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Crisis in the Middle East; Bill Richardson Bows out of Obama's Cabinet

Aired January 04, 2009 - 19:00   ET

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

DON LEMON, CNN NEWSROOM ANCHOR: The Air Force 757 that brought Mr. Obama to Washington is part of the official presidential fleet. Again, these are live pictures from Andrews Air Force Base.
This is the first time that the President-elect has flown on one of those planes. His wife -- the First Lady, soon to be First Lady -- Michelle Obama, and their daughters flew to D.C. yesterday to get the girls ready for school tomorrow.

And Mr. Obama admitted to reporters on the plane that leaving his hometown of Chicago made him a little quote, "choked up." Again, the President-elect arriving at Andrews Air Force Base right now; the plane landed just moments ago. And we will continue to follow this developing story.

Well, you can see Brianna Keilar there; you'll also see political editor Mark Preston there. We'll get to them in just a second. Because this promises to be an extremely -- extremely busy two weeks for the Obama team leading up to the inauguration. Brianna Keilar and Mark Preston both in Washington.

Brianna, let's start with you losing Bill Richardson as head of the Commerce Department has got to be a big disappointment for the President-elect, but at least it happened before the process started to have him confirmed.

BRIANNA KEILAR, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Certainly, Don. But no doubt when you lose someone in a position that is that important to the economy, when the economy is what it is, just a couple weeks here before President-elect Obama becomes President, it's a really tough spot to be in.

But as you know, Governor Bill Richardson, he's citing a federal investigation as he withdraws his nomination for Commerce Secretary. Two Democratic officials actually telling CNN this is an investigation that involves the California company that was awarded municipal bond business in New Mexico after it contributed money to a number of Richardson's causes.

Richardson released a statement in coordination with President-elect Obama this afternoon. Richardson's statement saying in part, "I have asked the President-elect not to move forward with my nomination at this time. I do so with great sorrow, but a pending investigation of a company that has done business with New Mexico state government promises to extend for several weeks or perhaps even months." Richardson he goes on to say that the investigation will show that he has not acted improperly, but he also says the investigation would force an untenable delay in his confirmation process.

And President-elect Obama also saying in a statement, "Governor Richardson is an outstanding public servant and would have brought to the job of Commerce Secretary and our economic team great insights accumulated through an extraordinary career in federal and state office.

It is a measure of his willingness to put the nation first that he has removed himself as a candidate for the cabinet in order to avoid any delay in filling this important economic post at this critical time."

And remember, Don, Richardson's endorsement of Obama, it was a very big deal for the then-junior senator from Illinois during the primaries. Richardson had served in Bill Clinton's administration and both Hillary Clinton and Obama had lobbied for Richardson's endorsement.

So it was noteworthy when Richardson threw his weight behind Obama despite his close ties to the Clintons. And the question now Don, who will Obama pick for Commerce Secretary now? He did not elaborate in his statement today, only saying that this is a decision that will be made quickly -- Don.

All right, CNN's Brianna Keilar. Thank you very much for that Brianna.

As we look at these live pictures from Andrews Air Force Base; we're looking at the plane. Now, the door is opening, we expect the President-elect to walk off at any moment. Traveling with him on that plane is our White House Correspondent, Ed Henry.

Ed Henry will join us in just a little bit as soon as he gets off the plane. He is allowed to use his cell phone as they wheel the stairs is up to so that the President can disembark and walk down the tarmac. We'll continue to monitor these pictures; we'll keep them up live.

As a matter of fact, I want to bring in our political editor Mark Preston. Mark, you know, we have been talking about this as we watch these pictures; we've been talking about this, talking about New Mexico Governor Bill Richardson.

What kind of problem, if at all, does this pose for the Obama administration?

MARK PRESTON, CNN POLITICAL EDITOR: You know, Don, I think the fact that they were able to stop it before he actually started -- the confirmation hearings in the Senate -- was very, very smart on their part. They certainly don't need anything holding up their nomination process at this point.

Had Bill Richardson gone before the senate and had these confirmation hearings, started really delving into this investigation, it could have been very embarrassing for the Obama campaign. And I think that they just made the decision that with just a couple weeks out, let's just try to end this now. And I think that this is going to be a story, but for the Obama administration it's going to be a short-lived story.

LEMON: It's very interesting though, because they thought that they had their cabinet all lined up, didn't they?

PRESTON: They absolutely did. And look, Bill Richardson has been somebody who's been vetted before. He's been the energy secretary, he was U.N. ambassador to the United Nations, he's been a Congressman. Of course, he's been the Governor out in New Mexico. And let's not forget he also ran for President.

So I think with this investigation looking like it is going to keep on going on, the Obama administration and Bill Richardson just made the decision that they really can't afford to let this drag on for weeks and weeks and weeks. And this could have gone out for two months now Don.

So the Obama administration, I think, really decided to pull the plug and they probably were right in doing so.

LEMON: Mark Preston, stand by, will you because I have a couple more questions for you. But I want to bring in our White House correspondent, Ed Henry, who was traveling with the president.

Ed, last I said, President-elect Barack Obama choked up when he was leaving his hometown of Chicago and now he is in Washington. I would guess this is his official arrival in Washington. He is here to stay.

Talk to us about what happened on the plane. Then I want to talk to you about Bill Richardson.

ED HENRY, CNN WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT: It was pretty fascinating. We were in Chicago. And you know how cold it is there this time of year, freezing cold. We were waiting for the motorcade to come up in Chicago at Midway Airport. It finally arrived. After shaking some hands, meeting some of the Air Force folks, the President-elect got onto the steps and shouted back to the press, "See you in D.C."

So we thought that might be the only time we hear from him. When got on the plane, it was about to take off, he actually came to the back where the press sits and started talking about how choked up he got at the house. You can imagine.

His wife and children are already here in D.C. so he was in an empty home there in Hyde Park and said that he got choked up because one of Malia, his daughter's friend brought over a scrapbook with all kinds of photos of Malia and her other friends when they were early age, pre-kindergarten and he said it really kind of just hit him.

And you could see him moved emotionally, and sort of how it was all sinking in, he's about to be sworn in as President in a couple of weeks. Now that he's actually moving to D.C. Also interesting that he is now using this Air Force jet that you can see, my colleagues who were covering the 2000 campaign say that then President-elect Bush did not get a military jet until he actually became President. That right off until the end he was using a charter jet. You know that may something to do with obviously this is the first transfer of power post-9/11.

So here we are two weeks out and he's already using military aircraft. He met the man who will be the Air Force One pilot when he's actually sworn in. And we were also told with a little bit of color, that as soon as he got on the plane, he met the chief steward, a man named Reggie, who the President-elect ordered a cheeseburger and fries. And you know Don, the President-elect works out just about every day pretty intensively, so I guess every once in a while he can have a cheeseburger and fries.

LEMON: Yes, Chicago has really been very important to Barack Obama. And he's obviously very close to that city. He's grown in that city, he met his wife, start his political career there. And Hyde Park is very beautiful neighborhood and it is tough to leave Chicago. It is a fantastic city.

There the President-elect is walking off the airplane. This really is an historic moment if you're watching this because the President getting off, the President-elect getting off the official -- one of the official airplanes here, a 757 used by Presidents. And we are starting to look -- we're starting to see what it will look like when Barack Obama is President.

This is a very moving moment for many Americans and one that we thought we might not see in our lifetimes, Ed Henry, an African- American as President getting off of an official airplane with a seal on it and now being taken to Washington very near the place where he's going to live.

HENRY: Absolutely. And you mentioned that the chief steward on what will be Air Force One -- it's not Air Force One until he's actually President. That's why we don't call it Air Force One, but this is the plane that could be used as a backup for Air Force One. And it is used by the Vice President, it's used by the first lady, and various other dignitaries.

And that Chief Steward I mentioned, Reggie, somebody I talked to briefly, and he basically said that he was very moved meeting the President-elect. Reggie is African-American. The Chief Steward, on this Air Force jet and was talking to me briefly on the plane about how moving it was to meet the President-elect for the first time, get to chat with him briefly, get to know him a little bit.

And you know, clearly -- I talked to Robert Gibbs as well, the incoming White House Press Secretary. He's on this plane and he just go off a moment ago. You can see David Axelrod, a senior adviser getting off the steps now.

And Robert Gibbs was talking to me about how it's really sinking in now when you get on this jet and you get to Andrews Air Force Base. And he sort of joked to us that it's pretty nice digs. You know, it's sort of the lighter part in a way that you've got this whole retinue, the motorcade, et cetera, but it also is the seriousness, the heaviness of the challenge.

Robert Gibbs was also talking about how tomorrow morning right away this President-elect will be heading to the Capitol Hill, to meet with Democratic leaders, then meet with his economic team. And then later in the day, he's meeting with a bipartisan leaders -- the Democrats and Republicans -- to talk about the economic stimulus plans, talk about the financial crisis.

And so there's really little time to rest, little time to enjoy the trappings of the office that he has not officially taken yet. Because immediately tomorrow he's going to jumping into this meetings on the financial crisis, trying to get lawmakers in both parties to approve his $775 billion economic recovery plan as he calls it. While a lot of lawmakers want to do something to help fix the economy, as you know, Don, the price tag is something a lot are choking on because of all -- coming on the heels of all of these bailouts.

You can see now the President-elect getting into one of the presidential limousines right there. Our motorcade is going to start moving so I'll toss it back to you.

LEMON: Ok, Ed and that means you have to go or can you stay with us?

HENRY: I can probably stay for a bit if I'm going to start running.

LEMON: Ok, all right, well you just keep walking. I'll keep talking. And when you can't talk anymore, I'll pick it up for you.

But let's say, if we can talk some other business here, the President- elect has talked about the economic stimulus package. Has he spoken out at all about the news on Bill Richardson?

HENRY: The President-elect did not talk about Bill Richardson at all. No one really got a chance to shout out questions because he gave those emotional remarks and then moved to the front of the cabin.

We did ask Robert Gibbs, the incoming Press Secretary, and he really did not add much detail to what we know. The only thing that he said that I think that was new is that he says that the governor communicated his desire to withdraw to the President-elect on Friday. That's something we did not know until now, exactly when this went down.

And I've heard from other Democratic officials that it wasn't so much the governor saying that he wanted to step aside, that there was some pressure from the Obama transition team that given all that has happened with this investigation of the governor, that the transition team felt -- according to my Democratic sources -- that on top of the Blagojevich scandal this was the last thing the transition team need.

And, in fact, one of these Democratic officials told me that Governor Richardson was quite stunned by the quick turn of events and how quickly the transition team wanted to turn the page, frankly. I want to point out at the end of their statement, including the President-elect's written statement that you've been reporting on, the President-elect did say essentially that he expects that in the end the governor will be cleared and that down the road he would still like to see the governor serve in his administration.

Nevertheless, that's little salve for the governor -- a little consolation. And also you know, it's slightly politically damaging to have one of your people step aside.

LEMON: Right.

HENRY: Nevertheless, I think in the big picture what Robert Gibbs was trying to stress, which is true, is that the broad sweep of this cabinet looks like it's going to be confirmed by the Senate. It's pretty frequent that at least one person drops out, whether they're Democrat or Republic in recent years, that at least one cabinet selection has dropped out.

So I think in the end this is not going to be a huge wound, but it's certainly not the way they wanted to start things off.

LEMON: Ed, I'd be remiss in not asking you this before I let you go; any word on Gaza from the President-elect or anyone on his team?

HENRY: Any word on --?

LEMON: Gaza.

HENRY: Gaza. No. Robert Gibbs -- we pressed him on that point. And again, what he said is what we've heard over and over, which is there's only one president at a time. They just don't want to wade into foreign policy; they don't want to look like the United States is not speaking with one voice.

What Robert Gibbs did stress however, it was something we've been reporting on which is that the President-elect does get a daily intelligence briefing. And according to Robert Gibbs, that's the same intelligence that the President of the United States gets, so I think the point there is that he's trying to stay on top of the situation --

LEMON: Ok.

HENRY: And show the American people and people around the world that he wants to hit the ground running on January 20th. However, he's not weighing in; he's not commenting in any substantive way as this ground war, as this dispute, plays out.

LEMON: Our senior White House correspondent, Ed Henry. And we don't want you to miss you're ride so carry on, my friend.

HENRY: Thank you.

LEMON: Let's bring back in Mark Preston.

Mark, as we looked at pictures, the president riding on the official airplane, not quite Air Force One yet, the one with the seal on it. As I said, this is a very pivotal moment for the United States. This is what an Obama administration will look like within a couple of weeks, the president no doubt heading to the Hay-Adams hotel. Not quite Blair House. It's not quite ready for him. Usually where the president-elects stay before they become president.

He wanted to be in Washington in time though for his daughters to start school on Monday, which is tomorrow, at the Sidwell Friends School. His wife and two daughters are already there.

But he is starting, at least hitting the ground in Washington, not quite president yet, Mark, but with quite a full plate. He's starting with the economy which is in dire straits. He's starting with a war overseas and then also, tonight we're learning that his cabinet is not in place.

PRESTON: Yes, absolutely. Don, he is having to deal with Iraq, Afghanistan. He'll have to deal with the economy. And now he really has to focus on what's going on with Israel, in going after Hamas and Gaza. He certainly has a full plate. He has really made a point to stay out of Washington, D.C., as Ed just said. He really has made a point to really say that there's only one president at a time. And he's tried to stay out of certain issues without muddying the water.

But he has to get here to Washington, D.C.; he has to start holding meetings. He'll start doing that tomorrow. He will be on Capitol Hill. He'll be meeting with Democratic leaders; he'll also be meeting with Republicans as well. And he really needs to get off on a good foot.

This Bill Richardson news that we just learned today, of course, is not good for him. But it's really not going to hurt him in the long run. Just two quick things, Don, to keep in mind: Bill Richardson was considered for secretary of state. He was looked at. He spoke to Obama about it. Of course, that went to Hillary Clinton.

Can you imagine if Bill Richardson had been nominated for secretary of state and then having to pull him out at this point? Commerce secretary very important; secretary of state a much more important job.

And also the last line of the Obama statement. He said that he looks forward to Bill Richardson serve in his cabinet. I'm sure he does. Richardson has a lot of experience, but he also has to make sure that he's reaching out to Latinos. They were very happy when Bill Richardson was chosen. At least he's keeping that alive for that Democratic constituency.

LEMON: Had that happened the way you said it, it would not have been a good start.

PRESTON: Yes, absolutely not.

LEMON: Thank you very much. Mark Preston will be back with us tonight at 10:00 p.m. Eastern where we'll run over all of this stuff; all these political issues. Coming up tonight, 10:00 p.m. Eastern. Mark, we appreciate it. Thank you.

A showdown or a compromise? What is Roland Burris in for when he heads to Capitol Hill this week? In my conversation, he said, "You know what, Don? I'm already the senator from Illinois." We'll see. He's been appointed to Barack Obama's senate seat, but that not sitting well with sitting senators.

Also, Israel versus Hamas. We know the fighters in this battle, but what about the thousands of Israeli and Palestinian civilians caught in the middle of this? We'll hear their stories.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

LEMON: Let's go to the Mideast now and CNN's continuing coverage of Israel's ground attack in Gaza.

Palestinian security sources say Israeli troops now control parts of northern Gaza just 24 hours after crossing over into Palestinian territory. Thousands of Israeli troops are advancing into Gaza with support from air strikes against Hamas targets.

Hamas sources say three senior members of their military wing were killed today in two separate attacks. More than 500 people have been killed since Israel launched its first air strikes last week according to Palestinian sources. And the Israeli military says at least one Israeli soldier has been killed.

The Israeli military describes the ground assault as phase two of a drawn-out operation designed to halt the near daily rocket attacks on southern Israel.

Let's start on the border as close as reporters can get to what's happening right now. I want to bring in our senior international correspondent, Nic Robertson. He joins me now with an update. It is the second day of this ground incursion and Nic am I hearing explosions behind you? I think I hear a helicopter as well?

NIC ROBERTSON, CNN SENIOR INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: You do, Don. There's two large helicopters sort of flying lazily and slowly above us here overlooking the area in the Gaza strip behind me. We're not seeing any -- we're not seeing many of the big flashes of explosions that we were witnessing from here last night. The intensity of the ground incursion appears to have eased off.

However, there have been several big explosions within the last few minutes, an occasional burst of all the heavy automatic weapons fire. The Israeli defense forces say the Hamas are using improvised explosive devices on the road along which they're moving. They're using mortars, they're using sniper teams, they're using automatic weapons fire against the Israeli defense forces. Israeli defense forces say they have wounded dozens of Hamas fighters in those close combat operations that we can hear going on behind us.

Those helicopters we're talking about, they're still flying overhead. We can hear one of the reconnaissance drone aircraft that looks down on the battlefield. It has night vision and thermal equipment so it can see at night and see what's happening on the battlefield.

From what we're hearing from Palestinians in Gaza is a desperate -- they describe it -- humanitarian situation. People saying that they have some food but they don't have any water; others saying that the bombardment is putting them all in a state of fear, Don.

LEMON: Nic, we're hearing from Israeli sources and Israeli officials that this incursion is not about a regime change. So realistically, what is Israel trying to achieve with this offensive?

ROBERTSON: Well, what it said it's going to achieve is to stop Hamas firing the rockets into Israel. And they've fired 40 of those rockets today, injuring two Israeli civilians in two different towns. So what this operation is designed to do, they say, is to control those fire points from where the missiles are fired. But we saw three being fired this morning and they were being fired from the built-up area inside a housing area inside the Gaza strip.

So that presents a challenge to the defense forces. How do they secure those types of areas that are essentially perhaps in and amongst houses in what is some very, very densely populated areas? So what the Israeli defense forces have done to achieve this objective, they've essentially split the Gaza strip in two just south of Gaza city.

Remember, the Gaza strip is this kind of long, thin sliver of land about six miles across, 25 miles long. What the Israeli defense forces is cut it in half so that makes it harder for Hamas to control that area. By sort of dividing it down and trying to control it in that way, that seems to be the strategy that the Israeli defense forces are using.

How do they then move to secure some of these firing sites? I think that's sort of what we're hearing playing out behind us right now. Some of it is going to take a long time. I spoke a little earlier with Israel's deputy defense minister. And that was one of the things he stressed.

I said, "How is the operation going?"

He said, "It's going well, but this is going to take quite some time."

That really is the message here. The initial push has happened, the intensity of the battle died down. Much more to come though, Don.

LEMON: All right. Thank you very much for that. Our senior international correspondent, Nic Robertson.

I want to tell you now about some new violence in Iraq today. A female suicide bomber blew herself up in Baghdad, killing at least 40 people and wounding 70, many of them women. The victims include Iranians who were taking part in a Muslim pilgrimage.

The bombing is the most recent in a series of deadly attacks. They come as the U.S. tries to transfer security responsibilities to Iraqi forces. We'll keep our eye on the Mideast.

But here in the U.S. we have that breaking political story to tell you about -- breaking political coverage. The president-elect loses a major cabinet nominee. What does this mean for his transition of power? We'll tell you.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

LEMON: Some breaking news in to the CNN "NEWSROOM" I want to tell you about. This involves a U.S. Coast Guard helicopter. And here's what we're being told. This is just coming in.

The U.S. Coast Guard reports that seven people have been killed in a helicopter crash; this is happening in Terrebonne Parish in Louisiana. And I'm just reading here from the release that we have just gotten. According to a petty officer there, it happened at 3:30 p.m. Central, 4:30 Eastern.

The U.S. Air Force Rescue Center in Langley, Virginia recorded a distress call for a helicopter owned by PHI. This is coming from the Coast Guard -- I want to be quite sure that this is a Coast Guard helicopter because in this release it's being said that it's owned by PHI. We'll get some clarification for that.

The Coast Guard was notified and rescued to the crash scene in the Bayou Penchant in Louisiana. And upon arrival, the Coast Guard says seven of the nine passengers were dead. One person has just been airlifted to a regional medical center and a search is under way for the ninth person on the aircraft.

I would imagine that this helicopter is owned by PHI, the coast guard did the rescue here. Again, seven of the nine passengers killed in this. One person being air lifted to a medical center and they're looking for a ninth person; this all happening in Terrebonne Parish, Louisiana.

As soon as we get more information on this, we'll bring it to you right here in the "CNN NEWSROOM". We'll check on it for you.

Arab leaders are expected to press the United Nations tomorrow for a cease-fire resolution. An emergency meeting by the Security Council last night failed to yield a statement on Gaza.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

JEAN-MAURICE RIPERT, U.N. SECURITY COUNCIL PRESIDENT: We had extensive talks, consultation about the current situation on the grounds in Gaza and in the south of Israel. I must tell you that there was no formal agreement.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

LEMON: Diplomats say the U.S. objected to a Libyan-sponsored call for a cease-fire, U.S. deputy ambassador, Alejandro Wolff, defended the move. He says Hamas didn't abide by the last call from the council so it's doubtful they would heed another.

Let's get some reaction from someone who is inside Gaza right now. Safa Joudeh lives in Gaza City and she joins me now by phone.

Safa, we have some pictures from happier times of you. You're on the beach at a time when you didn't have to worry about the air strikes or the ground invasions. But obviously things have changed for you.

Talk to us about what you're seeing and experiencing now.

SAFA JOUDEH, GAZA CITY RESIDENT: Well Don, for the past week now, a little over a week now, the Israeli -- that's when the Israeli air attacks on Gaza began. We haven't been able to leave our home at all. We've been confined to our home.

The only movement out on the street is either (unintelligible) engines or people leaving their homes to take refuge at the U.N. shelters or with relatives. We haven't had electricity for a few days now since this all started. The electricity supply to the Gaza strip, since the Israeli air -- I'm sorry -- ground invasion of the Gaza strip began a few days ago.

I think it was a couple of days ago, about 9:00 p.m., the day before yesterday the entire strip has been bombarded from both land, sea, and air. There's Apaches and F-16s flying overhead the whole time.

LEMON: Are you able to get any food or any of the supplies that are being brought in?

JOUDEH: For the past little over the week, no one is out on the street. They're too afraid to leave their homes and to leave their areas.

LEMON: Again, I'm not sure if you heard my question there. Some supplies are getting in. Are you able to get any food and any water, any supplies?

JOUDEH: We're not, no. We're not able to get any food or any water. Food supplies are running out and we're not able to locate any store that's open or any organization that's can bring in food at this point.

DON LEMON, CNN ANCHOR: So you're in Gaza City. Are you home alone? Who are you with?

JOUDEH: I'm home with my parents and my six, five siblings.

LEMON: Are you able at all - I imagine most people have been holed up inside of their homes. Have you been able to go outside at all and witness anything on the street or in neighborhood?

JOUDEH: Well, a couple of us went out. It's not really a good idea at all to walk on the streets at this point just because any area could be subjected to an attack at any point. But we did go out and survey the area. The streets are pretty much unrecognizable. There's a lot of damage that's been done to homes and Gaza University which is close by, completely flattened. A lot of people's homes have been damaged. And pretty much, yes, the area is totally different than it was about eight, nine days ago.

LEMON: There have been people who are - even Palestinians who are speaking out against their own government, speaking out against Hamas, feeling that many people are responsible for this, not only Israel, how do you feel on this matter?

JOUDEH: At this point, it's really difficult to decide who's responsible for what's going on in this area. What I'm going to say is that at this point everyone in Gaza including myself and my family feel that this is an attack against the civilian population because these are the people who are being most affected by what's going on. It's people's lives that are being taken, people's homes that are being destroyed. So this entire attack is something directed toward the population of Gaza who are unarmed and civilians going about their everyday business.

LEMON: Safa Joudeh, remain safe, please. Take care of yourself and thank you.

We want o talk now about the transition of power in Washington. There's a bit of turmoil in that transition. The incoming cabinet loses a big-time nominee. What is next?

And speaking of what's next, Roland Burris, he heads to the Senate next week. You know, he's from Illinois, Governor Rod Blagojevich appointed him. It was a controversial appointment. How will he be received? We talk to him, coming up.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

LEMON: Pictures just moments ago from Andrews Air Force base. That was President-elect Barack Obama arriving in Washington, just moments ago to the click of cameras and also flash bulbs, arriving on an official airplane, not quite Air Force one. It was the Air Force 757 that brought Mr. Obama to Washington. It's part of the official presidential fleet. It is the first time the President-elect has flown in one of those planes. As we said live during that, it was a very pivotal moment to see the president-elect in an official plane with a seal on it.

And one new piece of business that's going to be waiting for him, he's going to have to deal with this. Finding another choice for Commerce Secretary. That's because New Mexico Governor Bill Richardson bowed out earlier today, citing a federal probe into his ties to a company that's done business with his state. And the democrats will soon have a new party leader. This is also news.

CNN has confirmed tonight that Virginia Governor Tim Kaine will soon take over for outgoing democratic party chairman Howard Dean. Kaine is expected to serve part-time until 2010 when his term as governor expires.

Michael Coleman is a reporter with the "Albuquerque Journal." He is based in Washington and joins us now by telephone. And we want him to shed some light on this federal probe that prompted the governor, Governor Bill Richardson to withdraw his nomination. Thank you, sir, for joining us tonight.

VOICE OF MICHAEL COLEMAN, "ALBUQUERQUE JOURNAL": Sure.

LEMON: How long has this been going on? And we heard a little bit about it a little bit in the national press. But I would imagine it's garnering quite some attention in the media there. Fill us in on the specifics of this. When did it start? And where does it stand now?

COLEMAN: It actually stems back to 2003-2004. We first reported on these controversial deals back in August and the fact that the fed, the FBI, in specific, was looking into them. Basically, it involves a company called CDR Financial Products, out of Hollywood, California, and the state of New Mexico contracted with them to do some financing for some major road projects as well as our rail runner commuter train, one of Governor Richardson's pet projects since he's been governor of New Mexico.

And as it happens, the company's also contributed to a couple of the governor's political action committees. I think that raised the eyebrows of the feds and they started looking into it. That's where we are today.

LEMON: That's where we are today but out of that, have you learned anything - because I know that reporters there have been investigating this. So far it's just those allegations and we see there's a grand jury probe. But has anyone learned or through your investigation, have you learned anything from this?

COLEMAN: No. I don't think - you know, we're not to the point that you know the governor certainly himself hasn't been implicated. As you know, he adamantly denied any wrongdoing on his behalf or those of his administration. You know, the FBI has been looking into this, a grand jury was impaneled to look into it. As far as we know, there have been no indictments delivered, subpoenas issued. So it seems to be just in the investigation stage, and you know, according to the governor today, you know, he said that he didn't want this to - this cloud hovering over his confirmation hearing and decided to bow out. But like I said, no indictments or anything are forthcoming that we know of.

LEMON: And that is certainly understandable. What I want to ask you, though, in his time as governor and anything that I have read here, there doesn't seem to be much controversy at least with any sort of quid pro quo or pay to play schemes involving Governor Bill Richardson. This would be something that would be unusual if it is proven true.

COLEMAN: Well, it's the first instance of this that's certainly come to light that the federal law enforcement has been looking into. He has had a pretty I know you would say clean tenure. He's been a popular governor of New Mexico. I think he remains popular. You know, a lot of people in New Mexico I think are disappointed by this turn of events today. LEMON: All right. Thank you so much for that and for your reporting on that. And if you get any new information, of course, we would appreciate it here at CNN. It's always important to have folks who are on the ground and who are reporting on these things. Thank you, sir.

COLEMAN: Sure, happy to help. Thanks.

LEMON: You know, it's got to be the hottest seat in the Senate, the one being vacated by Barack Obama. And as you know, Illinois Governor Rod Blagojevich is accused of trying to peddle the seat to the highest bidder. Now in the ensuing controversy, conventional wisdom was that Governor Rod Blagojevich would not be able to appoint anyone. Well so much for conventional wisdom because Blagojevich defied almost everyone and tapped his longtime friend and confidante Roland Burris to fill that seat. Roland Burris spoke to us by phone just a short time ago and he talked about the cloud that is hanging over his appointment.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

VOICE OF ROLAND BURRIS, FMR. ATTORNEY GENERAL: Don, I am the duly legally appointed United States senator from the state of Illinois, and I certainly expect that the senators will recognize that and not deny Illinois its equal representation as we get under way in this 111th Congress. It is my hope and prayer that they will surely have gotten the message that what the Governor has done, regardless of his problems, are not my problems.

There's no taint on me. He has carried out his constitutional duty and found a person who is qualified to fill that vacancy, and that's what he's done. I spent 20 years in the Illinois government. I know this state, I know the people and I know the problems. I am ready, willing and able to learn my process in the Senate, to certainly hit the ground running in representing the 13 million people of this great state.

LEMON: You know, living in Chicago and Illinois, I know your track record. And as a political player and a major political force not only in Chicago but in Illinois. Now, you are aware of Illinois politics, and oftentimes there is guilt by association. You know that, and you don't think that by the governor appointing you that there would be some guilt or some taint on you simply because of the controversy that he has found himself in?

BURRIS: Don, is there such a thing as taint in the law? I'm a former attorney general. I've never read anywhere in the statutes that if a governor is having some type of serious legal problem that he cannot carry out his constitutional duties. If someone shows me that, then I would be convinced there might be something that would impact my ability to serve and to be effective for the people of Illinois. I don't think that that's possible.

LEMON: When I spoke with - when this news broke that you were going to - that he was going to appoint you, I spoke with president of the Illinois Senate Emil Jones and he said he had a conversation earlier with you. I believe it was earlier in December, and you expressed interest in this job. And then you called him that day and said that you were going to - that in fact the governor was going to appoint you. He supports you. There are many Illinoisans who support you. But you've found yourself in a position where there are people, many of them African-American as well, political leaders, who are not supporting you. Do you understand their position?

BURRIS: Well I respect their positions, but I don't agree with them. What is there to understand? I will ask anyone, if the governor of this state has the legal authority to make the appointment. And the answer to that is yes. Secondly, am I qualified? Do I meet the constitutional requirement to serve in the United States Senate? I do. There is no such other criteria other than people got their own private agendas that they may be in turn seeking to foster or bring forth.

LEMON: You know the law very well. Very well, sir. How far do you plan to take this? And do you see any - is there any point or anywhere in the law that you see that you cannot be appointed? Do you plan to take this to the very end? And do you see that this is legally possible for you to, in fact, become the senator of Illinois?

BURRIS: Don, I am the senator. I am the senator.

LEMON: OK.

BURRIS: And the next step is for the United States Senate to do it's constitutional duty and not disenfranchised the 13 million people of Illinois and have us to be short-handed with all of these crises in our state and nation. Illinois would not be fully represented in the Senate. That's the reason I took this seat is because I wanted our people in this state to have a voice there speaking on their behalf as we try to tackle some of the major crises that are confronting Illinois and America.

LEMON: So you're up for the challenge.

BURRIS: I am definitely. Can you hear it in my voice, Don? I don't want to get too emotional here, but I'm ready. You know, I'm ready.

LEMON: OK. One last question because I have to run here, Mr. Burris. What kind of reception do you think you're going to get?

BURRIS: In terms of - we'll determine if I'm not seated and then we'll have to take the next step.

LEMON: OK. Roland Burris, thank you very much, sir.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

LEMON: An interesting interview with him. There's also a major new development in the drawn-out U.S. senate race in Minnesota. The state's top election official tells CNN a special board will announce democrat Al Franken as the winner tomorrow, defeating republican incumbent Norm Coleman. Now after a final recount, the secretary of state Mark Richie says Franken won by 225 votes. The Coleman campaign has indicated they will go to court to challenge those results.

Despite anti-Israel protest in his own city, New York Mayor Michael Bloomberg is taking the opposite approach, the mayor on a day-long show of solidarity in Israel.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

LEMON: We're getting live pictures now coming out of Gaza. You can see the smoke. It is dark there. And part of this is from a camera, that Ramattan television has that is partially a night vision camera. You can see the smoke there. And I'm going to be quiet and let you listen to what appears to be artillery fire happening in Gaza right now.

As we know, this is day two of a ground assault, day nine of the incursion. It started with air strikes and now it is being completed or at least worked out through ground attacks. I'm being quiet here and listening because I want you to hear what we have been hearing here in the CNN NEWSROOM as we have been monitoring these pictures of Gaza coming to us from Ramadan television.

As we spoke to our Nic Robertson just a short time ago. He said that there were two helicopters that were overhead right where he was - in his area and they were monitoring the situation from there. Also talking about the tactical forces and measures that were happening on the ground that he could witness during daylight hours and then what happens during the nighttime hours.

Also, there we go, another explosion over Gaza. You can see the skies there just lighting up. General David Grange also talked to us earlier about the cover of darkness and how the Israeli forces will be using the cover of darkness to their advantage and many of the strikes that we're seeing, the air strikes, will be happening at night. Also some during the day and also the forces, the ground forces, would be on the move at night, much more so than during the day, because they've got the darkness on their side. But, again, as we monitor these pictures that are coming in from Gaza, from Ramattan television in Gaza, we have been seeing several explosions happen just over the last couple of minutes, leading us to believe that there is at least some increase in the attacks and in the air strikes happening there.

We're going to continue to monitor these pictures and also check in with our international desk to find out the situation there and see what our correspondents in the field are witnessing. Nic Robertson, as well Karl Penhaul, Christiane Amanpour, all on the ground in the region and are covering this story for us.

Again, air strikes over Gaza, several explosions. We'll continue to monitor these pictures and bring you the very latest. Don't go away.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

LEMON: Continuing coverage now of "Crisis in the Middle East." We have been monitoring the pictures coming out of Gaza from Ramattan television. There were several explosions that we saw moments ago filling the night sky in Gaza. And as we have been reporting here today, on CNN, the very latest information is this one coming from Palestinian security sources, they say that Israeli troops are now controlling parts of northern Gaza and that is just 24 hours after crossing over into that Palestinian territory.

If you listen closely, you can hear airplanes and helicopters in the sky. And, again, as I said, the pictures that we are monitoring now, these live pictures, have been showing at least an increase in what we see - perceive to be bombings or air strikes happening over the area. Thousands of Israeli troops are advancing into this region, into Gaza, with support of air strikes, many like the ones we have been witnessing here and they have been striking against Hamas targets.

Now, sources say that senior members of the military wing that were killed today in two separate attacks. Three senior members of their military wing killed in two separate attacks. More than 500 people have been killed since Israel launched its first air strikes. That was last week and that's according to our Palestinian sources. Again, we are continuing to monitor these pictures to see exactly what is going on there in the area. Israeli military sources say at least one Israeli soldier has been killed in this and it describes the ground assault as phase two of drawn-out operation designed to halt the nearly daily rocket attacks on southern Israel.

We have live coverage here, rolling coverage because we don't know exactly what's going to happen here. Similar to the situation in 2006, a 30-day war, it lasted 30 days, not exactly sure how long this will last. But from the defense minister yesterday Ehud Barak said it will last for some time and it is not going to be easy.

And we have been telling you also that we've only got limited reports out of Gaza since Israel's ground operations began but the descriptions we are hearing so far paint a very vivid and painful picture of fear among the civilians.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE (through translator): It is a terrible life, terrible, terrible, the house is broken and we can't sleep in it. The kids left and the men and women left.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE (through translator): There is fear. All night there's boom, boom sound, one after the other, one after the other. The child puts his head in his father's or mother's lap from the fear and says to her "hide me and cover my face." It is fear.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE (through translator): The kids have just woken up. He was going to get dressed for school. They both got dressed and he was going to school with is brother. He hasn't even gone a meter and the strike began. The other brother got away. The other tried to get away. We looked for him and we couldn't find him. God bless his soul. God bless his soul.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

LEMON: Some of the voices and the faces of this war in Gaza. Israel versus Hamas. We'll continue our live coverage on this conflict. Make sure you stay tuned right here to CNN.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

LEMON: All right. You know what. It is a big travel day. I know there are lots of people in the airport. And if you're watching us, hello. If you're delayed, sorry about that. But also there's a big powerful storm that is hitting the Pacific northwest. Our Jacqui Jeras joins us in the CNN severe weather center which is heavy snow right above her head for the upper midwest. Jacqui Jeras, what's going on?

JACQUI JERAS, CNN METEOROLOGIST: Well, you know, it's been so active here as of late. This is just another in a series of storms that have been pounding these folks. The snow levels are really, really low right now, down to about 300 feet or even lower. In fact, we're getting snow reports in Seattle with winds gusting to 21 miles per hour as we speak. The snow levels will be lifting a little bit through the overnight tonight. We'll watch them pull up a bit and eventually see some incredible rain taking the place of that snow.

So we're worried about aggravating the flooding situation out here as well as the avalanche danger. We could see anywhere between 10 and 18 inches of snowfall into the higher elevations. Yes, tough travel. A lot of travel problems we've had across parts of the east. And you know, there's not a lot of major weather happening but look at all the cloud cover. When we get that, you know you tend to get travel delays.

Right now, knock on wood, FAA isn't reporting any delays. But we did have quite a few earlier. You know, it takes a little bit to catch up with that. Big changes behind this front with some really bitterly cold air just invading much of the nation's midsection. We were in the 80s yesterday in Dallas. Right now, 41 degrees with temperatures this cold we've got moisture coming in from the west. That moisture hooking up with temperatures that are going to be around or below freezing, means we're going to see a wintry mix of precipitation and maybe some light freezing rain tomorrow morning through maybe noonish including the Dallas, Fort Worth area.

Now the temperatures have been so warm on the ground. So we're not worried about too many of the roadways but bridges and overpasses and anything elevated could be a big icy mess. That will be something that we will be watching tomorrow morning.

LEMON: Oh, boy. Jacqui Jeras, thank you, I guess. All right. Jacqui, thank you so much. Happy new year to you, by the way.

JERAS: You, too.

LEMON: All right. Well, thanks for joining us tonight. I'll see you back here, 10:00 p.m. Eastern where we'll update the situation in Gaza and also our breaking political news coming out of Washington as it has to do with the commerce secretary post and former governor of New Mexico, Bill Richardson. Thanks for joining us tonight.

I'm Don Lemon at the CNN headquarters in Atlanta. CNN special "The Obamas" begins in just a moment.