percent of Americans. There might still be people left out there who even know there's an individual mandate, even though they're required to purchase health insurance might still not get it.
MALVEAUX: He also praised Republicans for their idea to create an independent panel of medical experts to advise Congress on how to cut medical costs. And he called on Americans and their doctors not to indulge on unnecessary and wasteful medical treatments.
OBAMA: Why would we want to pay for things that don't work? They aren't making us healthier.
MALVEAUX: At the same time, Mr. Obama tried to reassure Americans that despite the billions in federal bailout dollars, he was being responsible with taxpayers' money.
OBAMA: The debt and the deficit are deep concerns of mine. I am very worried about federal spending, and the steps that we've taken so far have reduced federal spending over the next ten years by $2.2 trillion.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
MALVEAUX: Today the president is taking his message on the road directly to the American people. He is visiting a Cleveland Clinic in Ohio. He's holding a town hall on health care at a nearby high school. It is all a part of his effort to put pressure on Congress to approve something sooner as opposed to later -- Kiran.
CHETRY: All right. Suzanne Malveaux for us this morning. Thanks.
ROBERTS: The disorderly conduct charge against Henry Louis Gates Jr. was dropped shortly after his arrest, but he is still demanding an apology today. The arresting officer, Cambridge police Sergeant James Crowley, says that won't happen, telling CNN affiliate WCVB in a statement, "There are not many certainties in life, but it is for certain that Sergeant Crowley will not be apologizing."
And Professor Gates speaking exclusively to CNN, saying that he is considering possible legal action, and he is planning to keep the issue of racial profiling alive.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
HENRY LOUIS GATES, PROFESSOR, HARVARD UNIVERSITY: I would be prepared as a human being to forgive him. That would not deter me from using this as an educational opportunity for America. Because if this can happen to me in Harvard Square, this can happen to anybody in the United States and I'm determined that it never happened to anybody again.
What it made me realize was how vulnerable all black men are, how vulnerable all people of color are, and all poor people to capricious forces like a rogue policeman. And this man clearly was a rogue policeman.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
ROBERTS: Professor Gates says the mayor of Cambridge, Massachusetts, called him to personally apologize about the incident. We'll be talking with Mayor Denise Simmons coming up later on in this hour.
And stay tuned to CNN tonight as "Black in America 2" continues. Part two looks at today's pioneers. That's tonight at 8:00 Eastern right here on CNN.
CHETRY: Well, the investigation into Michael Jackson's death taking a turn. Yesterday, DEA agents searched the Houston office of Jackson's personal physician, Dr. Conrad Murray.
Murray was with Jackson when he died. And while we all wait for the complete toxicology report, this is the strongest indication yet that criminal charges may be on the way. Here's CNN's Ted Rowlands with more details.
TED ROWLANDS, CNN CORRESPONDENT: John and Kiran, after weeks of investigation, it is now clear there is a very real possibility that Michael Jackson's death could be ruled a homicide. And the doctor with him when he died seems to be front and center in this ongoing investigation.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
ROWLANDS (voice-over): Los Angeles police and agents from the DEA executing a search warrant at Dr. Conrad Murray's Houston clinic. Then, Murray's lawyers released a bombshell, a statement confirming that potential case of manslaughter is being built against the doctor who was with Michael Jackson when he died.
The statement reads in part, "The search warrant authorized law enforcement to search for and seize items, including documents, they believed constituted evidence of the offense of manslaughter."
LISA BLOOM, CNN LEGAL ANALYST: This is the first confirmation we've had, and it's from the doctor's own attorney, that there's a manslaughter investigation. We're not just talking about prescription medication and some negligence there. An actual homicide investigation, that's a big development.
ROWLANDS: According to Murray's lawyer, agents took a forensic image of a business computer, hard drive, and 21 documents during the search. Murray, who was being paid $150,000 a month to care for Jackson, has been at the center of what, until now, has been simply characterized as a death investigation. Murray's lawyers say they were surprised by the search, but they say they provided everything detectives have asked for.
In another statement released this week, Murray's lawyer said, "Based on Dr. Murray's minute by minute and item by item description of Michael Jackson's last days, he should not be a target of criminal charges. Dr. Murray was the last doctor standing when Michael Jackson died, and it seems all the fury is directed towards him."
Meanwhile, the coroner paid a visit to Los Angeles nutritionist Cherilyn Lee, who says Jackson asked her for the powerful drug Diprivan. Lee said she turned over her file on Jackson.
CHERILYN LEE, NUTRITIONIST: I actually did lab work, and this is one reason why the coroner wanted all of my records.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
ROWLANDS: Dr. Murray is tentatively scheduled to meet with investigators for a third time later this week. Meanwhile, the L.A. coroner is still working on that autopsy report. It's expected to be released as early as next week -- John, Kiran.
CHETRY: Ted Rowlands for us on that. Thanks so much. We're going to have a little bit more. Attorney Paul Collins (ph) is going to be joining us to weigh in on what exactly they could be looking for and what exactly this possible manslaughter investigation means for the case.
ROBERTS: Interesting new developments today.
CHETRY: Nine minutes past the hour right now. New this morning, six people, including one student, are recovering after a shooting at Texas Southern University. The violence broke out at a community rally on campus where a popular rapper was promoting voter registration. Police say they think it was a gang-related drive-by shooting. So far there are no reports of any arrest.
ROBERTS: A U.S. counterterrorism official says one of Osama bin Laden's sons was probably killed earlier this year in Pakistan. Saad bin Laden is believed to have died in a missile strike by a U.S. predator drone. Officials say it's hard to be completely sure that he was killed because it lacked DNA.
CHETRY: And it turns out the battery-operated E-cigarettes do more harm than good. These were cigarettes that are battery powered lookalikes that deliver nicotine and produce a puff of odorless vapor.
Well, tests on samples by the Food and Drug Administration found toxic and cancer causing chemicals including an ingredient used in anti-freeze. E-cigarettes do contain nicotine, are not approved by the FDA. CNN contacted the largest manufacturer of E-cigarettes but the company had no comment on the FDA's assessment.
ROBERTS: It is a video that has critics asking, governor, what were you thinking? But this morning, California Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger is defending a clip that he posted on his Twitter page.
CHETRY: Yes. Here's a little bit of it. He was waving a big hunting knife as he was talking about needing to deal with the state's budget crisis. Talking about budget cuts, what do you have to ax?
ROBERTS: Slash the budget. CHETRY: Slash it, right? Well, some Californians think the joke was a little insensitive. The governor responded, saying just relax and have a little bit of a sense of humor.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
GOV. ARNOLD SCHWARZENEGGER (R), CALIFORNIA: You send a governor to Sacramento, not El Stiffo like some in the past were, but someone who is a little bit more entertaining and has a little bit more fun with the whole thing, not have fun with the cuts. They sadden me, but fun with the job itself."
(END VIDEO CLIP)
CHETRY: There you go. He had to explain. What?
ROBERTS: Nothing. I just love how he likes to have fun with the chop.
CHETRY: I know. And then he says "El Stiffo." Who was he talking about before that, huh?
ROBERTS: All I can say is get to the chopper. That's...
CHETRY: Poor thing.
(LAUGHTER)
All right. Well, of course, after seeing that clip of the governor, we were reminded of another famous knife.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP - "CROCODILE DUNDEE")
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Nick, give him your wallet.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: What for?
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: He's got a knife.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: That's not a knife. That's a knife.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
CHETRY: That's a knife.
ROBERTS: I think Crocodile Dundee's is bigger.
CHETRY: Yes. Who knows?
ROBERTS: All right.
So, the mayor of Cambridge apparently called Henry Louis Gates Jr., the professor at Harvard who was arrested by police the other day, to apologize. We'll be talking with the mayor coming up in just a few minutes. Make sure you stay tuned for that because it raises a whole lot of issues as to whether or not police procedures are appropriate when it comes to cases like this.
Twelve minutes now after the hour.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
CHETRY: Well, good morning to Oklahoma City this morning where it is clear, 64. And a little bit later it's going to be sunny and, wow, 90 degrees. There you go in Oklahoma City.
Fourteen minutes past the hour. Welcome back to the Most News in the Morning.
We have an update to tell you about. The Oklahoma state trooper who got into a fight with a paramedic that he pulled over while rushing to the hospital, you may remember that video. Well, a spokesman for the patrol says that Trooper Daniel Martin has now been suspended for five days without pay, and he also has to undergo an anger assessment. The trooper has said that he did nothing wrong, though the emergency lights and the sirens were not on the ambulance at the time.
ROBERTS: A billion dollars worth of marijuana, that's more than 300,000 plants. They've been seized from the Sierra mountains in California's Fresno County. Authorities also arrested more than 80 Mexican nationals with ties to drug cartels. The state and federal operation, which began a little more than a week ago, is aimed at eliminating drug operations from public areas.
And President Obama rejecting suggestions that he's breaking a campaign promise by not televising health care negotiations on C-SPAN. At his news conference last night, the president said the openness of both Senate and House sessions is out of his control but that he welcomes the idea of broadcasting those negotiations.
ROBERTS: And last night, just the latest attempt by President Obama to gain support for his plan to reform health care. It's an issue that is as crucial as it is complex. So, what would the president's plan mean for you? CNN's Brianna Keilar breaks it down for us this morning.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
BRIANNA KEILAR, CNN CONGRESSIONAL CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Here's what Democrats say their insurance overhaul would do for you, insurance companies could not deny you coverage for a pre-existing condition, and you would be required to purchase health insurance, or pay a fine.
Can't afford insurance? The government would chip in. And in most cases, so would your employer. So how much would you pay? House Democrats say they will cap your health care costs.
REP. NANCY PELOSI (D), HOUSE SPEAKER: There will be an annual limit on out-of-pocket expenses and no lifetime limits on care. There will be no more co-pays or deductibles for preventive care that can catch devastating illnesses in time. KEILAR: If you don't get insurance through your employer, some in Congress want to change how you buy it on the individual market by creating a simple clearinghouse. It's also called a gateway or an exchange where you could buy insurance after comparing different plans. Many Democrats in the House and Senate want a government-run insurance plan included among those options, insisting private insurers won't lower their prices without the competition. But Republicans say it will drive private insurers out of business.
SEN. LAMAR ALEXANDER (R), TENNESSEE: You have a very good risk of losing your health care and ending up, if you're poor, you're only option is a failed government program that none of us would join if we could possibly avoid it.
KEILAR: But Democrats and President Obama say if you like the private coverage you have now, you can keep it.
OBAMA: If anyone says otherwise, they are either trying to mislead you or don't have their facts straight.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
KEILAR: As you can see, this idea of a government-run health insurance plan is one of the biggest flash points of this health care debate. Republicans oppose it, as do some Democrats. And that's why we're keeping an eye on a key proposal that Democrats and Republicans on the Senate Finance Committee are working out. It's likely to include a non-profit health cooperative approach as opposed to this government-run health insurance plan -- John and Kiran.
ROBERTS: And, Brianna, what do we know about this co-op plan?
KEILAR: Well, John, we know roughly that it's going to include -- it will be a model, a health co-op model based loosely on what farm co-ops, rural, electricity co-ops, even credit unions use. But the details or just what we really want to know, the Senate Finance Committee has not released those yet.
ROBERTS: Right. Brianna Keilar for us in Capitol Hill this morning. Brianna, thanks so much.
It's now 18 minutes after the hour.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
ROBERTS: We're back. Welcome back to the Most News in the Morning.
A wild turkey ruffling some feathers in, where else? Tenafly, New Jersey. People say it chased them down the street. It was pecking at the tires of a postal truck and blocked cars from pulling out of driveways. Thankfully no injuries have been reported. That's just the dumbest line ever, isn't it?
CHETRY: Thankfully (ph).
ROBERTS: Police...
CHETRY: What? You could really get hurt with a turkey.
ROBERTS: You might get -- you know, you might get hurt...
CHETRY: I know somebody who got their nose broken by her pet turkey.
GERRI WILLIS, CNN PERSONAL FINANCE EDITOR: Oh, get out.
CHETRY: I swear. That pet turkey...
ROBERTS: I think the only way you can get hurt with a turkey is if somebody has a frozen turkey and hit you upside the head with it.
CHETRY: Well, you know what unfortunately happened in one of those when someone dropped one off a bridge. But, no, seriously, turkeys are dangerous. And REP (ph), by the way, the guy who runs the whole show, lives in Tenafly.
ROBERTS: The only danger from a turkey is if it's smothered in gravy, and then have too much mashed potatoes and eat it all in one sitting.
WILLIS: Which is not a bad idea.
ROBERTS: Yes.
WILLIS: Let me say this about that.
CHETRY: I'm bringing a wild turkey in and put it in John Roberts. I'm going to see who comes out the winner.
WILLIS: OK. From bird flu to bird blues.
CHETRY: You'll come out with turkeys -- like feathers stuck in your head.
Hi, Gerri.
WILLIS: I'm so sorry. I actually have something interesting to talk about today.
CHETRY: I know you do. That's why you're here.
(CROSSTALK)
WILLIS: Yes, I do.
ROBERTS: Oh, it's the turkey in Tenafly.
WILLIS: Yes, I do.
CHETRY: Minding your business this morning. What's going on?
WILLIS: Well... ROBERTS: Find the turkey that's terrorizing Tenafly.
WILLIS: You're right. That was a good story. OK.
Consumer Product Safety Commission, you heard about that. Well, the federal government wants to put in place something called a Consumer Protection Agency for financial products. And guess what, this idea is under assault mainly from the financial industry, as you might guess.
Here's what this thing would do. It would regulate mortgages, credit cards, insurance, and would have pretty impressive powers. It could examine subpoena information from banks. They've got the power to ban products deemed deceptive.
It's been a big wide-ranging proposal out there from the president. It's under assault, as I said before. And now the House Financial Services Committee Chairman Barney Frank says, hey, we need a national debate on this.
Here's what the opposition says is that the Federal Reserve should keep these powers and in fact, Ben Bernanke said just yesterday that he would like to have those powers concentrated in the fed for consumer protection. It could stifle innovation and financial products (INAUDIBLE), and they could limit the availability of consumer credit.
We are going to be debating this, I think, all this summer. Some 200 consumer groups try to, you know, bring this issue to bear, get it debated. You know, Frank will have some kind of debate on Capitol Hill, certainly in a committee meeting and we'll get all the details on this.
But I have to tell you, this is going to be a tough fight because I think these financial services companies, they do not want to see this happen because they say this is going to really curtail what we do, really rein it in and they don't want to see it.
CHETRY: It's interesting though, because one of the things we talked about as we were arguing over the bailout, or as our government was, is that in the future we needed stronger regulation to make sure this doesn't happen again.
WILLIS: Right. Exactly. And remember "NINJA," remember "no income, no job, anybody can get a loan," you know, stated income loans, all of these kinds of excesses, people say we need some reining in of that. The industry says some of those products are the right kind of thing for people who have a lot of money, can make any kind of payment they want every week on their mortgage.
We've seen excesses in the credit card industry as well. Question is, how do you regulate that? Who should regulate it? Should it be the fed? Should it be other agencies?
CHETRY: All right. Gerri Willis for us, "Minding Your Business" this morning. Thanks. Minding your business and your turkey.
WILLIS: That's right.
CHETRY: And how about this one? She was the most famous dog in America at one point. Remember Gidget, the Chihuahua, "Yo quiero Taco Bell." Well, she -- she actually played a male dog in the commercials, but she's now died.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Yo quiero Taco Bell.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
CHETRY: They say that she had a stroke. It's so sad.
ROBERTS: Oh, poor thing.
CHETRY: Anyway, she was a diva, her handlers say off screen, and she spent her final days like many Hollywood stars. They say retired, lying in the sun. She was 15. So...
ROBERTS: Getting up there.
CHETRY: Yes. Little dogs live a long time. But do you remember after those commercials -- I mean, people were buying Chihuahuas like crazy. And they were getting nervous about it saying that, you know, people see this commercial they think they're so cute but they're really are a lot of work.
ROBERTS: Yes.
WILLIS: And it was a girl dog.
CHETRY: Yes.
ROBERTS: It was.
WILLIS: I didn't know that.
ROBERTS: If you're going to have an animal, make sure that you have the time to take care of it.
CHETRY: Yes.
ROBERTS: It's coming up on 26 minutes after the hour. Coming right up, Deb Feyerick on this crazy story of an al Qaeda informant who was caught. Was he an al Qaeda informant or was he a U.S. informant? The tangled tale, she'll unravel it for us this morning. Stay tuned.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
ROBERTS: Beautiful shot of the capitol building in Austin, Texas, this morning where right now it's clear and 75 degrees. Going to be a scorcher there in the capital and in the hill country surrounding it. Ninety-seven degrees and sunny today.
Welcome back to the Most News in the Morning. President Obama taking his campaign for health care reform to Cleveland today after last night's primetime news conference.
We've got reaction from some of the sharpest political minds today. At 6:56, James Carville and Bill Bennett will join us. 7:30 Eastern, we'll talk with the president's senior adviser, David Axelrod. And at 7:38, we'll hear from former New York Mayor Rudy Giuliani about all this.
It's coming up on the half hour, and checking our top stories. President Obama says police in Cambridge, Massachusetts "acted stupidly" when they arrested Harvard professor Henry Louis Gates Jr. after a confrontation at his home. Gates insists he was arrested because he was black and is considering legal action if he doesn't get an apology. The president says the incident shows how race remains a factor in America.
In a few minutes, we'll talk with the Cambridge mayor about the case.
CHETRY: Secretary of State Hillary Clinton is calling on Asian nations to vigorously enforce the U.N. sanction against North Korea after the North said that it will not resume Six-party talks to end its nuclear program. That announcement came from Pyongyang at a security conference in Thailand where officials said it was the "deep- rooted anti-North Korean policy of the U.S., for the reason why they rejected these talks.
ROBERTS: It reads like the plot of a thriller. A New York man accused of giving al Qaeda leaders information about the New York City transit system and the Long Island commuter railroad. But it turns out the suspect was also a secret informant for the U.S. government. CNN's Deb Feyerick is working the story and she joins us now.
Good morning, Deb.
DEBORAH FEYERICK, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Good morning. And he became an informant after he was captured. The 26-year-old American Bryan Neal Vinas (ph) left Long Island to train with al Qaeda in Pakistan, according to the unsealed indictment. Now he pled guilty in January with conspiring to attack U.S. military bases in Afghanistan and also with providing details of the New York transit system in Long Island Rail Road to al Qaeda militants that may have led to a heightened alert back in November.
Now, a source close to the investigation says Venice was arrested in Pakistan about a year and a half after leaving Long Island and the mosque he attended there.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
COLLEEN PRUNTY, NEIGHBOR: Honestly, you know that it's out there, but you don't truly think it's in your own backyard or next door to you. That's a scary thing. NAYAR IMAM, PRESIDENT, ISLAMIC ASSOCIATION OF LONG ISLAND: I have a feeling that everything that he have done, he have done when he left the mosque about a year and a half ago. So, when he was there, I don't think that he was --- I don't think that at that time he was involved in any kind of activities which leads to what happened in Afghanistan.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
FEYERICK: Now, the imam in his mosque describes him as a convert to Islam. Vinas was arrested in Pakistan, and the European intelligence source tells us that he was linked to Moez Garsallaoui, a Tunisian Islamist militant, at training camps in Pakistan.
The source says Vinas also was tied to a Belgian cell, and after his capture he cooperated with European authorities in an operation that led to the arrest of Hicham Beyayo in one of the largest counter- terrorism operations in Belgium history.
Last December, Vinas trained with al Qaeda using the name Bashir al-Ameriki and Ben Yameen al-Kandee, references to both America and Canada - John.
ROBERTS: So, what happens to him now?
FEYERICK: He is being held. He's cooperating. He did plead guilty, but he has not been sentenced yet. So, there you have it.
ROBERTS: All right. Deb Feyerick for us this morning. Deb, thanks so much.
CHETRY: So, police building a manslaughter case against the doctor who was with Michael Jackson when he died. Former prosecutor and criminal defense attorney Paul Callan is going to be joining us next with the latest details on this new twist in the Jackson death investigation.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
CHETRY: Thirty-five minutes past the hour. Welcome back to the Most News in the Morning.
Right now, authorities are stepping up their hunt for clues in Michael Jackson's death that may have related possibly to a criminal act. They are armed with a search warrant yesterday and they raided the office of Dr. Conrad Murray. Now he's the doctor who was with Michael Jackson at the time of his death. Murray's lawyer confirms this, saying that they were searching for evidence that would support a manslaughter charge.
So, here to walk us through the legal implications of this, Paul Callan, a former New York City homicide prosecutor, currently a criminal defense attorney.
Paul, good to have you with us this morning.
PAUL CALLAN, FORMER NEW YORK CITY HOMICIDE PROSECUTOR: Nice to be here.
CHETRY: So again, this was confirmed by the attorney for Conrad Murray, and they're saying that they raided the clinic and looking for evidence of manslaughter.
So, how significant is this?
CALLAN: Well, this is a major development in the case. I mean, here we have Conrad Murray's attorney admitting that there's an ongoing manslaughter investigation. And we know that a Los Angeles judge has issued a search warrant. Now, judges can only issue a search warrant where there's probable cause to believe a crime has been committed, in this case, manslaughter, and there's probable cause to believe that evidence of that crime is at Dr. Conrad Murray's office.
So, I think that we can safely say that authorities are looking at him probably as a suspect. They're certainly hostile to his position at this point.
CHETRY: What's the difference between looking for evidence of an accidental overdose if you're dealing with drugs, or if you're dealing with prescription medication that was given? What is the difference in terms of whether or not it crosses that line and turns criminal?
CALLAN: Well, there's a major difference here, because we know from the attorney's statement that they're looking at this as a manslaughter. So we would have to assume that if a doctor, and in this case, if it were Conrad Murray, prescribed the drug, he prescribed it in a reckless or grossly reckless manner, knowing that it might cause the death of the patient.
That's where it crosses the line. I mean, you can have ordinary negligence where a prescription drug is given to a patient and the patient gets hurt. That's a medical malpractice case. But where it's gross or reckless conduct, it crosses the line into criminality.
CHETRY: And in order to even execute the search warrant, LAPD has to have some evidence, right? They need to get permission to do that, right?
So, what would the probable cause be in this case given that the autopsy report has not been made public or released?
CALLAN: Well, my suspicion is that police know about at least aspects of the autopsy report. They have to go to a judge and prove to the judge that it's more probable than not, more likely than not, that manslaughter occurred here.
So, I think you're going to see that they have toxicology reports and they probably have other corroborating evidence that Michael Jackson had access to illegal prescription drugs, possibly the drug Propofol, which is an anesthetic and it caused his death.
CHETRY: And this is where we get into the interesting part about this. I mean, we have talked about other celebrities, Anna Nicole Smith, her doctor's potentially facing charges, and other situations in the death of Elvis, his doctor was investigated. In this situation, a patient couldn't give themselves Proponol, right -- Propofol, because you have to inject it and then you would, you know, be out. It's a sedative.
CALLAN: Yes.
CHETRY: Does that make a difference here in terms of negligence versus actual manslaughter?
CALLAN: Well, I think it makes a huge difference, because usually in these cases you're looking at a drug like Dilaudid or OxyContin, where the patient takes it for pain.
CHETRY: Painkiller.
CALLAN: With Propofol, it's used only as an anesthetic to put somebody to sleep so that an operation can be done. So, why would Michael Jackson have this drug? If he had the drug, he had it improperly, and self administration would clearly be reckless, and it would implicate whatever individual gave him that drug.
So, this is a big development in this case.
CHETRY: They also talk about investigators removing a forensic image off of a computer hard drive and also 21 documents from Murray's clinic. What might these materials indicate in terms of making a potential case -- of a forensic image off the computer?
CALLAN: Well, I suspect that police are looking for a forensic paper trail that will link Conrad Murray to improper prescriptions given to Michael Jackson. Obviously, they must think that there's something on his computer. It might have something to do directly with a relationship with Jackson. It might reveal sources of drugs. Where did Murray, if he prescribed Propofol or gave him Propofol, where did he get the Propofol?
Remember, they have recovered this drug, so they probably know where, what manufacturer it came from. Now, they're trying to link it to Murray through the computer.
That's my bet. But of course, we are speculating here and we have to make that very, very clear. Until an indictment is handed down, we won't know for sure.
CHETRY: Right. And until we get more details about the toxicology and the full autopsy, it's hard to know for sure.
CALLAN: Right. And he's always presumed innocent under our system, of course.
CHETRY: Of course. Paul Callan, great to talk to you.
CALLAN: Nice to be here.
CHETRY: Thanks for being with us this morning - John. ROBERTS: A check of the "AM Rundown" for you.
President Obama says the Cambridge Police Department acted stupidly in the arrest of Harvard professor Henry Louis Gates, Jr. In just a moment, we'll find out what the mayor of Cambridge has to say about it.
Two freshman congressmen from two very different walks of life will give you an inside look of what life is like for them on Capitol Hill.
And President Obama makes a primetime pitch for health care reform, but did he get the message across? Reaction from both sides when we talk to Bill Bennett and James Carville straight ahead.
It's now 20 minutes to the top of the hour.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
ROBERTS: Welcome back to the Most News in the Morning.
He came to talk about health care, but the biggest news coming out of President Obama's press conference last night was his take on the arrest of a friend, Harvard professor Henry Louis Gates Jr.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
BARACK OBAMA, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: Police acted stupidly in arresting somebody when there was already proof that they were in their own home.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
Gates was hauled off by police after mistakenly being accused of trying to break into his own home. He claims that he was a victim of racial profiling and wants an apology from the Cambridge police.
Joining us now is the mayor of Cambridge, Massachusetts, E. Denise Simmons.
Mayor Simmons, it's good to talk to you this morning. Thanks very much for being with us.
You heard what the president said last night that he believes that the Cambridge police acted stupidly in doing what they did. What do you think?
MAYOR E.DENISE SIMMONS, CAMBRIDGE, MASSACHUSETTS: Well, I'm not going to render an opinion on the president's opinion. What I would say is that the circumstances are certainly unfortunate.
ROBERTS: Yes, I know. I wasn't asking you to render an opinion on the president's opinion. I was asking you about what you thought of what he said. Do you agree that the police acted stupidly in this case? SIMMONS: Well, what I am saying is that it was an unfortunate circumstance of what happened. And we're still trying to -- I am still trying to talk to all of the individuals that were involved to find out what happened, how it happened and how could we have prevented it from happening.
ROBERTS: Professor Gates said last night to Soledad O'Brien in our coverage of "BLACK IN AMERICA 2" that you called him to apologize. Can we ask what you said to him?
SIMMONS: First, I wanted to call him to see how he was doing, was he OK. I wanted to apologize from how he's been exposed to this circumstance. And I certainly said to him that when he got back to Cambridge -- when he got back to Cambridge that I would like to have the opportunity to sit down and talk with him.
ROBERTS: Right. And did he seem amenable to all of that?
SIMMONS: Yes, he did.
ROBERTS: All right. Now, Sergeant Crowley, who is the arresting officer involved here, has said publicly that he is not going to apologize, he is not remorseful at all for what happened. He said he was simply following procedure. Do you believe he should apologize?
SIMMONS: What I believe is that we should continue finding out the facts, what actually happened so that we can take the appropriate action.
ROBERTS: So, if he says that he's following procedure, that raises another issue. If you have a police officer there in Cambridge who's following procedure, but the president of the United States says that the Department acted stupidly in the carrying out of those procedures and you have to call the person who was arrested and apologize, does that suggest that maybe these procedures need rethinking?
SIMMONS: It suggests that we have to find out what happened so that we can make the proper decisions about what needs to happen differently so this sort of circumstance doesn't happen again. It might be a procedural change. I'm not going to say exactly what we're going to do moving forward, but I know that we certainly need to find out all the facts pertaining to the incident.
ROBERTS: Right. And I know that it's a little bit noisy there, so I'll try to make myself as clear as possible here. You know, on the surface, looking at the incident that happened the other day and the fallout from it, does it suggest to you at this point that there may need to be some changes to these procedures?
SIMMONS: What it suggests is that something happened that should not have happened.
ROBERTS: Right.
SIMMONS: That is very clear to me. The next steps are how do we -- first we have to sit down, which I'm certainly going to do, to sit down with the parties involved to have a discussion about how did we -- how did this -- how did we get to this outcome, how did this happen. And from there, to look at -- to talk with the police commissioner in particular and the city mayor to say this can't happen again in Cambridge and how we're going to prevent it from happening.
ROBERTS: And the president said last night in the press conference that this incident is an indication that race is still a factor in America. Do you believe it's still a factor?
SIMMONS: Yes, race is a factor. It is -- it's knowledge we all know that black and Latino, particularly men, have historically had problems with police. And so you can not talk about this without talking about it or doing it (INAUDIBLE).
ROBERTS: Right. And do you believe that race was a factor in this particular case?
SIMMONS: I'm not going to make that judgment now.
ROBERTS: All right. Mayor E. Denise Simmons from Cambridge. It's good to talk to you this morning. Thanks so much for taking the time. We really appreciate it.
SIMMONS: You're very welcome.
ROBERTS: Kiran?
CHETRY: Well, you may remember this -- these freshman congressmen who have become reality stars on cnn.com. We've been tracking their every move. They're polar opposites and they've been really sharing a lot of very, very interesting things about their lives. For example, one of them literally lives in his office.
We're going to check back in with him with Alina Cho coming up.
Forty-seven minutes past the hour.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
ROBERTS: Oh, yes, there's the White House this morning. What a hub of excitement that was last night. Overcast and 73 degrees right now. Later on today, a chance of storms and a high of 83.
We'll be talking about everything that happened at the White House last evening all morning long, breaking it down for you, getting you some good analysis and perspective on where we are with health care and other important items.
CHETRY: Exactly.
But meanwhile, not too far away from the White House -- Congress and you could call these two congressmen the odd couple. They're two freshman lawmakers, polar opposites, and they've been starring in their own reality show exclusively on cnn.com. Our Alina Cho has been following them since day one, and you checked back in with the two freshman congressmen about to get ready for their August recess.
ALINA CHO, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Yes. You talked about this before the break. One of them does save 1,500 bucks a month by living in his office, literally, on a cot.
It's pretty incredible stuff.
ROBERTS: In the closet.
CHETRY: Yes. I would have thought halfway through, he would have said forget it. Let me have a studio.
(CROSSTALK)
CHO: No. No. I mean, you know, you're saving 1,500 bucks a month. It's not a bad deal.
Good morning, guys.
Good morning, everybody.
He has three kids, by the way.
You know, with all the news and politics and all the serious subjects that our elected leaders talk about every day, it is nice to take a break every now and then, and hear from these two freshman congressmen who are really still wide-eyed and overjoyed at having the chance to be a member of Congress, and, of course, take in the D.C. scene.
Now CNN.com has been following freshman congressman 34-year-old Democrat Jared Polis from Colorado, and 42-year-old Republican Jason Chafetz from Utah. These two colleagues who are really polar opposites, opposites side of the aisle, of course, are armed with their own cameras, they often shoot their own video, and they're really giving us a really great behind-the-scenes look as life as a congressman. That includes everything from committee meetings to White House lawn parties.
Take a look at this luau.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
REP. JASON CHAFETZ (R), UTAH: We're going to the White House, got my son Max. Evidently, the president is having a luau at the White House.
I've been to the White House before, but I've never stood out here.
BARACK OBAMA, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: You've been working hard. I wish I could give you all trips to Hawaii, but I figured, given our budget crunch, we can't do that. UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Ladies and gentlemen, this is not a joke. Please line up.
OBAMA: Boys this the dunking of the Rahm?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Yes.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Ready?
OBAMA: Oh this is the dunk tank, guys we got to go look at Rahm petting dunked.
CHAFETZ: So Max is like, Mom, it's a way for seeing the president.
And what happened?
And come on over here. (INAUDIBLE)
I decided to go another direction to watch the dunking of Rahm Emanuel.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
CHO: Apparently our invitation got lost in the mail. But he needs to work on zooming out a little bit. But that will come with time. That, by the way, was Congressman Chafetz.
As for Congressman Polis, he recently honored two very important constituents. A very special third grader who inspired a letter writing campaign to servicemen overseas and the marine who got those letters during his tour of duty.
Watch.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
REP. JARED POLIS (D), COLORADO: There's an 8-year-old here in Summit County that started to be in pen pal with a soldier serving in the Marines, serving in Iraq. And it helped him to read and write. He was a special needs student. He's going to meet his hero. That actual Marine has been serving in Iraq who got back.
I have two flags that have flown over the United States Capitol in Washington, D.C. That's where I work most days. It did fly on the top of the U.S. Capitol. And I'd like to thank you for your contribution.
(APPLAUSE)
And most importantly for your continued service to our country as a U.S. Marine. Thank you.
(APPLAUSE)
(END VIDEOTAPE) CHO: Now to watch the latest episode and all of the episodes, really, of this reality series, go to cnn.com/freshmanyear.
And Congressman Chafetz who lives in his office on the cot, also as you will recall, has the Pop Tarts and the Slim-Fast, which I know is one of your personal favorites.
CHETRY: Yes, right.
CHO: So -- not Slim-Fast, I'm sorry, Red Bull.
CHETRY: Red Bull, yes, Slim-Fast? I mean, come on.
(CROSSTALK)
CHO: Maybe it was Slim-Fast. I can't remember.
(CROSSTALK)
ROBERTS: If she drinks Slim-Fast, she would disappear.
CHO: I know, she would. You know, it's early. It's Red Bull, I think. Or maybe it was Slim-Fast. But either way, it's Red Bull that's your favorite and quickly becoming mine. I should probably take one right now.
CHETRY: No, but it is fun to follow them. They're really vigilant about keeping themselves every step of the way.
CHO: I'm going to crawl back into my office now.
CHETRY: Oh, Please. Alina, thanks for being here.
ROBERTS: Bill Bennett and James Carville coming up next. Stay tuned.
It's 54 1/2 minutes after the hour.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
ROBERTS: Welcome back to the Most News in the Morning.
President Obama's prime-time news conference was dominated by his push for health care reform. The president hammered Republican attacks saying we just can't afford what's happening right now, but even some Democrats aren't sold on this.
So, did his message get through, and were the American people really listening? For reaction from the right and the left, CNN political contributors Bill Bennett, who joins us on the phone this morning, because we're having a little bit of a technical problem with his camera, and James Carville is with us this morning.
Good to see both of you, gentlemen. Let me just put up here first of all the results of the Gallop Poll. When asked whether they approve or disapprove of the president's handling of the health care policy, 50 percent of respondent said they disapprove. Only 44 percent said they approve.
James, his goal last night was to make people more comfortable with the plans?
Did he accomplish that goal? Do you think we'll see those numbers move?
JAMES CARVILLE, DEMOCRATIC STRATEGIST: Honestly, I doubt if you're going to see the numbers move. We'll see the numbers really move a lot if he succeeds. And he'll do a lot better. If he fails, it will be a lot worse than 50 percent disapprove.
I don't know if one press conference is going to change anything. I've said all along I thought this was like an NBA game, with some midway in the third quarter. Tune in when there's 3 minutes left to go, and it will be fast and furious.
ROBERTS: Bill Bennett, what...
CARVILLE: He didn't hurt himself by any stretch of the imagination.
ROBERTS: Bill Bennett, what do you think?
WILLIAM BENNETT, CNN POLITICAL CONTRIBUTOR (via telephone): I don't think the numbers will move in his direction, John. I think they may move a little worse against him because the misrepresentations he made last night. Read that "August," conservative magazine or newspaper, "The New York Times" this morning for a list of errors, a list of misstatements, a list of false things that the president said last night.
All he succeeded in doing last night was defaming doctors and cops, the Cambridge cops and doctors. And I don't -- my phones are ringing off the hook this morning on the radio show from doctors saying that's not the way we operate. That's not the way we do business.
(CROSSTALK)
BENNETT: Misrepresentation.
ROBERTS: Go ahead, James.
CARVILLE: Well, I read the same story. And he said that, a couple of things, he said we'll open to different interpretations. I think this president knows what he's talking about. I think he exhibited a really good command to the facts. And I thought it was very refreshing to have a president whose arguments are based on fact, unlike what we had before.
And the big fact is, is that if we continue down the road of the last eight years, we'll have health care costs of $26,000 for the average family and about 22 percent of GDP. And that's unacceptable to this president, and that's not the standard that the Democratic Party aspires to. ROBERTS: Let me ask Bill about what the president has said regarding Republicans, if you would.
BENNETT: Yes, sure.
ROBERTS: He seemed to suggest that they're not trying to help at all.
BENNETT: Yes.
ROBERTS: Let's play a little bit of his comments last night.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
OBAMA: I've heard the one Republican strategist told his party that even though they may want to compromise it's better politics to go for the kill.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
ROBERTS: And Jim DeMint, Republican of South Carolina, was heard to have said if we're able to stop Obama on this, it will be his Waterloo. We'll break him.
Bill, are Republicans handling on this, in the best that they look like to trying to find solutions or they're just trying to maintain the status quo?
BENNETT: They're not trying to maintain the status quo. They're certainly trying to change things. That's the Ryan Coburn Bill. But they would certainly like to dislodge Obama on this issue because this vast expansion of the state, these vast expenditures, are going to break the country. That is our genuine belief.
On the one fact that James pointed out about costs, the Congressional Budget Office, along with a bunch of Democrats, have pointed out how much more expensive Barack Obama's plan is. If you project out across the last eight...
ROBERTS: Oops, we seem to have lost Bill Bennett there.
(CROSSTALK)
BENNETT: That's the problem.
CARVILLE: Yes.
ROBERTS: Sorry, Bill, we lost you there for a little bit.
But let me ask James, I think the point that you are learning to here, does he have just almost as many problems with Democrats as he does with Republicans on this?
CARVILLE: You know, this thing is tough. And it's like -- like I said it's going to come right down to the end. I mean, he didn't have problems with Republicans. None of them are going to vote for it. That's a given. And he's got to do this and unlike the Republican Party, which is sort of orthodox talk radio, southern-based party, we are very diverse party that has a lot of different interest groups, and we're going to have to deal with that.
ROBERTS: All right, James Carville, Bill Bennett. Bill, we'll get somebody over there to fix that camera. We promise. Thanks for being with us this morning. Appreciate it.
