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CNN Newsnight Aaron Brown

Mondale Formally Replaces Wellstone; Blix Visits White House

Aired October 30, 2002 - 22:00   ET

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

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


AARON BROWN, HOST: Good evening, again, everyone.
I find out things about myself on the program. I find myself in exactly the right place for a reporter tonight. I'm annoyed at both political parties, and you can't be more fair and balanced than that.

Last night's event in Minneapolis -- calling it a memorial insults the dead -- was totally tasteless. Democrats have every right to celebrate Senator Paul Wellstone's life in any way they choose. What they don't have a right to do, it seems to me, is create the impression they are going to do one thing, when the plan all along was to do something else.

Inviting Mr. Wellstone's former Republican colleagues was the right thing to do. Booing them was not. Whatever happened to Minnesota nice?

Local TV carried the event live because they believed it was going to be something other than a pep rally. They were fooled. It was all pretty shameless.

Equally shameless has been the reaction received here. There may, in fact, be non-partisans upset with the event. They may in fact exist. They did not make themselves known in our inbox today. Instead, what we received was a series of identical letters -- I counted at least a dozen and then go bored. I don't mean thematically identical, I mean literally identical, word for word.

Now there are two ways to look at this. It was either the most remarkable coincidence in the history of the world that a dozen people would send word for word the same letter, or this was just a silly organized campaign by people who wouldn't have voted for the senator for all the (UNINTELLIGIBLE) in Minnesota.

So here is what last night proved. One side can be tasteless, and the other side has the computer skills to cut and paste under the guise of genuine outrage. Which is worse? To me it's a tie. We'll get to that in a little bit.

We begin "The Whip" tonight with the debate over Iraq. Senior White House Correspondent John King on that -- John, a headline from you tonight.

JOHN KING, CNN SENIOR WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT: Aaron, the U.N. chief weapons inspector was here today for meetings with the president and other top officials. He was asked how many teams would it take. He was urged to be aggressive from the get-go. He was promised access to sensitive U.S. intelligence. It is a sign, despite all the frustration here at the United Nations in recent weeks, they think there's a deal in the works.

BROWN: John, thank you. Back to you at the top tonight.

On the Minnesota race and the new Democratic candidate now officially in to replace Senator Paul Wellstone, our Congressional Correspondent Jonathan Karl has been out in the Midwest. Jon, a headline from you.

JONATHAN KARL, CNN CONGRESSIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Aaron, just a little over an hour ago Walter Mondale formally accepted that nomination to run for Paul Wellstone, and he did it promising to serve as Paul Wellstone's voice in the United States Senate.

BROWN: Jon, thank you.

The latest on the fate of hundreds of Haitians who swam to shore yesterday in South Florida. Susan Candiotti reporting the story for us tonight -- Susan, a headline from you, please.

SUSAN CANDIOTTI, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Hello, Aaron. Well, the men are at a detention center, the women and children, including a three- year-old little girl, are at a government-contracted motel. No one is expected to be set free any time soon to hire lawyers to fight deportation. And today, demonstrators demonstrated, and the governor weighed in.

BROWN: Susan, thank you. Back to you and the rest shortly.

Also coming up tonight, Kelli Arena on an intriguing question in the sniper case. Did federal authorities interrupt an interrogation that might, might have led to a confession? Some more perspective as well on the legal turf battle going on. We'll be joined a little bit later by former federal prosecutor Robert Cleary. And then there is the question of the reward. Who deserves it and how to divide it up.

And we'll bring you extraordinary pictures tonight from Mount Etna, and tonight we'll match them up with the story, their story as it is being reported on the ground. Their news comes from Italy tonight.

And it's all the way at the end in segment seven, but the e-mails will arrive nevertheless. It's about the consummate campaigner you seem to either really love or truly hate. Former President Bill Clinton on the campaign trail this political season. All of that in the hour ahead.

We begin tonight with this President, the confrontation with Iraq and the diplomacy needed to pull it off. What a long strange trip it's been.

There have been times when it seemed a real confrontation was with the French president or the Russian president, not Saddam Hussein. And the diplomacy more to do with words than weapons of mass destruction. It's now been more than a month and a half since the U.N. began talking about how to confront Iraq. Six weeks of negotiations, challenges, some would say bullying by the White House. And the White House was center stage again today. We begin tonight with our Senior White House Correspondent John King.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

KING (voice-over): The White House says slow progress is being made at the United Nations, but that the negotiations are likely to carry into next week.

ARI FLEISCHER, WHITE HOUSE PRESS SECRETARY: We have certain issues that we feel extraordinarily strongly about that we will not change. Such as the resolution must state that there are consequences.

KING: The United States is promising to consult the Security Council again before launch anything military action against Iraq. But the administration says from that point on, it reserves the right to strike and will not tie military action to Security Council approval.

COLIN POWELL, SECRETARY OF STATE: At no time will the United States foreclose its ability to act in its interests in accordance with its constitutional obligations to protect the nation and to protect the people.

KING: Mr. Bush met briefly with the chief U.N. Weapons Inspector, Hans Blix and with Mohammad al Baradi (ph), head of the International Atomic Energy Agency.

HANS BLIX, CHIEF U.N. WEAPONS INSPECTOR: He told us that he would -- they would support this thoroughly and very solidly.

KING: Blix said al Baradi (ph) also held talks with Vice President Cheney, Secretary State Powell and National Security Adviser Condoleezza Rice.

CONDOLEEZZA RICE, NATIONAL SECURITY ADVISER: The President just wanted to signal that he wants a peaceful way to resolve this situation. That war is not his first choice, but he does believe the situation needs to be resolved and to put the full backing behind a tough inspection regime so that the inspectors can do their job.

KING: The Pentagon reaffirmed the decision to send more B-2 bombs to the region, part of a military buildup that goes hand in hand with the diplomacy.

LEE HAMILTON, WOODROW WILSON INTERNATIONAL CENTER: You have to continue to prepare for war, to build up our forces in the region, and let all the world know and let Saddam Hussein know that there is, in fact, a credible threat, military threat against him.

KING: Secretary Powell point is man in trying to negotiate a U.N. resolution, reaching out Wednesday to the foreign ministers of France, Russia, and great Britain.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

KING: And the talks of course still could collapse, but tonight here at the White House, optimism, cautious optimism anyway, that a deal will be struck early next week. Because of that, they are looking forward. In those meetings with Dr. Blix today, he was urged if inspectors go back in, to be aggressive from the beginning. He was promised access to sensitive intelligence about suspected Iraqi weapons sites, and he was told if there any problems at all, the United States expects them to leave and report to the Security Council immediately -- Aaron.

BROWN: All right. Let's assume for a second that at some point next week the U.N. Security Council strikes a deal. Then at what point do the inspectors go in? How soon do the inspectors go in?

KING: Within 10 days to two weeks, Dr. Blix says. The advanced teams could hit the ground. They would get up and running. They would perhaps do a few initial inspections while building a list of what they needed in terms of equipment and additional teams.

Remember the resolution, as it now stands, gives Iraq 30 days to give the United Nations a detailed list of its weapons of mass destruction. Iraq right now publicly says it has none. The United States says that is a lie.

So you would have seven days for Iraq to say yes or no, we will accept the inspectors. Then they get 23 more days to give a list to the United Nations. In that time, during that time, Dr. Blix says he could get the advanced teams in so the inspections would be able to be up and running pretty quickly.

BROWN: John, thank you. Senior White House Correspondent John King at the White House tonight.

The Russian government today confirmed what many already suspected, the gas used to end the hostage standoff was in fact, fentanyl, which means had doctors known it and paramedics been allowed into the theater where hostages were being held, lives clearly would have been saved. That is the headline in the west.

The headline in Russia reads quite differently. The focus there today, finding the accomplices, if any. Here is CNN's Mike Hanna.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

MIKE HANNA, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Police footage operate in Moscow. The target here, a known gathering place of Chechen businessmen. This part a series of massive sweeps, as Russian security officers search for those who may have assisted the group of self-declared Chechen rebels that held hundreds of hostages in a Moscow theater.

The interior ministry says tens of people have been arrested. Human rights groups have warned of a backlash against Chechens in the wake of the hostage siege. And at the height of crisis, President Putin called on the public not to discriminate or take the law into their own hands.

VLADIMIR PUTIN, RUSSIAN PRESIDENT (through translator): I am positively sure that one of the terrorist's goals was to create ethnic strife. We should under no circumstances yield to that provocation. We must not allow any lawlessness.

HANNA: And his words appear to have been heard with little anti- Chechen feeling apparent among those canvassed in Moscow streets.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I think many of them can be useful for Moscow. Many of them can be specialists in some areas. So I can't say that all of them are terrorists.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I think, first of all, we have to improve the life of people in Chechnya.

HANNA: Some Chechen individuals have been singled out. Among them, a high-ranking Chechen envoy is being arrested during the visit to Denmark at the request of Russian authorities.

Ahmed Sakayed (ph) is a senior rebel commander who had been attending a conference in Copenhagen. He is being accused by the Russians in the past of organizing terrorist attacks, and is now accused of involvement in the Moscow hostage taking. Danish authorities will hold him for up to two weeks while considering a request for extradition.

Meanwhile, Russians continue burying the dead in the wake of the hostage siege, and the special forces operation that ended it. And the action against various Chechens by the Russian authorities, a response perhaps to a mounting public sentiment that the conflict in Chechnya, seen as a root cause of the tragedy in Moscow, must be resolved, one way or another.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

BROWN: Mike Hanna in Russia tonight.

No leads to speak of in the assassination of the American diplomat, Laurence Foley. His body was brought home today, taken aboard of an Air Force C-141 in the airport in Amman with the Jordanian color guard providing the full military honors. Mr. Foley was killed on Monday, he was shot at close range by a lone gunman. Jordanian police, with American help, have questioned dozens of people, most of them are described as Islamic militants, but they've gotten nowhere so far in their search for the killer.

The Canadian government today issued a travel warning with a twist. Telling Canadians born in Iran or a number of other Arab countries to think twice before entering the United States. The foreign ministry says it issued the warning for a number of reasons, the deportation a Syrian-born Canadian for one.

The Canadians also object to the American policy of fingerprinting and photographing certain people at the border. State Department defense practice called on the Canadian government to do a better job of weeding out militants trying to get Canadian passports.

People hit the streets of Miami today. They marched to protest the treatment of Haitians who came ashore yesterday. And the immigration policy they call a double standard, which to some degree there is. Cuban refugees who make land are by law political refugees and almost always allowed to stay. Haitians and virtually everyone else are soon to be just seeking a better economic life and largely they go home.

There is history of course here, and there is the important politics of Florida and its substantial number of Cuban-Americans. And throw into the mix an election that features the president's brother, and you have an immigration story involving politics, or perhaps it's the other way around. Here again CNN's Susan Candiotti.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

CANDIOTTI (voice-over): Emotions running high among demonstrators demanding fair treatment for Haitian migrants seeking asylum. One day after the dramatic arrival of more than 200 Haitians, some as young as three years old, jumping into shallow water in a desperate effort to reach land, there is no clearer picture about what will happen to them.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: And they will have every opportunity to make their case.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Enough is enough is enough is enough.

CANDIOTTI: Haitian-American activists have protested time and again, that Haitians, unlike other groups, must remain behind bars where a legal representation is spotty at best while pursuing asylum claims. Now, with an election days away, Haitians blame governor Jeb Bush for what they called empty promises of help.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: It's under principle of fairness. It's under principle of equal justice for all that equal standard against that policy be implemented by the White House.

CANDIOTTI: During a campaign stop to get an endorsement from African-American business and religious leaders, Bush was confronted by Democratic Congresswoman Carrie Meek.

REP. CARRIE MEEK (D): I came to ask you if you would call your brother and ask him to call INS to release the Haitians that are in detention.

GOV. JEB BUSH (R), FLORIDA: My position is, as I stated, if people have a well-founded fear of persecution, they should be allowed into the community out of krome (ph) and they should be able to pursue those remedies through administrative...

MEEK: Tell your brother they can be released right now. CANDIOTTI: Cubans who make it to shore are automatically paroled into the U.S. and generally granted asylum. A new INS policy that keeps Haitians detained for months at a time, is meant to discourage others from trying to sneak into the U.S. Advocates call the policy a failure.

CHERYL LITTLE, FLORIDA IMMIGRANT ADVOCACY CENTER: Detention is not a deterrent. Haitians know full well the risk they undertake when they take to the high seas and the flimsy boats and they do it because they are desperate.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

CANDIOTTI: Whether they were escaping fear of government or fear of poverty, these Haitians apparently aren't going anywhere anytime soon, and their plan to escape was apparently in the works since last December, according to prosecutors. Six Haitians are now charged with smuggling, and apparently that criminal investigation will drag out the migrants' detention even longer because now, Aaron, they are potential witnesses as well.

BROWN: And when did they get lawyers? When did they begin the process of trying to prove, if they can, that there is a political reason for them not to go home?

CANDIOTTI: Well, their advocates say it's really hard to get in touch with them. Lawyers who want to represent them, most often on a pro bono basis, have a very difficult time, if it is not impossible, to reach out to them while they are in detention. That's why they want them freed so that lawyers can meet with them privately and figure out what to do next.

BROWN: Susan, thank you. Susan Candiotti in Miami tonight.

Later on NEWSNIGHT, the uproar over the memorial service that turned into a political rally.

And up next, sorting out just who gets the reward money in the sniper case. This is NEWSNIGHT on CNN.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

BROWN: A number of developments in the sniper story today. Reports of friction between local and federal authorities over the timing of the federal charges in the case. Some complaints that the feds swooped in just a as John Muhammad was starting to talk. Developments as well in the crucial business of pulling together the bits and pieces from all of the crime scenes, so when it is finally decided which case goes first, prosecutors will have the evidence they need.

Here's CNN's Kelli Arena.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

KELLI ARENA, CNN JUSTICE CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): CNN has learned that investigators are pouring over DNA evidence found in Ashland, Virginia on a letter from the alleged sniper. Also, there is DNA evidence from human waste recovered at the final shooting scene in Montgomery County, Maryland. Any DNA evidence that can be linked to either of the suspects could also indisputably place them at the scene as prosecutors try build a case.

JOHN ASHCROFT, ATTORNEY GENERAL: We want to continue to assemble evidence in this ongoing matter. There is still analysis. There is still investigation.

ARENA: So far, neither of the men is providing any information that would be helpful to investigators. According to "The New York Times," though, law enforcement officials say John Allen Muhammad was close to confessing last Thursday when federal prosecutors cut the interrogation short and whisked him off to court to face weapons charges at the urging of the White House.

Justice and the White House officials vehemently denied that report. Maryland U.S. Attorney Thomas DiBagio, who was involved in overseeing the interrogation, said in a statement, "Both individuals were questioned throughout the day. There was no indication throughout the day that either of the individuals were yielding any useful information. In fact, the juvenile was not speaking to officials at all."

CNN sources agree, for the most part, they say Muhammad did talk a bit, but provided no relevant information. With charges pending in several counties, some insiders suggest the strikingly different accounts reflect a political battle over which jurisdiction gets to take the sniper case to court first. And some resentment over federal charges filed on Tuesday.

PAUL BUTLER, FMR. FEDERAL PROSECUTOR: I wish I could say that turf battles are unprecedented, but unfortunately, they are all too common. This is a high-profile case. It's literally the crime of this young century, and so a lot of prosecutors want a piece of it.

ARENA (on camera): No decision has been made on how the government will proceed, justice sources say, as evidence is uncovered, it will become clearer which jurisdiction's case is strongest.

Kelli Arena, CNN, Washington.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

BROWN: The next story involving the sniper case seems to have the potential to turn ugly and petty. It has do to with the half- million dollar reward. And in the days after the arrest, it seems we had our deserving hero right out of central casting, the humble truck driver with an eagle eye, quick to say the reward should really go to the victims' family.

But Ron Lantz, as we have learned, was just one of many people who helped police close in on the suspects. And sorting out who gets what may require its own round of gumshoe work. Here is CNN's Patti Davis.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

PATTI DAVIS, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): With the serial sniper suspects behind bars, investigators are sifting through thousands of tips to build their cases and ultimately help decide who deserves the sizable cash reward.

DOUGLAS DUNCAN, MONTGOMERY COUNTY EXECUTIVE: It's $500,000 for the rewards for information leading to the arrest and indictment of people in this case.

DAVIS: Police say they are nowhere near a decision, but it's likely a number of people will split the money. There is Ron Lantz, the truck driver who spotted the suspect's Chevy caprice at a Maryland rest stop.

RON LANTZ, SPOTTED SUSPECT'S CAR: If I had the money I would probably take it back and give it to the people who were shot. That's the way that I feel about it. And that's -- that's what I would have done with it. At least half of it anyway.

DAVIS: But Lantz may be out of the running. Maryland state police say another man, Whitney Donahue, spotted the car first and called 911. And then there is William Sullivan, a Virginia priest who told police an agitated man called him on October 18, talking about an Alabama killing.

Another man in Tacoma, Washington told police, Muhammad and Malvo used a rifle for target practice if their backyard. All of these tips helped lead police to the suspects. Reqard programs work, with success rates over 50 percent, but the larger the reward and the higher the public profile, the greater the problem.

JOHN ROPER, CRIME STOPPERS USA: It generates large calls. It's manpower intensive, because they have to follow every lead to its finalities.

DAVIS: Police say they wouldn't have solved the case without help from tipsters.

(on camera): But they say one thing's for sure -- even though the suspects helped incriminate themselves in phone calls to the sniper tip line, they definitely won't be cashing in.

Patty Davis, CNN, Washington.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

BROWN: Still ahead on the program tonight, we will talk with Robert Cleary about some of the legal aspects of case, former federal prosecutor. But up next, a new candidate with a familiar name steps forward in the state of Minnesota. The political story, when NEWSNIGHT continues from New York.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK) BROWN: It would be hard to overstate the drama that's played out in less than a week in the Minnesota Senate race. Last Friday, Senator Paul Wellstone died in a plane crash. He was one of those old-time liberals the Minnesota Farmer Labor Party, as it is known there, produces from time it time.

Oddly, his death seemed to throw the Republicans off stride more than the Democrats, who quickly decided that another one of those old- time liberals, Walter Mondale, could save the day. Then there was last night's spectacle and the repercussions real or staged. Tomorrow, they'll go back to arguing about healthcare and the like and probably be happy to do so. Here is CNN's Jonathan Karl.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: The next United States Senator from Minnesota, Walter Mondale.

JONATHAN KARL, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): It's official, Walter Mondale is a candidate for Senate for the first time in three decades.

WALTER MONDALE, FMR. VICE PRESIDENT: Tonight, our campaign begins. I start it with a pledge to you. I will be your voice and I will be Paul Wellstone's voice for decency and hope and better lives.

KARL: Democratic activists from across Minnesota tapped Mondale, but they say their campaign will be about Wellstone's legacy, which poses a challenge for Republican Norm Coleman.

As Coleman jump-starts his campaign, he is running against the ghost of Paul Wellstone as much as he is running against Walter Mondale. And Mondale, as a former senator and vice president, is something of a legend in Minnesota.

NORM COLEMAN (R), REPUBLICAN CANDIDATE: This is an uphill battle. I am running against -- it's like running against Mount Rushmore, you know? But on the other hand, again, the problems, the challenges, the hopes, the opportunities are real.

KARL: Mondale's campaign got a boost with his appearance at Tuesday night's memorial for Wellstone, which turned into a full- fledged political rally, featuring an emotional appeal from Wellstone's youngest son Mark.

MARK WELLSTONE, PAUL WELLSTONE'S SON: We will win! We will win! We will win!

KARL: Republican Trent Lott attended, only to be booed by the crowd. And the event left some Republicans angry and demanding equal time from the local stations that carried the three and a half hour event live. Even independent Governor Jesse Ventura was outraged.

GOV. JESSE VENTURA (D), MINNESOTA: I feel violated and duped over the fact that that turned into nothing more than a political rally. And like in the case of Senator Lott flying all the way up here and being booed, when he is supposed to be going to a memorial service, I think the Democrats should hang their head in shame.

KARL: For their part, officials of the former Wellstone campaign acknowledged the speakers got carried away in the emotion of the moment and apologized for the political nature of the event. With Mondale now a candidate, Republicans want him to debate, and it would be Mondale's first debate since taking on Ronald Reagan in 1984.

The elder Reagan used that debate to neutralize concerns about his age.

RONALD REAGAN, FORMER PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: And I want you to know that also, I will not make age an issue of this campaign. I am not going to exploit for political purposes my opponent's youth and inexperience.

KARL: For the record, back then, Reagan was actually younger than Mondale is today.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

KARL: Mondale begins as a statewide tour tomorrow, here in the twin cities. He'll be having a couple of radio interviews, a town hall meeting and a press conference. And, Aaron, I am told at that press conference tomorrow morning that Mondale will be joined by both of Wellstone's surviving sons -- Aaron.

BROWN: Well, it's a very short campaign. And it doesn't seem, from where I sit, at least, to be a lot to gain for former Senator Mondale to debate anybody. What do you hear?

KARL: Can you come again? Somebody was yelling in my ear, Aaron.

BROWN: OK. Do you imagine that, in fact, there will be a debate between the two candidates?

KARL: Well, I've spoken to Wellstone's former staffers who are now Mondale's staffers on this campaign. And I'm told that they expect that Mondale probably will agree to one debate.

Now, there was a previously-scheduled debate supposed to be between Wellstone and Coleman on Friday night, and there is a possibility that Mondale would engage on the debate on that time. But again, there's been no decision from their side, but they are absolutely not ruling it out, which means a very real possibility it will happen. There's a lot of pressure to make it happen, especially after that memorial. Media outlets here putting a lot pressure on the Mondale campaign -- what's becoming the Mondale campaign to agree to a debate.

BROWN: All right, we'll see what happens. John, thank you. It's been quite a couple of days in the Twin Cities. Thank you very much.

Few other stories to get to tonight, beginning with the second day of hearings into the crash of American Airlines Flight 587 in Queens last year -- Queens, New York. The focus today on the training and the skills of the co-pilots. Sources say, most investigators believe the co-pilot made a series of sharp moves with the rudder after hitting severe weight turbulence. They believe that caused the tailfin to rip off the plane and ultimately crash.

An update on the story we brought you last summer. A string of murders at Fort Bragg, most them military husbands accused of killing their wives. Investigators now say they have found no evidence that the anti-malaria drug, Larium, was the factor in the killings. In three of the cases, the men had recently returned from service in Afghanistan, meaning they may have taken the drug.

And we're never exactly sure how they figure these things out but here we go. Mary Parr, believed to be the oldest American and the second oldest person in the world has died. She died at 113. Her secret -- and they always have secret, don't they? Never getting married.

Still to come on NEWSNIGHT, the selling of the United States.

It's an unusual ad campaign geared towards Muslims around the world. When we come back, the state department's $15 million objective.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

BROWN: More cynicism abounds. Coming up on NEWSNIGHT, the strategy behind bringing the sniper suspects to justice. We'll be right back.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

BROWN: More now on the case against the sniper suspects. Which jurisdiction has the advantage, why the feds got into the act, when they got into the act, how the cases will be made? There's a fair amount of gainsmanship involved here, and also some potentially serious land mines to get around.

We're joined tonight by former federal prosecutor Robert Cleary.

Nice to have you with us.

ROBERT CLEARY, FRM. FEDERAL PROSECUTOR: Hi, how are you doing?

BROWN: Hi. One of the questions that comes in a lot from viewers is if there is, for example, an acquittal in Maryland on a murder case, does that -- be then -- become a double jeopardy to try them in Virginia? That is a slam dunk no. But there is in fact a double jeopardy issues in play here involving the federal; government, right?

CLEARY: That's right. If the federal government were to prosecute the case, most state constitutions or state statutes would then bar a subsequent prosecution, irrespective of the outcome federal prosecution. Bar a subsequent prosecution based on the facts.

BROWN: Because?

CLEARY: Because that's their double jeopardy provision, which goes beyond, gives greater protection to a defendant than the U.S. constitution requires.

BROWN: Is it that the federal case encompasses all of the murders?

CLEARY: That's right. I mean, usually it's a fact-based analysis. So if the charges that the federal government -- are brought are based on facts that the state government would want to prosecute, perhaps even under a different statute. Under many those state institutions and state statutes, the state would be barred by the double jeopardy provision from proceeding.

BROWN: Is there any formal or organized process -- well, I am sure they would argue it is organized. Is there any formal process for determining who goes first? Or to simply, as it seems to be playing out, a decision the attorney general of the United States makes?

BROWN: Well, ultimately, under the Supremacy Clause if the federal government wants to go first, they're going to go ahead, they're going to prosecute this case. Beyond that, it's really going to come down to the lead prosecutors in each jurisdiction working out in accommodation for the very best interests of this case. And I'm confident -- well, at least hopeful -- that that's what's going to happen.

BROWN: OK, maybe this is then an example of my cynicism but let me throw this out. The attorney general looking at the states of Maryland and the state of Virginia says, Look, Maryland it is true, had the most murders.

CLEARY: Right.

BROWN: In this.

CLEARY: The greatest community impact.

BROWN: That's right. Virginia is more likely to impose the death penalty and can impose the death penalty on a juvenile. Let's just take these guys out of federal custody and deliver them to Richmond.

CLEARY: Right.

BROWN: It can happen that way?

CLEARY: It could happen that way, and that's the difficult analysis here. The tension, if you are dealing just at the state level, between going to Maryland where at least in theory at this point -- we don't know all the facts -- at least in theory, it's going to be easier to get a prosecution because you have a greater number of events occurring there. Versus, if everyone wants to have a death penalty here, and there's certainly a loud drumbeat for that, going to Virginia, because that's a better chance of getting the death penalty.

BROWN: The fact that it's -- hypothetically begins in Virginia, and let's say there are convictions in Virginia and there are sentences in Virginia, that does not in of itself preclude the state of Maryland to find justice or the victims who died in the state of Maryland, does it?

CLEARY: No, and this gets back to the double jeopardy questioning you were asking earlier. It's, as I said, fact-based. So the facts that would be prosecuted in Virginia, if there was a state prosecution there, the facts relating to the homicides and assaults that took place in Virginia. Not the ones that took place in Maryland. So Maryland would be free in that instance to bring a subsequent prosecution, to charge the events that happened in the state of Maryland.

BROWN: When they're not arguing about who goes first and why, what are prosecutors doing right now?

CLEARY: Well, right now, what they're going to be spending an enormous amount of time is completing their investigation. You know, this investigation obviously started right around October 2, but no one was focusing on these two defendants until about two weeks ago. So there's a lot they have to do to catch up and make a rock-solid case on these two individuals. This is the sort of case, obviously, if you bring, you have to win.

BROWN: So it's not as simple as, Look they got the car, and the so-called sniper's nest in the car. They got the gun, they got the bracing device or -- bipod, I guess it was.

CLEARY: Right, bipod.

BROWN: Just go into court and say, Here we got it.

CLEARY: Not in a case like this. They're going to be -- want to spend a lot of time. And I'm sure doing this right now looking for opportunity evidence to trace the movements of the defendants from October 2, forward, see if we can put them at, near or moving towards any of the shooting's scenes. Going to be looking for motive evidence, , and intensive background investigation on each of the defendants to, frankly, explain the unexplainable. How is it that they could be motivated to commit these horrific crimes?

BROWN: A quick last question. I have a fascination with this question. I ask it all the time. Is there any part of you, as a former prosecutor, that would like a piece of a trial like this, a case like this?

CLEARY: Assuming all the fighting stops, and there is a case brought to the best of the prosecution, sure. It would be a wonderful opportunity for any prosecutor, and a great opportunity to do justice and serve the public, which is one thing a prosecutors is all about.

BROWN: You have got a lot of families who have been impacted by this. Prosecution goes forward. Nice to meet you, thanks for coming in tonight.

CLEARY: My pleasure. Thank you.

BROWN: Robert Cleary.

We were thinking of one particular moment in the sniper case that speaks to a very different story. The report that the suspect, you may recall, is -- may have olive skin, which turned out, of course, to be wrong. But it does make you realize how hard it must be to have olive skin in this country these days, or at least in some places. Simple things like the stare that might have lasted a bit too long, and the more ominous things, reports of Muslims being picked up and detained.

If this is news to you, you are way behind the Arab world, which gets a regular diet of horror stories, real and imagined, about the United States.

The United States government is trying to fight back with its own message, though it's not exactly clear just how effective that message will be.

Here's CNN's Andrea Koppel.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Hello, my name is Abdul Hammuda (ph), I am the owner of Tieb (ph) Lebanese Bakery, located here in Toledo, Ohio.

ANDREA KOPPEL, CNN STATE DEPARTMENT CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): The ads all have a personal feel.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: My name is Rawiya Isma (ph), I am a schoolteacher...

KOPPEL: Part profile, part propaganda.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I have never gotten disrespected because I am a Muslim.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: We are all brothers and sisters.

KOPPEL: Hardly subtle, these ads are the unlikely collaboration between Madison Avenue and the U.S. State Department. The intended audience? Millions of Muslims outside the United States. The message? Simply, the U.S. is a nice place for Muslims to live.

With ongoing violence between Israelis and Palestinians, and talk of a possible U.S. war in Iraq, anti-U.S. sentiment is a constant worry for U.S. officials.

RICHARD BOUCHER, SPOKESMAN, STATE DEPARTMENT: There's a lot of basic misperception about this country, and especially about whether people are free to practice their religion if they are Muslim. And that -- that's one of the elements that we want to try to explain, what kind of society we are, what -- how we treat people, and what we think of people.

KOPPEL: The ads began running this week in Indonesia, the world's most populous Muslim country, and are expected to air shortly in Malaysia and Pakistan, but not all countries are eager to run them. Egypt refused, U.S. officials say, because it won't accept paid programing from governments.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Islam and the United States could be followed just as well as I can follow my village where I was raised.

KOPPEL: This $15 million ad campaign has drawn pointed criticism. Officials tell CNN in initial focus group testing, some Arabs and Muslims found the videos so offensive, U.S. embassies urged the State Department not to release them.

(on camera): State Department officials say they have since tweaked the videos, and insist the ads are just one piece of a much broader media campaign, including Web sites and even a new radio station, all designed to tell what they call the real American story.

Andrea Koppel, CNN, at the State Department.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

BROWN: Ahead on NEWSNIGHT, a former president and his power to hold the spotlight. It's what some called the Clinton mystique.

But first, beauty and the beast, wrapped up in one. "Their News," and the power of Mount Etna. This is NEWSNIGHT on CNN.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

BROWN: Quick look ahead at "AMERICAN MORNING" with Paula Zahn. Here is Paula.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

PAULA ZAHN, CNN ANCHOR: Thanks, Aaron. The sniper investigation is far from over, we will keep following all the twists and turns. And can the U.S. handle two wars at once? We are going to see if fighting a war in Iraq and the war on terror leaves America vulnerable to another attack at home. That's the question we raise tomorrow on "AMERICAN MORNING" at 7:00 a.m. Eastern -- Aaron.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

BROWN: And ahead on NEWSNIGHT, "Their News" comes from Italy. The latest on Mount Etna. We are right back.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

BROWN: We admit to being mesmerized by the pictures we have seen this week from Mount Etna, the volcano in Italy. It is easy to marvel at the natural drama of it all from a safe distance of a few thousand miles, but in eastern Sicily, homes being evacuated, damages being tallied. One resident said, This is the ash poured down like rain. Etna is a tragedy, the dust, the eruption, everything. No surprise, it's the lead story in Italy, and here's a bit of "Their News."

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

UNIDENTIFIED ANCHOR (through translator): Etna damages tallied after the earthquake tremors continue, but lava slows. A smoldering emergency in Catania.

Good evening to all of you from Telejournal One. The damages tallied in Etna after the violent quake that caused collapse and spread panic and damage in the tens of millions of Euros. So many homes are destroyed that people are afraid of looters, so they are going against safety restrictions, and people are going back into their homes.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE (through translator): The day after, Jessica Analfiori (ph) returned to their home, ignoring safety restrictions, returning home to find amongst the few memories remaining intact, the strength to go on.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE (through translator): Memories of seven years.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE (through translator): Seven years of marriage.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE (through translator): I'm sorry. I -- it's horrible.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE (through translator): A baby understood, and she was visibly shaken. It's normal. She's looking for her home, looking for her toys. It's normal.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE (through translator): And now?

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE (through translator): Now, courage, strength, and we need to start over. We can't give up. This problem doesn't only affect us, many families are affected. So the most important thing is to start over.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE (through translator): It's still too soon to say that this situation has stabilized, as vulcanologists say. Sure, Etna has become much calmer, and no long is scary.

On the southern side of the volcano, flow is completely stopped. Along the north side, the lava has slowed its course, and has been cooling much faster.

The people breathe a sigh of relief, even as workers arrive and continue to douse it with foam and water to save it. The activity became explosive, meaning there are many plumes of lava that you see, making a spectacle which only Etna can display. There were no more relevant earthquakes to speak of, or at least none that were felt by the people. There is only the constant trembling picked up by the seismographs, indicating the situation has not at all stabilized. (END VIDEOTAPE)

BROWN: How the Italians reported their news tonight.

Before we go to break, a few quick items around the world. Bombs went off today in the South African township of Soweto, outside of Johannesburg. Nine explosions at rail stations on tracks. At a mosque, woman died from falling debris. No idea yet who's responsible.

No questions launched an attack on Israeli settlement on the West Bank last night. The al Atsa martyrs brigade taking responsibility today for gunning down three Israelis and wounding three others.

And a budget dispute over money for the settlements today knocked the legs out of Israel's already wobbly National Unity Government. Six cabinet ministers from the Labor party resigned, which could force new election month ahead of schedule.

Still ahead on NEWSNIGHT, Democrats reminisce about the good 'ole days.

We'll be right back.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

BROWN: We're reminded of a predicament we heard about tax collectors in London awhile back. It was whether former President Bill Clinton should be attacked for an appearance as an entertainer or a statesman. They settled on statesmen, but you get their dilemma.

Just what role does Bill Clinton play these days? As is usually the case with the Clintons, it all depends on who you ask. Rush Limbaugh, for one, can still get a ton of mileage on Clinton bashing.

And the Democratic faithful treat him like the political equivalent of a Backstreet Boy, especially with their hands out this election's season. Here's CNN's Candy Crowley.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

CANDY CROWLEY, CNN SR. POLITICAL CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): At the base of the Democratic Party, where the true believers live, they can't stop thinking about yesterday. And when yesterday shows up, they go nuts.

CARL MCCALL (D), NEW YORK GUBERNATORIAL CANDIDATE: It's just been incredible. People really believe in him. And people really come out just to see him. And a lot of that gets transferred to other people.

CROWLEY: He's still the one, the life of the party, en fuego, lending his flame to charisma-challenged candidates, which, when standing next to Bill Clinton, is pretty much everybody, even this seasoned Democratic "it" girl, Michigan's gubernatorial candidate, Jennifer Granholm. WILLIAM J. CLINTON, FORMER PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: Now, our friends in the other party, they know that Jennifer's going to win if the Democrats are united and you show up.

CROWLEY: In a midterm election, where victory belongs to the party that shows up, that is the strength of the former president, getting them to show up. Clintonites want you to know, the bulk of the former president's time out of office has been spent on charitable works and causes. But, honestly, when the political season comes rolling around, this is a man who can't help himself.

TERRY MCAULIFFE, DNC CHAIRMAN: He certainly loves the political arena. He has his entire life, every bone in his body. He loves being out there. He loves being with people.

CROWLEY: By next week, he will have politicked in 20 states and the District of Columbia. You may notice an imbalance of geography. Travel is light below the Mason-Dixon Line. Some Democrats and independents, particularly in the South, remain unhappy with the seamier side of the Clinton administration.

Politically, the former president can be as toxic as he is magic. One-time Clinton Chief of Staff Erskine Bowles, running for the Senate against Elizabeth Dole, does not talk much about his former boss. Republicans do, though.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP, AD)

NARRATOR: Where did Erskine Bowles learn his negative tactics? Bill Clinton's White House.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

CROWLEY: Still, there's more than one way to help a campaign. Clinton advises candidates looking to learn the magic. There are phone calls and radio spots and direct mail.

MCCALL: And he can raise money, too. We did very well tonight.

CROWLEY: Clintonites estimate about 60 percent of his political events this year have been fund-raisers. No matter how you see him, there is nobody else out there like Bill Clinton.

"There's such a vacuum in the part," sighed one true believer. We miss him so much.

And he seems a little wistful himself.

CLINTON: I am more grateful than you will ever know for the support you gave to me. But politics is always about tomorrow and not yesterday.

CROWLEY: His days as the comeback kid are over. But he's still the natural.

Candy Crowley, CNN, Washington. (END VIDEOTAPE)

BROWN: That's our report tonight. Good to have you with us. Hope that you will join us tomorrow 10:00 Eastern time.

Until then, I'm Aaron Brown in New York. And good night from all of us at "NEWSNIGHT."

TO ORDER A VIDEO OF THIS TRANSCRIPT, PLEASE CALL 800-CNN-NEWS OR USE OUR SECURE ONLINE ORDER FORM LOCATED AT www.fdch.com





House>


Aired October 30, 2002 - 22:00   ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
AARON BROWN, HOST: Good evening, again, everyone.
I find out things about myself on the program. I find myself in exactly the right place for a reporter tonight. I'm annoyed at both political parties, and you can't be more fair and balanced than that.

Last night's event in Minneapolis -- calling it a memorial insults the dead -- was totally tasteless. Democrats have every right to celebrate Senator Paul Wellstone's life in any way they choose. What they don't have a right to do, it seems to me, is create the impression they are going to do one thing, when the plan all along was to do something else.

Inviting Mr. Wellstone's former Republican colleagues was the right thing to do. Booing them was not. Whatever happened to Minnesota nice?

Local TV carried the event live because they believed it was going to be something other than a pep rally. They were fooled. It was all pretty shameless.

Equally shameless has been the reaction received here. There may, in fact, be non-partisans upset with the event. They may in fact exist. They did not make themselves known in our inbox today. Instead, what we received was a series of identical letters -- I counted at least a dozen and then go bored. I don't mean thematically identical, I mean literally identical, word for word.

Now there are two ways to look at this. It was either the most remarkable coincidence in the history of the world that a dozen people would send word for word the same letter, or this was just a silly organized campaign by people who wouldn't have voted for the senator for all the (UNINTELLIGIBLE) in Minnesota.

So here is what last night proved. One side can be tasteless, and the other side has the computer skills to cut and paste under the guise of genuine outrage. Which is worse? To me it's a tie. We'll get to that in a little bit.

We begin "The Whip" tonight with the debate over Iraq. Senior White House Correspondent John King on that -- John, a headline from you tonight.

JOHN KING, CNN SENIOR WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT: Aaron, the U.N. chief weapons inspector was here today for meetings with the president and other top officials. He was asked how many teams would it take. He was urged to be aggressive from the get-go. He was promised access to sensitive U.S. intelligence. It is a sign, despite all the frustration here at the United Nations in recent weeks, they think there's a deal in the works.

BROWN: John, thank you. Back to you at the top tonight.

On the Minnesota race and the new Democratic candidate now officially in to replace Senator Paul Wellstone, our Congressional Correspondent Jonathan Karl has been out in the Midwest. Jon, a headline from you.

JONATHAN KARL, CNN CONGRESSIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Aaron, just a little over an hour ago Walter Mondale formally accepted that nomination to run for Paul Wellstone, and he did it promising to serve as Paul Wellstone's voice in the United States Senate.

BROWN: Jon, thank you.

The latest on the fate of hundreds of Haitians who swam to shore yesterday in South Florida. Susan Candiotti reporting the story for us tonight -- Susan, a headline from you, please.

SUSAN CANDIOTTI, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Hello, Aaron. Well, the men are at a detention center, the women and children, including a three- year-old little girl, are at a government-contracted motel. No one is expected to be set free any time soon to hire lawyers to fight deportation. And today, demonstrators demonstrated, and the governor weighed in.

BROWN: Susan, thank you. Back to you and the rest shortly.

Also coming up tonight, Kelli Arena on an intriguing question in the sniper case. Did federal authorities interrupt an interrogation that might, might have led to a confession? Some more perspective as well on the legal turf battle going on. We'll be joined a little bit later by former federal prosecutor Robert Cleary. And then there is the question of the reward. Who deserves it and how to divide it up.

And we'll bring you extraordinary pictures tonight from Mount Etna, and tonight we'll match them up with the story, their story as it is being reported on the ground. Their news comes from Italy tonight.

And it's all the way at the end in segment seven, but the e-mails will arrive nevertheless. It's about the consummate campaigner you seem to either really love or truly hate. Former President Bill Clinton on the campaign trail this political season. All of that in the hour ahead.

We begin tonight with this President, the confrontation with Iraq and the diplomacy needed to pull it off. What a long strange trip it's been.

There have been times when it seemed a real confrontation was with the French president or the Russian president, not Saddam Hussein. And the diplomacy more to do with words than weapons of mass destruction. It's now been more than a month and a half since the U.N. began talking about how to confront Iraq. Six weeks of negotiations, challenges, some would say bullying by the White House. And the White House was center stage again today. We begin tonight with our Senior White House Correspondent John King.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

KING (voice-over): The White House says slow progress is being made at the United Nations, but that the negotiations are likely to carry into next week.

ARI FLEISCHER, WHITE HOUSE PRESS SECRETARY: We have certain issues that we feel extraordinarily strongly about that we will not change. Such as the resolution must state that there are consequences.

KING: The United States is promising to consult the Security Council again before launch anything military action against Iraq. But the administration says from that point on, it reserves the right to strike and will not tie military action to Security Council approval.

COLIN POWELL, SECRETARY OF STATE: At no time will the United States foreclose its ability to act in its interests in accordance with its constitutional obligations to protect the nation and to protect the people.

KING: Mr. Bush met briefly with the chief U.N. Weapons Inspector, Hans Blix and with Mohammad al Baradi (ph), head of the International Atomic Energy Agency.

HANS BLIX, CHIEF U.N. WEAPONS INSPECTOR: He told us that he would -- they would support this thoroughly and very solidly.

KING: Blix said al Baradi (ph) also held talks with Vice President Cheney, Secretary State Powell and National Security Adviser Condoleezza Rice.

CONDOLEEZZA RICE, NATIONAL SECURITY ADVISER: The President just wanted to signal that he wants a peaceful way to resolve this situation. That war is not his first choice, but he does believe the situation needs to be resolved and to put the full backing behind a tough inspection regime so that the inspectors can do their job.

KING: The Pentagon reaffirmed the decision to send more B-2 bombs to the region, part of a military buildup that goes hand in hand with the diplomacy.

LEE HAMILTON, WOODROW WILSON INTERNATIONAL CENTER: You have to continue to prepare for war, to build up our forces in the region, and let all the world know and let Saddam Hussein know that there is, in fact, a credible threat, military threat against him.

KING: Secretary Powell point is man in trying to negotiate a U.N. resolution, reaching out Wednesday to the foreign ministers of France, Russia, and great Britain.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

KING: And the talks of course still could collapse, but tonight here at the White House, optimism, cautious optimism anyway, that a deal will be struck early next week. Because of that, they are looking forward. In those meetings with Dr. Blix today, he was urged if inspectors go back in, to be aggressive from the beginning. He was promised access to sensitive intelligence about suspected Iraqi weapons sites, and he was told if there any problems at all, the United States expects them to leave and report to the Security Council immediately -- Aaron.

BROWN: All right. Let's assume for a second that at some point next week the U.N. Security Council strikes a deal. Then at what point do the inspectors go in? How soon do the inspectors go in?

KING: Within 10 days to two weeks, Dr. Blix says. The advanced teams could hit the ground. They would get up and running. They would perhaps do a few initial inspections while building a list of what they needed in terms of equipment and additional teams.

Remember the resolution, as it now stands, gives Iraq 30 days to give the United Nations a detailed list of its weapons of mass destruction. Iraq right now publicly says it has none. The United States says that is a lie.

So you would have seven days for Iraq to say yes or no, we will accept the inspectors. Then they get 23 more days to give a list to the United Nations. In that time, during that time, Dr. Blix says he could get the advanced teams in so the inspections would be able to be up and running pretty quickly.

BROWN: John, thank you. Senior White House Correspondent John King at the White House tonight.

The Russian government today confirmed what many already suspected, the gas used to end the hostage standoff was in fact, fentanyl, which means had doctors known it and paramedics been allowed into the theater where hostages were being held, lives clearly would have been saved. That is the headline in the west.

The headline in Russia reads quite differently. The focus there today, finding the accomplices, if any. Here is CNN's Mike Hanna.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

MIKE HANNA, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Police footage operate in Moscow. The target here, a known gathering place of Chechen businessmen. This part a series of massive sweeps, as Russian security officers search for those who may have assisted the group of self-declared Chechen rebels that held hundreds of hostages in a Moscow theater.

The interior ministry says tens of people have been arrested. Human rights groups have warned of a backlash against Chechens in the wake of the hostage siege. And at the height of crisis, President Putin called on the public not to discriminate or take the law into their own hands.

VLADIMIR PUTIN, RUSSIAN PRESIDENT (through translator): I am positively sure that one of the terrorist's goals was to create ethnic strife. We should under no circumstances yield to that provocation. We must not allow any lawlessness.

HANNA: And his words appear to have been heard with little anti- Chechen feeling apparent among those canvassed in Moscow streets.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I think many of them can be useful for Moscow. Many of them can be specialists in some areas. So I can't say that all of them are terrorists.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I think, first of all, we have to improve the life of people in Chechnya.

HANNA: Some Chechen individuals have been singled out. Among them, a high-ranking Chechen envoy is being arrested during the visit to Denmark at the request of Russian authorities.

Ahmed Sakayed (ph) is a senior rebel commander who had been attending a conference in Copenhagen. He is being accused by the Russians in the past of organizing terrorist attacks, and is now accused of involvement in the Moscow hostage taking. Danish authorities will hold him for up to two weeks while considering a request for extradition.

Meanwhile, Russians continue burying the dead in the wake of the hostage siege, and the special forces operation that ended it. And the action against various Chechens by the Russian authorities, a response perhaps to a mounting public sentiment that the conflict in Chechnya, seen as a root cause of the tragedy in Moscow, must be resolved, one way or another.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

BROWN: Mike Hanna in Russia tonight.

No leads to speak of in the assassination of the American diplomat, Laurence Foley. His body was brought home today, taken aboard of an Air Force C-141 in the airport in Amman with the Jordanian color guard providing the full military honors. Mr. Foley was killed on Monday, he was shot at close range by a lone gunman. Jordanian police, with American help, have questioned dozens of people, most of them are described as Islamic militants, but they've gotten nowhere so far in their search for the killer.

The Canadian government today issued a travel warning with a twist. Telling Canadians born in Iran or a number of other Arab countries to think twice before entering the United States. The foreign ministry says it issued the warning for a number of reasons, the deportation a Syrian-born Canadian for one.

The Canadians also object to the American policy of fingerprinting and photographing certain people at the border. State Department defense practice called on the Canadian government to do a better job of weeding out militants trying to get Canadian passports.

People hit the streets of Miami today. They marched to protest the treatment of Haitians who came ashore yesterday. And the immigration policy they call a double standard, which to some degree there is. Cuban refugees who make land are by law political refugees and almost always allowed to stay. Haitians and virtually everyone else are soon to be just seeking a better economic life and largely they go home.

There is history of course here, and there is the important politics of Florida and its substantial number of Cuban-Americans. And throw into the mix an election that features the president's brother, and you have an immigration story involving politics, or perhaps it's the other way around. Here again CNN's Susan Candiotti.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

CANDIOTTI (voice-over): Emotions running high among demonstrators demanding fair treatment for Haitian migrants seeking asylum. One day after the dramatic arrival of more than 200 Haitians, some as young as three years old, jumping into shallow water in a desperate effort to reach land, there is no clearer picture about what will happen to them.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: And they will have every opportunity to make their case.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Enough is enough is enough is enough.

CANDIOTTI: Haitian-American activists have protested time and again, that Haitians, unlike other groups, must remain behind bars where a legal representation is spotty at best while pursuing asylum claims. Now, with an election days away, Haitians blame governor Jeb Bush for what they called empty promises of help.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: It's under principle of fairness. It's under principle of equal justice for all that equal standard against that policy be implemented by the White House.

CANDIOTTI: During a campaign stop to get an endorsement from African-American business and religious leaders, Bush was confronted by Democratic Congresswoman Carrie Meek.

REP. CARRIE MEEK (D): I came to ask you if you would call your brother and ask him to call INS to release the Haitians that are in detention.

GOV. JEB BUSH (R), FLORIDA: My position is, as I stated, if people have a well-founded fear of persecution, they should be allowed into the community out of krome (ph) and they should be able to pursue those remedies through administrative...

MEEK: Tell your brother they can be released right now. CANDIOTTI: Cubans who make it to shore are automatically paroled into the U.S. and generally granted asylum. A new INS policy that keeps Haitians detained for months at a time, is meant to discourage others from trying to sneak into the U.S. Advocates call the policy a failure.

CHERYL LITTLE, FLORIDA IMMIGRANT ADVOCACY CENTER: Detention is not a deterrent. Haitians know full well the risk they undertake when they take to the high seas and the flimsy boats and they do it because they are desperate.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

CANDIOTTI: Whether they were escaping fear of government or fear of poverty, these Haitians apparently aren't going anywhere anytime soon, and their plan to escape was apparently in the works since last December, according to prosecutors. Six Haitians are now charged with smuggling, and apparently that criminal investigation will drag out the migrants' detention even longer because now, Aaron, they are potential witnesses as well.

BROWN: And when did they get lawyers? When did they begin the process of trying to prove, if they can, that there is a political reason for them not to go home?

CANDIOTTI: Well, their advocates say it's really hard to get in touch with them. Lawyers who want to represent them, most often on a pro bono basis, have a very difficult time, if it is not impossible, to reach out to them while they are in detention. That's why they want them freed so that lawyers can meet with them privately and figure out what to do next.

BROWN: Susan, thank you. Susan Candiotti in Miami tonight.

Later on NEWSNIGHT, the uproar over the memorial service that turned into a political rally.

And up next, sorting out just who gets the reward money in the sniper case. This is NEWSNIGHT on CNN.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

BROWN: A number of developments in the sniper story today. Reports of friction between local and federal authorities over the timing of the federal charges in the case. Some complaints that the feds swooped in just a as John Muhammad was starting to talk. Developments as well in the crucial business of pulling together the bits and pieces from all of the crime scenes, so when it is finally decided which case goes first, prosecutors will have the evidence they need.

Here's CNN's Kelli Arena.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

KELLI ARENA, CNN JUSTICE CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): CNN has learned that investigators are pouring over DNA evidence found in Ashland, Virginia on a letter from the alleged sniper. Also, there is DNA evidence from human waste recovered at the final shooting scene in Montgomery County, Maryland. Any DNA evidence that can be linked to either of the suspects could also indisputably place them at the scene as prosecutors try build a case.

JOHN ASHCROFT, ATTORNEY GENERAL: We want to continue to assemble evidence in this ongoing matter. There is still analysis. There is still investigation.

ARENA: So far, neither of the men is providing any information that would be helpful to investigators. According to "The New York Times," though, law enforcement officials say John Allen Muhammad was close to confessing last Thursday when federal prosecutors cut the interrogation short and whisked him off to court to face weapons charges at the urging of the White House.

Justice and the White House officials vehemently denied that report. Maryland U.S. Attorney Thomas DiBagio, who was involved in overseeing the interrogation, said in a statement, "Both individuals were questioned throughout the day. There was no indication throughout the day that either of the individuals were yielding any useful information. In fact, the juvenile was not speaking to officials at all."

CNN sources agree, for the most part, they say Muhammad did talk a bit, but provided no relevant information. With charges pending in several counties, some insiders suggest the strikingly different accounts reflect a political battle over which jurisdiction gets to take the sniper case to court first. And some resentment over federal charges filed on Tuesday.

PAUL BUTLER, FMR. FEDERAL PROSECUTOR: I wish I could say that turf battles are unprecedented, but unfortunately, they are all too common. This is a high-profile case. It's literally the crime of this young century, and so a lot of prosecutors want a piece of it.

ARENA (on camera): No decision has been made on how the government will proceed, justice sources say, as evidence is uncovered, it will become clearer which jurisdiction's case is strongest.

Kelli Arena, CNN, Washington.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

BROWN: The next story involving the sniper case seems to have the potential to turn ugly and petty. It has do to with the half- million dollar reward. And in the days after the arrest, it seems we had our deserving hero right out of central casting, the humble truck driver with an eagle eye, quick to say the reward should really go to the victims' family.

But Ron Lantz, as we have learned, was just one of many people who helped police close in on the suspects. And sorting out who gets what may require its own round of gumshoe work. Here is CNN's Patti Davis.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

PATTI DAVIS, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): With the serial sniper suspects behind bars, investigators are sifting through thousands of tips to build their cases and ultimately help decide who deserves the sizable cash reward.

DOUGLAS DUNCAN, MONTGOMERY COUNTY EXECUTIVE: It's $500,000 for the rewards for information leading to the arrest and indictment of people in this case.

DAVIS: Police say they are nowhere near a decision, but it's likely a number of people will split the money. There is Ron Lantz, the truck driver who spotted the suspect's Chevy caprice at a Maryland rest stop.

RON LANTZ, SPOTTED SUSPECT'S CAR: If I had the money I would probably take it back and give it to the people who were shot. That's the way that I feel about it. And that's -- that's what I would have done with it. At least half of it anyway.

DAVIS: But Lantz may be out of the running. Maryland state police say another man, Whitney Donahue, spotted the car first and called 911. And then there is William Sullivan, a Virginia priest who told police an agitated man called him on October 18, talking about an Alabama killing.

Another man in Tacoma, Washington told police, Muhammad and Malvo used a rifle for target practice if their backyard. All of these tips helped lead police to the suspects. Reqard programs work, with success rates over 50 percent, but the larger the reward and the higher the public profile, the greater the problem.

JOHN ROPER, CRIME STOPPERS USA: It generates large calls. It's manpower intensive, because they have to follow every lead to its finalities.

DAVIS: Police say they wouldn't have solved the case without help from tipsters.

(on camera): But they say one thing's for sure -- even though the suspects helped incriminate themselves in phone calls to the sniper tip line, they definitely won't be cashing in.

Patty Davis, CNN, Washington.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

BROWN: Still ahead on the program tonight, we will talk with Robert Cleary about some of the legal aspects of case, former federal prosecutor. But up next, a new candidate with a familiar name steps forward in the state of Minnesota. The political story, when NEWSNIGHT continues from New York.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK) BROWN: It would be hard to overstate the drama that's played out in less than a week in the Minnesota Senate race. Last Friday, Senator Paul Wellstone died in a plane crash. He was one of those old-time liberals the Minnesota Farmer Labor Party, as it is known there, produces from time it time.

Oddly, his death seemed to throw the Republicans off stride more than the Democrats, who quickly decided that another one of those old- time liberals, Walter Mondale, could save the day. Then there was last night's spectacle and the repercussions real or staged. Tomorrow, they'll go back to arguing about healthcare and the like and probably be happy to do so. Here is CNN's Jonathan Karl.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: The next United States Senator from Minnesota, Walter Mondale.

JONATHAN KARL, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): It's official, Walter Mondale is a candidate for Senate for the first time in three decades.

WALTER MONDALE, FMR. VICE PRESIDENT: Tonight, our campaign begins. I start it with a pledge to you. I will be your voice and I will be Paul Wellstone's voice for decency and hope and better lives.

KARL: Democratic activists from across Minnesota tapped Mondale, but they say their campaign will be about Wellstone's legacy, which poses a challenge for Republican Norm Coleman.

As Coleman jump-starts his campaign, he is running against the ghost of Paul Wellstone as much as he is running against Walter Mondale. And Mondale, as a former senator and vice president, is something of a legend in Minnesota.

NORM COLEMAN (R), REPUBLICAN CANDIDATE: This is an uphill battle. I am running against -- it's like running against Mount Rushmore, you know? But on the other hand, again, the problems, the challenges, the hopes, the opportunities are real.

KARL: Mondale's campaign got a boost with his appearance at Tuesday night's memorial for Wellstone, which turned into a full- fledged political rally, featuring an emotional appeal from Wellstone's youngest son Mark.

MARK WELLSTONE, PAUL WELLSTONE'S SON: We will win! We will win! We will win!

KARL: Republican Trent Lott attended, only to be booed by the crowd. And the event left some Republicans angry and demanding equal time from the local stations that carried the three and a half hour event live. Even independent Governor Jesse Ventura was outraged.

GOV. JESSE VENTURA (D), MINNESOTA: I feel violated and duped over the fact that that turned into nothing more than a political rally. And like in the case of Senator Lott flying all the way up here and being booed, when he is supposed to be going to a memorial service, I think the Democrats should hang their head in shame.

KARL: For their part, officials of the former Wellstone campaign acknowledged the speakers got carried away in the emotion of the moment and apologized for the political nature of the event. With Mondale now a candidate, Republicans want him to debate, and it would be Mondale's first debate since taking on Ronald Reagan in 1984.

The elder Reagan used that debate to neutralize concerns about his age.

RONALD REAGAN, FORMER PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: And I want you to know that also, I will not make age an issue of this campaign. I am not going to exploit for political purposes my opponent's youth and inexperience.

KARL: For the record, back then, Reagan was actually younger than Mondale is today.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

KARL: Mondale begins as a statewide tour tomorrow, here in the twin cities. He'll be having a couple of radio interviews, a town hall meeting and a press conference. And, Aaron, I am told at that press conference tomorrow morning that Mondale will be joined by both of Wellstone's surviving sons -- Aaron.

BROWN: Well, it's a very short campaign. And it doesn't seem, from where I sit, at least, to be a lot to gain for former Senator Mondale to debate anybody. What do you hear?

KARL: Can you come again? Somebody was yelling in my ear, Aaron.

BROWN: OK. Do you imagine that, in fact, there will be a debate between the two candidates?

KARL: Well, I've spoken to Wellstone's former staffers who are now Mondale's staffers on this campaign. And I'm told that they expect that Mondale probably will agree to one debate.

Now, there was a previously-scheduled debate supposed to be between Wellstone and Coleman on Friday night, and there is a possibility that Mondale would engage on the debate on that time. But again, there's been no decision from their side, but they are absolutely not ruling it out, which means a very real possibility it will happen. There's a lot of pressure to make it happen, especially after that memorial. Media outlets here putting a lot pressure on the Mondale campaign -- what's becoming the Mondale campaign to agree to a debate.

BROWN: All right, we'll see what happens. John, thank you. It's been quite a couple of days in the Twin Cities. Thank you very much.

Few other stories to get to tonight, beginning with the second day of hearings into the crash of American Airlines Flight 587 in Queens last year -- Queens, New York. The focus today on the training and the skills of the co-pilots. Sources say, most investigators believe the co-pilot made a series of sharp moves with the rudder after hitting severe weight turbulence. They believe that caused the tailfin to rip off the plane and ultimately crash.

An update on the story we brought you last summer. A string of murders at Fort Bragg, most them military husbands accused of killing their wives. Investigators now say they have found no evidence that the anti-malaria drug, Larium, was the factor in the killings. In three of the cases, the men had recently returned from service in Afghanistan, meaning they may have taken the drug.

And we're never exactly sure how they figure these things out but here we go. Mary Parr, believed to be the oldest American and the second oldest person in the world has died. She died at 113. Her secret -- and they always have secret, don't they? Never getting married.

Still to come on NEWSNIGHT, the selling of the United States.

It's an unusual ad campaign geared towards Muslims around the world. When we come back, the state department's $15 million objective.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

BROWN: More cynicism abounds. Coming up on NEWSNIGHT, the strategy behind bringing the sniper suspects to justice. We'll be right back.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

BROWN: More now on the case against the sniper suspects. Which jurisdiction has the advantage, why the feds got into the act, when they got into the act, how the cases will be made? There's a fair amount of gainsmanship involved here, and also some potentially serious land mines to get around.

We're joined tonight by former federal prosecutor Robert Cleary.

Nice to have you with us.

ROBERT CLEARY, FRM. FEDERAL PROSECUTOR: Hi, how are you doing?

BROWN: Hi. One of the questions that comes in a lot from viewers is if there is, for example, an acquittal in Maryland on a murder case, does that -- be then -- become a double jeopardy to try them in Virginia? That is a slam dunk no. But there is in fact a double jeopardy issues in play here involving the federal; government, right?

CLEARY: That's right. If the federal government were to prosecute the case, most state constitutions or state statutes would then bar a subsequent prosecution, irrespective of the outcome federal prosecution. Bar a subsequent prosecution based on the facts.

BROWN: Because?

CLEARY: Because that's their double jeopardy provision, which goes beyond, gives greater protection to a defendant than the U.S. constitution requires.

BROWN: Is it that the federal case encompasses all of the murders?

CLEARY: That's right. I mean, usually it's a fact-based analysis. So if the charges that the federal government -- are brought are based on facts that the state government would want to prosecute, perhaps even under a different statute. Under many those state institutions and state statutes, the state would be barred by the double jeopardy provision from proceeding.

BROWN: Is there any formal or organized process -- well, I am sure they would argue it is organized. Is there any formal process for determining who goes first? Or to simply, as it seems to be playing out, a decision the attorney general of the United States makes?

BROWN: Well, ultimately, under the Supremacy Clause if the federal government wants to go first, they're going to go ahead, they're going to prosecute this case. Beyond that, it's really going to come down to the lead prosecutors in each jurisdiction working out in accommodation for the very best interests of this case. And I'm confident -- well, at least hopeful -- that that's what's going to happen.

BROWN: OK, maybe this is then an example of my cynicism but let me throw this out. The attorney general looking at the states of Maryland and the state of Virginia says, Look, Maryland it is true, had the most murders.

CLEARY: Right.

BROWN: In this.

CLEARY: The greatest community impact.

BROWN: That's right. Virginia is more likely to impose the death penalty and can impose the death penalty on a juvenile. Let's just take these guys out of federal custody and deliver them to Richmond.

CLEARY: Right.

BROWN: It can happen that way?

CLEARY: It could happen that way, and that's the difficult analysis here. The tension, if you are dealing just at the state level, between going to Maryland where at least in theory at this point -- we don't know all the facts -- at least in theory, it's going to be easier to get a prosecution because you have a greater number of events occurring there. Versus, if everyone wants to have a death penalty here, and there's certainly a loud drumbeat for that, going to Virginia, because that's a better chance of getting the death penalty.

BROWN: The fact that it's -- hypothetically begins in Virginia, and let's say there are convictions in Virginia and there are sentences in Virginia, that does not in of itself preclude the state of Maryland to find justice or the victims who died in the state of Maryland, does it?

CLEARY: No, and this gets back to the double jeopardy questioning you were asking earlier. It's, as I said, fact-based. So the facts that would be prosecuted in Virginia, if there was a state prosecution there, the facts relating to the homicides and assaults that took place in Virginia. Not the ones that took place in Maryland. So Maryland would be free in that instance to bring a subsequent prosecution, to charge the events that happened in the state of Maryland.

BROWN: When they're not arguing about who goes first and why, what are prosecutors doing right now?

CLEARY: Well, right now, what they're going to be spending an enormous amount of time is completing their investigation. You know, this investigation obviously started right around October 2, but no one was focusing on these two defendants until about two weeks ago. So there's a lot they have to do to catch up and make a rock-solid case on these two individuals. This is the sort of case, obviously, if you bring, you have to win.

BROWN: So it's not as simple as, Look they got the car, and the so-called sniper's nest in the car. They got the gun, they got the bracing device or -- bipod, I guess it was.

CLEARY: Right, bipod.

BROWN: Just go into court and say, Here we got it.

CLEARY: Not in a case like this. They're going to be -- want to spend a lot of time. And I'm sure doing this right now looking for opportunity evidence to trace the movements of the defendants from October 2, forward, see if we can put them at, near or moving towards any of the shooting's scenes. Going to be looking for motive evidence, , and intensive background investigation on each of the defendants to, frankly, explain the unexplainable. How is it that they could be motivated to commit these horrific crimes?

BROWN: A quick last question. I have a fascination with this question. I ask it all the time. Is there any part of you, as a former prosecutor, that would like a piece of a trial like this, a case like this?

CLEARY: Assuming all the fighting stops, and there is a case brought to the best of the prosecution, sure. It would be a wonderful opportunity for any prosecutor, and a great opportunity to do justice and serve the public, which is one thing a prosecutors is all about.

BROWN: You have got a lot of families who have been impacted by this. Prosecution goes forward. Nice to meet you, thanks for coming in tonight.

CLEARY: My pleasure. Thank you.

BROWN: Robert Cleary.

We were thinking of one particular moment in the sniper case that speaks to a very different story. The report that the suspect, you may recall, is -- may have olive skin, which turned out, of course, to be wrong. But it does make you realize how hard it must be to have olive skin in this country these days, or at least in some places. Simple things like the stare that might have lasted a bit too long, and the more ominous things, reports of Muslims being picked up and detained.

If this is news to you, you are way behind the Arab world, which gets a regular diet of horror stories, real and imagined, about the United States.

The United States government is trying to fight back with its own message, though it's not exactly clear just how effective that message will be.

Here's CNN's Andrea Koppel.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Hello, my name is Abdul Hammuda (ph), I am the owner of Tieb (ph) Lebanese Bakery, located here in Toledo, Ohio.

ANDREA KOPPEL, CNN STATE DEPARTMENT CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): The ads all have a personal feel.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: My name is Rawiya Isma (ph), I am a schoolteacher...

KOPPEL: Part profile, part propaganda.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I have never gotten disrespected because I am a Muslim.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: We are all brothers and sisters.

KOPPEL: Hardly subtle, these ads are the unlikely collaboration between Madison Avenue and the U.S. State Department. The intended audience? Millions of Muslims outside the United States. The message? Simply, the U.S. is a nice place for Muslims to live.

With ongoing violence between Israelis and Palestinians, and talk of a possible U.S. war in Iraq, anti-U.S. sentiment is a constant worry for U.S. officials.

RICHARD BOUCHER, SPOKESMAN, STATE DEPARTMENT: There's a lot of basic misperception about this country, and especially about whether people are free to practice their religion if they are Muslim. And that -- that's one of the elements that we want to try to explain, what kind of society we are, what -- how we treat people, and what we think of people.

KOPPEL: The ads began running this week in Indonesia, the world's most populous Muslim country, and are expected to air shortly in Malaysia and Pakistan, but not all countries are eager to run them. Egypt refused, U.S. officials say, because it won't accept paid programing from governments.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Islam and the United States could be followed just as well as I can follow my village where I was raised.

KOPPEL: This $15 million ad campaign has drawn pointed criticism. Officials tell CNN in initial focus group testing, some Arabs and Muslims found the videos so offensive, U.S. embassies urged the State Department not to release them.

(on camera): State Department officials say they have since tweaked the videos, and insist the ads are just one piece of a much broader media campaign, including Web sites and even a new radio station, all designed to tell what they call the real American story.

Andrea Koppel, CNN, at the State Department.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

BROWN: Ahead on NEWSNIGHT, a former president and his power to hold the spotlight. It's what some called the Clinton mystique.

But first, beauty and the beast, wrapped up in one. "Their News," and the power of Mount Etna. This is NEWSNIGHT on CNN.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

BROWN: Quick look ahead at "AMERICAN MORNING" with Paula Zahn. Here is Paula.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

PAULA ZAHN, CNN ANCHOR: Thanks, Aaron. The sniper investigation is far from over, we will keep following all the twists and turns. And can the U.S. handle two wars at once? We are going to see if fighting a war in Iraq and the war on terror leaves America vulnerable to another attack at home. That's the question we raise tomorrow on "AMERICAN MORNING" at 7:00 a.m. Eastern -- Aaron.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

BROWN: And ahead on NEWSNIGHT, "Their News" comes from Italy. The latest on Mount Etna. We are right back.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

BROWN: We admit to being mesmerized by the pictures we have seen this week from Mount Etna, the volcano in Italy. It is easy to marvel at the natural drama of it all from a safe distance of a few thousand miles, but in eastern Sicily, homes being evacuated, damages being tallied. One resident said, This is the ash poured down like rain. Etna is a tragedy, the dust, the eruption, everything. No surprise, it's the lead story in Italy, and here's a bit of "Their News."

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

UNIDENTIFIED ANCHOR (through translator): Etna damages tallied after the earthquake tremors continue, but lava slows. A smoldering emergency in Catania.

Good evening to all of you from Telejournal One. The damages tallied in Etna after the violent quake that caused collapse and spread panic and damage in the tens of millions of Euros. So many homes are destroyed that people are afraid of looters, so they are going against safety restrictions, and people are going back into their homes.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE (through translator): The day after, Jessica Analfiori (ph) returned to their home, ignoring safety restrictions, returning home to find amongst the few memories remaining intact, the strength to go on.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE (through translator): Memories of seven years.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE (through translator): Seven years of marriage.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE (through translator): I'm sorry. I -- it's horrible.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE (through translator): A baby understood, and she was visibly shaken. It's normal. She's looking for her home, looking for her toys. It's normal.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE (through translator): And now?

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE (through translator): Now, courage, strength, and we need to start over. We can't give up. This problem doesn't only affect us, many families are affected. So the most important thing is to start over.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE (through translator): It's still too soon to say that this situation has stabilized, as vulcanologists say. Sure, Etna has become much calmer, and no long is scary.

On the southern side of the volcano, flow is completely stopped. Along the north side, the lava has slowed its course, and has been cooling much faster.

The people breathe a sigh of relief, even as workers arrive and continue to douse it with foam and water to save it. The activity became explosive, meaning there are many plumes of lava that you see, making a spectacle which only Etna can display. There were no more relevant earthquakes to speak of, or at least none that were felt by the people. There is only the constant trembling picked up by the seismographs, indicating the situation has not at all stabilized. (END VIDEOTAPE)

BROWN: How the Italians reported their news tonight.

Before we go to break, a few quick items around the world. Bombs went off today in the South African township of Soweto, outside of Johannesburg. Nine explosions at rail stations on tracks. At a mosque, woman died from falling debris. No idea yet who's responsible.

No questions launched an attack on Israeli settlement on the West Bank last night. The al Atsa martyrs brigade taking responsibility today for gunning down three Israelis and wounding three others.

And a budget dispute over money for the settlements today knocked the legs out of Israel's already wobbly National Unity Government. Six cabinet ministers from the Labor party resigned, which could force new election month ahead of schedule.

Still ahead on NEWSNIGHT, Democrats reminisce about the good 'ole days.

We'll be right back.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

BROWN: We're reminded of a predicament we heard about tax collectors in London awhile back. It was whether former President Bill Clinton should be attacked for an appearance as an entertainer or a statesman. They settled on statesmen, but you get their dilemma.

Just what role does Bill Clinton play these days? As is usually the case with the Clintons, it all depends on who you ask. Rush Limbaugh, for one, can still get a ton of mileage on Clinton bashing.

And the Democratic faithful treat him like the political equivalent of a Backstreet Boy, especially with their hands out this election's season. Here's CNN's Candy Crowley.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

CANDY CROWLEY, CNN SR. POLITICAL CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): At the base of the Democratic Party, where the true believers live, they can't stop thinking about yesterday. And when yesterday shows up, they go nuts.

CARL MCCALL (D), NEW YORK GUBERNATORIAL CANDIDATE: It's just been incredible. People really believe in him. And people really come out just to see him. And a lot of that gets transferred to other people.

CROWLEY: He's still the one, the life of the party, en fuego, lending his flame to charisma-challenged candidates, which, when standing next to Bill Clinton, is pretty much everybody, even this seasoned Democratic "it" girl, Michigan's gubernatorial candidate, Jennifer Granholm. WILLIAM J. CLINTON, FORMER PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: Now, our friends in the other party, they know that Jennifer's going to win if the Democrats are united and you show up.

CROWLEY: In a midterm election, where victory belongs to the party that shows up, that is the strength of the former president, getting them to show up. Clintonites want you to know, the bulk of the former president's time out of office has been spent on charitable works and causes. But, honestly, when the political season comes rolling around, this is a man who can't help himself.

TERRY MCAULIFFE, DNC CHAIRMAN: He certainly loves the political arena. He has his entire life, every bone in his body. He loves being out there. He loves being with people.

CROWLEY: By next week, he will have politicked in 20 states and the District of Columbia. You may notice an imbalance of geography. Travel is light below the Mason-Dixon Line. Some Democrats and independents, particularly in the South, remain unhappy with the seamier side of the Clinton administration.

Politically, the former president can be as toxic as he is magic. One-time Clinton Chief of Staff Erskine Bowles, running for the Senate against Elizabeth Dole, does not talk much about his former boss. Republicans do, though.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP, AD)

NARRATOR: Where did Erskine Bowles learn his negative tactics? Bill Clinton's White House.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

CROWLEY: Still, there's more than one way to help a campaign. Clinton advises candidates looking to learn the magic. There are phone calls and radio spots and direct mail.

MCCALL: And he can raise money, too. We did very well tonight.

CROWLEY: Clintonites estimate about 60 percent of his political events this year have been fund-raisers. No matter how you see him, there is nobody else out there like Bill Clinton.

"There's such a vacuum in the part," sighed one true believer. We miss him so much.

And he seems a little wistful himself.

CLINTON: I am more grateful than you will ever know for the support you gave to me. But politics is always about tomorrow and not yesterday.

CROWLEY: His days as the comeback kid are over. But he's still the natural.

Candy Crowley, CNN, Washington. (END VIDEOTAPE)

BROWN: That's our report tonight. Good to have you with us. Hope that you will join us tomorrow 10:00 Eastern time.

Until then, I'm Aaron Brown in New York. And good night from all of us at "NEWSNIGHT."

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