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Supreme Court Rules on Generic Drugs; Casey Anthony's Mother Could Take Stand Again; FBI Arrests Fugitive Mob Boss

Aired June 23, 2011 - 11:00   ET

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

FREDRICKA WHITFIELD, CNN ANCHOR: All right. Live from Studio 7, I'm Fredricka Whitfield, in for Suzanne Malveaux.

Let's get you up to speed for this Thursday, June 23rd.

Breaking news. The U.S. Supreme Court has just handed down two major rulings that could affect your health care.

Let's get straight to CNN Senior Medical Correspondent Elizabeth Cohen. She's outside the U.S. Supreme Court.

So, Elizabeth, first, tell us about this ruling on generic drugs. It impacts a whole lot of people.

ELIZABETH COHEN, CNN SR. MEDICAL CORRESPONDENT: It does. This impacts most generic drugs. And you know what, Fredricka? These days, most of us are taking a generic drug at some point in our lives.

This case involves a woman named Gladys Mensing in Minnesota. And we have some video of what Gladys looked like before she started taking a drug for acid reflux.

She was perfectly healthy. We can see in the video, she's outside, she's playing with her grandchildren. She was doing fine.

She then took a drug for acid reflux and she developed a severe neurological disorder. She can barely speak. It's a disorder that is sort of similar to, say, Alzheimer's or Parkinson's.

Her family then found out that the brand name version of the generic drug that she was taking, they knew that it caused these problems and that warnings were on the label. So the family sued and said, hey, you should have warned us that these problems had been seen in the brand name version of the drug.

Well, that case went all the way up to the Supreme Court. And today, the justices said, Mrs. Mensing, you have lost your case. Generic drugs and brand name drugs are different things, and we don't require the same things of the two of them. So Mrs. Mensing lost her case.

WHITFIELD: All right. There was another ruling from the Supreme Court today involving drugs, pharmacies, and their relationship with pharmaceutical companies, and what kind of information can be shared.

COHEN: Right. Fredricka, this is a big win for big pharma. A lot of us don't know this, but when you are prescribed a drug, the drugstore that you go to sells that information to big pharma. So they know that Dr. John Smith prescribed, let's say, Prozac on this date. They don't know the patient's name, but they know what the doctor did.

So, big pharma, those pharmaceutical companies, take that data. And let's say the company makes Zoloft. And they say, well, Dr. Smith keeps prescribing Prozac, we sell Zoloft, and they go right to Dr. Smith and they give him samples, and they market to him, oftentimes quite heavily, and that marketing works. Studies show that doctors change their prescribing behavior based on those visits from pharmaceutical reps.

Well, several states in New England didn't like this, Fredricka, and they said, wow, that should be illegal. We're going to make it illegal to that kind of buying and selling of data. And the Supreme Court said, no, perfectly legal to do that. Data is data. And if you want to buy and sell it, that's fine.

So, Fredricka, the way that this affects you and me is that this marketing to our doctors will continue. Our doctors will continue to get visits from pharmaceutical companies, and our doctors will continue to be influenced by pharmaceutical companies about what kinds of things they should be prescribing.

WHITFIELD: Have you heard from any physicians who say they don't like those kinds of visits?

COHEN: Well, you know what's interesting, Fredricka? What I hear from doctors is that they had no idea that pharmaceutical companies knew what they prescribed.

They figured they write a prescription and that's it. They didn't even know that this information got sold.

Some doctors like these visits from drug companies. A lot of doctors, more and more, are putting up signs in their offices saying, get out, we don't want to see you anymore.

WHITFIELD: All right.

Elizabeth Cohen at the U.S. Supreme Court.

Thanks so much for that.

COHEN: Thanks.

WHITFIELD: Meantime, let's talk about some business news now.

Stocks are falling hard and fast today on fears the economic recovery is stalling. Right now, the Dow Jones Industrial is down 210 points. Oil prices are also plunging. The U.S. announced plans to release $30 million barrels from the Strategic Petroleum Reserve today to ease Libyan supplies disruption. Nabbed. A legendary and colorful Boston mob boss goes to court in Los Angeles today. The FBI finally nailed Whitey Bulger. This happened just last night, ending his 16 years as a fugitive.

Bulger stands indicted in 19 murders. He was a fixture on the FBI's Ten Most Wanted list.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Whitey is caught? You've got to be kidding me.

I mean, you've heard all the stories, things he's done, and corruption and all that. But a lot of people said, oh, he's dead. Maybe they don't want to see him get caught. He might take down the whole FBI if he starts talking.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

WHITFIELD: In Orlando, a source close to the defense team tells CNN's sister network truTV Casey Anthony's mother, Cindy, may take the stand today to testify on her daughter's behalf. She has already testified for prosecutors.

The attorney for Casey Anthony's parents tells CNN they believe, "she's not innocent." But he adds, they don't want her to get the death penalty. Casey Anthony is charged with killing her 2-year-old daughter, Caylee.

The Souris River is spilling over levees in the downtown Minot, North Dakota, area today. Forecasters say the river is headed for a record crest, breaking a flood mark set back in 1881. Twelve thousand Minot residents have evacuated, and that's a third of the town's population.

Flooding from the Missouri River is threatening a nuclear plant today. Water is just less than three feet from the Cooper Nuclear Station, south of Omaha. The plant remains fully operational. Dozens of workers are reportedly staying on site around the clock as a precaution.

And President Barack Obama leaves for Fort Drum, New York, next hour. He'll discuss his troop drawdown plan for Afghanistan when he meets soldiers from the 10th Mountain Division. Many have just returned from Afghanistan. The president plans to bring 33,000 forces home by the end of next summer.

And the drawdown is far bigger and faster than the one war commander, General David Petraeus, ideally wanted. On Capitol Hill, Republicans warn Congress will hold the administration accountable if it undermines progress in Afghanistan. A blunt Senator John McCain says this is not the modest withdrawal that he hoped for.

The president dispatched his top lieutenants to Capitol Hill today to answer questions about the drawdown. Joint Chiefs Chairman Admiral Mike Mullen says he initially had doubts.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP) ADM. MIKE MULLEN, JOINT CHIEFS CHAIRMAN: I do not intend to discuss the specifics of the private advice I rendered with respect to these decisions. As I said, I support them. What I can tell you is the president's decisions are more aggressive and incur more risk than I was originally prepared to accept.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

WHITFIELD: Here's a rundown of some of the stories that we're covering in the next two hours.

After 16 years on the run, one of the FBI's most wanted fugitives is caught. Mob boss James "Whitey" Bulger faces 19 murder counts.

Also, dipping into the oil reserves. The Energy Department says that's what it's going to do to ease the Libyan supply disruption.

Plus, the president formally announces his troop drawdown plan for Afghanistan. We'll get reaction from a military family.

And finally, watching the river rise. About a third of the people in Minot, North Dakota, have evacuated.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: The thing is, there's nothing we can do about it. And once you get over the shock of the situation, you just pick up your feet and you move on.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

WHITFIELD: All right. Now to the drama unfolding in a Florida courtroom at the Casey Anthony murder trial. Anthony is accused of killing her 2-year-old daughter Caylee. A source close to the defense told her sister network truTV that the defendant's mother could take the stand today.

CNN's David Mattingly joins us now from Orlando with details on this.

What's happening exactly in court today, David?

DAVID MATTINGLY, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, Fredricka, Cindy Anthony has not yet taken the stand, and it is not possible yet to confirm if she will today. That is going to be completely up to the defense.

So far, the defense following a very undramatic plan to show the court and the jury what kind of evidence the prosecution does not have against Casey Anthony. They've been calling a variety of experts that we heard yesterday. And today, we've heard expert testimony regarding dirt, we've heard expert testimony regarding hair, all sorts of minute detail that does not place Casey Anthony at the scene where they found Caylee Anthony's body, and all sorts of evidence that they say that does not exist that would place a decomposing body inside Casey Anthony's car. They've also attacked the notion that chloroform might have been used in this case.

So, again, the defense following a very carefully laid-out plan to, piece by piece, try to show the jury how thin the factual evidence is against Casey Anthony and to establish possibly that doubt in the credibility of the prosecution's case. We've been watching that play out. Again, not very dramatic at all, waiting to see if some high- profile witness is called to the stand in this case -- Fredricka.

WHITFIELD: All right.

David Mattingly, thanks so much. Appreciate that from Orlando.

(NEWSBREAK)

WHITFIELD: All right. He was on the run for 16 years and on the FBI's Ten Most Wanted list. Today, James "Whitey" Bulger will be in court. The FBI arrested the legendary Boston mob boss in California yesterday, along with his long-time girlfriend.

CNN's Kara Finnstrom joins us now from Los Angeles with details of Bulger's arrest.

So, Kara, the feds tracked him down using a publicity campaign that targeted his girlfriend, actually. Give us more details on that.

KARA FINNSTROM, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Yes, a different strategy here.

Fredricka, within the last hour, law enforcement leaders in Boston held a press conference expressing their relief and beginning to share some of the details about the capture of Bulger in Los Angeles. They say he was found with a variety of weapons, a substantial amount of cash.

Bulger, who is now 81, was once of the country's most powerful crime bosses. He's been indicted in 19 different murders.

So, how was he caught? Well, detectives say they finally got their man through his long-time girlfriend, 60-year-old Catherine Greig. Recently, the FBI began airing 30-second PSAs that included specific information about her, and that led them to a tipster who actually led them to Bulger and Greig at a Santa Monica apartment.

Now, after putting surveillance in place for about 24 hours, they say both were arrested without resisting. As for what those critical PSAs contained, FBI agents say they included information like the fact Greig was a dental hygienist who liked to have her teeth cleaned once a month, frequented beauty salons, and had undergone multiple plastic surgeries.

Here is what was said at that press conference earlier this morning by Boston officials who had long been on this case.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

CARMEN M. ORTIZ, U.S. ATTORNEY, DISTRICT OF MASSACHUSETTS: The arrests marked the end of a long and exhaustive hunt for America's most wanted men -- for one of America's most wanted men. And this is a great day for Boston's law enforcement community. However, I do want to take a moment to remember the families of the victims named in the federal indictment who have waited years for justice.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

FINNSTROM: And there was a $2 million reward offered for information leading to Bulger's arrest. Bulger and Greig, expected to appear in an L.A. federal court today. Bulger, facing a series of charges from murder to narcotics distribution to money laundering. Greig is wanted on charges of harboring a fugitive.

So, a big day for the FBI.

Reporting live here in Los Angeles, Kara Finnstrom. Back to you, Fredricka.

WHITFIELD: And Kara, a couple questions now.

Wondering, you know, what's the explanation that the FBI might have about why he was so elusive for so long? Was it an issue of a lot of disguises? Was it the issue of others were harboring him? Any explanation or any other details on that?

FINNSTROM: Well, in Boston, there have been charges that the FBI cozied up to him. He was an informant for the FBI, and he did escape because someone tipped him off to the fact that he was about to be arrested.

So, over the years, there have been these charges that the FBI perhaps didn't go after him hard enough. The FBI said that's not the case. They did say, as you mentioned, he wore disguises, he traveled around the country, and he was a master criminal who just eluded them in every turn. So, what's interesting here is that when they changed their tactics and they didn't go after him, they went after his girlfriend, that's when he was caught.

WHITFIELD: All right. Kara Finnstrom, thanks so much. Appreciate that.

All right. The government decides to tap the Strategic Oil Reserve because of supply problems. We'll look at what it means for gas prices.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

WHITFIELD: All right. CNNMoney.com is watching your money. And if you go on to the Web site, you'll see the top story -- the U.S. tapping oil reserve.

Also, we're keeping a close watch on your money, your market. The Dow Industrial is down by 215 points. We'll keep you posted on what all of this means.

Meantime, the summer's busy travel season does mean we're going to need a whole lot of gas for road trips. The Department of Energy has just announced that it plans to release oil from the Strategic Petroleum Reserve.

CNN's Poppy Harlow is joining me right now.

Poppy, so what prompted this announcement?

POPPY HARLOW, CNNMONEY.COM: It's a very interesting move, because we've seen oil prices falling over the last month. I want to show you a chart of what we've seen oil prices do, then I'll show you gas prices.

But oil in June alone, down more than 10 percent. So I think the timing of this was very interesting, Fredricka.

The International Energy Agency coming out and saying they're going to release 60 million barrels of crude oil. Half of that is going to come from our Strategic Petroleum Reserve in this country.

So the idea here is push more oil on to the market, drive prices of oil and your gas down. That is exactly what is happening right now. Oil prices are down more than four percent.

And I want to show you where gas prices are on average here. In the U.S. right now, they're at $3.61 a gallon.

So, the thought here is that over the next few weeks, you're going to see those average gas prices going down. The government here, oil traders are telling me, is trying to stimulate the economy, give Americans what is essentially a tax break of sorts.

Senator Chuck Schumer of New York has been pushing for this for a long time. He says this is a shot in the arm that the American economy needs.

And what's interesting, Fredricka, is this news comes a day after the Federal Reserve came out and said not only is the U.S. economy going to grow a lot slower than was expected, they said jobs are going to remain the big issue. It's going to be years before we see a normalized unemployment rate in this country.

So, in a sense, you can look at this as the government doing what it can, what it thinks is needed to help consumers, urge them to spend more money, buy more, therefore help American businesses and improve the overall economy. But when you look at the market, down 215 points, the Dow Industrials right now, the market is not pricing this in. They're not seeing this as the shot in the arm that the U.S. economy needs, at least not right now -- Fred.

WHITFIELD: All right.

Poppy Harlow, thanks so much. Appreciate that.

Well, now it's time for you to "Choose the News" that you want to see. And here are the choices.

First, there's a new sheriff on Wall Street. Meet the man taking down white collar criminals by the dozens. Or, story number two, psychic economy in the midst of a global recession. Everyone wants to know which way the markets will go. We talk to some psychics who think they know the answer.

And then last of the choices here, a 10-year-old hero. When his best friend starts choking, this quick-thinking young man leaps into actions and then saves the day.

You can vote for your favorite story by texting 22360. Text 1 for the "New Sheriff of Wall Street"; 2 for "Psychic Economy"; or 3 for the "10-Year-Old Hero."

The winning story airs next hour.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

WHITFIELD: Here's a rundown of some of the stories we're working on.

Next, military families react to the president's announcement that he's bringing home thousands of troops from Afghanistan. I'll talk to a military wife with two children whose husband is there now.

Then, a North Dakota town braces for the worst. The Missouri River is expected to crest within the hour.

And then later, the attorney for Casey Anthony's parents tells our reporter they don't think she's innocent.

President Barack Obama's announcement that 33,000 troops will be home from Afghanistan by next fall is being met with optimism and skepticism. The president's plan is being discussed right now on Capitol Hill.

Let's go right now, in fact, to CNN's Kate Bolduan.

Kate, Admiral Mike Mullen, the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, has just admitted to the House Armed Services Committee that he initially thought the president's pullout plan was too aggressive and risky, and he's there now to sell the plan to lawmakers.

KATE BOLDUAN, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Yes, a little counterintuitive, maybe. But not really.

It's very interesting that Admiral Mike Mullen said this to the committee, because we had heard from our colleagues at the Pentagon that military leaders, during the discussion and advisory kind of point with the president before he announced his drawdown plans, that they had been pushing for a more modest -- maybe a slower timetable for the drawdown than what the president had decided. But I should say that Admiral Mullen was quick to point out that he does support the president's decision, and he also stressed that the conditions on the ground would dominate decisions going forward. And that's something that we've heard a lot of concern and criticism from Republicans up here since the announcement, this idea of the need for flexibility within these drawdown plans, Fredricka, to give the people on the ground the flexibility that they need to make it happen, and to not put anyone in danger in the process.

I spoke with the top Democrat on this committee, the House Armed Services Committee, Congressman Adam Smith, just before the hearing began. He supports the president's decision. He would actually like to see the process be a little more accelerated, a little faster in the year 2012.

But he did say the question is, what's now? What is the strategy? How does the president strike the right balance of pulling troops out without endangering any troops and without risking any -- threatening any of the gains that had been made in that country in the process?

Listen here to Congressman Smith.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

REP. ADAM SMITH (D), ARMED SERVICES COMMITTEE: Everybody wants their troops home. We also don't want Afghanistan to descend back into chaos and become a safe haven for the Taliban and al Qaeda. How do you balance those two needs and come up with the right plan?

I think the president did a reasonably good job of it last night. We look for some more details today from Admiral Mullen.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BOLDUAN: Probably not a surprise, Fredricka, the reaction up here on Capitol Hill has been mixed, ranging from more liberal Democrats and even some Republicans concerned about financial concerns saying that they want to see more troops out in faster timeline. However, on the flip side, we're hearing from many Republicans saying that it is too much, too fast, because it does risk many of the gains and the successes that we have seen in the country that was helped very much by these surge troops -- Fredricka.

WHITFIELD: And Secretary of State Hillary Clinton is also testifying right now, and General David Petraeus, the outgoing U.S. commander in Afghanistan, is heading up there this afternoon.

So what can we expect from either of them?

BOLDUAN: I'm sure you will expect, at least from the position of the members of Congress, continued tough questions, trying to figure out what the details are, what this means, trying to learn more about what this plan really means for the American people and for our troops, our national security included.

We are hearing from Secretary Clinton. She seems to be striking an upbeat tone about what the president said last night. She even said in her words, "Bottom line, we have broken the Taliban's momentum, so we begin this drawdown from a position of strength." So, Secretary Clinton on the Hill, making the case for why this drawdown is needed and why they are striking the right balance here.

It will be interesting to hear specifically from General David Petraeus, because he is coming up here for a confirmation hearing for a new position, possibly, as he could be taking over the position of director of the CIA. And many people are waiting to hear from General David Petraeus, as you mentioned, the outgoing commander in Afghanistan -- Fredricka.

WHITFIELD: All right. Kate Bolduan, Capitol Hill.

Thanks so much.

So, of course thousands of military families are eager to find out if they'll be directly impacted by the president's drawdown plan.

Brittany Barlow's husband Jason is a Marine sergeant stationed in Afghanistan's Helmand province. And Brittany, in fact, is joining us right now from Greenville, South Carolina.

Good to see you, Brittany.

BRITTANY BARLOW, MILITARY SPOUSE: Good to see you, too.

WHITFIELD: All right. So how encouraged were you from the president's announcement last night? Or did you hear anything from the president that you didn't like?

BARLOW: I think his plan sounds absolutely wonderful. And, you know, I'm just excited, you know, if I get to see my husband sooner rather than later. I'll just be glad to have him home.

WHITFIELD: So your husband has been deployed to Helmand Province in Afghanistan since April of this year. The expectation that this would be, what a six-month, seven-month deployment when he departed?

BARLOW: About seven months.

WHITFIELD: OK. And so now is your expectation that that might be trimmed as a result of what you heard? Or is it still a matter the of support versus combat who would get an early withdraw?

BARLOW: I'm not quite positive on all the details of it but I'm planning on him being home when he was supposed to originally. But if it happens sooner, I would be more than happy.

WHITFIELD: You've got two kids, a three and a half year old and a four month old. And at the same time, while you're a stay-at-home mom you also work for the "Military Spouse" magazine.

How has that helped you, particularly when your husband is on deployment?

BARLOW: I think having that job really helps a lot. It helps the time go by faster. It helps with coping. And I also, being a -- working for milspouse.com and being their deployment diaries video blogger is just such a wonderful experience and I get to meet some great girls and I've made a lot of friends doing it. And if I can be help to even one person going through the same thing, then it just means the world to m me.

WHITFIELD: And so what are other military spouses telling you?

BARLOW: They're asking me questions on, you know, how do you tell your kids that their father is leaving? how do you explain things to them? So I've made videos on explaining that to anything from making a cake in a jar. So we do fun stuff and then we do serious stuff. It's just whatever I feel comes to mind that week that I'd like to share and it's been really great.

WHITFIELD: All right. Brittany Barlow, thanks so much and all the best to you and your family.

BARLOW: Thank you so much for having me.

WHITFIELD: Still time to vote for the Choose the News story that you want to see. Vote for your favorite story by texting 22360.

Text 1 for the new sheriff of Wall Street. Meet the man taking some of the biggest white collar criminals in history.

Then text 2 for psychic economy. In tough times, some people are turning to fortune tellers to get investment advice.

And then text 3 for the 10-year-old hero. A young man's quick thinking saves his best friend's life.

The winning story airs next hour.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

WHITFIELD: Minot, North Dakota, is bracing for what could be the worst flooding the city has ever seen. Some 12,000 people. That's about a third of the city's population have abandon their homes ahead of the rising water of the Souris Rover.

CNN's Jim Spellman has more.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

JIM SPELLMAN, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): No matter how many bulldozers, no matter how many sand bags, the people of Minot, North Dakota, know that to some degree fighting the oncoming flood is a losing battle.

MAYOR CURT ZIMBELMAN, MINOT, NORTH DAKOTA: We've got a lot of water coming at us.

SPELLMAN: The mayor of Minot is in triage mode. They know that with the amount of water heading for them, there's no way to protect the entire city.

ZIMBELMAN: We gave up with that idea when we heard how much wear was coming. There was no way that we could get our dikes high enough. So our strategy is to get all of our public facilities diked around --

SPELLMAN: Facilities like city hall and this school. But for everyone else in the flood's path, the message is clear -- get out.

LINDA JOHNSON, EVACUEE: Street caterpillars have been diking here all night. Trucks are lined up here.

SPELLMAN: Linda Johnson runs the home at home shop and lives upstairs. Her house sits inside the evacuation zone and now has a dike in the backyard.

JOHNSON: The thing is, there's nothing we can do about it. And once you get over the shock of the situation, you just pick up your feet and you move on.

SPELLMAN: She's packed up everything she can and is hitting the road.

(on camera): This is the edge of the evacuation zone. That side of the street has been ordered to evacuate. This side of 7th Avenue, residents plan to stay, fight this flood using a homemade dike and sand bags.

(voice-over): Neighbors band together to fight the flood.

(on camera): Even though you're just outside the evacuation zone, I mean, you know this is a risky proposition.

TROY ERICKSON, HOMEOWNER: Yes. Yes. Yes. But we've got all of our stuff that we need to grab if we need to get out of here in a hurry.

SPELLMAN (voice-over): A gamble that they'll be on the right side of the road when the water comes.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

WHITFIELD: Jim Spellman joining me now from Minot.

So Jim, I understand the river crest will come sooner and might even be higher than expected. So what are emergency officials looking for in the way of numbers?

SPELLMAN: Yes. It's expected now, Fred, to crest on Sunday. This river's got about another eight feet to go.

You can see here where it's coming up here, even in just the last couple of hours it's advancing about 15 feet towards us. These are some of those dikes that we mentioned that they're building around some critical infrastructure. This is police station and city hall. They want to be sure that they have that kind of command operations still available to them.

As far as the numbers that we mentioned, about 12,000 people, like you said, a third of the city, have already evacuated. 12,000 people, eight feet of water in their homes. That's going to get up to about the ceilings of a lot of these people's homes. It's going to be very difficult for these people to come back and they know it. They've already taken most of their possessions out of their homes.

And just about everybody has decided to follow that evacuation advice and get out. There's barely anybody left in these neighborhoods -- Fred.

WHITFIELD: Incredible. All right. Jim Spellman, thanks so much. Appreciate that.

(WEATHER REPORT)

WHITFIELD: All right. Republicans slam President Obama over tonight's fundraising events. We'll tell you what that's all about in our political update.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

WHITFIELD: A presidential candidate reacts to the arrest of mob boss Whitey Bulger.

Paul Steinhauser, part of the Best Political Team on Television, live from Political Desk in Washington.

So Paul, who's commenting on this case?

PAUL STEINHAUSER, CNN DEPUTY POLITICAL DIRECTOR: I know. What's the connection here, right? The race for the White House and this? Wait a minute.

Well, here it is. Mitt Romney, remember, Mitt Romney was Massachusetts governor for four years starting back in 2003. And in those days, Whitey Bulger was on the lamb. Well Whitey's brother at the time, Billy Bulger, was the president of the University of Massachusetts and he testified in front of Congress and took the 5th when he was asked questions about his brother and where he was. Well, Romney went after Billy Bulger at the time, criticized him for not speaking up about his brother and began efforts to remove him.

Romney, who, of course, as you know, running for president for the second time now on the Republican side put out a statement this morning and said, "I hope the capture of Whitey Bulger briefs brings some measure of relief to the families of his numerous victims. It brings to a close a sad and sordid chapter in recent Massachusetts history."

So Fred, there you go, a connection. I guess there's a connection for everything.

WHITFIELD: Of course. And that made perfect sense. In the meantime, President Obama is taking some heat from Republicans about his fundraisers. Explain further.

STEINHAUSER: Yes. A little bit of politics here, of course, right? But, where is the president tonight? He's got three fundraisers in New York City. These will be the 31st, 32nd, and 33rd he's done this year.

One of them is interesting, too. He's going to be at the Broadway Theater in Manhattan and he's going to be at the performance of "Sister Act" and he's going to be hanging out there with Whoopi Goldberg among others, for this fundraiser. Well, the Republicans are criticizing, the Republican National Committee this morning saying that while the economy is in tough shape, why is the president doing this New York City? But let's be honest, politics, you need to raise money. The Republicans are doing it, as well. It's part of the game and unfortunate as it is. And so it is what it is, Fred.

(CROSSTALK)

WHITFIELD: In these days this is not considered early in which to do so, right?

STEINHAUSER: Yes. They're all stepping up. Remember, we're almost at the end of the second quarter here so the president and the Republicans are all piling it on with fundraisers before the end of June.

WHITFIELD: All right. Paul Steinhauser, always good to see you. Thanks so much from Washington.

STEINHAUSER: Thank you.

WHITFIELD: So for the latest political news, you know exactly where to go, CNNPolitics.com.

And, don't forget, this is the favorite part of the program, right? Don't forget to Choose the News story that you want to see. You can vote by texting 22360.

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And then text 3 for 10-year-old hero. A young man saves his best friend from choking to death.

The winning story airs next hour.

And the latest twist in the Casey Anthony trial. A statement by the lawyer for Anthony's parents about whether they believe she's guilty.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

WHITFIELD: Lawyers for the parents of Casey Anthony are firing back after a bombshell statement to CNN. Anthony is on trial accused of murdering her two -year-old daughter, Caylee.

National correspondent Gather Tuchman says the lawyer for the defendant's parents told him they do not think she's innocent, but they don't want her to get the death penalty. The law firm now says the statement was taken out of context.

Criminal defense attorney Richard Herman joins us now from Dallas to talk about this latest twist. All right, so Richard, this statement was made outside the court by the attorney for the parents.

Could this in any way impact the trial?

RICHARD HERMAN, CRIMINAL DEFENSE ATTORNEY: Well, it could impact the trial if someone is feeding information surreptitiously to some of the jurors. Theoretically, the jurors have not heard any of this so therefore they can't take it into consideration.

But Fred, this is an outrageous statement for the attorney for the parents to make while the daughter is facing the death penalty. I mean, it is so abhorrent. I can't even believe the guy said that. And, of course, I trust Gary. I know he's being honest and truthful. This is unbelievable, Fred.

WHITFIELD: OK. Well, let me read to you the statement coming from Mark Lipman in response to our Gary Tuchman's reporting saying this, quote, "The Anthony family maintains they do not under any circumstance support any theory that the defense has put forward regarding George Anthony's actions. The Anthony family maintains that while they want both the state and the defense to do their jobs respectively, they do not under any circumstance wish to see that the state achieves the ultimate sanction that the State of Florida is looking for, which is the death penalty."

So is this, in your opinion, still saying too much?

HERMAN: Well, they're -- yes, it's saying way too much. They shouldn't say anything and their attorney should keep his mouth shut. He's got his two minutes of fame in the headlights. He's got to shut up now and the family has to shut up.

And if she takes the stand, Cindy today, they cannot ask her what her opinion is of her daughter because that is impermissible, opinion testimony, and it's irrelevant it's not admissible. If they call George up, they can't ask him that either. It has absolutely no baring what their opinion is in this particular case.

And it's just destructive for these comments to come out during the course of this trial. It's really just an abomination, Fred.

WHITFIELD: So at this juncture of the proceeding, the prosecution was the first to call Cindy Anthony. Why would the defense want to call her? Would they be using her, in essence, as a character witness of Casey Anthony?

HERMAN: Fred, every time they've called the parents up there, they have done everything they can to hurt their daughter.

I just can't understand the theory behind Baez. He has some sort of strategy to put her back up there and hope that she gives him an answer that he wants. I think that he's going to revert back to the depositions that Cindy took a couple years ago and maybe try to trip her up with some of the answers she gave them, as compared to her testimony in the current trial, which it seems it's out of turn to do that now.

But, in any event, you saw what happened to Baez this morning. He got crushed by the forensic testimony of his own witness. So, I just -- you know, it's just failure to prepare, Fred, is leading to the destruction of the defense case. It's haphazard. There doesn't seem to be a theory behind it and it just looks like it's disintegrating because the attorney is truly inept and way over his head.

WHITFIELD: Well, I wonder at this juncture, if the defense were to call Cindy Anthony, you know, irrespective of what she may testify, would it in your view see -- do you in your view see that Casey Anthony would ultimately be called to take the stand?

HERMAN: Casey Anthony?

WHITFIELD: Yes.

HERMAN: Or --

WHITFIELD: Well, if Cindy is going to testify today, irrespective of what she would say, do you still believe that Casey Anthony might be called to take the stand?

HERMAN: You know, I have the feeling that based on the opening Baez calls on calling Casey Anthony to the stand. I mean, I just can't believe it. It would be the worst possible thing and it will guarantee her a conviction and the death penalty. He cannot do it. It will -- the jury will just be inflamed by her testimony. They will remember all the repeated lies and lies and lies, and they will hold it against her, and they will convict her of first degree.

As we sit here today, Fred, there's still a chance -- there's still a chance for a hung jury on the first degree and that's the best the defense can do at this point. But if they put her on the stands, boy, I'll tell you, these jurors are not going to be receptive to her testimony. She's not going to win them over. They're going to recall the detective Yuri Melich screaming at her in that interrogation. They're going to recall all those lies and the treatment of her parents. I mean, they're just going -- it's going to be vicious. It's going to be real bad.

WHITFIELD: Richard Herman. Thanks so much. Always good to see you.

HERMAN: OK, Fred.

WHITFIELD: An infamous Boston mobster on the lamb for 16 years is finally caught. Whitey Bulger was the inspiration for a lot of crime writers. So here's our question to you. Which of these film classics was inspired by Whitey Bulger's life? A, "The Godfather," B, "The Departed," or C, "Miller's Crossing?"

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WHITFIELD: So we asked which of these crime classics was inspired by the life of mobster Whitey Bulger, caught last night after 16 years on the run. The answer is B, "The Departed" with Jack Nicholson playing a mob boss in Boston.

(VIDEO CLIP)

The arrest of James Whitey Bulger marks the end of a 16-year-long manhunt. Bulger was indicted in 19 murders and is due in court today. He also faces money laundering, extortion and drug charges.

Joining us to talk about the arrest is former DEA agent Robert Stutman.

You spent years trying to catch Bulger. So what was your reaction when you heard the news?

ROBERT STUTMAN, FORMER HEAD OF DEA, NEW ENGLAND: Well, I said thank God. I was agent in charge of Boston when Whitey was in his hay day. We actually had a case on Bulger. We were developing a case. I was told by the Department of Justice -- in those days we had to share it with the FBI, the head of the Organized Crime Bureau. The director of the FBI was a close, personal friend of mine.

We talked about Whitey, he swore to me they had no relationship with him, he was not an informant. And three days after we put a wiretap in Whitey's car, he called our agents over and handed them the wiretap. Whitey could have just as easily killed those agents if he had been crazy enough. So two agents could have been lost and I will never forget that a brother federal agent just lied to me and a case went down the tube because of that.

WHITFIELD: So overall in your view, do you feel like this arrest was sort of redemption for the FBI since you have been saying for a long time now that Bulger actually corrupted the FBI system?

STUTMAN: Yes, he absolutely corrupted the Boston office of the FBI. Agents in that office, as you know, went to prison. I'm sure he corrupted further up the system.

The FBI is a wonderful organization. He did not corrupt the entire agency. He corrupted, unfortunately, a small piece, but that piece smirched the entire agency and yes, I'm really tickled that Whitey is finally in prison. Unfortunately, he's 81 so he's not going to spend all that many years in prison, but he deserves everything he gets.

WHITFIELD: So you had always dreamed that there would be an end to this search for Bulger. Is this the way you pictured it?

STUTMAN: I actually probably thought he was in Europe as most people did. There are a lot of people who think that the reason they caught him now is the old guys in the bureau are gone and the new team took over and there are always people in the state police and DEA who were suspicious that even the old timers in the FBI were looking out for Whitey.

I have no information that's true but that suspicion was certainly out there. However they got him, thank God they got him. He was as bad, if not worse, than Jack Nicholson portrayed him in "The Departed." WHITFIELD: So in your view, quickly, do you believe that any kind of interviews or information taken from him might help in the arrest of anyone else?

STUTMAN: I would give Whitey nothing, personally. He probably killed -- 19 is a minimum. He probably killed 100 people, or responsible for at least 100 murders.

So I would give him no deal. Everybody else would be below him at this point. So if I were the Department of Justice, I wouldn't be making a deal with Whitey Bulger.

WHITFIELD: Robert Stutman, former DEA agent.

Thanks so much for your time. Appreciate it.