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Jane Velez-Mitchell
Woods to Make Statement Tomorrow
Aired February 18, 2010 - 19:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
JANE VELEZ-MITCHELL, HOST (voice-over): Tonight, anticipation mounts around the world as fans, foes and maybe even family members wonder, what in the heck is Tiger going to say tomorrow? The frenzy builds around Tiger`s first media appearance since the sex scandal broke. Will he name names? Will wife Elin be by his side? Will he tell the world, "I am a sex addict"? And is it all too little, too late? Plus, the backlash is already starting.
Then, mind-boggling twists and turns in the case of a deranged Texas man. He apparently left a suicide note and set his house on fire before flying a plane into a building. Was he aiming for the IRS, which had a slew of employees working there? We`ll analyze his rambling six-page suicide note, filled with rage, resentment, and a litany of money woes.
Plus, Misty Croslin`s day in court. The last woman to see little Haleigh Cummings before she disappeared was arraigned today, on seven drug trafficking charges. All this happening, unbelievably, while her own mother is arrested, too. Is this part of a bigger plan by cops to squeeze the truth out of this dysfunctional family?
ISSUES starts now.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
VELEZ-MITCHELL: Tonight, the frenzy builds. The Tiger countdown is on. Woods is finally going to show his face and say "I`m sorry." Tiger plans to emerge from his heavily-fortified sex scandal bunker tomorrow morning to make a public statement. Will he get specific? Will he name names?
The last time we heard from Tiger was this infamous voice mail he allegedly left mistress No. 2, Jaimee Grubbs.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
TIGER WOODS, PROFESSIONAL GOLFER: Hey, it`s Tiger. I need you to do me a huge favor. Can you please take your name off your phone? My wife went through my phone and may be calling you.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
VELEZ-MITCHELL: And he goes on to say, huge. Well, this is huge tomorrow.
A prominent PGA golf course is holding the event, and you`d think they were hosting the pope. TMZ reports the staff was ordered to arrive at 4:30 a.m. to tend to every last detail.
Team Tiger will arrive in a fleet of black SUVs, just like a presidential motorcade. Tiger will speak in front of a group of friends, a few hand-picked reporters, and a single TV camera. He will answer exactly zero questions!
Those who know him say this event is pure Tiger. Total control. No detail overlooked.
And speaking of knowing Tiger, did the PGA tour commissioner make a little slip of the tongue about where Tiger has been? We will get to what he said in just a moment.
You know, too bad he didn`t use all that strategy in his personal life.
The biggest question tonight, will wife Elin be by his side tomorrow? And will Tiger`s apology work to repair his demolished image? What do you think about all of this? Give me a holler. Call me: 1-877-JVM-SAYS. That`s 1-877-586-2987.
So much to get to with my absolutely fabulous panel. CNN legal analyst Lisa Bloom. Her mom, prominent attorney, Gloria Allred, is representing two of Tiger`s alleged mistresses, and there is breaking news on that front. We will get to it in just a moment. Clinical psychologist Brenda Wade. Always great to have you. P.R. and brand strategist Marvette Britto. Wonderful, as well. Jim Moret, chief correspondent for "Inside Edition." Thanks for joining us. And, well, we have to have self- proclaimed bad boy Steve Santagati from BadBoysFinishFirst.com.
But first, we go to Rafer Weigel, sports anchor for "MORNING EXPRESS WITH ROBIN MEADE."
Rafer, you`re there in Florida, where tomorrow`s big Tiger appearance is going down. What is the very latest?
RAFER WEIGEL, SPORTS ANCHOR, "MORNING EXPRESS": Well, you know, you said it perfectly. You said you might as well be making arrangements for the pope. I mean, the man at the center, at the biggest sex scandal in sports history appears to try to sweep it under the rug.
We`re here at the Marriott. We`re about a half mile away from where Tiger is going to be having this statement read. We might as well be in another state. Not only are we not allowed to get into that room, we`re not allowed anywhere near that room.
TMZ reporting that he was going to show up in a motorcade. They won`t let us be out there to even see him pull up. This is classic -- this is a page right out of Tiger Woods` agent, Mark Steinberg`s, playbook.
Now, he may have changed on a personal level for Tiger Woods, but it`s clear that his agent has not. The arrogance of them, that they actually think that they can address this in a controlled environment and not take questions, does not surprise me one bit.
VELEZ-MITCHELL: Well, you know, they say every action has an equal and opposite reaction. Well, they`re controlling that little area in Florida. There`s a whole lot going on in California. And that`s the thanks to attorney Gloria Allred. She was on ISSUES last night, and she suggested that he name the people he`s wronged.
Here is what attorney Gloria Allred told me on last night`s ISSUES.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
GLORIA ALLRED, ATTORNEY: I think at his news conference, on Friday, that Tiger Woods needs to name my client, Veronica Swift Daniels, a.k.a., Joslyn James, and apologize by name to her. Because she has sacrificed a lot for him.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
VELEZ-MITCHELL: In fact, Joslyn James says she was twice impregnated by Tiger, had a miscarriage and an abortion, and now the breaking news, Lisa Bloom. Your mom, attorney Gloria Allred, says she, just -- just moments ago -- we got this release.
She is going to watch Tiger`s apology/press conference live, herself, at a facility in Los Angeles, KABC. And she invites the media to watch the news conference with her, and her client, on a big-screen TV. And then they`re going to have a news conference immediately afterwards? Kind of like after the president addresses Congress? Then the other party speaks?
LISA BLOOM, CNN LEGAL ANALYST: I guess so. Of I mean, look, I don`t practice law with my mother. I don`t speak for my mother. But I will say, I think it`s a brilliant strategy.
And think about it. What is Tiger Woods apologizing for? It`s for all of these various affairs. Who is he apologizing to? His wife, his family, the public. Well, what about all of the women that he had affairs with, who he texted and told he was going to be with for the rest of his life? Doesn`t he owe them an apology, as well? I think that`s her point.
They will probably get lost in the press conference tomorrow. I don`t think there`s going to anything real in this press conference tomorrow, by the way. I think everything he says is going to be vetted by lawyers, accountants, spin doctors. You know, the words he speaks are going to be about as real as the breasts of all of his mistresses, which is to say phony. I don`t believe anything he has to say tomorrow.
VELEZ-MITCHELL: And I think that`s a perfect segue to Steve Santagati, Bad Boys Finish First. OK, do you think Tiger should apologize to all these women we`re looking at right here?
STEVE SANTAGATI, BADBOYSFINISHFIRST.COM: No. Absolutely not. Why you guys always do this. Women are all of a sudden these weak creatures when they`re stupid enough to fall for this married guy, a public figure. It wasn`t like it was a mystery that he was married. They all went into this under their own volition. There should be no apology to any of these women. They knew what they were getting themselves into.
BLOOM: What if he lied to them, Steve? He lied to them.
SANTAGATI: And the other thing is, while I`m on the...
VELEZ-MITCHELL: OK, wait.
SANTAGATI: So what? Everybody lies. You guys lie. I lie. We all lie. And these women...
BLOOM: Wait, I don`t lie. What are you talking about?
SANTAGATI: He`s lied to his public.
BLOOM: What am I lying about?
SANTAGATI: You`re lying now. You`re lying right now. Because the bottom line is...
BLOOM: I don`t lie. I don`t cheat on my boyfriend. I have nothing to lie about.
VELEZ-MITCHELL: All right.
SANTAGATI: You know what I mean. It`s like women aren`t these weak creatures. Come on, ladies.
VELEZ-MITCHELL: All right. Let`s move on. We`ve got so much to cover. I`ve got stacks of -- this scandal is unbelievable. And more by the moment.
We have never confirmed that Tiger was in rehab for sex addiction. Did the PGA commissioner slip up today when he said this. Quote, "I don`t know what he`s going to do after he finishes rehab. You know, I think all of that is TBD."
OK. So Jim Moret, is the commissioner outing Tiger, or is he just referring to all of the rumors about Tiger and sex rehab?
JIM MORET, "INSIDE EDITION": I think it`s the second. I don`t know that the commissioner has any personal knowledge. I certainly don`t. I mean, there`s been speculation that he`s gone through rehab. We don`t even know if he`s a sex addict. We don`t know if he`s going to admit that he`s a sex addict.
I`m going to be watching tomorrow with Jaimee Grubbs, mistress No. 2. I am. I really am.
VELEZ-MITCHELL: Really? I thought you were being...
MORET: No, I`m -- I`m serious. And we`ll have that on "Inside Edition" tomorrow.
VELEZ-MITCHELL: Wow. Are you going to hold a news conference, Jim, right after?
MORET: No, no, no. No news conference. No, no, no.
VELEZ-MITCHELL: All right.
MORET: You know what`s interesting about -- what`s interesting about the news conference is -- it`s interesting, Tiger won`t take questions. But one of his former mistresses will be subject to taking questions. What could she say? We know that she was hurt. We know she was lied to. But I personally think Tiger needs to apologize to his wife. That`s who he needs to apologize to.
SANTAGATI: No.
VELEZ-MITCHELL: And, of course, we`re going to find out tomorrow whether she`s going to be by his side. And that`s an issue we`re going to get to in a second.
BLOOM: She better not be there. Please.
VELEZ-MITCHELL: Well, here`s my big issue. Will this turn out to be a sorry apology. If Tiger`s statement isn`t just right, will there be a major backlash?
Here is sports columnist Steven A. Smith. Listen to this.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
STEVEN A. SMITH, SPORTS COLUMNIST: I`m shocked at his stupidity, to be quite honest, because it`s absolutely idiotic the way he`s going about doing this. To not take any questions from the media.
Clearly, Tiger Woods has revealed himself as a person who believes he`s above reproach, and he`s not somebody that needs to be questioned. America is going to look at him and say, "We`re the land of second chances, but we`re not Boo-Boo the fool. You`ve got a lot of nerves coming at us with this nonsense."
(END VIDEO CLIP)
VELEZ-MITCHELL: Marvette Britto, you`re the grand strategist. People are really upset that he`s not taking questions. Why not take -- you know, you can pull a Band-Aid off slowly or you can just rip it off. He`s got to have to answer some questions sometime.
MARVETTE BRITTO, P.R. AND BRAND STRATEGIST: You know, I`m really surprised that people are surprised that Tiger isn`t taking questions. This is a man who has in his entire career fiercely guarded his privacy. He`s always been not reactive to media. He`s been proactive. He`s planned strategically and masterfully crafted his entire career.
VELEZ-MITCHELL: But it`s not working any more.
BRITTO: But you know what? But...
VELEZ-MITCHELL: The emperor has no clothes.
BRITTO: But it doesn`t -- but it doesn`t matter. He`s still going to control the platform. And quite frankly, he only owes the apology to the public. The play by play is not necessary.
VELEZ-MITCHELL: Well, we`ll see.
BLOOM: It hasn`t been working out too well for him, has it?
VELEZ-MITCHELL: That`s the thing, you know? When something isn`t working for you, change in midstream.
BLOOM: Right.
VELEZ-MITCHELL: Just in a moment, we`re going to have so much more. We`re taking your calls. They`re already lined up: 1-877-JVM-SAYS, 1-877- 586-7297.
Plus, horror in Austin. Chilling words written by the perpetrator himself. What was behind this suicide mission?
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
MIKE ERNEST, EYEWITNESS (via phone): When it got really close to the highway and next to the building, I thought, you know, it looked pretty -- pretty imminent that it was going to hit the building. And it was like a fire ball. A fire ball, black smoke, people -- you know, people let out a scream all around. People were crying. It was -- I mean, it was a pretty crazy scene.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
JAIMEE GRUBBS, ALLEGED MISTRESS OF TIGER WOODS: I think he`s very good at playing the person he -- you want him to be. I think he`s very manipulative that way. I mean, there are so many sides to him that I didn`t know that I couldn`t even tell you the person he is.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
VELEZ-MITCHELL: That was alleged Tiger Woods` mistress, Jaimee Grubbs.
Now, tomorrow, we`re going to bring you a special one-hour program on his highly-anticipated appearance. Tune in tomorrow, 11 a.m. Eastern right here on HLN.
Plus, ISSUES will continue the coverage in the 7 p.m. hour tomorrow. And one of my very special guests will be famed attorney Gloria Allred, who is representing two of Tiger`s alleged mistresses. And she is going to watch the news conference on the West Coast with one of those mistresses and then hold her own news conference immediately afterwards.
Meanwhile, some professional golfers are very ticked off at the timing of this news conference. Rafer Weigel, explain why Sergio Garcia and Ernie Els are so upset.
WEIGEL: They`re so upset, because there`s a tournament going on right now, the Accenture Match Play Championship, and this is taking all of the attention away from that. And they don`t think it`s by accident.
Ernie Els called Tiger selfish, some of the most demonstrative language we`ve heard from another golfer against Tiger Woods. And a lot of people don`t feel it`s a mistake, because Accenture dropped Tiger as a sponsor. A lot of people think, well, they`re doing this to kind of get back at them.
Now, the agent, Mark Steinberg, refuted that saying, no, he`s going to be going live at 11 a.m. Eastern before the tournament even tees off. Let`s be honest, they`re going to be running this on a continuous loop all day of Friday. It is going to be take a great deal of attention away from that tournament. And these golfers feel that he should have waited until Monday.
VELEZ-MITCHELL: But it`s probably a get-back, because they -- Accenture dropped him while some of the other sponsors kept him.
WEIGEL: There`s no question about it, Jane. I mean, look, let`s just be honest. His agent, Mark Steinberg, is a very calculating man. And the fact that they are denying any questions, just speaks to just how controlling this guy -- I mean, the fact that they actually think that they can go forward and have him play on the PGA tour -- we assume that is going to be the announcement tomorrow, that he`s coming back -- and still not answer questions?
The other part of the story is going to be the war between us and Tiger Woods. When can we ask him about this scandal? If we do, are we going to be denied access?
VELEZ-MITCHELL: Yes. And here...
WEIGEL: Interesting to see what happens.
VELEZ-MITCHELL: Yes, Rafer. Here`s a question I have for Tiger. Really, if you`re straying, why get married in the first place? Listen to Tiger on "LARRY KING" in 1998. This is fascinating.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
LARRY KING, HOST, "LARRY KING LIVE": Do you want to get married and have a family?
WOODS: Do I want to? No. It will happen. I`ll surrender one day. No, I`m just kidding.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
VELEZ-MITCHELL: Wow. Brenda Wade, he doesn`t want to get married. He`ll surrender one day. Doesn`t that really tell the whole story?
BRENDA WADE, CLINICAL PSYCHOLOGIST: I think it does, Jane. It says that he lacks the maturity that`s necessary to make this kind of commitment and to keep the commitment.
But I wrote a speech I wish Tiger would give. It starts with, "Yes, I am a sex addict. Yes, I am attending Sex Addicts and Love Addicts Anonymous` 12-step program. And I`m establishing the Tiger Woods Sex Addiction Treatment Center for other people who suffer from this disease." That`s what I`d like him to say.
VELEZ-MITCHELL: Well, I heard somebody snorting back there. I bet you it was Steve.
WADE: Of course it was Steve. Steve doesn`t believe that men have the maturity to make commitments and keep them. Steve thinks men only think with their GPS systems.
SANTAGATI: First of all, that`s true. But first of all, you guys are totally, totally letting the women go on this one.
WADE: Letting the women go? They weren`t married. Tiger is the one who was married, Steve.
SANTAGATI: Stop -- stop...
VELEZ-MITCHELL: One at a time.
SANTAGATI: They cheated with a married man. They are equally responsible for being with him. I don`t sleep with married women, because I know they have a husband. That`s a crude and cruel thing to do to Elin. By the way, she -- layoff the golf club with him.
VELEZ-MITCHELL: I kind of disagree with you. I`m not advocating sleeping with a married man. But I will say this.
SANTAGATI: You`re all throwing stones. You`re all throwing stones at Tiger. But, you`ve got to -- you know what? It`s not Tiger`s fault. Tiger is just acting like a guy.
WADE: Tiger is responsible for his behavior, Steve. Men are not all animals who can`t control...
VELEZ-MITCHELL: Let`s stop with the animals. Animals have nothing to do with this. But I will say this.
SANTAGATI: You`re just as bad, ladies. You`re just as bad. I know that for a fact. I`ve studied you for years.
WADE: I disagree completely.
VELEZ-MITCHELL: Let me just say this.
SANTAGATI: Of course you disagree.
VELEZ-MITCHELL: OK. They weren`t the ones who took the vows.
SANTAGATI: See?
VELEZ-MITCHELL: And the second thing is I will say...
SANTAGATI: Blinders. Blinders.
VELEZ-MITCHELL: ... from personal experience that married men have approached me and said that they`ve had arrangements. And this is -- come on, back me up, Lisa Bloom. Don`t they play a lot of that game?
WADE: You know that they...
(CROSSTALK)
BLOOM: I will back you up.
VELEZ-MITCHELL: One at a time.
BLOOM: Steve, take a breath. I will back you up that married men can certainly be dogs, and they come on to me just as much as single men do, frankly. Married men, you know, some of them are great and some of them are awful, just like married women.
But by the way, I`ve got to chime in on obviously why this press conference is happening tomorrow and not Monday. Because Tiger Woods and his handlers are hoping that, by having a Friday press conference, it`s going to get buried and be late Friday, over the weekend. And by Monday, when the big news starts up again, it`s going to be old news. That`s why people always have press conferences on Fridays when they have something embarrassing to admit.
Of course, it`s not going to work in this case, because it`s going to be huge.
VELEZ-MITCHELL: Penny in Michigan, your question or thought, ma`am.
CALLER: Thought. I have -- I have an opinion. They`re just as guilty as he is. They knew he was married.
SANTAGATI: Thank you. Thank you.
VELEZ-MITCHELL: OK. And our floor manager Bob just did a double fist and said, "Thank you."
WADE: I think, Jane, the women certainly have some responsibility.
SANTAGATI: Some?
WADE: And I wish women had a code of honor. But when you`re married, you have made a commitment, and integrity, emotional maturity, are necessary to keep a commitment. If you don`t have that, you don`t have the ingredients to be a married person.
VELEZ-MITCHELL: Guess what? Fantastic panel, stay right there. We have new pictures of Tiger Woods that have just come in within the last couple of seconds of him golfing. And we`re going to play those and show those to you in just a moment.
Also, we`re going to talk about that deadly grudge against the IRS. A guy flew his plane into a building. Unbelievable.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
DAVID CORNWELL, SPORTS ATTORNEY: I do not think this is going to solve the problem or make the story go away. Because the media is going to continue to chase the story, and they`re going to continue to be critical of him.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
VELEZ-MITCHELL: That was sports attorney David Cornwell on "LARRY KING LIVE."
Tune in tomorrow for a special one-hour program right here on HLN on Tiger Woods` appearance. He`s talking for approximately five to seven minutes. We`re going to carry his statement live at 11 a.m. Eastern and then analysis.
Plus, ISSUES will continue the coverage in the 7 p.m. hour tomorrow Friday. And one my special guests will be famed attorney Gloria Allred, who is representing two of Tiger`s alleged mistresses.
Now, just in, photos, new photos, just hot off the press, of Tiger golfing today. There he is. And this, again, from Getty images of Tiger playing today.
Let`s go to the second photo. There he is.
Now, what`s really fascinating -- we`re going to go to Mike Walters, assignment manager at TMZ, for some analysis -- is that everybody and his brother has been trying to get a photo of Tiger since the scandal broke at Thanksgiving. And then voila, oh, my gosh, the day before the big news conference, suddenly these beautiful photos of him golfing come up. And, of course, we had the photo of him jogging yesterday.
What do you know?
MIKE WALTERS, ASSIGNMENT EDITOR, TMZ: Well, this is the big, bad P.R. machine of Tiger Woods, Jane. It`s back to the big strategic thing to get Tiger back into golf and to try to move forward, away from all the bad publicity and stuff he did before.
And what you don`t see on those photos is, the other photos the paparazzi got of Sam Greenwood, the Getty photographer, in his nice shirt, Tiger setting up those shots, getting ready to hit the golf ball. He`s smiling. He`s in shape. He`s playing golf. This is what the public wants to see. This is what Tiger Woods wants the public to see.
And it`s like me and you Jane worked together on this, the Kobe Bryant thing. Nobody even remembers where or what state Kobe Bryant`s mishap happened in. If Tiger goes out and wins the masters...
VELEZ-MITCHELL: I remember.
WALTERS: Well, yes, exactly. But nobody in the public knows that. Because Kobe Bryant wins championships. He wins basketball. If Tiger goes out and plays the masters, which I think he will, and he wins and wins, people will forget this.
And look at how great he looks in these photos. It`s so pristine. It`s Tiger, golf, his Nike hat, his nice sweater. And it`s really unbelievable that we`ve gone to this point.
I think Tiger is not going to talk about the past. He`s going to talk about the future and golf. Of and that`s it. And everyone is going to go forward and forget about the past.
VELEZ-MITCHELL: Yes, but guess what? You work at TMZ. You are the assignment manager at TMZ. It`s TMZ and all of the other media that want to get those answers, and we do, too.
WALTERS: Right.
VELEZ-MITCHELL: And without answering those questions, isn`t that going to essentially invite the TMZ and all of the other media, bring it on, come on. We`re going to -- aren`t you going to try to infiltrate these tournaments?
WALTERS: Well, I`m definitely not going to stop looking at everything that Tiger Woods does from now on. But, you know, I was talking to Harvey today, and he was saying, "Look, this is what happens a lot of times in the media with the public when they show stuff that happened in the past."
If you keep showing Tiger Woods and all these mistresses, the story gets old. People are done hearing about these porn stars and stuff Tiger did in Vegas. It`s sort of, you know, kind of being blinded now by "I`m sick of this. When is Tiger Woods going to play golf again?" And boom, first photo is him jogging, so that`s the first photo taken away from the paparazzi to make money. The second photo is the first one of him play golf.
Jane, you want to know what the next picture that comes out is from Getty?
VELEZ-MITCHELL: What?
WALTERS: He and Elin, his wife, together.
VELEZ-MITCHELL: Yes, well, she was wearing a whole bunch -- as you pointed out, a whole bunch of Nike wear. So that`s sort of a hit.
Mike, always brilliant. Thank you. Come back soon.
A man reportedly furious with the IRS flies his plane straight into an office building. Unbelievable.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
VELEZ-MITCHELL: Mind-boggling twists and turns in the case of a deranged Texas man. He apparently left a suicide note and set his house on fire before flying a plane into a building. Was he aiming for the IRS which had a slew of employees working there? We`ll analyze his rambling six-page suicide note filled with rage, resentment, and a litany of money woes.
Plus, Misty Croslin`s day in court: the last woman to see little Haleigh Cummings before she disappeared was arraigned today on seven drug trafficking charges; all of this happening unbelievably, while her own mother is arrested, too. Is this part of a bigger plan by cops to squeeze the truth of this dysfunctional family?
Tonight, a twisted tale unraveling in Texas as a man with rage and resentment against the IRS allegedly sets his own house on fire, and then flies a plane straight into an office building, full of people.
And here is the end result. A direct hit that took out the Austin IRS offices, emphasis on IRS. The huge building turned into a giant ball of flames with workers running for their lives. Right now, one is missing. Two people are critically injured.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
JERRY CULLEN, EYEWITNESS: Then the windows began to fly out of the building. There must have been a lot of shock inside, the shock wave. The windows flew out, and there is pink insulation pads flying all around. Imagine this. Then the Venetian blinds start to wave out. They go out with the shock wave. Then the fire started.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
VELEZ-MITCHELL: The pilot has been identified as Joseph Andrew Stack, a 53-year-old out of work software engineer, and we`re going to bring you some late-breaking developments about a body that has just been found, reportedly, but has not been identified.
Now, this Stack guy left an apparent rambling six-page suicide note online. In that note, he says he`s furious with the government, in particular the IRS. He writes, "I choose not to ignore what is going on around me. I choose not to pretend that business won`t continue, I`ve just had enough."
What was his tipping point? Was it an argument with his wife? Why won`t the government call this an act of domestic terrorism?
Joining me now, back with my fantastic panel plus Greg Mathis from the "Judge Mathis" show; Dick Vane, a neighbor of the pilot joins us by phone; and HLN law enforcement analyst Mike Brooks -- always great to have you; also, reporter Robert Arnold from KPRC in Houston joins us by phone.
Now -- ok. Are you saying that he`s looking at the crash site? Robert Arnold, you are looking at the crash site, apparently this just in, a body has been found at that crash site? What can you tell us? Hello?
ROBERT ARNOLD, REPORTER, KPRC (via telephone): Hello, hi.
VELEZ-MITCHELL: Hello, how are you doing? You`re looking at the crash site? What can you tell us about a body that`s reportedly been found?
DICK VANE, STACK`S NEIGHBOR (via telephone): I`m actually not at the crash site. I was behind the house in my front yard when it -- (INAUDIBLE)
VELEZ-MITCHELL: All right. Guess what? We`ve got a little bit of a problem there. So -- ok. That was the neighbor. Do we have the neighbor?
VANE: Yes, I`m right here.
VELEZ-MITCHELL: Ok, all right, great. Well, tell us, Dick Vane, you live right behind this guy`s house, ok? What did you hear and what did you do?
VANE: Well, right away, I was just -- I heard a loud explosion, and I could see what looked like glitter in the air, but short -- within seconds, I noticed it was glass hitting the street. I ran as fast as I could just across the street to the back of their house, because the front of my house is the back of their house. And he immediately tried to climb the fence. I could get over halfway over the fence to yell into the house if there was anyone, you know, needing assistance, is anybody in the house. There was no movement at the time.
VELEZ-MITCHELL: But you said that -- didn`t you say that a woman showed up, or there was a woman with a young girl?
VANE: Well, someone came up next to me, and asked what we should be doing. And I said, "You need to go around the front of the house and bang on the door, while I stay here and try to get attention to the back of the house." And see if we can get some idea of what`s going on, if there is anybody there.
He said that the mother and the daughter were in the front of the house. So I`m not sure if it was in the yard or in the street or across or whatever. But he said that he asked if anyone -- if they knew if anyone was in the house. And the young girl had said that she thought her dad might be in the house.
VELEZ-MITCHELL: But apparently her dad had left to get in a plane to go fly into an office building. Now, did they have a fight? Did the wife have a fight?
VANE: Well, what I -- what I hear from the gentleman that was with me, he came around right away to tell me that he had heard from the little girl that her -- understand, I have deep sympathy for these people.
VELEZ-MITCHELL: Of course.
VANE: My -- my emotions are --
VELEZ-MITCHELL: I understand but what did you hear?
VANE: Well, he heard that from the little girl that her mother and father had been fighting since last night. And that the mother and father had gone to a hotel last night, and this morning, they were still fighting. So I don`t know how all that plays in -- ties in together. But --
VELEZ-MITCHELL: Well, it ties in very neatly. Of course, that was the inciting incident quite probably. He has this long, six-page rambling letter that we -- that we`re going to read parts of.
VANE: Well, that we found out now. Yes, we find this now.
VELEZ-MITCHELL: And of course, he has been upset for the longest time, but then that fight with the wife, that`s what triggers it and pushes him over the edge.
Robert Arnold, you are there, reporter KPRC. What do you know about a body being found?
ARNOLD: I`m sorry. Say that again, please.
VELEZ-MITCHELL: What`s the latest news?
ARNOLD: right now, I`m watching federal investigators with flashlights sift through the inside of this building, trying to piece together exactly how he was able to pull off this maneuver.
If you look at this area of Austin, this was something that took a lot of skill to be able to hit this building the way he did. You have light poles everywhere, high wires everywhere; you also have large interstate signs everywhere.
The fact that he was able to maneuver into this one tight alley, to be able to hit that building, federal officials are trying to determine if he had been planning this for a while.
Obviously, you talked about the six-page -- five, six-page manifesto suicide letter he had written. Federal sources say he had written that long before today. So they`re trying to figure out exactly what kind of planning went into this before the plane crashed.
VELEZ-MITCHELL: All right. Now, let`s take a look at the path that this Mr. Stack allegedly took. Investigators say after the fire, he left his house in north Austin, shortly after 9:00 this morning. We have a Google map we`re going to show you.
He reportedly drove his car to the Georgetown Regional Airport which is north of Austin. He then got into his plane, didn`t file a flight plan, and took off.
Mike Brooks, the fact that he did not file a flight plan. Is that a red flag?
MIKE BROOKS, HLN LAW ENFORCEMENT ANALYST: Not really, Jane. Because this kind of general aviation, you don`t need to. He can go to the -- the plane belonged to him, it was originally reported that the plane had been stolen, but, in fact, it was his plane. The tail numbers matched up to his registration with the FAA. And if it it`s visual flight rules, you can go up, get in your plane, and is take off.
You don`t have to tell anybody where you`re going or file any sort of flight plan whatsoever.
VELEZ-MITCHELL: Stack`s suicide note is long, six pages. He describes a storm raging in his head. "I know I`m hardly the first one to decide I have had all I can stand, he writes. It has always been a myth that people have stopped dying for their freedom in this country. And it isn`t limited to the blacks and poor immigrants.
I know there have been countless before me, and there are sure to be as many after. But I also know that by not adding my body to the count, I ensure nothing will change. I choose to not keep looking over my shoulder at `big brother` while he strips my carcass."
Brenda Wade, psychologist, can you say persecution complex?
BRENDA WADE, PSYCHOLOGIST: He has a victim complex, persecution complex. Jane, he`s clearly not only depressed but this thinking is irrational. It`s very irrational.
And one of the things -- I read the note. He goes back to 1987 - - that`s over 20 years ago -- that he says he has been in had trouble. And nowhere in here do I see that he is addressing his issues appropriately which is to get psychotherapy, maybe even a 12-step program, because there are some things here that make me wonder.
He is taking the geographic cure. He is saying I`ve got to try something, go somewhere else. And he is always blaming others. Does any of that sound familiar to you, Jane?
VELEZ-MITCHELL: Oh, yes. I mean, it`s unbelievable. Everything that`s happened in the last 20 years, whether it`s the dot-com bust or the recession that we`re in, it`s all directed at him, personally.
WADE: Exactly. He is personalizing.
VELEZ-MITCHELL: And Lisa Bloom, what I thought was absolutely fascinating is -- I`m going to read some more because this is something that a lot of people get sucked into. Here he is saying, "Some friends introduced me to a group of people who were having tax code readings and discussions; in particular zeroed in on a section relating to the wonderful exemptions that make institutions like the vulgar corrupt Catholic Church so incredibly wealthy."
He basically says he went to one of these seminars where they -- we see it in the paper all of the time. Don`t pay any taxes. You don`t have to pay taxes and it`s all legal. And you go to these seminars, and they suck you in.
And then you know what happened? He says it himself. "That little lesson in patriotism cost me $40,000." In other words, the IRS caught up with him.
LISA BLOOM, CNN LEGAL ANALYST: Yes. And Jane, you raise a very important question. Is this an act of domestic terrorism? Terrorism is violence or threats of violence against civilian populations for a political end. He clearly has a lot of gripes with the IRS and the U.S. government, and he targets the IRS building.
So certainly in part, at least, this does seem like a political act and potentially an act of terrorism. But I think it`s mixed, because apparently he had family issues, as well. As to which one triggered the other one, I don`t know if we can sort that out.
(CROSSTALK)
VELEZ-MITCHELL: Everybody has family issues, though, everybody. Terrorists from foreign countries have family issues, too. Nothing is motivated by politics. It should be an act of terrorism.
BROOKS: It is an act of domestic terrorism, plain and simple.
VELEZ-MITCHELL: It absolutely should be.
(CROSSTALK)
VELEZ-MITCHELL: The thing is, when you stop respecting the meaning of words and use them any time you want to for political purposes, the word gets trashed and then it has absolutely no value. And that`s what we`re doing to the word terrorism by not considering this and the Ft. Hood incident, acts of terrorism.
BROOKS: Absolutely, Jane. Absolutely. You look at the definition of terrorism, and this is domestic terrorism, the unlawful use of force or violence to intimidate or coerce a government or civilian population or any sector thereof in the furthering of political or social objective. That`s the FBI definition.
VELEZ-MITCHELL: Up next, Misty Croslin, behind bars.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
VELEZ-MITCHELL: Brand-new charges for Misty Croslin: the former step- mom of missing 6-year-old Haleigh Cummings pled not guilty at her arraignment today, and she was slapped with two more charges.
Here`s the brand-new video. Misty -- and take a look at her hair -- she has gotten that done in prison behind bars in jail, anyway. She now faces a total of eight drug trafficking charges.
Tonight, is she on the verge of cracking? Her dad saw her in court today, and says she looks scared and sad. That`s a far cry from this.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
MISTY CROSLIN, FORMER WIFE OF RON CUMMINGS: I will prove to the world that I didn`t have nothing to do with it.
LISA CROSLIN, MISTY CROSLIN`S MOTHER: Exactly.
M. CROSLIN: And when I get out of jail, everybody can kiss my (EXPLETIVE DELETED) and I am going to get on TV and I`m going to tell them all to (EXPLETIVE DELETED) off.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
VELEZ-MITCHELL: We`ll see how long that attitude holds.
Plus, mind-blowing new video of Misty Croslin behind bars. Cops say Misty is the key to finding this child.
Now, is her own family starting to doubt her dubious story? Listen to this.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
HANK CROSLIN, SR., MISTY CROSLIN`S FATHER: I pray for you every night. I pray for Haleigh, too.
M. CROSLIN: Yes, I pray for her every day, all day. I`m telling you, I do.
H. CROSLIN, SR.: I love that little girl. And I miss her, too.
M. CROSLIN: God is going to bring her home.
H. CROSLIN, SR.: God is going to bring her home?
M. CROSLIN: God is going to bring her home. That`s all we can do, is pray to God. Because he`s the only one, you know? It`s got to be his time, and in his time, he`ll do it.
H. CROSLIN, SR.: You think she can come home?
M. CROSLIN: Of course, dad.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
VELEZ-MITCHELL: It seems like Misty`s dad might be leaning toward, "Is my daughter hiding something?" Listen to this.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
H. CROSLIN, SR.: I don`t want you saying nothing that will hurt you, Misty.
M. CROSLIN: I`m not, daddy. There`s nothing against me. I`m telling you.
H. CROSLIN, SR.: Your brother told me to tell you he loves you.
M. CROSLIN: I love him, too.
H. CROSLIN SR.: I wanted to get your brother out, too.
M. CROSLIN: Well, worry about me first, ok?
(END VIDEO CLIP)
VELEZ-MITCHELL: There she is, fixing her hair, kind of playing with her hair.
Plus, a family reunion in jail? Will the entire Croslin family end up behind bars?
We`re going to tell you why Misty`s mom has now landed in the big house, as well.
Straight out to my fantastic expert panel: HLN law enforcement analyst Mike Brooks; prosecutor Stacey Honowitz and joining me by phone, T.J. Hart, program and news director for WFKY, 97.3 FM.
T.J., you tracked this case from the start. What is the very latest?
T.J. HART, WFKY, 97.3 FM (via telephone): The very latest is you needed some running shoes today because the arraignment hearings were held for Misty and Ronald both entered not guilty pleas in court. While that was going on, Hank Croslin senior, Misty`s dad, was in another courtroom in the same courthouse on doctor shopping charges. While that was going on, mom was roaming the halls. She got arrested by the Pulaski police department this morning, landed in jail, on theft charges, dating back to right around Christmastime.
Lo and behold, it doesn`t get any better than this. She was bailed out by Leonard Padilla. Padilla and he brought them a car, cell phone, and is gave them a new place to live. And all this happened probably within about, oh, an hour and a half. And I needed some running shoes today. And it just gets crazier from there.
VELEZ-MITCHELL: And I see that Misty`s hair is braided. And I --
HART: Yes.
And I heard in the other tapes that were released the other day that she is getting a cell mate or somebody there to braid her hair. I thought she was in isolation.
HART: She is supposed to be in isolation. I don`t know how she got that done. I was trying to get through some of muffled audio from the previous DVDs that were released and she was talking about somebody cutting her hair. But she wanted her hair just braided.
VELEZ-MITCHELL: Guess what T.J. they just told me -- my producer said they did her hair through the bars.
HART: Through the bars.
VELEZ-MITCHELL: Through the bars. You cannot make this stuff up.
Now, is Misty a big liar? It sounds like her family is kind of used to perhaps Misty making up stories. Listen to this jailhouse conversation between Misty`s brother and her dad.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
HANK CROSLIN, JR., MISTY CROSLIN`S BROTHER: Oh, boy.
H. CROSLIN SR.: I don`t know if she knows anything or not. But --
H. CROSLIN JR.: She needs to tell the truth, man, and don`t be making up stories.
H. CROSLIN SR.: I told her that. Don`t talk to nobody but her lawyer, and just tell the truth and get it over with.
H. CROSLIN JR.: Don`t be making up stories on people.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
VELEZ-MITCHELL: Mike brooks, It sounds like the family is getting fed up with this entire fiasco and wants Misty to crack, just as the police do.
BROOKS: You know, I think Hank Croslin senior, he does. And you look at Misty, though, Jane. How many polygraphs has she failed? She has failed two law enforcement polygraphs and one given by Texas Equusearch`s Tim Miller with a very well-respected polygrapher.
So she hasn`t told the truth at all, from the very beginning. She holds the key to this whole case, of where Haleigh is, or what happened to her that night.
VELEZ-MITCHELL: Yes. Misty has been putting on a tough-girl act, but now she is frantic to get out of jail. Listen as she begs her dad to help her get out.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
M. CROSLIN: Well, just tell me what Leonard said.
H. CROSLIN, SR.: He wants you to call him.
M. CROSLIN: I can`t call him, because your number is the last number I can call. You guys tell him to get me out of here, and listen, I will talk to him. Tell him just to get me out, and if my lawyer doesn`t agree, to get me a new lawyer, because my lawyer isn`t doing anything anyways. So get me a new lawyer. Just get me out of here and write a thing saying he`s going to get me out and not revoke my bond and let me stay with you guys.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
VELEZ-MITCHELL: Stacy, she thinks she can just get out of jail by begging for it.
(CROSSTALK)
BROOKS: She thinks Leonard Padilla can get her out of jail. And you know I talked to Leonard a couple of weeks ago. And he said yes, I`ll get her out. You know she talks to me. But we`ve heard that before in another case.
VELEZ-MITCHELL: Stacey, ten seconds.
STACEY HONOWITZ, FLORIDA PROSECUTOR: Ten seconds. She`s not getting out, she better get used to the jail, because prison, she is looking at a 25-year minimum mandatory. That`s big girl`s court and she`s going to have a hard time there.
BROOKS: Yes.
VELEZ-MITCHELL: She`s in a very scary place and I think it`s just starting to dawn on her what is happening with her life. We`ll have more in just a moment.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
M. CROSLIN: If they give me 20 years in prison, it will be ok because you`re going to come see me. I`ll get out and everything will be fine. I`m not scared. I`m not scared at all.
L. CROSLIN: You`ll be old and gray like me.
M. CROSLIN: I don`t care. They`re not going to put me away for something I didn`t do. And I didn`t have anything to do with Haleigh.
And if I knew who did, I would tell them. I`ve told them everything that I can tell them so they need to leave me alone about that. Why I`m in this jail has something to do with Haleigh.
L. CROSLIN: That`s right.
M. CROSLIN: (EXPLETIVE DELETED) leave me alone.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
VELEZ-MITCHELL: Brand-new surveillance video from the undercover drug sting that sent Misty and Ron to jail. Here is the brand new video. Cops -- this is the undercover video -- cops say they nabbed Misty selling drugs to undercover officers seven times.
More than 300 pills were allegedly involved with a street value of almost $4,000. Now you are looking for the first time at undercover video of Misty when she was free, when she was out, before she was taken behind bars.
You know, Stacey Honowitz, this young lady is starting to realize that she is in deep doo-doo.
HONOWITZ: Yes, I think she is. You know, you go to jail and you`re looking at -- she had to have a meeting with her lawyer. And her lawyer had to inform her, you`re looking at a 25 year minimum mandatory. And that`s no joke. It`s very serious.
Is she starting to crack? I think we`re starting to hear that she`s not going to be able to take it in there much longer. I wouldn`t be surprised if somewhere down the road she does start revealing things.
You have to remember something Jane. She has given so many inconsistent statements all through this investigation. At some point it`s got to come back to haunt her. She couldn`t even describe why she gave different statements. She was asked on national television, why did you give a different statement one time as the other? She didn`t have an explanation. So I think we`re going to see slowly but sure new facts revealed.
VELEZ-MITCHELL: Here`s my big issue tonight: family fracture. Misty`s biggest support system was her own family. And now it seems like her dad is really starting to doubt her. Listen to this.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
H. CROSLIN, SR.: Promise, man, that you didn`t -- never mind, never mind, never mind.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
VELEZ-MITCHELL: Never mind, never mind, never mind.
On top of that, Misty`s mom was arrested today. Lisa Croslin in court with Misty`s dad who had a hearing of his own this morning. They arrested her on a warrant for theft charges. She eventually bonded out and is now out on probation.
T.J. Hart, and now we have Leonard Padilla in the mix. What do you know about what he is doing with Lisa, Misty`s mom, bailing her out? What`s the plan there?
HART: Well, actually he`s trying to build some kind of a comfort zone there so he can perhaps work his way into the good graces to get Misty eventually out and perhaps get her to tell a little bit more of what happened the night that the child Haleigh Cummings disappeared about a year ago.
But a cease and desist letter dated Feb. 17th says we`ve been informed that you had purchased all these things for Hank and Lisa Croslin and this is from Misty`s lawyer. And he says that, "Why do you still bother these folks, anymore?" And he says that Ms. Croslin has made it clear to him that she does not desire your assistance in this matter before she (INAUDIBLE) tells you to pretty much get lost.
VELEZ-MITCHELL: All right. We`ve got --
BROOKS: Jane, they`re where they need to be, behind bars. That`s where they need to be. That`s where law enforcement needs them is behind bars. That`s it.
VELEZ-MITCHELL: That`s the solution. Thank you, fabulous panel for joining me tonight.
Tomorrow, we`re going to bring you a one hour special program. Tiger Woods` highly anticipated appearance, 11:00 a.m. Eastern here on HLN and then on ISSUES tomorrow night, in depth coverage for an entire hour.
END
