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President Obama Meets With Former President Bill Clinton; Fate of Don't Ask, Don't Tell Reform?; Will U.S. Government Indict WikiLeaks Founder? Elizabeth Smart's Kidnapper Found Guilty; Senators Bernie Sander and Mary Landrieu Giving Long Speeches Against Tax Deal; Jet Fighter Pilot Trials With Claustrophobia; U.S. May Try to Extradite Founder of WikiLeaks; Salma Hayek Talks About Working in Hollywood as a Latina; David Hasselhoff's Reality Show Canceled After Two Episodes
Aired December 10, 2010 - 15:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
DON LEMON, CNN ANCHOR: Thank you, Ali. Have a great weekend.
Have you seen this? We have some developing stories this hour.
Wonder if you've seen this video. Check out how a SWAT team smoked out the bad guys after an interstate standoff today. There's also a mystery that we're following at this hour. The designer of these swimsuits was found dead in a posh New York City hotel room, and the son of an Oscar winner is being questioned. We will get to that in just a moment.
A lot of you are also tweeting about this right now, a long, long speech happening right now on the Senate floor. And it's on the tax cut deal. Senator Bernie Sanders, independent from Vermont -- and Democrat Mary Landrieu is helping him out -- Mary Landrieu from Louisiana. They have been going at it all day.
Sanders started in the 10:00 a.m. Eastern hour with his laundry list of complaints about that bill. We are going to follow that for you.
And Bill Clinton, he's a former president. He is just now arriving at the White House this hour for a meeting with President Obama.
And, at this hour, Monday, 3:00 p.m. Eastern, the Senate will begin voting on the huge tax cut deal. Remember the other day, when Majority Leader Harry Reid said there would be some changes? Well, late last night, the Senate Democrats added tax breaks for green energy investments. So, have you heard the latest price tag for all of this? -- $860 billion over 10 years, Bush era tax cuts extended for two years, 13 months of unemployment benefits, a cut of two percentage points on the payroll tax.
And, again, I want to remind you at this moment former President Bill Clinton is at the White House.
And Suzanne Malveaux is there, too. So, Suzanne, Bill Clinton is no stranger to negotiating with Republicans when the heat is on. Is that why he's being called out by the president to a bullpen today?
(LAUGHTER)
SUZANNE MALVEAUX, CNN WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT: This --
LEMON: This is reminiscent of 1994.
MALVEAUX: Well, absolutely. To the bullpen, I like that, Don.
You know, Obviously, this is a conversation that is very important to the current president, President Obama. This is something that the White House aides tell me that they had arranged a couple of weeks ago. So we know it happened after the shellacking, but it's not like the president picked up the phone yesterday and said, oh, my God, there's a Democratic revolt that's taking place.
But clearly this -- the timing could not be better. It could not be more relevant for these two men to sit down across from each other in the Oval Office and -- and to share some of the wisdom here. As you mentioned before, President Clinton himself endured his own shellacking back in '94, when the Democrats lost the majority.
He was able to work with Republicans. He moved to the center. But he had a lot of arm-twisting to do when it came to convincing Democrats of the North American Free Trade Agreement -- Agreement, NAFTA, as well as the welfare reform. Those were the kinds of things that he had to really do some convincing and bring members of his own party on board.
But, ultimately, Don, what he was able to do is to beat those Republicans and become a two-term president. That is what this president wants as well. He wants to learn how he have managed to move in the center to the middle, get some things done, work with his party, as well as be successful.
So, I wish I was a fly on the wall to see this --
(LAUGHTER)
MALVEAUX: -- see this meeting.
(LAUGHTER)
LEMON: Tell me about it, because they -- during the campaign, they did not always get along, and it wasn't until the very end that Bill Clinton sort of came around and I guess the president did too, and, then, of course, the president asking Hillary Clinton to become his secretary of state.
MALVEAUX: Absolutely.
LEMON: Listen, can we move on?
MALVEAUX: Sure.
LEMON: We're going to take -- we're going to watch that, watch what's happening in the White House, but we're hearing the White House may be the Grinch on Christmas if Congress doesn't pass the START treaty.
MALVEAUX: Ah, the -- OK, the Grinch.
Well, there are a couple of things that are happening here. Robert Gibbs said this morning that he did feel that the White House, the president was confident that START was going to happen during the lame-duck session. It's not necessarily guaranteed.
There's a lot of questions involving that. What is really interesting is, when you take a look at that tax cut deal, what is happening now? There was a revolt. As you know, the House Democrats said, we're not even bringing it to the floor. It's been devastating really to the administration, just the level of anger and frustration that is coming from his own party.
What we did see today, Don, is that, on the Senate side, they added some extra goodies for the Democrats, some energy tax credits. They are going to work on that next week on Monday on the Senate side.
The hope is, the White House hopes, is that it will pass on the Senate side, and they will push it over to the House. There will be enough political pressure on the Democrats who are revolting to come up with something, to agree essentially to the president and the Republicans' plan, because none of those Democrats are going to want to be responsible for tax increasing come January 1. So, that is the hope here.
LEMON: Yes, and when I say -- when I say the Grinch, meaning that they may have to work through Christmas if they don't get something done.
MALVEAUX: Oh.
LEMON: That's --
MALVEAUX: Yes, a little coal in the old --
(LAUGHTER)
MALVEAUX: -- the stocking there for sure.
LEMON: All right.
MALVEAUX: Yes, that -- that might be the case.
LEMON: All right, Suzanne Malveaux at the White House, where the former president is there, Bill Clinton, and the current president is there as well.
Thank you, Suzanne. We will check back with you. Let's move on now and talk about gay rights groups. They are definitely disappointed by yesterday's Senate vote that failed to raise support needed to open a debate on the Pentagon's don't ask, don't tell policy.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED PROTESTERS: Don't go home! Don't go home! Don't go home!
(CHEERING AND APPLAUSE)
(END VIDEO CLIP)
LEMON: If you can hear them, they are shouting, "Don't go home," a small, but vocal group of men and women urging lawmakers to work through the holidays and keep trying to repeal the ban on military service for openly gay people.
One protester, a serviceman discharged under the policy, told the group he was disappointed in one lawmaker in particular. Listen.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
PEPE JOHNSON, DISCHARGED FROM ARMY UNDER DON'T ASK, DON'T TELL: I was disappointed yesterday in Senator Joe Manchin from the state of West Virginia.
I was embarrassed, because Joe Manchin decided to be a lone ranger and vote against the repeal of don't ask, don't tell, said he'd only been in office for three weeks, so he didn't have a chance to hear from the people of West Virginia.
Well, Joe Manchin, if you can't hear me now, you better get a hearing aid.
(CHEERING AND APPLAUSE)
(END VIDEO CLIP)
LEMON: Hmm.
Right to the Pentagon now and our correspondent Barbara Starr.
Barbara, is the fight for don't ask, don't tell in this session all but over?
BARBARA STARR, CNN PENTAGON CORRESPONDENT: Well, if you listen do most on Capitol Hill, they say that it is, but -- there's always a but -- another piece of legislation has already been introduced by Senator Lieberman and some of his colleagues, trying to get it maybe moved through the Senate in these closing days of the lame-duck session.
And, in fact, on Secretary Gates -- Defense Secretary Robert Gates says he still is hopeful that in these final days of the lame- duck that Congress might pass it. And, of course, the reason the Pentagon wants the legislation is, if the Congress does not act, it is virtually certain the federal courts will.
There is a growing body of legal evidence that they will rule that the ban is unconstitutional. And that can force the military into some very hasty action, they believe, to try and comply with any court ruling. So, they're still helpful -- hopeful, but that Washington clock is ticking, Don.
LEMON: So, what are the chances, though, that -- of this debate being opened? I know that last night they were dealt a blow. But what are the chances of the debate being opened in the coming days?
STARR: Well, it gets into a lot of procedural stuff on Capitol Hill.
If the new bill was to come to the floor of the Senate, it would apparently require several hours of debate. It would have to, if passed, then be reconciled, if you will, with the House side. Both bodies would have to vote on it again. All of this takes time. And it is, of course, against the backdrop of this tax controversy that Suzanne was just talking about, plus ratification of the START arms control treaty.
The list of things that needs to get done and wants to get done doesn't seemed to be whittled down as that clock is ticking. So, it remains to be seen.
Secretary Gates wants it. We will see if next week he can do something to convince Congress to get moving.
LEMON: And there's any way they're going to work through the holidays, really quickly, Barbara, to get this done?
STARR: To get just this done, smarter political minds in Washington than me, I think, would probably say not.
LEMON: Barbara Starr, thank you very much.
STARR: Sure.
LEMON: The man accused of kidnapping Elizabeth Smart learns his fate, and we're expecting her family to speak this hour live right here on CNN. We're in Salt Lake City. That's straight ahead.
And a designer found dead in a hotel bathtub, police found her half-naked with bruises on her body. Now officers are talking to the son of an Oscar winner -- details next.
Plus, we're now hearing who Prince Harry might bring to his brother's wedding next year. Here's a hint for you. She's an actress. And that's all I'm going to tell you now. That's coming up.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
LEMON: OK, imagine running into during your morning commute. Look at that. This standoff on Interstate 94 in Milwaukee, it started at 4:00 this morning, and it went on for six hours.
It finally ended after police used a remote-control robot to break out a back window in that SUV. There's the takedown right there. Watch what happens next. This is from our affiliate WTMJ.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: And now they're putting -- they're putting in gas. They're putting in some sort of gas. They have just dumped in some sort of gas. And you see somebody's coming out. It looks like the -- the driver door is opening and someone is coming out. You might be able to see -- yes. Yes.
You see that. I don't know if you can hear this, but they are telling him to -- face down, face down. The dogs are barking. Now we're seeing --
(END VIDEO CLIP)
LEMON: What a way to start your morning commute. And that's them taking the suspects out of the SUV there.
Here, the standoff started when police spotted the disabled SUV on the side of the road and realized it was stolen. But the driver just refused to get out. Guess they had to after that.
OK. In New York City, New York police discovered the bruised body of a celebrity swimsuit design in a bathtub at an exclusive SoHo hotel. Police say the body of the 33-year-old Sylvie Cachay had bruises on her neck and bite marks. The hotel staff was alerted to a problem when a person in the room below reported water leaking from the ceiling. Police are questioning Nick Brooks, the 24-year-old son of "You Light Up My Life" Oscar songwriter Joseph Brooks.
We will follow that one for you.
As if the -- the country's budget issues weren't painful enough -- there you see him right there -- that's Timothy Geithner. He is the treasury secretary. He checked into a hospital today with a kidney stone. It's very painful. Doctors say Geithner is having minor surgery to remove the offending stone and should be back to work on Monday, but he will be out of the loop this weekend as the tax cut debate promises to get nasty -- we should say nastier. It's already gotten nasty.
You see him right there. You know Julian Assange. Is the U.S. getting ready to indict the founder of WikiLeaks on charges of spying? We will break it down straight ahead.
Plus, Senator Bernie sanders is in his fifth hour and going strong of speaking on the floor. It is no secret that Democrats are pretty upset over the cut deal, the one Obama, President Obama, cut with Republicans. But will the bickering in Washington mean higher taxes for everyone? That is really the bigger and more important question here. Our Mark Preston is next. He will break it down.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
LEMON: Wow. Look at this. This is the breaking news right now on CNN.
This is coming to you from Queens, New York. Look at that. That is an 18-wheeler. That is a city bus. And then you see an SUV in the middle of all of this, a bus, a tractor trailer and an SUV. We're told that this is on Hillside Avenue in Queens, and it's near the New Giant Farms. That's the name on the awning right there.
It would appear to be a delicatessen, but it's not. It looks like it's maybe a vegetable, a place where you go to get vegetables and produce. And this is all going on, 3:15 in the afternoon, really close to rush hour. We don't have any word of any injuries so far, but we're checking with our affiliate, our affiliate WABC. You can see that is where this video is coming from.
They are on the scene. You see all the fire apparatus, and we're told that, at this point, six people are being treated on the scene -- again, a really crazy accident going on here. It could have been major. We're told, though, good news I'm hearing from my producer, at this point they believe none of the injuries is life-threatening -- again, Hillside Avenue in Queens, a tractor-trailer, a city bus and an SUV.
Can you imagine being in any one of those vehicles, especially that SUV? As many as six people being treated. We will follow for you here on CNN. It could -- looks bad, but could have been worse.
On now to breaking political news, shall we say?
Mark Preston is here now.
So, Mark, what can you tell about this not quite a filibuster thing that's happening right now? It's amazing, because they have been going since 10:00 a.m. Eastern time.
MARK PRESTON, CNN SENIOR POLITICAL EDITOR: Yes, so Bernie Sanders, the Vermont senator, 69 years old, Don, has been on the Senate floor since 10:24 this morning.
Right now, I just got off the phone with his office. They don't know how long he's going to go, but his goal is to try to take down the Obama plan. And, of course, that plan would be to extend the Bush era tax cuts for everybody, including the millionaires.
Now, this has become such a big point of contention with liberal Democrats, because they say this has been something they have been really against for years. And now the Obama administration has cut this deal with Republicans.
Again, just getting off the phone with his office, his office says their phones are jammed up. I only got through to him, Don, because I had a backroom number to get through, a direct line through. They're also exploding right now on the social networking sites, on Twitter. Everyone is abuzz if you're tuned into this debate. So, Bernie Sanders -- we don't know how long he will stay on the Senate floor -- is railing against the Obama administration, Don.
LEMON: You know, it's really interesting, too, because I have been following it. It's trending on Twitter. At last check, before I came up here to the studio, Mark, it was number six, and we had been watching it in the newsroom.
Let's go to Twitter real quick, because we're following it. It's @senatorsanders. It says: "It's pretty clear in this economy who is winning and losing. The working people, middle-class people, low- income people are losing." And that's from Bernie sanders.
Mary Landrieu has been helping him out in Louisiana. So, when Mary Landrieu takes over, Mark, he goes and he sits down and he tweets and he gets his act together and probably gets some water and rests a little bit, get some information. And then she take -- and then he will go back and then he will take over.
PRESTON: Yes.
(CROSSTALK)
LEMON: So, we're going to be following that here on CNN.
So, Mark, I have got a lot to talk to you about. I want to --
PRESTON: Sure.
LEMON: I want to move on and talk about this, because this is a big story, Bill Clinton at the White House right now, at the behest of the current president.
And so we have to believe that the tax cut deal will take up at least a portion of their conversation, Mark. A Senate vote on that deal is looming on Monday, as we said at the top of this broadcast. But there is still the question of the House. So the Democrats have gotten quite colorful in their criticism of Obama's deal with Republicans.
Mark, I want you to hear one of them who is not happy at all about it, and then we will talk. Listen.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP, "AMERICAN MORNING")
REP. GARY ACKERMAN (D), NEW YORK: They get the credit for everything we do. We get the blame for everything they did that went bad. If they have cut the deal, let them deliver the votes. There will be Democrats who are going to vote for this. And we want a compromise.
But this isn't -- a compromise isn't what's -- what's mine is mine and what is yours is ours. That's what's happening here. They get everything on their list, plus, and the average person really does get screwed. (END VIDEO CLIP)
LEMON: All right, so that was Gary Ackerman from New York. He was on "AMERICAN MORNING" this morning.
So, Mark, this is like siblings fighting on Christmas, like my sisters and I used to do, who got the better loot from Santa Claus. Is this, though, seriously, the rhetoric that American people say they don't want right now?
PRESTON: Well, certainly not Democrats anyway.
You're seeing the Democratic Party being torn apart at the seams right now. You have liberal Democrats upset at the Obama administration. You have centrist Democrats that are upset at the liberal Democrats because they're not going along with this deal.
And let's go back to the November election. Voters didn't vote for Republicans because they thought they would do a better job. They voted against those who were in power, and that was Democrats. And people are frustrated, Don, at the rhetoric here in Washington and the fact that Democrats and Republicans can't get along.
And what we're seeing play out right now is a Democratic Party in peril, so to speak. Ironically, it was just two years ago where we saw Republicans doing the same thing, after President Obama was elected, Don.
LEMON: So, that's -- listen, when push comes to shove, though, Mark, these Dems will vote for this, right? I mean, there's 13 months of unemployment benefits. Are they really going to tell unemployed Americans that their paychecks are cut off?
PRESTON: Yes, you know, and I think you're right. I think it's heading down that road.
At some point, this filibuster or what we're seeing on the Senate floor is going to end, and we will have people vote against it. But I think it's going to be very difficult for Democrats not to go along with some sort of deal, because that deal has other sweeteners in it.
You talk about the unemployment benefits, 13-month extension. A lot of Republicans are holding their nose up at that, Don, but Democrats are able to extend that out. At the same point, given the economic distress we're in right now, can Democrats really go back home and tell their constituents, look, more money is coming out of your paycheck? Even if you have a job now, more money is coming out of your paycheck.
So, there will be a lot of political pressure for some kind of deal for Democrats to be cut, Don.
LEMON: OK. Mark, I want to get this in, because this is someone really criticizing everyone, Republicans and Democrats. Just, there's one more member of Congress that I want you to hear from, because Republican Michele Bachmann seems to think that the lack of action is a blight on this Congress.
Let's listen.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP, "AMERICAN MORNING")
REP. MICHELE BACHMANN (R), MINNESOTA: There's no tax tables. Congress hasn't passed a budget. We haven't passed spending bills, and we haven't done a tax bill. That's not a good record for the Congress right now. We have to get the work done.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
LEMON: All right. So, listen, Mark, even if they do get it done, and the tax cuts are extended for another two years, that puts it squarely in the middle of a presidential election year. And, so, what I'm wondering, who does this benefit? Does this benefit the president? Does it benefit Republicans?
PRESTON: Remains to be seen. And you're right. This becomes arguably the number-one domestic issue that they will fight heading into the presidential year.
The fact is, President Obama in his interviews in the past couple of days has talked about overhauling the tax code. So the big argument, Don, is going to be, let's assume that this goes through in two years. Who has the better plan to overhaul the tax code?
And President Obama is already throwing out feelers right now, saying that that's what his administration is going to do. Interestingly enough about Michele Bachmann, very quickly, Don, she is out there blasting Congress and blasting President Obama. I got an e- mail from her political action committee just a short time ago blasting the Obama administration. She's always -- already raising money for her reelection in 2012.
(LAUGHTER)
PRESTON: Don.
LEMON: Thank you, Mark Preston. Take a deep breath. We covered a lot in that segment.
PRESTON: We did.
LEMON: All right.
Have you heard about the smooching scandal in Ohio? You're going to see it. We're going to tell you about it: two officers caught on video. But wait until you hear who they are and what happened once they got caught. That is straight ahead.
Plus, Elizabeth Smart, eight years after she was taken from her bedroom, her accused kidnapper learns his fate. We're waiting to hear from her family live in Salt Lake City.
Stay right there. (COMMERCIAL BREAK)
LEMON: Welcome back, everyone.
A homeless street preacher could get life in prison for kidnapping Elizabeth Smart. It took just five hours for a jury in Utah to reject Brian David Mitchell's insanity defense and find him guilty of snatching Smart from her bedroom when she was just 14.
Now, Mitchell was inside the courtroom singing a Mormon hymn as the verdict was read. We're waiting to hear from Elizabeth Smart's family, we want to tell you.
But Mitchell's stepdaughter, who says she was sexually abused by Mitchell, is expressing shock at the swiftness of the jury's decision. She says she is worried about her stepfather.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
REBECCA WOODRIDGE, STEPDAUGHTER OF BRIAN DAVID MITCHELL: He's never really spoken with me about this, so I'm anxious in a way to see what he has to say.
I don't know that he will. He has said little things. You know, God has let him down. Why would God put him through all this? He hasn't said much about it.
I -- I am concerned for him, though, about how people are going to treat him now, because this came in.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
LEMON: Jean Casarez is a correspondent for "In Session" on truTV. She was inside the courtroom when the verdict came in.
Hi, Jean.
Did Mitchell say or do anything other than singing during the reading of the verdict?
JEAN CASAREZ, TRUTV: Well, he sang louder and stronger than I have ever heard him sing before in the courtroom.
You know, this trial started at the beginning of November, and every single day, he has come into that courtroom and he has been singing, Mormon hymns, Christmas carols, but it's always pretty soft as he's singing. You hear him, but it's soft.
But today there was a strength in his voice that I just have never heard before. And he was not asked to leave. The judge allowed him to remain. I think there are some issues there, right to a fair trial, right to hear your verdict, not going to have an issue an appeal, today at least.
But when that verdict was read by the clerk of court, there was silence in that filled federal courtroom, except for that singing that just kept going nonstop.
LEMON: Hmm.
Listen, as we wait for Elizabeth Smart's family to react here -- we're going to carry it live on CNN if it happens within our hours, and we are expecting it to happen soon -- what has been Elizabeth Smart's reaction so far? What was it when that verdict was read?
CASAREZ: I have seen so many different reactions in her and emotions within her from the beginning of this trial.
Today, she was very calm. She and her family walked into the courtroom, really, at the end, after everyone was seated. There were men in suits walking behind them. I understand it's the U.S. Marshal there to protect them.
And they sat. They talked amongst each other. But when that verdict rang out, I saw a smile just come on her face. And when Brian David Mitchell was handcuffed and led from that courtroom as a convicted kidnapper, she and her family followed every move he made and watched him until he walked out that door of that courtroom.
LEMON: Jean, sentencing?
CASAREZ: The sentencing is going to be May 25 at 2:30 in the afternoon.
This is where Elizabeth Smart, as a living, surviving victim, will be able to give a victim impact statement. Her family may also. And you might be wondering why is it so far, in May of 2011? It is to coincide with her calendar and her schedule, because she is serving missionary work in Paris, France, right now.
LEMON: Got it.
Jean Casarez, thank you very much for that report.
And we want to remind viewers again we're waiting for Ed Smart and Elizabeth Smart, the family, reaction coming up from Utah right here on CNN. There's live pictures right there outside of the courtroom in Utah, again, where her accuser was convicted today. The verdict was read, of course, found guilty.
And, again, the sentencing, as Jean Casarez said, is next year, 2011. And, again, we're waiting for the family. And as soon as they come to speak, you're going to see it live here on CNN.
We're going to move on and take you across the pond.
Royal watchers, get ready for this one. We're now hearing who Prince Harry may be bringing to his brother's wedding. And you may recognize his date's name. That's straight ahead.
Plus, Julian Assange is sitting behind bars, facing sex crime allegations. But now his lawyers are saying the head of WikiLeaks may soon have more to worry about. Could a U.S. spying indictment be imminent?
That's next.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
LEMON: We're following some developing news there. You see Bernie Sanders has been going since 10:00 a.m. eastern this morning. It's not quite a filibuster. It's filibuster-like. He is speaking out against the supposed deal between the president and Republicans on tax cuts, obviously unhappy about it.
Mary Landrieu, the senator from Louisiana, has been helping him out. They've been tag-teaming. He will speak. When he finishes up, she will take over. And who knows how long this will be going on? It's a trending topic on twitter. A lot of you are talking about it and we're reading his tweets when he goes back and is not talking.
What you see on the right of your screen is Utah outside the courtroom where Elizabeth smart's kidnapper was sentenced -- excuse me, the verdict was read this morning, and it was guilty in that courtroom. Sentencing is not until May or June of next year.
But we're expecting the family to speak out. Ed smart and Elizabeth smart should be with him. We'll follow both stories, one from Washington and one from Utah coming up on CNN.
There are reports today that the U.S. might try to indictment WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange on spy charges. That is according to Britain's "Guardian" newspaper saying Assange's legal team is preparing for Washington to indict their client under the espionage act.
Let's bring in CNN's senior legal analyst Jeffrey Toobin on the phone with us from New York. Jeffrey, good to talk to you. His attorneys claim a U.S. indictment is imminent. Does what he's done by releasing these classified documents, does this really qualify as espionage?
JEFFREY TOOBIN, CNN SENIOR LEGAL ANALYST: Don, this is a really hard legal question. And I think one reason why you have seen no American charges against anyone affiliated with WikiLeaks except the private who supposedly leaked the information is that they can't figure it out.
How to characterize in the legal system what WikiLeaks has done is difficult, because "The New York Times" took this information and distributed it. I don't think anyone thinks "The New York Times" is going to be prosecuted. But what's the difference between what "The Times" did and Assange did if in fact all Assange did was get classified information and distribute them if.
LEMON: And the number of websites that link to this information and they distributed it as well.
So some people say it's not treason. It's not treason because he's not an American. So it can't be treason? How long can they hold him? There are no charges here. These are on the rape charges in Sweden. How long can they hold him before they have to let him go and we go through all of this again?
TOOBIN: The way British extradition law works is that they could probably hold him about 90 days before they have to turn him back to Sweden. It may be that he's held in Sweden at that point because he would have to get bail in Sweden if he's returned there.
But I don't think the time is such a problem. Nor is it really going to be finding him is going to be a big problem. His lawyers have indicated he's not going to head for the hills. The question is, is there an American statute, an American law that he can be accused of violating?
LEMON: And that's what I'm sure they're trying to do right now. I want to jump off what you said. So if he is indicted under the espionage act. Let's just say they find a way. So who gets priority, Sweden for the sex crime allegations or the U.S.?
TOOBIN: That would be the subject of negotiations between the two countries. My guess it would be, given the magnitude and potential sentence, it would be the United States, because the charges in Sweden, which still haven't been finalized, and they are in the general area of date rape, which is a very serious crime, but it is not punishable by as much jail time as forcible rape. And certainly it would be less time than espionage in the United States.
LEMON: Our senior legal analyst is Mr. Jeffrey Toobin. Jeffrey, thank you very much.
TOOBIN: Sure, Don.
LEMON: Look at that. Brand new developments in the ugly brawl before the game between USC and UCLA. Several fights broke out and one guy is seen allegedly drawing a knife. Now the charges. That's ahead.
Plus, the case of the kissing cops, the love birds. But wait until you hear exactly who these two are and what happened once they got busted. That's next.
But first, this. A lot of people suffer from claustrophobia. And if you fear being stuck in tight spaces, the cockpit of a fighter plane is probably the last place you would want to be. But that's where one guy found himself leaving him no choice but to face his fears. Dr. Sanjay Gupta with "The Human Factor" now.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
DR. SANJAY GUPTA, CNN SENIOR MEDICAL CORRESPONDENT: Engines, minds-numbing speeds of over 1500 miles per hour, this was Lieutenant Colonel's Rob Waldo Waldman's daily ride. He had what many would consider one of the coolest jobs in the world.
LT. COL. ROB "WALDO" WALDMAN: It's an amazing jet.
GUPTA: But an innocent diving trip would change everything.
WALDMAN: Three years into my 11-year flying career I almost died in a scuba diving accident in the Caribbean.
GUPTA: And 30 feet underwater his scuba mask broke. Physically he was fine but mentally he was shaken to the core. He developed severe claustrophobia.
WALDMAN: So if you can imagine barely being able to move, your head two inches from the top of that canopy, you're like in a little coffin, enough for a guy with claustrophobia to really feel panicky. For every single mission I had to deal with this fear of having a panic attack.
GUPTA: But a panic attack while going mach two can be devastating.
WALDMAN: When you're strapped into a jet, you can't say, pause, let me deal with this. On combat missions where there was a job to do and my wingmen need me there was no abort mission.
GUPTA: Ultimately Rob says it was planning, family, and faith that helped him overcome the fears.
WALDMAN: I would simulate the environment I would be in on the ground before the flight. I would say, OK, I may have a panic attack here. How am I going to deal with it? I would look down my checklist and see my niece and nephew and remind me what I love and I got to get home for them.
GUPTA: Now after 56 combat missions over Iraq and Serbia, Waldo said he's kicked claustrophobia for good.
WALDMAN: I think about all the challenge and personal growth that I had because I took a risk to fly that plane. I didn't want to look back on my life and say if I only had courage to take action, I could have flown the coolest jet in the world which in my opinion is a Lockheed Martin F-16.
GUPTA: Dr. Sanjay Gupta, CNN, reporting.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
LEMON: I want you to watch this video. At first glance it looks a couple catching a quiet moment together on lover's lane, right? But it's not. That car is a police cruiser, and the couple, well, he's the married police chief of Perry Township, Ohio. She's a younger part-time officer. And they have a burglary suspect in the backseat.
The people of Perry Township were outraged. They wanted the two fired. The chief was allowed to retire with full benefits. The female officer said she tried to resign but was fired instead.
Case closed? No way. She filed a complaint with the equal opportunity commission, employment commission, and she won. The commission ruled that the township fired her because she's a woman. And it turns out men who had misbehaved while working for the township were allowed to resign instead of being fired.
The township says there's no discrimination and both officers would have faced disciplinary action. The township has until the end of the business day today to propose a settlement with the officer, and if that doesn't work out, the whole case could be turned over to the Justice Department. So you better stay tuned on that one.
You know, there is new trouble for the Hoff. You know we're talking about Hasselhoff, David Hasselhoff. Why did his new reality show get the axe after just two episodes? Two episodes. That's ahead.
Plus was Salma Hayek close to being deported. She says she once lived as an illegal immigrant. She said she even thought Hollywood at one point was racist. It's trending so Brooke Anderson is all over it. She is next.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
LEMON: This just in to CNN, this new video. We showed you yesterday. Remember Prince Charles' car was attacked when he was in there with the Camilla Parker Bowles headed to the theatre after the protests of the student cost of tuition going up. Let's listen in.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Off with their head. Off with their head. Off with their head. Off with their head. Off with his head. Off with his head. Off with his head.
(SHOUTING)
CROWD: Whose streets? Our streets! Whose streets? Our streets! Whose streets? Our street!
(SHOUTING)
(END VIDEO CLIP)
LEMON: Unbelievable. Again this is in London. The prince and the duchess were off to the theater. And this was just moments after -- actually during the protest yesterday. They had been protesting all day because parliament raised the cost of college tuition there in the U.K. and students were just outraged. Three times the cost. New video just in to CNN. We'll play it for you a little later. Very interesting, though. Paint ball exploded on the window. One window cracked and there's the video right there.
Let's move on and talk about what's trending. Here's what's topping today's hot list. Actress Salma Hayek said she once was an illegal immigrant. And the Hoff's reality show gets the axe.
With the goods on these stories, "SHOWBIZ TONIGHT" host Brooke Anderson joins us now from New York. Before we get to Salma Hayek, that video was disturbing. I can understand the students were upset, but can you imagine being in that car and the focus of that outrage?
BROOKE ANDERSON, "SHOWBIZ TONIGHT" HOST: No. Terrifying. It's a miracle nobody was hurt.
LEMON: Let's talk about Salma Hayek. She said she was an illegal immigrant and she thought Hollywood was racist.
ANDERSON: She did say these things. She's being very open about extremely sensitive and explosive issues for some foremost illegal immigration. Hayek is reportedly telling Spain's magazine that she lived as an illegal immigrant for a short period of time in the United States. She is quoted as saying that her visa expired in 1991 after she moved to Los Angeles to become an actress, so she became illegal.
Hayek was born in Mexico and also reportedly tells the magazine that she dealt with racial discrimination in Hollywood, that directors couldn't even conceive of her, a Mexican woman, being a leading lady. But that obviously changed. Hayek of course was nominated for an Oscar for her movie "Frida" back in 2002. She is now a U.S. citizen.
Her spokesman says Hayek at the time renewed her visa quickly and it was cleaned up immediately. Her reps have not responded to "SHOWBIZ TONIGHT's" request for comment.
LEMON: That's pretty bold to admit either of them especially considering she can get a lot of backlash even saying something is racist.
David Hasselhoff, A&E pulled the plug on "The Hasselhoffs" after just two episodes. One would think with all the controversy in his life -- remember him on the bathroom floor talking to his kids -- that his life was a reality show in the making. What happened?
ANDERSON: He addressed those things on this show. But the buzz on this was there wasn't enough buzz surrounding the show because Hoff is done on A&E. That was the network airing the reality series. A&E telling "SHOWBIZ TONIGHT" they have pulled it from the air. They did not elaborate.
The bottom line most likely is this. The ratings did not meet expectations -- 718,000 viewers for the premiere episodes and then dropped to about 500,000 for the second and final episode according to the "Hollywood Reporter."
The show really followed the Hoff's effort to help his daughters pursue singing careers while at the same time he reflected on his career and his own personal challenges he has faced. You referenced one of them, Don.
He was the first contestant recently kicked off the seasonal of dancing with the stars, he no longer judges "America's Got Talent." So is the Hoff's career over? We're all over that on "SHOWBIZ TONIGHT" at 5:00 p.m. eastern on HLN, but Don, no matter what, there's always Germany. Germans are obsessed with him. LEMON: I was tweeting about it. I said did you watch? They said no it was only two people from Germany who watched here in the United States. He may be the person who gets better ratings for other people than for a show about himself. His roast of Comedy Central was one of the funniest I've seen in a long time.
ANDERSON: It was fantastic. He took it in good stride too.
LEMON: He did. Let's talk about the royal watchers. We showed you what happened to Prince Charles. Now let's talk about principles Harry's big date to his big brother's wedding. Who is that?
ANDERSON: Reported potential date, Don. Actress Emma Roberts, who's Julia Roberts' niece, reportedly told U.K.'s Telegraph she is excited about the royal wedding and that, quote, princes are so handsome. If Harry needs a date to the wedding, I'll do it." Emma's rep told "SHOWBIZ TONIGHT" that Emma has nothing to add.
So, Don, here's what I think happened. Emma was probably prompted by a reporter to talk about the wedding and would she be Harry's date. She has dated someone British before. I highly doubt she just said this out of the blue, but she and Harry would make a very cute couple, wouldn't they?
LEMON: You guys would be talking about it forever and so would the royal watchers, they would love it -- Hollywood and royal TV.
ANDERSON: Don, one other thing. Can I tell you one more thing? You and talked about how fantastic the AMC "Walking Dead" show is and you want to participate. I got calls out, e-mails out and trying to figure out how you can apply and be an extra and shot right there on location in Atlanta. I'm working on it.
LEMON: I don't know if you can see the monster. I can do it.
ANDERSON: You'd be a great zombie. You're perfect. That was your audition, I hope they're watching.
(LAUGHTER)
LEMON: Brooke, thank you, it's always a pleasure.
ANDERSON: You, too.
LEMON: Happening right now, we're getting word that jurors in the Elizabeth Smart trial are expected to come out at any second. They just found her kidnapper guilty. Sentencing, of course, middle of next year. Brian Mitchell, his trial, the kidnapper, they found him guilty.
So listen, we're expecting Elizabeth Smart to come out at any minute and we'll carry it right here. Stay right there.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
LEMON: Listen. We want to get you to Utah, because that is where the trial just a short time ago, Brian David Mitchell, who is now found guilty of kidnapping Elizabeth smart back in 2002 and transporting the 14-year-old girl across state lines with the intent to engage in sexual activity, found guilty just this morning.
We're being told that Elizabeth Smart may make a statement here soon. Her dad, Ed smart, is coming out soon. We'll hear from them live here on CNN. So make sure you stay tuned.
It's one heck of a sick day in Kansas today. So many people are calling out sick they shut down an entire school. What's going on? We'll tell you straight ahead.
And our Paul Steinhauser is standing by with the world of politics. The CNN Political Ticker is next. Is Sanders still going? Is he still going? Don't answer that, Paul. Oh, he is. He's been going since -- look at him. He's been going since 10:00 a.m. You can't call it a filibuster, but a long speech.
And here's what you should look for. When he's done and he gets tired, Mary Landrieu picks up the torch from Louisiana, and then she goes on. And there have been displays, they've had charts and graphs and posters. They've been talking about why they're so upset with this deal the president cut with Republicans on taxes. It ain't over yet, folks.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
LEMON: Let's get you live not to Utah. Those are jurors speaking about the trial process. This is juror number nine speaking about the process and why they delivered the guilty verdict to 57- year-old Brian David Mitchell.
(JOINED IN PROGRESS)
QUESTION: -- at the point of figuring out whether or not he was insane enough to allow him to lose the responsibility for these crimes. Talk a little bit about what the point was for all of you guys or most of you guys, the consensus in there on what made you come up with that guilty verdict?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: That's a difficult question. There wasn't just one thing that determined the verdict. I mean, we talked extensively about all the facts, all the witnesses, all the testimony. And, again, it wasn't just one thing, I think that swayed our decision one way or another. It was just a culmination of things.
(INAUDIBLE)
The instructions we took as gospel. You know, we studied it and made sure that we understood it so we knew what the verdict would be and it would be a fair verdict.
QUESTION: Were the deliberations easy?
QUESTION: Did the defense persuade you one way or the other? Maybe this guy is mentally ill. UNIDENTIFIED MALE: There was a lot of evidence, yes. I mean, there was definitely a question. We didn't go in thinking he was perfectly -- I don't want to use the word "sane," but someone who didn't have some issues. But, absolutely, I think it was definitely a consideration of ours.
QUESTION: How telling was Elizabeth on the stand?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Very, very. She was, she was a key witness, obviously, who, like I said, spent a lot of time with the defendant and we took that into consideration, how her interactions were with the defendant.
QUESTION: You had five hours of deliberations. Can you describe what happened during that time? Were they easy, were they difficult?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: It wasn't easy at all. It was very difficult from the beginning. First of all, beginning to talk about the case after five, six weeks of not being able to watch the news or say anything to anybody, it was not an easy decision for sure.
I mean, we discussed how we felt, personnel experiences, as well as the instructions from the court. So, we took all that into consideration. It wasn't an easy decision.
QUESTION: The defense has been arguing all along that maybe you can't get a fair jury here. What do you have to say about that? Do you feel there could be a fair jury?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Absolutely. I think we were fair and tight knit group.
QUESTION: Mitchell's behavior in court, that didn't play any role at all?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Some, yes. We had actually brought up the question as to when he sings, and one of the U.S. marshals testified and we got that answered. And, yes, it was definitely a part of our decision, sure.
QUESTION: In what way? Did it make you feel like he was more mentally unstable, the singing?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I don't know that it made me feel that he was more, any more than we had thought he was from the facts of the case. So --
(CROSSTALK)
QUESTION: (OFF-MIKE) The absence, the fact that he wasn't present in court, I know we spoke about that. What kind of influence did that have?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Not much. Again, we took the facts of the case. The fact that he wasn't sitting there physically didn't affect our decision, I don't think. QUESTION: Was it challenging to hear some of that testimony?
(CROSSTALK)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Let me try and understand what you were saying. Ask the question one more time.
QUESTION: (OFF-MIKE)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Quite honestly, as we had briefed you earlier, one of the feelings that we had was we needed to follow the directions of the court. We needed to follow the instructions that were given to us by the judge.
And, quite honestly, as we came together and we looked at what was given to us and we applied the structure of the law, many of the points of law were not -- were just left open-ended. And though we were dealing with some mental illness, we don't know that it was at the extent that the defense was talking about.
QUESTION: What did Brian do (OFF-MIKE) based on that jury instruction?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I think that's a good question. In terms of what Brian didn't do was, I believe that the testimony held that he changed his -- he changed up a lot. One of the witnesses called it a switch, flipped it on, flipped it off, and did that in multiple settings. That was I think something very convincing for us and -- and for me. I'm not speaking for everybody, just me.
QUESTION: You also talk about a couple of the witnesses that were really, really compelling for you. Can you go over that again? I think you mentioned Dr. Peterson (ph) was one of them.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I did. I think that one of the most compelling --
LEMON: And I want to tell you we are keeping a listening ear on here and a watchful eye as well.
These are jurors who are speaking out about how they went through the process of the Elizabeth Smart trial. Really, it was a trial for Brian David Mitchell, 57 years old. Remember, he kidnapped Elizabeth Smart. She was 14 years old back in 2002. And then she was discovered in 2003.
They said she was very pivotal to finding the verdict, to the process. And the juror -- said a question was asked, how do you -- what did you guys think of the instructions? How did you take them? And he said, we took these instructions as gospel.
We are awaiting Elizabeth Smart and Ed Smart, her father, to come out and speak. And we will bring that to you live here on CNN. So, make sure you stay tuned.
