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Conflicting Information on Flight 3407; Examining the Stimulus Plan
Aired February 15, 2009 - 16:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
FREDRICKA WHITFIELD, CNN ANCHOR: Conflicting information this hour about whether that plane that crashed near Buffalo was on auto pilot. A live news conference from investigators is straight ahead. We'll take you there.
Also, Senator Roland Burris speaking live to reporters after acknowledging that he was approached about paying for the Senate seat he eventually garnered from the former Illinois governor.
And the economic stimulus package. What it means for cash-strapped school districts.
Hello, everyone. I'm Fredricka Whitfield. You are in the CNN NEWSROOM. In two days, the biggest spending bill is to be signed by the president of the United States. Aides say President Obama will sign the $787 billion economic stimulus plan on Tuesday but during a visit from - in Denver. That's where Democrats nominated Mr. Obama last summer. It's also in the words of one official, "an area hard hit economically away from the politics of Washington." CNN White House correspondent Suzanne Malveaux is in Chicago where Mr. Obama spent the weekend with his family.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
SUZANNE MALVEAUX, CNN WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT: A quick glimpse of the first couple leaving a Chicago restaurant after sharing a Valentine's dinner. But the private weekend at home will give way to a very public PR campaign this week. As President Obama hits the road. First to Denver on Tuesday to sign the $787 billion economic stimulus legislation. The point, to put the president in front of real people. To convince them the jobs will eventually return.
Things have not yet bottomed out. They are probably going to get worse before they improve. But this is a big step forward toward making that improvement and putting people back to work.
Not everyone is buying that. Only three republican senators supported the massive stimulus plan. And despite the President's outreach to Republicans, Mr. Obama's former rival John McCain is giving him bad marks.
SEN. JOHN MCCAIN (R), FMR. PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: It's a bad beginning. I'm not happy and most of us aren't at the lack of true bipartisanship in approaching this legislation.
MALVEAUX: Wednesday, Mr. Obama is heading to McCain's home state of Arizona to lay out his plan to address the housing crisis. Mccain will be in Arizona that day, but says he's made other previous plans. The state has the third highest home foreclosure rate in the country. The administration's housing plan is aimed at stemming foreclosures and driving down mortgage rates.
MCCAIN: We've got to get back to stabilizing the housing prices. Buy up these bad mortgages, give it to people that can afford the housing so they can stay in their homes?
MALVEAUX: Also on the president's urgent agenda, filling two cabinet positions recently rocked by scandal. Aides say that's going to take some time.
DAVID AXELROD, SENIOR ADVISER TO THE PRESIDENT: Choosing cabinet members isn't like "American Idol." you don't throw contestants out there and let the American people vote.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
WHITFIELD: All right. Suzanne joining us now from Chicago. So this is a victory for the Obama administration but at the same it's kind of bittersweet, right, because they didn't get the bipartisanship that they wanted.
MALVEAUX: Certainly, Fred. It's a very good point. It is kind of bittersweet. They consider it a huge victory, but they really had hoped more Republicans would sign on to this. And aides say they will continue - the president will continue to reach out to Republicans, but perhaps their mission will be a little bit less ambitious. That they'll have regional goals. They'll work with some Republican governors like California Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger who actually supports the economic stimulus package on some other areas where they can see some common ground.
That might be, say, the environment or energy, things like that. But they say they will continue. The president will continue to reach out. Should also let you know as well, Fred, that that vetting process will go on for the next couple of weeks when it comes to those cabinet positions. And this week on the president's plate, his first trip overseas. That is to Canada. You know, right next door, but overseas, nevertheless, to focus on energy, trade and things like climate. So a big, big week for the president, Fred.
WHITFIELD: All right. Thanks so much, Suzanne. Well more on that bipartisanship or lack thereof. The stimulus package had virtually no support among republicans. And they are still attacking it today.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
MCCAIN: This bill was not bipartisan. It was - it is incredibly expensive. It has hundreds of billions of dollars in projects which will not yield in jobs. Now if you think we need to improve education, spend money for it, fine. But this was supposed to be a package that was going to create jobs.
(END VIDEO CLIP) WHITFIELD: All right. Democrats deny ignoring GOP input. Democratic Senator Chuck Schumer says the stimulus package included two major amendments proposed by Republicans. And we want to hear from you on how you are coping with this economy. What are your hopes for the stimulus bill?
Next hour, we have two experts on board to answer your questions during that hour. Our Josh Levs is taking your e-mails at weekend@cnn.com as well and we'll also be joined by a Republican lawmaker who will talk a bit more on exactly what republicans wanted in the stimulus plan and why they are still pretty heated about it all.
Meantime, we're also waiting for a news conference next hour on that plane crash that killed 50 people outside Buffalo. We expect to hear from the National Transportation Safety Board. And we'll go to that live in the next hour of the NEWSROOM when, indeed, that happens.
So here's what we know right now about that crash. Crews say they have recovered 15 bodies from the wreckage. An NTSB spokesman says DNA and dental records will be used to identify the remains. Crews are racing to finish their grim task before a snowstorm arrives later on in the week.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
STEVE CHEALANDER, NTSB BOARD MEMBER: The medical examiner believes that three to four days are going to be required to recover the victims of this crash. And they are in the process of doing that. They've already pulled some of the folks out of there but they've got a long way to go. So it's a slow process, but we are making progress.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
WHITFIELD: The area around the crash remains closed. New York police say they have arrested three people trying to enter the restricted site.
(MUSIC PLAYING)
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: How sweet the sound.
WHITFIELD: And remembering the victims. Hundreds turned out for church services across Buffalo, New York. There has been an outpouring of support for the people whose lives will be forever changed by this tragedy.
Police, meantime in upstate New York stay a 34-year-old man arrested after a killing spree knew the victims. Frank Garcia allegedly killed two people at a hospital where he once worked in Rockport. Garcia is suspected of then moving on to a house where two people were killed execution-style.
And new developments in the case of former Illinois governor Rod Blagojevich and President Obama's former Senate seat. A key republican in the Illinois state legislature is calling on Senator Roland Burris to resign now. Burris now says Blagojevich's brother hit him up for campaign cash but Burris said he refused. He has called a press conference and he will be talking about all of this publicly in the next half hour or so. And we'll be able to either take that live or bring you the information as soon as we get it.
U.S. secretary of state Hillary Clinton is on her way to Asia. This is her first trip overseas as the U.S. chief diplomat. Clinton's toor includes stops in Japan, Indonesia, China and South Korea. A stop in North Korea is not on her itinerary, but the ongoing nuclear standoff with Pyongyang is likely to be high on the agenda. Clinton's decision to visit Asia first is seen as a symbolic gesture. Previous secretaries have headed to Europe or the Middle East on their first overseas trip.
Pope Benedict XVI is planning a trip to Israel. Today Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert told his cabinet the pope would visit the Holy Land in May. This comes on the heels of the Pope's meeting with Jewish leaders at the Vatican last week and it follows an uproar over the reversal of the ex-communication of a bishop who has denied the holocaust.
U.S. Treasury Secretary Tim Geithner calls on the world's richest nations to stabilize and strengthen global markets. He made his international debut at the G-7 meeting in Italy. Geithner reassured his group of seven counterparts of plans to rescue the U.S. financial system.
Stimulus dollars, schools in need. One school system weighs in on how the money should be used.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
WHITFIELD: All right. Now back to the economic stimulus bill scheduled to be signed into law Tuesday. Representative Jason Chafes is a freshman republican from Utah. And like almost all of his fellow republicans, he opposes the bill. He's in Salt Lake City. So Congressman, it's a done deal.
However, we saw all the morning talk shows today. This Sunday. All the republicans coming out and bad mouthing the bill and saying this is no example of bipartisanship. What's going on?
REP. JASON CHAFFETZ (R), UTAH: Well, look. Hey, I didn't create this mess, but I did come here to help clean it up. And the process is so disheartening because Republicans just weren't included. We had the bill for just over 12 hours. It was the single largest bill in the history of the United States. Nearly 1,400 pages. There is not one congressman that even read that bill.
WHITFIELD: What do you mean not included? Because you can just look back and see that President Obama went to the hill, talked to both Republicans and Democrats about what might be in the stimulus plan. He invited Republicans as well as Democrats to the White House. And in addition, we heard Chuck Schumer saying and reiterating today, there were rat least two amendments that the Republicans proposed that is in this current plan. CHAFFETZ: No, the republicans - the House unanimously passed a resolution.
WHITFIELD: So did those things not happen?
CHAFFETZ: They did not. The House unanimously passed a resolution that said we'd have 48 hours to review the bill. We didn't have 48 hours to review the bill. We were allowed - it came in a closed rule. We could offer no amendment and there just simply was no debate on the part of Congress. It just did not happen.
WHITFIELD: We heard from Senator McCain who earlier today also said this was not bipartisanship from the very beginning. Lindsey Graham had very strong words to say today. "If this is going to be bipartisanship, the country is screwed." What kind of message is that to send to Americans about trying to revive some confidence that there's a plan in place to help Americans?
CHAFFETZ: I had a chance to meet the President, shake his hand. He's a nice man. But that is far different than how Nancy Pelosi and the House - the democrats are running the House. This is not the kind of process that we were promised. This is not a change from years past. And I got to tell you. When you have the single largest bill in the history of the United States, we ought to debate it. You ought to be able to see it. You ought to be able to read it before you even vote on it.
WHITFIELD: What should be in the plan that the GOP proposed that isn't that your most disappointed with.
CHAFFETZ: Well, think about it like your home. In your home, let's say the furnace goes out and it's the middle of the winter. You got to fix the furnace. What this bill does is it remodels the kitchen.
WHITFIELD: Specifically. What should be in this bill that republicans propose that isn't that you are most upset about?
CHAFFETZ: Less than one percent of this trillion-dollar bill are tax cuts for businesses. It's the American entrepreneur. It's the local businesswoman. It's the local businessman. It's small business that generates 70 percent of the jobs in this country. And that's not in this bill. We grew government. We didn't grow the atmosphere for entrepreneurs and businesses to thrive in this country.
WHITFIELD: Should Americans think from this day forward that there are efforts that could be made that are bipartisan and that everyone will sort of get along?
CHAFFETZ: Oh, absolutely. I mean, we need a process that works. I'm willing to reach across the aisle. We all know people are hurting. We want to help. But how to do that. We don't want to grow government. We want to grow businesses. We want the people to have their money, not the government.
All right. Congressman Jason Chaffetz, thanks so much for joining us from Salt Lake City, Utah. CHAFFETZ: Thank you.
WHITFIELD: Appreciate it.
CHAFFETZ: Thank you.
WHITFIELD: All right. A big chunk of the president's stimulus package goes to education. And it couldn't come at a better time. Many cash-strapped school districts are facing painful cuts. And our Kate Bolduan reports on what stimulus dollars could mean for them.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
KATE BOLDUAN, CNN CORRESPONDENT: The new secretary of education, Arne Duncan, toured an Arlington, Virginia High school to make the pitch for why education dollars matter in the stimulus package.
ARNE, EDUCATION SECRETARY: There's nothing more important we can do than create facilities that our students need to learn and reach their full potential.
BOLDUAN: About $80 billion of the total $787 billion package goes toward K through 12 public education. We went to Arlington School superintendent Rob Smith to find out what that money means to his district.
What in this school as an example, could you use with - do with stimulus dollars?
ROB SMITH, ARLINGTON SCHOOL SUPERINTENDENT: We know we need to do some work with the roof system. We know we need to put in a sprinkler system.
BOLDUAN: OK.
SMITH: And we know what we need to do rework the entire heating, ventilation, air conditioning system. And that's the work that needs to be done. We know what we need to do so we're ready to spend the money.
BOLDUAN: Smith says even without considering construction costs, Arlington schools are facing an $11-$18 million budget shortfall this year. And they are look at cutting everything from school books to buses to staff to make ends meet.
Education leaders say school districts across the country are making the same painful decisions.
ANNE BRYANT, EXEC. DIR. NAT'L SCHOOL BOARD ASSN.: Our school boards tell us they are facing shortages in terms of teacher layoffs, cutting programs. It's not just, you know, nice to do programs. It's the very core of teaching. It's the very core of raising student achievement.
And the very core of the argument for education stimulus dollars. But some experts like Frederick Hess of the conservative think tank American enterprise institute says without reform, any additional funding is throwing good money at a broken system.
FREDERICK HESS, AMERICAN ENTERPRISE INSTITUTE: Unfortunately, what we see in this package is what we've done for 40 years in education, which is more of everything. More technology. No guarantees that we're even going to think about how to use it to increase productivity.
BOLDUAN: Superintendent Smith disagrees. He says long-term change can't begin if they don't survive the short term.
Arlington public schools like districts across the country is still waiting to hear how much money it might get from the stimulus. This is one of the district's 34 schools. You can be sure is fighting for its own piece of the pie. Kate Bolduan, CNN, Arlington, Virginia.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
WHITFIELD: And we want to know about what your expectations are about the stimulus plan and how you are coping with this economy. Next hour we focus on your short and long-term money issues. We have two experts on board to answer your questions. And our Josh Levs is also taking your e-mails at weekends@cnn.com. We had such great success with this yesterday. We thought we'd bring it back today to give all another chance to ask the experts firsthand.
All right. Times are indeed very tough. But jewelers across the country didn't want Valentine's day to mean more heartache for struggling families. So 47 stores from California to Connecticut gave free silver pendants to the first 100 people to visit the store who had just been laid off or were in danger of losing their home.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
JASON OGRIN, RECENTLY LAID OFF: It's nice to see a company out there that's actually trying to take positive steps when there's so much negative going on.
ROSIE DEROBERTIS, DEROBERTS JEWELERS: Unemployment will only take you so far. It's not going to give you the extras that you need in life. And certainly being able to do something like this is just - it's just such a kick.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
WHITFIELD: So the stores asked recipients to prove their hardship by showing a termination or foreclosure notice just to be certain. The necklaces are worth between $50 and $100. These jewelers truly and literally giving heart.
All right. Another person offering a helping hand for those down on their luck. A barber in Rhode Island, well he's giving $3 haircuts to anyone who is out of work.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
JOHN SOTEROS, BARBER: To give them a little support. It's symbolic in a way, too. You've got to help them to a degree. Even if it's paying half for a hair cut.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
WHITFIELD: So John Soteros says he's been cutting hair for 50 years but this is the worst he's ever seen. He is offering the deal for six weeks, and, guess what? He does not plan to trim it - or he has been offering it for six months. He doesn't plan to trim it. All right.
All right. A time for comforting. Australians in mourning after deadly wildfires.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: It comes in waves.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: It does.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
WHITFIELD: All right. That's Australian Prime Minister Kevin Rudd comforting people who lost so much in last week's devastating wildfires. Today he attended a memorial service in the hard-hit town of Wondong. More than 180 people were killed in the fires. Thousands left homeless. Police have charged a man with deliberately setting one of them. One of those fires intentionally. He is scheduled to appear in court tomorrow.
And Oklahoma's governor is asking President Obama to approve individual federal assistance for people in three counties damaged by tornadoes. Eight people were killed when tornadoes ripped across southern Oklahoma Tuesday. The town of Lone Grove was the hardest hit. Three people were killed. Survivors are now faced with the tough task of starting over. Jacqueline Sit of affiliate KWTV reports.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: They built a house to live in forever you know? It's gone now.
JACQUELINE SIT, KWTV REPORTER (voice-over): These were once the walls of a retirement home. A dream of a lifetime. A Lone Grove family worked their entire lives for. But today, a story of survival remains.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Granddaughter and her husband was in this closet.
SIT: And those who say they are blessed to be alive are stacking up the pieces to help their fellow neighbors.
HAROLD NEWMAN, VOLUNTEER: Well, we're a tight community here in Lone Grove. And that's what - when there's trouble, that's what we do. We band together. I'm proud of Lone Grove. SIT: Harold Newman and his family are just a few of dozens of volunteers who came here from across the state.
NEWMAN: It's really a good feeling that people care and want to come out and help, you know. A lot of people want to help.
SIT: Opening their hearts to those who lost everything especially to this family.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Put on our shoes, and picked up our purses and went to the cellar.
SIT: On a day dedicated to a special sentiment, this couple bears that name love and that's what keeps Donna and Otis Love strong amidst their loss.
DONNA LOVE, TORNADO VICTIM: Lots of people have come and given hugs. That means more to me than anything in the world. When someone comes and hugs and say we're keeping you in our prayers. That's what I need more than anything.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Oh, gosh.
SIT: Days later Lone Grove residents say they are living day-to-day and slowly, but surely, adjusting to life after the storm.
LOVE: I just try to put on my face and say, OK, it's a good day and let's go out and dig some more. That's what we've been doing.
NEWMAN: There's a lot of cut up people and bruised people. But we're going to recover. We're going to be fine.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
WHTI All right. Well Oklahoma's emergency management department says more than 300 homes and businesses were damaged by the tornadoes.
All right. Let's check in with Bonnie Schneider. Severe weather last week and now we're talking severe weather on a different scale on the West Coast.
BONNIE SCHNEIDER, CNN METEOROLOGIST: No tornadoes, but strong winds, heavy downpours of rain and lots of snow for West Coast communities. You can see it on our satellite perspective. Notice that strong, low rotating right over the pacific. It's sweeping in the moisture to northern California right now. So we're getting heavy rain in and around Sacramento, Modesto down through San Francisco and into San Jose.
I want to show you a closer look at what we can expect at this big storm because it's not over yet. We are still to get through today, tomorrow and certainly tomorrow night. Lots of weather advisories are going to be posted as we go through the evening hours. We're watching out for heavy snow in the higher elevations of the Sierra Nevada. Also strong surf along the coast. We're already tracking very gusty winds right along the shoreline here up to 40 miles per hour. We're expecting those winds to increase throughout the day and into the evening hours.
We have weather advisories posted for strong winds. Warnings right along the coastline just south of San Jose. Gusts in this region could get up to 55 miles per hour, inland up to 45. We're also looking at big mountain snow and heavy rain even as far south as southern California.
Fred, I'll have more on this and the airport delays that go right along with this weather in a little bit.
WHITFIELD: All right. Bonnie, thanks so much.
All right. Soggy and a long weekend for lawmakers in California working overtime in a budget crunch.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
WHITFIELD: Updating our top stories. Church services in the Buffalo, New York, area. Mourning the victims of last week's plane crash. Fifty people died when Continental Airlines flight 3407 plunged into a house. A National Transportation Safety Board news conference is scheduled to begin in about a half an hour from now. We'll have live coverage on that.
And a different kind of news conference scheduled to begin in Chicago any minute now. Senator Roland Burris looking at file tape right now. He'll be discussing the latest controversy over his appointment by now former governor of Illinois Rod Blagojevich. A new document saying that Blagojevich's brother asked Burris to hold a fund-raiser before Burris was actually appointed.
And aides say President Obama will sign the $787 billion economic stimulus bill into law Tuesday in Denver. One official says the president wanted to sign the bill in an area hard hit economically away from the politics of Washington and also standing to gain a lot of jobs as a result of the stimulus bill.
Even though Congress approved the stimulus bill on Friday. Democrats and Republicans are still arguing about it. They're also arguing about the highly partisan vote Democrats for, Republicans against. Democrats insist they made every attempt to be bipartisan.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
SEN. CHARLES SCHUMER, (D) NEW YORK: We did everything for the bipartisanship. In the Senate, there were 46 amendments, 26 Republican. The two largest changes in the bill were changes offered by Republicans and accepted by Democrats. Senator Grassley, Senator Isaacson. They didn't vote for the bill.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
WHITFIELD: Very different view from Republican Senator John McCain. He says Democrats have only themselves to blame for last week's party- line vote on the stimulus. He said they never sat down to negotiate. (BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
SEN. JOHN MCCAIN, (R) ARIZONA: It was a bad beginning because it wasn't what we promised the American people. What President Obama promised the American people that we would sit down together? Look. I appreciate the fact that the president came over and talked to Republicans. That's not how you negotiate a result. You sit down together in a room with competing proposals. Almost all of our proposals went down on a party line vote.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
WHITFIELD: Meantime, California lawmakers are working throughout the weekend. A $42 billion budget shortfall is forcing some pretty tough decisions. Here now is Kara Finnstrom about the cuts hitting everyone.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
BOB TURNER, FURNITURE STORE OWNER: This is what I like the best. The smell of the wood, the feel of the leathers. I mean the feel of this. This is just -- it doesn't get any better.
KARA FINNSTROM, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice over): Bob Turner and Avins Furniture go way back. Turner started working here at age 15 and has owned the store for 20 years. He says its future has never been more uncertain.
TURNER: This is uncharted waters. We've never seen months that were so slow. People just aren't coming in the store. And the ones that do come in, they look around, but it's just easy not to buy furniture right now.
FINNSTROM: Turner says California's proposed state budget could make matters even worse. One key measure, a hike in the state sales tax by 1 percentage point. Turner says that high-end stores like his; it's another deterrent for already skittish customers.
UNIDENTIFED FEMALE: I was just wondering if this is a little more money than this one.
FINNSTROM: Avens, which delivers its own furniture, would also feel the slap of a proposed 12 cent jump in the gasoline tax.
TURNER: The cost of us delivering furniture is something we can't pass on to the customer. The cost of running these trucks, it's just huge.
FINNSTROM: Turner's other concern. The budgets proposed massive cuts to education. Two of his four boys are in California colleges.
TURNER: There are fewer classes, seems to be fewer teachers and it's difficult to get the classes that they need.
FINNSTROM: UCLA economist Dan Mitchell says the proposed budget cuts are deep and widespread. DAN MITCHELL, ECONOMIST: You are a schoolteacher who is laid off. You are certainly going to feel the pain. If you are a person with a disability and now you have problems getting health care provider. And so, yeah, you're going to see real pain in a lot of these programs.
FINNSTROM: And the pain will be much worse if the federal stimulus package doesn't provide the relief state lawmakers are counting on. So Bob Turner and his wife Ann are seeking solutions. She's going back to school to be a chef.
ANN TURNER: All of our eggs are in one basket. And the way the economy is right now if having to do something did happen with the furniture store, then we're all just down the tubes.
FINNSTROM: And he's trimming employee hours. Switching to energy efficient light bulbs.
B. TURNER: We changed them all out.
FINNSTROM: And just hanging on.
B. TURNER: It's just getting to be an unbelievable quantity of things that we have to deal with. And be profitable.
FINNSTROM: Kara Finnstrom, for CNN, Lancaster, California.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
WHITFIELD: Here's something that got the attention of a lot of people in Texas. What would you do if you saw this? Right there. That fireball falling from the sky. Well, apparently it's the debris two of satellites that collided somewhere over Siberia. A U.S. and a Russian satellite. There's the debris falling in Austin, Texas. A photographer who just happened to be at that marathon. Eddie Garcia with News 8 Austin. He saw it and responded by taking a picture. Right there. He joins us on the phone right now. All right. Eddie did you know right away when you saw this that, yeah, this is that space junk from the early reports of satellites crashing?
EDDIE GARCIA, NEWS 8 AUSTIN (via telephone): Not at all. I think when you see something like that, it's -- you don't really know what it is. And you just kind of -- you stare at it for a little bit and then you just wonder for the next few minutes, what was that? And for me, I wanted to make sure that I got it on tape. I sure did.
WHITFIELD: What about the people around you, whether it be other journalists or perhaps some of the other runners, other folks, spectators. What did they think when they saw this?
GARCIA: Not one person saw it around him.
WHITFIELD: Come on.
GARCIA: If you look at that picture there. There's all these people watching marathon runners and cheering them on. Not one person was looking at the sky. Especially at that direction. WHITFIELD: Oh, my goodness. You really had to respond quickly. I don't know how long you saw it coming through the sky before your camera was focused on it. Was there much time?
GARCIA: No, not time at all. There was nothing. I mean, I turned the camera on to get a shot, and as I looked in the viewfinder, I thought it was like dust on the side of the view finder.
WHITFIELD: Have you heard anything about where it landed, whether it damaged anything once it hit the ground? Anything like that?
GARCIA: Not yet.
WHITFIELD: OK.
Eddie Garcia, News 8 Austin photographer. Thanks so much. Of course, when you hear some more information on that, let us know.
All right. Straight to Senator Roland Burris now responding to the latest allegations about whether he was indeed approached by Blagojevich about money in exchange for his Senate seat.
SENATOR ROLAND BURRIS: In the time allotted. At no time did I ever make any inconsistent statement. As I said previously in my testimony before the Illinois House Impeachment Committee, as I stated in my voluntary affidavit to the head of the same committee, and as I said to you again now, yes. I have contact with representatives and friends and the former governor about the Senate seat. None of it inappropriate. When asked by Representative Durkin during the committee hearing about contact with representatives of the governor, I responded yes. I did have contact. And mentioned an encounter with Ron Monk. Senator Durkin then took the line of questioning in a different direction.
To be clear, I had contact with six individuals in total. Lon Monk who is not a member of the governor's staff. Doug Schofield, John Wyma, Ed Smith, a labor leader, John Harris and Rod Blagojevich along with many other friends. And as I said on the record, I was telling nearly everyone I knew I was interested in the Senate seat. Rod Blagojevich reached out to me in three separate phone calls to ask for assistance raising money for his brother, then Governor Blagojevich. The fact that I fully disclosed in my affidavit to the impeachment committee.
I made it very clear to him that I would not contribute. That it would be inappropriate and a major conflict because I'd expressed an interest in the Senate seat. Once more, I've always conducted myself with honor and integrity, we have provided information to the impeachment committee as well as Senators Reid and Durkin, and I did not donate one single dollar, nor did I raise any money or promise any favors of any kind of the governor.
Anyone who suggests otherwise or would insinuate that my testimony in person or in writing is anything other than fully compliant with the committee and consistent with the truth is simply plain and partisan politics. I will answer your questions. UNIDENTIFED FEMALE: Senator, the affidavit that was given to -- did you go ahead and make it clear that you did in fact, speak to Rod Blagojevich as well as some of the other members of his inner circle because you were worried the governor may mention you publicly doing that or you were caught in an FBI tape speaking to Rod Blagojevich.
BURRIS: Let me --
This is my lawyer Tim Wright.
TIM WRIGHT, ATTORNEY: I was with him at the station. The reason that was done --
QUESTION: Shouldn't we get an answer from the Senator on that?
QUESTION: Let the senator answer that.
QUESTION: You were caught on tape here having a conversation with Rod Blagojevich who is raising money about -- talking about raising money or about the Senate seat.
BURRIS: Absolutely not because the situation was this. Rod called me in October. And as we said in the affidavit that we would seek the -- I advised him that I can't raise any money now because I was raising money for other candidates and to call me back after the election. In terms of whether or not I was --
QUESTION: Do you believe you were caught on any FBI tapes of you talking with Rod Blagojevich about raising money?
BURRIS: No, because I said in that conversation that I couldn't raise any money. So, I mean so, that --
QUESTION: Why did you mention Lon Monk's name, though, during the House Impeachment procedure and not Rod Blagojevich.
BURRIS: Just slow down. Slow down. Because if you check -- have you read the records?
QUESTION: I have.
BURRIS: Then Durkin mentioned Lon Monk. That's what took us off a different direction.
QUESTION: He also mentioned Rod Blagojevich.
QUESTION: And John Wyman.
BURRIS: And we -- and that's when I said yes. I said yes. There's a yes answer in there. I talked to all of those --
QUESTION: No, there is not.
BURRIS: No, we --
QUESTION: You said you talked to friends. BURRIS: Hold it. Hold it. Please.
WRIGHT: Here you go, Senator.
BURRIS: Really, let the lawyer read.
QUESTION: Who is this?
QUESTION: The lawyer has a statement.
WRIGHT: Excuse me. Let me just first say that the reason that we responded in a supplemental affidavit is because these were the questions that Representative Durkin asked. We needed an opportunity to respond so we responded in a supplemental document.
QUESTION: You were asked the question. There was a pause between --
WRIGHT: Let me -- excuse me. I was here I don't know where you were.
May I finish answering your question?
QUESTION: Sure. Yes.
WRIGHT: You asked, what was his response? When Senator -- Representative Durkin asked the questions, the response was, I talked to some friends about my desire to be appointed. Yes.
QUESTION: Friends of mine.
QUESTION: Why didn't he mention Rod Blagojevich or John Harris?
WRIGHT: It was his intention to do so. As the senator said, Representative Durkin asked a different question, took him in a different direction. It was only after we went back and read the transcript that we fully respond to everything to make sure there was nothing left out.
QUESTION: Regardless of the direction of the conversation, the implications of those hearings --
BURRIS: That's what you are all looking at as professionals. Let me say to you that as a witness on the stand, I was answering questions that were asked of me. And when the questions went into a different direction, when you asked the question of Durkin why didn't he come back to those if he was interested in them? Because I didn't even respond to them because I was answering other questions.
QUESTION: Did you speak to anyone in the governor's staff or any of those individuals closely related to the governor? You said I recall having a meet with Lon Monk about continued business in June of '08. Why didn't you say Rod Blagojevich or Schofield?
BURRIS: Because he had raised the question about Lon Monk. That's why we took off on Lon Monk. It wasn't just in what direction did we go in after that testimony. You've got the record. QUESTION: Senator, with all due respect. The question involves several people. It involves, I believe, five people, four of which you met. You only discussed Lon Monk. It was the same question. Those names all came in one question.
BURRIS: But the whole -- and had he come back, did you not talk to Rod Blagojevich?
QUESTION: That was --
QUESTION: Representative, you mentioned Rod Blagojevich.
BURRIS: We read a whole list of names from what I recall. We went into the direction of Lon Monk. We never did come back to those other names.
QUESTION: Why didn't you come back on your own?
BURRIS: Because I was answering other questions.
WRIGHT: He did come back on his own in a supplemental document. He came back on his own and answered every question.
BURRIS: I was --
QUESTION: Why do you have a new affidavit?
QUESTION: Have you had any conversations with federal agents about the circumstances regarding this appointment?
BURRIS: I have not had any conversation.
QUESTION: Did any of your aides have any conversation, aides or attorneys have discussions with these federal prosecutors or with --
BURRIS: From what I understand, some of the agents have reached out to my lawyers.
QUESTION: They talked to them?
QUESTION: About what?
BURRIS: No, they -- we haven't talked. They said they want to meet with me.
QUESTION: When did that happen?
QUESTION: -- filed that affidavit on February 6th. Why is it just now coming out?
BURRIS: Because January 22nd, the attorney got the transcript. He read the transcript, after the inauguration, and then he said, OK. There are some -- and he had promised the chairman of the committee we may have to review this and fill in some information.
WRIGHT: I can answer that question for him because I'm the one that did it. What happened was I asked for the official transcripts to be sent to my offices. I reviewed the official transcripts. And in the transcripts there was some information that the committee had asked of us that we couldn't provide at the time. In addition to that, once I looked at the questions that were actually asked, there were some additional information that we could have offered on that.
So I picked up the telephone. I called the chairman of the committee, Barbara Flynn Curry and I said there's some information that we owe you, and I think we can also offer information on some questions that was asked. I asked her what I should do. She asked me to put it together in an affidavit and to file it with her office. And that's exactly what we did. In fact, we received the transcripts on the 22nd. We responded on the 23rd to the chairman. And she instructed us as to what to do from that point on.
QUESTION: Why didn't she senator's office make this affidavit public?
WRIGHT: We did make it public. We made it public by filing it in the record with the Impeachment Committee. And we did that before there was -- I mean, we contacted the chairman and asked her when she wanted us to send it. She told us when and how to send it.
QUESTION: Why not hold a news conference that same day saying we've forwarded this information to Barbara Flynn Curry? Why did you not do that?
QUESTION: Is it all about transparency?
WRIGHT: I thought we'd been absolutely transparent in this matter. Everything we've done has been transparent. We've answered every question at each point in time. So, no, it's not about transparency. To me it was about being thorough and making sure that Senator, as was his desire, is open and has offered everything that he's known through this process.
QUESTION: When did the FBI come to you and what are they asking you for?
WRIGHT: The FBI has not come to us. They are not asking us for anything.
QUESTION: I'm sorry. I think the senator said the FBI or --
WRIGHT: No, he said there may have been some contact. And they haven't asked us for anything.
QUESTION: Can you --
WRIGHT: No, I can't.
QUESTION: Can you tell us when --
WRIGHT: No, I cannot.
QUESTION: Did they inform you were picked up on a wiretap?
WRIGHT: No, they have not and we cannot speak to that.
QUESTION: Why not?
WRIGHT: Because I said we can't.
QUESTION: You were aware his phone was being tapped.
WRIGHT: That's what we understand. That's why this got leaked out. But we didn't know --
QUESTION: Wouldn't you surmise your client's voice was heard on those?
WRIGHT: It might have. But my client came out on his own, voluntarily several weeks ago and did this. I think whatever he has put in his affidavit, if he is on tape; I think it's going to be wholly consistent.
QUESTION: Which affidavit? I mean you --
WRIGHT: Excuse me. With all respect, you said there's nothing inconsistent. Yet, we now have three different versions.
You don't have three different versions.
QUESTION: I'm sorry, let me please finish.
WRIGHT: Let me finish.
QUESTION: No, excuse me. We have one --
WRIGHT: You don't have to answer this.
BURRIS: Rich -- rich, the first affidavit dealt with the appointment. The appointment. Read the first affidavit. OK? So it was very consistent. I had no contact with anybody in reference to the appointment. Okay?
QUESTION: OK.
BURRIS: In the second -- then we had the testimony on the transcript. The second affidavit then dealt with contact that I had about the Senate seat. Look at the difference. One dealt with the appointment. That's all we were dealing with. The other one dealt with the Senate seat and I talked to a whole lot of people about the Senate seat. So there's no inconsistency. I'm asking the media people to really look at that. Read the record and you will see that what we're saying, there is no type of any type of, you know, hiding or trying to slip something by somebody. It's completely honest. It's completely forthright. And it certainly is the truth.
QUESTION: Well, what would you say to your critics who say this is not the truth?
BURRIS: Well, it's based on what you all are writing. And you all are writing inconsistent information. I mean, I hear on the TV news somebody says last night, well, if Roland Burris lied, should he resign? If -- if the media lied, should they resign? I mean --
QUESTION: Sir, you were under oath.
QUESTION: Senator did you -- do one favor for me.
BURRIS: Sure.
QUESTION: Make the distinction between no contact in reference to an appointment and no contact in reference to a Senate seat when the appointment was for the Senate seat. I just want to clarify what's the difference?
BURRIS: In our affidavit, which we submitted voluntarily the first one, we were told the Impeachment Committee was going to inquiry us about the appointment. How I got appointed by the governor. And then we said in our affidavit that only contact I had with anybody dealing with the governor was when the lawyer contacted me, talked to me about the appointment.
So that's what that affidavit addressed. That affidavit addressed the appointment. There was no contact with anybody in the governor's office about the appointment. And then at the impeachment committee hearing, then Representative Durkin goes into all these names. This is key. I hope the media -- distinguished colleagues of the media get this correct. Because the answer was to all of those names was yet. But now had he come back, like we did with Lon Monk and said, what about the other ones, I would have happily answered.
But we went off in a different direction. When we get the transcript we see these names in here and I advised the lawyer that, you know, I had contact with these people and we've got to submit the information that I had with them. That's what prompted us to voluntarily submit another affidavit because we had not responded to those names. This is what transpired. I don't know what you all would like --
QUESTION: Do you feel you have an obligation before the Impeachment Committee. Just to be clear for transparent reasons?
BURRIS: If they had asked me and not taken me into a different direction, and followed up, if Durkin had followed up with another question. I don't know where we went. The transcript was short. We didn't stay in that area?
I didn't even -- I was then thinking of the process. That had -- that whole name just had passed. And I was passing then to concentrate because of Representative Flowers asked me a question about pay to play or something like that. And so -- and then there was a big discussion. And so nobody ever came back to the list of names.
QUESTION: You are blaming the committee for --
BURRIS: I'm not blaming anybody. I'm just stating what happened.
QUESTION: Did you think at all before you got the transcript? Did it weigh on you at all you had actually talked to the brother of the governor? BURRIS: Because what I --when I talked to Rob Blagojevich about was about fund-raising. And I advised him that I couldn't do it so there was nothing there to talk about.
QUESTION: You didn't think about -- you didn't think back to that question in your own mind? Wasn't that weighing on you?
BURRIS: You are trying to see what's in my mind. The answer is no.
QUESTION: It didn't dawn on you? Isn't that the whole point of bringing it before --
BURRIS: The Impeachment Committee?
Was what?
QUESTION: Wasn't that the whole point?
BURRIS: No. The point -- they told us what they wanted to talk about how I got the appointment. That's what -- that's what we responded in our first affidavit. The Impeachment Committee's inquiry, so we couldn't come on the Wednesday because we were in Washington. And we sent an affidavit and tried to be in compliance. A voluntary affidavit telling them about the appointment. No contact was made in reference to the appointment. So we go to the Impeachment Committee talking about the appointment. Then the Republicans who I say probably want to be partisan and political here, opened this thing up about who did you talk to when?
I had to start thinking about who I had talked to when. And that's the reason why, you know, some of this was coming back to me. But I said, well, yes. I talked to at the fund-raiser, Blagojevich, was in June or July. I don't know when it was. I went to Doug Schofield and said, Doug, put a good word in for the governor because I'm interested in the Senate seat if Barack wins. I saw Doug Schofield -- is it Doug? Schofield. That's the same fund-raiser. I said, Doug, keep in mind I'm interested in the Senate seat.
So that happened at the fund-raiser. And so all of this process happened and I talked to John Harris. It was in reference to my nephew who was being interviewed for a job and I was giving a reference to John Harris about my nephew. I asked John Harris one question. I said, you know is there any action on the Senate seat? You know what his answer was? No. That was all with John Harris.
QUESTION: So all your years of politics, all your years in politics here, you just asked all these people connected to the governor, just this one question. Did not go beyond that?
BURRIS: Nobody was talking. I got on the phone and I called the labor leader. I called Ed Spear. I said, Ed, you are close to the governor. Can you find out what's happening with the Senate seat? He said, oh, yeah, Roland, I'll check on that. Guess what? Ed never got back on me. I don't know whether Ed checked on it or not.
QUESTION: You'd say these are not lies of omission. Rather omission on the part of those asking these questions under oath?
BURRIS: Absolutely. If they had asked me these specific -- because I think -- I'm pretty sure that it was Durkin who mentioned Lon Monk. That's when I responded to Lon Monk. If he had said Rod Blagojevich --
QUESTION: He did.
BURRIS: No.
Now wait a minute. You all want to put your spin on this. But you have to look at what was happening. He went into a whole different direction. He didn't say now what about Rod Blagojevich. He gave six or seven names all at once and then we started talking about Lon Monk from what I recall.
QUESTION: He said anyone closely related to the governor. Rob Blagojevich is his brother.
BURRIS: The rest of it. Keep going.
QUESTION: Do you recall a meet with Lon Monk.
QUESTION: Here it is. Did you talk to any members of the governor's staff or anyone close to or related though governor, including with family members or any lobbyists connected with him, including, oh, let me throw out some names. John Harris, Rod Blagojevich, Doug Schofield, Bob Greeley, John Wyma. Did you talk to anybody who was associated with the governor about your desire to seek the appointment prior to the governor's arrest?
BURRIS: And what was my answer? Read my answer.
QUESTION: The answer is yes. Then you mentioned one of those six.
BURRIS: No, no. The answer was yes. I talked to them. This is why the media. No, no. I --
I said my friends. They asked me for those names. I said yes was for the names. Please, media people. I said I talked to my friends, and, yes. The yes was for all of those names. And so then he raised the question about Lon Monk. And that's how we got on Monk. He didn't go back to Blagojevich after we talked about Monk.
QUESTION: He asked specifically about the governor's staff.
BURRIS: And you only said Lon Monk. No, he raised the question on Lon Monk. That's what prompted us to say Lon Monk.
QUESTION: He said did you speak to any of those individuals. Then you responded to Lon Monk. [Inaudible question]
BURRIS: Just took me in a different direction.
QUESTION: So when you said my friends you meant --
BURRIS: No, I meant the people. If you look at -- what page is it? 99. I was having my classmates call. People were calling the governor's office. He had sent out 100 e-mails. That's when I meant my friends if I talked about the Senate seat.
QUESTION: So when you left that day, you were under the impression that you had delivered a yes answer to the question did you speak to Rob Blagojevich is that correct?
BURRIS: No, I had answered yes. I had spoken to those people in the list.
QUESTION: So you were under the impression you had given them a yes to all the people on that list, that Representative Durkin mentioned?
BURRIS: When I said yes, because I remember some of the names. Because I hadn't -- I hadn't talked to -- Breen somebody. I don't even know him. So when I said yes, because I talked to some of those people. That's what the yes was for.
QUESTION: Yes, except Greenley.
BURRIS: The answer was yes.
QUESTION: Wouldn't it have been better to say yes to these people, no to these people.
BURRIS: Now you are using hindsight and second-guessing.
QUESTION: Senator, today's --
BURRIS: Because when they looked at the transcript, I had talked to these people and it was not in the testimony.
QUESTION: You seem to think that was a full answer then. Why change it now?
BURRIS: No. Change what? I haven't changed anything. I haven't changed.
QUESTION: Senator --
BURRIS: They said they want the matter reopened. They want them to investigate whether you committed perjury. How do you respond to that?
QUESTION: Well, they --
QUESTION: Do you welcome an investigation? Do you --
BURRIS: The facts are here. If you all report this correctly, this is no story. If you all report this correctly, this is the end of it. Because there are so inconsistencies here. It's the information that went out through the media that's half reported. Not done your research. And then you end up giving information that would cause somebody to say they have to go to a grand jury. The republicans are going to try to make political hay out of this because they are trying to deal with the seat.
QUESTION: That doesn't answer the question. If they're saying Illinois state's attorney's office is going to investigate this --
FREDRICKA WHITFIELD, CNN ANCHOR: All right. A pretty extraordinary, quite remarkable and combative news conference is taking place out of Chicago.
