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CNN Newsnight Aaron Brown
Libby Associates Expect Indictment; Harriet Miers Bails as Supreme Court Nominee; California Teen Suspect's Mother Arrested On Suspicion Of Accessory To Pamela Vitale's Murder; Teen's Schoolmate Defends Dyleski As 'Normal' Teen
Aired October 27, 2005 - 23:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
AARON BROWN, CNN ANCHOR: Still to come tonight. First, the son, now the mother. Late developments in the murder of a high profile lawyer's wife out in California.
And this new report from the "New York Times" on the fate of Lewis "Scooter" Libby and Karl Rove on the CIA leak probe. We'll have that too.
We'll take a break first. This is NEWSNIGHT.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
BROWN: Good evening again, this is NEWSNIGHT. There's some breaking news on the CIA case; and the president's nominee for the Supreme Court will have to settle for her old job back at the White House.
ANNOUNCER: White House defeats. As the president looks for another Supreme Court nominee, one of Harriet Miers' strongest supporters speaks out about what went wrong.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
SEN. KAY BAILEY HUTCHISON (R), TEXAS: I Just think that she was not treated fairly.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
ANNOUNCER: Miers' Texas friend, Senator Kay Bailey Hutchison unloads.
And second-term syndrome. From Watergate to Iran-Contra, to the Clinton Impeachment, so many presidents have been plagued with second- term scandals and setbacks.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
HAYNES JOHNSON, AUTHOR OF "THE AGE OF ANXIETY": I think they all seem to think that they're invulnerable.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
ANNOUNCER: We'll look at what lies ahead for this White House and how it might dig itself out. Plus, a new arrest in the brutal murder of the wife of Defense Attorney Horowitz. Find out why this 16-year old is being charged with murder as an adult and how his mom is involved.
Plus, Nancy Grace, on how this courtroom drama could play out.
This is NEWSNIGHT with Anderson Cooper and Aaron Brown. Live from the CNN Broadcast Center in New York, here's Aaron Brown.
BROWN: Well good evening, again. Anderson off for a few days. We begin with some of the stories we're following at this moment.
Harriet Miers bails as a Supreme Court nominee. Speculation is that her replacement will have to meet with the unqualified support of the religious right or the president will lose his political base. We shall see. Is America facing political civil war?
The brothers Bush stubbed parts of lights out, energy drained, short-tempered Florida today. Gas stations have fuel, but can't pump it because they don't have the power. The president sees the glass half full. He said of the relief effort: Things don't happen instantly, but things are happening.
The final report is out on the U.N.'s oil-for-food scam. It found that Saddam Hussein's regime made off with more than one and a half billion dollars in kickbacks from over 2,200 companies. The independent panel recommends establishing a chief operating officer to oversee fundamental administrative reform at the U.N.
Israel's Ariel Sharon has responded to Iran. Wednesday, Iran's president was quoted as saying that Israel, quote, "must be wiped off from the map of the world." Today Mr. Sharon, in remarks issued by the Israeli government's press office, said he believes any country that calls for the destruction of another country cannot be a member of the United Nations.
A quick update now on some breaking news. The "New York Times" is reporting in the CIA investigation that will come to an end tomorrow or at least a phase of it will come to an end tomorrow, that friends of the vice president's Chief of Staff "Scooter" Libby, are saying that they do expect him, Mr. Libby, to be indicted for making false statements. The Times report also says that Karl Rove will not be indicted, but will remain under investigation and the Grand Jury will be extended. Our Legal Analyst Jeffrey Toobin is here to parse the story with us.
The Times doesn't quite say that Mr. Libby will be indicted, it says that his friends expect him to be indicted.
JEFFREY TOOBIN, CNN LEGAL ANALYST: Likely to be indicted, is what they assess.
BROWN: Likely to be.
(CROSSTALK)
TOOBIN: Well, I mean it is --
BROWN: He's going down tomorrow?
TOOBIN: It sure looks that way and it's -- I mean, it is a real catastrophe -- it's not a total catastrophe because that would be Rove indicted as well, but it's a big, big deal.
BROWN: You know, you can almost hear -- I sometimes think I hear spin in my sleep. But you can almost hear the spin say, well, I mean, he's just, you know, he's the vice president's guy, big deal, he was acting on his own. It's not that big a deal.
TOOBIN: It's hard to spin indictments, you know.
BROWN: It is a challenge, isn't it?
TOOBIN: These are felony charges that could put Lewis Libby in jail if he is in fact charged. And also the nature of the charges are that the chief witness against him will be Vice President Cheney. Because the false statement that he is alleged to have made is that he heard about the identity of Valerie Plane, the CIA agent, from reporters. The charge --
BROWN: That's what he told the grand jury?
TOOBIN: That's what he told the grand jury. The charge is that in fact he heard it from the vice president. And if you have the vice president testifying in a criminal case, it's hard to spin that as anything but a big deal.
BROWN: You know, at some point -- I'm sorry -- you do say to yourself, how dumb can you be? I mean, that's pretty dumb if the -- who is he protecting there? Why not just go to the grand jury and say the vice president, who had every right to call George Tenet and say what's the deal with this Wilson character and pass that along to his chief of staff. There was no crime in that. Why not just tell the grand jury that? Why risk this?
TOOBIN: And while you're at it, why would "Scooter" Libby go into the grand jury and testify something that's contradicted by his own notes that he knows the prosecutor has? I don't know why people do the things they do.
BROWN: Maybe it's just all a misunderstanding.
TOOBIN: And you can be sure that that is an argument that his lawyers made to Fitzgerald to stop the indictment, from saying this makes no sense; why would he do that? But, you know, in almost every white collar case I've ever seen or prosecuted, the defense is, my guy couldn't be that stupid. And you know what? People are sometimes stupid.
BROWN: Button up one other thing for us -- the Times report also says that Mr. Rove will remain under investigation and Mr. Fitzgerald, the prosecutor, will ask for an extension of the grand jury's term. Big deal, this extension of the grand jury's term. TOOBIN: Well, what's a big deal is that the investigation isn't over. Many people thought that with the expiration of this grand jury tomorrow, Fitzgerald would shut down. I don't think it's terribly significant whether this grand jury is extended or he uses another grand jury or impanels -- the technical details of which grand jury it is, is irrelevant. He'll get what he wants out of a grand jury. What's significant is that Karl Rove isn't off the hook.
BROWN: If they impanel a new grand jury, does he have to bring all of these witnesses in or can he just read the testimony?
TOOBIN: He can just read the transcripts. Under federal law, hearsay testimony is admissible. So if you have sworn testimony in one grand jury, you can just read the transcripts to another grand jury. It's boring, it's complicated for the prosecutors, but it's no impediment to an investigation.
BROWN: Do you think that in any sense this will lead to a charge that the prosecutor is just needlessly extending the life of this case for whatever reason, his own grandise spin, or whatever people come up with?
TOOBIN: I think it will lead to that charge. But, you know, he's a very tough guy to attack. This is one of the most distinguished prosecutors in the country; apolitical, as far as we can tell; someone who is best known for prosecuting members of Al Qaeda when he was in the U.S. Attorney's Office in New York. This is not a political person. Attacking him, I think, is going to be tough to make stick.
BROWN: Want to come by tomorrow and chat about all this --
TOOBIN: I sure do. Absolutely. It's not going to end tomorrow.
BROWN: No, I don't think so. Thanks for staying late tonight.
TOOBIN: Okay.
BROWN: That's Jeffrey Toobin.
More now on Harriet Miers and what her failed nomination may have to say about a good many things -- her views of abortion, perhaps a power grab within the president's own party. First though, the nomination, itself, from beginning to end. Here's CNN's Dana Bash.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
GEORGE W. BUSH, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: Harriet Ellen Miers.
DANA BASH, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): On day one, the White House had Miers' talking points ready to go. The problem is, they were talking up the wrong points.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Senator Harry Reid made some very positive comments about Harriet Miers. BASH: Reid, of course, is a Democrat. He and others suggested --
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: The president should consider someone that is not a judge.
BASH: Taking that bait, admits one senior Bush aide, was their first huge miscalculation. They underestimated conservative grassroots' hunger for a proven commodity to replace Abortion Rights Supporter Sandra Day O'Connor.
BUSH: I know her heart.
BASH: Trust me didn't work. Conservative senators were as bewildered as the activists.
SEN. SAM BROWNBACK (R), KANSAS: We're left to try to gather little pieces and shreds of evidence and view almost a CSI type of operation.
BASH: One top republican close to the administration blames a White House, quote "cocky from a smooth John Roberts confirmation." Others say outside advisors who would have raised red flags were clued in too late. Then, efforts at damage control caused more damage. A White House call in search of support from Conservative Leader James Dobson unmasked what looked like a wink and a nod campaign on abortion.
JAMES DOBSON, DOCTOR: What did Karl Rove say to me -- Harriet Miers is an evangelical Christian from a very conservative church, which is almost universally pro-life.
BASH: Even the president pushed the personal.
BUSH: Part of Harriet Miers' life is religion.
BASH: That backfired among republicans looking for her resume, not religion. So they summoned Texas colleagues to talk up Miers' legal experience.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I can vouch for her ability to analyze and to strategize --
BASH: Aides now admit it was probably too late.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: It's been a chaotic process.
BASH: The republican judiciary chairman slammed Miers for sending a questionnaire without sufficient answers. And almost every courtesy call to a chief senator seemed to make it worse. Her views range from unimpressive to disastrous, leaving conservatives amazed at how the president got this one so wrong.
(On camera): Advisors tell us one key problem is that Harriet Miers never had a Harriet Miers. Meaning, as White House counsel, she was in charge of preparing for the John Roberts confirmation, but no one inside the White House was ever really put in charge of doing the same for her.
Dana Bash, CNN, the White House.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
BROWN: Senator Kay Bailey Hutchison of Texas is a proud conservative, also a staunch supporter of the Miers nomination. And we spoke with the senator earlier tonight.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
BROWN (voice-over): Senator, did the White House blow this one?
SEN. KAY BAILEY HUTCHISON (R), TEXAS: I don't think the White House blew it. I think they had set parameters. The president knew Harriet Miers and wanted someone that he knew and would trust to have his judicial philosophy and I just think that she was not treated fairly. I think people didn't give her a chance to say who she was and what she believed and I think that's unfortunate.
BROWN (on camera): Did she jump or was she pushed?
HUTCHISON: No, she made that decision on her own. She did.
BROWN: Why did social conservatives -- because it really was social conservatives largely, not exclusively -- hammer her so hard? Is it because they weren't certain -- 100 percent certain -- that she would vote to overturn Roe versus Wade?
HUTCHISON: Well, I think there were a lot of factors here, Aaron. I do think that some people were concerned that they didn't know exactly. But I have to say they didn't know exactly what John Roberts would do and you didn't hear this kind of uproar. But I also think that on the other side, the Democrats were beginning to say they wanted to have internal White House documents and they wouldn't go forward without that. And I think that's what was the final blow for her.
BROWN: The last time I checked, your side, the Republicans have the votes. They have the votes in the committee, they have the votes on the floor. And to say that it was the Democrats that did her in in the end sounds like at least a failure of mathematics, if not politics.
HUTCHISON: Well, people weren't voting in lock step. We do have Republican control, but there were people rightly who were saying I'm going to wait and see. And I think the overwhelming view was that the Democrats were not going to support her and that they were going to require information that could not be given and they were going to make a big deal of that at the hearings. And that was a concern.
BROWN: Do you think, under the circumstances, the president is a year into this term, he has control or his party has control of both houses of Congress, that the president himself has been damaged -- be honest now -- has been damaged by a nomination that he could not even get to a hearing? HUTCHISON: I think Harriet made the decision to stop before the hearing. I think the president wanted her to go forward and he stood 100 percent behind her and he was not in any way, I think, to blame for her not getting a hearing.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
BROWN: Kay Baily Hutchison. We're clearly juggling two major stories tonight: The Miers withdrawal and the CIA leak investigation, which will come to a head -- perhaps not totally, but in part tomorrow. John King has an irresistible urge to work the telephones, I must say. He has been working the phones tonight on this and he joins us now.
John, what have you been able to pick up?
JOHN KING, CNN CORRESPONDENT: I'm not sure if it's an irresistible urge or an undefeatable addiction. I want to take one deep breath here and say that obviously the "New York Times" has a front page story tomorrow that says, everyone around "Scooter" Libby expects him to be indicted tomorrow. I can tell you, I've spoken to several people close to Mr. Libby in just the last 20 minutes or so and they all share that expectation. But several of them have to me there is a very strong difference between expecting and knowing. They obviously are waiting for the information from the special counsel. Now, we do know and we have confirmed that "Scooter" Libby has in the past few days begun consultations and conversations, is the way it was described with me, to adding a criminal defense attorney to his legal team. Now that would certainly be a bright flashing light that tells you he expects that he needs a criminal defense attorney.
The special prosecutor obviously will have word tomorrow on this investigation. And everyone around Mr. Libby believes he is in trouble. Most of them believe he will indeed be indicted tomorrow. They insist, Aaron, tonight they do not know that. They just believe that. Whether Mr. Libby himself knows that, we obviously do not know.
BROWN: And on Mr. Rove, have you been able to do much reporting there?
KING: There's not only contradictory information in two of the nation's major newspapers, tomorrow -- "The Washington Post" says Mr. Fitzgerald will not extend his investigation. The "New York Times" says he will. That is, I think, based on the fact that in all of our reporting today, myself and five, six or seven other of our very good correspondents in the Washington bureau, we are getting conflicting information from sources we know and trust. It is not that they are giving us bad information; it is that I think they are getting conflicting information. The majority of them -- only just a bare majority, perhaps -- say that they are led to believe -- some say they have been told Mr. Fitzgerald will wrap up tomorrow.
But what we don't know is Mr. Fitzgerald, we do know in the past 72 hours has still been calling witnesses, recalling witnesses, asking new questions. Did he get new information today that made him decide he wants to extend or to call a new grand jury in? There's even a debate as to whether he can extend this grand jury. Many people say he cannot extend this grand jury.
I just heard you discussing with Jeff Toobin getting a new grand jury and rereading all the transcripts. So, the one thing -- I just have to say, this is one of these moments where because of the stakes -- two of the most senior advisors to the president of the United States are in legal jeopardy, there is a lot of back and forth, a lot of chatter in Washington. Some of it is right. Some of it, I'm sure, is wrong -- not deliberately, perhaps, just people misreading things. By this time tomorrow, of course, we will know a lot more and we might very well have a very different senior staff in the Bush White House.
BROWN: John, thank you. It's good perspective and it is in fact important in moments like this to take a deep breath. It is all going to play out. In 24 hours we're going to have a very good idea of how it's played out and we can stop speculating on any of it and talk about the implications of what really is.
Coming up, the Religious Right. Just how powerful it actually is. We'll take a look at the impact the Right had on the doomed Supreme Court nomination of Harriet Miers.
And later, the teen accused of killing the wife of a prominent California defense lawyer in court today -- the same day his mother is charged. The latest on that case when NEWSNIGHT continues.
But first, all week we remember the troops who have lost their lives in Iraq. Two thousand plus now. That number stands at 2,004.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
BROWN: All but three of those soldiers died from IED explosions.
One confirmed smoothly; the other nominee for the Supreme Court, down in flames. So what does the president do now? He is famously allergic to conceding defeat, let alone acknowledging even the slightest possibility of failure. On the other hand, he's also somewhat of a student of history and a part of it. Here's CNN's Jeff Greenfield.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
JEFF GREENFIELD, CNN SENIOR ANALYST: If you're George W. Bush, you might take comfort in these troubled times by looking back. Every one of your second term predecessors hit a wall.
FRANKLIN D. ROOSEVELT, FORMER PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: We must act now.
GREENFIELD: From FDR's effort to pack the Supreme Court, the scandal surrounding Eisenhower's top assistant,
RICHARD NIXON, FORMER PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: I shall resign the presidency effective --
GREENFIELD: To Nixon in Watergate.
RONALD REAGAN, FORMER PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: It was a mistake.
GREENFIELD: To Reagan in Iran-Contra.
WILLIAM J. CLINTON, FORMER PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: It's my own wrongdoing.
GREENFIELD: To Clinton in impeachment. So cheer up, Mr. President, you're part of a historical pattern. Why?
HAYNES JOHNSON, AUTHOR OF "THE AGE OF ANXIETY": I think it's hubris.
GREENFIELD: Haynes Johnson, author of "The Age of Anxiety," has covered Washington for more than four decades.
JOHNSON: I think they all seem to think that they're invulnerable, that they've won a great victory if they have done that and they're going to make their mark in history.
GREENFIELD: Add to that the fact that your staff is probably burned out, that your fellow Republicans don't feel they have to be totally loyal to a lame duck, then you might have predicted trouble. Even if you might not have known that so much damage to your leadership image would have come from an ill wind or from the hints of scandal surrounding the capitol.
So, what now? How do you right a storm-tossed ship of state? First: Shore up the base. Clinton survived Monica. Reagan weathered Iran-Contra because they ever lost the core of their parties. In this sense, Harriet Miers' withdrawal was a start. Nothing in your administration more angered your own most ardent supporters than her nomination.
Second: Clean house. When President Reagan faced Iran-Contra, he fired Chief of Staff Don Regan, brought in Former Senator Howard Baker, long time GOP Insider Ken Duberstein, and other heavyweights. This is especially key if top White house officials are in fact indicted. You need people around you have the respect of the Congress, your party and even -- heaven help you -- the press.
Third: Reboot. Start plugging away at a new or revived agenda. For Reagan, it was reaching out to Mikhail Gorbachev, helping push the Cold War to an end. For Clinton, it was hitting hard on saving Social Security.
JOHNSON: I do think that's a path they could try. Start fresh, tell the public you're starting over. We're working for history now, not for politics.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
GREENFIELD: And also, Mr. president, you need to acknowledge that ever sense you picked Dick Cheney as your running mate, you've shaped your presidency by appealing to the conservative base, rather than splitting the difference in the middle. So, even if you decide that you have to have a new agenda, the question is: What is that new agenda and who's it appealing to?
BROWN: Well, so, the first piece of advice is shore up your base?
GREENFIELD: Yes.
BROWN: So, doesn't it stand to reason that whatever your agenda is, it has to appeal to them first most best?
GREENFIELD: Maybe first, but the question is if you're going to try to reshape the presidency, if you're going to try to say we've made some mistakes -- not something this president is particularly fond of -- maybe you then have to go beyond --
BROWN: As opposed to the rest of us?
GREENFIELD: True.
BROWN: Yes.
GREENFIELD: Yes, I was wrong about that.
BROWN: Yes.
GREENFIELD: But I do think there is a choice. Appealing to the base is a necessary condition. The question is, is it a sufficient condition? It was sufficient to get him reelected -- narrowly. But right now, if the sense is you want a clean house, you want to present a new face, do you have to do that with the agenda as well? Do you change the kind of language that you use?
The Supreme Court nomination is going to be really interesting. One of the brilliant strokes about John Roberts was that yes, the base was okay with him, but even his ideological opponents said this is a heck of a choice, and it makes the choice of Miers even more puzzling and it makes what he has to do next tricky.
BROWN: I have a feeling we might see you tomorrow, too. Thank you.
GREENFIELD: Yes, well, we'll cover the White Sox.
BROWN: Well yes, there was that, too. Thank you.
GREENFIELD: Two curses in two years.
BROWN: Thank you.
Since the Religious Right is getting much of the blame or the credit, depending on your point of view, for the Miers' withdrawal, who better to talk about that than the founder of the Christian Coalition, the Reverend Pat Robertson. And we spoke with Reverend Robertson earlier today.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE) BROWN: Reverend Robertson, do you think that Harriet Miers jumped or was pushed?
PAT ROBERTSON, FOUNDER, CHRISTIAN COALITION: I think a little of both. I think she's a very perceptive lady, so she probably saw the handwriting on the wall. It just looked like she didn't have the votes to get confirmed.
BROWN: And the people who did the pushing are people who are in many respects, your political allies, your social religious allies -- why did they push her?
ROBERTSON: Well, I frankly, Aaron, think they were asking too much. They put requirements on that woman that nobody put on other candidates that I'm aware of over the last few decades. They asked impossible things. She's a very good lawyer. She's a terrific trial lawyer, and they just, I think they wanted perfection, which I'm not sure we'll ever find in America's judiciary.
BROWN: When you say they wanted too much, what is the it there? What is it that they wanted that they didn't get?
ROBERTSON: Well, if they want a litmus test of abortion or anti- abortion or whatever, no judge is going to give it to them. So I think they were asking more than they needed to get.
BROWN: If I was the president, I'd be a little annoyed with my political base because my political base has done me no favors in the last three or four weeks.
ROBERTSON: It was the cronyism thing that killed it. But I supported her. The president said okay, she's my choice and I had good things from her from Texas, so I said, okay, I'm onboard, let's go. But a lot of people were just vehement against her. I think it was unwarranted, some of the criticism.
BROWN: Did the White House botch it in that sense, in the selling of Ms. Miers?
ROBERTSON: Again, Aaron, you're back to that White House counsel business. You're back to a close aide of the president. And he had a whole plethora of excellent judges he could have selected -- excellent. On the other hand, there were those who said well maybe the president's ducking a fight. And you remember Pat Buchanan, who said well we need a bench clearing brawl. Well, I don't go for that.
BROWN: Here's what I hear you saying. Tell me if I'm reading too much into this.
ROBERTSON: All right, okay.
BROWN: That if you had been in position to make the choice, you'd have made a different choice?
ROBERTSON: Correct. BROWN: She didn't have the chops that you would have like to have seen in a Supreme Court nominee; but in a sense, you felt you owed the president one?
ROBERTSON: Not owed him one. I trusted him and I still trust him. I think his judicial philosophy has been right on point with what I believe. So I was all for it. If he said she's good, he'd known her for about 10 years, if he says she reflects my judicial philosophies, then that was fine with me.
BROWN: Do you think it was inappropriate to inject her religion, her religious background as a qualification for her nomination.
ROBERTSON: Yes, I do. I don't think that -- if we say it wasn't right to bring up the Catholicism of John Roberts, then we shouldn't have brought up the evangelical position of Harriet Miers. I think we ought to sell her on her judicial philosophy. I really believe that if she had gone before the committee and presented her views, she would have been confirmed. But she just thought it was too much heat and there were too many people who said we're not going to vote for you, on the Republican side of the aisle.
But I -- as I say, Janice Rogers Brown -- she is brilliant. She is an African-American. She I think a sharecropper's daughter. It's rags to riches, an American success story. And she would make a superb Supreme Court, also brilliant.
BROWN: And you'd get your bench clearing brawl, whether you want one or not?
ROBERTSON: She might not have one. I can't imagine Ted Kennedy beating up on a black woman. Could you? He just wouldn't. It wouldn't play. He wouldn't mind beating up on a white male, but I don't know if he'd go after a black woman. I don't know if any of those Democrats would beat her up the way they would somebody else. So, I think if they did it would hurt them in the polls and they know that.
BROWN: Oh, I think there'd be a brawl.
Coming up a new twist in the murder of a prominent California attorney's wife. The teen accused of her murder in court today and now his mother behind bars.
But first we remember our troops who have died in Iraq, because this is NEWSNIGHT.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
BROWN: Boy, you really see how this war is being fought. We turn now to Erica Hill in Atlanta for a quick check on some of the other stories making news today.
ERICA HILL, HEADLINE NEWS ANCHOR, NEWSNIGHT: Hi again, Aaron.
Florida Governor Jeb Bush is urging residents not to horde fuel as they deal with the remnants of Hurricane Wilma. Today cars lined up for blocks at the few gas stations that did open in southeast Florida. Governor Bush said the problem is actually a lack of power to operate the pumps, not a shortage of fuel.
He also says south Florida does have plenty of water, ice and food at distribution centers but he's requesting more, just in case.
The military now saying three U.S. troops died in Iraq yesterday. Two were killed by roadside bomb. The third was killed by an improvised explosive device. And those deaths bring the total number of U.S. troops killed in Iraq to 2004.
The U.S. government is writing a plan to combat a possible bird flu pandemic. Health and Human Secretary Michael Leavitt said today the plan includes better disease reporting and stockpiling of vaccines and drugs. The Senate has approved nearly $8 billion to help fund the program.
And for the Beatles fan, an auction tonight at Madame Toussou's in London. On the block, wax heads of John Lennon, Ringo Starr, and George Harrison, in the museum's collection. Now, the wax works were also used on the Seargant Pepper's album cover.
Little extra trivia for you there. See you tomorrow.
BROWN: My goodness they look so lifelike. Thank you.
(INAUDIBLE)
Coming up, a murder mystery gets a little more mysterious and the mother of the teen suspect is taken into custody as well. And we'll talk with a friend of the accused killer. She insists he's not the person police paint him out to be.
But first, again, we remember those young Americans who have died in Iraq.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
Much more to cover tonight, but first a quick look at what's happening at this moment.
The White House bracing for possible indictments in the CIA leak investigation. "New York Times" reporting tonight, associates of Scooter Libby, the vice president's chief of staff, expect him to be indicted. "The Times" says Karl Rove, the president's chief political advisor will not be indicted tomorrow, but will remain under investigation by a grand jury. The special prosecutor will have some sort of official announcement tomorrow.
Texas oil man, Oscar Wyatt, Jr. has pleaded not guilty to charges stemming from the Iraq oil-for-food scandal. A judge setting a June 20 trial date. Mr. Wyatt is accused of conspiring to pay millions of dollars in kickbacks in exchange for lucrative oil contracts.
Responding to criticism, U.S. State Department is stepping up its efforts to bring home thousands of Americans stranded because of Hurricane Wilma in Mexico. So far at least 8,000 have been flown home this week. Apparently several thousand remain; 65 consular officers are visiting shelters and hotels in the area trying to make sure stranded Americans have food, supplies, and medicine they made need.
And Tropical Storm Beta has formed in the southwest Caribbean. Maximum sustained winds, near 40 miles per hour. But it is expected to strengthen over the next hours. Beta is the 23rd named storm of the most active storm season ever.
The teenager charged with killing the wife of a high-profile defense attorney in California was arraigned on murder charges today. He's behind bars. And in a surprise move tonight, so is his mother. Here's CNN's Ted Rowlands.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
TED ROWLANDS, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice over): With his hair cut short in court today, 16 year old Scott Dyleski looked like an average teenaged boy. He nodded a few times as the judge read the charges against him, first degree murder. He did not enter a plea.
Dyleski is accused of killing 52-year-old Pamela Vitale, the wife of lawyer Daniel Horowitz. According to a law enforcement official close to the case, Vitale was found bludgeoned to death with a cross carved in her back. Court documents indicate that on the night of the murder, Dyleski was with his girlfriend. A search warrant issued after the murder says Dyleski told friends he was going to her home to have sex with her. The home was searched and the young woman is now being represented by Gloria Allred.
GLORIA ALLRED, DYLESKI'S GIRLFRIEND'S ATTORNEY: My client is a potential witness in this case. And I don't think at this time it would be appropriate to say for whom.
ROWLANDS: Those who know Dyleski continue to wonder how he could go from Boy Scout to baseball player to accused murderer.
Mitch House and Elena Zdiadevitch say Dyleski was their babysitter as recently as a few weeks ago.
MITCH HOUSE, DYLESKI FRIEND: He's broken a lot of hearts. Even people that cared about him like me, but didn't live him like, you know, family or anything. I mean, broke my heart.
ROWLANDS: They say Dyleski started to change after his older sister, Danika (ph) was killed in this car crash in 2002. They say that is when he started dressing in dark Goth clothing.
ELENA ZDIADEVITCH, DYLESKI FRIEND: He was picked on in school. He wasn't a popular kid. And when he started to dress up in his black Goth like outfits, he was picked on for that, as well.
HOUSE: The last time I saw him I said hello to him, and he just sort of looked at me like he was totally vacant. I thought, I know he heard me, but he was staring at me like he's never met before. ROWLANDS: Scott Dyleski is being held on $1 million bail. If found guilty of the charges against him, he faces 26 to life in prison.
(On camera): Dyleski's mother, Easter Fielding is being held tonight on $500,000 bail. She is expected to make her first court appearance as early as tomorrow. Her son, Scott Dyleski, is expected to be back in court on November 9. Ted Rowlands, CNN, Martinez, California.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
BROWN: CNN's Nancy Grace is a friend of Daniel Horowitz. She also knows a lot about the case and she has an opinion on what the mother of the young defendant may have been up to. We spoke with Ms. Grace earlier.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
BROWN: And Nancy, I want to talk about the arrest of the mother for a bit, because I'm not sure I under stand this. Explain to me why she is an accessory to a murder, or an alleged accessory to a murder.
NANCY GRACE, CNN HEADLINE NEWS: Actually, Aaron, it is accessory to the murder, after the fact. When you help hide evidence, when you help hide wrongdoing, while you think you are protecting someone you actually taking part in a cover up. And here, apparently, a duffle bag full of bloody clothes and a bloody glove was found in the mom's van.
We also know according to an affidavit in the court records, that she told her son, Scott Dyleski, in court today on murder one, not to come home that evening. That there was too much traffic around the home. Well, that traffic, was police cars investigating the death, the murder of Pamela Vitale. So bottom line, she told her son, stay away from police.
BROWN: OK.
GRACE: Between those two things and possibly what he told her, yes. She is now considered an accessory to the crime.
BROWN: Tell me what it is they have to prove that makes her an accessory to murder after the fact. They obviously have to prove that she either put those bloody clothes in the van, or knew that he had, right?
GRACE: Absolutely. And by doing so it continued a criminal enterprise. That criminal enterprise being murder. By hiding it, by keep stymieing the police and by keeping him quiet and away from police. And also she was probably well aware of his bloody clothes, the scratches on him. We don't know what he may have said to her. So all of that, together, especially hiding the bloody clothes.
BROWN: OK, they would have to prove that she knew there were bloody clothes, or she put bloody clothes in the van. They would have to prove, correct, that he was suspected of committing the crime, when she said to him, stay away from here, there is a lot traffic? Is that right?
GRACE: They would have to show that she knew he had committed a crime.
BROWN: Yes.
GRACE: And that she overtly helped cover it up. Not that she didn't call police. There is no duty under our American law to make you a Good Samaritan, to help police. On the other hand, you are not to cover up evidence and help cover up a crime.
BROWN: Nancy, what if you don't know, but suspect. Maybe you suspect your son has committed a crime. Are you then under a legal obligation to do something?
GRACE: No, you are not. There is no duty under our law, as I said, to be a Good Samaritan. But, under our law, you can be prosecuted if you overtly, proactively, help cover up a felony crime, particularly murder.
BROWN: One more --
GRACE: If a client came to me, if I were a private attorney, and said, I killed Pamela Vitale, here's the murder weapon. I'm your client and you have to hold on to this. Oh, no, no, no, no. That is not even protected by attorney/client privilege. That is part of the criminal enterprise.
BROWN: OK, but if I see my child come home and my child has a lot of scratches and I know there has been a murder down the street -- or I hear that --
GRACE: No enough.
BROWN: Not enough.
GRACE: Not enough.
BROWN: OK, so unless my kids says, oh, by the way, Mom, you know the Vitale woman? I did something really horrible to her. How do they prove it?
GRACE: Well, apparently, they know whether it's from fingerprints, from a comment she made to someone else. From her having hidden the duffle bag. I mean, think about it, Aaron, common sense. Why take a duffle bag full of dirty clothes and hide it in your van? Why would you do that?
BROWN: I have no idea. It could be --
GRACE: Well, I would think because you didn't want anybody to find them.
BROWN: No, no. I can figure that out. I have that much common sense. But what I'm saying is, I have no idea honestly that she in fact did it. I know that there is an allegation she did it.
GRACE: Correct.
BROWN: And what I'm what trying to figure out how you prove some of the allegations. Let me ask you just one final thing.
GRACE: Could be something that he said to police. Remember, he was behind bars for a couple of days without a lawyer.
BROWN: Right.
GRACE: So who knows what all he told police.
BROWN: So maybe he said, you know, I did tell mom.
GRACE: To implicate his mom.
BROWN: That would --
GRACE: Unwittingly.
BROWN: That would be an interesting problem. Does the law cut any slack at all, to parents or children, where these relationships where crime is concerned.
GRACE: Absolutely not. Now, a jury might. But the black and white letter of the law, doesn't matter if you are the mom, the girlfriend, the long-suffering wife -- doesn't matter. If a murder went down and you helped cover it up, you are going to jail.
BROWN: Well, the law cut slack, if you will, to the spouse?
GRACE: That is a privilege. The law says that you do not have to divulge marital communications, things you said.
BROWN: Right.
GRACE: Or communicated, verbally or non-verbally, but the moment a wife or husband helps their spouse, affect a criminal enterprise, that is what you call a co-defendant.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
BROWN: Nancy Grace, every now and then does find me a little slow to figure it out. I think that might have been one of those times.
Coming up a friend of the accused killer comes to his defense, saying all this talk of Satanic worship is nonsense. This is NEWSNIGHT.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
BROWN: Well, I'd say there's been a lot of talk about the teenager accused of killing Pamela Vitale, the wife of California Defense Attorney Daniel Horowitz. But most of the talk it seems come from people who have never met the young defendant. The same can't be said for Kimberly Schroeder. She is a friend of the 16-year-old. They went to high school together. And we talked with her earlier tonight.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
BROWN: You know, when things like this happen, people get painted in a kind of one-dimensional way. Do you recognized in what you read about and hear about your friend, after all, do you recognize that person?
KIM SCHROEDER, FRIEND OF TEEN SUSPECT: I recognize his face as -- but I don't I would have never described him as that. Like, when I hear how people talk about him, I have to remind myself that they're talking about the same person, the same Scott that I know. And I just -- I become enraged sometimes the way people talk about him when they don't even know him and use these stereotypes that they've heard somewhere, but don't necessarily apply.
BROWN: Let's talk about the Scott you know. That's what you can do best. What is it that we haven't heard. We've heard about his kid who described as sullen, who is described as at times a Satan worshiper. We heard all sort of kind of crazy things about him. Fill in some blanks here.
SCHROEDER: Well, I can say I've even associated Satan worshiper. Like that's just ridiculous. And I don't know, he was always -- I just loved interacting with him. And he was funny. He was interesting. Like he always had an interesting perspective on something and his own opinions. I don't know, I wouldn't describe him as sullen, really.
BROWN: There is a pressure in high school, still, there was 40 years ago, to be like everyone. Did he stand apart from everyone?
SCHROEDER: A lot of people at my high school felt that there is really strong push to be a certain way. And Scott was one of the people what tried to unique and original.
BROWN: As best you know, did that create problems for him? When you stand apart from everyone, when you're different from everyone, does that make you feel isolated from everyone?
SCHROEDER: Well, there were enough other people that felt that they were being isolated from the norm. I don't think he felt particularly alone.
BROWN: Are you shocked by all of this?
SCHROEDER: Huh, yes! I am -- it totally blows me away, like I just don't even know what to think really.
BROWN: Anything else you want to say?
SCHROEDER: People might be trying to separate him and say, oh, he's some weird little kid. And he's separate from my children. But my perspective of him is he's just a normal kid, and he's not some weird little freak.
BROWN: You said it really well. Thanks. It is nice to meet you.
SCHROEDER: Thank you. It's nice to meet you, too.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
BROWN: Kim Schroeder, who is a buddy.
Coming up, a check on morning papers. As we go to break we continue to remember the names of the U.S. troops who have died in Iraq.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
(ROOSTER CROWS)
BROWN: My we haven't heard that in a while. Time to check morning papers from around the country and around the world. I kinda got goose bumps there.
What's interesting to me about the papers today is not so much the main story, but the bounce piece, the second story off the main story. "International Herald Tribune", "Bush's pick for court withdraws". The analysis piece, "A bad time, much worse may be ahead". Some sense that the president has not quite reached the bottom. Presidents recover from these sorts of things and we'll see how this one plays out.
"The Washington Post", "Miers Withdraws as Nominee For Court; Search Begins Anew". And then again, the analysis piece, "Nomination Was Plagued by Missteps from the Start" and one more analysis piece on the front page, "A Weakened Bush Faces New Risk". So the president, who famously does not read the papers, would not find much happiness in reading "The Washington Post" front page.
"Miers Rules herself out", "The Washington Times" lead, pretty straight ahead lead. Kind of upbeat, in fact. "Conservatives eager to put battles in the past, unite behind Bush agenda, next court pick".
The "Daily News" really doesn't mess with any of it here in New York. "Honor My Father", "Junior Gotti visits dad's tomb for the first time".
The weather in Chicago -- the World Champion Chicago White Sox, home tomorrow -- according to "The Sun-Times", will be "celebration".
We'll wrap up tonight in just a moment.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
BROWN: Good to have you with us on an extraordinary NEWSNIGHT. Larry King coming up next. We leave you with more of the young Americans who died in Iraq. TO ORDER A VIDEO OF THIS TRANSCRIPT, PLEASE CALL 800-CNN-NEWS OR USE OUR SECURE ONLINE ORDER FORM LOCATED AT www.fdch.com
