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Limbaugh on the Attack
Aired February 28, 2009 - 23:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
RUSH LIMBAUGH, RADIO TALK SHOW HOST: It was not us asking whether Barack Obama was authentic. What we were asking is, is he wrong? We concluded, yes.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
RANDI KAYE, CNN ANCHOR: Limbaugh unleashed for the world to see. Attacking President Obama, liberals, even his own party. We'll go beyond the one-liners.
MICHAEL WARE, CNN CORRESPONDENT: It's going to be a long war with most of the advantages in the cartel's favor. Their gunmen outnumber these police and they are better armed.
KAYE: In the line of fire. Tonight we take you into the brutal war that's raging on America's doorstep. It's a story you'll see only on CNN.
And this.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
SUSAN CANDIOTTI, CNN NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Isn't this humiliating for you to come forward?
PHIL REPACI, FORMER STUDENT: If this can help one other person, then it's well worth it.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
KAYE: Coming forward, but is it too late? Former students accuse their teacher of abuse. But is he now beyond justice? We investigate. The news starts now.
ANNOUNCER: Live in the CNN NEWSROOM, Randi Kaye.
KAYE: Hello, I'm Randi Kaye at CNN world headquarters in Atlanta. Don Lemon is off tonight. Rush Limbaugh delivered a fist- bumping, chest-thumping speech to a room full of the conservative faithful tonight.
It was a vintage boisterous performance by the radio host taking on his critics, defending his views and tackling virtually every issue on the national agenda. But it was his favorite targets, Democrats, liberals and in particular, President Barack Obama, who got the worst of it.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
LIMBAUGH: Ronald Reagan used to speak of a shining city on a hill. Barack Obama portrays America as a soup kitchen in some dark night in a corner of America that's very obscure.
President Obama is so busy trying to ferment and create anger in a created atmosphere of crisis. He is so busy fueling the emotions of class envy, that he has forgotten it's not his money he's spending.
President Obama, your agenda is not new, it's not change and it's not hope. Spending...
(CHEERS AND APPLAUSE)
LIMBAUGH: Spending a nation into generational debt is not an act of compassion. We're in the process of winning the war. The last thing they wanted was to win. They hoped George Bush failed. So where is it? What is so strange about being honest and saying, I want Barack Obama to fail if his mission is to restructure and reform this country so that capitalism and individual liberty are not its foundation?
Why would I want that to succeed?
(END VIDEO CLIP)
KAYE: Some say Limbaugh has become the de facto leader of not just conservatives but the entire Republican Party. And his performance tonight offers them some new ammo.
You saw it live here on CNN. And our senior political analyst Bill Schneider watched it from Los Angeles. He's part of the best political team on television, and he joins me now by phone.
Bill, what do you make of Rush Limbaugh's tone during that keynote address?
WILLIAM SCHNEIDER, CNN SENIOR POLITICAL ANALYST: Well, it was an angry tone. He was the hero of 1994, 15 years ago when Republicans won a big victory in Congress. And that was the year of the angry white men, when they seem -- they came to power, they honored him as being the prophet who led them to victory.
Well, this was a very angry speech. By the way, they're not all white and they're not all men, but they are angry, conservative voters. They didn't do so well last year, but they're still angry. The tone of this speech was mocking, bullying. It was full of contempt, and I thought it was a very harsh speech, one that, while it rallied the conservative audience, it also angered a lot of Democrats and people who aren't particularly partisan just by the tone of it.
KAYE: And Bill, today he did not apologize for his comments earlier that he would like to see President Barack Obama fail. In fact, today he defended those comments. What do you make of that? SCHNEIDER: Well, he did say he hopes Obama fails. So that, in my view, crosses a line. It's one thing to say I disagree with the president. I think he's wrong. I think his policies are wrong. A lot of people feel that way. Republicans voted against him. One can even argue his policies won't work. Some economists say that. They are either not enough spending, too much spending. They're not the right answer.
But to say, I hope he fails, that really crosses a line. He said he thinks Democrats did the same thing in Iraq. Most Democrats that I heard didn't ever say we hoped the United States loses. Some of them say we're not winning. We can't win. But to say I hope the president fails and at another point, it even got rather sinister because he said there are forces there that are trying to undermine the country from within.
That was a very sinister comment, and I thought in many ways the speech did cross a line.
KAYE: And Bill, let me quickly get your read on this straw poll where members there at this conference took a vote on who should be the Republican nominee in 2012. Mitt Romney won this poll by 20 percent. Should we put any weight in this?
SCHNEIDER: Not really. It's not a scientific poll. It's a poll of people who where there in that room, they're conservative activists. The most interesting thing about the poll is nobody really won by a big margin. Romney got 20 percent. The next biggest vote was 14 percent for Bobby Jindal, who was supposed to have been embarrassed by his performance.
The vote was spread all over the place. Romney and Sarah Palin and Ron Paul, who has a cadre of activists. So I think what the poll demonstrates is conservatives have not yet found their voice. I think they found their message. That they clearly had with the speakers at this conference. They know what they want to say, very harshly critical of Obama and his policies, but they haven't found yet the voice to say it and Rush Limbaugh was as much as anyone else that voice at this conference.
KAYE: All right, Bill Schneider for us tonight, live in Los Angeles. Thanks, Bill.
SCHNEIDER: Sure.
KAYE: Some 9,000 people attended CPAC this year. As we mentioned CPAC stands for Conservative Political Action Conference. Its Web site says it's the largest annual gathering of conservative students, activists and policymakers.
CPAC is largely organized by the American Conservative Union. The union says CPAC train Americans for conservative political action. Past speakers include former president Reagan and former vice president Dick Cheney.
Over the last three days, activists attending CPAC have heard from a who's who of the conservative movement. Here are just some of the highlights.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
GOV. TIM PAWLENTY (R), MINNESOTA: Ladies and gentlemen and fellow conservatives, I'm here today to tell you that the reports of the demise of the conservative movement are greatly exaggerated.
MITT ROMNEY (R), FORMER PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: I'm afraid I know where the liberal Democrats want to take us, and as they try to pull us in the direction of government-dominated Europe, we're going to have to fight as never before to make sure that America stays America.
ANN COULTER, CONSERVATIVE AUTHOR: The big mantra of the Obama campaign was change, change. If he thinks people wanted to change in 2008, wait until 2012.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
KAYE: And we're getting a huge response to Limbaugh's speech on Twitter. Kennanrandall wrote us, "Typical, the Republican Party doesn't get it. Americans want ideas and progress. All Limbaugh offers is his personal agenda."
And KAZPORT wrote this, "Rush is right, his agenda is not new. He is just moving so fast that everyone thinks wow, this is change. Wait and see the consequence."
Hizzykazam writes, "Limbaugh makes me ill. If his anger mongering is the future of the conservative moment, it's certainly not headed forward."
And this one from Frank, "Not really a Rush fan, however, I have to agree with him on this one. This spending bill really has me feeling uneasy."
We want you to be part of our show, of course. Don's off tonight but we are still taking your feedback and we'll dig deeper on Rush Limbaugh's comments ahead this hour.
A big announcement coming up at the White House Monday morning. Two administration officials tell CNN President Obama has nominated Kansas Governor Kathleen Sebelius for health secretary. And she has accepted the nomination. The president is expected to make the announcement Monday afternoon.
Governor Sebelius is Mr. Obama's second nominee for the post. Former Senate majority leader Tom Daschle withdrew amid questions over unpaid back taxes.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
ERIC ROBERSON, SALEM, ALA. RESIDENT: We heard something like a freight train. First we were watching the news and then the lights just went off. We heard something like a freight train coming. I knew -- when the news was coming, they were saying it was coming our way. And the light -- once the light blinked off, I just heard, you know, like the ground shook. But we never knew the tree had fell.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
KAYE: Some scary moments today in Alabama where severe weather possibly tornadoes, blasted the central and eastern parts of the state. The storms destroyed a church, damaged homes and downed power lines and trees. High winds also flipped an 18-wheeler on a highway. No injuries reported. Flash flood warnings remain in effect in dozens of counties.
And Jacqui Jeras is in the weather center for us tonight.
And, Jacqui, I understand there's a bit of a chill spreading through Tennessee.
(WEATHER REPORT)
KAYE: OK. Jacqui Jeras, thank you.
The broadcasting pioneer known for bringing us the rest of the story has died.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
PAUL HARVEY: Hello, Americans, this is Paul Harvey. Stand by for news.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
KAYE: A spokesman for ABC Radio says Paul Harvey died at his winter home in Phoenix today with his family by his side. Harvey's career spanned more than 70 years, but he scaled back to broadcasting part time after a virus weakened his vocal cords back in 2001. His death comes one year after his wife died.
Paul Harvey was 90 years old.
A rock star's welcome for the man some see as the godfather of the GOP. We'll big deeper into Rush Limbaugh's no-holds-barred speech tonight. And this.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
KAYE: In the line of fire. Mexican drug cartels targeting cops, mayors and innocent civilians. The death toll has soared and the crisis has crossed the border.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
KAYE: Rush Limbaugh stole the show tonight at a Washington gathering of conservative activists.
Let's talk about Rush, Republicans and the political right with two people who watched his speech very closely. Lenny McAllister is in Los Angeles. He's a blogger and Republican activist. And Edward Espinoza is a Democratic consultant. He joins us from Washington. Good to see you both.
(CROSSTALK)
KAYE: Lenny, let's start with you. Republicans claim to be the party of inclusion. There's a lot of talk about adding diversity. But if you look at that straw poll for the people who they are considering to be the next leader of the Republican Party, the front- runner in 2012, the only minority on there is Louisiana governor Bobby Jindal.
So how do you explain this?
LENNY MCALLISTER, BLOGGER: Well, one thing that I can explain -- I'm out here in Los Angeles, and just as we're having CPAC, you also have Michael Steele out here for the State of the Black Union with Tavis Smiley.
I think that speaks just as much to the conclusion that the Republican Party is trying to bring into the fold just as much as Bobby Jindal being second in the straw poll. What you're going to find is a culture development within the Republican Party, where the inclusion movement will come about.
But just as we can't expect the world from Barack Obama over the first 40 days of his presidency, you cannot expect these new changes within the Republican Party as far as inclusion to come with less than 40 days from Chairman Michael Steele. So I think it's an evolution. I think Chairman Steele being here in Los Angeles was a great first step.
In between what's happened in Washington and some of the ground breaking he's trying to make here in L.A., I think you'll start to see that inclusion come more into the fold as conservatives try to stick to their principles.
KAYE: What is the party, though, actively doing to try and attract more diversity? What do they have to do?
MCALLISTER: Well, one of the first things they have to do is be actable to the past. We have to sit there and be honest with the minority communities and the urban communities. It's not just about black people. It's about urban communities and say, look, we have not engaged the problems of urban communities over the last 15 to 20 years. Some would say upwards of 30 years effectively.
We have to admit that. We have to go back in the communities, have honest conversations, not be afraid to hear the criticism, take notes, listen and show that we're still Americans, even if we want to show a different way of doing things other than creating programs and throwing money after problems when it's going to take more people power than money power to solve the problems that we're facing in America.
KAYE: Right.
MCALLISTER: In particular the urban environment.
KAYE: OK. Let's bring Edward in. Edward, I want to roll a sound bite. I want you to take a listen to this. This is Limbaugh talking bipartisanship and then we'll get your reaction to it.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
LIMBAUGH: Bipartisanship occurs only after one other result, and that is victory. In other words, let's say, as conservatives, liberals demand we be bipartisan with them in Congress. What they mean is, we check our core principles at the door, come in and let them run the show and then agree with them. That's bipartisanship to them.
To us, bipartisanship is them being forced to agree with us after we politically cleaned their clocks and have beaten them. And that has to be what we're focused on.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
KAYE: So, Edward, is bipartisanship even possible? We certainly didn't see it with the stimulus vote.
EDWARD ESPINOZA, DEMOCRATIC NATIONAL COMTE.: You know, the whole idea of bipartisanship doesn't have to do with Democrat or Republican. It has to do with leaders doing their job to pull this country out of the troubled waters that we're in right now.
And it's not about bipartisanship or Democrat or Republican, it's about leadership. And we need to stop the gamesmanship and move forward and that starts with the Republican leaders we've got in Congress right now, Mitch McConnell and John Boehner, working to implement this plan that we've just passed to stimulate the economy and get things rolling again.
KAYE: All right. Edward Espinoza, Lenny McAllister, thanks so much for your time. We appreciate it.
MCALLISTER: Thank you.
LIMBAUGH: Thanks.
KAYE: And this conversation continues tomorrow morning. Join John King for "STATE OF THE UNION". That begins at 9:00 a.m. Eastern. Also on the rundown the upcoming troop drawdown in Iraq.
And speaking out about the unspeakable.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: ... somebody. I should have told the police. I should have told the principal. I should have told another teacher. I should have told a friend.
(END VIDEO CLIP) KAYE: A teacher accused of sexually abusing his students. 20 years later, they're telling their story but it may be too late for justice to be served.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
KAYE: Welcome back. Lots of Twittering tonight we want to share with you.
Meade writes, "GOP, the party of inclusion of tokens. Steele will be eaten and spit out long before their convention."
Netfeather has this to say, "I've always held fast to the belief that Republicans are just plain mean. This weekend we are really seeing it."
And this from Indigojournal, "The fact that Rush Limbaugh gave the CPAC keynote tells you everything you need to know about the GOP."
Slavs06 writes, "I agree with Rush, especially when he says racism exists mostly on the left as demonstrated by last year's Dem primary."
Continue the conversation and join our show. Log on to Twitter, Facebook, MySpace, iReport.com. You name it. Tell us what you are thinking.
A vicious drug battle raging along the U.S.-Mexican border.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
WARE: This is the cartel war in Mexico, a conflict raging on America's doorstep, a conflict in which Juarez police officers like this one under attack from a drug gang, are fighting for their lives while the drug cartels are battling throughout the city for control of a lucrative drug route into the United States.
1,600 people killed in this city last year. That's three times more than the most murderous city in America, and 50 of them were police officers. This year, in just two months, 400 more already murdered.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
KAYE: And you think what's happening there doesn't affect you? Well, think again. We will take you into the line of fire.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
KAYE: Just south of the U.S. border, drug cartels are raging a bloody war of intimidation against their rivals, the government and the public. More than 1,600 people were reportedly killed last year in Mexico's Chihuahua state alone.
CNN's Michael Ware takes us to Juarez, where the violence has been especially brutal. We warn you, some of the images in his report are difficult to watch.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
WARE (voice over): This is how American Jose Molinar knew his wife was dead. He saw these television pictures and her bullet- riddled car broadcast from just across the border in Juarez City, Mexico, minutes from his Texas home.
JOSE MOLINAR, WIFE MURDERED: As soon as the image came up, I saw her truck and I knew what had happened right then and there.
WARE: His wife, Marisella, a U.S. resident and mother of two, was gunned down, doing a last-minute favor, giving a Juarez government lawyer a ride to go shopping.
MOLINAR: Wrong place, wrong time. That's the only way I can describe that.
WARE: Marisella died close to the border crossing, just yards from U.S. soil. It was her passenger who was the gunman's target. He was shot multiple times. She was killed by a single shot to the chest.
This is the cartel war in Mexico, a conflict raging on America's doorstep. A conflict in which Juarez police officers like this one, under attack from a drug gang, are fighting for their lives, while the drug cartels are battling throughout the city for control of a lucrative drug route into the United States.
1,600 people killed in this city last year. That's three times more than the most murderous city in America, and 50 of them were police officers. This year, in just two months, 400 more already murdered. We saw the most recent victims laying in the city's morgue, overflowing with bodies.
Many unidentified cartel members destined for mass graves. They had been brutally killed by rivals, beheaded, tortured, sprayed with bullets. But now the cartels are renewing a favorite tactic -- intimidating government leaders. This time they're doing it by killing cops one by one.
MAYO JOSE REYES FERRIZ, CIUDAD JUAREZ, MEXICO: They have started killing police officers and not while they were doing police work, but when they were coming out of their homes and getting into their cars to go to the police station.
WARE: This sign says it all. A cartel vowing to kill one person every 48 hours until this man, the chief of police, stands down. At first he refused to go, until on one of the days when we were there, and he finally had enough after the cartel had killed eight of his officers in less than a week.
In the hours following his resignation, we rode on patrol with police officers out on the streets. The entire force on high alert. The cartel war grinding on. (On camera): And it's going to be a long war, with most of the advantages in the cartel's favor. Their gunmen outnumber these police and they are better armed, and the body count continues to rise.
(Voice over): Now, the mayor's family is being targeted. A cartel threatening to behead them wherever they are. Police in the U.S. suspect the cartel is planning to cross into Texas to get to the family where they are hiding.
Meanwhile, over the past year, the Mexican army has moved into Juarez. Over 2,000 soldiers sent as part of a huge operation that has 45,000 troops across combating the cartels across Mexico.
"This is not going to be won quickly," says Mexican spokesman Enrique Torres. "While we know the monster is big, we don't have any idea just how big it is." And though the U.S. this year is giving Mexico about $400 million to combat the cartels, officials on both sides of the border privately agree, the war as its fought now cannot be won, which is something Jose Molinar's wife probably knew before she was gunned down.
(On camera): This drug war in Juarez robbed you of a mother. I mean, how do you carry that?
ALBA PRIETO, MOTHER MURDERED: Day by day. Just -- I always think she's at work.
WARE (voice over): And the unwinnable war that killed her mother rages on.
Michael Ware, CNN, Juarez, Mexico.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
KAYE: That is the view on the ground in Mexico. This is what's happening in the U.S.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
SAMANTHA HAYES, CNN CORRESPONDENT: In an affluent suburb of Birmingham, Alabama last August, five people were tortured and murdered inside this apartment in a dispute over missing drug money.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
KAYE: Shootings, kidnappings, extortion. We're digging deeper into the Mexican drug war and how it's impacting communities across America.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
KAYE: Before the break, we showed you the drug war that is gripping Mexico and killing thousands of people. The morgue in just one city, Juarez, is overflowing with bodies. But it's not just Mexico that the cartels are terrorizing.
As Samantha Hayes reports, the brutality has moved over the border to cities all across the United States.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
HAYES (voice over): The wide grenade tossed into this club near McAllen, Texas just a few weeks ago didn't go off but federal agents who investigated matched the weapon to other grenades used in violent attacks in Mexico.
WILLIAM NEWELL, ATF, PHOENIX: Their purpose is to come to the United States and take over and the way they take over is very violent. We're seeing signs of people being tortured and brutally beaten all across the United States, not just along the southwest border.
HAYES: In an affluent suburb of Birmingham, Alabama, last August, five people were tortured and murdered inside this apartment in a dispute over missing drug money.
GREGORY BORLAND, DEA, BIRMINGHAM, ALA.: What's new about it is it's at a level that we've never seen before and, quite frankly, the violence is -- is just shocking.
HAYES: Also alarming is the level of organization. Mexican cartel activity has been reported in places all across the country, from Miami to such unlikely destinations as Boise, Idaho and Anchorage, Alaska.
BORLAND: It's almost like legitimate commercial world, there's every distribution model out there.
HAYES (on camera): It's corporate.
BORLAND: It is. It's extremely corporate.
HAYES (voice over): Federal authorities say it works like this -- the drugs are moved in bulk across the Mexican border to hub cities like Atlanta, where it's broken down in warehouses, shipped to other cities, then broken down again, where it's sold on the street. The cash goes back to the hub cities, where it's packaged and shipped back to cartel leaders in Mexico.
RODNEY BENSON, DEA, ATLANTA: As we put the pressure on, as availability decreases, as purity decreases, we're seeing continued violence as a result of that. We're seeing people wanting their money paid on time and things like that.
HAYES: And when it's not paid on time, the cartels crackdown on their own people. Last year, investigators found a man bound and tortured in the basement of this suburban Atlanta home, startling neighbors.
BORLAND: It's among us. People make themselves feel better by saying that's not really a part of my world and, you know, one of my jobs is to say, no, it is a part of your world.
HAYES (on camera): As they try and stay one step ahead, federal agents say their best hope of stemming the flow is to work with the Mexican government in its efforts to crackdown on drug cartels south of the border.
Samantha Hayes, CNN, Atlanta.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
KAYE: So the cartels are terrorizing people on both sides of the border. Let's bring in Diana Washington Valdez on the phone. She is a reporter for "The El Paso Times."
Hi there, Diana.
DIANA WASHINGTON VALDEZ, EL PASO TIMES: Yes, good evening to you.
KAYE: How concerned should the towns in the U.S. be? I mean how quickly is the violence, the drugs, moving north?
VALDEZ: Very quickly and everyone should be very alarmed about what's going on. We've got practically Baghdad on the border right now with all the violence. There is a spillover. The cartels have a presence in more than 200 cities in the United States and the violence could only spread and escalate from there.
KAYE: And from what I understand, weapons purchased or stolen in the United States accounted for 95 percent of Mexico's drug-related deaths. Now this is a huge problem for both sides of the borders. Is anything being done about that?
VALDEZ: Well, the U.S. government, through the Merida Initiative has provided Mexico with resources plus the Gun Runner Project here in the east side of the border to try and crackdown on the flow of weapons from the United States that are being used to fuel these cartel wars. That's one of the things that's happening.
KAYE: And can you give me an idea of just how organized these cartels are? I mean, we hear now they are on the hunt for the mayor, who is now in Texas. I mean, how organized are these groups?
VALDEZ: Very organized. They are multinational corporations. They didn't get that way overnight. We're talking about a multibillion dollar industry. There's a lot at stake here and that's why there are these humongous battles over the drug corridors. Likewise, in El Paso, the number of deaths indicate to you just how valuable these corridors are to the mafia.
KAYE: And what are the cartels after? Is it money, is it power, is it both?
VALDEZ: They're after control of very lucrative smuggling routes. They've extended every indication in Alaska, these cells have been discovered now in Canada. They are also marketing now to Europe. That's how far-reaching they have become in a relatively short period of time.
KAYE: And do you believe that we've seen the worst of it yet? Or what are we headed for?
VALDEZ: No, we have not seen the worst of it yet because it's a fight to the death. We've got cartels fighting each other, and then we've got cartels fighting the crackdown, the Mexican solders that are being used to try and rein them in.
KAYE: And I guess just one last question, for anyone in -- in the southern part of the country who's watching this and saying, it's not going to affect us, what's -- what do you want to tell them?
VALDEZ: It already is. We've got -- you mentioned Atlanta and Birmingham and overnight practically Phoenix has become the kidnapping capital of the United States because of the Mexican cartel's presence in southern Arizona.
KAYE: All right. Diana Washington Valdez, thank you. With the "El Paso Times." Thanks for your insight tonight.
Teenage boys allegedly molested by a teacher break their silence 20 years later.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Who's to say how long it should take? When a person is ready, they're ready and that the time is right.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
KAYE: Is it too late for them to sue? Should there be a statute of limitations when it comes to sexual abuse? The story you'll see only on CNN.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
KAYE: So many of you weighing in about our coverage of the Mexico drug wars tonight.
Cdcantu writes, "You have to legalize pot, and when that weakens the cartels, they will feel the impact war on coke/heroin/meth."
Reyes87 writes, "Mexico is a failed state. It can't provide for its people and it's highly corrupt. National Guard should be deployed to the border."
TGTSports writes, "One of the main reasons why we need to secure our borders." Desertpenguin says, "A war we fuel with our dollars, poor drug policy and poor border security is coming to a city near you soon."
We, of course, want you to be part of our community. Log on to Twitter, Facebook, MySpace or iReport.com and tell me what you're thinking.
Facing a past he spent most of his adult life trying to forget.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP) CANDIOTTI: Isn't this humiliating for you to come forward.
REPACI: If this can help one other person, then it's well worth it. It's well worth it.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
KAYE: Twenty years after a teacher allegedly molested him, he and others are speaking out. But is it too late for them to sue? We investigate in a story you'll see only on CNN.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
KAYE: This next story contains adult subject matter and frank language that you may find offensive or inappropriate for children.
What if you believed you were sexually abused as a child, kept quiet about it, and years later discovered your alleged attacker was still having contact with children? Then you found out that even if police believed the allegations are credible, it's entirely possible nothing may be done.
It's a legal debate crisscrossing the country. CNN talked with several alleged victims. They're speaking out publicly for the first time about what they say happened to them years ago, only to learn they have no legal recourse today.
Here's CNN's Susan Candiotti.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
CANDIOTTI (voice over): For more than 20 years, former New York cop Phil Repaci says he's been haunted by a secret about a teacher he once admired.
REPACI: I just regret that I haven't come forward sooner.
CANDIOTTI: Come forward with disturbing sex allegations about his high schoolteacher and baseball coach, Robert Mistretta.
REPACI: Mr. Mistretta asked myself and this other student to undress him and take his clothes off, and we did.
CANDIOTTI: Repaci says it happened when he was a teenager during a weekend trip with another student to the teacher's Jersey Shore home.
REPACI: He lied naked on the bed. He invited us to touch him on his penis, and we did that. And at some point at that time, something finally came over me and said this is wrong.
CANDIOTTI: This man says he was the other student there, and backs up Repaci's allegations.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I got freaked out. It's -- to me, that wasn't normal. CANDIOTTI: When Repaci went public...
REPACI: Extremely traumatic experience.
CANDIOTTI: ... three more men came forward, including Chris Pastion (ph). He and two others say Mistretta also chaperoned school sleepovers, where he'd join in on naked horse play.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Absolutely. He wanted to be stripped down as well.
CANDIOTTI (on camera): He wanted to be stripped down?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Yes, he wanted to be stripped down as well so there were times where we would just -- and then strip him down.
CANDIOTTI (voice over): Despite similar allegations, because the accusers took so long to come forward, it's unlikely Mistretta will face any legal action.
More on that in a moment.
Since the '70s, Mistretta taught science at National Regional High School in Brooklyn, a private religious school which said it knew nothing about the allegations until recently. Mistretta was a title- winning baseball coach and, by all accounts, well liked.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: He was my teacher. He was my mentor.
CANDIOTTI: For at least two years in the '80s, former student Vince Rosetti (ph) says Mistretta sexually abused him on school property, in the school gym, on the gym stage, in the locker room and in Mistretta's two homes.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: He would remove his pants and then touch himself and then try to encourage me to touch myself.
CANDIOTTI (on camera): Did he touch you?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: He did.
CANDIOTTI (voice over): Through his attorney, Mistretta, denies any and all sexual abuse allegations. Mistretta's lawyer insists he was never alone with the students during sleepovers or on nearly every trip to the Jersey Shore. Mistretta's lawyer claims the accusers are only out to make a buck.
MARIO GALLUCCI, ROBERT MISTRETTA'S LAWYER: This is lotto for someone who believes that they can jump on these allegations.
CANDIOTTI: Our CNN investigation found Mistretta is currently shielded from any legal trouble. New Jersey police tell CNN that after receiving reports from Repaci and two others who also talked with CNN, they conducted interviews with the accusers. But because the allegations are so old, police say they are beyond the criminal statute of limitations and won't be investigated. In New York, where the other incident allegedly took place, the statute of limitations is also up.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I should have told somebody. I should have told the police. I should have told the principal. I should have told another teacher. I should have told a friend. That amount of guilt, that guilt is overwhelming.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Who's to say how long it should take? When a person is ready, they're ready and that the time is right.
CANDIOTTI (on camera): But by the time any alleged victim is ready, it may also be too late for civil action. For example, current laws in New York and New Jersey may make it impossible for Mistretta's accusers to sue.
PROF. MARCI HAMILTON, CARDOZO SCHOOL OF LAW: Normally states are shutting the courthouse doors at age 20, at age 25, and so what we find out is when a victim finally comes forward, is ready and can talk about it, there's no way that they can do anything about a perpetrator.
CANDIOTTI (voice over): Law professor and victim advocate Marci Hamilton is the author of "Justice Denied." She urges dropping all time limits for civil lawsuits in child abuse cases. She also argues time limits can prevent the public from learning about possible child predators.
Just before he was to face questioning from his high school, Robert Mistretta abruptly retired. A CNN producer caught up with him at his home.
UNIDENTIFIED REPORTER: You deny these allegations?
ROBERT MISTRETTA, TEACHER: Yes, I do.
UNIDENTIFIED REPORTER: What do you think about what these kids are saying about you?
MISTRETTA: I think it's ridiculous.
CANDIOTTI: He said anything else would have to come from his lawyer.
MISTRETTA: I can't talk to you now.
CANDIOTTI: Mistretta's accusers say they're talking now to protect others.
(On camera): Isn't this humiliating for you to come forward?
REPACI: If this can help one other person, then it's well worth it. It's well worth it.
(END VIDEOTAPE) KAYE: And this story essentially ends where it began for now. CNN's Susan Candiotti is in New York for us tonight to talk a little more about it.
Susan, again, what prompted these men to come forward after waiting more than two decades?
CANDIOTTI: Randi, here's what happened. One of the four men, Phil Repaci, you saw him, went to his 20-year high school reunion and said he couldn't believe that his old baseball coach was still teaching at that school. Repaci went public and when some alumni questioned his truthfulness, others came forward and said, hey, it happened to me, too.
KAYE: So what is the motive here, if there is one?
CANDIOTTI: Randi, they said that they were concerned about other possible victims who might be out there in the past or possibly even now.
KAYE: And since there's both criminal and civil statute of limitations in most states, is there anything that alleged victims can even do?
CANDIOTTI: Well, it depends on where they live. Some states have what are called window laws. It gives a one or two-year time period for alleged victims to file civil lawsuits for old accusations. But once the grace period is up, that window closes for good.
Now Delaware has a window that's open right now. California had a window law in 2002. And it prompted thousands of alleged victims to come forward. Window laws have been proposed in New York and Maryland.
In Connecticut, alleged victims can sue until they're 48 years old, 30 years after they turn 18. And in Maine, there's no time limit on civil actions.
KAYE: And what about the high school? What about their reaction where -- the high school where Mistretta worked for 30 years?
CANDIOTTI: Well, right after the accusations were made in December, Nazareth High School issued a statement saying it took the allegations very seriously and promised to conduct a full review. Now the school spokesperson tells me they offered to meet with the four accusers informally without their lawyer, but the lawyer for the men has advised them not to meet with the school without him, to protect their interests.
And then right before Mistretta was scheduled to meet with the school about the accusations, he decided to retire. So with no meetings taking place, the school considers the investigation closed.
Now, by the way, the school has a financial risk if any new possible victims are found, because if those allegations fall within the statute of limitations, the school could face a civil suit. KAYE: And, Susan, before we let you go tonight, could Mistretta find another job at a different school?
CANDIOTTI: Well, Randi, there's nothing to stop him. He's not under investigation, much less charged with a crime.
KAYE: All right. Susan Candiotti live in New York for us tonight. Thank you for that report.
Touched by tragedy, determined to make a difference.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
CAROLYN MANNING, COMMUNITY CRUSADER: The families that we help come from places where there's been war and genocide. Some refugees have never lived with indoor plumbing and they've never flushed a toilet.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
KAYE: We'll introduce you to this CNN Hero.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
KAYE: From Iraq to Myanmar to the Middle East. An astonishing 14 million people have fled their homes because of war or persecution. Only a small percentage are ever resettled. But tonight's CNN Hero is changing that.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
ANNOUNCER: This is CNN Heroes.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: We have an explosion. There's smoke all over the place.
MANNING: My brother-in-law was killed in Tower One on September 11th. After September 11th, I saw a picture of an Afghan family who had also lost a family member because of the Taliban and they had to flee their country.
Our family has five kids. We lost a family member, too. We just naturally went from that to let's show the refugees that we welcome them.
My name is Carolyn Manning and I started the Welcome to America Project to help refugees in Phoenix, Arizona.
How are you? Are you doing well?
The families that we help come from places where there's been war and genocide. Some refugees have never lived with indoor plumbing and they've never flushed a toilet.
All right, let's go. The Welcome to America Project is the community and it operates by community volunteers. My husband and I many a time have been out here hauling furniture in before work, after work. This is our life.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Thank you very much for all your help.
MANNING: All right, let's go on to the next family.
When they step foot in the United States they have been invited here. I want the refugees to feel that this is their home.
Welcome to America.
And that's what America has been built on. It's our history. It's who we are. And they're part of it.
ANNOUNCER: Tell bus your hero at CNN.com/heroes.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
KAYE: And you can learn more about Carolyn Manning's work on our Web site and nominate a hero if you'd like. Go to CNN.com/heroes.
Well, you might not know their music, but if you have tweens, no question, you know their name.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: The Jonas Brothers.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
KAYE: Yes. And you certainly know why these kids are screaming.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: The Jonas Brothers.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
KAYE: Oh, yes, those crazy young fans. They went absolutely crazy today at an Atlanta movie theater when the Jonas Brothers made a surprise visit. Ken, Joe and Nick are dropping in on unexpecting audiences who were coming out in droves to see their new 3D concert movie this weekend.
Look how excited those fans are.
And we want to share some more of your feedback tonight. DCthornton writes, "Increase border security, deploy the Guard, hold Mexico responsible for cartel crimes against Americans tooth and nail."
And JoeTheMailman has this to say, "Looks like we have no choice but to protect our borders with our military. Immediately."
And on Rush Limbaugh's comments, blkr00t writes, "Limbaugh was sending shots across the bow of steel as well with his whole Wal-Mart voter diatribe."
That's going to do it for us tonight. I'll see you back here tomorrow 6:00 p.m. Eastern Time and again at 10:00 p.m. We'll see you then.
