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Campbell Brown
Obama Lifts Ban on Offshore Drilling; Chechen Rebel Leader Claims Responsibility for Moscow Bombings
Aired March 31, 2010 - 20:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
CAMPBELL BROWN, CNN ANCHOR: Hi there, everybody. Our top story tonight, the president's big about-face on offshore drilling. His announcement this morning has fired up critics on the right and the left. Leading our mash-up, always we're watching it all so you don't have to.
Environmentalists are crying betrayal. They say President Obama and candidate Obama turned out to be very different people. Well, not to be outdone, supporters of offshore drilling are also angry tonight, complaining the president's new plan doesn't go nearly far enough.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
BARACK OBAMA, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: The bottom line is this. Given our energy needs, in order to sustain economic growth and produce jobs and keep our businesses competitive, we are going to need to harness traditional sources of fuel even as we ramp up production of new sources of renewable home grown energy.
ALI VELSHI, CNN SENIOR BUSINESS CORRESPONDENT: The plan the president announced would open about 167 million acres over the Atlantic Ocean from Delaware to Central Florida. Also opening some parts in northern Alaska.
ANNOUNCER: Many Republicans who have long advocated for more drilling say the plan doesn't go far enough. Environmentalists say it is a recipe for disaster.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Offshore drilling is still a dirty and dangerous industry.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: reporter: It's a shift at least in rhetoric from when the President was Candidate Obama, campaigning in Florida.
OBAMA: When I'm president, I intend to keep in place the moratorium here in Florida and around the country, and that prevents oil companies from drilling off Florida's coasts.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: In 2008, Republican cheers of "drill, baby drill" taunted then Senator Obama's seeming opposition to it.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
BROWN: And in fact, Senator John McCain tweeted out tonight, "drill, baby drill, good move."
A Chechen rebel leader says he was behind twin suicide bombings in Russia's subway this week. He made the claim in an on-line video and said the attack was revenge for a Russian operation last month. Meanwhile, there was another deadly bombing today in Russia's Dagestan region. Take a look.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: (voice-over): The crater is from a car bomb that officials say exploded as it was driving near a government building in the town of Kizliah (ph). Watch what happens next. As police and security officials inspect the damage, a second explosion rips through the scene. Police say a suicide bomber dressed in a police uniform targeted the crowd which had gathered after the first blast, causing mayhem.
At least 12 people are reported killed. Nine of them police officers at the scene. In a video posted on the internet, the Chechen rebel leader says the bombings were a legitimate act of retribution for what he called the continued murder of peaceful civilians in the caucuses.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
BROWN: Russian Prime Minister Vladimir Putin won't rule out that the group behind the Moscow attacks planned today's bombings as well.
An Iranian scientist who disappeared last summer has surfaced here in the U.S. and he is reportedly spilling secrets about Iran's nuclear program to the CIA.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
JILL DOUGHERTY, CNN FOREIGN AFFAIRS CORRESPONDENT: The man's name is Shahram Amiri. We did report on him a few months back. So he is a nuclear scientist. He was working at a university that is allied with the nuclear program of Iran. He goes to Saudi Arabia to the holy sites and then he disappears. And at that point, Iran says he has been kidnapped by the United States.
According to people who have been briefed on the operation, the truth is he agreed to defect, even leaving his wife and family behind, George. He was believed to have worked at or near then secret nuclear facility outside the Iranian city of Qom. And U.S. officials stay information he provided helped to confirm what the CIA thought it knew about that secret facility.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
BROWN: And the CIA spokesman said that the agency will have no comment on the report.
Tonight the Vatican is circling the wagons around the Pope as the scandal over priest sexual abuse shows no signs of going away. A Milwaukee's archbishop apologized again and again for the way his archdiocese handled the case of one abusive priest, but he insisted that no mistakes were made in Rome.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: He begged the forgiveness of his congregation for the way that his diocese handled the case of the priest believed to have molested up to 200 boys. But he also said that the Pope is not to blame.
ARCHBISHOP JEROME LISTECKI, MILWAUKEE DIOCESE: The Holy Father has been firm in his commitment to combat clergy sexual abuse rooted out of the church, reach out to those who have been harmed, and hold perpetrators accountable.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Just four days before Easter, defenders of the Pope here and abroad are mounting a counter offensive against the accusers.
JACK CAFFERTY, "CAFFERTY FILE": Some Catholic officials suggest it was the previous Pope, John Paul II who blocked investigations into pedophile priests.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: The current archbishop of Munich now addresses the mistakes of the past in nearly every sermon. In mass tonight, (INAUDIBLE) spoke directly to the priests.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
BROWN: The Pope himself held his regular audience in St. Peter's Square today. He did not address the growing scandal.
It is water, water, everywhere across much of the northeast tonight after three days of record breaking rains. The good news, Rhode Island's governor says the flood waters are finally beginning to recede. Take a look.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
REYNOLDS WOLF, AMS METEOROLOGIST (voice-over): Going fishing reads the sign on this front door and they didn't have far to go. Hundreds of Rhode Island residents were forced from their home by yet another torrential downpour.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: In New Hampshire this afternoon, a dramatic rescue of a 16-year-old boy who clung to a tree for an hour after being trapped in floodwaters riding his bicycle. He suffered hypothermia.
In Rhode Island, another rescue. A security guard taken by raft from the Warwick Mall. A sprawling shopping complex that today looked like an island.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Signs of the economic times are also reflected in the floodwaters.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: It's a mess. The house was already underwater financially and now it is literally under water. UNIDENTIFIED MALE: And so many roads and even stretches of highway have been flooded including along i-95 that it takes forever to go almost nowhere.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
BROWN: Parts of i-95 still shut down tonight and are expected to remain closed through tomorrow morning's rush hour.
And that brings us to the punch line. You may remember Larry King's recent interview with Snoop Dogg. A lot of people still talking about it. Jay Leno, no exception. Take a look.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
JAY LENO, "THE TONIGHT SHOW," HOST: Snoop Dogg was on Larry King. But you know we love Larry King. Larry King is a good man. But you know, Larry, he is very good at trying to appeal to that younger demographic. Take a look.
SNOOP DOGG: I'm great at what I do, Larry, you understand me? It's only a few that can do what I do.
LARRY KING, "LARRY KING," HOST: You do good.
SNOOP DOGG: Thank you, Larry.
LENO: Kind of a gangster. Mr. Larry.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
BROWN: Jay Leno, ladies and gentleman. That is the mash-up. Coming up, we have some late breaking developments tonight in the case against Michigan's Hutaree militia. How an undercover agent infiltrated the alleged hate group and the lengths he went to win their trust when we come back.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
BROWN: Tonight, not guilty pleas from the so-called Christian warriors of the Michigan militia, the Hutaree. The police were entered on behalf of eight of the nine members arrested Monday for plotting to kill police and planning to start a revolution.
And now, dramatic new details about the undercover federal agent who infiltrated the group, Drew Griffin is outside the district court in Detroit and he is joining us right now with the very latest.
Drew, the prosecution basing their whole indication on the word of this undercover agent. What do we know about him?
DREW GRIFFIN, SPECIAL INVESTIGATIONS UNIT: You know, not much at all about him. The agent per se. That was a big complaint. This undercover agent wasn't in the court to have any of his testimony rebutted by the defense attorneys. But we do know this undercover agent practically lived with this group for many, many months. Training with them, teaching them even how to build explosives and showing how to make their explosives better all in an attempt to gain their trust, according to the assistant U.S. attorney.
But all the while he was training with them and talking with them and meeting with them and attending barbecues, he is gathering information. And even had some communications that he taped. It sounds like they do have evidence that he wore a wire and has this Hutaree militia in their own words with their threatening talk about taking over law enforcement agents and killing them and starting a war and all this stuff.
BROWN: And Drew, obviously this is a very strange group of people. I know more details about them came out in court today about their beliefs. Bring us up to speed on that.
GRIFFIN: Campbell, to be honest, very, very scary details about what this group said, but on top of that, more and more doubts about this group could do. What I mean by that is the overall plan by David Stone, who lived in a trailer that was worth $500 had no really means of support, was that he, he was going to form his own country out of four Michigan counties, and then defend that country against the rest of the world as the new world order came to try to take away his legal rights.
I mean, that was the basis for this kind of group. But they talked about killing police officers, burning police officers' homes, and then shooting the officers and their families as they would come running out of this burning building. They talked about, but never quite mastered the art of building an IED with shrapnel that could blow up through squad cars or blow up through a funeral procession. A lot of hateful talk.
Even talk about referencing they were going to kill Senator Kennedy, obviously, before Senator Edward Kennedy passed away, to show that he bled just like the rest of us. So a lot of politically inspired hate. A lot of crazy talk is what I deemed it. But not a lot of real specifics about what this group could actually do.
BROWN: And we did get a little sense, Drew, of the defense today. I want people to hear the lawyer of the militia leader, David Stone, Sr., let's play that.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
WILLIAM SWOR, ATTORNEY FOR DAVID STONE, SR.: It's legal to speak out in America. It's legal to have opinions in America. It's legal to assemble with people in America. Nobody here threw any bricks through any windows or attacked any congressmen or called anybody any foul names because they had a different opinion. They talk. You're allowed to talk.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
BROWN: You're allowed to talk. So, Drew, how does the prosecution respond to this? GRIFFIN: The prosecution says this group was dangerous, had the means to carry out what they were talking about, and that they felt they were indeed a danger. And it is a questionable - it's a questionable case, I got to admit, Campbell. But it's a questionable case that prosecutors and law enforcement officers have to deal with all the time. How long do we sit and watch what seems to be a dangerous group before that dangerous group actually carries out one of these things?
And god forbid we're watching them and allow them to carry it out before we swoop down on them. So it was a judgment call that was made by the U.S. attorney and the FBI to crack this whip before this group could get out of hand. But now the defense attorneys are going to argue, of course, that nothing did get out of hand so what have you got on us?
BROWN: All right. A case we will keep tracking, obviously. Drew Griffin for us tonight. Drew, thanks very much. Appreciate it.
When we come back, RNC chairman Michael Steele facing harsh new criticism. Tonight, a major ally says the bondage theme topless club fiasco was the final straw. We got that story next.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
BROWN: Pressure is mounting tonight on Republican National Committee Chairman Michael Steele. The high profile conservative Family Research Council now telling Republicans to stop giving money to the RNC while former Senator Rick Santorum has blasted Steele for "in his words, an absence of leadership." The heavy fire comes courtesy of the latest controversy under Steele's watch. The committee's reimbursement of a GOP consultant who paid nearly $2,000 to entertain young Republicans at a topless bondage themed club in Los Angeles. Here's the late night take on bondage-gate, as some are calling it.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
DAVID LETTERMAN, HOST: The Republican National Committee had a big party at some kind of a sex club in Los Angeles, and they spent $2,000 of campaign donation money on the bill.
JON STEWART, HOST "COMEDY CENTRAL": Here's a little hint to the "New York Times." You're wondering why print is dead. You went with the GOP opens inquiry on club expenditures? Hmm. Perhaps you could have gone something with right wing xxx-tremists.
LENO: They dropped over $2,000 for staffers at a topless bondage themed nightclub right here in L.A.. This is the Republican version of a stimulus plan.
Michael Steele had this $2,000 at the bondage nightclub. What was that all about?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Somebody ought to lose their credit card, their RNC credit card. (END VIDEO CLIP)
BROWN: And joining me right now from Washington is CNN's senior political correspondent, Candy Crowley and CNN's political contributor, Mary Matalin, as well.
Candy, let me start with you here, you know, today the sex club scandal, I guess, hit the RNC where it really hurt, which is the bank account. Yet Tony Perkins, president of the Family Research Council telling his supporters to stop giving money. His quote was "The RNC is completely tone deaf to the values and concerns of a large number of people from whom they are seeking financial support." How big a deal is this?
CANDY CROWLEY, CNN SENIOR POLITICAL CORRESPONDENT: Well, listen. It's probably a bigger deal in the reporting of it and the dissemination of that information and probably to the bottom line. I mean, amidst to all of this, and certainly Michael Steele is in some kind of trouble at this point. Even if it is a PR problem rather than an actual job problem.
But he is still in the last 14 months, and I looked this up before coming on air. The RNC has still raised more money than the DNC, despite the fact that some Republican insiders have been upset with Michael Steele since he took office. So as long as the bottom line is kind of there, the problem that Steele has right now is he is spending so much money. I think more than the nightclubs, more than some of the verbal gaffes he has made, it is the expenditures. Not specifically on this nightclub but in general that are a problem for him.
BROWN: Mary, do you agree with Candy on that? I mean, there is clearly a perception problem because his spending has been an issue well before this. I mean, there was talk of limousines and private planes and this type of thing. Especially when you hear conservatives sort of pushing this, you know, reining in spending message. How big of a deal is this?
MARY MATALIN, REPUBLICAN STRATEGIST: Well, that the tax for the democrats on spending to raise money is a little disingenuous. The DNC has spent millions of dollars to raise money. It take money to raise money. You can't send high rollers to a low place. But Candy's absolutely right about the bottom line.
The RNC is raising money, more importantly, those big donors and other donors who have been concerned about the Steele chairmanship are redirecting their money to the congressional committee and the Senate committee and arguably that's not a bad place to have more money in a mid-term election, which will focus on those individual races.
BROWN: But is he helpful to the party right now for people to be talking about this? I mean, what do Republican movers and shakers think about him? Is he still influential?
MATALIN: No, this is an eye-rolling moment. And it's - I'm sure he did not know. Or I'll just, you know, Candy and I go back. When I worked at the Republican National Committee, (INAUDIBLE) fired me for losing, when the RNC lost the softball game to the DNC. So you do kind of, the chairman should be, I supposed, involved in a way that you wouldn't have those kinds of people consulting or hiring those people. But Candy is right about the drip, drip, drip of distractions. This is one of a succession of events that have frustrated people about this chairmanship.
BROWN: And Candy, you know, he was also supposed to be the new face of the Republican Party to be an attractive draw. Somebody who could expand the party's reach more generally. Has he been able to accomplish that at all?
CROWLEY: Sure. I mean, he is the first African-American to run the RNC. Let me tell you something just to sort of try to give this a little bit of perspective, and I think Mary will agree with me. There are close to 170 members of the Republican National Committee. As long as Michael Steele stays on the right side of most of them, he is just fine.
This isn't about party insiders. It is not about John Boehner, or Mitch McConnell and whether they talk to him or not. You'll remember that Howard Dean got into a lot of trouble, when he was running the DNC but he stayed three. You know why, because only the members of the committee can actually vote to fire him.
So, I think that, you know, Michael Steele might want to take a lower profile. Certainly there are some problems here with the way he seems to be running that committee. But if he can stay on the right side of the state party chairman, if he can stay on the right side of those 170 people, then he is just fine.
BROWN: Mary, former Senator Rick Santorum told this crowd in Iowa, 'If somebody who worked for my organization did something like this, he would be out of a job." Would he survive this, should he survived this too, in your opinion?
MATALIN: Well, Candy, the point Candy makes about he serves at the pleasure of those members, our committee's a little different than the democratic committee. We have far fewer members and they are very big deal. There's two national committee members and a state chairman in every state. They're very close to their senators and congressmen. They're power players in their states.
And if the other part of the party aren't happy with the chairman, the members will step up. But there is the infrastructure. It would not be practical to run him out of there. But he needs to take a step back and do, raise some money and do some turnout and get the job done.
BROWN: But as a Republican, Mary, do you think he ought to step down or not?
MATALIN: I think that would just be another distraction for the Democrats to, he's a good person. He could be a good chairman. He is a really good, just a good person. I don't think he should step down which would give them another negative story. But he has got to clean up the act some.
BROWN: Mary Matalin and Candy Crowley, thanks, guys. Appreciate it.
MATALIN: Sure.
BROWN: Coming up, we all know you can't fight city hall. But what happens when the city comes out fighting for you when you're about to lose your home? That when we come back.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
BROWN: It is the worst possible result of hard times. The double heartache of losing your job and on top of that, your home. Three million Americans expected to file for foreclosure this year. And the federal government programs are not helping very much. But one city hit hard by the housing crisis has its own plan and it is working. Ali Velshi reports right now from Philadelphia.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
VELSHI (voice-over): This is Brendan Flannery's haven. He bought the house in 2001. It's main draw? The big yard for his daughter, Tierna (ph), to play in. Brendan is a proud homeowner, making improvements even though he could lose the house.
BRENDAN FLANNERY, HOMEOWNER: Well, I'm still working right now. Yes, I'm still working on the house, trying to, you know, make improvements on it. It is my home.
VELSHI: He said his world started crumbling with his divorce in late 2007. Shortly after that, he took out a loan to work on the house. And right after that loan came through -
FLANNERY: I lost my job. It was - the timing really sucked. You know, boy the job market is, it is a lot harder to find a job than I was thinking it was going to be.
VELSHI (on camera): You've been working?
FLANNERY: I've been working as a temporary employee. I have different assignments here and there, pretty much for the past year and a half.
VELSHI (voice-over): Working at temporary jobs, he fell behind on his mortgage payment. His lender, Bank of America, initiated foreclosure proceedings on the house but the city where Flannery lives, Philadelphia, threw him a life line.
This is the city's mortgage foreclosure diversion program. The first of its kind and it is fast becoming a model for other cities. It not your typical court hearing. Every Thursday, homeowners, their lender's attorneys and a judge gather in room 676.
JUDGE ANNETTE RIZZO, COURT OF COMMON PLEAS: No residential, owner occupied property can go to sharp sale without coming through this program.
VELSHI: Judge Annette Rizzo established this program. She said Philadelphia was facing a massive foreclosure crisis. 10,000 cases in 2008 alone. In this courtroom, the banks through their attorneys have to come face to face with homeowners and try to work out a deal.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I'm going to turn this in.
VELSHI: Homeowners are assigned a housing counselor to mediate conversations with lenders and if they need one, a free attorney. Since the program started in 2008, city officials say about 5,500 homeowners have gone through the conference. Almost 2,000 homes have been saved. 1,100 couldn't be saved and have gone sheriff's sale.
RIZZO: It forces the dialogue. It forces the homeowner to bring all their paperwork and also to connect with a lender attorney who can infiltrate and get through that black abyss to get to the person of authority to get the deal done.
VELSHI: By the time Flannery arrived here, he was desperate and frustrated. At the suggestion of his lender, Bank of America he had tried to save his home through the New Federal Home Affordable Modification Program, which worked out a schedule of payments but Flannery says he found himself tangled up in a morass of red tape, lost documents that he was told were received and miscommunications with the bank. Bottom line, when he arrived here last December, his home was still in foreclosure despite the fact that he says he made three months of payments on time as he was required to do.
(on camera): What's your hope?
FLANNERY: My hope is that, I mean, this works out. That they actually, you know, I don't lose my house.
(voice-over): This courtroom may be Flannery's last best hope. He was assigned to housing councilor Pamela Kennebrew.
PAMELA KENNEBREW, HOUSING COUNCILOR: I consulted with the attorney for his mortgage company and they agreed to have him come back on January 21st when his permanent documents, loan (ph) documents should be in.
FLANNERY: She's kind of, I guess, to make sure they do their job.
KENNEBREW: It's a good case. He has the means. He just needs to have the opportunity to get back on track.
VELSHI: We went back to Philly in January for Flannery's follow- up hearing. At 2:00 p.m. the day before, Kennebrew got an unexpected e-mail from Bank of America's lawyer.
KENNEBREW: This is stuff we provided before. They requested the beginning of the month, they requested a letter from his former employer. They never said anything about needing updated anything. This is ridiculous. It's so annoying. VELSHI: The next day, Flannery took the additional items to court. Kennebrew spoke to the Bank of America attorney, David Fein, to make sure all the paperwork was in order.
KENNEBRW: Could you just check with your client and make sure that they have the repayment they need?
DAVID FEIN, LENDER ATTORNEY: Yes, I will.
KENNEBREW: All right.
VELSHI: Fein wouldn't talk about Flannery' case or even as Bank of America's lawyer. But speaking as an attorney who's been through this process --
FEIN: I think the best part of the program is it gets both sides to the table. Our clients understand a little bit more where the homeowner is coming from. It's a lot easier to do it when you're in the same room than, you know, back and forth over the phone or by fax or e-mail.
KENNEBREW: You did ask David a question whether or not your house was going to go to sheriff's sale. And what did he say?
FLANNERY: He said it wasn't going to.
KENNEBREW: Yes. You're sort of in a cocoon of protection, all right. And you're in the program and nothing can happen while you're still in the program.
VELSHI: But a week later, one more anxious moment. After first acknowledging receipt of his January payment, Bank of America wrote Flannery that the payment was missing and he could be kicked out of the government program. It turned out it was a mistake. The bank called and apologized.
(on camera): Brendan Flannery has the Philadelphia foreclosure court to help him but most Americans aren't that lucky. In fact, only about 12.5 percent of those people who have applied under the federal program to prevent foreclosure have received a new mortgage. Bank of America has not responded to our requests for an on-camera interview about Brendan's situation or the Philadelphia program.
(voice-over): On February 4th, Bank of America called with some good news. Flannery would get a new loan with more manageable payments. Signing those papers means a fresh start for this homeowner.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
BROWN: And Ali Velshi is joining us right now. So, Ali, explain what makes this work so much better than the federal government's program.
VELSHI: Because, Campbell, it gets the bank and the lender, the borrower together face to face. It's old-fashioned banking. Foreclosure is about the most dehumanizing process you can imagine. I've got e-mails after e-mails and phone calls from people who say I can't even get somebody at the bank. This process makes the bank through their lawyer come face to face with the borrower and they see a real human. And guess what, when you see a real human, you do the right thing, Campbell.
BROWN: No kidding. Great piece. Ali Velshi for us tonight. Ali, thank you so much. Appreciate it.
VELSHI: Thanks, Campbell.
BROWN: Still ahead, outrage in Massachusetts as a community confronts its bullies. Well, now, the high school principal is speaking out after one of his students was driven to suicide. We have his exclusive interview coming up next.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
BROWN: Tonight for the very first time, the Massachusetts school principal at the center of the bullying firestorm is speaking out. We're going to hear in just a moment. But first, more students have been expelled for attacks on 15-year-old Phoebe Prince. Attacks prosecutors say led to her suicide. Nine teenagers face criminal charges in the month-long bullying campaign. Three of them will be arraigned next week.
As outrage in this community grows, South Hadley principal Daniel Smith finds himself under increased scrutiny. He defended his school's handling of the situation today in an exclusive interview with CNN's Alina Cho. Take a look.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
DANIEL SMITH, PRINCIPAL, SOUTH HADLEY HS: We are working through and revising our procedures and policies and so forth, yes.
ALINA CHO, CNN CORRESPONDENT: And are you encouraged by the results so far? Do parents seem to be encouraged by the results?
SMITH: So far, I think we are. I mean, we're working on that. Yes.
CHO: But what do you say to all of the parents who are outraged and who are calling for your resignation?
SMITH: At this point, I'm not going to talk any further.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
BROWN: Also speaking out is the mother of Sharon Velazquez -- Velazquez, I believe I'm pronouncing that right, who is one of the teens charged in the case. She defended her daughter to Laura Crimaldi of the "Boston Herald."
Laura is joining us right now, along with Professor Susan Limber of the Olweus Bullying Prevention Program which is used in some 5,000 schools across the country.
Laura, let me say this is the first time we heard directly I guess from anyone in the case. Explain to us how this mother is explaining her daughter's behavior?
LAURA CRIMALDI, REPORTER, "BOSTON HERALD": Certainly. What Mrs. Chanon says is that her daughter had some sort of verbal exchange with Phoebe Prince about a month before Phoebe died. And that her daughter was suspended for that action. And that further, that she grounded her daughter for this verbal exchange. Now what was said between these two teenagers, her mother is not saying.
BROWN: Basically, the mother says the daughter is innocent, I guess, because she didn't touch her? But the D.A. is saying differently. Explain the charges she's facing and do you know where she is right now? Is she still in school?
CRIMALDI: Well, her mother told me that she took her out of school on Monday once the charges were announced because she feared for her daughter's safety. Now, yesterday we learned from school officials that two more students have been expelled in connection to Phoebe Prince's death. The missing piece of information is who are those two students?
As far as what she had to say about her daughter's interactions with Phoebe Prince, she made clear that her daughter didn't attack her, didn't tell her to go kill herself. And these are things that we've been hearing from other students and parents in the community as examples of the abuse that Phoebe endured.
BROWN: So, you know, as people heard a minute ago, we finally heard from the principal who didn't say a whole lot, frankly, but presumably you've been hearing a lot from people in the community. The parents obviously furious. I mean, what's the reaction there? And who are they blaming?
CRIMALDI: Well, the frustration from the community is coming from the fact that they're hearing two different stories. The prosecutor in the case is saying that this majority of the school student body was aware of the bullying that Phoebe Prince endured and that it took place over a period of three months.
School officials did an investigation after she committed suicide and told the community that the bullying took place about a week before she died. And now people in South Hadley want to know why they -- the school officials didn't have any information about this beforehand when the D.A. is saying that there are at least four students and two teachers who intervened on Phoebe Prince's behalf some time before her death.
BROWN: So, Dr. Limber, I don't know if you can address this case specifically but the school is obviously being hit really hard here for not listening to parents and for I guess the action, or not taking any sort of action. What could they have done? What should they have done? SUSAN LIMBER, CLEMSON UNIVERSITY PROFESSOR: Well, I'd rather not speak to the particulars of this case, but what I will say is, you know, bully prevention is a very, very difficult thing. It's something that I think all of our schools are really trying to tackle. Bullying is a very prevalent phenomenon. And I think what administrators need to do is really be very, very careful to listen to what their kids are saying and to proactively look for signs of bullying. Really with a lot of the legislation that's been implemented recently, many schools, most school districts are required by state law to develop policies around bullying. And part of that policy really needs to be good training of their staff, to look for problems and to make sure that they're actively speaking out information from kids.
BROWN: But when does this cross this line? I mean, I think that's what everybody sort of struggling with here, from being sort of a mean girl situation to a crime.
LIMBER: Well, and it can be a line that is difficult to know when it is crossed. You know, there's a lot of bullying that goes on in schools that kids feel intensely and can really affect kids dramatically even if there aren't crimes involved. So I think it really behooves us as adults to take all the acts of bullying seriously. Meaning we investigate, we follow up.
BROWN: Right.
LIMBER: We make sure that we're trying to create a climate at the school where kids come forward and talk to us so we know, are we dealing with the tip of an iceberg that really is pretty serious.
BROWN: Dr. Limber, I appreciate your time. And Laura Crimaldi of the "Boston Herald" as well. Thanks, guys, for joining us. Out of time but appreciate your being here.
When we come back, Anderson Cooper's investigation into the allegations of abuse at the highest levels of the Church of Scientology right after this.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
BROWN: Coming up, someone is setting booby traps targeting cops in California. Tonight, the search for clues. But first, more must- see news happening now. Mike Galanos here with the "Download."
Hey, Mike.
MIKE GALANOS, HLN PRIME NEWS: Hey, Campbell. First off, a federal judge today ruled that government investigators illegally tapped the phones of an Islamic charity. This was back in 2004. The Bush administration designated the Oregon-based foundation a terrorist organization. They sued, accusing the government of warrantless wiretapping. Now the government has 45 days to appeal.
South African runner Caster Semenya says she will race again this summer despite lingering questions about her gender. The 800-meter world champion was told by South African racing officials she must wait for the results of her gender tests which are expected in June. Now Semenya says she's frustrated that she's not been allowed to return to competition.
Well, the party is over at a Philadelphia charter school. The Harambee Institute of Science and Technology allowed a nightclub to operate after hours on campus until now. The club was in a cafeteria and served alcohol at night and on weekends. School district officials found that objectionable and tonight the nightclub is out of business.
Finally this, Washington, D.C.'s official harbinger of spring is expected to attract more than a million visitors to the capital this year. We're talking about the beautiful cherry blossom festival. A celebration of Japan's gift of thousands of cherry blossom trees to the U.S. back in 1912. The peak blooms we're told, tomorrow and Friday. A little sooner than usual because of some warmer than expected weather in D.C. earlier this month. Very beautiful.
Campbell, back to you.
BROWN: That's recent video. Those are beautiful, those pictures.
All right, Mike Galanos tonight. Mike, thanks very much.
"LARRY KING LIVE" starts in just a few minutes. Larry, what do you have tonight?
LARRY KING, HOST, "LARRY KING LIVE": By the way, nothing like the cherry blossoms. If you can get to Washington, a wonderful experience. Really is.
Jesse James has checked into rehab. The husband of actress Sandra Bullock may be trying to get the act together, maybe to keep the marriage intact. We'll talk about what he might be getting treatment for.
And on a broader topic, can people who cheat be rehabilitated? Or do they really have a problem? Next on "LARRY KING LIVE."
BROWN: You're right. Nothing like the cherry blossoms. All right, Larry, we'll see you in a few minutes.
Just ahead, accusations that the leadership of the Church of Scientology was involved in physical violence, charges the church vigorously denies. Anderson Cooper is next with a preview of his special investigation when we come back.
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BROWN: Over the last two nights, "AC 360" has reported on allegations of physical abuse made by former high-ranking members of the Church of Scientology against the church's leader, David Miscavige. The church not only denies all those allegations but says the allegations come from people who are working together to destroy the church.
Anderson Cooper is here to give as a preview of his story tonight about competing versions of what was going on inside the church and whether anyone ever told law enforcement about the alleged abuse.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
MARTY RATHBUN, FORMER SCIENTOLOGY INSPECTOR GENERAL: In late '03, there was a beating every day. And if it wasn't him doing it, it was from him inciting others to do it to others.
ANDERSON COOPER, CNN CORRESPONDENT: In front of other people.
RATHBUN: In front of other people.
COOPER (voice-over): Since first coming forward last year in the St. Petersburg time with allegations of abuse against church leader David Miscavige, Marty Rathbun and five other former high-ranking scientologists have found themselves under vigorous attack by the church they once dedicated their lives to. The former scientologists are accused of working together to destroy the church. Tommy Davis is the church spokesman.
TOMMY DAVIS, CHURCH OF SCIENTOLOGY SPOKESMAN: The church is going to defend itself. It's going to defend itself for its own sake and it's going to defend itself for the sake of its parishioners. And the fact of the matter is these individuals are out there and they're lying.
COOPER: Current and former senior scientologists sent CNN dozens of declarations, e-mails and affidavits defending the church and its leader, and attacking the credibility of those who've spoken out.
DAVID MISCAVIGE, CHURCH OF SCIENTOLOGY LEADER: Thank you very much.
COOPER: In sworn affidavits, a number of church members make specific allegations against Marty Rathbun, including more than a dozen instances of physical violence. One person writes she witnessed Rathbun hitting a colleague, quote, "about the head and in the face while yelling at him." Another writes, Rathbun, quote, "walked into the office and appeared upset with me." Adding, "he suddenly punched me in the stomach." And his own ex-wife says Marty Rathbun lives for war.
(on camera): The affidavits are from people who said within the church, who said the beatings and the physical abuse was not perpetrated by David Miscavige but was perpetrated by you.
RATHBUN: Right. Outright lies. I did some and I didn't come in here ever telling you I was a little Lloyd Fauntleroy and never did anything wrong. I'm no angel. I'm going to tell you I was involved in this. But for God's sake to try to make it sound like I perpetuated the whole thing is just a complete and utter fabrication.
(END VIDEOTAPE) BROWN: And Anderson Cooper is here with me now and it looks like they disagree on who is committing the violence, but that everyone is on the same page about the violence being committed. I guess what did anybody do about it? I mean, did they notify police what was going on?
COOPER: Well, I mean, both sides no matter who you believe do say and in affidavits that there was violence occurring within the church. It's a question of who is committing it. The former scientologists say it was the church leader David Miscavige, and then some of them admit that they took part as well at his urging. The current scientologists say David Miscavige had nothing to do with this. It was these people making the accusations.
But no, no one ever called police on either side of this and I've talked to current scientologists and you'll see that tonight about why no police were called if, in fact, these people were committing acts of violence. You know, why didn't police ever get called? Why was this allowed to go on for years? And they say they wanted to deal with it internally and not deal with the police.
BROWN: And we should tell everybody, of course, you're going to have a lot more of this coming up on "AC 360" later tonight. Anderson Cooper, thanks very much.
"LARRY KING LIVE" starting in just a few minutes.
But first, authorities in California on the hunt for a potential cop killer who police suspect is behind a series of crude but lethal booby traps. That, next.
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BROWN: In California tonight, deadly booby traps targeting police have officials scrambling for clues. The traps are homemade and the purpose, to kill as many cops as possible. Ted Rowlands has tonight's "Breakout."
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
TED ROWLANDS, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): A new fence is going up behind police headquarters in Hemet, California. On the side of the building, an armored vehicle stands guard on a street now closed to traffic. Police officers here in this small town about 90 miles southeast of Los Angeles had been targeted by someone or some group that wants to kill cops. There have been four attacks in the past four months.
CHIEF RICHARD DANA, HEMET POLICE CHIEF: We want a public that feels safe. And it's kind of hard to make them feel real safe when you don't yourself.
ROWLANDS (on camera): The first incident took place here on New Years Eve at what was at the time Hemet police's undercover gang unit's secret location. Somebody took a piece of tubing and rerouted a gas line into that rooftop unit sending gas inside the building. (voice-over): Officers smelled the gas and cleared the building before anyone was injured. A month and a half later, again at the gang unit's no longer secret location, this gate was booby trapped with a loaded gun which went off and missed an officer by a few inches. After that, an officer found what's been described as a crude pipe bomb that had been attached to his car.
LT. DUANE WISEHART, HEMET POLICE DEPT.: The device itself was designed and intended to hurt or kill the officer.
ROWLANDS: The last incident was last week. Four city trucks torched outside city hall. In the wake of the Michigan militia indictments, a case in which police officers were the alleged target, could these attacks be the work of a militia?
Initially, investigators say suspicion fell on the Vagos motorcycle club.
(on camera): Across the street from the gang unit is a church and according to police, two days before the first incident, there was a huge gang funeral at that church.
(voice-over): Investigators speculated that someone at the funeral may have figured out the gang unit's secret location. But a source close to the case tells CNN investigators now think it's unlikely the gang is responsible. Through his attorney, the president of the Vagos motorcycle club is publicly denying any involvement.
We asked former FBI profiler Jack Trimarco to weigh in. He says the crude but lethal attacks, the gas, the gun taped to the fence, and the pipe bomb, leads him to think it's an individual with a grudge or a small group with similar views. He says established gangs would avoid at all costs the backlash from a police killing. A small albeit very unprofessional militia group, however, he says isn't out of the question.
JACK TRIMARCO, FORMER FBI PROFILER: It may be one or two or three. But it's not going to be a large group of people. It's going to be someone who is angry or has an ax to grind with law enforcement.
ROWLANDS: The FBI, along with several other agencies, has established a task force to work the case. They won't comment on whom at this point they believe could be responsible. Meanwhile, until the case is solved, police officers here are protecting themselves while they investigate who's trying to kill them.
Ted Rowlands, CNN, Hemet, California.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
BROWN: And that does it for us. "LARRY KING LIVE" starts right now.
