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CNN Live Saturday

Condoleezza Rice's Testimony Delayed; Second Tyco Trial Date Set

Aired April 03, 2004 - 14:30   ET

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

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


FREDERICKA WHITFIELD, CNN ANCHOR: A big week ahead for the 9/11 commission, it's lawyers begin pouring over a mountain of newly released documents from the Clinton administration on Monday and Condoleezza Rice's long awaited public testimony is scheduled now for Thursday. When she speaks some widows of 9/11 victims say they will be in the audience to find out more about the Bush administration's actions.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

PATTY LASAZZA, FAMILIES OF SEPT. 11: In a crisis situation we need to know what the leadership of our nation was doing on that day and we need to know that so they can restore confidence in their ability to thwart an attack in the event of another one.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

WHITFIELD: The women represent families of September 11. A non- profit group founded by the families of victims of the terror attacks.

With us to talk more about the presidential race and influences of the 9/11 commission, and what's been taking place on the airwaves and more, Republican strategist Tara Setmayer in Miami. And Democratic strategist Margie Omero, in Washington. Good to see you ladies.

TARA SETMAYER, REPUBLICAN STRATEGIST: Good afternoon.

MARGIE OMERO, DEMOCRATIC STRATEGIST: Thank you.

WHITFIELD: All right, this is indeed a big week for the Bush administration particularly with the 9/11 commissions given that Condi Rice is going to be testifying publicly on Thursday, and Tara, let me begin with you. Has the Bush administration been able to do a good job of trying to put a good face on allowing her to testify now?

SETMAYER: I think that the Bush administration was considering historical precedence and trying to take the high road recognizing that this is an unprecedented event to have a sitting national security adviser testify in front of a congressional-created commission. Because of the separation of powers. We -- you run the risk of having a presidential adviser, or any member of the executive branch that does not go through congressional confirmation, you run the risk of them becoming a puppet or political arm of the legislature. And unfortunately in an election year, politics are taking -- are preceding historical precedence here.

OMERO: But just --

SETMAYER: And they were trying to take that road. But what they have done is recognized that they have nothing to hide, Condi Rice has been forthright. She testified for several hours .

OMERO: They have been hiding for months.

SETMAYER: Many times in front of the commission. And so they made the right decision, I think, this will alleviate any further conspiracy theories or any --

WHITFIELD: So Margie it's your -- Ok, Tara. So Margie its your opinion that this delay allowed Condi Rice to prepare better, the White House prepare better for this day forthcoming on Thursday.

OMERO: Well, they just have been embarrassed. I mean they have been caught time after time trying to restrict access. If it was just about Condoleezza Rice we could have an intelligence debate about precedence. But it's not.

It's about Bush initially only wanting to have to give an hour. Well then he said OK, well I can only testify to the two co-chairs. Well no I will testify to the whole commission as long as Dick Cheney can sit next to me and help me out if I have trouble. You know I don't want to give them an extension. OK, well I guess I have to give the commission an extension. This is the latest in a long line of delays and a long line of the Bush administration not being forth right about what happened on that day. And it's really embarrassing.

SETMAYER: That's absolutely not true. I mean the Democrats -- the Democrats, the Clinton administration was the epitome of stonewalling. I mean I know you are not saying that the Bush administration is stonewalling like they did. They stonewalled for years on File Gate, on White Water, please. The list is long.

OMERO: You are comparing White Water to 9/11?

SETMAYER: No, I'm comparing the concept that you are accusing the Bush administration of stonewalling. Which they are not doing.

OMERO: Are you saying the Bush administration initially --

SETMAYER: They have every single member of the Bush administration that has been asked to testify has testified for the commission. They have gotten every single document. They have been extremely cooperative with the commission.

WHITFIELD: This week we will hopefully gleam some more information now. We know that terror is at root of the Bush/Cheney campaign upcoming election. We also know that the economy has been. And you know ladies, this week some fairly glowing reports coming from the Labor Department. This perhaps giving the Bush administration a shot in the arm.

So Margie do you believe that the Democrats have to back pedal on the centerpiece of their campaign, which has been jobs have been falling by the wayside since Bush took office?

OMERO: I think the Bush administration still has about a million and a half, two million jobs left to go if they want to make up the jobs that have been lost under his watch. Second of all the polls have showed a recent poll has showed that more Americans feel that a Bush administration economic policy has been harmful to the country's economic situation than helpful.

Only Republicans feel that it's been helpful. Democrats and independents feel that it's been more harmful than helpful. And that is something that is going to be a big problem for Republicans despite the numbers today. Also, below those numbers, even though there is increase in jobs there's been stagnant in manufacturing jobs which are going to be important in a lot of the key swing states as well as, you know, many other certain types of sectors are not doing nearly as well.

WHITFIELD: OK. I will let you respond quickly, Tara because we only have ten seconds.

SETMAYER: It's amazing to me that Democrats just cannot seem to come up with their own plan. They just contradict everything the Bush administration says or done that is positive. Since when now we are undermining the fact that 500,000 jobs have been created in the first quarter of this year.

The Bush economic plan has been at the forefront of this new stimulus. We injected the tax cuts, we created small business, and 61 percent of payrolls have increased. More Americans have jobs today than they did ten years ago. The unemployment rate is the lowest it's been in three decades. But yet this is something the Democrats won't celebrate. And I think these 94 percent of the American people have jobs; more people own their own homes.

OMERO: People don't feel satisfied.

(CROSSTALK)

WHITFIELD: OK. All right. Tara Setmeyer, Margie Omero thanks very much ladies. We are out of time.

OMERO: Thank you.

WHITFIELD: but appreciate the spirited debate.

Well, look for political news from last week and in the week ahead. We invite to you tune in tomorrow at 10:00 a.m. Eastern for "Inside Politics Sunday" right here on CNN politics doesn't take weekends off and neither do we.

Six months of testimony and no verdict. Up next in our legal roundtable, we'll examine the tough road ahead in the Tyco case.

And he's the million-dollar kid going head to head and foot-to- foot with grown men. We will hear from soccer phenom Freddy Adou.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

WHITFIELD: Breaking story we continue to follow for you. Police search a Madrid suburb for three suspects who may be linked to the train bombings of March 11th police have searched for the three suspected north African terrorists just ten miles south of Madrid. Leading them to a residential and business community. They have cornered them apparently in a building in that community called Leganes. And apparently police have carried out a controlled explosion after the suspects threatened to blow up the building.

Again, these three suspects are believed to be linked to the March 11th train bombings in Madrid. And we'll bring you more information on this as we get it.

Prosecutors say they will proceed with plans for a second trial against former Tyco executives Dennis Kozlowski and Mark Schwartz. The first trial included six months of testimony, 11 days of jury deliberations, and one mistrial. Jurors say they were close to reaching a guilty verdict on some counts before the judge granted a defense motion for a mistrial yesterday.

Much of the debate over the past few days revolved around juror number four and the possibility that she might have been under outside pressure. Judge Michael Obus granted a mistrial after that juror received a threatening phone call and a letter described as coercive.

Judge Michael Obus granted that mistrial and apparently now they set a new date on which to set a new date. That will be May for a new trial. Well sharing some of the thoughts now, criminal defense attorney, Richard Herman in New York.

RICHARD HERMAN, CRIMINAL DEFENSE ATTORNEY: Hi Fredricka.

WHITFIELD: And in Cleveland civil rights attorney and law professor Avery Friedman. All right gentleman good to see both of you.

AVERY FRIEDMAN, CIVIL RIGHTS ATTORNEY: Hi Fredricka.

WHITFIELD: I know that was a little confusing. But all of them will be back in court on May 7 in which to set a new trial date. How about that? Is that better?

HERMAN: Very good.

WHITFIELD: All right, well "an event occurring outside the courtroom is what prompted the judge to declare a mistrial." Avery, they were so close. Was that the right call that he needed to make at that point?

FRIEDMAN: You know, the sad thing Fredricka, it was exactly the right call. They were minutes from the verdict here. But what the judge had to do is consider the sacrosanct (ph) to the jury deliberations against an open media. And what happened here is once the media published juror number four's name, that's when the calls came, that was when the threats came. And the judge had no alternative but to grant the -- HERMAN: Fredricka, that's where the judge blew it. When the press and the "Wall Street Journal" and the "New York Post" published her name and put that sketch in like this, the judge immediately should have sequestered the jury then for deliberations. If he would have done that, like the O.J. Simpson jury was sequestered. She juror number four would not have received any phone calls, or any letters. This was a six-month trial there were satellite dishes outside the courthouse every day; this was covered on the front page of the newspaper virtually every day in New York. If the judge had sequestered the jury then, we would have had verdicts.

WHITFIELD: And if he didn't sequestered, if perhaps after he saw in the newspapers that her name had been publicized, what kind of wiggle room did the judge really have then to try to you know protect the jury pool?

HERMAN: He had no wiggle room. He had to call a mistrial.

FRIEDMAN: At that point the jury -- the jury is already selected. Juror number four's name was published. The difficulty, and this was what Judge Obus had to say, And I thought he was heroic in saying it. He said social convention was violated. That is when a rape victim -- when the story is covered, you don't see her name. Well what the press did here is they published the name of the juror. I don't think sequestration would have been necessary, I think the judge trusted it would be all right. It was the last minute when that call came in, that was when it was over.

HERMAN: No Fredricka, once that name was published in the press. The possibility of her being contacted on the Internet or by mail was there. He should have sequestered it as a high-profile case, it was right at the end. He had nothing to lose by sequestering this jury. I think the judge and the D.A both blew it.

WHITFIELD: All right, well still talking about jurors. Let's switch gears to the Martha Stewart case where the defense is trying to appeal based on the fact that they believe a juror was not completely truthful about his background. Richard, is that enough for an appeal?

HERMAN: No Fredricka. On the face of this, is not enough for an appeal? There will not be a new trial based on that. But the floodgates would open and every jury situation or every juror's history, you would have detectives and private investigators looking into their background. It is just not going to be enough. But what I do think that Judge Cedarbaum will do is hold an evidentiary hearing which he has the power to do. And let both sides cross examine this particular juror.

And if this juror had a motive, if this juror -- if during the course of that evidentiary hearing it can be proved this juror had an agenda to convict her from the outset, she very well might get a new trial.

WHITFIELD: So Avery what are the chances of that, trying to prove that there was a motive behind this juror? FRIEDMAN: Well I think, what's going to happen in practical terms is that Judge Cedarbaum has to do something. She cannot ignore the motion because of the evidence, which the defense is trying to introduce. So what we are going to see indeed is a hearing, and I think the reality is that it was a unanimous verdict. Other jurors have already said that Mr. Heartridge had no effect on them. I think in reality there's going to be the hearing. Give credit to Bob Morvillo, But it is not going to make -- he is not going to prevail. He will use the issue however in the court of appeals.

WHITFIELD: Ok. Avery Friedman and Richard Herman thanks very much, gentlemen. Appreciate it always good to see you and hear from you.

HERMAN: Thank you Fredricka.

FRIEDMAN: Nice to see you again Fredricka.

WHITFIELD: Well his professional debut rivals that of Tiger Woods and Lebron James, but this kid is not even old enough to have a driver's license. We will hear from soccer phemon Freddy Adu.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

WHITFIELD: Want to update you quickly on a breaking story out of Leganes, Spain ten miles south of Madrid. Where police there believe they have cornered three suspects being linked to the March 11th train bombing where 190 people were killed. When we get more information on that we will be bringing that to you.

At this hour, in Washington, the debut of a 14-year-old professional soccer athlete. The youngest professional athlete known to anyone. Right now Elaine Quijano profiles Freddy Adu and the D.C. United Team.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

ELAINE QUIJANO, CNN CORRESPONDENT: He is not old enough to vote or even drive himself to practice yet. But those who studied Freddy Adu's game say he can maneuver a soccer ball better than most players twice his age.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Freddy is very mobile; he is playing in the first position. A lot of people ask what position he plays, but he is, you know, flowing with the game. And playing a different part of the field. That's why he is very dangerous.

QUIJANO: Freddy thinks of soccer not simply as a game but more an extension of himself. A connection he first discovered in his native Ganha.

FREDDY ADU, D.C. UNITED SOCCER TEAM: When I was born my mother said when I saw a soccer ball I started to cry because I wanted to hold it so bad in my hands.

QUIJANO: Some say the future popularity in American soccer rests in large part on Freddy's 14-year-old shoulders. The teenager was major league soccer's number one draft pick in January and signed with D.C. United for $500,000. Add to that a million dollar endorsement deal with Nike plus a third contract with Pepsi. And you might wonder how he stays grounded. The answer? His mother who once worked two jobs to support them.

ADU: I'm just paying her back. She does not have to work anymore. I want her to do whatever she wants. Catch up on the times she missed and just have fun. Enjoy life.

QUIJANO: Six years after he emigrated to the U.S. after winning a visa lottery, Freddy Adu is set to make his professional debut here at RFK Stadium in the nation's capital at a sold-out event to be broadcast on national TV. Immense pressure for some players, but Freddy says it is simply a chance to get paid doing what he loves. Elaine Quijano, CNN, Washington.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

WHITFIELD: An update on the manhunt in Spain right after this break.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

WHITFIELD: Another update on this breaking story we are following for you out of Leganes, Spain, which is a suburb of Madrid. Police believe they cornered three suspects in connection with the March 11th train explosions, which led to the deaths of 190 people. The suspects apparently had threatened to blow up a building where they had been cornered.

Explosions have been heard according to witnesses but it's unclear whether the suspects are responsible for that or whether police conducted a controlled explosion. The business and residential community has been evacuated. While police conduct their search there of these three people they believe are from North Africa who may have some connection to the March 11th train derailing and bombings that led to the deaths of 190 people. We'll have more information on that throughout the day right here on CNN.

TO ORDER A VIDEO OF THIS TRANSCRIPT, PLEASE CALL 800-CNN-NEWS OR USE OUR SECURE ONLINE ORDER FORM LOCATED AT www.fdch.com


Aired April 3, 2004 - 14:30   ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
FREDERICKA WHITFIELD, CNN ANCHOR: A big week ahead for the 9/11 commission, it's lawyers begin pouring over a mountain of newly released documents from the Clinton administration on Monday and Condoleezza Rice's long awaited public testimony is scheduled now for Thursday. When she speaks some widows of 9/11 victims say they will be in the audience to find out more about the Bush administration's actions.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

PATTY LASAZZA, FAMILIES OF SEPT. 11: In a crisis situation we need to know what the leadership of our nation was doing on that day and we need to know that so they can restore confidence in their ability to thwart an attack in the event of another one.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

WHITFIELD: The women represent families of September 11. A non- profit group founded by the families of victims of the terror attacks.

With us to talk more about the presidential race and influences of the 9/11 commission, and what's been taking place on the airwaves and more, Republican strategist Tara Setmayer in Miami. And Democratic strategist Margie Omero, in Washington. Good to see you ladies.

TARA SETMAYER, REPUBLICAN STRATEGIST: Good afternoon.

MARGIE OMERO, DEMOCRATIC STRATEGIST: Thank you.

WHITFIELD: All right, this is indeed a big week for the Bush administration particularly with the 9/11 commissions given that Condi Rice is going to be testifying publicly on Thursday, and Tara, let me begin with you. Has the Bush administration been able to do a good job of trying to put a good face on allowing her to testify now?

SETMAYER: I think that the Bush administration was considering historical precedence and trying to take the high road recognizing that this is an unprecedented event to have a sitting national security adviser testify in front of a congressional-created commission. Because of the separation of powers. We -- you run the risk of having a presidential adviser, or any member of the executive branch that does not go through congressional confirmation, you run the risk of them becoming a puppet or political arm of the legislature. And unfortunately in an election year, politics are taking -- are preceding historical precedence here.

OMERO: But just --

SETMAYER: And they were trying to take that road. But what they have done is recognized that they have nothing to hide, Condi Rice has been forthright. She testified for several hours .

OMERO: They have been hiding for months.

SETMAYER: Many times in front of the commission. And so they made the right decision, I think, this will alleviate any further conspiracy theories or any --

WHITFIELD: So Margie it's your -- Ok, Tara. So Margie its your opinion that this delay allowed Condi Rice to prepare better, the White House prepare better for this day forthcoming on Thursday.

OMERO: Well, they just have been embarrassed. I mean they have been caught time after time trying to restrict access. If it was just about Condoleezza Rice we could have an intelligence debate about precedence. But it's not.

It's about Bush initially only wanting to have to give an hour. Well then he said OK, well I can only testify to the two co-chairs. Well no I will testify to the whole commission as long as Dick Cheney can sit next to me and help me out if I have trouble. You know I don't want to give them an extension. OK, well I guess I have to give the commission an extension. This is the latest in a long line of delays and a long line of the Bush administration not being forth right about what happened on that day. And it's really embarrassing.

SETMAYER: That's absolutely not true. I mean the Democrats -- the Democrats, the Clinton administration was the epitome of stonewalling. I mean I know you are not saying that the Bush administration is stonewalling like they did. They stonewalled for years on File Gate, on White Water, please. The list is long.

OMERO: You are comparing White Water to 9/11?

SETMAYER: No, I'm comparing the concept that you are accusing the Bush administration of stonewalling. Which they are not doing.

OMERO: Are you saying the Bush administration initially --

SETMAYER: They have every single member of the Bush administration that has been asked to testify has testified for the commission. They have gotten every single document. They have been extremely cooperative with the commission.

WHITFIELD: This week we will hopefully gleam some more information now. We know that terror is at root of the Bush/Cheney campaign upcoming election. We also know that the economy has been. And you know ladies, this week some fairly glowing reports coming from the Labor Department. This perhaps giving the Bush administration a shot in the arm.

So Margie do you believe that the Democrats have to back pedal on the centerpiece of their campaign, which has been jobs have been falling by the wayside since Bush took office?

OMERO: I think the Bush administration still has about a million and a half, two million jobs left to go if they want to make up the jobs that have been lost under his watch. Second of all the polls have showed a recent poll has showed that more Americans feel that a Bush administration economic policy has been harmful to the country's economic situation than helpful.

Only Republicans feel that it's been helpful. Democrats and independents feel that it's been more harmful than helpful. And that is something that is going to be a big problem for Republicans despite the numbers today. Also, below those numbers, even though there is increase in jobs there's been stagnant in manufacturing jobs which are going to be important in a lot of the key swing states as well as, you know, many other certain types of sectors are not doing nearly as well.

WHITFIELD: OK. I will let you respond quickly, Tara because we only have ten seconds.

SETMAYER: It's amazing to me that Democrats just cannot seem to come up with their own plan. They just contradict everything the Bush administration says or done that is positive. Since when now we are undermining the fact that 500,000 jobs have been created in the first quarter of this year.

The Bush economic plan has been at the forefront of this new stimulus. We injected the tax cuts, we created small business, and 61 percent of payrolls have increased. More Americans have jobs today than they did ten years ago. The unemployment rate is the lowest it's been in three decades. But yet this is something the Democrats won't celebrate. And I think these 94 percent of the American people have jobs; more people own their own homes.

OMERO: People don't feel satisfied.

(CROSSTALK)

WHITFIELD: OK. All right. Tara Setmeyer, Margie Omero thanks very much ladies. We are out of time.

OMERO: Thank you.

WHITFIELD: but appreciate the spirited debate.

Well, look for political news from last week and in the week ahead. We invite to you tune in tomorrow at 10:00 a.m. Eastern for "Inside Politics Sunday" right here on CNN politics doesn't take weekends off and neither do we.

Six months of testimony and no verdict. Up next in our legal roundtable, we'll examine the tough road ahead in the Tyco case.

And he's the million-dollar kid going head to head and foot-to- foot with grown men. We will hear from soccer phenom Freddy Adou.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

WHITFIELD: Breaking story we continue to follow for you. Police search a Madrid suburb for three suspects who may be linked to the train bombings of March 11th police have searched for the three suspected north African terrorists just ten miles south of Madrid. Leading them to a residential and business community. They have cornered them apparently in a building in that community called Leganes. And apparently police have carried out a controlled explosion after the suspects threatened to blow up the building.

Again, these three suspects are believed to be linked to the March 11th train bombings in Madrid. And we'll bring you more information on this as we get it.

Prosecutors say they will proceed with plans for a second trial against former Tyco executives Dennis Kozlowski and Mark Schwartz. The first trial included six months of testimony, 11 days of jury deliberations, and one mistrial. Jurors say they were close to reaching a guilty verdict on some counts before the judge granted a defense motion for a mistrial yesterday.

Much of the debate over the past few days revolved around juror number four and the possibility that she might have been under outside pressure. Judge Michael Obus granted a mistrial after that juror received a threatening phone call and a letter described as coercive.

Judge Michael Obus granted that mistrial and apparently now they set a new date on which to set a new date. That will be May for a new trial. Well sharing some of the thoughts now, criminal defense attorney, Richard Herman in New York.

RICHARD HERMAN, CRIMINAL DEFENSE ATTORNEY: Hi Fredricka.

WHITFIELD: And in Cleveland civil rights attorney and law professor Avery Friedman. All right gentleman good to see both of you.

AVERY FRIEDMAN, CIVIL RIGHTS ATTORNEY: Hi Fredricka.

WHITFIELD: I know that was a little confusing. But all of them will be back in court on May 7 in which to set a new trial date. How about that? Is that better?

HERMAN: Very good.

WHITFIELD: All right, well "an event occurring outside the courtroom is what prompted the judge to declare a mistrial." Avery, they were so close. Was that the right call that he needed to make at that point?

FRIEDMAN: You know, the sad thing Fredricka, it was exactly the right call. They were minutes from the verdict here. But what the judge had to do is consider the sacrosanct (ph) to the jury deliberations against an open media. And what happened here is once the media published juror number four's name, that's when the calls came, that was when the threats came. And the judge had no alternative but to grant the -- HERMAN: Fredricka, that's where the judge blew it. When the press and the "Wall Street Journal" and the "New York Post" published her name and put that sketch in like this, the judge immediately should have sequestered the jury then for deliberations. If he would have done that, like the O.J. Simpson jury was sequestered. She juror number four would not have received any phone calls, or any letters. This was a six-month trial there were satellite dishes outside the courthouse every day; this was covered on the front page of the newspaper virtually every day in New York. If the judge had sequestered the jury then, we would have had verdicts.

WHITFIELD: And if he didn't sequestered, if perhaps after he saw in the newspapers that her name had been publicized, what kind of wiggle room did the judge really have then to try to you know protect the jury pool?

HERMAN: He had no wiggle room. He had to call a mistrial.

FRIEDMAN: At that point the jury -- the jury is already selected. Juror number four's name was published. The difficulty, and this was what Judge Obus had to say, And I thought he was heroic in saying it. He said social convention was violated. That is when a rape victim -- when the story is covered, you don't see her name. Well what the press did here is they published the name of the juror. I don't think sequestration would have been necessary, I think the judge trusted it would be all right. It was the last minute when that call came in, that was when it was over.

HERMAN: No Fredricka, once that name was published in the press. The possibility of her being contacted on the Internet or by mail was there. He should have sequestered it as a high-profile case, it was right at the end. He had nothing to lose by sequestering this jury. I think the judge and the D.A both blew it.

WHITFIELD: All right, well still talking about jurors. Let's switch gears to the Martha Stewart case where the defense is trying to appeal based on the fact that they believe a juror was not completely truthful about his background. Richard, is that enough for an appeal?

HERMAN: No Fredricka. On the face of this, is not enough for an appeal? There will not be a new trial based on that. But the floodgates would open and every jury situation or every juror's history, you would have detectives and private investigators looking into their background. It is just not going to be enough. But what I do think that Judge Cedarbaum will do is hold an evidentiary hearing which he has the power to do. And let both sides cross examine this particular juror.

And if this juror had a motive, if this juror -- if during the course of that evidentiary hearing it can be proved this juror had an agenda to convict her from the outset, she very well might get a new trial.

WHITFIELD: So Avery what are the chances of that, trying to prove that there was a motive behind this juror? FRIEDMAN: Well I think, what's going to happen in practical terms is that Judge Cedarbaum has to do something. She cannot ignore the motion because of the evidence, which the defense is trying to introduce. So what we are going to see indeed is a hearing, and I think the reality is that it was a unanimous verdict. Other jurors have already said that Mr. Heartridge had no effect on them. I think in reality there's going to be the hearing. Give credit to Bob Morvillo, But it is not going to make -- he is not going to prevail. He will use the issue however in the court of appeals.

WHITFIELD: Ok. Avery Friedman and Richard Herman thanks very much, gentlemen. Appreciate it always good to see you and hear from you.

HERMAN: Thank you Fredricka.

FRIEDMAN: Nice to see you again Fredricka.

WHITFIELD: Well his professional debut rivals that of Tiger Woods and Lebron James, but this kid is not even old enough to have a driver's license. We will hear from soccer phemon Freddy Adu.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

WHITFIELD: Want to update you quickly on a breaking story out of Leganes, Spain ten miles south of Madrid. Where police there believe they have cornered three suspects being linked to the March 11th train bombing where 190 people were killed. When we get more information on that we will be bringing that to you.

At this hour, in Washington, the debut of a 14-year-old professional soccer athlete. The youngest professional athlete known to anyone. Right now Elaine Quijano profiles Freddy Adu and the D.C. United Team.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

ELAINE QUIJANO, CNN CORRESPONDENT: He is not old enough to vote or even drive himself to practice yet. But those who studied Freddy Adu's game say he can maneuver a soccer ball better than most players twice his age.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Freddy is very mobile; he is playing in the first position. A lot of people ask what position he plays, but he is, you know, flowing with the game. And playing a different part of the field. That's why he is very dangerous.

QUIJANO: Freddy thinks of soccer not simply as a game but more an extension of himself. A connection he first discovered in his native Ganha.

FREDDY ADU, D.C. UNITED SOCCER TEAM: When I was born my mother said when I saw a soccer ball I started to cry because I wanted to hold it so bad in my hands.

QUIJANO: Some say the future popularity in American soccer rests in large part on Freddy's 14-year-old shoulders. The teenager was major league soccer's number one draft pick in January and signed with D.C. United for $500,000. Add to that a million dollar endorsement deal with Nike plus a third contract with Pepsi. And you might wonder how he stays grounded. The answer? His mother who once worked two jobs to support them.

ADU: I'm just paying her back. She does not have to work anymore. I want her to do whatever she wants. Catch up on the times she missed and just have fun. Enjoy life.

QUIJANO: Six years after he emigrated to the U.S. after winning a visa lottery, Freddy Adu is set to make his professional debut here at RFK Stadium in the nation's capital at a sold-out event to be broadcast on national TV. Immense pressure for some players, but Freddy says it is simply a chance to get paid doing what he loves. Elaine Quijano, CNN, Washington.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

WHITFIELD: An update on the manhunt in Spain right after this break.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

WHITFIELD: Another update on this breaking story we are following for you out of Leganes, Spain, which is a suburb of Madrid. Police believe they cornered three suspects in connection with the March 11th train explosions, which led to the deaths of 190 people. The suspects apparently had threatened to blow up a building where they had been cornered.

Explosions have been heard according to witnesses but it's unclear whether the suspects are responsible for that or whether police conducted a controlled explosion. The business and residential community has been evacuated. While police conduct their search there of these three people they believe are from North Africa who may have some connection to the March 11th train derailing and bombings that led to the deaths of 190 people. We'll have more information on that throughout the day right here on CNN.

TO ORDER A VIDEO OF THIS TRANSCRIPT, PLEASE CALL 800-CNN-NEWS OR USE OUR SECURE ONLINE ORDER FORM LOCATED AT www.fdch.com