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Boulder D.A. Holds News Conference on Arrest in Ramsey Case; Judge Orders Halt to NSA Wiretapping

Aired August 17, 2006 - 12:00   ET

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

FREDRICKA WHITFIELD, CNN ANCHOR: American John Mark Karr soon to be ejected from Thailand and sent to Boulder, Colorado.
You're looking and live pictures right now, the preparations being made for the press conference in Boulder, Colorado, just minutes away. We are expecting to hear from the district attorney, Mary Lacy. And you're seeing a team of other investigators and officials who will be heading their way to the podium that's now set up.

Our Ed Lavandera is there.

And Ed, great expectations about hearing about these details as to why investigators felt like now is the time to focus on John Mark Karr in Thailand.

ED LAVANDERA, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, in a phone interview yesterday, John Ramsey, JonBenet's father, had said that this investigation had been re-ignited in the last three to four months. And based on what John Mark Karr is saying in Thailand, that he had been -- according to The Associated Press -- that he had been communicating with Patsy Ramsey before she died.

Also, a journalism professor at the University of Colorado here in Boulder who says that he had been corresponding with him -- with Karr as well, and said that those e-mails at one point got weird and that information was passed over to investigators here. And authorities tracked down this e-mail address to Thailand. So, this was something that came about very quickly in the last three to four months.

I can tell you that just watching the group of prosecutors and the police chief here in Boulder, they're making their way out of the building, and they should be arriving there at the podium in the next couple of seconds to perhaps begin this press conference any second now.

WHITFIELD: And what's remarkable, you talk about that e-mail correspondence between John Mark Karr and the Colorado professor. Correspondence that spanned four years. And this professor felt like he had some pretty incredible details that he felt was very pertinent to pass over to investigators, who took it seriously.

LAVANDERA: Obviously being taken very seriously, especially considering what he -- what he was saying this morning. But, you know, in some of the published reports that came out about this journalism professor at the University of Colorado, he is also quoted as saying that he thought prosecutors were taking a real risk -- "taking a real risk, and we'll see how this thing unfolds."

So maybe a little bit of skepticism as to just how trustworthy and how believable John Mark Karr might be. So, you know, to kind of put the brakes here a little bit, given everything that's unfolded in the last -- in the last few hours from Thailand, you know, there still is a lot of work to be done.

You know, some people had brought up the issue of, you know, DNA samples, would DNA match the crime scene, handwriting samples. Remember, there was a ransom note left at the scene as well. What if his handwriting is completely different from what is seen in that ransom note? How does it affect the case?

So, there is still a lot of physical evidence, hard evidence from the crime scene that we haven't heard. Now, whether or not we hear that from prosecutors, or more details about this at this point, you know, we'll wait and see how that plays out. I would be very skeptical. The way things have moved so quietly and secretly over the last three or four months, I suspect that prosecutors will want to keep everything very close to the -- very close to the vest as they move forward in this case.

WHITFIELD: All right, Ed.

I want to bring in veteran defense attorney Larry Pozner, who is joining us as well with his insight.

And Larry, I wonder if you ever felt there was no way this case was ever really going to be solved, that this day of a primary suspect being charged might never come.

LARRY POSNER, DEFENSE ATTORNEY: Well, I thought that this might never come, but I'm not sure that we're at the right point yet. We're hearing a confession without any facts to support the confession. And what he has said so far leaves me skeptical.

He won't talk about how he got in. His wife says he wasn't even in the state. We're not hearing any evidence yet. And so I'm waiting to hear, is this an arrest warrant issued solely to extradite him so they can interview him, or has he given details that tie him to this crime?

WHITFIELD: But you've heard others say that this D.A., Mary Lacy, would be taking a huge risk if they weren't sure that they had some other evidence, besides this very unexpected televised confession that he spewed out last night, that she wouldn't take this kind of arrest, nor would her team of investigators, if they didn't have a lot.

POZNER: Well, we don't know more sure. Remember, they can't extradite him for purposes of an interview. They can only extradite him off of a warrant.

So, they may have filed a warrant solely to bring him back to Boulder so they can do the interviews. But right now, we don't have enough to say whether this is just another kook trying to get his 15 minutes of fame. I hope that's not true. I hope we have the right person.

WHITFIELD: So, are you also saying because he was in Thailand and the lead investigators are here in the states, that it's not likely that they have been able to match up any kind of DNA as of yet?

POZNER: Probably not. We don't know if they have any DNA, any hair, any handwriting. And most of all, these cops can sit down with and say, take me through it a step at a time. And if he can't do it, he's just making himself famous and he's another fraud.

WHITFIELD: OK. Larry, our legal analyst, Jeffery Toobin, is also with us now.

And Jeffrey, what do you say to that, that, you know, this really still may be rather premature, that the DA's office may not have the kind of DNA that they would need in order to seal this case or make it a little bit more rock solid before ever going to trial, if there is one?

JEFFREY TOOBIN, CNN SR. LEGAL ANALYST: Well, I certainly don't know whether they have DNA evidence, but I don't think there is any possibility that this is simply an attempt to get Karr back into the United States so they can interview him. Any time someone in this situation comes back into the United States, they get a lawyer, and the first thing the lawyer would do would be to tell him to shut up, don't talk.

So I don't think there is any way this is based on an idea of getting him back into the United States to interview him. We should know shortly. I mean, he has been charged -- actually, we do know that he has been charged with murder.

WHITFIELD: Yes.

TOOBIN: So this is not an attempt to interview him. This is an attempt to bring him back for prosecution.

Now, I don't know what the evidence is, but clearly, this is not some sort of investigation going on. This is Boulder district attorney saying, we got our guy and we're going to prove it in court.

WHITFIELD: And so, would we hear from the DA and other investigators here real detail of what they have against this man? Will they even need to do that?

TOOBIN: Well, they will certainly have to -- by the time he gets into court, they will have to present an affidavit that says, "We have probably cause to believe that Karr committed these murders for the following reasons. Here's the evidence." And they'd have to lay it out.

WHITFIELD: But in the form of this press conference?

TOOBIN: Well, in the press conference, I don't know if they'll do it -- how much of that detail they'll get into today. I think they may well simply release the affidavit, because that is -- it's going to be public anyway. He's going to be back in the United States.

That's really up to the discretion of the district attorney. But, certainly by the time he gets into court they are going to have to say the following evidence shows probable cause that he is -- he is the murderer of JonBenet Ramsey.

WHITFIELD: OK. And we see some folks now approaching the podium there for this press conference to take place out of Boulder, Colorado, being led by the district attorney, Mary Lacy.

All right. And while -- and while they're still trying to get organized there, you know, I have to wonder, you know, Jeff, if this breakthrough here is in any way vindication for the Boulder Police Department, which had been criticized for really botching the early stages of this investigation.

TOOBIN: Well, we'll see how this ends. If it ends in a conviction, it is some vindication. You know, one question people will ask is, what took so long?

But the one thing you have to say for the Boulder authorities, there is only one thing worse than not solving the crime, which is charging the wrong person. And that they didn't do, to their credit.

They did not charge the wrong person, because they didn't charge anybody. And I think it's -- you have to give them credit for that.

WHITFIELD: OK. Jeffrey Toobin and Larry Pozner, thanks so much. Let's listen in now to this press conference.

(JOINED IN PROGRESS)

MARY LACY, BOULDER COUNTY DA: There are a few people that look tired out there this morning, and there are a lot of people that look tired back here. You guys have been working pretty hard overnight.

As you are now aware, John Mark Karr, 41 years old, was arrested for the murder of JonBenet Ramsey yesterday morning at approximately 6:00 a.m. in Bangkok Thailand. Mr. Karr was living in Bangkok. He began his employment as a second grade teacher in the international school system in Bangkok on Tuesday morning of this week.

Mr. Karr has traveled extensively since leaving the United States several years ago. The district attorney's office, in conjunction with many other law enforcement agencies, have spent the past few months locating, identifying and, finally, yesterday, arresting Mr. Karr.

Much work has been done in those efforts. There is much more work to be done now that the suspect is in custody.

Our preference, you might guess, would have been to continue to work out of the public eye. That obviously is not possible.

You all have many questions that you want answered. John Karr is presumed innocent. We are rightfully constrained by the code of professional conduct and the presumption of innocence from answering those questions that you want answered this morning.

What I can tell you in a generic sense is that in all serious cases we work hard with law enforcement not to make an arrest until the investigation is substantially complete. That optimal situation best protects the rights of the suspect.

There are circumstances that can exist in any case which mandate an arrest before an investigation is complete. The primary reason for that is public safety. A secondary reason is fear of flight. In short, exigent circumstances can drive the timing of an arrest.

I am not commenting on the particular nature of this investigation or arrest.

There's a great deal of speculation and a desire for quick answers here. We should all heed the poignant advice of John Ramsey yesterday. He said, "Do not jump to conclusions, do not jump to judgment, do not speculate. Let the justice system take its course."

I'm asking you this morning, let us do our job thoroughly and carefully. The analysis of the evidence in this case continues on a day-by-day, on an hour-by-hour basis, as we speak.

What I can and very much want to share with you is a deep appreciation for the hard work, total cooperation and dedication of many individuals and agencies across this country, and in Bangkok, Thailand. You can surely imagine the logistical difficulty of conducting an international investigation of this nature, particularly when their day is our night and our night is their day.

Our role in the investigation of JonBenet's murder has been to follow up on all legitimate leads that have been received from law enforcement and from concerned citizens. There have been many, particularly around dates of interest such as anniversaries.

John and Patsy Ramsey have cooperated fully with each and every request we have forwarded to them.

I would like at this time to briefly introduce to you my chief investigator, Tom Bennett (ph), who continues to lead our investigative efforts.

Just step forward.

Also, my top assistants, Peter McGuire (ph) and Bill Negel (ph), who have worked closely with Tom and with his unit.

Each of them joins me today in extending our most sincere and heart-felt gratitude to the many individuals and agencies that have assisted us. In particular, the Royal Thailand Police of Bangkok, Thailand; the Department of Special Investigations of Bangkok, Thailand; Chief Edwin Williams (ph) and Sergeant Cameron Rowe (ph) of the Roswell, Georgia, Police Department; Steve Paganucci (ph) of the Atlanta FBI and the Atlanta Field Office of the FBI; the Atlanta Police Department; the Cobb County Sheriff's Department; Gary Phillips (ph), who is a special agent assigned to the U.S. Embassy with the Department of ICE, or Immigration and Customs Enforcement, under the Department of Homeland Security; Ann Hurst (ph), who is also with Immigration and Customs Enforcement; Tekuk Chu (ph) of Immigration and Customs Enforcement; Dan Cally (ph), who is a special agent with the FBI in Bangkok; Jeff Copp, who is a special agent in charge with Immigration and Control Enforcement in Denver, as well as Tony Rucco (ph); Tru Rowen (ph), with the Office of International Affairs in Washington, D.C.; and Chris Sonderby (ph), with the Office of International Affairs in Bangkok.

At every level, in Thailand, law enforcement joined forces to provide 24 hours a day assistance to our investigators here. And in Bangkok, that was seven days a week.

We are absolutely overwhelmed by the selfless dedication and hard work of these individuals and agencies. We cannot adequately express our thanks.

I also want to thank Chief Mark Ceckner (ph), who is here with us today, who has offered to provide any and all assistance that we may require as this investigation moves on to home ground. We are grateful for the professional and cooperative relationships that we enjoy with his department at every level, and we look forward to working with them.

And finally, to our man on the ground in Bangkok who has worked tirelessly for us, leaving DIA for Thailand with little more than four hours' advanced notice a week ago Monday. Thank you to DA investigator Mark Sprague (ph).

Come on home. We need your help here. We need to get you back in the same time zone with Tom.

Please allow me at this time to introduce Special Agent Jeff Copp with the Denver Office of Immigration and Customs Enforcement under the Department of Homeland Security. He has some brief remarks, and then I will take limited questions, as you are fully aware there is very little that can be said about an ongoing investigation.

Thank you.

JEFF COPP, BUREAU OF IMMIGRATION & CUSTOMS: Thank you, Ms. Lacy.

I would like to thank the Royal Thai Police for all their cooperation and help that they've given us in this investigation. And also, I can't go without thanking Ann Hurst (ph) and her staff. Ann is our attache in Bangkok.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Can't hear you.

COPP: Sorry, this is too short. This was made for Ms. Lacy.

I would -- I can't go without thanking Ann Hurst (ph), who is our Customs -- excuse me, our attache in Bangkok, for her tireless efforts in locating and identifying this suspect. They worked for several months. Like Ms. Lacy said, seven hours a day -- 24 hours a day, tracking this guy until they could actually identify him and locate him.

Thank you.

LACY: OK. We're going to take some limited questions.

Right here.

QUESTION: Are you concerned at all about a full confession?

LACY: We can't comment on the evidence in this case at this time.

QUESTION: Ms. Lacy, can you anticipate when he might be brought back to Boulder and when there might be charges filed?

LACY: You know, we really don't have a scheduled arrival time. I will ask Mr. Kopp (ph) if he has better information on that.

COPP: We're currently working with the Thai police in Bangkok to set up a schedule when he can return. There's certain legal matters that need to take place with that government. And we should know in a couple of days when -- when this guy will be returning back to the United States.

QUESTION: (OFF-MIKE)

LACY: We cannot comment on the investigation of evidence in this case.

QUESTION: What about the potential for the filing of charges? Do you have any idea of the timelines for that?

LACY: We do not. You know, as I stated, this is early in the investigation. There have been no charges filed at this time.

There is a presumption of innocence. Maybe it would help if I tell you under the Colorado professional code what I cannot tell you and which I am prohibited, and that is, I cannot discuss the possibility of guilty plea or opinion as to guilt. I cannot discuss a confession or a refusal to make a confession.

I cannot discuss forensic tests that are being performed or the results of tests, or the failure or refusal to take a test. And I cannot talk about anything with regard to the evidence in the case.

That's pretty all-encompassing. So I apologize for continuing to say I can't comment.

QUESTION: (OFF-MIKE)

LACY: I'm sorry, we have two questions. And I'm going to start with the question that I heard right up front.

QUESTION: (OFF-MIKE)

LACY: What I can list for you is the charges that were on the -- I believe I can. Let me check.

Can I list this?

I'm sorry. Since the affidavit is under seal, I can't comment on that at this time. I apologize.

QUESTION: How long you have been tracking him?

LACY: Several months.

QUESTION: (INAUDIBLE) John and Patsy Ramsey were put under an intense scrutiny, does this take John Ramsey off the list of suspects?

LACY: John Ramsey is presumed innocent. John Mark Karr is presumed innocent. I can't comment past that.

QUESTION: How did he become a suspect?

LACY: I cannot comment on -- on the evidence or how this came into our -- and I apologize.

QUESTION: (OFF-MIKE)

LACY: It's way premature to even address that question.

Right here?

QUESTION: (OFF-MIKE)

LACY: You know what? I can tell you that it's been with -- only within the past 48 hours, I believe.

QUESTION: (OFF-MIKE)

LACY: I cannot comment. That's evidence in the case.

QUESTION: Can you tell us if the arrest warrant is under seal? Is the arrest warrant itself under seal?

LACY: The affidavit is under seal.

QUESTION: And the arrest warrant itself, is that under seal?

LACY: Yes.

QUESTION: (OFF-MIKE)

LACY: I cannot comment on the progress of the investigation.

QUESTION: You said you were tracking this guy for several months (OFF-MIKE)?

LACY: You know, they are going to give to you copies of my statement this morning, and as I had discussed, as I said earlier, in all major cases there can be exigent circumstances that change the timing of the arrest. That is one possibility. But I cannot comment with regard to this case.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Enough questions. They are just asking the same basic stuff.

QUESTION: (OFF-MIKE)

LACY: Frankly, I don't know that.

QUESTION: (OFF-MIKE)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: We're just going to ask for one or two more questions.

QUESTION: Do you have a sense of relief, satisfaction? (OFF- MIKE)

LACY: Our mission is pursuit of justice. Professionally, what this does is challenge to do our best work, to back away from, you know, what we have here this morning, be cautious, be careful, investigate thoroughly, make good decisions based on the information that we have. And that really is our only goal.

We will continue to presume this person innocent at all stages until and if he's proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt.

One more and then I stop.

QUESTION: You said you were looking at Karr for several months. Can you give us the first time that Karr's name was brought to the attention of the DA's office?

LACY: Can I answer that?

I'm sorry, I can't answer that. And you know what? I just simply can't take any more questions.

QUESTION: (OFF-MIKE)

LACY: All evidence is important.

Thank you very much.

WHITFIELD: And on that note, Boulder, Colorado, district attorney Mary Lacy being very limited in the kind of information that they want to reveal on the circumstances as to why the primary suspect, the now murder suspect in the JonBenet Ramsey case, John Mark Karr, has been arrested in Thailand and soon to be brought to the United States to face those charges.

Our defense attorney, Larry Pozner, is still with us. And our legal analyst, Jeffery Toobin, is as well. And our Ed Lavandera is on the ground there covering this, and we'll bring him in when we can.

Well, let me begin with you, Jeffrey.

You know, Mary Lacy was saying much more work still needs to be done, but she didn't want to reveal what kind of evidence they have. But when she says much more work needs to be done, are you able to kind of read the tea leaves and, you know, try to discover what that really means?

TOOBIN: Well, I think what is significant about what Mary Lacy said was why the arrest took place when it did. She said that the investigation is not complete. She implied that there is more they would have liked to have done, but there were two reasons she strongly implied they arrested him when they did.

One, they were afraid he was going to abuse more kids. He's in -- he's in Thailand, in a job, apparently, where he was teaching young children. They were afraid of further abuse of children.

The second point she raised was the possibility of flight. They were afraid he was going to escape if he knew that they were on his -- on his trail.

So, we learned a lot more about why the arrest took place than what the evidence was. Other than the fact that that the investigation is continuing, I didn't learn anything about the evidence.

WHITFIELD: Yes.

Well, Larry, were you hoping to hear more details? Some details at all as to why they focused on this man?

POZNER: Fredricka, if we had heard a single detail, we would have heard more details. I did not hear a press briefing. I heard CYA.

And what Jeffrey said is exactly right. She covered her butt. She said, gee, we've got a lot of work to do, but he's going to work as a school teacher, and we've had a hard time tracking him.

I heard why we may be wrong. I heard why, if this isn't the guy, don't blame us.

But so far, the only things we've heard out of this guy's mouth are not really helpful to the case. I won't tell you how I got in. My wife says I was with her at Christmas time. You know, the killing was an accident.

No, it wasn't.

Right now we don't have any good evidence that says this is the guy.

WHITFIELD: Well...

TOOBIN: I do disagree with Larry's interpretation...

WHITFIELD: OK, Jeffrey. Go ahead.

TOOBIN: ... of what -- of what we heard so far. I think his -- Karr's statement yesterday is extremely incriminating. You know, is it a full confession? No. But certainly the admission that he was in the room, the claim that it was an accident, the statement that he is not an innocent man, those are very incriminating statements.

They are not enough to get a conviction. I agree on that point. But to suggest that what he said in that bizarre scene in Bangkok was not incriminating, come on, Larry. That's...

POZNER: No, no. Jeffery, Jeffery, I'm with you. It's a complete confession.

He's saying, I'm the guy. What I am saying is, are you the guy? Tell us how you did it and we'll know. Tell us how you got it.

WHITFIELD: You would be more convinced, Larry -- you would be more convinced, Larry, that he is the guy had Mary Lacy said a little bit more about why they nabbed him...

POZNER: Exactly.

WHITFIELD: ... and why he's now coming back to the United States.

POZNER: Or -- exactly. I'm not saying he didn't do it, I'm saying, tell me the details. Confess in detail.

WHITFIELD: So, Jeffrey, why wouldn't they?

(CROSSTALK)

TOOBIN: I mean, you know, it's not Mary Lacy's job to entertain or inform us. It's Mary Lacy's job to get a conviction of the right person.

And what she is concerned about is, if and when this case goes to trial, his lawyer saying the DA inflamed public opinion by proclaiming him guilty in advance of the trial and violated the code of professional responsibility. And that's what she's concerned about.

Now, I think she went overboard in her failure to disclose anything. I think the next major turning point in the case will be when he's brought back to the United States and presented in a court. And at that point, I think, they will disclose what's in the arrest warrant.

WHITFIELD: All right.

TOOBIN: And there, they will say, we have probable cause that he's the killer for the following reasons.

POZNER: Right, based on what?

TOOBIN: That's when we'll get something of substance.

POZNER: Exactly right.

TOOBIN: Today we got nothing of substance.

POZNER: I agree with that completely. We need to hear the facts. They may have the right guy and they may know it now, but we don't know it now.

WHITFIELD: All right.

Larry and Jeffrey, we're going to talk more about this case, the break of an arrest now, a man charged in relation to the murder of JonBenet Ramsey 10 years ago.

When we come back we're also going to talk about another breaking story, important ruling on the warrantless wiretapping program in this country.

Back in a moment.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

WHITFIELD: More in a moment on the arrest of the JonBenet murder investigation.

For now, we're going to go Carol Lin for other new developments involving the domestic wiretapping lawsuit -- Carol.

LIN: Fredricka, the ACLU filed a lawsuit, and a federal judge in Detroit has ruled today that the Bush administration's wiretapping program, wiretapping without a warrant -- on the government listening to international phone calls and e-mails of people in United States suspected of communicating with terrorists -- this U.S. district judge has become the first judge to strike down the NSA's program, which she says, according to the Associated Press her, "violates the rights to free speech and privacy."

So let's get reaction out of the White House. CNN's Ed Henry standing by there. Ed, any reaction?

ED HENRY, CNN WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT: Well, good afternoon, Carol. I just spoke to a White House official. In fact, they said Justice Department lawyers are looking at this decision closely.

But I can tell you Republicans already pointing to the fact that the judge here, U.S. District Judge Anna Diggs Taylor, is a Carter appointee, pointing out it's a Democratic judge. I think Democrats, though, quickly pointing out this is the second major slap at President Bush in recent months, in terms of how he is conducting the war on terror.

Of course, you remember the Supreme Court ruling a short time ago, a couple of months back, that the president does not have a blank check in how he conducts the war on terror, specifically the military tribunals, the handling of detainees. No official reaction yet from the White House about what their next step will be here, because those lawyers are reviewing it.

But you can bet -- we've heard the president over and over again -- in fact, as recently as Monday -- say that this terrorist surveillance program is a vital tool in the war on terror. In fact, on Monday, the president suggesting it's even more vital now, in the wake of a foiled British terror plot.

I think, also, you can bet this is certainly not the final word, even though this federal judge is ordering that the National Security Agency program be shut down, be stopped. This is not where it's going to end. There's obviously going to be a lengthy appeals process -- Carol.

WHITFIELD: All right. Ed, stand by there, from the White House.

LIN: We want to go to one of our legal analysts, Jeffrey Toobin, standing by in New York. Jeffrey, the judge ruled -- has ordered an immediate halt to this program. So no response yet from the government. When, if at all, does it into effect?

TOOBIN: Well, I -- I've been reading the opinion right here. It's 43 pages. It suggests that it goes into effect today. I would find that shocking and unlikely to stand. I think, certainly, this ruling is likely to be stayed, pending appeal.

But this is incredible expropriation of the administration's position. It's especially peculiar because the administration didn't really defend on the merit. They basically said this lawsuit had no right to be in court in the first place, and they didn't even describe the program.

The program was described entirely by the American Civil Liberties Union and the plaintiffs. So it is -- we don't really know exactly -- we don't know more than what we did about what exactly was involved with the program. But I think it is certain that this will be appealed to the Sixth Circuit Court of Appeals. And other lawsuits on this very same issue are percolating around this system. The United States Supreme Court will take -- will have to examine this program, sooner rather than later.

And, it is true that administration lost a big one in the Supreme Court on the Guantanamo case earlier this year. That -- there's no arguing with that at the Supreme Court. This is one district judge in Detroit. This is far from the last word on this.

LIN: All right, so you're really just treating this as a public opinion. Yes, a legal ruling so far, but a public opinion on the case?

TOOBIN: Well, it is a public opinion. I mean, it's been released in public. It's a 43-page opinion by this judge. And it is now the law of the land. But we can be certain that the administration lawyers will be asking for a stay, pending appeal, probably today. And I'm almost certain they'll get that stay, pending appeal.

LIN: All right, well, the day is still young. Ed Henry, a quick last question to you. Tell me where the whole wiretapping issue stands. I mean, the defense of government -- the Bush administration has argued that the wiretapping program is well within the president's authority necessary in the war on terror. There were -- there was a lot of language going back and forth between Capitol Hill and the White House, in terms of what would be allowable. Was there a compromise reached?

TOOBIN: Going in that direction -- this, if anything, could really provide a spark for Republican Senator Arlen Specter, the Senate judiciary chairman, who has been critical of this program and has been trying to craft some sort of compromise in legislation on the Hill that could give the administration the cover it feels it needs to push this program forward, while also trying to appease Democrats a bit in saying, you know, in terms of legality of the program and whether or not you need warrants. So I would bet that this is going to maybe provide a spark when Congress gets back from their August recess to take yet another look and try to finally get that compromise -- Carol.

LIN: But to the best of your knowledge, potentially this wiretapping could be continuing as we speak?

TOOBIN: Oh, absolutely. In fact, administration lawyers have argued that they can't really respond to these cases in federal court, because doing so would reveal secret information. So that certainly points to the fact that program is clearly alive and well. And, in fact, President Bush on Monday said that it is alive and well, and that he believes it's critical now, more than ever, given that British terror plot that was foiled -- Carol.

LIN: Ed Henry, thank you so much. Live from the White House. Jeffrey Toobin, as well, thank you so much, live in New York.

Fredricka, a lot happening here from the breaking news desk. And as soon as we get developments, the government's response to this ruling, we'll let you know.

WHITFIELD: All right. Lots happening, indeed. Of course, we're going to continue our conversations about the break in the JonBenet Ramsey murder investigation. An arrest made.

You're watching CNN, the most trusted name in news.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

WHITFIELD: An arrest in the JonBenet Ramsey murder investigation. Boulder, Colorado district attorney Mary Lacy saying there's still a lot of work to be done. John Mark Karr, the man you're seeing right there on the right-hand side of the screen, facing murder charges.

Our Ed Lavandera joins us now from Boulder, Colorado.

And is it safe to say we heard a lot of very little coming from the D.A. today during this press conference?

ED LAVANDERA, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Yes, the bucket of information is incredibly empty right now. So unfortunately, we had hoped to try to move this forward a little bit for people, but that's going to be very difficult.

However, a couple of things to look forward to in the days ahead, and one of the things that was mentioned is these affidavits, the search warrant affidavit, the arrest warrant affidavit, those are under seal right now. It'll be interesting to see -- and quite frankly, if you cover a lot of these stories and cover these types of cases, it's in those affidavits where authorities can put in a lot of information that really gets to the heart of why someone was arrested. And perhaps something that they might not want to speak, you know -- speak on camera about. But unfortunately those are under seal, and we don't have access to them right now. Will that change? Perhaps when John Karr is back here in the U.S.? That is one of the things that perhaps we should look forward to in the next coming days, something that will shed more light on what's going on here.

WHITFIELD: And, Ed, the D.A. said, you know, she wasn't able to comment on the nature of the arrest, and she was advising everyone to take a page from the father of John Ramsey, the father of JonBenet Ramsey, in presuming innocence, and knowing that the process will take time. She really was asking for the general public to be patient, yet at the same time you have to wonder, why even hold the press conference if they wanted to be so limited in revealing information about the case.

LAVANDERA: That's hard for me to say. I'm just not familiar enough with these folks and how they operate. I think clearly -- I think Jeffrey Toobin had mentioned this, is that this isn't really exactly the way they expected things to unfold. Perhaps events in Thailand forced their hand sooner than they had hoped to, and that's why we are here today.

In fact, at one point she even mentioned that -- it almost sounds like they would have been much happier if they would have brought him back to the U.S. and no one ever really find out about it. However, in a case like this, that has garnered such intense media scrutiny for 10 years, I have a hard time thinking that anyone in the D.A.'s office actually ever thought that that would happen.

WHITFIELD: Ed Lavandera, thanks so much, from Boulder, Colorado.

Well, police in Thailand announced the arrest in the Ramsey case, and led suspect John Mark Karr through a throng of reporters. There the 41=year-old American made this stunning confession.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

JOHN MARK KARR: I loved JonBenet very much.

QUESTION: We're from the associated press, can you give us a brief statement, please?

QUESTION: Are you innocent?

KARR: I loved JonBenet, and she died accidentally.

QUESTION: Are you an innocent man? Are you an innocent man? KARR: No.

QUESTION: What happened?

KARR: Um, her death was an accident.

QUESTION: So you were in the basement?

KARR: Yes.

QUESTION: Can you tell us about your connection to the Ramsey family?

KARR: Um, no comment.

QUESTION: How did you get into the basement?

KARR: No comment.

QUESTION: And how do you feel now? How are you being treated?

KARR: Um, I'm being treated OK.

QUESTION: How well had you known JonBenet?

KARR: No comment on that.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

(NEWSBREAK)

WHITFIELD: And when we come back, more on the Ramsey investigation. We'll talk with our Jeffrey Toobin and try and decipher what the D.A. meant by saying they had no intention of this announcement being made so public so soon.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

WHITFIELD: Information just in out of Pakistan. Let's check in with Carol Lin in the newsroom.

CAROL LIN, CNN ANCHOR: Fredricka, this could be one of the biggest arrests in the war on terror. According to ABC News, authorities in Pakistan have arrested a 29-year-old man named Matiur Rehman. He's one of the most wanted men in Pakistan, and this arrest could lead to the best leads in months on the location of Osama bin Laden and his No. 2 man, Ayman Al-Zawahiri.

Apparently, Pakistani officials had told ABC News that earlier this 29-year-old Rehman was known to be planning to plan a spectacular anniversary attack to mark the fifth anniversary of the 9/11 attacks. And it's possible, according to ABC News, that the London terror plot, the alleged terror plot, may have been it. So we're watching this reporting. Our people are checking with their sources. In fact, a U.S. counter-terrorism official sold CNN he cannot confirm or deny whether Rehman has been taken into custody. This official repeats that this man is indeed a person of interest to the United States -- Fredricka.

WHITFIELD: All right, Carol, thanks very much.

Lots of breaking news. Lots of developments coming out this hour. One development in this past hour, we heard from the Boulder, Colorado district attorney, Mary Lacy, talking about an arrest made in the 10-year-old JonBenet Ramsey murder investigation. This is what she had to say just moments ago.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

MARY LACY, BOULDER, COLO. DIST. ATTY.: There is a great deal of speculation and desire for quick answers here. We should all heed the poignant advice of John Ramsey yesterday. He said, "Do not jump to conclusions. Do not jump to judgment. Do not speculate. Let the justice system take its course."

(END VIDEO CLIP)

WHITFIELD: And now, quite publicly, that is taking its course. Our senior legal analyst, Jeffrey Toobin, joins me again to talk a little bit more about this. Mary Lacy also underscored, they had no intention, no idea this part of the investigation would be revealed so publicly so soon. So if that is indeed the case, and they didn't want to reveal a whole lot during the press conference taking place this hour, why not just release, say, a written statement and leave it at that, and bypass the Q&A period, which really did delve into what they didn't want to talk about?

TOOBIN: Well, you know, that's really a question of press strategy. I don't think it's going a have a big bearing on how the case is going to proceed. The fact is, no information was revealed about the evidence in the case, but it was not a totally uninformative press conference. I think the most important thing we learned was why the case was brought down now.

The district attorney strongly implied that all of the evidence was not in. They have more work to do, but the reason they arrested Karr now, was because they were afraid he was going to flee; and second, they were afraid he was going to molest more children. He's in Bangkok in a job -- in a teaching job where he has exposure to young children and, as she said, public safety is one reason you make an arrest.

WHITFIELD: And in the country that has a pretty extensive record of a lot of child prostitution and child molestation cases.

TOOBIN: Right. Of all countries where a suspected pedophile might go, Bangkok, Thailand is perhaps the singlemost, biggest red flag that could be raised. It is a place that's notorious for child sex of various kinds, child sexual abuse. And the fact that he was there, the fact that he had a job where he was exposed to children is something that you can understand why they wanted to get him off the streets as soon as possible.

WHITFIELD: And significant to you that he faces these murder charges, and that if you gleaned information from the press conference, he hasn't actually been charged with murder as of yet.

TOOBIN: Well, I'm not sure I drew that implication. I think there is an arrest warrant for him that says, you know, we have the following reasons for -- we have the following evidence of probable cause that he committed murder.

That arrest warrant has not been made public. I don't know precisely when it will be made public. The most logical time for it to be made public will be when he appears in an American court for the first time, which it sounds like will be within a week.

WHITFIELD: OK, and within that week he would be ejected, as they say, from Thailand and being brought back to this country.

TOOBIN: That's right. Extradition is not the formal procedure, but the effect is the same. He's going to be thrown out of Thailand and sent to the American judicial system.

WHITFIELD: All right, legal analyst Jeffrey Toobin. Thanks so much.

TOOBIN: OK.

WHITFIELD: Well, it's a murder mystery that captured the nation's attention near a decade ago. CNN's Tom Foreman takes a closer look at the twists and turns in the JonBenet Ramsey murder investigation.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

TOM FOREMAN, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): They are images frozen in time, a child beauty queen, 6 years old, performing on a stage. We know her name. And now, 10 years after her death, we may soon know who killed her.

On the day after Christmas 1996, the body of JonBenet Ramsey was found in the basement of her family's home in Boulder, Colorado. She had been beaten, strangled, a handwritten ransom note left on the staircase.

It was the city's only murder of the year, and it instantly became the focus of a nation. JonBenet's parents, John and Patsy Ramsey, said an intruder murdered their daughter, after attempting to kidnap her.

In an interview with CNN, they urged parents to be careful.

PATSY RAMSEY, MOTHER OF JONBENET RAMSEY: If I were a resident of Boulder, I would tell my friends to keep your babies close to you. There's someone out there.

FOREMAN: But the police and much of the media were pointing fingers at the Ramseys.

CHIEF MARK BECKNER, BOULDER POLICE: They do remain under an umbrella of suspicion, but we're not ready to name any suspects. FOREMAN: Even after a grand jury failed to indict the Ramseys, to many, they remained subjects of suspicion.

In 2000, on "LARRY KING LIVE," Steve Thomas, a former Boulder police detective, confronted John and Patsy.

STEVE THOMAS, FORMER BOULDER POLICE DETECTIVE: I felt that Patsy is involved in this death, in this tragedy. And I felt it had become such a debacle and was going nowhere.

LARRY KING, CNN HOST: John, why did you agree to come on with Steve tonight?

JOHN RAMSEY, FATHER OF JONBENET RAMSEY: Well...

KING: I mean, this is rather historic. I don't -- I'm trying to remember if there has ever been television like this.

J. RAMSEY: This man, as a police officer, has called my wife a murderer. He has called me a -- complicity to murder. He has called me a liar. He has slandered my relationship with my daughter, Patsy's relationship with JonBenet.

FOREMAN: Thomas wrote a book, claiming the Ramseys were involved in their child's murder. In 2001, the Ramseys sued and, a year later, settled out of court.

Then, in 2003, the Boulder Police Department ended its investigation and handed it over to the district attorney. The D.A. vowed to reopen the case, but refused to eliminate the Ramseys as possible suspects.

Just a month later, the D.A. changed her mind. A judge ruled in a civil case that an intruder most likely killed JonBenet, and the prosecutor agreed, finally removing the cloud of suspicion over the parents.

By that point, the Ramseys had moved to Michigan, where they continued to monitor the investigation, hoping DNA evidence would bring the killer to justice.

Patsy Ramsey wouldn't live to see her daughter's murder solved. In June, she died of ovarian cancer, but not before learning that Boulder authorities had a suspect in their sights. Patsy was buried in a Georgia cemetery, next to JonBenet, who, had she lived, would now be 16 years old.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

WHITFIELD: And more coverage ahead on the arrest in the JonBenet Ramsey case. A former FBI agent hired by the Ramsey family joins "LIVE FROM." Hear what he's dug up and how that fits with what we've learned about the suspect, John Mark Karr. I'm Fredricka Whitfield. Kyra Phillips is up next.

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