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CNN Live Saturday

Israeli Raid Uncovers Secret Tunnel; Pentagon Opens 8 New Investigations Of Prisoner Abuse; Champion Sprinter Kelli White Banned From Olympics

Aired May 22, 2004 - 14:00   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.


FREDRICKA WHITFIELD, CNN ANCHOR: It's 2:00 p.m. in Washington; 1:00 p.m. in Crawford, Texas, 10:00 p.m. in Baghdad. I'm Fredricka Whitfield at CNN's global headquarters. Welcome to CNN LIVE SATURDAY.
Ahead this hour: the Iraqi prisoner abuse scandal widens. Why the Pentagon has opened eight new investigations. Also, an Israeli raid uncovers a secret tunnel. What was allegedly smuggled into Gaza by suspected terrorists?

And later, one of the top U.S. Olympic hopefuls admits using illegal steroids. A look at what may be next for other athletes in the doping scandal.

But first a look at the top stories. Five years after it was voted out Pakistan is voted back in as a member of the Commonwealth. That is a global group of former British colonies. Pakistan was tossed out when the military coup by General Pervez Musharraf toppled the government.

The world's largest democracy has a new prime minister. Oxford trained economist Manmohan Singh was sworn into office in New Delhi. He's the first member of the Sikh minority and is India's first non- Hindu prime minister.

OPEC ministers put off a production increase decision until next month, meeting in the Netherlands, the ministers merely expressed concern about rising prices for oil and gasoline. Saudi Arabia is considering its own 2 million barrel per day production hike.

We begin this hour with another suicide car bombing in Baghdad where several policemen and a bystander are among the dead. It happened outside the home of a leading government official. We get details from CNN's Harris Whitbeck in Baghdad.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

HARRIS WHITBECK, CNN INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: A suicide car bomber attacked the home of Iraqi Deputy Interior Minister Abdul Jabbar Yousif early Saturday morning. The explosion killed at least five Iraqis, four of them government bodyguards, and wounded seven others.

Neither the minister nor his immediate family were seriously injured in the attack. A group linked to Al Qaeda's Abu Musab Zarqawi claimed responsibility for the attack, calling the deputy minister a traitor for working with the Coalition Provisional Authority.

Meanwhile, there is new information on the Wednesday attack on a group of people in the Iraqi desert near the border with Syria. U.S. Military Spokesman Mark Kimmitt said the number of women killed in that U.S. air strike was of six. He said that no children had been killed.

When asked about reports the air strike had mistakenly hit a wedding party in the desert this is what he had to say.

MARK KIMMITT, U.S. MILITARY SPOKESMAN: The more that we continue to dig into what we found at that location, the more that we are persuaded that there was not a wedding going on. There may have been some kind of celebration.

Bad people have celebrations, too. Bad people have parties, too. It may have been that what was seen as some sort of celebration or spoken to as a celebration, may have just been a meeting in the middle of the desert by some people that were conducting either criminal or terrorist activities.

WHITBECK: Kimmitt showed photographs of what he described as terrorist training manuals, military binoculars, foreign passports and medal equipment. More than 40 people were killed in that attack, which has been criticized in the Iraqi press and even by some members of the Iraqi Governing Council.

In Karbala, militiamen belonging to Muqtada Al Sadr's group, that has been fighting U.S. forces there, said they had agreed to stop fighting but U.S. military spokesmen in Baghdad say that while the U.S. might have repositioned some of its forces in Karbala, it has not withdrawn from that city.

Harris Whitbeck, CNN, Baghdad.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

WHITFIELD: The Pentagon is now investigating an increased number of detainee deaths in Iraq and Afghanistan. The detainees died while being held by American troops. As that investigation moves forward, much of the Pentagon's a focus remains on the alleged abuse that took place at Abu Ghraib prison near Baghdad. The latest developments from CNN's Elaine Quijano in Washington -- Elaine.

ELAINE QUIJANO, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Good afternoon, Fredricka.

As military officials continue their work, the Pentagon says eight more criminal probes are ongoing. That on top of the 25 that officials had previously said were taking place as well. That means a total of 33 investigations are under way looking at the deaths of 37 detainees who were in U.S. custody in Iraq and Afghanistan.

According to Pentagon officials of those 37 people who died, 32 were in Iraq and five were in Afghanistan. And the deaths occurred between August of 2002 until the present. Now officials also say that 30 of the cases happened inside U.S. detention facilities. The other three did not. The deaths of eight people were deemed justified homicides according to the Pentagon. That happened as prisoners were trying to escape, or as a result of disturbances inside the prison.

Now, one of those killed was a camp Buka (ph), in southern Iraq and seven at Abu Ghraib. Two other cases listed as homicides.

The Pentagon has released death certificates for 23 of the detainees and the causes of death listed include a closed head injury, blunt force injuries, and asphyxia due to smothering and chest compression. The Pentagon says nine investigations are still pending, six of them cases in Iraq, 15 others were declared to be death by natural or undetermined causes, say officials.

Now in addition, interrogation procedures continue to be the focus of a probe as well. One that CNN has learned has led to a civilian contractor being referred to the Justice Department for possible criminal prosecution -- Fredrika.

WHITFIELD: Is that contractor still in Iraq? Or has he been transported?

QUIJANO: We have no details. In fact, very short, terse statement issued by the Justice Department yesterday, not even naming the civilian contractor being investigated. We simply don't know what civilian contractor status might be.

WHITFIELD: Elaine Quijano in Washington, thanks very much.

Well, as Iraq gets ready for the return of its sovereignty, security remains a key concern. Insurgents appear to be targeting more attacks on Iraqis seemingly in support of the U.S.-led coalition. Most recently the Iraqi Governing Council president was killed and today an assassination attempt on Iraq's deputy interior minister.

How does this threaten the June 30 handover. CNN Military Intelligence Analyst Ken Robinson joins us from Washington.

KEN ROBINSON, CNN MILITARY/INTELLIGENCE ANALYST: Hi, Fredricka.

WHITFIELD: What appears to be acts of intimidation, do you see this as potentially jeopardizing the June 30th deadline or handover?

ROBINSON: Well, it's certainly not going to stop June 30th handover but it's going to make it a great challenge for coalition forces. They've expected for some time now that they would expect a potential offensive that would increase activity against their desire to stabilize the country prior to June 30; and we're seeing now remnants of that.

Parts of the country have started to calm down recently, as was reported earlier the issues involving the Mehdi (ph) army seem to be slowing down a bit. In Karbala and in Najaf, they have disengaged and they are trying to find a way out of that problem by using the Grand Ayatollah Sistani to hold down the majority.

In Fallujah, the same thing, they seem to be -- Marine Expeditionary Force seems to be pulling back from direct confrontation since no real heavy fighting has happened since May 3rd. But they are anticipating more terrorism attacks as they try to mitigate the problems against these militia forces.

WHITFIELD: And, in fact, this so-called slow down then, is it expected that these insurgents or foreign fighters are regrouping or reorganizing or perhaps even recruiting at this point, particularly spawned by the prison scandal?

ROBINSON: Certainly most analysts agree that they were recruiting and retention for terrorists and insurgents was helped increasingly by the release of the photographs and by the admission of guilt on the part of Jeremy Sivits, the specialist who recently admitted and was found in a guilty in a court-martial.

So there is anticipation that they are looking, rearming and preparing potentially for major disruption and the coalition is spreading security forces throughout Baghdad and major areas in anticipation of that.

WHITFIELD: Knowing this, then, does the U.S. military feel some pressure it has to get these courts-martial to take place sooner rather than later, particularly to try to appeal to Iraqis who are feeling that they have already lost a lot of trust in the American-led forces there, and even more so as a result of this most recent court- martial, which some Iraqis have expressed one year was simply not enough?

ROBINSON: Well, I agree with you that would be politically expedient, but I don't anticipate that that's going to happen. I don't believe that the court-martial procedures will move faster, trying to change the situation on the ground in Iraq.

The military court, the military law and that process will move at its own pace. However, they are trying to accelerate it, but it has a specific lock step process that it goes through and I can't see it being accelerated to a point that it violates the rights of the accused over trying to shape the situation on the ground in Baghdad.

They already have a legitimacy problem in Baghdad and Iraq, and acceleration of these court-martials, I don't believe, will help that.

WHITFIELD: It was your forecast, just a moment ago, as well as President Bush's forecast that as we encroach upon the June 30th handover date, it is likely that the attacks are going to escalate, those attacks being launched by insurgents. That given -- that kind of forecast then, is it your view that U.S. military intelligence is changing its strategy to try to anticipate some of these more vulnerable hot spots?

ROBINSON: Well, yes, the priority intelligence requirements, what they call PIR, one of the main ones that they use and when they detain people is to try to determine where sources of insurgent power or terrorist power are located.

Who's feeding them? Who's clothing them? Who is providing them shelter and where will the next attack occur? That is one of the highest priority requirements and one of the highest priority requirements of interrogation during detention.

The issue many people are concerned about now is as all this focus goes down on the prisoners being held and the interrogation procedures, that they may be at a stage where they are having to hold their -- hold back and not be able to extract the type of information they need to prevent the next attack and that's one of the things that I'm hearing in the field from the region.

WHITFIELD: Ken Robinson, thanks very much for join us.

A military discovery that could help the Middle East peace plan.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: A fifth day of violence in southern Gaza, also a three-year-old Palestinian girl is killed. I'll have the details.

WHITFIELD: Meanwhile, severe weather rocks the Midwest in the form of heavy rain, high winds and flash floods. We'll survey the damage.

And a fairy tale wedding causing quite a stir in Europe. Coming up a bit later, we'll introduce you to the latest royal couple.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

WHITFIELD: A suicide bomber detonated his explosives at an Israeli army checkpoint in the West Bank. CNN's Paula Hancocks is in Jerusalem with more on that -- Paula.

PAULA HANCOCKS, CNN INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Hello, Fredricka.

That happened early this Saturday afternoon, the suicide bomber detonated his explosives, killing only himself, but wounding five others. He was about 30 meters away from the checkpoint at the time so he injured more Palestinians than he did Israelis. Four Palestinians injured, one seriously, and one Israeli soldier.

The soldiers said they warned him to stop. Shots -- firing warning shots into the air and he detonated his explosives. The Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine claiming responsibility for that suicide attack.

Meanwhile, the violence is continuing in Gaza in the southern refugee camp of Rafah. The fifth day of the so-called Operation Rainbow, by the Israeli military. Now more than 40 Palestinians have been killed during these five days and hundreds have been left homeless, but the Israeli military say many of those were militants. But it is true to say many were civilians and many children also.

The Israeli military say that what they are trying to do is hunt out Palestinian militants and find tunnels that go from Egypt, across the border underground to the Southern Gaza state, and that's -- that is bringing, smuggling weapons, smuggling armory.

This afternoon the Israeli military took us to see one of these tunnels. This was the first they have found since Tuesday when this operation began. It was about eight meters deep. The Israeli military showing us around saying that about 40 kilograms of explosive devices were planted nearby as well, so the area was booby-trapped.

They say they will be detonating and destroying that tunnel in the near future. They do say that the troops are thinning out in Rafa, but it was certainly safe to say that the gunfire was carrying on as we were there. They were -- many gun fights continuing, but the Israeli military did say to me that they do believe even though many Palestinians have died, they regret civilian deaths. It is worth it if they do find these tunnels and stop the arms being smuggled into Gaza, Fredricka.

WHITFIELD: All right, Paula Hancocks, thanks very much for that live report from Jerusalem.

Kings, emires, and prime ministers came together in Tunisia today for the Arab League Summit, but one leader stormed out. CNN's Senior International Correspondent Walter Rodgers joins us from Tunis.

Walter?

WALTER RODGERS, CNN SR. INT'L. CORRESPONDENT: Fredricka, the Arab League Summit was supposed to be carefully scripted. No public feuding among the Arab leaders. But then Libya's president, Moummar (ph) Gadhafi tore up the script. He walked out. He boycotted the meeting because he was peeked over the fact that other Arab leaders would not even discuss or consider his proposed solution for the Israeli/Palestinian issue.

That is, a shared state, shared by both Israelis and Palestinians. Gadhafi was also miffed because they would not consider his call for an American withdrawal from Iraq. Gadhafi proposes that U.S. troop -- that United Nations troops immediately replace the U.S. forces there.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

MOUMMAR GADHAFI, PRESIDENT, LIBYA (through translator): I guarantee that the states of the Arab League will send their troops under the umbrella of the blue helmets if the United Nations decides to send its blue helmets to Iraq to replace the occupation forces. Then, Libya will be ready to send its troops.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

RODGERS: With or without Gadhafi, this Arab summit is expected to produce a resolution condemning U.S. troops for the abuse of Iraqi prisoners. And also, coming out of this summit, we're expecting continued pressure on the United Nations from the various Arab leaders to move in to Iraq and replace the U.S. forces there. Amre Moussa (ph) is the secretary-general of the Arab League.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

AMRE MOUSSA, ARAB LEAGUE SECY-GENERAL (through translator): There's no doubt that the United Nations going back to managing the issues in Iraq may be prudent, may be prudent and may be more credible that can push the issue to its more positive situation, to regain sovereignty and end occupation in accordance with the expectations and aspirations of the Iraqi people.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

RODGERS: The large-scale killing of Palestinians in Rafah and Gaza over the past few days caused the Arab leaders to pause for a moment of silence to commemorate those Palestinians killed and the continuing fighting between Israelis and Palestinians. Plus the American occupation of Iraq has these Arab leaders more than a little anxious -- Fredricka.

WHITFIELD: Walter, what about any U.S. diplomats or representatives? Were they present, knowing that the U.S. was trying to promote democracy, but knowing that the U.S. has a credibility problem, particularly, in the Arab community right now?

RODGERS: Well, this is an Arab League meeting and the Americans were not invited.

Nonetheless, what's really interesting about this is that there are more than a few American items on this agenda. Of course, the Americans are very interested in a discussion of the Israeli/Palestinian issue. The American -- one of the American issues on the Arab League agenda is the continuing American military occupation of Iraq.

And then there is the Bush administration's call to all the Arab states assembled here to come up with some sort of declaration at the end of this Arab League Summit, on Sunday, which would call or at least pay lip service to a kind of democratic reform throughout the Arab world, including women's rights, human rights, and greater participatory democracy in the Arab states.

Having said that, there is reluctance here to do that, nonetheless they'll come up with a resolution, which as I say is at least perfunctory, a tip of the hat to the White House -- Fredricka.

WHITFIELD: Walter Rodgers, in Tunis, Tunisia, thanks very much.

(PROMOTIONAL INFO)

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

Wild weather across the Midwest starting with Indiana, where strong storms hit. South Bend, Indiana, was pounded by thunderstorms, which made driving difficult and uprooted trees. Earlier the town of Bradgate, Iowa, was virtually flattened by a tornado. In Deerborn, Michigan the problem was flooding. Even the tow trucks had a time reaching stranded motorists. In Brunswick, Ohio, the Friday evening drive home was messier than usual. The heavy downpours made for slow speeds and frayed tempers.

(WEATHER FORECAST)

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

WHITFIELD: Taking a look at the latest developments now as the Pentagon looks into the Iraqi prisoner abuse scandal it has increased the number of investigation of detainee deaths in Iraq and Afghanistan. The total number of deaths involved is now 37. The detainees died while being held by American troops.

The Arab League is expressing outrage over the Iraqi prisoner abuse scandal and calling for more United Nations involvement in Iraq. Those decisions today as the League met in Tunisia. Libya's president Moammar Gadhafi, provided some fireworks himself, he stormed out of the meeting to protest the league's refusal to take up his proposal for a single Israeli/Palestinian state.

President Bush's daughters are dawning caps and gowns over the next few days. Jenna graduates today from the University of Texas with a degree in English. Barbara graduates Monday with a degree in humanities from Yale, her father's alma mater.

The president and first lady are skipping both ceremonies. Aides say their presence would be disruptive. Meanwhile the president will push his Iraq agenda in full court press on Monday. Mr. Bush goes to the Army War College in Pennsylvania to lay out his vision for Iraq's sovereignty. CNN's Dana Bash is covering the president near his ranch from Crawford, Texas -- Dana.

DANA BASH, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Hi Fredricka.

Well the White House is billing this speech on Monday as a very important one. Certainly they recognize that the president's approval ratings are going down along with the public support of the war in Iraq and certainly the White House, as I said, notices that. Meanwhile, along with the growing concerns among the public about Iraq, there was some public criticism from a very influential Republican senator today, Senator Richard Lugar, the chairman of the foreign relations committee, he was speaking at Boston at Tuffs University and he said part of his speech he said, "We worried terrorism but the evolution of national security options and policy have not kept up with the threat. We have relied heavily on military options and unilateral approaches that weakened out alliances."

Now, Senator Lugar also took a bit of a slap at the administration's what he called go it alone policies, saying that essentially they may have caused problems -- broader problems in billing international alliances. And now the president, as I said, his approval rating is dropping and he is trying today, for example, to talk about the issue of the economy, to talk about the fact that the country has seen 288,000 new jobs just in last month alone, and Republicans strategist say their big concern here is that particular issue, the economy and other issues that the Republicans want to talk about are just being overshadowed by the war in Iraq. So Republicans are certainly going to be looking, as others will be too, at president's speech on Monday. And Senator John McCain said that he hopes to hear the president talk about specifics.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

SEN. JOHN MCCAIN, (R) ARIZONA: I think he also needs to lay out the plan that we have. A lot of us are not very clear on it. But he also has to do what he did with the Republican senators and congressmen yesterday, say we got to stay the course, say what's at stake, and tell the American people that it's going to be rough. The benefits of success and consequences of failure. I imagine he'll do a good job.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BASH: Now, the White House says that the president will be talking about what they called the way forward in Iraq; he'll be talking a little bit about the transfer of sovereignty to Iraqis. That should happen on June 30th. Of course he'll be talking about security. But a main reason for the speech is essentially to reassure Americans and to also set expectations that just because the June 30th deadline is approaching and that Iraqis will have limited sovereignty, it doesn't mean the bad news will stop coming from Iraq for Americans -- Fredricka.

WHITFIELD: Dana Bash, from Crawford, Texas. Thanks very much.

Democratic presidential contender John Kerry focuses his weekly radio talk on soaring gas prices. Kerry says as president he would demand that OPEC nations pump more crude to bring down prices. There's also word that Kerry may not accept the Democratic nomination at the party's July convention. Once he accepts, federal election rules limit the amount of money he can spend through Election Day and with the Republican convention five weeks later, he, Kerry, would start draining his campaign war chest much sooner than President Bush.

Well, it's been a couple of rough political months for the Bush presidency. Are the Bush women coming to the rescue now? First lady Laura Bush turned on the Texas charm with an appearance on "The Tonight Show" with Jay Leno this week. And she says the first couple's daughters graduating from college this weekend will go to work for their father's campaign as well.

Let's talk about all this and other news from inside the beltway with Andrea Seabrook, congressional correspondent for National Public Radio she joins us now from Washington. All right Andrea good to see you.

ANDREA SEABROOK, NPR CONGRESSIONAL REPORTER: Good to see you too.

WHITFIELD: All right, we'll talk about the Bushes' response to Kerry may be delaying his acceptance in a moment, but first let's start with the Bush women. This isn't that unusual for a candidate to use family members, you know, kids or spouses, et cetera, but in this particular case, it does seem peculiar, doesn't it, particularly because the Bushes have tried very hard to protect their daughters from the limelight?

SEABROOK: It's true. You know, but I think with them graduating from college, there is that, that it's time to sort of break out into the world and do a few new things here, specifically work on their father's campaign. But also you need to look at the fact that this election now that we're five months out from it, just a little bit more than five months out, is really going to be based on grabbing that swing vote, and swing voters tend to be women.

They tend to be professional -- you know or stay at home women, but middle-class women. You know, putting a little bit of a more feminine face on the Bush campaign could do him some good in that case.

WHITFIELD: Except that these two girls, Jena and Barbara, at first didn't get a whole lot of positive press the first few time that they did make headlines with various problems. Why did, you know, the Bush White House feel like they've kind of cleaned up their act, they are college graduates now, now is the time to add the responsibility?

SEABROOK: Well, you know, I think that I mean in general, Americans are pretty forgiving people. President Bush himself has a few stumbles in his background that Americans seem to think that, you know, he -- they're gone now, they're over, you know. Let's move on towards the future. And plus I think Laura bush, the first lady, she has a stellar image.

She is just seen as a fantastic sort of calm matriarch and I think that bringing in her daughters and if they manage to, you know, pull them in and do some good work and not have any more of the stumbles, then I think they can recover pretty well.

WHITFIELD: So the Bush White House is now hoping that perhaps the Bush ladies will upstage the kind of Republican infighting that we're now seeing evidence of, Chuck Hagel's come out very strongly criticizing the president and now we know that Lugar is as well. What is going on? This certainly is not boding well for the White House?

SEABROOK: No, it's not. In fact, I think this is their worst nightmare. I think that five months out from the election, they were expecting to have a giant echo chamber in the capitol for the way they see things. Their policy issues, what they want to do in the future. And so this is a bad time --

WHITFIELD: And they were even critical of his appearance on the hill saying he really didn't give them the information nor even take questions that they wanted to share?

SEABROOK: Exactly. One person said to me, you know, he walked in, he gave a speech, and he walked out. That is not coming in and, you know, as McCain just said in the Dana Bash report that just happened, you know, he did reassure Republicans, which he needed to do but it seemed like it was going to be this giant gesture that would somehow offset the fact that Republican after Republican after Republican criticizing Republicans. Their Republican leaders in the administration. But it didn't turn out to be exactly what they thought it would. So there was a lot of disappointment.

WHITFIELD: OK, and talking about criticism now, now on to the Kerry strategy of delaying his acceptance. President Bush, at least the White House has been very outspoken saying this exemplifies how John Kerry is trying to change the rules because it's convenient for him, never has this been done before. Is the Kerry camp just kind of testing the waters to see how the American public might react to this delayed acceptance, or is this likely a done deal because of the huge five-week gap in, you know, campaign money to be spent?

SEABROOK: I think it's -- I think this is definitely test marketing going on. And what they're seeing is that the idea is making a big splash. I think they're sort of hesitant waiting to see if the Republicans will come back and say this is another giant flip flop for Kerry, or if -- and I think the question is, though, will Americans really understand the fact that the campaign finance law separates money that is spent in the primary election from money spent in the general election.

And so once he accepts the nomination he has to start spending general election money while the president can spend primary election money for another five weeks. Will the Americans understand that sort of nuance and will they forgive him this sort of strange technical, almost deterring like decision if he does make it.

WHITFIELD: Or might some voters interpret this as wait a minute is John Kerry not accepting the nomination at all, does he not want to be in the race anymore?

SEABROOK: Yes, it's going to be difficult to pull off the convention also in July if they don't have a president or presidential nominee to accept that nomination.

WHITFIELD: Andrea Seabrook of NPR, thanks very much. Good chatting with you.

SEABROOK: You're welcome. Good to talk to you.

WHITFIELD: A star witness for the government in the case against Martha Stewart lands in hot water himself. What does it mean for her conviction on federal charges? We'll find out next in our "Legal Roundtable."

Also, keeping it clean, the top female American sprinter is banned from the Olympic games over performance enhancing drugs. Will more athletes follow? Details when CNN LIVE SATURDAY continue.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

WHITFIELD: We're waiting to find out if Martha Stewart could get a new trial. It's a possibility now that one of the key witnesses who testified against her has been charged with perjury. CNN's Chris Huntington has more on the questions about the testimony of an ink expert.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

CHRIS HUNTINGTON, CNN CORRESPONDENT, (voice over): It may be the best news Martha Stewart has heard all year. The same U.S. attorney who convicted her and her former broker, Peter Bacanovic of obstructing justice today charged one of the government's key witnesses with two counts of perjury for lying on the stand.

DAVID KELLEY, U. S. ATTORNEY: A trusted and accomplished lab examiner, and public servant violated the public trust.

HUNTINGTON: Larry Stewart, who runs the U.S. Secret Service crime lab and is no relation to Martha, allegedly lied when he told the jury that he personally analyzed the blue ink from Bacanovic's work sheet with the famous notation at 60. That is the price at which Martha Stewart claimed she always intended to sell her stake in Imclone Systems. Attorneys for the convicted style maven said the new perjury charges "Clearly demonstrate that the trial of Martha Stewart was fatally flawed and unfair.

If anyone believes that Martha Stewart was not prejudiced they are extremely naive. Bacanovic's lawyer said the development "will require a new trial." But U.S. Attorney David Kelley was quick to downplay the impact of the charges against Larry Stewart.

KELLEY: We are quite confident that false testimony will have no impact on the convictions of Martha Stewart and Peter Bacanovic.

HUNTINGTON: One veteran security lawyer, who heard Larry Stewart testify, agrees.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: What is being attacked is whether he was at a certain testing, but realistically it has nothing to do with the conviction.

HUNTINGTON: Martha Stewart's attorneys have already been denied one request for a mistrial regarding a juror who lied about his criminal record, but legal analysts say that old claim bundled together with the new perjury charges could give the defense some traction. Chris Huntington, CNN Financial News.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

WHITFIELD: So will Martha Stewart get a new trial? We put that question to our legal guests, civil rights attorney and law professor Avery Friedman he joins us from Cleveland. All right good to see you Avery.

AVERY FRIEDMAN, CIVIL RIGHTS ATTORNEY: Nice to see you Fredricka.

WHITFIELD: So far this sounds to be pretty promising news for Martha Stewart's defense team. They're excited about it. However, we all have to remember that this prosecuting witness was charged, not convicted. So it's really not a done deal? FRIEDMAN: Right. Well, it's far from a done deal, Fredrika. Here's the deal. Larry Stewart is the top gun for the Secret Service Crime Lab, and he testified solely about the forged document of Peter Bacanovic. What that really means is that of all the charges that both Peter Bacanovic and Martha Stewart were convicted on, the only one where there was an acquittal was on the testimony of the Secret Service fellow.

So the reality is that it means absolutely -- it sounds like a big deal, Fredrika, but the bottom line is that the defense lawyers have to show that the Secret Service testimony tied in to why the jury convicted both Martha and Peter, and you know what, there is absolutely no evidence that's going to make that happen.

WHITFIELD: Except for the defense attorneys arguing that this is evidence that the prosecution's case was fatally flawed, so given that being the case if that is true, you know, how many attempts for a mistrial can they pursue? They've already been denied one because of a juror who lied about his record.

FRIEDMAN: Right. They're going to keep pursuing any possible chance. Their best argument is going to be, look, we had a problem with a juror who lied. We now have a federal officer who lied. But what the federal judge has to do is connect the misbehavior to material prejudice and just like earlier, Judge Cedarbaum who is the federal judge said yes, the juror misbehaved but you can't connect that to a mistrial or prejudice to the defendants. We're going to have the same thing here. After all, Larry Stewart, the Secret Service representative, testified on the false document charge only, and guess what, Peter was acquitted on that, so the bottom line is it will have absolutely no effect.

WHITFIELD: OK Avery, criminal defense attorney Richard Herman, who usually joins you on this debate, is with us from New York. Let's bring him in on this.

RICHARD HERMAN, CRIMINAL DEFENSE ATTORNEY: How are you?

WHITFIELD: Good to see you. I'm doing good.

HERMAN: I think Avery paid to have me blocked out so he can give his speech. It was nauseating what he said. It was totally wrong what my good friend Avery said.

WHITFIELD: OK, you disagree. Not surprised.

HERMAN: The government put on a witness who potentially lied. I say potentially because he's only been indicted. He has been proven that he lied. If it's true, this is devastating. Any defense attorney in the country is getting sick over this. This happens many times. This is not the first time this has happened. And the Judge Cedarbaum has a right, at a minimum, to grant the new trial here, and I would argue strenuously that the charges must be thrown out for this misconduct.

WHITFIELD: But then Richard, don't you also have to give credit to the federal government, the prosecutors, that they're the ones who took notice there was something wrong with this person's testimony, it's their own witness, and they were willing to come and make it very public, you know, and let everyone know that we did have a problem with this particular witness?

FRIEDMAN: Fredricka...

HERMAN: Give David Kelly a lot of credit.

FRIEDMAN: Go ahead.

HERMAN: This witness just did not show up to court that day to testify. He was prepared. They went over his testimony over and over again. There are serious Brady violations here. I'm telling you, you can't just cast it off and say Bacanovic got acquitted on this account and it has nothing to it with Martha Stewart. No. The integrity of the judicial system is at stake here. It's a high profile case and Judge Cedarbaum, I believe, is going to do the right thing.

WHITFIELD: OK, real quick then, June 17, sentencing is it going to happen or no one word answer?

HERMAN: No way.

WHITFIELD: Avery?

FRIEDMAN: Yes, there will be a sentence and she's going on the 17th.

WHITFIELD: And Richard you say no?

HERMAN: No doubt.

WHITFIELD: All right, thanks very much Richard Herman and Avery Friedman, thanks for joining us gentleman. Appreciate it.

HERMAN: Nice to see you.

FRIEDMAN: Thank you.

WHITFIELD: This time it went by way too fast, didn't it?

HERMAN: Way to fast.

WHITFIELD: We'll have you back, of course. Thanks a lot.

HERMAN: Have a good day.

WHITFIELD: A controversial ban of a high profile Olympian. Up next we will examine the latest drug investigation that could prevent other athletes from dreams of Olympic gold in Athens.

And it's not the Brits but another royal wedding this afternoon that is causing quite a stir in Europe. We'll take you there.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK) WHITFIELD: This story just in to CNN. One of the most controversial films in years has been awarded one of the most prestigious international movie awards. Michael Moore's documentary "Fahrenheit 9/11" has won the Golden Palm at the Cannes Film Festival in France. The film sparked controversy in the U.S. And Disney refused to allow the movie to be distributed by its subsidiary Miramax. "Fahrenheit 9/11" is Michael Moore's indictment of the Bush administration actions after the terrorist attack of September 11. Moore's last movie the documentary, "Bowling for Columbine" won an Oscar.

A steroid scandal threatens to over shadow the 2004 Summer Olympics in Athens. Top American sprinter Kelli White will not compete in the games after her suspension this week over steroid use and with her health, investigators with the U.S. Anti-Doping Agency could suspend other Olympic hopefuls. CNN sports correspondent Steve Overmyer has the story.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

STEVE OVERMYER, CNN SPORTS CORRESPONDENT, (voice over): Earlier this week the U.S. Anti-Doping Agency hit U.S. sprinter Kelli White, the 2003 world outdoors champion in the 100 and 200 meters with a two- year suspension. Documents discovered in a federal investigation of a drug laboratory called Balco indicated White used undetected steroids. She agreed to help identify others using performance enhancing drugs.

JERROLD COLTON, KELLI WHITE'S ATTORNEY: She can assist with certainly the decoding of certain documents that were obtained by the senate committee in the Balco investigation into the distribution of these illegal substances out in the Bay Area.

OVERMYER: Other athletes are not likely to follow White's lead.

MARION JONES, 3 TIME OLYMPIC GOLD MEDALIST: I know how clean this young lady is sitting right here and that's 100 percent. I cannot speak for anybody else. And I won't do that. I refuse to. But I know that I'm an athlete that has always been drug-free.

OVERMYER: Marion Jones and her boyfriend Tim Montgomery, the world record holder in the 100 meters requested a meeting with Husada (ph). San Francisco Bay area newspapers report Balco's founder Victor Conti (ph) supplied them with the designer steroid THG. Conti's (ph) lawyer denies the reports. Husada (ph) plans to use any measures necessary to ensure a clean team goes to Athens this summer.

BILL MARTIN, ACTING USDC PRESIDENT: Recognize that it's the United States Anti-Doping Agency's responsibility to adjudicate this process. Our concern that it's being done in a timely fashion that allows due process for all our athletes due process is very, very important, and to the extent that they look at issues other than direct positive drug tests, that's where it's a gray area.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I can't comment on the names of other athletes that are going to be named, but there's going to be quite a few, I anticipate, coming in the next couple of weeks, and I think it will drastically change the shape of this team for this Olympics.

JONES: Well I'm going to continue to train. I can't spend a lot of my time worrying about what Husada (ph) is up to. I know that I'll get to the Olympic trials. I know I will compete to the best of my ability. Hopefully win. And hopefully go to Athens. If there's anyone that tries to stand in my way, I'll go through the legal process as well.

OVERMYER: The U.S. Olympic trials are less than two months away. Steve Overmyer, CNN, Atlanta.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

WHITFIELD: A celebration of new royalty. Up next, the sights and sounds from the wedding creating a buzz in Europe.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

WHITFIELD: Spain's crown Prince Felipe took a bride today. He married former TV anchorwoman Letizia Ortiz. A billion people worldwide watched the nuptials from a rainy Madrid.

There they are. Those lovely newlyweds. The guest list included Britain's Prince Charles, Japan's crown Prince Nariheato (ph) and former South African President Nelson Mandela. This is the first royal wedding in Spain in almost a century.

Still much more ahead on CNN LIVE SATURDAY. At the top of the hour, "Next @ CNN" how high tech is being used to prevent a possible spread of mad cow disease. At 4:00, "CNN Live Saturday," and "Dollar Signs" how to get renovation work done in you're home without getting taken for a ride. Experts answer your calls and e-mails. At 5:00, "People in the News" profiling American idol Rubin Studdard and Clay Aiken along with comedian Mike Myers. But first Daniel Sieberg with a preview of "Next @ CNN."

DANIEL SIEBERG, CNN ANCHOR, NEXT @ CNN: Today on NEXT@CNN, technology to protect airliners against missile attacks. LL is installing it on all its planes, will it ever be used on U.S. fleets? Also a cacadia (ph) singles party that only happens every 17 years. Those stories and a lot more coming up after a check of the latest headlines from the CNN newsroom.

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 May 22, 2004 - 14:00   ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
FREDRICKA WHITFIELD, CNN ANCHOR: It's 2:00 p.m. in Washington; 1:00 p.m. in Crawford, Texas, 10:00 p.m. in Baghdad. I'm Fredricka Whitfield at CNN's global headquarters. Welcome to CNN LIVE SATURDAY.
Ahead this hour: the Iraqi prisoner abuse scandal widens. Why the Pentagon has opened eight new investigations. Also, an Israeli raid uncovers a secret tunnel. What was allegedly smuggled into Gaza by suspected terrorists?

And later, one of the top U.S. Olympic hopefuls admits using illegal steroids. A look at what may be next for other athletes in the doping scandal.

But first a look at the top stories. Five years after it was voted out Pakistan is voted back in as a member of the Commonwealth. That is a global group of former British colonies. Pakistan was tossed out when the military coup by General Pervez Musharraf toppled the government.

The world's largest democracy has a new prime minister. Oxford trained economist Manmohan Singh was sworn into office in New Delhi. He's the first member of the Sikh minority and is India's first non- Hindu prime minister.

OPEC ministers put off a production increase decision until next month, meeting in the Netherlands, the ministers merely expressed concern about rising prices for oil and gasoline. Saudi Arabia is considering its own 2 million barrel per day production hike.

We begin this hour with another suicide car bombing in Baghdad where several policemen and a bystander are among the dead. It happened outside the home of a leading government official. We get details from CNN's Harris Whitbeck in Baghdad.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

HARRIS WHITBECK, CNN INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: A suicide car bomber attacked the home of Iraqi Deputy Interior Minister Abdul Jabbar Yousif early Saturday morning. The explosion killed at least five Iraqis, four of them government bodyguards, and wounded seven others.

Neither the minister nor his immediate family were seriously injured in the attack. A group linked to Al Qaeda's Abu Musab Zarqawi claimed responsibility for the attack, calling the deputy minister a traitor for working with the Coalition Provisional Authority.

Meanwhile, there is new information on the Wednesday attack on a group of people in the Iraqi desert near the border with Syria. U.S. Military Spokesman Mark Kimmitt said the number of women killed in that U.S. air strike was of six. He said that no children had been killed.

When asked about reports the air strike had mistakenly hit a wedding party in the desert this is what he had to say.

MARK KIMMITT, U.S. MILITARY SPOKESMAN: The more that we continue to dig into what we found at that location, the more that we are persuaded that there was not a wedding going on. There may have been some kind of celebration.

Bad people have celebrations, too. Bad people have parties, too. It may have been that what was seen as some sort of celebration or spoken to as a celebration, may have just been a meeting in the middle of the desert by some people that were conducting either criminal or terrorist activities.

WHITBECK: Kimmitt showed photographs of what he described as terrorist training manuals, military binoculars, foreign passports and medal equipment. More than 40 people were killed in that attack, which has been criticized in the Iraqi press and even by some members of the Iraqi Governing Council.

In Karbala, militiamen belonging to Muqtada Al Sadr's group, that has been fighting U.S. forces there, said they had agreed to stop fighting but U.S. military spokesmen in Baghdad say that while the U.S. might have repositioned some of its forces in Karbala, it has not withdrawn from that city.

Harris Whitbeck, CNN, Baghdad.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

WHITFIELD: The Pentagon is now investigating an increased number of detainee deaths in Iraq and Afghanistan. The detainees died while being held by American troops. As that investigation moves forward, much of the Pentagon's a focus remains on the alleged abuse that took place at Abu Ghraib prison near Baghdad. The latest developments from CNN's Elaine Quijano in Washington -- Elaine.

ELAINE QUIJANO, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Good afternoon, Fredricka.

As military officials continue their work, the Pentagon says eight more criminal probes are ongoing. That on top of the 25 that officials had previously said were taking place as well. That means a total of 33 investigations are under way looking at the deaths of 37 detainees who were in U.S. custody in Iraq and Afghanistan.

According to Pentagon officials of those 37 people who died, 32 were in Iraq and five were in Afghanistan. And the deaths occurred between August of 2002 until the present. Now officials also say that 30 of the cases happened inside U.S. detention facilities. The other three did not. The deaths of eight people were deemed justified homicides according to the Pentagon. That happened as prisoners were trying to escape, or as a result of disturbances inside the prison.

Now, one of those killed was a camp Buka (ph), in southern Iraq and seven at Abu Ghraib. Two other cases listed as homicides.

The Pentagon has released death certificates for 23 of the detainees and the causes of death listed include a closed head injury, blunt force injuries, and asphyxia due to smothering and chest compression. The Pentagon says nine investigations are still pending, six of them cases in Iraq, 15 others were declared to be death by natural or undetermined causes, say officials.

Now in addition, interrogation procedures continue to be the focus of a probe as well. One that CNN has learned has led to a civilian contractor being referred to the Justice Department for possible criminal prosecution -- Fredrika.

WHITFIELD: Is that contractor still in Iraq? Or has he been transported?

QUIJANO: We have no details. In fact, very short, terse statement issued by the Justice Department yesterday, not even naming the civilian contractor being investigated. We simply don't know what civilian contractor status might be.

WHITFIELD: Elaine Quijano in Washington, thanks very much.

Well, as Iraq gets ready for the return of its sovereignty, security remains a key concern. Insurgents appear to be targeting more attacks on Iraqis seemingly in support of the U.S.-led coalition. Most recently the Iraqi Governing Council president was killed and today an assassination attempt on Iraq's deputy interior minister.

How does this threaten the June 30 handover. CNN Military Intelligence Analyst Ken Robinson joins us from Washington.

KEN ROBINSON, CNN MILITARY/INTELLIGENCE ANALYST: Hi, Fredricka.

WHITFIELD: What appears to be acts of intimidation, do you see this as potentially jeopardizing the June 30th deadline or handover?

ROBINSON: Well, it's certainly not going to stop June 30th handover but it's going to make it a great challenge for coalition forces. They've expected for some time now that they would expect a potential offensive that would increase activity against their desire to stabilize the country prior to June 30; and we're seeing now remnants of that.

Parts of the country have started to calm down recently, as was reported earlier the issues involving the Mehdi (ph) army seem to be slowing down a bit. In Karbala and in Najaf, they have disengaged and they are trying to find a way out of that problem by using the Grand Ayatollah Sistani to hold down the majority.

In Fallujah, the same thing, they seem to be -- Marine Expeditionary Force seems to be pulling back from direct confrontation since no real heavy fighting has happened since May 3rd. But they are anticipating more terrorism attacks as they try to mitigate the problems against these militia forces.

WHITFIELD: And, in fact, this so-called slow down then, is it expected that these insurgents or foreign fighters are regrouping or reorganizing or perhaps even recruiting at this point, particularly spawned by the prison scandal?

ROBINSON: Certainly most analysts agree that they were recruiting and retention for terrorists and insurgents was helped increasingly by the release of the photographs and by the admission of guilt on the part of Jeremy Sivits, the specialist who recently admitted and was found in a guilty in a court-martial.

So there is anticipation that they are looking, rearming and preparing potentially for major disruption and the coalition is spreading security forces throughout Baghdad and major areas in anticipation of that.

WHITFIELD: Knowing this, then, does the U.S. military feel some pressure it has to get these courts-martial to take place sooner rather than later, particularly to try to appeal to Iraqis who are feeling that they have already lost a lot of trust in the American-led forces there, and even more so as a result of this most recent court- martial, which some Iraqis have expressed one year was simply not enough?

ROBINSON: Well, I agree with you that would be politically expedient, but I don't anticipate that that's going to happen. I don't believe that the court-martial procedures will move faster, trying to change the situation on the ground in Iraq.

The military court, the military law and that process will move at its own pace. However, they are trying to accelerate it, but it has a specific lock step process that it goes through and I can't see it being accelerated to a point that it violates the rights of the accused over trying to shape the situation on the ground in Baghdad.

They already have a legitimacy problem in Baghdad and Iraq, and acceleration of these court-martials, I don't believe, will help that.

WHITFIELD: It was your forecast, just a moment ago, as well as President Bush's forecast that as we encroach upon the June 30th handover date, it is likely that the attacks are going to escalate, those attacks being launched by insurgents. That given -- that kind of forecast then, is it your view that U.S. military intelligence is changing its strategy to try to anticipate some of these more vulnerable hot spots?

ROBINSON: Well, yes, the priority intelligence requirements, what they call PIR, one of the main ones that they use and when they detain people is to try to determine where sources of insurgent power or terrorist power are located.

Who's feeding them? Who's clothing them? Who is providing them shelter and where will the next attack occur? That is one of the highest priority requirements and one of the highest priority requirements of interrogation during detention.

The issue many people are concerned about now is as all this focus goes down on the prisoners being held and the interrogation procedures, that they may be at a stage where they are having to hold their -- hold back and not be able to extract the type of information they need to prevent the next attack and that's one of the things that I'm hearing in the field from the region.

WHITFIELD: Ken Robinson, thanks very much for join us.

A military discovery that could help the Middle East peace plan.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: A fifth day of violence in southern Gaza, also a three-year-old Palestinian girl is killed. I'll have the details.

WHITFIELD: Meanwhile, severe weather rocks the Midwest in the form of heavy rain, high winds and flash floods. We'll survey the damage.

And a fairy tale wedding causing quite a stir in Europe. Coming up a bit later, we'll introduce you to the latest royal couple.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

WHITFIELD: A suicide bomber detonated his explosives at an Israeli army checkpoint in the West Bank. CNN's Paula Hancocks is in Jerusalem with more on that -- Paula.

PAULA HANCOCKS, CNN INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Hello, Fredricka.

That happened early this Saturday afternoon, the suicide bomber detonated his explosives, killing only himself, but wounding five others. He was about 30 meters away from the checkpoint at the time so he injured more Palestinians than he did Israelis. Four Palestinians injured, one seriously, and one Israeli soldier.

The soldiers said they warned him to stop. Shots -- firing warning shots into the air and he detonated his explosives. The Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine claiming responsibility for that suicide attack.

Meanwhile, the violence is continuing in Gaza in the southern refugee camp of Rafah. The fifth day of the so-called Operation Rainbow, by the Israeli military. Now more than 40 Palestinians have been killed during these five days and hundreds have been left homeless, but the Israeli military say many of those were militants. But it is true to say many were civilians and many children also.

The Israeli military say that what they are trying to do is hunt out Palestinian militants and find tunnels that go from Egypt, across the border underground to the Southern Gaza state, and that's -- that is bringing, smuggling weapons, smuggling armory.

This afternoon the Israeli military took us to see one of these tunnels. This was the first they have found since Tuesday when this operation began. It was about eight meters deep. The Israeli military showing us around saying that about 40 kilograms of explosive devices were planted nearby as well, so the area was booby-trapped.

They say they will be detonating and destroying that tunnel in the near future. They do say that the troops are thinning out in Rafa, but it was certainly safe to say that the gunfire was carrying on as we were there. They were -- many gun fights continuing, but the Israeli military did say to me that they do believe even though many Palestinians have died, they regret civilian deaths. It is worth it if they do find these tunnels and stop the arms being smuggled into Gaza, Fredricka.

WHITFIELD: All right, Paula Hancocks, thanks very much for that live report from Jerusalem.

Kings, emires, and prime ministers came together in Tunisia today for the Arab League Summit, but one leader stormed out. CNN's Senior International Correspondent Walter Rodgers joins us from Tunis.

Walter?

WALTER RODGERS, CNN SR. INT'L. CORRESPONDENT: Fredricka, the Arab League Summit was supposed to be carefully scripted. No public feuding among the Arab leaders. But then Libya's president, Moummar (ph) Gadhafi tore up the script. He walked out. He boycotted the meeting because he was peeked over the fact that other Arab leaders would not even discuss or consider his proposed solution for the Israeli/Palestinian issue.

That is, a shared state, shared by both Israelis and Palestinians. Gadhafi was also miffed because they would not consider his call for an American withdrawal from Iraq. Gadhafi proposes that U.S. troop -- that United Nations troops immediately replace the U.S. forces there.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

MOUMMAR GADHAFI, PRESIDENT, LIBYA (through translator): I guarantee that the states of the Arab League will send their troops under the umbrella of the blue helmets if the United Nations decides to send its blue helmets to Iraq to replace the occupation forces. Then, Libya will be ready to send its troops.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

RODGERS: With or without Gadhafi, this Arab summit is expected to produce a resolution condemning U.S. troops for the abuse of Iraqi prisoners. And also, coming out of this summit, we're expecting continued pressure on the United Nations from the various Arab leaders to move in to Iraq and replace the U.S. forces there. Amre Moussa (ph) is the secretary-general of the Arab League.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

AMRE MOUSSA, ARAB LEAGUE SECY-GENERAL (through translator): There's no doubt that the United Nations going back to managing the issues in Iraq may be prudent, may be prudent and may be more credible that can push the issue to its more positive situation, to regain sovereignty and end occupation in accordance with the expectations and aspirations of the Iraqi people.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

RODGERS: The large-scale killing of Palestinians in Rafah and Gaza over the past few days caused the Arab leaders to pause for a moment of silence to commemorate those Palestinians killed and the continuing fighting between Israelis and Palestinians. Plus the American occupation of Iraq has these Arab leaders more than a little anxious -- Fredricka.

WHITFIELD: Walter, what about any U.S. diplomats or representatives? Were they present, knowing that the U.S. was trying to promote democracy, but knowing that the U.S. has a credibility problem, particularly, in the Arab community right now?

RODGERS: Well, this is an Arab League meeting and the Americans were not invited.

Nonetheless, what's really interesting about this is that there are more than a few American items on this agenda. Of course, the Americans are very interested in a discussion of the Israeli/Palestinian issue. The American -- one of the American issues on the Arab League agenda is the continuing American military occupation of Iraq.

And then there is the Bush administration's call to all the Arab states assembled here to come up with some sort of declaration at the end of this Arab League Summit, on Sunday, which would call or at least pay lip service to a kind of democratic reform throughout the Arab world, including women's rights, human rights, and greater participatory democracy in the Arab states.

Having said that, there is reluctance here to do that, nonetheless they'll come up with a resolution, which as I say is at least perfunctory, a tip of the hat to the White House -- Fredricka.

WHITFIELD: Walter Rodgers, in Tunis, Tunisia, thanks very much.

(PROMOTIONAL INFO)

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

Wild weather across the Midwest starting with Indiana, where strong storms hit. South Bend, Indiana, was pounded by thunderstorms, which made driving difficult and uprooted trees. Earlier the town of Bradgate, Iowa, was virtually flattened by a tornado. In Deerborn, Michigan the problem was flooding. Even the tow trucks had a time reaching stranded motorists. In Brunswick, Ohio, the Friday evening drive home was messier than usual. The heavy downpours made for slow speeds and frayed tempers.

(WEATHER FORECAST)

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

WHITFIELD: Taking a look at the latest developments now as the Pentagon looks into the Iraqi prisoner abuse scandal it has increased the number of investigation of detainee deaths in Iraq and Afghanistan. The total number of deaths involved is now 37. The detainees died while being held by American troops.

The Arab League is expressing outrage over the Iraqi prisoner abuse scandal and calling for more United Nations involvement in Iraq. Those decisions today as the League met in Tunisia. Libya's president Moammar Gadhafi, provided some fireworks himself, he stormed out of the meeting to protest the league's refusal to take up his proposal for a single Israeli/Palestinian state.

President Bush's daughters are dawning caps and gowns over the next few days. Jenna graduates today from the University of Texas with a degree in English. Barbara graduates Monday with a degree in humanities from Yale, her father's alma mater.

The president and first lady are skipping both ceremonies. Aides say their presence would be disruptive. Meanwhile the president will push his Iraq agenda in full court press on Monday. Mr. Bush goes to the Army War College in Pennsylvania to lay out his vision for Iraq's sovereignty. CNN's Dana Bash is covering the president near his ranch from Crawford, Texas -- Dana.

DANA BASH, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Hi Fredricka.

Well the White House is billing this speech on Monday as a very important one. Certainly they recognize that the president's approval ratings are going down along with the public support of the war in Iraq and certainly the White House, as I said, notices that. Meanwhile, along with the growing concerns among the public about Iraq, there was some public criticism from a very influential Republican senator today, Senator Richard Lugar, the chairman of the foreign relations committee, he was speaking at Boston at Tuffs University and he said part of his speech he said, "We worried terrorism but the evolution of national security options and policy have not kept up with the threat. We have relied heavily on military options and unilateral approaches that weakened out alliances."

Now, Senator Lugar also took a bit of a slap at the administration's what he called go it alone policies, saying that essentially they may have caused problems -- broader problems in billing international alliances. And now the president, as I said, his approval rating is dropping and he is trying today, for example, to talk about the issue of the economy, to talk about the fact that the country has seen 288,000 new jobs just in last month alone, and Republicans strategist say their big concern here is that particular issue, the economy and other issues that the Republicans want to talk about are just being overshadowed by the war in Iraq. So Republicans are certainly going to be looking, as others will be too, at president's speech on Monday. And Senator John McCain said that he hopes to hear the president talk about specifics.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

SEN. JOHN MCCAIN, (R) ARIZONA: I think he also needs to lay out the plan that we have. A lot of us are not very clear on it. But he also has to do what he did with the Republican senators and congressmen yesterday, say we got to stay the course, say what's at stake, and tell the American people that it's going to be rough. The benefits of success and consequences of failure. I imagine he'll do a good job.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BASH: Now, the White House says that the president will be talking about what they called the way forward in Iraq; he'll be talking a little bit about the transfer of sovereignty to Iraqis. That should happen on June 30th. Of course he'll be talking about security. But a main reason for the speech is essentially to reassure Americans and to also set expectations that just because the June 30th deadline is approaching and that Iraqis will have limited sovereignty, it doesn't mean the bad news will stop coming from Iraq for Americans -- Fredricka.

WHITFIELD: Dana Bash, from Crawford, Texas. Thanks very much.

Democratic presidential contender John Kerry focuses his weekly radio talk on soaring gas prices. Kerry says as president he would demand that OPEC nations pump more crude to bring down prices. There's also word that Kerry may not accept the Democratic nomination at the party's July convention. Once he accepts, federal election rules limit the amount of money he can spend through Election Day and with the Republican convention five weeks later, he, Kerry, would start draining his campaign war chest much sooner than President Bush.

Well, it's been a couple of rough political months for the Bush presidency. Are the Bush women coming to the rescue now? First lady Laura Bush turned on the Texas charm with an appearance on "The Tonight Show" with Jay Leno this week. And she says the first couple's daughters graduating from college this weekend will go to work for their father's campaign as well.

Let's talk about all this and other news from inside the beltway with Andrea Seabrook, congressional correspondent for National Public Radio she joins us now from Washington. All right Andrea good to see you.

ANDREA SEABROOK, NPR CONGRESSIONAL REPORTER: Good to see you too.

WHITFIELD: All right, we'll talk about the Bushes' response to Kerry may be delaying his acceptance in a moment, but first let's start with the Bush women. This isn't that unusual for a candidate to use family members, you know, kids or spouses, et cetera, but in this particular case, it does seem peculiar, doesn't it, particularly because the Bushes have tried very hard to protect their daughters from the limelight?

SEABROOK: It's true. You know, but I think with them graduating from college, there is that, that it's time to sort of break out into the world and do a few new things here, specifically work on their father's campaign. But also you need to look at the fact that this election now that we're five months out from it, just a little bit more than five months out, is really going to be based on grabbing that swing vote, and swing voters tend to be women.

They tend to be professional -- you know or stay at home women, but middle-class women. You know, putting a little bit of a more feminine face on the Bush campaign could do him some good in that case.

WHITFIELD: Except that these two girls, Jena and Barbara, at first didn't get a whole lot of positive press the first few time that they did make headlines with various problems. Why did, you know, the Bush White House feel like they've kind of cleaned up their act, they are college graduates now, now is the time to add the responsibility?

SEABROOK: Well, you know, I think that I mean in general, Americans are pretty forgiving people. President Bush himself has a few stumbles in his background that Americans seem to think that, you know, he -- they're gone now, they're over, you know. Let's move on towards the future. And plus I think Laura bush, the first lady, she has a stellar image.

She is just seen as a fantastic sort of calm matriarch and I think that bringing in her daughters and if they manage to, you know, pull them in and do some good work and not have any more of the stumbles, then I think they can recover pretty well.

WHITFIELD: So the Bush White House is now hoping that perhaps the Bush ladies will upstage the kind of Republican infighting that we're now seeing evidence of, Chuck Hagel's come out very strongly criticizing the president and now we know that Lugar is as well. What is going on? This certainly is not boding well for the White House?

SEABROOK: No, it's not. In fact, I think this is their worst nightmare. I think that five months out from the election, they were expecting to have a giant echo chamber in the capitol for the way they see things. Their policy issues, what they want to do in the future. And so this is a bad time --

WHITFIELD: And they were even critical of his appearance on the hill saying he really didn't give them the information nor even take questions that they wanted to share?

SEABROOK: Exactly. One person said to me, you know, he walked in, he gave a speech, and he walked out. That is not coming in and, you know, as McCain just said in the Dana Bash report that just happened, you know, he did reassure Republicans, which he needed to do but it seemed like it was going to be this giant gesture that would somehow offset the fact that Republican after Republican after Republican criticizing Republicans. Their Republican leaders in the administration. But it didn't turn out to be exactly what they thought it would. So there was a lot of disappointment.

WHITFIELD: OK, and talking about criticism now, now on to the Kerry strategy of delaying his acceptance. President Bush, at least the White House has been very outspoken saying this exemplifies how John Kerry is trying to change the rules because it's convenient for him, never has this been done before. Is the Kerry camp just kind of testing the waters to see how the American public might react to this delayed acceptance, or is this likely a done deal because of the huge five-week gap in, you know, campaign money to be spent?

SEABROOK: I think it's -- I think this is definitely test marketing going on. And what they're seeing is that the idea is making a big splash. I think they're sort of hesitant waiting to see if the Republicans will come back and say this is another giant flip flop for Kerry, or if -- and I think the question is, though, will Americans really understand the fact that the campaign finance law separates money that is spent in the primary election from money spent in the general election.

And so once he accepts the nomination he has to start spending general election money while the president can spend primary election money for another five weeks. Will the Americans understand that sort of nuance and will they forgive him this sort of strange technical, almost deterring like decision if he does make it.

WHITFIELD: Or might some voters interpret this as wait a minute is John Kerry not accepting the nomination at all, does he not want to be in the race anymore?

SEABROOK: Yes, it's going to be difficult to pull off the convention also in July if they don't have a president or presidential nominee to accept that nomination.

WHITFIELD: Andrea Seabrook of NPR, thanks very much. Good chatting with you.

SEABROOK: You're welcome. Good to talk to you.

WHITFIELD: A star witness for the government in the case against Martha Stewart lands in hot water himself. What does it mean for her conviction on federal charges? We'll find out next in our "Legal Roundtable."

Also, keeping it clean, the top female American sprinter is banned from the Olympic games over performance enhancing drugs. Will more athletes follow? Details when CNN LIVE SATURDAY continue.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

WHITFIELD: We're waiting to find out if Martha Stewart could get a new trial. It's a possibility now that one of the key witnesses who testified against her has been charged with perjury. CNN's Chris Huntington has more on the questions about the testimony of an ink expert.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

CHRIS HUNTINGTON, CNN CORRESPONDENT, (voice over): It may be the best news Martha Stewart has heard all year. The same U.S. attorney who convicted her and her former broker, Peter Bacanovic of obstructing justice today charged one of the government's key witnesses with two counts of perjury for lying on the stand.

DAVID KELLEY, U. S. ATTORNEY: A trusted and accomplished lab examiner, and public servant violated the public trust.

HUNTINGTON: Larry Stewart, who runs the U.S. Secret Service crime lab and is no relation to Martha, allegedly lied when he told the jury that he personally analyzed the blue ink from Bacanovic's work sheet with the famous notation at 60. That is the price at which Martha Stewart claimed she always intended to sell her stake in Imclone Systems. Attorneys for the convicted style maven said the new perjury charges "Clearly demonstrate that the trial of Martha Stewart was fatally flawed and unfair.

If anyone believes that Martha Stewart was not prejudiced they are extremely naive. Bacanovic's lawyer said the development "will require a new trial." But U.S. Attorney David Kelley was quick to downplay the impact of the charges against Larry Stewart.

KELLEY: We are quite confident that false testimony will have no impact on the convictions of Martha Stewart and Peter Bacanovic.

HUNTINGTON: One veteran security lawyer, who heard Larry Stewart testify, agrees.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: What is being attacked is whether he was at a certain testing, but realistically it has nothing to do with the conviction.

HUNTINGTON: Martha Stewart's attorneys have already been denied one request for a mistrial regarding a juror who lied about his criminal record, but legal analysts say that old claim bundled together with the new perjury charges could give the defense some traction. Chris Huntington, CNN Financial News.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

WHITFIELD: So will Martha Stewart get a new trial? We put that question to our legal guests, civil rights attorney and law professor Avery Friedman he joins us from Cleveland. All right good to see you Avery.

AVERY FRIEDMAN, CIVIL RIGHTS ATTORNEY: Nice to see you Fredricka.

WHITFIELD: So far this sounds to be pretty promising news for Martha Stewart's defense team. They're excited about it. However, we all have to remember that this prosecuting witness was charged, not convicted. So it's really not a done deal? FRIEDMAN: Right. Well, it's far from a done deal, Fredrika. Here's the deal. Larry Stewart is the top gun for the Secret Service Crime Lab, and he testified solely about the forged document of Peter Bacanovic. What that really means is that of all the charges that both Peter Bacanovic and Martha Stewart were convicted on, the only one where there was an acquittal was on the testimony of the Secret Service fellow.

So the reality is that it means absolutely -- it sounds like a big deal, Fredrika, but the bottom line is that the defense lawyers have to show that the Secret Service testimony tied in to why the jury convicted both Martha and Peter, and you know what, there is absolutely no evidence that's going to make that happen.

WHITFIELD: Except for the defense attorneys arguing that this is evidence that the prosecution's case was fatally flawed, so given that being the case if that is true, you know, how many attempts for a mistrial can they pursue? They've already been denied one because of a juror who lied about his record.

FRIEDMAN: Right. They're going to keep pursuing any possible chance. Their best argument is going to be, look, we had a problem with a juror who lied. We now have a federal officer who lied. But what the federal judge has to do is connect the misbehavior to material prejudice and just like earlier, Judge Cedarbaum who is the federal judge said yes, the juror misbehaved but you can't connect that to a mistrial or prejudice to the defendants. We're going to have the same thing here. After all, Larry Stewart, the Secret Service representative, testified on the false document charge only, and guess what, Peter was acquitted on that, so the bottom line is it will have absolutely no effect.

WHITFIELD: OK Avery, criminal defense attorney Richard Herman, who usually joins you on this debate, is with us from New York. Let's bring him in on this.

RICHARD HERMAN, CRIMINAL DEFENSE ATTORNEY: How are you?

WHITFIELD: Good to see you. I'm doing good.

HERMAN: I think Avery paid to have me blocked out so he can give his speech. It was nauseating what he said. It was totally wrong what my good friend Avery said.

WHITFIELD: OK, you disagree. Not surprised.

HERMAN: The government put on a witness who potentially lied. I say potentially because he's only been indicted. He has been proven that he lied. If it's true, this is devastating. Any defense attorney in the country is getting sick over this. This happens many times. This is not the first time this has happened. And the Judge Cedarbaum has a right, at a minimum, to grant the new trial here, and I would argue strenuously that the charges must be thrown out for this misconduct.

WHITFIELD: But then Richard, don't you also have to give credit to the federal government, the prosecutors, that they're the ones who took notice there was something wrong with this person's testimony, it's their own witness, and they were willing to come and make it very public, you know, and let everyone know that we did have a problem with this particular witness?

FRIEDMAN: Fredricka...

HERMAN: Give David Kelly a lot of credit.

FRIEDMAN: Go ahead.

HERMAN: This witness just did not show up to court that day to testify. He was prepared. They went over his testimony over and over again. There are serious Brady violations here. I'm telling you, you can't just cast it off and say Bacanovic got acquitted on this account and it has nothing to it with Martha Stewart. No. The integrity of the judicial system is at stake here. It's a high profile case and Judge Cedarbaum, I believe, is going to do the right thing.

WHITFIELD: OK, real quick then, June 17, sentencing is it going to happen or no one word answer?

HERMAN: No way.

WHITFIELD: Avery?

FRIEDMAN: Yes, there will be a sentence and she's going on the 17th.

WHITFIELD: And Richard you say no?

HERMAN: No doubt.

WHITFIELD: All right, thanks very much Richard Herman and Avery Friedman, thanks for joining us gentleman. Appreciate it.

HERMAN: Nice to see you.

FRIEDMAN: Thank you.

WHITFIELD: This time it went by way too fast, didn't it?

HERMAN: Way to fast.

WHITFIELD: We'll have you back, of course. Thanks a lot.

HERMAN: Have a good day.

WHITFIELD: A controversial ban of a high profile Olympian. Up next we will examine the latest drug investigation that could prevent other athletes from dreams of Olympic gold in Athens.

And it's not the Brits but another royal wedding this afternoon that is causing quite a stir in Europe. We'll take you there.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK) WHITFIELD: This story just in to CNN. One of the most controversial films in years has been awarded one of the most prestigious international movie awards. Michael Moore's documentary "Fahrenheit 9/11" has won the Golden Palm at the Cannes Film Festival in France. The film sparked controversy in the U.S. And Disney refused to allow the movie to be distributed by its subsidiary Miramax. "Fahrenheit 9/11" is Michael Moore's indictment of the Bush administration actions after the terrorist attack of September 11. Moore's last movie the documentary, "Bowling for Columbine" won an Oscar.

A steroid scandal threatens to over shadow the 2004 Summer Olympics in Athens. Top American sprinter Kelli White will not compete in the games after her suspension this week over steroid use and with her health, investigators with the U.S. Anti-Doping Agency could suspend other Olympic hopefuls. CNN sports correspondent Steve Overmyer has the story.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

STEVE OVERMYER, CNN SPORTS CORRESPONDENT, (voice over): Earlier this week the U.S. Anti-Doping Agency hit U.S. sprinter Kelli White, the 2003 world outdoors champion in the 100 and 200 meters with a two- year suspension. Documents discovered in a federal investigation of a drug laboratory called Balco indicated White used undetected steroids. She agreed to help identify others using performance enhancing drugs.

JERROLD COLTON, KELLI WHITE'S ATTORNEY: She can assist with certainly the decoding of certain documents that were obtained by the senate committee in the Balco investigation into the distribution of these illegal substances out in the Bay Area.

OVERMYER: Other athletes are not likely to follow White's lead.

MARION JONES, 3 TIME OLYMPIC GOLD MEDALIST: I know how clean this young lady is sitting right here and that's 100 percent. I cannot speak for anybody else. And I won't do that. I refuse to. But I know that I'm an athlete that has always been drug-free.

OVERMYER: Marion Jones and her boyfriend Tim Montgomery, the world record holder in the 100 meters requested a meeting with Husada (ph). San Francisco Bay area newspapers report Balco's founder Victor Conti (ph) supplied them with the designer steroid THG. Conti's (ph) lawyer denies the reports. Husada (ph) plans to use any measures necessary to ensure a clean team goes to Athens this summer.

BILL MARTIN, ACTING USDC PRESIDENT: Recognize that it's the United States Anti-Doping Agency's responsibility to adjudicate this process. Our concern that it's being done in a timely fashion that allows due process for all our athletes due process is very, very important, and to the extent that they look at issues other than direct positive drug tests, that's where it's a gray area.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I can't comment on the names of other athletes that are going to be named, but there's going to be quite a few, I anticipate, coming in the next couple of weeks, and I think it will drastically change the shape of this team for this Olympics.

JONES: Well I'm going to continue to train. I can't spend a lot of my time worrying about what Husada (ph) is up to. I know that I'll get to the Olympic trials. I know I will compete to the best of my ability. Hopefully win. And hopefully go to Athens. If there's anyone that tries to stand in my way, I'll go through the legal process as well.

OVERMYER: The U.S. Olympic trials are less than two months away. Steve Overmyer, CNN, Atlanta.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

WHITFIELD: A celebration of new royalty. Up next, the sights and sounds from the wedding creating a buzz in Europe.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

WHITFIELD: Spain's crown Prince Felipe took a bride today. He married former TV anchorwoman Letizia Ortiz. A billion people worldwide watched the nuptials from a rainy Madrid.

There they are. Those lovely newlyweds. The guest list included Britain's Prince Charles, Japan's crown Prince Nariheato (ph) and former South African President Nelson Mandela. This is the first royal wedding in Spain in almost a century.

Still much more ahead on CNN LIVE SATURDAY. At the top of the hour, "Next @ CNN" how high tech is being used to prevent a possible spread of mad cow disease. At 4:00, "CNN Live Saturday," and "Dollar Signs" how to get renovation work done in you're home without getting taken for a ride. Experts answer your calls and e-mails. At 5:00, "People in the News" profiling American idol Rubin Studdard and Clay Aiken along with comedian Mike Myers. But first Daniel Sieberg with a preview of "Next @ CNN."

DANIEL SIEBERG, CNN ANCHOR, NEXT @ CNN: Today on NEXT@CNN, technology to protect airliners against missile attacks. LL is installing it on all its planes, will it ever be used on U.S. fleets? Also a cacadia (ph) singles party that only happens every 17 years. Those stories and a lot more coming up after a check of the latest headlines from the CNN newsroom.

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