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Jesse Jackson, Jr. Pleads Guilty; Woman Missing After Explosion; China Denies Hacking; Death Row Inmate Still Alive; No Bail Yet for Pistorius; Jodi Arias on the Stand for Eighth Day

Aired February 20, 2013 - 11:00   ET

THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.

JOHN BERMAN, CNN ANCHOR: Hello everyone. I am John Berman in for Ashleigh Banfield today. And from Capitol Hill to the courthouse and maybe to prison Jesse Jackson Jr. is not the first law maker to make this journey but he's the one pleading guilty as we speak.

No bail yet for the blade runner but the defense scores some points as new details emerge from the death of his model girlfriend.

This used to be the place to see and be seen in Kansas City.

Today it is a smoldering ruin and a woman is still unaccounted for.

But we begin at this hour at the D.C. courthouse where Jesse Jackson, Jr., son of the civil rights icon, former Democratic congressman from Chicago is pleading guilty to skimming -- actually, make that shoveling -- money from his campaign coffers for personal luxuries.

We're talking $43,000 for a Rolex watch, another five grand for furs and cashmere clothing, eight grand for two hats once owned by Michael Jackson, almost $10,000 for children's furniture, five more for a football autographed by U.S. presidents.

That's a lot of money, $750,000 in all illegally diverted and due to be paid back. And you know what? That's not all.

CNN's Lisa Sylvester is outside the courthouse. We're not just talking money, Lisa, here. We're talking about the possibility of jail time.

LISA SYLVESTER, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Yeah, that's right, John. In fact, the proceedings are still going on as we speak. I just came out minutes ago. They are all inside the courthouse.

He is in the process right now of pleading guilty. He faces one charge of conspiracy to commit mail fraud, wire fraud and making false statements. That carries a maximum of up to five years in prison and also a $250,000 fine.

And I can give you kind of a sense of what is going on right now in the courthouse.

First of all, his father, the Reverend Jesse Jackson, Jr., is also in the courthouse, also arrived today. His wife who is also facing charges for filing a false tax return, she has her own separate hearing this afternoon, but she is also in the courthouse as well as Judy Smith.

And this is a name that is quite familiar here in Washington. She's the crisis manager, famous for cases like the Monica Lewinsky case, many famous cases where, essentially, she comes in and helps the defense.

So, we're going to see what happens as far as how much time he actually ends up getting. It's going to be ultimately up to the judge.

But the judge did -- he came in. He was sworn in, so all of this was under oath. And the judge wanted to get a sense of his state of mind. He asked him questions, for instance, have you been seen by a doctor, which, as we do know that Jesse Jackson, Jr., has been seen by a psychiatrist.

And, so, they went through this whole process essentially to get to his state of mind. He acknowledged he was fully aware of what he was doing, fully aware of the court proceedings.

And from here we're going to continue on and see what happens next.

Another interesting little tidbit I can tell you, John, is during the court proceeding which lasted about 20 minutes before I had to come out here, so it is, as I said, still ongoing, but there was at least four times during those 20 minutes where Jesse Jackson, Jr., looked back and it looked like he was looking directly at his father, at one point even giving a little, small smile to his father.

So, we're going to see how this looks at the end of the day. It's not clear if the judge is going to sentence him today. Typically, the judge will take a few days. And like I said, Jesse Jackson's wife will be back here in the courtroom for her own proceeding around 2:30 Eastern time, John.

BERMAN: You brought up Jesse Jackson, Jr., the congressman's state of mind. Of course, he took a very long leave of absence for what he called bipolar disorder.

And then he ran for re-election. He won, but then he quit two weeks later. This has been quite a year for Jesse Jackson.

SYLVESTER: Really. And it's been more than just a year. You know, if you look back it was actually -- remember the Blagojevich, the whole scandal of whether or not the seat, the Senate seat that was vacated by then-Senator President Obama.

So, he was wrapped up in the -- investigators first started looking at Jesse Jackson, Jr., related to that and then, from that, came this broader investigation that led to the misuse of campaign funds which is why we are here and where we are at today, John.

BERMAN: This seems to be the end of the story in some ways.

Lisa Sylvester in Washington for us today, thanks very much.

We're going to talk about this case with our legal experts, Carrie Hackett and Darren Kavinoky, later this half-hour.

Meanwhile, a massive explosion blows the roof off a popular Kansas City restaurant during happy hour. At least 15 people were hurt, and this morning the search is on for one person still believed to be missing, a woman who worked there.

Here's CNN's Ted Rowlands.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

TED ROWLANDS, CNN CORRESPONDENT: The explosion, which witnesses say could be felt blocks away, instantly engulfed J.J.'s restaurant, sending debris, including glass and bricks, flying through the air. Flames towered into the sky and black smoke could be seen for miles.

BETH SHELLY, WITNESS: We just live two blocks down and we just felt our building shake and we thought that a car had really ran into our apartment.

ROWLANDS: There were reports of the smell of gas an hour before the explosion. Fortunately, several people inside the restaurant were evacuated just minutes before the blast.

The cause is still under investigation, but according to the gas company, a contractor doing underground work may have struck a natural gas line.

After the fire was put out, dogs were brought in, in case there were additional victims.

CHIEF PAUL BERARDI, KANSAS CITY FIRE DEPARTMENT: I would always fear there are fatalities in a situation like this.

When we got to the scene, we had a fully involved restaurant that had patrons, probably several patrons, inside at the time of the incident, and so that's why we're here searching as we are.

ROWLANDS: The injured ranged from people who were hit by flying debris to those who suffered severe burns and are now fighting for their lives.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

ROWLANDS: And, John, this morning, as you mentioned, they continue to search for this female employee who is still missing.

They are moving some material away from the scene. You can see them up in that cherry picker there, getting an observation, a high-look at the area, and then they're doing to bring in some cadaver dogs once they've cleared some debris searching for this woman's remains.

BERMAN: Ted, they're just extraordinary pictures of the flames. It was so hot they had to call off the search at one point overnight?

ROWLANDS: They did. Because they first searched the perimeter of the area and what they could on the actual ground of the -- what was left of the restaurant.

They said, as it became dark, it became too dangerous to have the dogs there, so they suspended the search until this morning when the sun came up and now they're back at it.

BERMAN: All right, Ted Rowlands, thanks for that, in Kansas City for us today.

Meanwhile, gas prices are up for the 34th day in a row. The new national average is $3.77 for a gallon of regular unleaded.

Analysts say there is no relief in sight, higher oil prices, refinery closings and optimism about the global economy, all helping to push those prices up.

China's military says it did not carry out cyber-attacks against the United States. The denial comes a day after a Virginia cyber-security firm released a report about a hacking collective it claims has ties to the Chinese military.

So, it claims this non-descript building in Shanghai is the home to some of those operations.

This is what happened when a CNN camera crew tried to get some shots of that building, chased away by security guards. Interesting, to say the at least.

One of the pope's final acts could be changing the rules on succession. A spokesman says Pope Benedict is considering a change in the Vatican constitution to allow cardinals to vote for his replacement sooner than March 15th.

The pope is stepping down at the end of this month.

So, hardcore gamers, listen up. You probably already know what's coming. Sony unveils the Playstation 4 today.

It has been more than six years since Sony debuted the groundbreaking PS 3. You know, since then, the company's been losing market share to competitors.

The PS 4 reportedly will stream games, online.

All right, you have to get ready for another blast of wintry weather. Snow and ice are accumulating right now from California all the way to Wisconsin.

By the time its over, the Plains could see up to a foot of fresh snow.

Chad Myers is in the CNN Weather Center. He has the latest.

Chad, we've been talking about a lot of snow lately. Anyone talking about the "B" word, blizzard, this time?

CHAD MYERS, AMS METEOROLOGIST: Not yet, but I think it's certainly going to be there. There will certainly be blizzard conditions. We just don't have warnings out there just yet. We're going to have a lot of snow on the ground. Winds are going to be blowing 30-, 40-miles-per-hour, so ground blizzards, very low visibility, I-70, I-80, I-35, maybe even 29 and 25 here in the Plains. A lot of snow coming down from Salina back toward Goodland.

This entire pink zone right through there, that is a foot of snow or more and, to the south of here into Arkansas and parts of Oklahoma, we will have a pretty significant ice storm, as well.

The triple threat, the third part of this threat, is the chance of severe weather. This happens in the winter-time. We're almost -- we're moving into spring. You have spring-type weather on the south side of the storm and blizzard-like weather on the north side. That's just how it happens.

It's warming up down here. We're already getting into February, almost into March. That severe weather starts to pump up. The warm air starts to come in from the south as the cold low comes in, snow on one side, severe weather on the other.

We'll watch the severe weather for you. Even for tomorrow, there may be a few tornadoes in the forecast, John.

BERMAN: We will keep watching. Moving into spring, Chad, we will have to take your word for that.

Chad Myers, thanks very much.

MYERS: You're welcome.

BERMAN: New revelations in the Oscar Pistorius hearing, information the defense says will prove the "Blade Runner" acted in self-defense, so will he get bail? We'll have that in just a moment.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

BERMAN: A death row inmate in Georgia we told you about an Monday is still alive today despite the state's plans to execute him last night.

Warren Lee Hill, Jr., has an I.Q. of 70, which some say should spare him the death penalty under a Supreme Court ruling back in 2002.

But Georgia sets a very high standard for proving mental disability and judges before found that Hill did not meet that standard.

Federal and state appeals courts stepped in minutes before the scheduled lethal injection last night.

Olympic runner Oscar Pistorius will have to wail until tomorrow to find out if he is getting bail. A court in South Africa adjourned today without deciding whether he's a flight risk.

The defense lawyer grilled the investigating officer with some new revelations. Our Robyn Curnow has the details.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

ROBYN CURNOW, CNN CORRESPONDENT: More riveting details on what prosecutors say what happened Valentine's Day morning and countercharges from the defense.

According to prosecutors, witnesses heard arguing coming from the Pistorius home for an hour before the shooting. The defense saying the witness's house was 300 meters, about 1,000 feet away.

On the stand, the investigating officer said Pistorius used a cricket bat to break down the bathroom door. That bat and the cell phone found splattered in blood.

Using a diagram projected on a large screen, the officer said Pistorius aimed his gun at the toilet, pointing out that he had to turn and fire at an angle in order to hit the toilet.

Police also say a witness heard a gunshot, then heard a female scream, then more gunshots.

The defense say no female screamed.

Defense attorneys pressed the police officer who admitted that Steenkamp's body had no signs of an assault or signs of her defending herself.

The officer also conceding he could find nothing inconsistent with Oscar Pistorius' version of events. Pistorius has said he thought he was shooting at an intruder.

Prosecutors say police found bullets in a safe in the home. They say that will lead to charges of possessing illegal ammunition. But later, the investigators said they did not establish whose ammunition it was.

Authorities say they also found two boxes of testosterone and needles which defense attorneys contend is actually herbal medicine.

Prosecutors say there's no way the killing of Reeva Steenkamp was self-defense, that Pistorius knew his girlfriend was in the bathroom when he opened fire.

They cited two previous incidents of police encounters with Pistorius that suggest he could be prone to violence, adding that, since they consider Pistorius a flight risk, he should be held without bail.

And with that, court is adjourned until tomorrow.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

BERMAN: Robyn Curnow joins me now live from Pretoria in South Africa.

And, Robyn, just a short time ago, the uncle of Oscar Pistorius, a man named Arnold Pistorius, spoke about the family. Let's listen.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

ARNOLD PISTORIUS, UNCLE OF OSCAR PISTORIUS: It's affected everybody, and, you know -- and it's something, the death of a beloved one is something you can never, never change.

And, most probably, you won't be able to work through it completely. It's just there forever. You'll take it --

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BERMAN: Obviously emotional for the family.

And the emotions of Oscar Pistorius have been an issue the last several days. But how did he appear today? Was he as up set as he had been?

CURNOW: No. You know, we've talked about it, how he's been so physically overwrought at times that he's hunched over, cried into his arms, shaking uncontrollably. I mean, he's literally been trying to control himself and couldn't at times. He was definitely a little bit more controlled, a little more centered today. He was sitting up right, he wasn't bent over.

But for his uncle, in the rest of that interview, saying that, for Oscar, this has been incredibly hard, to have to listen to the events of that night over and over and over again. I mentioned to you before on air that every time the word "Reeva" or "murder" was mentioned, he would collapse again.

So today he's more confident and I think the reason why is that his defense team really seemed to discredit or at least weaken the state's argument against him. And you really got a sense, even with that large family supporting him, they all started to loosen up a bit and did look more positive. So that appears to be the status today. What happens tomorrow, of course, a whole other ball game.

BERMAN: There was certainly new energy in the defense today. Robyn Curnow, in Pretoria, thanks for being with us.

Tonight, Erin Burnett explores how the Oscar Pistorius murder case in trial in South Africa will differ from cases in the U.S. These are really important questions and differences. Watch "ERIN BURNETT OUTFRONT" at 7:00 Eastern Time on CNN. They will discuss those differences.

Meanwhile, Jodi Arias back on the stand after another day of graphic, graphic testimony. And today could be the day she finally testifies about killing her ex-boyfriend, Travis Alexander. Stay with us.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

BERMAN: Colorado is working out rules on who can buy marijuana in that state. Beginning next month, the state expects a wave of out-of- state visitors coming for pot, which voters made legal last year. Possible rules include signs on roads and airports warning visitors that marijuana cannot leave the state.

So today is the day we could hear Jodi Arias describe how she claims to have killed her ex-boyfriend Travis Alexander. It will be her eighth day on the stand. She's accused of brutally murdering him in 2008; she says she did it in self-defense. Yesterday, Arias told the court about the hours leading up to that moment.

Joining me now is Beth Karas, correspondent for "In Session" on our sister network truTV, and criminal defense attorney Carrie Hackett. Beth, let me start with you. Lots of highly sexual testimony here again, and yesterday Arias described text messages that she exchanged with Alexaander.

BETH KARAS, CORRESPONDENT, "IN SESSION" ON TRUTV: Yes. Now, these text messages, John, are part of her foundation for describing to the jury the nature of her relationship with the man she killed. She wants the jury to believe she killed him in self-defense and that she feared him. They had a very tempestuous relationship; it was really a love-hate thing. And they were telling each other they loved each other and then there were nasty text messages.

So that's why these messages were introduced. She would describe how they affected her and how she would tremble even though she was 1,000 miles away.

BERMAN: So Carrie, when you see these texts, when the jury sees these texts, sometimes hot, some times cold, sometimes loving, sometimes not -- what do you think the jury sees?

CARRIE HACKETT, CRIMINAL DEFENSE ATTORNEY: Well, I think what was really interesting in yesterday's testimony was that texts were read into the record that contained information about revenge and punishment. I think that's really going to go to the defense's case that he was an aggressor and that she was acting in self-defense here. I think that revenge and punishment -- that he's going to punish her for the things that she's done and he's going to get revenge on her -- that can really help Jodi Arias out here.

BERMAN: Sort of setting the tone here.

And Beth, do we finally expect to hear about the actual killing today? It is the eighth day of this and we haven't heard about the actual moment of the killing.

KARAS: Yes. Unless she has some excuse for not being in court today, like she's sick, she's going to talk about it at 12:30 Eastern Time when she resumes her testimony. Because court broke on a cliffhanger yesterday. She was right at the point of taking photos of him in the shower; the attack occurs right after, or right as she's taking photos of him in the shower. So she's going to get to the killing now. Let's see how much she remembers of it, though.

BERMAN: It almost did seem like they stopped to build up the tension of the moment.

Carrie, let me ask you, because you brought up building a case here in the defense. Arias denied prosecutors' allegations yesterday that she dyed her hair, denied circumstances about renting a car before her last trip to Alexander's house; denied, really, the idea of premeditation. What kind of case she was lay out here as she testifies?

HACKETT: Well, she's basically trying to tell the jury that she didn't go there intending to kill Travis Alexander. I think that the jury is going to have to determine whether her testimony is credible in light of the fact that she has given investigators and various news outlets several different stories about what happened there. So they're going to have to listen to her testimony and decide whether what she's saying about the murder, whether she was attacked and acted in self-defense, whether that was credible or not. But she is sticking to her story that she did not intend to kill Travis Alexander when she went to visit him in Arizona.

BERMAN: And again, we say it again, today should be the day we finally hear from Arias about the killing itself. Thanks, Beth. Thanks, Carrie Hackett.

A reminder you can watch the Jodi Arias trial this afternoon on our sister networks, HLN and truTV's "In Session". Also, you can see it on CNN.com.

So from Capitol Hill to the courthouse and now maybe to prison. The troubled path of Jesse Jackson Jr.. Our legal experts weigh in at the bottom of the hour.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

BERMAN: Checking the stories making headlines at this hour. Thousands hit the streets of Athens protesting pension and wage cuts. Greece's two main private and public sector unions organized a 24 hour general strike against the country's austerity policies. So far this has been peaceful.

So Robin Roberts is back. She returned to the set of ABC's "Good Morning America" this morning after signing off nearly six months ago to undergo a bone marrow transplant for a rare blood disorder. Listen to what she says helps get her through the difficult time.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

ROBIN ROBERTS, GMA HOST: Faith, family and friends have brought me to this moment. And I am so full of gratitude; there are so many people I want to thank throughout the morning.

(END VIDEO CLIPS)

BERMAN: And Robin was welcomed back to the show this morning with a taped message from President and Mrs. Obama. And on a personal note, let me say, Robin, you rule.

So when Chad Leathers watched painful tumors take over his brother Drew's body, he took charge of the fight against a rare disease in a truly unusual way. Here's Dr. Sanjay Gupta with this week's "Human Factor".

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

DR. SANJAY GUPTA, CNN CHIEF MEDICAL CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): What would compel thousands of people to run a mile in their underwear in the middle of winter? They're raising money to help this man, Drew Leathers, and many others like him who suffer from neurofibromatosis, or NF. It causes noncancerous tumors to grow in the body.

Drew grew up in the suburbs of Atlanta, and when he was 16, he was diagnosed with this rare disease.

DREW LEATHERS, NF PATIENT: By senior year of high school the pain was a daily experience for me.

GUPTA: By the time he was 23, the tumors were so bad he says he was no longer able to walk. Little was known about the illness or how to treat it. Drew's struggle inspired his brother Chad to do something drastic. He gave up his successful graphics company and joined the Children's Tumor Foundation to raise money and awareness for NF.

CHAD LEATHERS, DREW'S BROTHER: To see a life that you see so promising being stripped away, you know, the only thing to do is to reach out and do your best to try to find a solution and educate other people about it.

GUPTA: Four years ago, the Cupid's Undie Run was conceived. The first event, held in D.C., raised approximately $10,000. Now the event has gone international and race officials say more than $1.3 million will be raised this year.

At 25, Drew is benefiting from his brother's efforts. After being bedridden for years, he's in a clinical trial that uses a cancer drug to shrink those tumors. He has less pain, he's out of bed, drives a car and he plans to go back to school next fall.

D. LEATHERS: The fact that we have an option to stem the tide of that suffering in any way makes it the most important thing I could do with my life.

GUPTA: And Drew gives a lot of credit to his brother and their friends who are working to help him and others suffering from NF.

C. LEATHERS: Through all of this, you know, he's just been a stalwart. He's been so strong, he's had such faith and it has been because of the community that's been around him.

GUPTA: Dr. Sanjay Gupta, CNN, reporting.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)