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Malaysia Airlines Flight 370 Vanishes; Mystery Surrounding Passenger List; Frantic Families Gather In Beijing; Mom Who Drove Kids Into Ocean Charged; Lawmakers Want Review Of U.S. Intelligence; Did Two Passengers Have Stolen Passports?; Stunning Testimony In "Blade Runner" Trial

Aired March 08, 2014 - 12:00   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, thanks so much, Alison. And we have much more straight ahead in the NEWSROOM and it all starts right now.

Hello again. I'm Fredricka Whitfield. Here are the top stories we're following in the CNN NEWSROOM. There are new questions about the identity of two passengers on board a missing Malaysian passenger jet. They may have been traveling with stolen passports. The mystery and desperate search for the plane straight ahead.

And controversial words and actions in the Ukraine. Russia now accused of carrying out more bullying tactics against the Ukrainian military. Moscow hints it may not want Ukrainian leaders at the negotiating table.

And back in the U.S., a mother seen driving her children into the Atlantic Ocean appears in court. We'll tell you what happened and reveal the new disturbing allegations against her.

First up, the mysterious disappearance of Malaysia Airlines Flight 370 and new questions about the identities of two passengers on board. The Boeing 777 vanished not long after taking off from Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia yesterday. It was headed to Beijing with 239 people on board, most of them Chines nationas.

At least three Americans are among the passengers. State media in Vietnam and China say the jet crashed, but Malaysian authorities are not confirming that. Rescue crews from across the region are now searching an area in the South China Sea under darkness. Search helicopters and airplanes are also being deployed. The biggest clue so far, traces of oil that a Vietnamese plane spotted in waters over the search area. Officials say the oil slicks are between six and nine miles long.

And now, to the confusion surrounding the identities of two of the passengers. Malaysia Airlines says there is one Austrian and one Italian passenger on board the missing jet, but Austria and Italy deny that.

Our Rene Marsh joins us now by phone. So Renee, what are we learning as to why Austria and Italy are saying it can't be that their citizens are on that plane?

RENE MARSH, CNN AVIATION AND GOVERNMENT REGULATION CORRESPONDENT (via telephone): Right, at this point, this part of this story here is really raising a lot of questions because we're not just talking about one passenger, but we're talking about two passengers. One from Austria, one from Italy and both countries saying that their citizens were listed as being on this plane, however, they say they were not on the plane.

So, this creates a big question for investigators that they're really going to want to get to the bottom of and I would imagine if they aren't already, they will want to start looking at possibly airport surveillance video, to see who went through those check points, who are these people who may have gone through with these passports that according to both Italy and Austria, may not have been valid.

As far as the passenger manifest go, Fred, they really are only as accurate as the I.D. verification process, so, if when you're going through the security check point and somehow, there was some crack in that process, the airline can only go off of whatever information they're presented.

So, what we're talking about here, it really raises a lot of questions and unfortunately, we just don't have the answers at this point. But the questions raised here, you know, were these passports that belonged to these citizens, were they reported stolen. If they were reported stolen, when these individuals, these other individuals arrived at the passport at the airport with these documents, were the documents scanned and did it come up as invalid or stolen?

Why didn't anyone note this if indeed these were stolen documents? So these are all questions that investigators are really trying to get to the heart of at this point, at least that will be their mission in the days to come -- Fred.

WHITFIELD: All right, Rene Marsh, thank you so much. Give us new details as you get them. Meantime, family members are anxiously awaiting word on the fate of their loved ones on that plane. David McKenzie joining us now live from Beijing where relatives of the 154 Chinese people on board are gathering at a hotel complex. So what are officials telling them, David?

DAVID MCKENZIE, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, up until very recently, very little, Fred. They've been stuck in this hotel for hours. We were there earlier today. People were frustrated, angry, of course, saddened by the unfolding news that this airline with so many Chinese passengers on board, most likely dropped into the ocean or crashed somewhere in the South China Sea.

Now, of course, that's according to state media, but here in China and in Vietnam and from those eyewitness accounts seen from the Vietnamese military planes. But at this stage, they don't know definitively what happened. People coming past us really stone faced mostly, not really talking to the press/

But certainly some tears in their eyes and one woman shouting out in Chinese, my son was only 40 years old, so those agonizing hours that they've been waiting here, since the plane vanished over Vietnamese air space much earlier today.

WHITFIELD: All right, David McKenzie, keep us posted there from Beijing. Thank you so much. All right, moving on now, to the crisis in Ukraine. A growing standoff between pro-Russian forces and Ukrainian shows no forces of letting up in Crimea. An unmarked convoy of about 70 military vehicles was actually spotted on a road leading through Crimea's capital city of Simferopol today.

Crimean officials say it's believed to be carrying Russian soldiers and it's putting the region more on edge after a series of standoffs. Today, Ukrainian officials said armed men stormed and took over a military office today in Simferopol. Yesterday, Ukrainian troops in Sevastopol said pro-Russian forces tried to take over a base, but the Ukrainians refused to surrender.

Also, today observers from the organization for security and cooperation in Europe were not allowed into Crimea again. That's three days in a row that they have been kept out. And Russia is denying any role in this standoff. The country's foreign minister said today the Russian military is not involved. He also said Russia is ready to talk, but that might not get very far since Russia has sharply criticized Ukrainian's interim government.

All right, the U.S. has called Russia's actions an invasion and that sparked a flurry of accusations from Washington that the intelligence community was caught off guard. Coming up, what did the U.S. know and was it enough? And new video of the mother who drove her mini-van into the ocean with her children inside. She made her first court appearance today. We'll have all the latest details next.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

WHITFIELD: Disturbing new details today in the case of a pregnant mother accused of trying to kill her kids after she drove her van into the ocean with them inside. This is Ebony Wilkerson appearing in court in Daytona Beach a short time ago. It's the first video we're seeing of her since she was charged Friday with three counts of attempted first degree murder.

Investigators say Wilkerson acted with premeditated design Tuesday when she drove her van into the ocean as you see right there as her kids were screaming and crying for help. I want to bring in CNN's Nick Valencia. So they believe, police do, that she may have a mental illness?

NICK VALENCIA, CNN CORRESPONDENT: That's right.

WHITFIELD: Will that impact the charges?

VALENCIA: When I talked to her public defender, he was very comfortable going down that line. I was actually shocked when he said that she has mental instability, but the charges, we just don't know how, you know, she's facing 30 years maximum in prison. If she's convicted of these charges. As you mentioned, first degree attempted murder charges.

Her bond was set at $1.2 million by the judge and that's -- we'll break it down for you here, $300,000 for every count of first degree attempted murder and $100,000 for every count of child abuse. So, she's as you see here, this video doesn't get any easier to watch either, Fred. You know, see this dramatic rescue, these onlookers.

As we were talking just a short time ago, it's very quick thinking by that child, who lowered the window allowing one of the onlookers to reach his hand in that car to unlock the car and pull those kids out.

WHITFIELD: So, the kids, ages 3, 9 and 10, correct?

VALENCIA: That's right. It was key testimony from them in their interviews with authorities that led to these charges according to the sheriff in his press conference yesterday. When he was speaking to reporters, he was convinced that there was no doubt in their mind that she tried to do this on purpose after talking to the children. They were told by the children that their mother had told them to close their eyes, go to sleep and that she was taking them to a better place.

WHITFIELD: Wow, and even one of the kids actually calling mom, she's actually crazy, saying that to police. All right, thanks so much, Nick Valencia. Appreciate that.

All right, U.S. lawmakers are raising a flag on the U.S. intelligence community. They want to know why they were told nothing would happen before Russia actually invaded Ukraine.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

WHITFIELD: It's a tense situation in Ukraine and it's only getting worse. An unmarked convoy traveled through the Crimea region today. Crimean officials say they are not sure where it's going and it's believed to be carrying Russian soldiers. Also, in Crimea, Ukrainian women protested Russian military presence in honor of International Women's Day. And military observers from Europe trying to get into Crimea were kept out. It's the third day in a row, they were denied access.

In the U.S., tensions rose this week over what the U.S. intelligence community knew about Russia's military plans and when. Lawmakers called for a review, saying officials seemed to be caught off guard by the invasion, but the head of the defense intelligence agency told NPR that wasn't the case.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

LT. GEN. MICHAEL FLYNN: I think for easily seven to ten days leading up to the Russian troops as we see them now in Crimea, we were providing very solid reporting on what I would describe as just strategic warning, where we move from one level of sort of a condition of warning, which I would just describe to the audience as sort of moderate, to one where we believe things are imminent.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: So, how do you respond then to lawmakers and others who said that the intelligence community was caught off guard?

FLYNN: I think the evidence if you will, is looked at, the results will show there was good, strategic warning provided to our decision makers.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

WHITFIELD: I'm joined now by Eli Lake, a senior national security correspondent for "The Daily Beast." Eli, good to see you. So this week, you spoke to Congressman Mike Rogers, who is calling for a review of U.S. intelligence. Rogers said lawmakers were told Russia would not invade just before it did. So where does this contradiction between lawmakers and the intelligence community when they got information, what's the convergence here of I guess this disconnect?

ELI LAKE, SENIOR NATIONAL SECURITY CORRESPONDENT, "THE DAILY BEAST": Well, I should say that the general is really regarded as an innovator in intelligence and is widely respected throughout the community. I think there's no doubt that the U.S. intelligence community saw not only the troop movements, but also the ship movements in the Black Sea and knew that there was something going on.

I think that they were some intelligence agencies that provided an analysis and that's the key point here, that Putin was not going to follow through, that it was more of a bluff and that he was not, they said 24 hours embarrassingly before. They were not expecting any kind of invasion.

And then 24 hours later, this would have been about eight or nine days ago last Thursday, not this last Thursday, but the Thursday before, and that was then briefed to lawmakers on Capitol Hill who came away from that briefing basically thinking that all right, well, you know, this is brinksmanship, but it's not going to go beyond that.

And what Mike Rogers I think is reviewing is sort of all right, well, how did that analysis get to Congress? There were other agencies I think that provided more kind of warning or strategic warning as General Flynn said, but that's really I think at the heart of the dispute. It's an analysis of Putin himself.

WHITFIELD: So, does it appear that there is still a problem within U.S. intelligence, so you know, coming from Russia or is it an issue of interpretation or is it simply put as, you know, this was a spontaneous move on behalf of Putin?

LAKE: Well, it's hard to say necessarily that there is a big problem, but I would say that, you know, over the last since 9/11, the main focus of the U.S. intelligence community has been al-Qaeda and other terrorist organizations as well as countries like Iran and really more in the Middle East. Certainly, there are people who watch and analyse Russia and the intelligence community as it is an $80 billion year endeavour. So there's a lot of people and a lot of equipment, but at the same time, it's really not the same priority and you don't necessarily have the best and most ambitious intelligence officers really looking to have a career in either analyzing or spying on Russia. As Russia emerges as an important geopolitical rival at this point, I think that it will probably lead to more attention being focused on it.

WHITFIELD: So, we heard in that sound bite, in that interview with NPR, the head of the defense intelligence agency, saying that there was, you know, strategic warning. So, is the problem within the U.S., the follow up to that? Could there have been anything that could have been done to prevent, you know, or respond to an impending invasion?

LAKE: Well, that's very much unclear, you know. We've been reducing the U.S., I mean, the U.S. military has been reducing its presence in Western Europe and Germany for some time now. Generally as a policy matter, the Obama administration has sought to partner with Vladimir Putin and very much relies on Putin's goodwill and cooperation on everything from disarming Syria's chemical weapons stockpile to pressuring Iran to finally give up its nuclear program.

So it's, there aren't that many options I think, especially when you're talking about part of what Putin regards as what he calls us near or broad, the former republics of the Soviet Union. I think that's what really this is all about.

WHITFIELD: All right, Eli Lake, thank you so much for your time. Appreciate it.

LAKE: Thank you.

WHITFIELD: And new questions about two passengers now onboard that missing Malaysian Airliner. Could they have been traveling on lost or stolen passports? All this as relatives wait and expect the worst.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

WHITFIELD: All right, the U.S. is now tracking reports of two passengers on the missing Malaysian airliner could have been traveling on either lost or stolen passports. The Boeing 777 disappeared shortly after leaving Kuala Lumpur airport yesterday. It was headed for Beijing. A Vietnamese Air Force plane has found traces of oil in the South China Sea, but authorities suspect came from the missing plane.

Families of the 239 people on board are waiting for news and expecting the worst. Most of them are waiting at the airport in Beijing. The airline says the passengers were from 14 countries, including at least from the United States, but it's important to point out that officials from Italy and Austria deny that they had passengers on that plane.

Austria says a passport was stolen and there are reports an Italian passport was also stolen, which raises the question now, were two passengers with possibly stolen passports on that plane or is there another explanation behind this? And who are those people?

Joining me now, CNN law enforcement analyst, Tom Fuentes and aviation expert, Jim Tillman. So Tom, you first, the U.S. intelligence official tells CNN, quote, "We're aware of the reporting on the two lost or stolen passports. No nexus to terrorism yet although that's by no means definitive. We are still tracking," end quote. So, Tom, what does all of this say to you?

TOM FUENTES, CNN LAW ENFORCEMENT ANALYST: Well, it says that the investigation is going to be very intensive to verify the circumstances, not only of those two passports and individuals who reported them stolen, but you have all the other passengers on that plane and trying to verify the identities of people that were listed as passengers as to whether they really were.

You have more than 150 passengers for Chinese nationals, so the government of China will be trying to verify their identity and then all of the other nationalities you just listed. So, that's an important area to try to determine were the people on the flight manifest actually on the plane.

We have these two that are believed to not have been on the plane because their documents were stolen, so that's an important part of the investigation. I should add you'll have many countries wanting to participate in the investigation. As far as the crash itself, the U.S. National Transportation Safety Board, the Chinese crash investigators, Malaysian crash investigators, Boeing aircraft company because they made the plane.

Rolls-Royce in England because they made the engines for the plane, so they'll all participate in trying to determine what exactly caused that aircraft to fall out of the sky. But separately, the FBI has offices in Kuala Lumpur and in Beijing, and they'll be working closely with Malaysian authorities and Chinese authorities as well as other intelligence and law enforcement agencies from all of the countries listed as having passengers to determine if there's anything suspicious or concerning, any individual passenger listed, that bears even more intense investigation.

WHITFIELD: Well, you know, one have to wonder Tom because these are major airports, Kuala Lumpur, Beijing, major airports. It would seem that they have sophisticated equipment, up to date equipment, that would be able to determine whether a passport is legitimate or not, whether it's active or not.

FUENTES: That's true. Interpol has a database and every Interpol has been trying to get every member country, all 190, to check with that database when someone either enters or exits the country using a passport or other travel document. Not every country does that. The United States does it, but other countries may not and I don't know offhand if Malaysia did or did not check that database. Only afterward when they're trying to contact next of kin, determining that a passport was used, for an individual not on that aircraft.

WHITFIELD: OK, and Jim, to you now, a Vietnamese Air Force jet has spotted oil slicks on the surface of the South China Sea. They are suspecting that it might be from this missing plane. How will this investigation proceed and who would be leading this kind of investigation and search for the plane or even use of listening devices to find the pings from this plane potentially?

JIM TILLMAN, AVIATION EXPERT (via telephone): Well, you put the head on the nail there because fact is, there is a ping system that does emit a sound that can be tracked by sensitive equipment. As a matter of fact, depending upon the devices used to track it, it can be a very, very long distance, 75, 80 miles away. So, that ping is extremely important in locating the wreckage. I'm confused a little about the timing. The timeline seems a little bit off to me.

WHITFIELD: What do you mean?

TILLMAN: I've heard everything from 15 minutes to after takeoff to up to two hours after takeoff. That makes a big difference as to where we should be concentrating our efforts. As well as the kind of reports coming back from the aircraft, we have very sophisticated avionics on that airplane that are able to give you some very specific information about its altitude, everything else. That data is continuously fed into the system.

So we are not going to have to wonder much longer about what happened. I believe that we are going to have an opportunity to locate this wreckage, particularly if it's in shallow waters of the South China Sea.

WHITFIELD: All right, quite the mystery. Jim Tillman and Tom Fuentes, thank you, Gentlemen. Appreciate it.

Also, overseas, different direction. Riveting testimony in the Oscar Pistorius murder trial. What a security guard said that could hurt this case.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

WHITFIELD: It has been a stunning first week of testimony in the murder trial of Olympian, Oscar Pistorius, known as the "Blade Runner." Neighbors say they heard screams before shots and a security guard saying Pistorius told him, quote, "everything is fine," before carrying his girlfriend's body downstairs. Prosecutors say Pistorius shot and killed Reeva Steenkamp intentionally after the fight. Pistorius said he mistook Steenkamp for a burglar. Correspondent, Robyn Curnow, has the highlights.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

ROBYN CURNOW, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Throughout this week's five days of testimony, we've heard from mostly neighbors living close to Oscar Pistorius' home. Describing in a lot of detail sometimes, what they thought they heard that tragic Valentine's Day morning. A lot of them were put under quite pressurized cross-examination and what is at stake through all of this is a sequence of events. Is it the state's version or the defense's version?

And the defense very much clearly trying to break down the state's timeline of what happened. According to many of these eyewitnesses, the neighbors who heard what they thought were gun shots on that morning, there was a real sense of them painting a picture of screams, of gun shots, of something terrible happening.

But according to the defense, over and over again, they kept on trying to paint their own picture of perhaps gun shots going off first, then screams, shouts for help, then a second set of sounds while perhaps sounding like gun shots were just in fact cricket backs being hit against a door as Oscar Pistorius realized that his girlfriend was mistakenly inside.

And those screams, also, a lot of debate throughout the week on what those screams sounded like. What those cries for help sounded like and over and over again, neighbors said listen, we thought it was a woman. We could hear. She was, it was a blood curdling scream that she was this trouble. But the defense kept on coming back, saying, have you heard Oscar Pistorius shout and scream when he's hysterical.

And in a way, they were alluding to saying that Oscar Pistorius sounds like a woman, a girl, that has this very high pitched scream, which they alleged took place that night. So it's all about who heard what and when and I think that will continue over the next week. What is also going to be crucial in the coming week, perhaps even longer, is that we're going to start hearing for more expert witnesses about forensics, ballistics, the police coming forward and saying what they saw on what was technically a crime scene.

So the scene has been set by some of those first responders, but in terms of the actual physical evidence, we still to hear about that. Robyn Curnow, CNN, Pretoria, South Africa.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

WHITFIELD: All right, let's bring in our legal guys, Richard Herman, a New York criminal defence attorney and law professor, right here with me in studio. Good to see you, Richard. OK, Avery Friedman, a civil rights attorney and law professor in Cleveland. I give you a high five, too. I know you were here last week.

AVERY FRIEDMAN, CIVIL RIGHTS ATTORNEY: I warm up the seat and look who's sitting there.

WHITFIELD: We've got if seat warmed up here. Let's talk about this. She said the scene has been set really by way of the eye and ear witnesses, but the forensic evidence, that's what's going to help determine whether there was intent here or not. Richard, when you heard her talking about the cricket bat used to damage the door potentially and then there are gun shots that have pierced the door, what will forensics tell us about? What came first and the direction in which they came, whether he did indeed have prosthetics on or not.

RICHARD HERMAN, CRIMINAL DEFENSE ATTORNEY: Yes, I don't know that the forensics are really going to be able to answer all those questions.

WHITFIELD: Really? Why not?

HERMAN: I just don't think science is strong enough to give you those precise answers.

WHITFIELD: Is it important to establish those things?

HERMAN: What's important to establish is was this a premeditated, intentional killing. That's the whole essence of this case.

WHITFIELD: And how do you prove that?

HERMAN: Well, they are proving that this guy was reckless with his guns, that the screaming was fight between them for an hour before hand. When she locked herself in the bathroom and they're going to contend she did that to protect herself from him, and then all of a sudden, four shots going through the bathroom and he kills her. That's the position of the prosecution, but the defense here is painting a picture of a different story like defense attorneys --

WHITFIELD: Paranoid. That's why he had the gun --

HERMAN: Crime in South Africa is enormous. His house has been broken into before. He's laying in bed with no legs. He can't protect himself. He's been beaten before in burglaries. Forty five people die every day in South Africa. The violence is inconceivable to us. He had a licensed handgun and he thought he was trouble --

FRIEDMAN: Yes, more than that.

HERMAN: Doesn't he check to see if she's there?

WHITFIELD: So Avery, how do you see it then? You said there is much more to it than this.

FRIEDMAN: I do. Samantha Taylor, who is Oscar Pistorius' former girlfriend, testified, and if you recall, Barry Ruz is sort of the Johnny Cochran of defense lawyers there in Pretoria, talked about Oscar having the voice of a girl, a woman. Like a mouse or something. What Samantha Taylor testified to about was that he has a male scream. Whatever the heck that is.

But more importantly, what Taylor testified to and I think it's been a powerful part of the first week, is that Pretoria is fraught with crime and Richard alluded to it. There have been break ins there. He's had to pull a gun to chase intruders in the past and that's a very powerful part of the defense. What the defense lawyer has been doing is carefully advancing that argument that was understandable what happened that night, that Valentine's night and that's where they're going.

I do actually think that the forensics coming up next week will be important to show the impossibility of what the defense is trying to show here. Remember, the burden is on the prosecution and there's no jury, Fredricka. In South Africa, it's judge, assessors and that's it. No jury.

WHITFIELD: The prosecution will also try to establish that a light was on and if the light was on, that sends a very different message of visibly being able to see what was happening in that unit versus if the light was off and he was disoriented and afraid that there was an intruder.

HERMAN: That issue's not going to swing a day here. The question is intentional murder or culpable homicide. If it's culpable homicide, it's 15 years or perhaps no time. That's going to be the verdict in this case.

FRIEDMAN: That's right.

WHITFIELD: All right, well, our legal guys are sticking around. There's more to talk about, including a case involving another big time athlete in the U.S. Aaron Hernandez could be facing more trouble for something he allegedly did in jail and a guy blew tons of money as a casino, so, guess who he's suing? The casino. We're going to explain why, next.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

WHITFIELD: Ex-NFL star, Aaron Hernandez, could face charges for getting into a fight in jail. The former New England Patriot is already facing a murder charge and now, the sheriff is pushing to charge him with assault after he allegedly punched another inmate. Officials say the two inmates weren't even supposed to be in the same area.

Our legal guys are back. Richard Herman here with me in Atlanta and Avery Friedman live from Cleveland. All right, so, guys, this does sound kind of strange. Not to undermine the importance of this, but this doesn't seem very typical, that someone would be charged for getting into a fight with another inmate. Is this because Richard, he's a high profile, you know, inmate, that he would now be facing charges?

HERMAN: If they brought charges for everyone who threw a punch at someone in prison, the court would have to add a million more courthouses. It's not going to happen. He's a high profile guy. You said it earlier. It looks like they're trying to taint the jury pool. They hate him and are trying to get him under control. That was the prison's fault to put them together. Ultimately, I don't think they'll press charges here.

WHITFIELD: So, Avery, you see this potentially as a tainting, you know, potentially trying to taint the jury pool type of move by possibly imposing a charge or how do you read this?

FRIEDMAN: I mean, actually, I do see prisoners charged commonly. This guy is nothing but trouble. Obviously, law enforcement doesn't like him, but impacting on the jury pool, I just don't buy it.

WHITFIELD: All right, but we'll see if this -- and potentially, this really could go away. There may not be an assault charge at all. This may really be talk.

HERMAN: It depends on the injuries. If they're minor, they're never going bring charges here.

WHITFIELD: OK, Gentlemn, all right, we've got another legal case. A man who lost tons of money in Las Vegas is suing the casino, saying that they let him get too drunk and that's why he lost all that money. Kyung Lah gives us details now.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

MARK JOHNSTON, SUING CASINO: They served me all the drinks, they should have cut me off.

KYUNG LAH, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): It was a wild weekend gambling in sin city, but what happened to retired real estate investor, Mark Johnston, didn't stay in Vegas. He lost $500,000 gambling and he says it wasn't his fault.

JOHNSTON: Just picture a drunk walking down the street and he's drunk and somebody goes up and just pick pockets him and takes his wallet out of him. That's how I characterize it.

LAH (on camera): You feel like they're stealing from you?

JOHNSTON: Absolutely.

LAH (voice-over): They is the Downtown Grand Casino. On Super Bowl weekend, Johnston claims in a civil lawsuit he claims that the casino took advantage of him. According to Johnston's lawsuit he was so visibly intoxicated he was dropping chips on the floor, confusing chip colors and slurring his speech badly and he was unable to read his cards.

He said he had a 44-hour gap in memory that he calls "The Blackout Period." How much does he claim he drank? Twenty alcoholic beverages in 17 hours. That's on top of the approximately ten drinks he said he consumed before he even stepped into the casino. How is that the casino's fault?

Johnston says that the Downtown Grand continued to serve his free drinks violating Nevada State law that prohibits capping drinks to patrons who are visibly drunk and then letting them gamble.

(on camera): How do you view that weekend now?

JOHNSTON: I view that weekend that you know, my responsibility is, look, I had some drinks at the airport. I had a drink on the plane. You know, at some point, that's my responsibility. OK, but, the unfortunate part about it for them is that they have a more bigger responsibility than I do.

LAH (voice-over): The State Gaming Commission tells CNN it is investigating Johnston's case and if the casino is in violation of state laws, it could be subject to fines or revocation of its gambling license. The casino had no comment saying it is in the middle of a lawsuit with Johnston.

As far as Johnston? We chatted next to his $250,000 Mercedes. He says his lawsuit is not about the money.

(on camera): Come on, this is Vegas. You gambled with the money. Is this a sore loser?

JOHNSTON: I am not a sore loser. I have lost $500,000. I've lost $800,000. I've lost a lot of money. I've won a lot of money. This has nothing to do with that. Obviously, I can afford what I lost. This is about you almost killing me.

LAH: Kyung Lah, CNN, Oxnard, California.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

WHITFIELD: OK. Let's talk more about this with our legal guys. Avery and Richard, back. So, Avery, you're chuckling. He was essentially pickpocketed so --

FRIEDMAN: Yes.

WHITFIELD: Does his suit stand a chance?

FRIEDMAN: My goodness, I mean, first of all, where did he get that hat? You think they gave that to him as a consolation prize? I don't know. Look, let me tell you something. There are things called dramax that made bars and casinos liable that they send somebody out and they do that to protect society.

In a case like this, he's trying to use that same theory, making the casino liable for his losses. I think it's a sanctionable lawsuit. It's a foolish lawsuit. I mean, the underlying reasoning is that I don't, I'm not personally responsible for my being drunk. And frankly, that's the kind of case that is going nowhere and it's from Richard's hometown in Vegas.

WHITFIELD: I know. It's right in your -- your home away from home, backyard, Richard. He did say there was a personal responsibility that he has that maybe he shouldn't take another drink, even though it's offered to him, but then he also kind of painted the picture, that as he got more and more drunk and kind of impaired, he lost the ability to say no to another drink and they just kept pouring it. So where is the culpability?

HERMAN: As Dana Carvey used to say, church lady, isn't that special? Listen, he went to sin city for Super Bowl weekend. He had a create line of 250,000. He bumped it another 250. He came there to rock and roll and that's exactly what he did.

FRIEDMAN: That's exactly right.

HERMAN: But there is a Nevada statute that protects people who are overtly drunk and out of control in a casino from gambling and the casino has an obligation not to continue it. Now, there was one eyewitness who was going to come forward and say he was dropping his chips, couldn't read the cards and if that testimony is credible, Fred, he has a shot. Ultimately, I think there will be a confidential settlement, resolution, and both parties will go on their way.

WHITFIELD: Interesting. Because Avery, it does seem like it might be tantamount to when you go to a bar and if the bartender continues to --

HERMAN: Driving is illegal when you're drunk. Gambling is perfectly legal.

WHITFIELD: But you said there is a statute that would protect him. He really might have a case.

FRIEDMAN: I'm not buying it. I mean, the purpose of -- Dramax is to protect society. How is society being protected by making the casino liable? I just don't buy the theory. I don't buy the argument --

HERMAN: It's the law.

FRIEDMAN: The guy -- no, it's not the law -- and the burden is on him to prove it. And other than what he's claiming, one witness --

WHITFIELD: It looks like he's going to roll the dice on this one, one more time. All right, all right, Avery, Richard, thanks so much, Gentlemen. Always good to see you. Now, we just have to get the two of you here in Atlanta. That would be so nice.

HERMAN: It's wonderful to be here on the couch. You don't know what you're missing. It's just beautiful.

WHITFIELD: And you can catch our legal guys every Saturday and about this time for their take on the most intriguing cases of the day, week, month. We'll be right back.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

WHITFIELD: OK, it's that time again so get ready to spring forward. That means you're going to lose an hour. Daylight savings time kicks in at 2:00 a.m., so don't forget to set your clocks one hour ahead before you go to bed. It's true. We lose an hour of sleep, but think about all that extra daylight you'll be getting on the other side.

All right, time now for the science behind, where we look at the why behind the what. Today, the science behind the time and the push for a perfect clock. Let's go to CNN's Barbara Starr.

BARBARA STARR, CNN PENTAGON CORRESPONDENT: OK, Fredricka, so it's daylight savings time, but what about your wristwatch? What about your cell phone? What about what these devices say?

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

STARR (voice-over): Chicago asks the age old question and the Pentagon is looking for the answer. This high-tech lab of lasers and mirrors measures the movement of atoms, 429 trillion atomic vibrations add up to just one second.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: That vibration is sort of the smallest unit of time that we can actually measure.

STARR: Their goal is to make the most precise clock in the world. Currently, the source for precision time is GPS satellites, which contain atomic clocks used to synchronize clocks on the ground, but the Pentagon worries the satellites could be jammed, so they want an even more accurate alternative. Your wristwatch loses a second every 30 days. Clocks on GPS satellites lose a second every 30,000 years. This program is aimed at building a clock that wouldn't lose a second for a billion years.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I don't care what you say, mine says they should have gone 3 minutes ago, so send them.

STARR: Synchronizing time has always been vital for soldiers, but now, it's more important than ever.

STEPHANIE TOMPKINS, CHIEF OF STAFF, DARPA: You've got all of these high speed aircraft, precision guided ammunitions, cameras and sensors and radars that are all operating simultaneously. You have to view that much more precisely.

STARR: So, if GPS goes down, troops will face new dangers.

TOMPKINS: If you were to lose a couple of billionths of a second, your positioning starts to get off by about a meter. You lose a few more, now you're off by several meters.

STARR: And your life won't be so smooth either. GPS time is in everything from power grids to your cell phone to the ATM you use to get cash. Without precision time, that ATM would eventually stop. If we can tell time more precisely, you still may be late for work, but now, you'll know exactly how late you are.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

STARR: Keeping precision time for a billion years, well, it just means that wristwatch and that cellphone have to last -- Fredricka.