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Rumsfeld Fires Back; Michael Vick Tastes Freedom; Dying Boy Wants to See Parents; Why Rape, Murders Occurred in Iraq

Aired May 20, 2009 - 15:00   ET

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

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

RICK SANCHEZ, CNN ANCHOR: Colin Powell's former chief of staff fired up and seemingly unafraid.

LAWRENCE WILKERSON, FORMER STATE DEPARTMENT CHIEF OF STAFF: I was in the room for five days and five nights with the DCI and the DDCI. I know I was lied to.

SANCHEZ: Larry Wilkerson, you're not going to believe what else he has to say.

Donald Rumsfeld fires back at "GQ" for reporting he manipulated President Bush and delayed help to Katrina victims. And you will hear it.

A remarkable charge.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Oh, my God. Oh, my goodness.

SANCHEZ: Did this officer taunt the family now suing him for this incident?

And, Mr. President, is our economy recovering or not? The new report is out. And we got it on your national conversation.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

SANCHEZ: And hello again, everybody.

Boy we have got a lot of stuff we're going to be sharing with you.

We're going to start with this, breaking news. This is coming into us. We -- you -- you may have heard. I was sharing some of this with Kyra just a little while ago.

We are getting our hands on this piece of tape. Now, watch it with me. It is going to make you shudder. We're going to warn you from the onset it is very graphic. You see right there that officer going down.

This is a police dash-cam from Jefferson County, Alabama. Five officers with the Birmingham Police Department have been fired now for what they do when this car comes to a stop last year. Police are just now releasing the video. The suspect was on Interstate 59 when the chase began. All right, let's roll this from the top. Let's watch it together. It is about 34 seconds. Let's do it.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Watch this. Just watch this. Watch this.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: And that's what he's in jail for right there, for running over that officer. It's coming up on the...

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Now you will see it.

And this is where it's going to end right here. They nudged him. Now watch it.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

SANCHEZ: All right. The problem with this, obviously, is it appears that these -- the suspect, who, by the way, got 20 years for hitting that officer, the suspect seemed to be unconscious when he started receiving blows from those five officers, who, again, have been fired.

And we have just gotten reaction. This is from the mayor of Birmingham. This is Larry Langford, we understand. He says his city has come a long way from the days of Bull Connor. And that's the point he wants to -- this is very personal, by the way. Take a listen to what the mayor says.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

LARRY LANGFORD, MAYOR OF BIRMINGHAM, ALABAMA: The Birmingham Police Department had a police car -- and we better not have one today -- with the number 13 on it that had a black cat on the back of it.

And that officer would drive you there, and he would say, you (EXPLETIVE DELETED), you (EXPLETIVE DELETED) better be off this street corner by the time I circle that block. And, if we didn't, all of us would be arrested, brutalized, or whatever the case may be, and nothing was done about it.

As mayor of this city, that is always foremost on my mind, and which is I know that today's Birmingham Police Department doesn't do that.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

SANCHEZ: Ashleigh Banfield is joining us now. She's the anchor of "In Session" from our sister network live from our New York studios. She has been watching that video with us, as has our CNN security analyst and law enforcement veteran. That's Mike Brooks. He and I have spent a couple of days together following these stories that have been developing now.

You know, guys, the video tends to speak for itself.

Mike, why don't you start us off?

MIKE BROOKS, CNN SECURITY ANALYST: Yes.

SANCHEZ: Give us your analysis of what you saw and whether these decisions that have been made by these DAs is correct?

BROOKS: Oh, I think it's -- I think these officers definitely should have been fired. This happened back in January of 2008, Rick.

And they -- you saw the officer get run over who was putting out the spike strips. Then he -- he got charged. So, then...

(CROSSTALK)

SANCHEZ: And should have been.

BROOKS: Absolutely. Absolutely.

SANCHEZ: I mean, let's watch this again, because cause you have to understand, when you see that happen to your fellow officer...

BROOKS: Yes.

SANCHEZ: ... I'm the guy defending the cops here, OK? My brother is a cop. You're going to get mad. You're going to get mad, almost inconsolable or uncontrollable.

(CROSSTALK)

BROOKS: Absolutely. But you still -- but you still have to maintain your professional decorum, OK?

Last year, in the United States, three officers were killed in the line of duty during vehicular pursuits. In 2007, a California Highway Patrol officer, Douglas Russell, was killed put out spike strips, struck by a car and killed. But you still have to maintain your professional decorum. And he -- this -- this guy was...

(CROSSTALK)

SANCHEZ: Look what they are doing right now. This is not professional decorum.

BROOKS: They should have come to his aid to see if he was injured and not just brought a, you know, a butt-kicking.

SANCHEZ: The batons out. A butt-kicking, yes, maybe that's the way of saying it.

Ashleigh Banfield joining us now.

(CROSSTALK)

BROOKS: And I will be surprised, Rick, if they don't face possible civil rights violations.

SANCHEZ: That is what I was just going to go to Ashleigh with.

Are there mitigating circumstances here, given the fact, Ash, that they just watched one of their own, for all they know, killed and run over by this guy? Or is that just an excuse that is not going to fly?

ASHLEIGH BANFIELD, TRUTV ANCHOR: Oh, the mitigating part, that's a real tough one to answer, because this one is real blatant, Rick.

And I think the fact that the department fired all of them within hours of really knowing about this video speaks volumes and will not speak well to their defense, which I guarantee they are going to need in a court of law, because there will be some criminal charges that will come down based on this.

And off the top of my head, how about aggravated assault causing bodily harm? Because he so injured, he thought those injuries have resulted from a car accident, not because he had taken a kicking he knew nothing about.

(CROSSTALK)

BANFIELD: ... conduct.

SANCHEZ: Let talk about that real quick, because I come back to Mike real quick, because I want Mike to take us through what happens in an officer's head while he is in a chase.

But the fact that this guy was unconscious, it's -- it's -- it's -- it almost makes you think, had he not been unconscious, they probably would have continued beating him, like -- it's almost like at some point, they realized, why are we beating this guy? He may not even be alive, right?

That has got to what is going to hurt them the most if this goes to a court of law and a jury sees this.

BANFIELD: Here is the deal. This happened a year-and-a-half ago. If he had been conscious and if he had known what was going on, we would have known about this a year-and-a-half ago.

And I guarantee several superior officers would not be under internal investigation right now for what they knew and when they knew it and why they covered it up. So, the -- the charges are going to branch out in a domino fashion from this once they find out who kept this quiet, why did they cover this up, why did no one know about this, and why did the guy himself only find out that he had been assaulted at his own trial, when they played the video?

SANCHEZ: Mike Brooks, put me, put our audience in the position of a police officer who is in a high-speed pursuit. Why do we see this so often? What happens to that officer psychologically?

BROOKS: Well, I can tell you. I have been in a number of chases myself.

And, you know, and, at the end, you are hyped up, but you have got to -- you kind of just maintain your control. You can usually tell on the radio when you hear an officer when they're -- when in a pursuit what kind of frame of mind they are in.

And you know, there has been a couple of times where I have gotten to the scene and officers have -- and you say, hey, he is under arrest. That's it.

SANCHEZ: Can you train someone not to let that happen to them, or is adrenaline too hard to resist?

BROOKS: We're -- everybody is human. It is -- it's hard to resist, but you have to do it.

SANCHEZ: Yes.

BROOKS: As part of your profession -- you know, you are a professional law enforcement officer. You have to do it, Rick.

SANCHEZ: But you're also a human being. And that's -- that's where the two become a quandary.

Thanks to both of you.

BROOKS: Yes.

SANCHEZ: Ashleigh Banfield, Mike Brooks, as in Brooks and Banfield, we thank you both.

BROOKS: Thank you, Rick.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: We're trained killers. We're not the boys you take home to momma.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

SANCHEZ: (AUDIO GAP) ... charged with rape and murder blames his commanders for what he did. And you say, what? That's right.

Michael Vick is a free man, and you're not going to believe the offer that he's now getting.

Also, the other police arrest caught on tape that we have been all over throughout the week. This is a 14-year-old arrested by Toledo police, but they are the ones getting the heat. We will have an update. And there is a serious update.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

SANCHEZ: We welcome you back. I'm Rick Sanchez here in the world headquarters of CNN.

And, as usual, we like to make this a conversation, a national conversation, as we like to call it.

Let's get a little bit of your reaction before we move on to the next segment about Michael Vick.

Let's go over here. This is MySpace. "Oh, my God, that is horrible" is what Cat is saying as she is watching this newscast. "I can't believe that these cops thought that this was something acceptable. They deserved to be fired."

We will likely get two perspectives on this, and we will share.

From the moment that he stepped out of the Leavenworth federal penitentiary in Kansas before dawn this morning, disgraced pro football player, pro football star, Michael Vick did what comes natural to him. He was looking for daylight, scrambling from trouble.

The former Atlanta Falcons quarterback successfully dodged the massive media horde outside the facility. The 28-year-old Vick, who pleaded guilty to federal dog fighting and related charges back in August of 2007, is set to serve the last two months of his 20-month -- 23-month sentence in home confinement, we understand, presumably in Virginia, where his attorneys say Vick has lined up a construction job now.

But now that Vick is out from behind the bars of prison is he ever going to see the light of playing professional football again? Will he be reinstated? Some say his pro career should be in Canada, if at all. Others believe that Vick should be given the chance to play again in the National Football League, that he has paid his legal debt and obligation.

Well, not exactly. Vick has three years of probation to serve before that premise is valid. And NFL commissioner Roger Goodell says any possible reinstatement of Vick will depend on him proving remorse.

In that vein, Vick is now aligning with the Humane Society of the United States to help promote its anti-dog fighting initiative among urban youth. The People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals is taking a stronger posture on Vick for his possible return to the NFL, posting this on their Web site.

Look at this. I'm quote read it to you -- quote -- "Before the NFL considers the possibility of allowing Vick back into the league, where he will be in position to influence many fans, including countless children, PETA wants the league to require him to undergo a brain scan, coupled with a structured standardized test, Psychopathy Checklist, approved by the American Psychiatric Association."

So, let's talk about redemption, rehabilitation, and revenge and how all this relates to this Vick saga that people all over the country will be talking about, and not just from a sports standpoint.

I'm going to begin with Wayne Pacelle. He's the president and CEO of the Humane Society of the United States and helped broker Vick's deal with this organization.

Thanks so much for being with us.

WAYNE PACELLE, PRESIDENT AND CEO, HUMANE SOCIETY OF THE UNITED STATES: Thank you, Rick.

SANCHEZ: Hey, Wayne, you know what's interesting about this? It seems like you're creating a position for a guy who is notoriously anti-your cause. That is kind of weird, isn't it?

PACELLE: Well, Rick, there was no group that was more on the forefront in urging the arrest and prosecution of Michael Vick than the Humane Society of the United States. In fact, we provided a key informant to federal investigators that led to his arrest. We shaped the federal laws under which he was prosecuted.

And, since his arrest, we have upgraded the laws in 21 states, making dog fighting a felony in every single state. We have rewards programs that result in the arrest of hundreds of dogfighters. We have tip lines. We train law enforcement. We are all over the dogfighters' case, but we have urban programs to reach at-risk use. We have ex-dogfighters, ex-gang members.

(CROSSTALK)

SANCHEZ: What are you going to do with Michael Vick? What -- is -- are you going to have him do PSAs? Are you going to have him speaking to kids? Specifically, what is his message going to be?

PACELLE: Well, Michael Vick is going to be the guy who decides what he does.

He came to us through his intermediaries and then I met with him. And he said that he thought he could play a role in reaching kids across the country, kids like him who were exposed to dog fighting in Newport News.

He was a major dogfighter. There's no doubt. And what he did was reprehensible. But maybe, through the intervention programs that we have, he can play a role in steering kids away from this activity, because it is a dead end street. It's a horrible activity. We want to protect the dogs.

SANCHEZ: What do you think of PETA, though? I mean, you're being -- your organization, the Humane Society, is being conciliatory about this. PETA is saying, no, give this guy a brain scan. Have him make tests. Don't let him play.

Those are two contrasting points of view on this.

PACELLE: Well, we are going to measure his -- his activity on the streets. And if he is not sincere, if he is not doing a good job, then...

(CROSSTALK)

SANCHEZ: Then you are going to be PETA-like with him?

(LAUGHTER)

PACELLE: Well, we're just to say, listen, it is just not working out.

But if he is sincere about wanting to help, or whatever his motivation is, whether it's professional survival, or whatever reason, if he helps steer kids away from this, and uses his celebrity and his narrative -- his story is compelling. He fell from a very high perch...

SANCHEZ: Yes.

PACELLE: ... and dropped down into a standard issue room at a penitentiary. If he can talk to kids and make a difference in their lives, then that will save dogs.

SANCHEZ: No, no. Look, you're right. He may end up being the best messenger on this thing, because he has got the experience. He's almost like a biblical figure when it comes to this type of story.

Wayne Pacelle, thanks so much for being with us. We appreciate it.

I want to bring in a couple of guests from Detroit, sports columnist Drew Sharp of "The Detroit Free Press" and former Falcon Will Overstreet, who is joining us -- joining us here in the studio. He's an ex-teammate of Michael Vick and he's here to talk about that.

Drew, let me start with you.

You wrote a column. And, in your column, you're not particularly forgiving of Michael Vick. State your case, will you?

DREW SHARP, "DETROIT FREE PRESS": Well, I say we are a forgiving people, but we're not a forgetful one.

And that is going to be the issue here, as far as Vick getting back into the league. And I think that NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell should keep him suspended for another year. Give Vick the opportunity to prove that he gets it, that he understands the mistakes that he made and try to reestablish a relationship with the public and more importantly with the league that he is ready to be...

(CROSSTALK)

SANCHEZ: Will, to you. You heard what he just said. At least another year he needs to be suspended. He's not ready. He hasn't suffered enough.

WILL OVERSTREET, FORMER TEAMMATE OF VICK: Well, I mean, here's the -- at the end of the day, he has been through the court system a judge and jury put him through. He served his time. He's now got to be on probation.

So, now we're talking about what the NFL should do. Compared to the NFL standards of how they deal with domestic violence problems, with the Leonard Little situation and all those things that we talked about and Drew talked about in his article...

SANCHEZ: Things -- things many people would consider more serious crimes.

OVERSTREET: Exactly.

SANCHEZ: Right.

OVERSTREET: In that case, you go by the NFL, and how they have punished those individuals. And, by that standard, Michael Vick should allowed to play this year.

(CROSSTALK)

SANCHEZ: Why is Michael Vick so notorious, when other NFL players and other athletes, in general, have done, it seems, or many would argue -- I mean, I know we are going to get a lot of (INAUDIBLE) from dog lovers, et cetera -- but have done things that are equally bad? Do you not agree, Drew?

SHARP: But it is the criminal intent. That is the issue here.

Little, he got drunk, got behind the wheel of a car and killed an innocent woman in 1998, and got 90 days in jail, and was able to get back into the league. The reason was because, again, when you get drunk, OK, I don't think it is your intention to go out and deliberately kill someone in this situation.

Michael Vick's intent in this situation, he was the architect, the ringleader, the financier, the guy who ran everything in a premeditated...

(CROSSTALK)

SANCHEZ: But they are dogs, not people. And as much as I love my dog, I don't love him as much as I love my kids.

(CROSSTALK)

SHARP: Rick, you have to separate the two. Again, from a legal standpoint, this is why he served two years in jail for killing dogs whereas, in Leonard Little's case, he served 30 days -- or 90 days -- excuse me. You cannot lose the standpoint that, from the criminal intent, this guy was -- it was a premeditated act on his part.

SANCHEZ: So, you are saying, even after he has done his prison time, he should be still denied his livelihood for another year at least?

SHARP: Well, his livelihood -- he has an opportunity to gain employment anywhere he chooses.

(CROSSTALK)

SANCHEZ: The guy is a football player, Drew. SHARP: No, no, the NFL has the privilege, though, because they are the highest level of professional football, to establish a code of conduct for its players.

SANCHEZ: Will..

SHARP: And if they do not meet that code of conduct, they can say, no, you're not going to be able to play until we say you are ready.

SANCHEZ: This guy is arguably one of the finest football players, certainly one of the most athletic who has come around in a long time. You played with him...

OVERSTREET: Definitely is.

SANCHEZ: ... as a linebacker with the Atlanta Falcons. Should fans be denied, should a team be denied this talent, if he's good enough?

(CROSSTALK)

OVERSTREET: No, they shouldn't, because, let me tell you, the NFL is unforgiving.

If he has gotten too slow, he can't play, he is not going to be there for long. The NFL will judge him based on his ability and his talents. And if the comparison is that it's because an opportunity -- you can't discourage a guy because he is not a cab driver or he's not some other job that he could go back to.

SANCHEZ: But you know the NFL. You played in it. Are they going to be too scared to take this guy on because of the scandal that it might create?

OVERSTREET: No, I don't think so. I think there are certain teams with their market value, the Dallas Cowboys, the Patriots, someone like that, could be able to take him. I think there are other teams that will be scared and they won't be able to take him and they will walk away from him.

(CROSSTALK)

SANCHEZ: Who is going to take him, by the way?

(CROSSTALK)

OVERSTREET: Looking at the past, looking at the past, Dallas and the Vikings need a quarterback right now.

SANCHEZ: And, Drew, take us out. You got 10 seconds.

SHARP: The NFL is a business. They are -- they are going to listen to what their corporate partners are going to say. No one wants to touch Michael Vick right now. So, give him a year. In maybe that time, the wounds will heal. SANCHEZ: I say somebody will jump in there before the year's out, before somebody else takes him.

My thanks to both of you.

OVERSTREET: Thank you.

SANCHEZ: Will, thanks for being with us.

And, drew, thanks to you as well.

SHARP: Right, Rick.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Oh, my God. Oh, my goodness.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

SANCHEZ: This is the story that we have been on top of throughout the week, brought to you -- we brought it to you first here. It's a 14-year-old boy, 120 pounds soaking wet, arrested by two very large Toledo police officers. There's an update on his health and more.

Also, there is a dying boy's wish to see his parents from Guatemala just one last time. Here is where this story gets complicated and political and ideological. He is an illegal alien. We will be right back.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

SANCHEZ: It is difficult to talk about any issue without those who follow us on social media not taking a political or ideological perspective like this.

Let's go to our Twitter board, if we possibly can.

Crispy Pat is watching. She says: "What Vick did to those dogs is no different than what Sarah Palin does to wolves and moose. If Vick is guilty, then so are hunters."

That's one perspective that, again, a lot of people will likely argue with.

Angela says: "If Vick was Manning or Young, he would be forgiven, no extras need. He has paid his debt."

And then for the sake, perhaps, of levity, "If Michael Vick posed naked for a PETA poster, I say all is forgiven."

We will leave it at that. We will move on. But, boy, have we gotten a ton of responses on that story and that debate that we were having just moments ago. Let's move on.

As you heard us report right here, it's time to go after President Barack Obama with a direct assault and the Republican Party has turned the corner. Those are two direct quotes from a speech. That is what party chairman Michael Steele said yesterday in a rather well-delivered speech, where he also talked about new ideas for the Republican Party, a note that was immediately seized upon by Jon Stewart, like a late-night comic seizes onto video of a reporter, for example, being Tased.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP, "THE TONIGHT SHOW WITH JAY LENO")

JON STEWART, HOST, "THE DAILY SHOW WITH JON STEWART": Show us the inspiration for this new forward outlook.

MICHAEL STEELE, CHAIRMAN, REPUBLICAN NATIONAL COMMITTEE: Ronald Reagan always insisted that our party must move aggressively to seize the moment. The Republican Party owes its moorings to Edmund Burke, William F. Buckley, and Ronald Reagan. In the best spirit of President Reagan, it is time to saddle up and ride.

(LAUGHTER)

STEWART: So, the image Republicans evoke for on their new forward-thinking outlook, Ronald Reagan on horseback.

(LAUGHTER)

STEWART: I will tell you, you know who is going to go nuts for this new GOP? Kids from the '50s.

(LAUGHTER)

(END VIDEO CLIP)

SANCHEZ: By the way, that meeting Steele addressed continues today amid some controversy. Steele is trying to push back a -- quote -- chance to rename the Democratic Party as the Nationalist Socialist Democrat Party. The Nationalist Socialist Democrat Party is what they say they should change the name of it to. Steele disagrees with Republicans doing that, saying Republicans need to focus on -- quote -- "more serious stuff."

All right, you're not going to believe it, but there is another public transportation driver who has been caught on video using his phone while on the road.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: We're trained killers. We are not the boys you take home to momma.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

SANCHEZ: Also, a U.S. soldier says that rape and murder by a fellow soldier wouldn't have happened if commanders had done something. We will tell you what that something is that they say that those commanders should have done to avoid this. Also, like a dog with a bone, we have been all over this police abuse case out of Toledo -- police abuse alleged case, I should say, to be fair. No charges yet. New information when we come back.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

SANCHEZ: All right, let's get to this story real quick.

After all the brouhaha over the police incident in Toledo, would you believe the police officer involved would taunt the family? More on that in a minute. It's a question, not a statement.

In case you haven't seen it, here is the video, by the way, of the story that we have been following here for the past couple of days, 14-year-old Trevor Casey being arrested by police for allegedly taunting them and refusing to obey an order to leave the premises.

Casey's family says the level of force that was used was brutal and unnecessary. And a doctor hired by the family says that the boy has lost vision in one eye and there's blood clots in both eyes.

Now, here is the allegation that, if true, takes the story from sad to ridiculous. The boy's brother says one of the officers involved arrived at the hospital yesterday where the family was gathering, and they began taunting family members. An officer, one of these officers you see there, began taunting family members, according to the family.

Police tell us the matter is under review, the entire matter, and that the officers are being investigated.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: ... problem is that he has no family here to really look after him.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

SANCHEZ: An illegal immigrant who may die in America without ever getting a chance to see his mother and father again. The complexities of immigration.

And no, you can't use your phone with a bus full of passengers. And no, you can't read a newspaper while you're driving that bus either.

Do I really need to even say that?

Also, the quarterly economic recovery report is out. President Obama was there, made a statement. We'll share it with you.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

SANCHEZ: A couple of tweets I want to share with you that have been coming in, first regarding the conversation you just heard from Michael Steele and the parody that Jon Stewart did with it.

Let's go to our Twitter board if we can, Robert.

This is David in Austin, Texas, watching us right now.

I love Austin, Texas, by the way.

"The Republicans want us to look forward but invoke Reagan. My head just exploded. Rick, California only wishes that that Reagan was still their governor. Can't wait to see you report more on how California will fix their mess."

We will, by the way.

Here is something else that we are following for you. The White House shows us how President Obama leads a major policy meeting. That's the video, or that has come in this afternoon.

Former Fed chair Michael -- pardon me -- Paul Volcker, seated directly to the president's right, you see him right there? Volcker chairs the president's Economic Recovery Advisory Board, and here you are seeing the board's first quarterly meeting, because the White House streamed the session live for anybody who wanted to see to see.

Again, this is the plan to recover the economy. The president told the board, the folks who are putting this whole plan together, the country's financial markets are showing signs of returning normal. The markets, that is, like Wall Street, yes. And he also said that we need to look beyond the immediate crisis and find a way around the cycles of economic boom and bust.

What you're about to see is a classic showdown. This is a debate between the Democrats' most vocal congressman, who is reviled by the right, and the Republicans' most vocal congresswoman, who is reviled by the left.

You get the picture? Sound like a showdown? It is.

Here now, Michele Bachmann debating Barney Frank. This is a classic, with Lou Dobbs as a referee.

The topic, Bachmann's push to pull federal funding for ACORN.

First, Congressman Frank.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

REP. BARNEY FRANK (D), MASSACHUSETTS: It was the Bush administration that funded ACORN. I went and looked at the record, because I can guarantee you that no congressional enactment that I'm aware of has ever earmarked a penny for ACORN. From 2001, when George Bush became president, until 2008, the Bush administration provided over $13 million to ACORN.

So the question I would have to my Republican colleagues is, did you try to get George Bush to cut off the funding?

REP. MICHELE BACHMANN (R), MINNESOTA: They have access potentially to $8.5 billion. This is serious money for an organization that has been under indictment in over 12 states. They have a pattern of indictment for voter fraud.

I came into Congress in January of 2004 -- I'm sorry, 2007. And from that point on, I've been looking at this issue in the Financial Services Committee, and I think that it would be wise to set the criteria, not just for ACORN, but for any organization. We need to have a high bar.

FRANK: I agree.

BACHMANN: No one has right to access.

FRANK: I agree.

BACHMANN: And I think this indictment is not a low standard. It needs to be a high standard.

FRANK: I think the single indictment of any individual is too low. We had Tom DeLay indicted...

BACHMANN: Oh, I don't agree. I don't think that's true, because...

FRANK: May I -- well, may I finish? May I finish?

BACHMANN: ... ACORN has had a pattern of indictment. Not just one, but they've had a pattern...

FRANK: No, but that's not -- excuse me. Excuse me, Michele.

BACHMANN: ... in state after state after state.

FRANK: But that's not what your amendment said. And we are making laws for the whole country. Your amendment said a single indictment anywhere of any individual. AIPAC, the pro-Israel lobbying group, they had two people indicted. Those were just cut -- dismissed. We had Tom DeLay under...

BACHMANN: But Mr. Chairman...

FRANK: I'm sorry, Michele. Please don't interrupt. I know you don't want to hear this, but Tom DeLay, the leader of the Republican Party, was under indictment for a long time. He continued to be a voting member of the House.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

SANCHEZ: What a pair.

Lou Dobbs, by the way, airs Mondays through Friday, right here on CNN at 7:00 p.m.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: We are trained killers. We are not the boys you take home to mama. (END VIDEO CLIP)

SANCHEZ: A U.S. soldier gives a candid interview on why rape and murder occurred in Iraq, and he blames the leadership. We'll put that one together for you.

Also, another bus driver is caught on camera and driving and using his phone. Another one. This would be, what, the third that we've reported on to you within just the last month? And there's video?

By the way, using the phone is not the only thing he does. We'll show it to you.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

SANCHEZ: Sometimes social media gets a little bit ahead of us. I follow you, you follow me, we talk to each other throughout the days, and as my wife reminds me from time to time, too much at home late at night.

Look at this comment. Why I raised that comment myself.

This is Michael Rusch. He's watching. He says, "The U.S. military needs to really look at the psychological war it has on our soldiers and veterans. We can't forget about them."

He's referring to a story we haven't even told yet but we've been talking about throughout the day. You will see that in just a little bit, these soldiers who have been found guilty of rape and murder, and what may have led to that situation.

Stay with us. You'll see that.

Meanwhile, on this show, we encourage multitasking. We were just talking about it; right? But we draw the line at driving, driving while multitasking.

A passenger shot this cell phone video. Take a look at this. This is last month.

He is surprised at what the bus driver was doing besides driving the bus. He was so surprised, he took out his camera, started shooting it. The guy's talking on the phone. That's just the beginning of the guy's list of things not to do on the shift.

He starts then looking at the tickets, then he starts doing some light reading. He takes out a newspaper. And a little later on, he starts snacking. Yes, time to eat while driving a bus.

Again, all this while driving a bus from Boston to New York City. When the passenger tries reporting it on the company's complaint line, it wasn't in service. They didn't respond. He couldn't even get a hold of them.

So, he said the heck with them, I'm going to post this on YouTube. And he did. And guess what he got now? A response from the vice president of Peter Pan Bus Lines.

Here's the upshot. Here's what the vice president has decided. This driver that you just saw there, breaking rules, according to the company, will likely now be suspended, may even be fired.

We'll keep you posted.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: ... problem is that he has no family here to really look after him.

SANCHEZ: The story about an undocumented immigrant dying in America and the challenges of immigration.

And Brooke Baldwin is going to be joining us. She has the special report on this situation. Not ideological, not political, but very human.

We'll be right back.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

SANCHEZ: And we welcome you back. I'm Rick Sanchez, here in the world headquarters of CNN.

You know, the immigration debate, it pits two sides politically and ideologically. But then along comes a story that brings out something else and makes the politics and ideology seem almost trivial. This one is about life and death and family, what some would argue is much more important.

Here is CNN's Brooke Baldwin with this heartrending tale of Guatemala's Juan Gonzales.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

BROOKE BALDWIN, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Doctors and nurses at this small north Georgia hospital treat dozens of sick patients every day, but they say this boy's story is different.

His name, Juan Gonzales. He doesn't speak English. He is all alone. He is dying. Juan's wish? To see his parents one last time.

JUAN OXLAJ-GONZALES, NEEDS HEART TRANSPLANT (through translator): I adore them and love them so much. I would tell them how much I need them by my side during this difficult time.

BALDWIN: Juan's mother, father and three siblings live more than 2,300 miles away in a small, impoverished village in Guatemala where they work on a farm. Last fall, Juan joined the nearly 12 million unauthorized immigrants living in the U.S. He traveled 15 days by train, bus and boat, sleeping in the desert, to come to Georgia to work so he could send money home to his family.

GONZALES: I did it so they could get out of poverty. To be honest, we don't have a lot of money. I did it so they won't have to work in the fields anymore. They don't have much.

BALDWIN: Juan found work as a dishwasher, taking home $250 every week, but suddenly, last November, his heart nearly failed him.

DR. FRANK STEGALL, CARDIOLOGIST: Juan's heart pumps about a fifth, or 20 percent, of what a normal heart would do.

BALDWIN: Dr. Frank Stegall at the Redmond Regional Medical Center in Rome says Juan suffers from dilated cardiomyopathy, which means his heart muscle is very weak. With no money or family nearby, this cardiologist says it isn't likely this teenager will receive a transplant.

STEGALL: He is a young man that has just grabbed our hearts.

BALDWIN: For the last seven months, he has been in and out of this hospital. And in that time, Juan's character and contagious faith have truly touched this medical team. They have reached to Georgia Congressman Phil Gingrey to help.

He released this statement to CNN: "My office began facilitating communication between the Guatemalan Embassy and the State Department, who are working to get Juan's parents to their son's bedside as soon as possible. My thoughts and prayers are with his family as they face this difficult time."

We contacted Juan's parents in Guatemala. His father, Pascual, says it's been tough not being able to be by his son's side, but he understands why Juan wanted a life in America.

PASCUAL OXLAJ-GONZALES, JUAN'S FATHER (through translator): When he first got there we were happy, because, I mean, to be honest, how we lived, we had a lot of failures in life. And now after he got sick, we are so sad.

BALDWIN: Thousands of miles away, Juan sit us in this hospital bed reading the bible, drawing to communicate, and praying for a miracle so he can continue helping his family back home.

J. OXLAJ-GONZALES: I will fight to the very end. I will not be defeated by this sickness.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

SANCHEZ: Wow.

And people watching this right now are already reacting to it. Let's go to our Twitter board if we can.

Let's go to Curious1966. She is watching. She watches every day.

She says, "Let's forget about the red tape for this sick child. Let him have his wish. It's the least we can do for him. Please."

And Brooke joins me now live. I understand there may be an update. There is a chance that before he passes on, there is a chance he may be able to actually see his parents?

BALDWIN: What a story. I have the letter that the medical staff at the Redmond Regional Medical Center sent to Congressman Gingrey's office.

The latest I have today, the congressman's office has somehow been able to get these parents to Guatemala City, where they're at the embassy today to undergo some sort of interviews to see if they can get a temporary visa. If they are granted this temporary visa -- and we don't know how long they could even be in the United States once they come. It's all, I'm told a case-by-case basis.

Once they come, the next question, of course, who pays for the flight? They can't afford the flight from Guatemala City to Atlanta. So, the doctors, the nurses, the community in Rome, all now are coming together, digging in their own pockets to pay for the flight.

SANCHEZ: And it's a one-time humanitarian visit so they can see their son before he passes on.

BALDWIN: Exactly.

SANCHEZ: And by the way, his health, I mean, is there any chance he can pull through from this thing?

BALDWIN: Not from what Dr. Stegall told me. No.

I think the situation is much better when he is in the hospital. This is the fourth time he's been in this little hospital. He's basically dependent on the medications. Once he's given them intravenously at the hospital, he's able to hold on and appear somewhat stable. But once he gets home, he gets off them, he's right back in the hospital day to day.

SANCHEZ: Great story. Good reporting.

BALDWIN: Thank you.

SANCHEZ: I mean, it puts a different face on this thing that we often talk about and really makes it very...

BALDWIN: Human.

SANCHEZ: ... very human. Thanks so much.

BALDWIN: Thank you, Rick.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: We're trained killers. We're not the boys you take home to mama.

(END VIDEO CLIP) SANCHEZ: A soldier explains why rape and murders occurred in Iraq. This is a stunning interview. You're going to be surprised at who he says is really to blame in this case. Interesting take.

We'll be right back.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

SANCHEZ: Welcome back. I'm Rick Sanchez.

This is the story I was telling you about just a little while ago, the story that has a lot of folks on social media responding already, even before we air it. So now let's air it.

This is a tough story, a tough story even to tell. It is one of the worst stories from the war in Iraq, no doubt.

Four American soldiers abandon their posts, apparently went drinking, and then they went on a rampage. American soldiers.

They went to an Iraqi man's home. They murdered him and they murdered the rest of his family. All this that they did, just so they could get their hands on the man's daughter -- listen to this -- who they then abducted and then raped and then set fire to her body.

I told you it was tough even to tell.

Three of the soldiers are now serving time already, and now a fourth is facing a possible death penalty.

CNN's Deb Feyerick reports from Paducah, Kentucky.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

DEBORAH FEYERICK, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, the private first class from the 101st Airborne Division made it out of Iraq alive. Now a civilian court is set to decide whether he should die for the crimes he committed there, the premeditated murder of an Iraqi family, including the virtual execution of a 6-year-old child.

Now, in the closing days of testimony, Green's friends and family seemed to beg with the jury to spare Green. They described him tearfully at times as a happy kid from a troubled home whose mom rejected him. His aunt testified, "We did not send a rapist and murder to Iraq." Fellow soldiers who also took the stand say the unit basically fell apart due to what they call a lack of leadership.

NOAH GALLOWAY, FMR. SGT. BRAVO COMPANY: Truth be told, we're trained killers. We're not the man you take home to mama. We're the men that set out to destroy everything in our path, and it takes that to win a war.

You put that out there, and then you take away a person's leadership, and they have no desire to even live anymore, bad things happen. And this is an example of what happens when the leadership is gone and you're not taken care of. When you're hopeless and you're left alone. FEYERICK: Also in court were relatives of the slain Iraqi family, along with Iraqi officials. There had been calls to possibly try this case in Iraq, instead of it being tried in federal court here in Paducah, Kentucky. That's because Green had already been discharged from the military for antisocial behavior and a personality disorder. Before his crimes came to light, he served less than a year in the military.

Four co-conspirators were already tried. They're serving various prison sentences in a military court. This is seen by many internationally as the first war crimes trial of a U.S. soldier.

Reporting from Paducah, Kentucky, Deborah Feyerick, CNN.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

SANCHEZ: Deb Feyerick reporting.

An unbelievable story. It really makes you think about the social consequences of war in this case.

(NEWSBREAK)

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

SANCHEZ: We welcome you back.

By the way, we've got some new video coming in right now. Let's go ahead and take that.

This is this waterspout. It's coming in from WSVN.

Guess who used to work at that station?

WSVN video. It's a waterspout. It looks to me, folks, like that's part of Biscayne Bay, which is right off of the Atlantic there, not far from Miami Beach. That's what you can tell from looking at those homes right there.

This is probably North Bay Village, which, by the way, is where WSVN is located.

Get rid of that Dow thing real quick there. Can you lose that, Dan? I want to see if that waterspout is coming down. Oh, I see. There's some trees just there behind it, so you can't exactly see where it is.

Nonetheless, that's the situation there in south Florida. Again, just because it's a waterspout doesn't mean it's done damage, unless you happen to take a boat.

We thank you for being with us. We'll continue to follow some of these stories for you.

And it's now time to turn things over to Wolf Blitzer. He is in Washington with "THE SITUATION ROOM."