Return to Transcripts main page

CNN Newsroom

Obama Administration's Policy on Gay Military Ban?; President Obama Hits Campaign Trail; Revisiting the Chilean Rescue From a Journalist's Point of View; 'Don't Ask, Don't Tell' Under Fire; Cruel Testimony on a Brutal Crime

Aired October 20, 2010 - 16:00   ET

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

BROOKE BALDWIN, CNN ANCHOR: And with that, top of the hour, I want to welcome the men and the women watching us right now on American Forces Network all around the world. Welcome to you.

We're going to go fast this hour. See if you can catch up and keep up with me. Let's go.

First, the Obama administration sending mixed signals about its stance on "Don't Ask, Don't Tell" in the military. Here's the deal. A judge ruled the military can open its doors to openly gay and lesbian applicants, essentially overturning the ban they have had on gays serving openly.

But now the White House wants to bring that policy back. The administration says it's in favor of repealing "Don't Ask, Don't Tell", but it shouldn't happen right away.

I want you to listen to Lieutenant Dan Choi, who discharged under "Don't Ask, Don't Tell."

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

DAN CHOI, DISCHARGED UNDER "DON'T ASK, DON'T TELL" POLICY: For the sake of our entire country, our national security, and for the sake of what our country is, I hope that the Obama administration does not appeal, and does not lift a finger to defend discrimination, does not try to resuscitate it and resurrect it from the dead.

I think what the Obama administration should do is walk their talk and finally do something in manifesting equality for all people in America.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BALDWIN: Choi says he has filled out paperwork to rejoin the military.

And should any news break from the courtroom in this hour, of course we will bring it to you live here on CNN.

So, next, so where will President Obama be stumping just days before voters head to the polls? Hmm, Comedy Central? The White House confirming that he will appear on "The Daily Show With Jon Stewart." That will be next week. Set your TiVos. This is the first time President Obama appears on the show as commander in chief.

Stewart will be in Washington holding, you know, the rally, Rally to Restore Sanity, on the National Mall. That is Halloween weekend. And tonight, we should add, Jon Stewart will be talking to our own Larry King 9:00 Eastern right here on CNN.

Next, who opened fire on the Pentagon? The manhunt still under way. We're now learning even more bullets hit the building than had been previously thought. We're told at least six were fired, two of them hitting bulletproof glass windows. Fortunately, no one was hurt. But you remember this thing happened right around 4:30 Eastern yesterday morning, forcing police to lock down the area and a nearby interstate.

Next, do you remember this guy? He's sort of shaking it in somebody's backyard. He's a Seattle firefighter who won nearly $13 million from the city after he fell through a hole at a local fire station. Well, the city released this video showing Mark Jones dancing, tossing horseshoes. I guess that's what he's doing, chopping wood as well. Officials insist the video proves he lied about his injuries.

But guess what? A judge ruled Jones can keep the money. The judge says the city had time to investigate him before the trial, but failed to do so.

Next: a prince in Saudi Arabia now a convicted killer. You remember this video? Take a look at this. Prosecutors say he murdered his servant at a London hotel. They showed this eerie video to prove that the two had an abusive relationship. You can see the prince -- wait for it -- kind of slaps the guy in the elevator. There they go. The video shot just weeks before the murder.

And a British court today sentencing the prince to life in prison. He will have to serve a minimum of 20 years.

Next, ever wonder whether your luggage is safe when you fly? Listen to this, a security screener at Newark Airport now charged with stealing thousands and thousands of dollars from passengers as they shuffled through the checkpoints. He and another guy are accused of stealing up to $700 each time they worked.

We're told they, in fact, joked about it, joked about wanting to steal in front of their bosses. One even flipped out on security cameras. And consider this. Over the past three years, nearly two dozen security officers have been fired across the country for stealing from checked baggage. Yikes.

Next, gator in the hole. Look at this guy. A couple of 10-foot alligators paid a visit to a neighbor. This is Mississippi. The big boys eventually wandered into a drainage hole and, whoops, they got stuck. Safe to say, neighbors did not pull out the welcome wagon.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Oh, my God. It was huge. And his paws, this alligator -- I'm a little-bitty person, and this alligator could have just wrapped his legs around me, ate me up.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Am I going to have him for lunch or is he going to have me for lunch?

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BALDWIN: Yikes. The gator did would come up without a fight. We're told it took three long hours to get him come out.

And, finally, football players in Canada leave the field and head into the stands to fight, massive brawl, look at it, caught on tape. Watch as this plays out, these guys up in the stands happening during the final seconds of this Ontario football game. They're punching. They're kicking. They're tackling, even swinging some of their helmets.

You see they took them off. Went for several minutes. Police say fans were heckling the visiting team, and the players just snapped.

On the other hand, the opposing coach said the fans were throwing bottles, hurling insults. But get this. Because no one wants to press charges in this case, the police say they're dropping the investigation altogether. So, what are they calling this? A -- quote -- "consensual fight." Hmm.

Coming up: a chilling look inside the mind of an accused killer. His co-defendant's alleged journal entries, we have them. They were read aloud in court, calling one of his alleged victims a fighter and one a coward.

And next: the incredible untold story of the Chilean miners -- we have seen all this footage, right, from below the ground and the day of their rescue -- that only CNN can show you.

I see him out of the corner of my eyes, CNN's Patrick Oppmann, just back from Copiapo yesterday with the incredible behind-the-scenes tale that only a guy who spent two months with these miners' families can share. He welcome be here. You will not want to miss this.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

BALDWIN: Most of the world watched that terrifying ordeal and the rescue, thank goodness, right, of those 33 miners trapped underground in Chile for 69 days.

And CNN's all-platform journalist, Patrick Oppmann, was one of the first reporters on the scene very, very early on in that time frame. He's back fresh off a flight yesterday, sir, to share these compelling stories behind really the stories behind the stories.

And being a reporter, this is the stuff I love and I think some of our viewers do as well.

Patrick Oppmann, bravo. Job well done, friend.

(CROSSTALK)

PATRICK OPPMANN, CNN ALL-PLATFORM JOURNALIST: Nice to be home. Nice to be home.

BALDWIN: So you're home. But let's -- take me back to when you first got down there. You spent 43 days basically in the desert, assignment of a lifetime.

OPPMANN: The assignment of a lifetime, but one of the most inhospitable places you can imagine. Chile's Atacama Desert, there's no reason to be there, except in this case for this story. And everything has to be brought in.

I was telling you earlier, if anything breaks, we have all this high-tech stuff, it goes down, good luck. But we toughed it out. A lot of other people came in at the end, swapping off my -- our great colleague Karl Penhaul.

BALDWIN: Yes. There he was in the picture.

OPPMANN: And we didn't really know what we were in for. But it turned out to be a story that really kind of connected so many people across the world.

BALDWIN: So for a little while, or for a lot while, you were flying solo. (SPEAKING SPANISH)

OPPMANN: (SPEAKING SPANISH)

BALDWIN: (SPEAKING SPANISH)

And what was it like condition-wise, you know? Where would you sleep? How were you eating in between live shots? What was that like?

OPPMANN: If you had a late night, sometimes you would sleep in the car, which I did, because it was this dangerous mining road. It's not a road that anyone ever travelled on unless they were a miner. And so there were no lights, there were no guardrails. You kind of went by the cliffs. And we all had to put up with that.

There were 17 journalists that got in really bad car accidents. We learn in our classes that car accidents are the most dangerous things that can happen to a journalist overseas. So you had to really be careful with that. Sometimes there wasn't food. You can only eat so many days of cereal bars.

BALDWIN: But I guess we shouldn't be complaining about you're not eating, because we think about the 33 down below. And that was unbelievable.

OPPMANN: What they had to go through and certainly their family members -- and their family members were so kind, Brooke. There were days that they would say, come over. I'm going to cook for you. You haven't been eating. And you think, but everything that you're experiencing right now, how can you be giving to me? But that's just how the Chilean people are, and they were wonderful.

BALDWIN: And there's so a little something that happened -- a little something -- I'm being facetious. There was an earthquake. I didn't know about it. It wasn't really broadly reported. There was an earthquake down there. You were on the 10th floor of some building. What were the miners experiencing?

OPPMANN: We're told that, where they were, it wasn't so bad. This is an earthquake zone. This is not far from where the terrible earthquakes happened earlier on this year and people were absolutely devastated.

But on the mine site, they did feel a bit of a tremor. Up on a 10-story building, I was editing. It was late at night, and all of a sudden just a weird feeling you get in a doorway. And I had asked the officials there are they safe in the mine? And we had heard, yes, it's very secure. Well, of course it turned out it wasn't very secure, and that mine collapse was continuing all along.

BALDWIN: And the miners in Spanish, what were they saying? How did they -- the miners, they described as though it was crying in Spanish.

OPPMANN: You know mining people from covering the Upper Branch Disaster in West Virginia. There's a poetry to miners. And they said (SPEAKING SPANISH)

BALDWIN: (SPEAKING SPANISH)

OPPMANN: (SPEAKING SPANISH)

And they -- it's crying. The mine is weeping. And --

BALDWIN: Because it was crumbling.

(CROSSTALK)

OPPMANN: It was crumbling.

The tears were actual rocks falling. And that happened throughout it. And we're told the last day was one of the worst days. And so that's why these guys said, get us out. Get us out quickly.

BALDWIN: Gosh.

OPPMANN: It really came down to perhaps a matter of days before something terrible could have happened.

BALDWIN: Unbelievable. Nobody knew about that.

OPPMANN: They got them out. They got them out.

BALDWIN: Oh, thank goodness. BALDWIN: Let's roll over. Robert, let's spin around, because we have a bunch of questions from our fans on Twitter.

And this question is an excellent one. "Is the Chile government going to display the capsule," you know, the Phoenix capsule, "in a museum? And is there a known book or movie in the making?"

Sir, reporter?

OPPMANN: Yes. There are multiple books. There's a Chilean movie that will come out sooner. There's rumors of other big name Hollywood stars or Spanish stars.

That capsule is going to be a well travelled piece of machinery in the next couple years. It's going to go on tour, we're told. The little town of Copiapo, the center of all this international activity, they really want to hold on to this capsule. They know it's going to be a tourist draw. We'll see what happens there.

But people are getting a chance to try it out, see if they would have fit into the capsule. Brooke, as you know, it was a really tight fit.

BALDWIN: You know, we made a little mock capsule and we got a little poked fun of. But we were just trying to see what it would be like for the miners to be in that thing going through to freedom.

OPPMANN: Until you see it, and I think the first time they unveiled it and I saw it, it was like, that's a really tight squeeze. And some of these men lost 20 pounds to be able to fit in that capsule. If there's been a good incentive to be on a diet.

BALDWIN: That was it.

And we have, there's this whole idea, another story that wasn't told about a secret room that you worked and worked as a good reporter would to try to get access to explain what this secret room was in the back of the mine. Stand by -- that's the tease. We'll be right back.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

BALDWIN: If you're just joining me, I have a pretty special guest here, APJ -- all platform journalist -- Patrick Oppmann. APJ basically means you're flying solo, you're shooting the video, you're in front of the camera, you're writing your stuff. You're the renaissance man, sir.

You got back from Chile. You were there 43 days, thus the tan. He got back yesterday. And I want to pick up where we left off, the idea of a secret room that nobody really knew about.

This is a fascinating part of the story. We heard about it, because it's not something that the government advertised too, too much and they surely didn't want journalists getting to that room. And this was a place that family members could go in and speak live, just like we're talking now, with their beloved miners some 2,300 feet down below. They put a line down here.

BALDWIN: So here's the video.

OPPMANN: So we got video, this video because the families gave us this little flip camera right here.

BALDWIN: Take a look at this, Robert. Ta-da. Flip cameras, this little camera. This is what you handed out.

OPPMANN: And we didn't have access to the room. And I had this dream and worked through all levels of the government from the mining minister, the president's office, anybody who would listen to me about how this would be interviewing Neil Armstrong in the moon live.

BALDWIN: Perfect example. Perfect parallel.

OPPMANN: To sit down, talk about what they were experiencing, what they were feeling. I think we were getting kind of close. Just the last few hurdles -- you know how close it is, and then the break. They said, they're going to be on in a couple of days, it's not happening. But we did have a lot of talks.

And for the family members, you know, it was an incredible reassurance. They could go look at the family members minders so close, but still so far away.

BALDWIN: I had no idea that they could talk to them and see them. I had no idea until now.

And the other issue, when you bring up the flip cam you had -- and I remember, you were live when the horns went off when the Plan B drill hit through, that major, miraculous moment.

Talk to me about that.

OPPMANN: It was certainly one of the more amazing moments of my life and for the family members, it was really the first domino that fell that led to the rescue of their loved ones.

And you know, we met with Brandon Fisher, one of the Plan B drillers, you know, I know you know well. You know, the night before he said, I don't know if we're going to make it. We're only 40 meters, it's still touch and go. He was really nervous, which made me really nervous. I know the families were getting geared up, they were planning to celebrate.

BALDWIN: There's the moment. You can almost --

OPPMANN: And again, we asked to be there when it happened. We couldn't be there. They were so restrictive in their access. And yet, Julie Fisher, the wife of Brandon Fisher, another driller, she took this camera, shot this great video.

BALDWIN: Let's listen for a moment. Let's listen to the horn.

I mean, this is the kind of stuff you couldn't get, so you had to hand off the flip camera. You made friends, as a good reporter does, and you got this unbelievable access. Jumping up and down, these guys. You were eating it, living it, breathing it, you all wanted to see it have a happy ending.

OPPMANN: We did. These guys, the rescue workers, some of them from around the world, they dedicated their lives, weeks of their lives to this operation. And they just lost it here. Professionals, all they do is drill. Do you think they celebrate every time they drill a hole? Absolutely not, and they went nuts. They celebrated more than some of the family members did. I actually was kind of in shock. And then they went back to work and got the job done and the family members will be in their debt for that.

BALDWIN: And when they got the job done. Were you at the plaza? That's where you were with the thousands and thousands -- I mean, talk to me about the about the Chilean pride, the families, all of them coming together.

What was that like being there? I mean, it's one thing to see it on TV.

OPPMANN: It's a mining community and a mining town we were in. And we got down to the plaza, it was still sort of empty. We knew there was a big screen up in there. And the dark night we started to see down the streets, you know, these little tiny streets leading into the plaza, very old plaza just filled with people.

And they got them there and they were loud and they were excited, and they got very, very silent as we got to that first rescue. And then when they pulled him to the top, the crowd went insane. I've never covered anything like that, as electrifying, and that played out again and again in the hours to come.

The people never left the plaza, they were there all night long. We were broadcasting in the middle of a sea of people. Nobody touched our equipment. People were wonderful, hugging us, kissing us. It was just one of the best parties I'll ever remember doing.

BALDWIN: It's a kind of story where as a reporter we all try to have our reporter hats, but you just -- you get involved and you're thrilled with everybody else it had a happy ending.

And one other question, you know, I was asking you earlier, and let's go to Twitter, you know I was wondering if anyone at any point in time though, gosh, we're not going to get all of these guys out.

So here's this question, "I heard the families never gave up hope. Was there always a sense that it would end well or did fatalism set in?"

OPPMANN: It was touch and go. The government said from the beginning that the success would only be judged if 33 men came out. I know from talking to some of these families, even if my miner gets out, if anybody else is hurt or dies, we'll be crushed. We've been one family and it was really sort of an all-or-nothing moment. And for me as well, every time they came out. Yes, we're a journalist, but you're also a human being and you've got your heart in your throat. And you get to meet some of these men afterwards, get to shake their hands, hear their stories, it's been a privilege for me.

BALDWIN: And I think it also speaks to the families of these miners who now close personal friends of yours. You're going to have a beach house in Vina del Mar forever, Patrick Oppmann. Talk to me now about, you know, now you're back but you'll always have a connection with Chile. It goes beyond the story.

OPPMANN: It does. And certainly, living a story like this where you're up at the camp, you're spending 24 hours a day for weeks up at the camp, sleeping in tents sometimes.

BALDWIN: The last week not having, what, water?

OPPMANN: water. You know, it was a big story, you're there fronting it but you also haven't taken a shower for a couple of days. But again, that's the conditions that the families lived in for much longer than we did and they saw we were suffering with them to get the story and they respected that.

And when it all happened, they said we're going to arrange some time, we want to see you again. And I'll go back to Chile and I'll be friends with these people for the rest of my life.

BALDWIN: Thank you. Thank you, Patrick Oppmann. Bravo. And thank you for my flag, real quickly. This is the flag, right, that they -- that you brought back that they were all waving in the plaza.

OPPMANN: That was one. That was one of the many, and people gave them to us to bring back here and pass on this legend of the 33, Los Treinta-tres.

BALDWIN: Los Treinta-tres. Gracias.

OPPMANN: Thank you so much.

BALDWIN: Thank you. Awesome job.

All right, take a look at this.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Oh, he's jumping on the cop car. He's smashing it up. He knows how to open car doors. He opens car doors.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BALDWIN: Smashing it up indeed. Who or what is smashing it? That's a 300-pound chimp, folks, on the hood of a police car. What did America's most wanted chimp? What could he have possibly done wrong? That's next.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK) BALDWIN: Anybody remember the video game? You ever play Donkey Kong? If so, you have to see it and hear it, too.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Oh, he's jumping on the cop car. He's smashing it up. Yes, he knows how to open car doors.

He opens car doors, lock your doors.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Oh, he broke the window! He broke the cop's window.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BALDWIN: He opens car doors. This is a 300-pound chimp went ape, in a Kansas City, Missouri neighborhood Tuesday. It dragged a trash bin and it smashed this police cruiser's windshield. Imagine being inside. This is even after being hit by tranquilizers, by the way.

Officers were not too keen on going head-to-head with this guy after that. But monkey business did have a happy ending. The owner coaxed it into a cage and it's resting safely at an animal sanctuary.

Miami, you do not usually see this kind of thing outside of action movies, but this is real. How in the world does something like this ever happen? Here's how. The driver of the white car hit the accelerator and not the brake. Woops. Get this -- the force of the crash actually lifted that SUV, see the silver car, into the air. That's the first amazing fact. Secondly, no one was injured.

How about this for some close action? A sports photographer, a videographer got a little close to the action Tuesday. There we go, shattered glass. If it hadn't been for the camera, the runaway bat might have hit his face. Look at that, talk about taking one for the team.

And while desperate homeowners out there are trying to hold on to their homes, what were some bank employees doing? Some law office employees? According to one report, accepting bribes and forging paperwork in an effort to race to foreclosure through the system. That is ahead.

Gloria Borger is tracking news from the White House and all over the campaign trail. What is making the headlines? Gloria will tell us. "CNN Equals Politics."

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

BALDWIN: A big 13 days to go here until midterm elections. CNN has all of the latest political news with The Best Political Team on Television. Need I remind you, "CNN Equals Politics." Gloria Borger is in the CNNpolitics.com desk.

Gloria, here she is. Good to see you. GLORIA BORGER, CNN SENIOR POLITICAL ANALYST: Nice to sed you.

BALDWIN: Let's talk about the president, Mr. Obama. You know he's hitting the trail very, very hard. We talked earlier with Jess Yellin about Ohio, but now he's heading westward on the Oregon Trail, if you will.

But I want to talk with you specifically about what is he trying to accomplish in California and in Washington?

BORGER: You know, the first rule of politics, Brooke, is do no harm. So that's what we want to talk about on the Ticker today. Because this president is going out West to try to make sure he keeps the seats that really should be easy for the Democrats to keep. Barbara Boxer's seat in California, Patty Murray's seat in the state of Washington. These are Democratic states.

But the president is going out there because these are some states where actually he can help. You know, there are a lot of folks in a lot of congressional districts, if they're very honest with you, they say, you know, Mr. President, we'd like you to raise money for us. But how about doing it behind closed doors?

In the state of Washington and California, Barack Obama is still very popular. He can help those candidates bring out the base. And he can also bring in the bucks, which is what both of them would like and need. So, you want to put your president where he can help in the last weeks of the election.

BALDWIN: And what more should we expect from the president? Where does he go, do we know, after heading out West?

BORGER: Well, he's going to stay out West in this five-state tour. He's going to go help Harry Reid in Nevada, for example. The Senate majority leader doesn't want to lose that seat. Nevada is a swing state. Barack Obama won it in 2008.

And what the president can really do, and I was talking to a senior White House advisor about this. Look, he can raise some money, as we were talking about before. He can raise enthusiasm, right? Very, very important. And he can also try and shape the debate, this advisor was saying.

Because people still listen to the president, whether you like him or not, he can shape the debate. And the debate that Barack Obama wants to have with Republicans is a debate between going forward, as he says, the Democrats will take the country, or going backward to George W. Bush as he says the Republicans will take the country. So, they figure if he's out there enough on the campaign trail with this message, somehow it will seep through. At least that's what they hope right now.

BALDWIN: Yes, I know. A lot of people have been enthusiastic because it sounds like he's been sounding more like candidate Obama and also wondering if he'll bring someone with high approval ratings, being his wife, the first lady. We'll have to see. Gloria Borger, thank you. Thank you.

BORGER: Sure.

BALDWIN: We'll get another political update, of course, next hour. Meantime, take a look at this.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

HILLARY CLINTON, U.S. SECRETARY OF STATE: Hang in there. And ask for help. Your life is so important to your family, your friends, and to your country.

JENNY MCCARTHY, ACTRESS: It gets better.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: It gets better.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BALDWIN: Even now secretary of state Hillary Clinton joining the chorus of celebrities telling gay teens, it gets better. And have you noticed a lot of people are wearing purple today? That's "Trending." That's next.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

BALDWIN: And now, time for "Trending," when all of you apparently exploded all over Twitter, right? And for that, we go to Sandra Endo? What - what is this? This purple thing?

SANDRA ENDO, CNN CORRESPONDENT: A huge trend all this week. But it really culminates today. It may be starting today, really, this campaign all across social media and big on Twitter and Facebook. All of you out there may be seeing a lot of purple because -- that's because, actually, more than $1.6 million have signed up for Wear Purple Day on Facebook in support of lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender youth. And remember those lost to anti-LBGT bullying.

Now, even some public and very powerful people, such as secretary of state Hillary Clinton are getting involved to encourage young people that it does get better.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

CLINTON: I have a message for all of the young people out there who are being bullied or feel alone and find it hard to imagine a better future. First of all, hang in there. And ask for help. Your life is so important to your families, to your friends, and to your country. And there's so much waiting for you both personally and professionally.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

ENDO: The social media campaign It Gets Better was launched to bring awareness and support for those being bullied. There are YouTube channels out there, Brooke. All of these Web sites have been set up as well to get people to support this cause and provide aid.

Now, some celebrities are tweeting about this as well in honor of Spirit Day. Let's check out the Twitter board right there. MrJayManual, "let it not be in vein." And he lists the names of those lost because of this bullying.

And also going to the next one, Levar Burton said "Today is spirit day, wear your purple proudly."

And going to the next one, Paulie Perrete, "Wear purple 10/20/10 in support of no bullying."

And also, you can see Flikr, they've released all of the pictures wearing purple throughout the country.

BALDWIN: All these people, just anyone can uploaded pictures of themselves?

ENDO: Absolutely. Yes. This is from GLAAD. This is their Web site. They collected all their pictures of the people supporting this cause. This is their campaign, obviously, to fight bullying.

BALDWIN: It's amazing how this picked up. I remember we told the story a couple of weeks ago about the It Gets Better Project. And that started with one columnist and the YouTube channel, and now today --

ENDO: Yes, look, it's the power of social media.

BALDWIN: Incredible. Especially with the young folks. Sandra Endo, thank you.

ENDO: Sure.

BALDWIN: Were hundreds of Florida homeowners forced into foreclosure by what is being called - you ever heard of this phrase? A foreclosure mill. An eye-opening report made headlines in Tampa with allegations, get this. Bribery, forgery, and worse. Guess what they got? Find out after the break.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

BALDWIN: All right. Time to go beyond the headlines. You know, every couple of days we're trying to show an interesting story that's being reported by your own hometown newspaper. Then we bring the stories to the rest of the viewers here in the CNN NEWSROOM. Then together, we go beyond the headlines for an in-depth look at that story.

And today, let me show you what we have. This is "The Tampa Tribune." Check out the headline: "Witness: foreclosure firm owner gave gifts for altering documents." Hmm.

According to this report, former employees at one of Florida's largest foreclosure mills claims some workers were given jewelry, cars, even houses -- paid off mortgages in exchange for altering or even forging some of these key documents in order to obtain foreclosures. This was done -- "The Tampa Tribune" is reporting to gain quick foreclosure.

And Shannon Behnken, she's the reporter behind this particular headline. She joined us via Skype to talk more about her article. Shannon, excellent job here.

SHANNON BEHNKEN, REPORTER, "THE TAMPA TRIBUNE": Thank you.

BALDWIN: This is a phrase I had yet heard. So let us know what is a foreclosure mill? .

BEHNKEN: Well, that's a term that the Florida attorney general is calling foreclosure firms that deal with hundreds of thousands of foreclosure documents every day.

BALDWIN: Talk to me specifically what you found from these documents. We're talking specifically about this law firm. And you know, a lot of us in telling these foreclosure stories. We've heard about robo signings. But a lot of people would agree, this is way worse because you had employees who willingly faked signatures in exchange for what?

BEHNKEN: Well, according to the statements that were released recently from the attorney general's office, former employees of law firms have testified that employees received cars, had their personal bills paid, even received free houses in exchange for rushing through documents and forging their names in to documents.

We've been covering this case for a while now, but until recently, it's been largely a mystery to most consumers as to what goes on in a foreclosure firm. And now we've gotten a sneak peek into what it's like to work inside one of these firms.

BALDWIN: And what, specifically, within this law firm, Shannon, were these employees doing? Tell me specifics.

BEHNKEN: Well, allegedly, they were signing documents. Hundreds of documents were spread out on conference tables, and they were signing blank documents, according to the testimony from the attorney general's office. Later, another employee would come in and notarize these documents, again, without watching the actual person signing them.

BALDWIN: Wow. And then you have -- part of your article, you talk about Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac. And they would make office visits to this particular law firm because, perhaps, they had heard maybe that there was some wrongdoing happening with regard to their documents. But they would be tipped off. The office would be tipped of that they were coming.

BEHNKEN: According to the testimony from two of the employees who worked inside of this firm -- and this is the David J. Stern firm -- that they had insiders who worked in both Fannie and Freddie who would call the firm before these auditors were supposed to come in and alert them of the visit. Now, Fannie and Freddie tell me that it wouldn't be unusual for someone to call them, let them know that a visit was going to happen. But according to the testimony, they did more than that.

They told them what files they needed to hide. And then the employees would hide the files and lock them away in a conference room, and then take them back out again when Fannie and Freddie would leave. And they also testified that David J. Stern's office would foot the bill for a hotel, for catering, and treat them right while they were there to do their work.

BALDWIN: Real quickly, Shannon, just to be fair, you reached out to this Stern law office. What are they saying? And are they even still in business?

BEHNKEN: Of course. Yes, they are still in business. We have reached out to them. Their attorney tells me that they have done nothing wrong, that these are disgruntled employees who are making up stories about the firm to get revenge for being let go.

BALDWIN: Wow. And you mentioned to me over the phone this is a civil case. It could turn criminal. And this is one of four investigations within just the state of Florida. And perhaps this could be indicative of nationwide.

Shannon Behnken, great article. Thanks for joining me.

BEHNKEN: Thank you.

BALDWIN: All right. Still to come, Wolf Blitzer. He's up next with a quick look at what's ahead in THE SITUATION ROOM.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

BALDWIN: Today, the Justice Department did in fact file an emergency request with the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals. This whole thing is to stop this order allowing openly gay men and women serve in the military.

And Wolf Blitzer is going to be all over this, coming up in just a couple minutes on "THE SITUATION ROOM."

And Wolf, let's just get a quick preview. Some people are kind of confused because, why is the administration trying to reinstate "Don't Ask, Don't Tell" when the president himself says he does want to repeal it, ultimately, but for now wants it dead?

WOLF BLITZER, CNN ANCHOR: You're absolutely right, because a lot of gay supporters out there are saying this would be a perfect opening for the administration to forget about "Don't Ask, Don't Tell" because the court has now ruled that it is unconstitutional to prevent gays from serving openly in the United States military. But the Obama administration, through the Justice Department, as you say, is asking for a stay in implementing this.

They want the Congress to pass legislation. Here's the problem, though -- the problem, if you support getting rid of "Don't Ask, Don't Tell," the current Congress had a chance to do it. They didn't do it. And there's great fear that the next Congress which might have more Republicans in it, almost certainly will, would be even less likely to go ahead and formally rescind "Don't Ask, Don't tell."

So that's why there's frustration in the gay community right now, that this president, who says "Don't Ask, Don't Tell" should be discarded, is aggressively fighting through the Justice Department to effectively, at least for now, keep it alive. So it's a problem out there, especially for gay activists.

BALDWIN: You'll have more on that. You're also going to have more about this interview.

You know, you talked to former ambassador Joe Wilson and former CIA agent Valerie Plame, and you're going to have just pieces of that interview coming up in we know in the second half of "THE SITUATION ROOM." This is all having to do with that big move out of D.C.

Give us a little preview.

BLITZER: Yes. It's called "Fair Game." It's the new movie. Sean Penn, Naomi Watts, they play Joe Wilson and Valerie Plame.

It deals with the whole issue during the buildup to the war in Iraq and the aftermath of the outing of this CIA officer, Valerie Plame, and what happened. Eventually, as we know, Scooter Libby, the vice president, Dick Cheney's chief of staff, was convicted. He got clemency from President Bush, got a pardon, got clemency before leaving office, did not have to serve jail time.

But I'll tell you, we go in depth with these two. We've interviewed both of them separately. This is the first time I've had a chance to interview both of them together. And we're going to have it in our 6:00 p.m. Eastern hour, right here in "THE SITUATION ROOM."

BALDWIN: No Wolf Blitzer reporter cameos in this big D.C. movie?

BLITZER: No, Wolf Blitzer cameos in this movie.

BALDWIN: OK, Wolf Blitzer. We will see you coming up here in a couple of minutes on "THE SITUATION ROOM."

Now I want you to take a look at this. We have some words here written inside a journal. They're haunting, they're disturbing. Some described it as sociopathic musings, one of the reporters up in Hartford, Connecticut.

They come from one of the men accused of killing a mother and her two young daughters. Wait until you hear how lawyers are using this in court.

That is next.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK) BALDWIN: The crimes are impossible to imagine. The testimony, brutal to hear. But this week may be the cruelest yet here in the Connecticut home invasion murder trial of Steven Hayes. Specifically, this is the penalty phase to determine whether he should face the death penalty.

Hayes has been found guilty in the murders of Jennifer Hawke- Petit and her two daughters. There they are, Hayley and Michaela.

Now, Hayes and an alleged accomplice invaded the family's home, beat Dr. William Petit with a bat, strangled his wife, and set the house on fire. So now this jury, the same jury that sat through that trial, needs to decide if Hayes should be put to death.

Yesterday, in that courtroom in Connecticut, they were read these entries from jail house interviews written by Hayes' alleged accomplice. And in the journal, Joshua Komisarjevsky allegedly writes -- and these are pieces of the journal here -- writing, "Moments of extreme stress brings out ones character in purist form."

He goes on to assess the victims. "Hayley is a fighter." This is one of the daughters. "She continually tried time and time again to free herself and reach help for her family."

Another daughter, "Michaela's calm strength and poised emotion gave her an aura of fearlessness in the face of adversity." And it goes on, "Mrs. Petit's courage was/is to be respected. She could have stayed inside the bank where she was safe and there wouldn't have been anything we could have done about it. She left that safety to protect her children and it cost her her life."

Now, you may be wondering what these journal entries have anything to do with Steven Hayes, the current defendant. Well, his lawyers are trying to save Hayes' life by using a tactic -- sounds familiar here -- the same tactic they used during the trial.

They are hoping to show the jurors that compared to Komisarjevsky, who will face all these murder charges next year, that, hey, Hayes, not such a bad a guy, not as bad as Komisarjevsky. That he's a harmless, minor criminal, a hardworking guy who struggled with drugs and hung out with the wrong guy at the wrong time. They hope to convince the jury that the real bad guy is Joshua Komisarjevsky.

Rikki Klieman is a criminal defense attorney and former prosecutor.

And Rikki, wow, I have pages and pages here of these journal entries, and it's sort of fascinating, how even neat his writing is. But I want to talk specifically about the point here. What is the point here in having these lawyers read these journal entries aloud? What are they trying to accomplish with regard to Hayes?

RIKKI KLIEMAN, CRIMINAL DEFENSE ATTORNEY: Well, they're trying to accomplish exactly as you stated, Brooke, which is to say Komisarjevsky is definitely the evildoer here and that Steven Hayes, well, he's a follower, he's more of a patsy. He really wouldn't have done this. He was being directed by this terribly evil man.

The problem with that decision, as I see it, is that I think this backfires on the defense. Even though the defense is being creative and trying to save his life, the reality is these journals are vulgar, they're depraved, they're disgusting. And I say that the spillover effect of the journals on to Steven Hayes is going to possibly send him directly to the death site.

BALDWIN: I mean, Rikki, we see the tactic that was used during the trial. And we know that the jury convicted Hayes of 16 of the 17 counts. So why would the defense think it would work this time? Is this sort of the last defense, if you will?

KLIEMAN: Well, it's what they've got. You know, you take the deck of cards and you get the hand that's dealt you.

So what they're trying to say is, look, there are two defendants here. OK, kill one, don't kill mine.

The problem with all of that, Brooke, is that this was not a defendant -- Steven Hayes was not a defendant who was in some getaway car a mile away. He was not someone who didn't know what was going on.

For heaven's sake, he is the person who the prosecutors alleged and he was convicted as being the person who murdered the mother after sexually assaulting her. What more does that jury need?

And then the journals make fun of Dr. Petit. And for me, that is the most unkind cut of all.

BALDWIN: Right, calling him essentially a coward. They had hit him with a bat and tied him up in the basement. Talking about how he fled the basement and left his family to die.

It's sick stuff, no doubt. But who a lot of people want to hear from, Rikki, is the -- who would be the star witness, Steven Hayes himself. When might with hear from him?

KLIEMAN: Well, ,he certainly has a right to testify. And we know that. But it's -- he can beg for mercy or do whatever he thinks is appropriate.

For that matter, he could say, "Put me to death" and save the jurors a decision. But the reality is that if you're representing Mr. Hayes, then you really have to think about if his testimony is wise at all.

BALDWIN: Rikki Klieman, criminal defense attorney, former prosecutor.

Rikki, good to see you. I have a feeling we'll be having this conversation again as this continues.

Meantime, I'm going to turn our attention to Washington and my colleague, Wolf Blitzer.