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CNN Newsnight Aaron Brown
Kobe Bryant Charged; White House Releases Documents in Support of Bush's Statements
Aired July 18, 2003 - 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, CNN ANCHOR: Good evening again, everyone.
We admit the Kobe Bryant case is more compelling than it is important, if by important you mean war and peace and the like but compelling counts in the news business and the story deserves to lead the program tonight and it will. After all, here is a young man who really does have it all, fame and fortune, and until a couple of weeks ago at least a wonderful reputation.
The fact that he's a celebrity and rich and all that doesn't mean he's guilty and the fact that he's been seen as a standup guy doesn't mean he's not. All we can be sure of tonight is that something happened that shouldn't have. Mr. Bryant admits to that and that this whole episode is sad.
It's where we begin the whip. Gary Tuchman is in Eagle, Colorado tonight where the sexual assault charge was filed this afternoon, Gary a headline.
GARY TUCHMAN, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, Aaron, we've been waiting two weeks since Kobe Bryant was arrested for an announcement from the district attorney to see if criminal charges would be filed. The announcement came today and the news for Kobe Bryant was bad -- Aaron.
BROWN: Gary, thank you, we'll get back to you at the top tonight.
The reaction from Mr. Bryant tonight took place in Los Angeles. Frank Buckley picks up that part of the story, Frank the headline.
FRANK BUCKLEY, CNN NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Well, Aaron, a dramatic admission just about 45 minutes ago from Kobe Bryant himself saying that, yes, he did engage in sexual relations with the woman who is now accusing him of sexual assault. He says it was not sexual assault but consensual. You will hear from Kobe Bryant himself in just a few moments -- Aaron.
BROWN: Frank, thank you very much.
And, the controversy over intelligence in Iraq, the White House today putting out documents to defend its position, White House Correspondent Suzanne Malveaux has that for us, Suzanne a headline.
SUZANNE MALVEAUX, CNN WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT: Well, Aaron, while President Bush was in Texas promoting physical fitness, quietly a senior administration official here at the White House was trying to make that prewar intelligence flap go away, the White House declassifying part of a top secret document to make its case.
BROWN: Suzanne, thank you, we'll get back to you as well as everyone else.
Also coming up tonight on this Friday edition of NEWSNIGHT, the intelligence controversy as it's playing out in London, and today came a stunning twist, a body found believed to be the scientist at the center of the scandal involving the so-called dodgy dossier.
It's Friday in July, usually a guarantee of a very dull day on Capitol Hill but not today, nothing like a little sandbox fight to liven things up. Congressional Correspondent Jonathan Karl will unravel that.
Beth Nissen tonight on something turning 150 this weekend the urban miracle for millions, better known as Central Park.
And, the TGIF edition of morning papers we assure you it won't be half as dorky as that just sounded, perhaps a third is dorky. That's a NEWSNIGHT promise.
We begin, of course, with the Kobe Bryant case. If there's anytime to screen out the white noise of celebrity and notoriety it is now. This isn't about whether Kobe Bryant has a squeaky clean reputation. It isn't about the impact on the Lakers or endorsement deals or whether a bright young star has been tarnished forever.
It's about exactly what happened on June 30 between a 24-year-old man and a 19-year-old woman at an exclusive lodge near Vail, Colorado. Prosecutors say it was rape. Bryant says otherwise. We'll get his side in a moment, first, the charge against him from CNN's Gary Tuchman.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
TUCHMAN (voice-over): Two weeks to the day of his arrest, Kobe Bryant's legal fate is announced by District Attorney Mark Hurlbert.
MARK HURLBERT, DISTRICT ATTORNEY: Earlier today after much deliberation charges were filed against Kobe Bean Bryant of Newport Beach, California.
TUCHMAN: The Los Angeles Laker guard, one of the superstars of the NBA, has now been charged with felony sexual assault. Possible penalties are wide ranging but the maximum is life in prison.
HURLBERT: Basically it is alleged that he caused sexual penetration or intrusion and he caused submission of the victim through actual physical force.
TUCHMAN: The alleged sexual assault occurred on June 30 at the lodge and spa of Cordillera, a posh hotel west of Vail, Colorado. Bryant was staying there prior to knee surgery. The 19-year-old alleged victim works there. Bryant, who is a married father has now admitted to having sex with the woman but denies committing a crime.
As far as details of the alleged crime go...
HURLBERT: I'm not going to comment to anything on the facts.
TUCHMAN: The alleged victim who graduated from high school last year is said to be seclusion with her family. Shanna Sweeney is a friend of the woman and talked with her on Thursday. She says her friend told her on the night of June 30 she was scared and violated. But how did her friend feel about filing charges?
SHANNA SWEENEY, FRIEND OF ALLEGED VICTIM: She wasn't nervous. She was extremely confident. She knew what had happened to her and she knew that it would come out. She did the right thing. She went forward. She told the truth. She agreed to any tests so she wasn't nervous. She was confident with what was going to happen.
TUCHMAN: Prosecutors say they filed the charge after collecting the physical and testimonial evidence they need.
HURLBERT: Well, I have an ethical burden not to prosecute a case unless I can prove it beyond a reasonable doubt. I feel that after reviewing the evidence, after looking at the evidence, that I can prove this case beyond a reasonable doubt.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
TUCHMAN: Now, the district attorney has released a partial witness list. These are people we could expect to testify in a trial on behalf of the 19-year-old. They include detectives, a Colorado criminal lab agent, and two nurses who treated the 19-year-old on the night of June 30th.
Kobe Bryant has been ordered back here to Eagle County, Colorado on August 6, two weeks from Wednesday, for his initial appearance in court where he'll be advised of the charges and read his rights -- Aaron.
BROWN: Gary, is there anything that we know so far and a lot of this has been sealed, is there anything we know so far that makes this something other than he says she says?
TUCHMAN: We don't know yet because they're not releasing the facts. The prosecutor says he has plenty of evidence, as he said, that can prove his case beyond a reasonable doubt. We do want to tell you, though, that one of the young lady's friends has told us a couple of details that the prosecution and the defense are not releasing.
This friend says the 19-year-old told her that she gave a tour of the hotel to Kobe Bryant before this all happened and that he was a very nice guy. This friend tells us that later she went to the room, the 19-year-old, to make a delivery to the room and his demeanor was much different.
BROWN: Gary, thank you, Gary Tuchman out in Colorado tonight. The response now from Mr. Bryant, he spoke out tonight barely able to contain his emotions, admitting that he committed adultery. Mr. Bryant says he has to answer to his wife and to his God for that but he insists he committed no crime and has nothing to fear from the law, once again, CNN's Frank Buckley.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
BUCKLEY (voice-over): Kobe Bryant appeared with his wife at his side and said he was falsely accused of sexual assault.
KOBE BRYANT, LOS ANGELES LAKERS: I'm innocent, you know. I didn't force her to do anything against her will. I'm innocent.
BUCKLEY: But as his voice cracked with emotion, Bryant admitted to adultery.
BRYANT: And, I sit here in front of you guys furious at myself, disgusted at myself for making a mistake of adultery.
BUCKLEY: Bryant's attorney said their client would be exonerated.
PAMELA MACKEY, ATTORNEY: His defense is that what happened on June 30th in Eagle County was a sexual encounter between two consenting adults. He had no reason to believe otherwise. The physical evidence in this case totally supports his belief.
BUCKLEY: It will be up to a jury to determine Bryant's legal fate but his public fate, how the fan favorite will be regarded in the future, remains to be seen. Outside of Staples Center, young basketball players, their coaches, and parents heard the news before going inside for a junior YMCA tournament.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: It's sad. It's depressing. It's devastating not only for the organization, Lakers organization, also for his fans.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I hope he didn't forcibly do anything to the girl. That's what she's saying and if that's the case he should do time.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
BUCKLEY: Bryant's wife, Vanessa, did not speak at the news conference but she also issued a statement today. My apology, Bryant's wife, Vanessa, did not speak at the news conference but she also offered a statement in which she said that she believes her husband when he says that he did not assault his accuser.
The Lakers issued a statement, Mitch Kupchak, the general manager issuing a statement saying that -- expressing disappointment over the announcement of the charges but for legal reasons the Lakers will not be commenting on this but the Lakers will continue to offer support for Kobe and his family -- Aaron.
BROWN: Frank, thank you, Frank Buckley out in Los Angeles.
Let's talk a little bit about how this case is likely to proceed from here in the state of Colorado. We're joined by criminal defense attorney Dan Recht who's worked a lot of cases in Eagle County where this will be tried, Dan welcome.
DAN RECHT, CRIMINAL DEFENSE ATTORNEY: Thank you.
BROWN: In what is as best we know a he-said she-said and you have two people who by all accounts are reasonably upstanding citizens, I mean we're not talking about Mike Tyson here, who has the upper hand in this sort of case?
RECHT: You know it's hard to tell. I think it's difficult, you can portray it difficult from both perspectives. The prosecution is going to have a difficult time if that's all they have is her saying this happened; however, at least in the press in Colorado there has been an indication that there was some kind of turmoil in the room that a guest in the room next door had to call and ask that the turmoil, that the noise be kept down and that's how it all started. So, that adds something to her side of the ledger as far as credibility I suppose.
On the other hand, Kobe Bryant's attorney Pam Mackey said that all of the physical evidence will support him, meaning there is no physical evidence to say that he did anything other than have consensual sex.
BROWN: What could she -- I want to talk about the lawyers in a second, but what could she possibly have been referring to when she talked about all of the physical evidence? She didn't say there was a lack of physical evidence. She said all of the physical evidence supports his position.
RECHT: I am, of course, just speculating but, for example, in many rape cases the victim has bruises that were inflicted by the person forcing sex upon them and so she may well have been talking about the fact that there was no bruising. There was no abrasions. There was no vaginal trauma. There is none of those kind of things that indicate force.
BROWN: The lawyers involved, Mr. Bryant's lawyer an experienced defense attorney, correct?
RECHT: Absolutely, both of them are.
BROWN: Terrific lawyers?
RECHT: I would say they're terrific lawyers. They're lawyers' lawyers. They aren't flashy. The average person on the street in Denver wouldn't even know their names but other criminal defense lawyers know them as very good, competent, brilliant defense attorneys.
BROWN: Is there a danger, I want to ask this delicately here I think, is there a danger that his defense could be seen as too high powered, too expensive going up against a local attorney?
RECHT: Well, not if it remains the way it is because, like I said, these are not attorneys that are household names in Colorado or anywhere and certainly not in the Vail Valley or Eagle. I suppose if Kobe Bryant chose to bring in big national names to help these lawyers they would run that kind of risk but there's no indication that he has done anything like that or will do anything like that.
BROWN: Is the prosecutor a good trial lawyer?
RECHT: The prosecutor is much younger, much less experienced than the two defense lawyers. I know him. I find him to be a competent, good lawyer also and experienced, has tried many cases, not as many as the defense attorneys.
BROWN: What can the alleged victim in this case expect in the weeks and months, I gather ahead?
RECHT: I think her life could be very difficult, very difficult. I think she's going to have trouble going out in public without reporters trying to find her. Now, the sort of reporter frenzy will calm down in the next few days or the next few weeks but I think she's going to be in the spotlight, boy, for the next year is my guess.
BROWN: Are you surprised at this point there have been no pictures of her?
RECHT: No, I'm not.
BROWN: OK.
RECHT: Everybody is trying hard it seems to keep her name and picture out of the press and you'll note, or I noted anyway, that in the complaint that was filed against Kobe Bryant they did not use her name. They used an abbreviation. They did not give away who she was or how they could find her.
BROWN: Would you guess that she has been polygraphed?
RECHT: That's hard to say. I would guess not, frankly. I think they assess her credibility. The prosecutors assessed her credulity simply by interviewing her. I'm confident they interviewed her but I don't know that they polygraphed her and, again, it's just a guess on my part but from my experience in that jurisdiction I don't know them to do that kind of thing routinely.
BROWN: Dan, thanks for your help tonight, very nice job in helping us wade through some of this. Thank you very much, Dan Recht.
RECHT: Thank you very much.
BROWN: Criminal defense attorney out in Colorado.
If the player at the center of the story was one of those NBA outlaws, and there are plenty of them, we would be chagrined but not surprised. But this isn't about one of the usual suspects. It's about Kobe, good on and off the court, the next Michael Jordan, too smart it seemed to risk it all.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
BROWN (voice-over): Until now, Kobe Bryant has led what can only be called a wonderful life. The son of a very good NBA player, Joe Bryant, Kobe was born in Philadelphia. He moved to Italy when his dad played ball there and then came back to Philadelphia and high school.
JACK MCCALLUM, BASKETBALL WRITER, "SPORTS ILLUSTRATED": By all accounts he was a good student who probably could have made it into a great college on his own, so he led this seemingly kind of charmed life that really contrasts with a lot of the athletes that he's in the league with.
BROWN: He went from high school straight to the NBA and not just to the NBA but to the L.A. Lakers who seemed to be to basketball what the Yankees are to baseball. At 17, he joined Shaquille O'Neal, won a string of NBA titles as confident as he was young.
MCCALLUM: Right near the end of the regular season when the MVP vote was going on I caught up to him going outside in the tunnel. I said, well if you put yourself in the race who would you vote for? And, he kind of put his hand on my shoulder and slapped it and said well what do you think, I'd vote for me. There's nobody better than me in this league.
BROWN: But he was more than a basketball star, well spoken, well mannered, well managed, and well regarded, a role model in a league with many troubled stars. His Nike deal alone is said to be worth $40 million. His teammates have been supportive as have most active players but there was also this cautionary remark that put perspective on a case where few facts are known.
CHARLES BARKLEY, FORMER NBA PLAYER: He's always been very professional. He's one of the hardest working players in the NBA but something obviously happened and I just hope he gets through this.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
BROWN: Mr. Bryant due in court in Colorado early next month for a bail hearing.
Ahead on NEWSNIGHT, more deaths in Iraq, while in Britain a scientist caught up in the dodgy dossier may have killed himself.
And later, was the effort the blast Saddam Hussein in his bunker doomed from the start?
From New York, this is NEWSNIGHT.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
BROWN: President Bush is in Texas for a weekend heavy on fund- raising. He attended a function tonight in Dallas, another one planned for tomorrow in Houston, the two events expected to bring in about $7 million, safe to say the State of the Union flap isn't hurting the bottom line.
Just the same the administration has been scrambling to tell its story on its own terms and today officials tried a new tactic. Here's CNN's Suzanne Malveaux.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
MALVEAUX (voice-over): With the president on the road promoting fitness, back at the White House a senior administration official was actively trying to make the prewar intelligence flap go away.
The White House declassified eight of 90 pages from the October, 2002 National Intelligence Estimate or NIE. The report from six intelligence agencies used to shape President Bush's State of the Union speech and support his claim that Iraq was apparently attempting to obtain uranium from Africa.
It says: "A foreign government service reported that as of early 2001, Niger planned to send several tons of pure uranium (probably yellowcake) to Iraq. Reports indicate Iraq also has sought uranium ore from Somalia and possibly the Democratic Republic of the Congo."
But, the report also acknowledges: "We cannot confirm whether Iraq succeeded in acquiring uranium ore and/or yellowcake from these sources."
Secretary Powell in his presentation before the United Nations refused to use the Africa uranium claim because the State Department's own intelligence arm, the INR didn't find it credible. The State Department's dissent was actually included in the NIE as a footnote: "...the claim of Iraqi pursuit of natural uranium in Africa are, in INR's assessment, highly dubious."
But, a senior administration official said the president was never aware of the dissenting opinion and had full confidence his speech was based on solid intelligence. The official confirmed that National Security Council official Bob Joseph was responsible for vetting that portion of the speech but denied he pressured or negotiated with his counterpart at the CIA to get the dubious Africa uranium claim in the State of the Union.
The senior administration official maintains the White House didn't know the claim was in part based on forged documents until after Mr. Bush delivered his January address.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
MALVEAUX: Now, a senior administration official says the White House is redoubling its effort to make sure only credible evidence gets into the president's State of the Union address. At the same time, the Bush administration will cooperate with the Senate Intelligence Committee hearings but White House officials will not testify -- Aaron.
BROWN: Do they -- did they -- is there a feeling at the White House that they're at the end of this or in the middle of it still? MALVEAUX: Well, they're certainly hoping that they're at the end of this but polls are showing that there's a slight dip in the president's approval rating that perhaps this is wearing on the American people.
At the same time, they're hoping that with this information that they've disclosed today that perhaps it will tie up some loose ends and they can move on. They say that the president is satisfied with the explanation that was given by the CIA as well as the National Security Council. They certainly hope that this is over.
BROWN: Suzanne, thank you very much, Suzanne Malveaux at the White House tonight.
If the uranium story were an armchair detective novel this would qualify as a plot twist. The mild-mannered scientist after finding himself at the center of events far beyond his control vanishes, then apparently turns up dead in the English countryside, only this time Miss Marple isn't around to sort things out.
We can't skip to the last page and the body in the woods by the meadow is real, the story from ITV's John Ray.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
JOHN RAY, ITV CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): From time to time the personal and political worlds collide but rarely with such tragic and far-reaching consequences. In Woodland, a police search ended with the discovery of what they believe is the body of Dr. David Kelly.
DAVID PURNELL, ABINGDON POLICE: So, at this very difficult time our condolences must go out to his family, friends and work colleagues. Thames Valley Police is currently treating this incident as an unexplained death whilst we await the results of the postmortem.
RAY: He left home to walk the Oxfordshire countryside yesterday and complained bitterly to his wife he was unhappy, highly stressed, and very angry at how he'd been treated. He was a scientist forced out of the shadows into the blazing heat of a Westminster row over Iraqi weapons and sexed up dossiers.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Have you ever felt like a fall guy? I mean you've been set up haven't you?
DR. DAVID KELLY, SCIENTIST: That's not a question I can answer.
RAY: But the MPs didn't believe he was the mole digging up the government's dirty defense secrets.
DONALD ANDERSON, FOREIGN AFFAIRS COMMITTEE CHAIRMAN: Insofar as there was (unintelligible) ministry rather than himself and we said I believe on several occasions that he had acted in an honorable way and we were treating him in a non-aggressive way.
RAY: He was the expert witness Alistair Campbell hoped would clear him of the charge of exaggerating intelligence evidence against Iraq. Instead, he was caught up in the deadly crossfire with the BBC reporter who claims number ten distorted the truth to win support for a war.
Tonight, as a priest called to Dr. Kelly's home to comfort his family, the government promised a judicial inquiry into his death.
IAN DUNCAN SMITH, CONSERVATIVE PARTY LEADER: Clearly we welcome the idea of an independent judicial inquiry for we've been calling for one for a very long time. I'm only sad it takes a tragedy like this to finally get the government to accept that. We will, however, be very concerned to see this as a wide ranging inquiry.
RAY: There will be soul searching at high levels while the prime minister himself landing in Tokyo this afternoon is said to be visibly shocked by events by the death of a civil servant whose duty was simply to serve the public and to tell the truth.
John Ray, ITV News, Westminster.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
BROWN: Peter Stothard is with us tonight. Mr. Stothard is the former editor of "The Times of London." He spent 30 days shadowing the British prime minister during the run-up to the war. His new book, surprisingly enough, is called "Thirty Days," nice to have you with us tonight. Is this Mr. Blair's Vince Foster?
PETER STOTHARD, FORMER EDITOR, "THE TIMES": Well, it will be like that in some respects because even if it turns out in a year's time that the government behaved perfectly well and that Tony Blair was perfectly sincere and that, you know, it was just a tragic accident the damage that will be done in the meantime, just as it was in the Foster case, will be very, very great I fear.
BROWN: It's a terribly irony, isn't it, that Mr. Blair 24 hours ago here in the states was on this almost victory lap, warmly received, more warmly received that he has been at home these days, and then just like that it all walks away.
STOTHARD: Yes, there's a side show going on, this sort of off stage part of the action with this dodgy dossier which is now the main show and there's a dead body on the floor in the show. I mean it's a surreal tragedy. It's a complete inversion of the sort of story that was going on and not that anyone could have anticipated but with very, very far-reaching consequences.
I spent a long time very close to Prime Minister Blair, I mean more close that I think any writer or journalist has ever been to a leader at a kind of crisis like this and so I can pretty much anticipate how he'll be feeling. I mean he will be very, very shocked indeed. I mean Tony Blair is a deeply religious man and a very deep thinking man and he will be...
BROWN: Well, we'd all be shocked, I think, in a situation like this. Beyond shock, will he be worried? Is he threatened? Does he worry about the political implications of this? Where is his -- not his emotions so much as his brain taking him right now?
STOTHARD: Well, his brain is taking him in the prewar period to the -- on the basis that he was going to do the right thing even if it cost him his job and I think it would have been -- he was perfectly prepared to lose his job over backing President Bush on Iraq because he thought it was the right thing to do for a whole variety of reasons, of course a quite different thing to be prepared to lose your job over a scientist found dead face down in a field.
I mean that would cast a terrible shadow and a nullification over the whole sort of moral and pure basis that he sees his prime ministership to have, and so a very, very deep sense of emotion there I'm sure tonight.
BROWN: Was Dr. Kelly rudely treated by the parliament?
STOTHARD: Well, he was pretty rudely treated. I mean British Parliament is a very, very rough place.
BROWN: Yes.
STOTHARD: And I think the questions will be is how did he get to be in front of that parliament? I mean why was he -- suddenly his name suddenly in the frame. OK, he was the source for the journalist but how did it become known that he was the source and I mean who -- I mean the BBC...
BROWN: Served him up.
STOTHARD: Yes, exactly.
BROWN: Yes.
STOTHARD: Exactly, who served him up and the MPs (unintelligible), you know, a kind of civil paper you check out of fighters to take missiles away and how did it get to be the fact that this guy was put in that position? Politics is a rough game and when people are brought into the crossfire aren't used to it well it rarely happens as tragically as this but big thing.
BROWN: And, finally, this discussion of an inquiry sounds a bit like what we would refer to as a special prosecutor. Is that what we're talking about in Britain?
STOTHARD: Well, Tony Blair was very determined not to have this kind of judicial inquiry. I think before this he would have, you know, rather quit, that's what I was told than have such an inquiry but, of course, you know once you've got a dead body on the floor you've got not much choice.
And so that will reveal a whole host of things about the way in which the weapons of mass destruction issue was treated in the run-up to the war, which I'm sure he would rather not be brought out, not because necessarily I think he has a great deal to hide.
BROWN: Yes. STOTHARD: But just because, you see in this country, too, at just how politicized even the smallest difference between two versions can be, the damage that can be created by that.
BROWN: Thanks for coming in on a Friday night. I appreciate your insight on this. Thank you very much.
Coming up on NEWSNIGHT tonight: more violence in Iraq and a report that shows America's bunker-busters were a bust in the Iraq war, but not for the reasons you might think.
A break first. Around the world, this is NEWSNIGHT.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
BROWN: Three months and nine days since the statue of Saddam came down in central Baghdad, another statue fell today and another American soldier died. And both speak volumes about the good and the bad of Iraq today. That's part of the picture, but it's not the only part. Military commanders, while acknowledging all the difficulties, say they're now getting a better grip on the situation.
From Baghdad tonight, CNN's Nic Robertson.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
NIC ROBERTSON, CNN INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): North of Baghdad, in Saddam Hussein's hometown of Tikrit, the former president's last statue brought down, a symbolic act by U.S. troops, signifying he won't be coming back.
MAJOR MIKE RANHUNT, 4TH INFANTRY DIVISION: We have conducted aggressive offensive operations, not only in Tikrit itself, but in the surrounding areas. And since we have done that, we have seen a decline in the enemy's activity or ability to respond.
ROBERTSON: At the base, weapons confiscated in those raids, part of Operation Soda Mountain just completed, with 611 people detained, of whom 62 are former regime leaders, according to U.S. officials, West of Baghdad apparently not so secure: a U.S. soldier from the 3rd Infantry Division killed when an explosive device blew his vehicle across the highway, the attack typical of such incidents recently, a remotely detonated explosion triggered as a U.S. convoy passes by.
In Baghdad, the guard is still up. Soldiers keep watch for would-be attackers, scorching heat and body armor enemies of a different kind.
LT. JAMES PHILLIP FOX JR., 1ST ARMORED DIVISION: We really enforce a lot of water drinking. Hydration is the way to make it. We have got to wear approximately 20 pounds of gear all the time.
ROBERTSON: Off-duty, these troops living in a parking lot, no place to escape the heat here either, sleep, even at night, hard to come by. STAFF. SGT. WARREN GOWER, 4TH INFANTRY DIVISION: Morale overall, minus a little bit of lost sleep, is pretty good within our actual platoon. Sometimes, it goes down a little bit when the guys are tired.
ROBERTSON (on camera): Escaping the heat seems near impossible, living with it the best most soldiers can do, and for those who have set their minds to a long tour of duty, the knowledge that, in a few months, autumn will come and, eventually, the days will cool down.
Nic Robertson, CNN, Baghdad.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
BROWN: As if it weren't enough to have the war's aftermath and its justification come into question, there are doubts, too, about a key weapon, namely the bunker-buster bombs, that were supposed to kill the top Iraqi commanders.
The fact that Saddam Hussein and his sons and others are still out there somewhere suggest the bombs didn't do the job. But a report out today says they did. The failure in this case was of man, not machinery.
Here's Pentagon correspondent Barbara Starr.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
BARBARA STARR, CNN PENTAGON CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): After all the shock and awe, did those precision bombs really work? Did they destroy the bunkers where the CIA thought Saddam Hussein and his top generals were hiding? There had been high hopes after the first strike.
DONALD RUMSFELD, SECRETARY OF DEFENSE: There's no question but that the strike on that leadership headquarters was successful. We have photographs of what took place.
STARR: And at the later bombing of a Baghdad restaurant, four 2,000-pound bombs hit so precisely, there was only one crater. Military and CIA specialists have now combed through both those sites and found one big surprise -- contrary to U.S. intelligence, no bunkers.
The team has looked through 150 bombed facilitates around Iraq to see how well U.S. precision weapons did against some of Saddam Hussein's most secret facilities. The bombs hit their targets, but, surprisingly, Saddam's bunkers were even stronger than the U.S. thought. A senior team official tells CNN they found unexpectedly sophisticated construction techniques, many bunkers built with European assistance, designed specifically to withstand U.S. precision bombs, with specially hardened concrete, steel reinforcement, and shock-absorbing equipment.
The team concluded the Iraqis had world-class facilitates built years ago with multiple layers of protection against the U.S. attacks the Iraqis always feared.
(on camera): And the team has discovered new clues about how Iraqis might have escaped other U.S. precision attacks.
(voice-over): A B-2 bomber dropped a 2,000- and a 5,000-pound bomb on a command-and-control bunker under layers of soil and concrete, reinforced with 1-inch steel bars. U.S. intelligence thought there were six to eight large rooms inside, but the team found underground tunnels connecting 25 small rooms, protected by individual blast doors. The 8-foot-wide entry remained open after the bombs hit. And underground damage was limited, because unexpected small rooms absorbed the shock.
The team's final assessment? While the bombs were stunningly accurate in Iraq, the U.S. will need much better intelligence about targets the next time it goes to war.
Barbara Starr, CNN, the Pentagon.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
BROWN: And as NEWSNIGHT continues: A political fight almost turns into a physical one and the cops are called to the Capitol. Congressional correspondent Jonathan Karl with the details after the break.
This is NEWSNIGHT on CNN.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
BROWN: Still ahead on NEWSNIGHT on a Friday, we'll check morning papers. Up next: the battle between the Democrats and the Republicans turns ugly, or childish, or both.
We'll be right back.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
BROWN: Well, this will fit right in.
It was not a pretty scene. It seems like Pete and Bill got into a fight. Scott sided with Bill. Then Pete did something mom said never, ever to do. He called Scott a nasty name, some say even threatened to hit Scott, though Pete said that's not true. And their friends were dividing up sides and making way too much noise, so Bill called the grownups over, who said they all needed a time out to make nice and play nice.
The truth is, this sandbox fight wasn't at the playground. It was in Congress today. And Pete and Bill and Scott and all the rest have representative in front of their names.
Here's Jonathan Karl.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE) JONATHAN KARL, CNN CONGRESSIONAL CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): The Capitol police are well-armed, but usually their job is to protect Congress from outside threats, not to protect Congress from itself.
But on this quiet Friday, Ways and Means Chairman Bill Thomas called the Capitol Police to a hearing on pension reform that had turned into a confrontation between Democrat Pete Stark of California and Republican Scott McInnis of Colorado. The transcript is a marvel of political discourse.
"You think you are big enough to make me, you little wimp?" Stark said to McInnis. "Come on. Come over here and make me. I dare you." After some laughter, Stark continued: "You little fruitcake. You little fruitcake. I said, you are a fruitcake." Stark later said he was sorry about his words, but he never came close to blows. McInnis says otherwise.
REP. SCOTT MCINNIS (R), COLORADO: That we were within moments, frankly -- myself and another member on your side of the aisle were within moments of a -- I would guess, a physical engagement. And I considered that threat serious. I considered the threat a bodily threat, not just to the order of the committee, but to me. And I fully intended to defend myself.
KARL: It would have been a classic matchup: Stark, 72 years old. McInnis, 50; Stark, about 6 foot 2, 175 pounds, McInnis about 5 foot 7, 160 pounds; Stark, an anti-war activist, product of the 1960s peace movement; McInnis, a former cop.
The 72-year-old Stark strikes fears into the hearts of Republicans.
REP. MARK FOLEY (R), FLORIDA: He's a very, very strong man. He's very tall. He's very capable. I don't think age discriminates anybody from having the ability to clean someone's clock.
KARL: Chairman Thomas called the police, Republicans say, to keep the peace. But several sources say the police arrived, saying they were instructed to clear out all the Democrats.
REP. JERRY KLECZKA (D), WISCONSIN: I was in the room when the police came. Two officers came to clear us out because we were causing a disturbance.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Time of the gentleman has expired.
KLECZKA: So don't go lying what happened. It's an embarrassment enough.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: The gentleman will suspend.
(CROSSTALK)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: The gentleman will suspend. The gentleman will suspend.
KLECZKA: Apologizing to all of us and the issue would be done with.
REP. JOHN LEWIS (D), GEORGIA: We will not be intimidated. We will not be immobilized. We live in a democracy and not a police state.
KARL: Less than 24 hours before this embarrassment, it was Tony Blair in the House chamber and a moment to be proud of.
What a difference a day makes.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: This is America. This is not American.
KARL: Jonathan Karl, CNN, Capitol Hill.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
BROWN: Feel pretty proud about the democracy tonight, don't you?
Ahead on NEWSNIGHT: The most famous urban park in America, Central Park in New York City, turns 150 -- the miracle of its creation after the break.
This is a very civil NEWSNIGHT.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
BROWN: There are few places in New York City where you can get certifiably lost. Central Park, however, is one of them. In a city of right angles, it feels like there is not one in the park, a place where losing yourself, leaving the city behind, is the whole point.
There was a time when people saw the park as Jack Lemmon did in that old film "The Out-of-Towners": bewildering and threatening, a place of muggers and tramps and hucksters. They saw the city that way, too. Now that all seems ancient history. And, this weekend, the park turns 150, secure in its place as an urban American wonder.
Some history tonight from NEWSNIGHT's Beth Nissen.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
BETH NISSEN, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): It is a miracle of foresight, the creation of America's first great public park in the heart of what has historically been America's most crowded, commercial city.
Central Park's designers, winners of a citywide design contest, were Frederick Law Olmsted, a writer who had never designed anything in his life, and Calvert Vaux, an English architect. They did nothing less than remake nature, more than 800 rough acres of it. At their direction, battalions of workers hacked walking paths out of dense scrub, laid underground water pipes to create screams and waterfalls, transplanted hundreds of trees. There are now 26,000 here, 150 species, from the American Elm to the Chinese toon.
A range of wildlife was introduced. Of the 800 species of birds in North America, 275 can be spotted here. Early work crews used gunpowder to blast through Manhattan's bedrock of granite and schist, make carriageways and transverse roads still in use today. They dredged out ponds and lakes. They drained swamps to make the grassy expanses, the great lawn, and the sheep meadow, a grazing area until 1934, now Manhattan's backyard, a place where a city kid can get a grass stain.
The park's designers gave it a formal side, paved avenues, cobbles plazas, the mall, where people have perambulated for more than 100 years, gazebos and band shells for free concerts, a Central Park tradition still. It's all here: opera, jazz, swing. There is space here for children to play, grownups, too, of all ages, and something more, something priceless in a city where real estate costs a gasp per square foot, a place to sit quietly, to be somehow alone in a city of eight million, to be in the company of others, yet pulled back from the bustle and jostle.
Frederick Law Olmsted once asked, is it doubtful that it does men good to come together in this way, in pure air and under the light of heaven? No, sir, not doubtful at all.
Beth Nissen, CNN, Central Park.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
BROWN: Morning papers after the break.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
BROWN: OK-dokey. No, that's Okeydokey. Man, why did I start that?
Time to check morning papers from around the country. I don't think we'll get around the world today, although many people do demand it. No sooner had we started the program tonight than I got an e-mail from a regular viewer upset that we led with Kobe Bryant. I'm now going to make the case: every newspaper in the country. It was the right lead.
"New York Times" right down at the bottom: "Laker Star Bryant Charged With Sex Assault at Colorado Spa." It's interesting to me, by the way. "The Times" decided to use the mug shot of Kobe Bryant. That kind of went against the grain. Also, on the front page of "The Times, they put the British mystery death on the front page of "The Times" as well. But their big story -- it's a good story, too -- U.S. May be Forced to Go Back to U.N. For Iraq Mandate Other Nations Demand." Countries refuse to contribute troops or money without international approval. That's your Saturday "New York Times."
"San Francisco Chronicle," what do you think they led with? You got it: "Kobe Bryant Sex Charge: NBA All-Star Denies Crime, Could Face Life in Prison." And what else was on here? Oh. They put that little dustup at the House Ways and Means Committee, they put that on the front page. It involved a local congressman, Pete Stark. So that made some sense. "Partisan Brawl Stops House in its Tracks." "The Oregonian," the newspaper of Portland, Oregon, while we're out West. What do you think? "Basketball Star Kobe Bryant Charged With Sexual Assault," front page. Two Iraq stories also on the front page. A cool picture of that statute that we showed you a little earlier coming down, too. That's in "The Oregonian."
"Miami Herald," I'm not rubbing it into this guy, but I'm just trying to make a point: "NBA Star Bryant Faces Sex Charge," front page of the "Miami Herald." Good story here, too, good local story. It's a story with a local twist: "U.S. Official Mull Fate of Boat Hijack Suspects." It's a Cuban-related story. Miami's a big Cuban community, of course. And remembering Celia Cruz, the salsa singer, also makes the front page of Saturday's "Miami Herald."
What do you think "The Sun-Times" of Chicago leads with? You got it: "Adultery Not Rape, Kobe Says." "The Sun-Times" used a picture from the press conference today. They move pretty quickly, those guys at "The Sun-Times." Glorious, the weather in Chicago tomorrow, according to "The Sun-Times."
"The Times Herald Record" of Upstate New York. How we doing on time? Thirty seconds.
"Bryant Denies Sexual Assault Charge." "I made the mistake of adultery. I have to answer to my wife and to my God" -- put that on the front page.
And that's morning papers. Well, I have a couple more, but the point has been made, hasn't it?
Have a great weekend. We're all back here on Monday at 10:00 Eastern time. You might want to join us for that, please. We'll see you then.
Good night for all of us at NEWSNIGHT.
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Aired July 18, 2003 - 22:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
AARON BROWN, CNN ANCHOR: Good evening again, everyone.
We admit the Kobe Bryant case is more compelling than it is important, if by important you mean war and peace and the like but compelling counts in the news business and the story deserves to lead the program tonight and it will. After all, here is a young man who really does have it all, fame and fortune, and until a couple of weeks ago at least a wonderful reputation.
The fact that he's a celebrity and rich and all that doesn't mean he's guilty and the fact that he's been seen as a standup guy doesn't mean he's not. All we can be sure of tonight is that something happened that shouldn't have. Mr. Bryant admits to that and that this whole episode is sad.
It's where we begin the whip. Gary Tuchman is in Eagle, Colorado tonight where the sexual assault charge was filed this afternoon, Gary a headline.
GARY TUCHMAN, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, Aaron, we've been waiting two weeks since Kobe Bryant was arrested for an announcement from the district attorney to see if criminal charges would be filed. The announcement came today and the news for Kobe Bryant was bad -- Aaron.
BROWN: Gary, thank you, we'll get back to you at the top tonight.
The reaction from Mr. Bryant tonight took place in Los Angeles. Frank Buckley picks up that part of the story, Frank the headline.
FRANK BUCKLEY, CNN NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Well, Aaron, a dramatic admission just about 45 minutes ago from Kobe Bryant himself saying that, yes, he did engage in sexual relations with the woman who is now accusing him of sexual assault. He says it was not sexual assault but consensual. You will hear from Kobe Bryant himself in just a few moments -- Aaron.
BROWN: Frank, thank you very much.
And, the controversy over intelligence in Iraq, the White House today putting out documents to defend its position, White House Correspondent Suzanne Malveaux has that for us, Suzanne a headline.
SUZANNE MALVEAUX, CNN WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT: Well, Aaron, while President Bush was in Texas promoting physical fitness, quietly a senior administration official here at the White House was trying to make that prewar intelligence flap go away, the White House declassifying part of a top secret document to make its case.
BROWN: Suzanne, thank you, we'll get back to you as well as everyone else.
Also coming up tonight on this Friday edition of NEWSNIGHT, the intelligence controversy as it's playing out in London, and today came a stunning twist, a body found believed to be the scientist at the center of the scandal involving the so-called dodgy dossier.
It's Friday in July, usually a guarantee of a very dull day on Capitol Hill but not today, nothing like a little sandbox fight to liven things up. Congressional Correspondent Jonathan Karl will unravel that.
Beth Nissen tonight on something turning 150 this weekend the urban miracle for millions, better known as Central Park.
And, the TGIF edition of morning papers we assure you it won't be half as dorky as that just sounded, perhaps a third is dorky. That's a NEWSNIGHT promise.
We begin, of course, with the Kobe Bryant case. If there's anytime to screen out the white noise of celebrity and notoriety it is now. This isn't about whether Kobe Bryant has a squeaky clean reputation. It isn't about the impact on the Lakers or endorsement deals or whether a bright young star has been tarnished forever.
It's about exactly what happened on June 30 between a 24-year-old man and a 19-year-old woman at an exclusive lodge near Vail, Colorado. Prosecutors say it was rape. Bryant says otherwise. We'll get his side in a moment, first, the charge against him from CNN's Gary Tuchman.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
TUCHMAN (voice-over): Two weeks to the day of his arrest, Kobe Bryant's legal fate is announced by District Attorney Mark Hurlbert.
MARK HURLBERT, DISTRICT ATTORNEY: Earlier today after much deliberation charges were filed against Kobe Bean Bryant of Newport Beach, California.
TUCHMAN: The Los Angeles Laker guard, one of the superstars of the NBA, has now been charged with felony sexual assault. Possible penalties are wide ranging but the maximum is life in prison.
HURLBERT: Basically it is alleged that he caused sexual penetration or intrusion and he caused submission of the victim through actual physical force.
TUCHMAN: The alleged sexual assault occurred on June 30 at the lodge and spa of Cordillera, a posh hotel west of Vail, Colorado. Bryant was staying there prior to knee surgery. The 19-year-old alleged victim works there. Bryant, who is a married father has now admitted to having sex with the woman but denies committing a crime.
As far as details of the alleged crime go...
HURLBERT: I'm not going to comment to anything on the facts.
TUCHMAN: The alleged victim who graduated from high school last year is said to be seclusion with her family. Shanna Sweeney is a friend of the woman and talked with her on Thursday. She says her friend told her on the night of June 30 she was scared and violated. But how did her friend feel about filing charges?
SHANNA SWEENEY, FRIEND OF ALLEGED VICTIM: She wasn't nervous. She was extremely confident. She knew what had happened to her and she knew that it would come out. She did the right thing. She went forward. She told the truth. She agreed to any tests so she wasn't nervous. She was confident with what was going to happen.
TUCHMAN: Prosecutors say they filed the charge after collecting the physical and testimonial evidence they need.
HURLBERT: Well, I have an ethical burden not to prosecute a case unless I can prove it beyond a reasonable doubt. I feel that after reviewing the evidence, after looking at the evidence, that I can prove this case beyond a reasonable doubt.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
TUCHMAN: Now, the district attorney has released a partial witness list. These are people we could expect to testify in a trial on behalf of the 19-year-old. They include detectives, a Colorado criminal lab agent, and two nurses who treated the 19-year-old on the night of June 30th.
Kobe Bryant has been ordered back here to Eagle County, Colorado on August 6, two weeks from Wednesday, for his initial appearance in court where he'll be advised of the charges and read his rights -- Aaron.
BROWN: Gary, is there anything that we know so far and a lot of this has been sealed, is there anything we know so far that makes this something other than he says she says?
TUCHMAN: We don't know yet because they're not releasing the facts. The prosecutor says he has plenty of evidence, as he said, that can prove his case beyond a reasonable doubt. We do want to tell you, though, that one of the young lady's friends has told us a couple of details that the prosecution and the defense are not releasing.
This friend says the 19-year-old told her that she gave a tour of the hotel to Kobe Bryant before this all happened and that he was a very nice guy. This friend tells us that later she went to the room, the 19-year-old, to make a delivery to the room and his demeanor was much different.
BROWN: Gary, thank you, Gary Tuchman out in Colorado tonight. The response now from Mr. Bryant, he spoke out tonight barely able to contain his emotions, admitting that he committed adultery. Mr. Bryant says he has to answer to his wife and to his God for that but he insists he committed no crime and has nothing to fear from the law, once again, CNN's Frank Buckley.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
BUCKLEY (voice-over): Kobe Bryant appeared with his wife at his side and said he was falsely accused of sexual assault.
KOBE BRYANT, LOS ANGELES LAKERS: I'm innocent, you know. I didn't force her to do anything against her will. I'm innocent.
BUCKLEY: But as his voice cracked with emotion, Bryant admitted to adultery.
BRYANT: And, I sit here in front of you guys furious at myself, disgusted at myself for making a mistake of adultery.
BUCKLEY: Bryant's attorney said their client would be exonerated.
PAMELA MACKEY, ATTORNEY: His defense is that what happened on June 30th in Eagle County was a sexual encounter between two consenting adults. He had no reason to believe otherwise. The physical evidence in this case totally supports his belief.
BUCKLEY: It will be up to a jury to determine Bryant's legal fate but his public fate, how the fan favorite will be regarded in the future, remains to be seen. Outside of Staples Center, young basketball players, their coaches, and parents heard the news before going inside for a junior YMCA tournament.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: It's sad. It's depressing. It's devastating not only for the organization, Lakers organization, also for his fans.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I hope he didn't forcibly do anything to the girl. That's what she's saying and if that's the case he should do time.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
BUCKLEY: Bryant's wife, Vanessa, did not speak at the news conference but she also issued a statement today. My apology, Bryant's wife, Vanessa, did not speak at the news conference but she also offered a statement in which she said that she believes her husband when he says that he did not assault his accuser.
The Lakers issued a statement, Mitch Kupchak, the general manager issuing a statement saying that -- expressing disappointment over the announcement of the charges but for legal reasons the Lakers will not be commenting on this but the Lakers will continue to offer support for Kobe and his family -- Aaron.
BROWN: Frank, thank you, Frank Buckley out in Los Angeles.
Let's talk a little bit about how this case is likely to proceed from here in the state of Colorado. We're joined by criminal defense attorney Dan Recht who's worked a lot of cases in Eagle County where this will be tried, Dan welcome.
DAN RECHT, CRIMINAL DEFENSE ATTORNEY: Thank you.
BROWN: In what is as best we know a he-said she-said and you have two people who by all accounts are reasonably upstanding citizens, I mean we're not talking about Mike Tyson here, who has the upper hand in this sort of case?
RECHT: You know it's hard to tell. I think it's difficult, you can portray it difficult from both perspectives. The prosecution is going to have a difficult time if that's all they have is her saying this happened; however, at least in the press in Colorado there has been an indication that there was some kind of turmoil in the room that a guest in the room next door had to call and ask that the turmoil, that the noise be kept down and that's how it all started. So, that adds something to her side of the ledger as far as credibility I suppose.
On the other hand, Kobe Bryant's attorney Pam Mackey said that all of the physical evidence will support him, meaning there is no physical evidence to say that he did anything other than have consensual sex.
BROWN: What could she -- I want to talk about the lawyers in a second, but what could she possibly have been referring to when she talked about all of the physical evidence? She didn't say there was a lack of physical evidence. She said all of the physical evidence supports his position.
RECHT: I am, of course, just speculating but, for example, in many rape cases the victim has bruises that were inflicted by the person forcing sex upon them and so she may well have been talking about the fact that there was no bruising. There was no abrasions. There was no vaginal trauma. There is none of those kind of things that indicate force.
BROWN: The lawyers involved, Mr. Bryant's lawyer an experienced defense attorney, correct?
RECHT: Absolutely, both of them are.
BROWN: Terrific lawyers?
RECHT: I would say they're terrific lawyers. They're lawyers' lawyers. They aren't flashy. The average person on the street in Denver wouldn't even know their names but other criminal defense lawyers know them as very good, competent, brilliant defense attorneys.
BROWN: Is there a danger, I want to ask this delicately here I think, is there a danger that his defense could be seen as too high powered, too expensive going up against a local attorney?
RECHT: Well, not if it remains the way it is because, like I said, these are not attorneys that are household names in Colorado or anywhere and certainly not in the Vail Valley or Eagle. I suppose if Kobe Bryant chose to bring in big national names to help these lawyers they would run that kind of risk but there's no indication that he has done anything like that or will do anything like that.
BROWN: Is the prosecutor a good trial lawyer?
RECHT: The prosecutor is much younger, much less experienced than the two defense lawyers. I know him. I find him to be a competent, good lawyer also and experienced, has tried many cases, not as many as the defense attorneys.
BROWN: What can the alleged victim in this case expect in the weeks and months, I gather ahead?
RECHT: I think her life could be very difficult, very difficult. I think she's going to have trouble going out in public without reporters trying to find her. Now, the sort of reporter frenzy will calm down in the next few days or the next few weeks but I think she's going to be in the spotlight, boy, for the next year is my guess.
BROWN: Are you surprised at this point there have been no pictures of her?
RECHT: No, I'm not.
BROWN: OK.
RECHT: Everybody is trying hard it seems to keep her name and picture out of the press and you'll note, or I noted anyway, that in the complaint that was filed against Kobe Bryant they did not use her name. They used an abbreviation. They did not give away who she was or how they could find her.
BROWN: Would you guess that she has been polygraphed?
RECHT: That's hard to say. I would guess not, frankly. I think they assess her credibility. The prosecutors assessed her credulity simply by interviewing her. I'm confident they interviewed her but I don't know that they polygraphed her and, again, it's just a guess on my part but from my experience in that jurisdiction I don't know them to do that kind of thing routinely.
BROWN: Dan, thanks for your help tonight, very nice job in helping us wade through some of this. Thank you very much, Dan Recht.
RECHT: Thank you very much.
BROWN: Criminal defense attorney out in Colorado.
If the player at the center of the story was one of those NBA outlaws, and there are plenty of them, we would be chagrined but not surprised. But this isn't about one of the usual suspects. It's about Kobe, good on and off the court, the next Michael Jordan, too smart it seemed to risk it all.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
BROWN (voice-over): Until now, Kobe Bryant has led what can only be called a wonderful life. The son of a very good NBA player, Joe Bryant, Kobe was born in Philadelphia. He moved to Italy when his dad played ball there and then came back to Philadelphia and high school.
JACK MCCALLUM, BASKETBALL WRITER, "SPORTS ILLUSTRATED": By all accounts he was a good student who probably could have made it into a great college on his own, so he led this seemingly kind of charmed life that really contrasts with a lot of the athletes that he's in the league with.
BROWN: He went from high school straight to the NBA and not just to the NBA but to the L.A. Lakers who seemed to be to basketball what the Yankees are to baseball. At 17, he joined Shaquille O'Neal, won a string of NBA titles as confident as he was young.
MCCALLUM: Right near the end of the regular season when the MVP vote was going on I caught up to him going outside in the tunnel. I said, well if you put yourself in the race who would you vote for? And, he kind of put his hand on my shoulder and slapped it and said well what do you think, I'd vote for me. There's nobody better than me in this league.
BROWN: But he was more than a basketball star, well spoken, well mannered, well managed, and well regarded, a role model in a league with many troubled stars. His Nike deal alone is said to be worth $40 million. His teammates have been supportive as have most active players but there was also this cautionary remark that put perspective on a case where few facts are known.
CHARLES BARKLEY, FORMER NBA PLAYER: He's always been very professional. He's one of the hardest working players in the NBA but something obviously happened and I just hope he gets through this.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
BROWN: Mr. Bryant due in court in Colorado early next month for a bail hearing.
Ahead on NEWSNIGHT, more deaths in Iraq, while in Britain a scientist caught up in the dodgy dossier may have killed himself.
And later, was the effort the blast Saddam Hussein in his bunker doomed from the start?
From New York, this is NEWSNIGHT.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
BROWN: President Bush is in Texas for a weekend heavy on fund- raising. He attended a function tonight in Dallas, another one planned for tomorrow in Houston, the two events expected to bring in about $7 million, safe to say the State of the Union flap isn't hurting the bottom line.
Just the same the administration has been scrambling to tell its story on its own terms and today officials tried a new tactic. Here's CNN's Suzanne Malveaux.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
MALVEAUX (voice-over): With the president on the road promoting fitness, back at the White House a senior administration official was actively trying to make the prewar intelligence flap go away.
The White House declassified eight of 90 pages from the October, 2002 National Intelligence Estimate or NIE. The report from six intelligence agencies used to shape President Bush's State of the Union speech and support his claim that Iraq was apparently attempting to obtain uranium from Africa.
It says: "A foreign government service reported that as of early 2001, Niger planned to send several tons of pure uranium (probably yellowcake) to Iraq. Reports indicate Iraq also has sought uranium ore from Somalia and possibly the Democratic Republic of the Congo."
But, the report also acknowledges: "We cannot confirm whether Iraq succeeded in acquiring uranium ore and/or yellowcake from these sources."
Secretary Powell in his presentation before the United Nations refused to use the Africa uranium claim because the State Department's own intelligence arm, the INR didn't find it credible. The State Department's dissent was actually included in the NIE as a footnote: "...the claim of Iraqi pursuit of natural uranium in Africa are, in INR's assessment, highly dubious."
But, a senior administration official said the president was never aware of the dissenting opinion and had full confidence his speech was based on solid intelligence. The official confirmed that National Security Council official Bob Joseph was responsible for vetting that portion of the speech but denied he pressured or negotiated with his counterpart at the CIA to get the dubious Africa uranium claim in the State of the Union.
The senior administration official maintains the White House didn't know the claim was in part based on forged documents until after Mr. Bush delivered his January address.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
MALVEAUX: Now, a senior administration official says the White House is redoubling its effort to make sure only credible evidence gets into the president's State of the Union address. At the same time, the Bush administration will cooperate with the Senate Intelligence Committee hearings but White House officials will not testify -- Aaron.
BROWN: Do they -- did they -- is there a feeling at the White House that they're at the end of this or in the middle of it still? MALVEAUX: Well, they're certainly hoping that they're at the end of this but polls are showing that there's a slight dip in the president's approval rating that perhaps this is wearing on the American people.
At the same time, they're hoping that with this information that they've disclosed today that perhaps it will tie up some loose ends and they can move on. They say that the president is satisfied with the explanation that was given by the CIA as well as the National Security Council. They certainly hope that this is over.
BROWN: Suzanne, thank you very much, Suzanne Malveaux at the White House tonight.
If the uranium story were an armchair detective novel this would qualify as a plot twist. The mild-mannered scientist after finding himself at the center of events far beyond his control vanishes, then apparently turns up dead in the English countryside, only this time Miss Marple isn't around to sort things out.
We can't skip to the last page and the body in the woods by the meadow is real, the story from ITV's John Ray.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
JOHN RAY, ITV CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): From time to time the personal and political worlds collide but rarely with such tragic and far-reaching consequences. In Woodland, a police search ended with the discovery of what they believe is the body of Dr. David Kelly.
DAVID PURNELL, ABINGDON POLICE: So, at this very difficult time our condolences must go out to his family, friends and work colleagues. Thames Valley Police is currently treating this incident as an unexplained death whilst we await the results of the postmortem.
RAY: He left home to walk the Oxfordshire countryside yesterday and complained bitterly to his wife he was unhappy, highly stressed, and very angry at how he'd been treated. He was a scientist forced out of the shadows into the blazing heat of a Westminster row over Iraqi weapons and sexed up dossiers.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Have you ever felt like a fall guy? I mean you've been set up haven't you?
DR. DAVID KELLY, SCIENTIST: That's not a question I can answer.
RAY: But the MPs didn't believe he was the mole digging up the government's dirty defense secrets.
DONALD ANDERSON, FOREIGN AFFAIRS COMMITTEE CHAIRMAN: Insofar as there was (unintelligible) ministry rather than himself and we said I believe on several occasions that he had acted in an honorable way and we were treating him in a non-aggressive way.
RAY: He was the expert witness Alistair Campbell hoped would clear him of the charge of exaggerating intelligence evidence against Iraq. Instead, he was caught up in the deadly crossfire with the BBC reporter who claims number ten distorted the truth to win support for a war.
Tonight, as a priest called to Dr. Kelly's home to comfort his family, the government promised a judicial inquiry into his death.
IAN DUNCAN SMITH, CONSERVATIVE PARTY LEADER: Clearly we welcome the idea of an independent judicial inquiry for we've been calling for one for a very long time. I'm only sad it takes a tragedy like this to finally get the government to accept that. We will, however, be very concerned to see this as a wide ranging inquiry.
RAY: There will be soul searching at high levels while the prime minister himself landing in Tokyo this afternoon is said to be visibly shocked by events by the death of a civil servant whose duty was simply to serve the public and to tell the truth.
John Ray, ITV News, Westminster.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
BROWN: Peter Stothard is with us tonight. Mr. Stothard is the former editor of "The Times of London." He spent 30 days shadowing the British prime minister during the run-up to the war. His new book, surprisingly enough, is called "Thirty Days," nice to have you with us tonight. Is this Mr. Blair's Vince Foster?
PETER STOTHARD, FORMER EDITOR, "THE TIMES": Well, it will be like that in some respects because even if it turns out in a year's time that the government behaved perfectly well and that Tony Blair was perfectly sincere and that, you know, it was just a tragic accident the damage that will be done in the meantime, just as it was in the Foster case, will be very, very great I fear.
BROWN: It's a terribly irony, isn't it, that Mr. Blair 24 hours ago here in the states was on this almost victory lap, warmly received, more warmly received that he has been at home these days, and then just like that it all walks away.
STOTHARD: Yes, there's a side show going on, this sort of off stage part of the action with this dodgy dossier which is now the main show and there's a dead body on the floor in the show. I mean it's a surreal tragedy. It's a complete inversion of the sort of story that was going on and not that anyone could have anticipated but with very, very far-reaching consequences.
I spent a long time very close to Prime Minister Blair, I mean more close that I think any writer or journalist has ever been to a leader at a kind of crisis like this and so I can pretty much anticipate how he'll be feeling. I mean he will be very, very shocked indeed. I mean Tony Blair is a deeply religious man and a very deep thinking man and he will be...
BROWN: Well, we'd all be shocked, I think, in a situation like this. Beyond shock, will he be worried? Is he threatened? Does he worry about the political implications of this? Where is his -- not his emotions so much as his brain taking him right now?
STOTHARD: Well, his brain is taking him in the prewar period to the -- on the basis that he was going to do the right thing even if it cost him his job and I think it would have been -- he was perfectly prepared to lose his job over backing President Bush on Iraq because he thought it was the right thing to do for a whole variety of reasons, of course a quite different thing to be prepared to lose your job over a scientist found dead face down in a field.
I mean that would cast a terrible shadow and a nullification over the whole sort of moral and pure basis that he sees his prime ministership to have, and so a very, very deep sense of emotion there I'm sure tonight.
BROWN: Was Dr. Kelly rudely treated by the parliament?
STOTHARD: Well, he was pretty rudely treated. I mean British Parliament is a very, very rough place.
BROWN: Yes.
STOTHARD: And I think the questions will be is how did he get to be in front of that parliament? I mean why was he -- suddenly his name suddenly in the frame. OK, he was the source for the journalist but how did it become known that he was the source and I mean who -- I mean the BBC...
BROWN: Served him up.
STOTHARD: Yes, exactly.
BROWN: Yes.
STOTHARD: Exactly, who served him up and the MPs (unintelligible), you know, a kind of civil paper you check out of fighters to take missiles away and how did it get to be the fact that this guy was put in that position? Politics is a rough game and when people are brought into the crossfire aren't used to it well it rarely happens as tragically as this but big thing.
BROWN: And, finally, this discussion of an inquiry sounds a bit like what we would refer to as a special prosecutor. Is that what we're talking about in Britain?
STOTHARD: Well, Tony Blair was very determined not to have this kind of judicial inquiry. I think before this he would have, you know, rather quit, that's what I was told than have such an inquiry but, of course, you know once you've got a dead body on the floor you've got not much choice.
And so that will reveal a whole host of things about the way in which the weapons of mass destruction issue was treated in the run-up to the war, which I'm sure he would rather not be brought out, not because necessarily I think he has a great deal to hide.
BROWN: Yes. STOTHARD: But just because, you see in this country, too, at just how politicized even the smallest difference between two versions can be, the damage that can be created by that.
BROWN: Thanks for coming in on a Friday night. I appreciate your insight on this. Thank you very much.
Coming up on NEWSNIGHT tonight: more violence in Iraq and a report that shows America's bunker-busters were a bust in the Iraq war, but not for the reasons you might think.
A break first. Around the world, this is NEWSNIGHT.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
BROWN: Three months and nine days since the statue of Saddam came down in central Baghdad, another statue fell today and another American soldier died. And both speak volumes about the good and the bad of Iraq today. That's part of the picture, but it's not the only part. Military commanders, while acknowledging all the difficulties, say they're now getting a better grip on the situation.
From Baghdad tonight, CNN's Nic Robertson.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
NIC ROBERTSON, CNN INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): North of Baghdad, in Saddam Hussein's hometown of Tikrit, the former president's last statue brought down, a symbolic act by U.S. troops, signifying he won't be coming back.
MAJOR MIKE RANHUNT, 4TH INFANTRY DIVISION: We have conducted aggressive offensive operations, not only in Tikrit itself, but in the surrounding areas. And since we have done that, we have seen a decline in the enemy's activity or ability to respond.
ROBERTSON: At the base, weapons confiscated in those raids, part of Operation Soda Mountain just completed, with 611 people detained, of whom 62 are former regime leaders, according to U.S. officials, West of Baghdad apparently not so secure: a U.S. soldier from the 3rd Infantry Division killed when an explosive device blew his vehicle across the highway, the attack typical of such incidents recently, a remotely detonated explosion triggered as a U.S. convoy passes by.
In Baghdad, the guard is still up. Soldiers keep watch for would-be attackers, scorching heat and body armor enemies of a different kind.
LT. JAMES PHILLIP FOX JR., 1ST ARMORED DIVISION: We really enforce a lot of water drinking. Hydration is the way to make it. We have got to wear approximately 20 pounds of gear all the time.
ROBERTSON: Off-duty, these troops living in a parking lot, no place to escape the heat here either, sleep, even at night, hard to come by. STAFF. SGT. WARREN GOWER, 4TH INFANTRY DIVISION: Morale overall, minus a little bit of lost sleep, is pretty good within our actual platoon. Sometimes, it goes down a little bit when the guys are tired.
ROBERTSON (on camera): Escaping the heat seems near impossible, living with it the best most soldiers can do, and for those who have set their minds to a long tour of duty, the knowledge that, in a few months, autumn will come and, eventually, the days will cool down.
Nic Robertson, CNN, Baghdad.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
BROWN: As if it weren't enough to have the war's aftermath and its justification come into question, there are doubts, too, about a key weapon, namely the bunker-buster bombs, that were supposed to kill the top Iraqi commanders.
The fact that Saddam Hussein and his sons and others are still out there somewhere suggest the bombs didn't do the job. But a report out today says they did. The failure in this case was of man, not machinery.
Here's Pentagon correspondent Barbara Starr.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
BARBARA STARR, CNN PENTAGON CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): After all the shock and awe, did those precision bombs really work? Did they destroy the bunkers where the CIA thought Saddam Hussein and his top generals were hiding? There had been high hopes after the first strike.
DONALD RUMSFELD, SECRETARY OF DEFENSE: There's no question but that the strike on that leadership headquarters was successful. We have photographs of what took place.
STARR: And at the later bombing of a Baghdad restaurant, four 2,000-pound bombs hit so precisely, there was only one crater. Military and CIA specialists have now combed through both those sites and found one big surprise -- contrary to U.S. intelligence, no bunkers.
The team has looked through 150 bombed facilitates around Iraq to see how well U.S. precision weapons did against some of Saddam Hussein's most secret facilities. The bombs hit their targets, but, surprisingly, Saddam's bunkers were even stronger than the U.S. thought. A senior team official tells CNN they found unexpectedly sophisticated construction techniques, many bunkers built with European assistance, designed specifically to withstand U.S. precision bombs, with specially hardened concrete, steel reinforcement, and shock-absorbing equipment.
The team concluded the Iraqis had world-class facilitates built years ago with multiple layers of protection against the U.S. attacks the Iraqis always feared.
(on camera): And the team has discovered new clues about how Iraqis might have escaped other U.S. precision attacks.
(voice-over): A B-2 bomber dropped a 2,000- and a 5,000-pound bomb on a command-and-control bunker under layers of soil and concrete, reinforced with 1-inch steel bars. U.S. intelligence thought there were six to eight large rooms inside, but the team found underground tunnels connecting 25 small rooms, protected by individual blast doors. The 8-foot-wide entry remained open after the bombs hit. And underground damage was limited, because unexpected small rooms absorbed the shock.
The team's final assessment? While the bombs were stunningly accurate in Iraq, the U.S. will need much better intelligence about targets the next time it goes to war.
Barbara Starr, CNN, the Pentagon.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
BROWN: And as NEWSNIGHT continues: A political fight almost turns into a physical one and the cops are called to the Capitol. Congressional correspondent Jonathan Karl with the details after the break.
This is NEWSNIGHT on CNN.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
BROWN: Still ahead on NEWSNIGHT on a Friday, we'll check morning papers. Up next: the battle between the Democrats and the Republicans turns ugly, or childish, or both.
We'll be right back.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
BROWN: Well, this will fit right in.
It was not a pretty scene. It seems like Pete and Bill got into a fight. Scott sided with Bill. Then Pete did something mom said never, ever to do. He called Scott a nasty name, some say even threatened to hit Scott, though Pete said that's not true. And their friends were dividing up sides and making way too much noise, so Bill called the grownups over, who said they all needed a time out to make nice and play nice.
The truth is, this sandbox fight wasn't at the playground. It was in Congress today. And Pete and Bill and Scott and all the rest have representative in front of their names.
Here's Jonathan Karl.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE) JONATHAN KARL, CNN CONGRESSIONAL CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): The Capitol police are well-armed, but usually their job is to protect Congress from outside threats, not to protect Congress from itself.
But on this quiet Friday, Ways and Means Chairman Bill Thomas called the Capitol Police to a hearing on pension reform that had turned into a confrontation between Democrat Pete Stark of California and Republican Scott McInnis of Colorado. The transcript is a marvel of political discourse.
"You think you are big enough to make me, you little wimp?" Stark said to McInnis. "Come on. Come over here and make me. I dare you." After some laughter, Stark continued: "You little fruitcake. You little fruitcake. I said, you are a fruitcake." Stark later said he was sorry about his words, but he never came close to blows. McInnis says otherwise.
REP. SCOTT MCINNIS (R), COLORADO: That we were within moments, frankly -- myself and another member on your side of the aisle were within moments of a -- I would guess, a physical engagement. And I considered that threat serious. I considered the threat a bodily threat, not just to the order of the committee, but to me. And I fully intended to defend myself.
KARL: It would have been a classic matchup: Stark, 72 years old. McInnis, 50; Stark, about 6 foot 2, 175 pounds, McInnis about 5 foot 7, 160 pounds; Stark, an anti-war activist, product of the 1960s peace movement; McInnis, a former cop.
The 72-year-old Stark strikes fears into the hearts of Republicans.
REP. MARK FOLEY (R), FLORIDA: He's a very, very strong man. He's very tall. He's very capable. I don't think age discriminates anybody from having the ability to clean someone's clock.
KARL: Chairman Thomas called the police, Republicans say, to keep the peace. But several sources say the police arrived, saying they were instructed to clear out all the Democrats.
REP. JERRY KLECZKA (D), WISCONSIN: I was in the room when the police came. Two officers came to clear us out because we were causing a disturbance.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Time of the gentleman has expired.
KLECZKA: So don't go lying what happened. It's an embarrassment enough.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: The gentleman will suspend.
(CROSSTALK)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: The gentleman will suspend. The gentleman will suspend.
KLECZKA: Apologizing to all of us and the issue would be done with.
REP. JOHN LEWIS (D), GEORGIA: We will not be intimidated. We will not be immobilized. We live in a democracy and not a police state.
KARL: Less than 24 hours before this embarrassment, it was Tony Blair in the House chamber and a moment to be proud of.
What a difference a day makes.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: This is America. This is not American.
KARL: Jonathan Karl, CNN, Capitol Hill.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
BROWN: Feel pretty proud about the democracy tonight, don't you?
Ahead on NEWSNIGHT: The most famous urban park in America, Central Park in New York City, turns 150 -- the miracle of its creation after the break.
This is a very civil NEWSNIGHT.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
BROWN: There are few places in New York City where you can get certifiably lost. Central Park, however, is one of them. In a city of right angles, it feels like there is not one in the park, a place where losing yourself, leaving the city behind, is the whole point.
There was a time when people saw the park as Jack Lemmon did in that old film "The Out-of-Towners": bewildering and threatening, a place of muggers and tramps and hucksters. They saw the city that way, too. Now that all seems ancient history. And, this weekend, the park turns 150, secure in its place as an urban American wonder.
Some history tonight from NEWSNIGHT's Beth Nissen.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
BETH NISSEN, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): It is a miracle of foresight, the creation of America's first great public park in the heart of what has historically been America's most crowded, commercial city.
Central Park's designers, winners of a citywide design contest, were Frederick Law Olmsted, a writer who had never designed anything in his life, and Calvert Vaux, an English architect. They did nothing less than remake nature, more than 800 rough acres of it. At their direction, battalions of workers hacked walking paths out of dense scrub, laid underground water pipes to create screams and waterfalls, transplanted hundreds of trees. There are now 26,000 here, 150 species, from the American Elm to the Chinese toon.
A range of wildlife was introduced. Of the 800 species of birds in North America, 275 can be spotted here. Early work crews used gunpowder to blast through Manhattan's bedrock of granite and schist, make carriageways and transverse roads still in use today. They dredged out ponds and lakes. They drained swamps to make the grassy expanses, the great lawn, and the sheep meadow, a grazing area until 1934, now Manhattan's backyard, a place where a city kid can get a grass stain.
The park's designers gave it a formal side, paved avenues, cobbles plazas, the mall, where people have perambulated for more than 100 years, gazebos and band shells for free concerts, a Central Park tradition still. It's all here: opera, jazz, swing. There is space here for children to play, grownups, too, of all ages, and something more, something priceless in a city where real estate costs a gasp per square foot, a place to sit quietly, to be somehow alone in a city of eight million, to be in the company of others, yet pulled back from the bustle and jostle.
Frederick Law Olmsted once asked, is it doubtful that it does men good to come together in this way, in pure air and under the light of heaven? No, sir, not doubtful at all.
Beth Nissen, CNN, Central Park.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
BROWN: Morning papers after the break.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
BROWN: OK-dokey. No, that's Okeydokey. Man, why did I start that?
Time to check morning papers from around the country. I don't think we'll get around the world today, although many people do demand it. No sooner had we started the program tonight than I got an e-mail from a regular viewer upset that we led with Kobe Bryant. I'm now going to make the case: every newspaper in the country. It was the right lead.
"New York Times" right down at the bottom: "Laker Star Bryant Charged With Sex Assault at Colorado Spa." It's interesting to me, by the way. "The Times" decided to use the mug shot of Kobe Bryant. That kind of went against the grain. Also, on the front page of "The Times, they put the British mystery death on the front page of "The Times" as well. But their big story -- it's a good story, too -- U.S. May be Forced to Go Back to U.N. For Iraq Mandate Other Nations Demand." Countries refuse to contribute troops or money without international approval. That's your Saturday "New York Times."
"San Francisco Chronicle," what do you think they led with? You got it: "Kobe Bryant Sex Charge: NBA All-Star Denies Crime, Could Face Life in Prison." And what else was on here? Oh. They put that little dustup at the House Ways and Means Committee, they put that on the front page. It involved a local congressman, Pete Stark. So that made some sense. "Partisan Brawl Stops House in its Tracks." "The Oregonian," the newspaper of Portland, Oregon, while we're out West. What do you think? "Basketball Star Kobe Bryant Charged With Sexual Assault," front page. Two Iraq stories also on the front page. A cool picture of that statute that we showed you a little earlier coming down, too. That's in "The Oregonian."
"Miami Herald," I'm not rubbing it into this guy, but I'm just trying to make a point: "NBA Star Bryant Faces Sex Charge," front page of the "Miami Herald." Good story here, too, good local story. It's a story with a local twist: "U.S. Official Mull Fate of Boat Hijack Suspects." It's a Cuban-related story. Miami's a big Cuban community, of course. And remembering Celia Cruz, the salsa singer, also makes the front page of Saturday's "Miami Herald."
What do you think "The Sun-Times" of Chicago leads with? You got it: "Adultery Not Rape, Kobe Says." "The Sun-Times" used a picture from the press conference today. They move pretty quickly, those guys at "The Sun-Times." Glorious, the weather in Chicago tomorrow, according to "The Sun-Times."
"The Times Herald Record" of Upstate New York. How we doing on time? Thirty seconds.
"Bryant Denies Sexual Assault Charge." "I made the mistake of adultery. I have to answer to my wife and to my God" -- put that on the front page.
And that's morning papers. Well, I have a couple more, but the point has been made, hasn't it?
Have a great weekend. We're all back here on Monday at 10:00 Eastern time. You might want to join us for that, please. We'll see you then.
Good night for all of us at NEWSNIGHT.
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