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Erin Burnett Outfront
Coup in Cairo; President Obama's Secret Hollywood Night; Auctioning Apple 1
Aired June 14, 2012 - 19:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
ERIN BURNETT, HOST: OUTFRONT next what is being called a soft coup in Egypt. The Arab Spring hailed as a win for democracy, but even back then they did not add up.
And the president heads to a big fund-raiser tonight. But you're not going to see any pictures from it and we're going to tell you why.
And a surprising similarity between the Apple you buy now and the first one ever sold.
Let's go OUTFRONT.
OUTFRONT tonight, chaos in Cairo. A stunning move by Mubarak era judges today who declared parliament illegitimate. Immediately after the ruling the military announced it was taking over. This is the same parliament Egyptians have spent months voting for in their first votes ever. One tweet from a human rights activist said, "Egypt just witnessed the smoothest military coup. We'd be outraged if we weren't so exhausted."
Chaos erupted in the streets of Cairo and Tahrir Square as people gathered late into the evening tonight. It comes just two days ahead of the presidential election. Now this election pits a Mubarak loyalist that the military supports against a Muslim Brotherhood candidate that it doesn't. It doesn't seem to be a coincidence that the Brotherhood was the single biggest party in the parliament dissolved today.
So how did America get Egypt so wrong? I remember being in Cairo covering the revolution not even 18 months ago. It was inspiring and it was uplifting. It was a moment I'll never forget. And President Obama, like so many other Americans, was moved by a revolution that toppled a dictator who had ruled for almost 30 years.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
BARACK OBAMA (D-IL), PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: We can't help but hear the echoes of history, echoes from Germans tearing down a wall, Indonesian students taking to the streets, Gandhi leading his people down the path of justice.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
BURNETT: Gandhi leading his people down the path of justice. Today a far cry from when the president said that, when he said that the word Tahrir means liberation. This weekend's election is going ahead and the military promises it will be fair although the Eurasia Group tells us it is now, quote, "clearly perceived to be rigged".
The two candidates, Ahmed Shafiq, the last prime minister under Mubarak himself, is the military's favored candidate. And Mohamed Mursi is the Muslim Brotherhood candidate. They're both powerful men invested in a status quo that can be damning. You may remember we showed you this that a friend gave me in Egypt where eighth grade social studies text books today, this year, that students are learning from, teach students that, quote, "treason and treachery are key attributes of Jewish people", a country where 91 percent of women have experienced genital mutilation.
A country where one young woman told me recently that Islamists tried to shut down her nonprofit organization because it tried to help single women get jobs. They said why would you do that? Why would a woman be single? You're telling women to not get married. She should be at home. That's her home. That's where she belongs, a country where at a rally last month for the Muslim Brotherhood presidential candidate, Mohamed Mursi, this happened.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: (SPEAKING FOREIGN LANGUAGE)
Our cry shall be: "Millions of martyrs march toward Jerusalem."
Millions of martyrs march toward Jerusalem.
UNIDENTIFIED GROUP: Millions of martyrs march toward Jerusalem.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: (SPEAKING FOREIGN LANGUAGE)
Banish the sleep from the eyes of all Jews.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
BURNETT: Banish the sleep from the eyes of the Jews. That was the cleric that was introducing the presidential candidate Mohamed Mursi. Now we face a volatile country in a volatile part of the world. Parag Kana has covered Egypt extensively for the New American Foundation is with me, along with Danielle Pletka of the American Enterprise Institute.
Parag, in so many levels, this is, today, what happened, seems to be very tragic and very upsetting. How did it happen?
PARAG KHANNA, THE NEW AMERICAN FOUNDATION: Erin, democratic transitions are marathons, not sprints. We supported the Orange Revolution in Ukraine you know almost a decade ago to this day. One of the champions of that (INAUDIBLE) is sitting in jail and on a hunger strike. These things take a long time.
What has happened in Egypt today though is absolutely perceived by the people to be a huge setback. It's as if the last year of progress that they have felt and hoped for has been wiped away and this soft coup, as people are calling it, has taken place. I'm still optimistic because the people still have this desire. They're exhausted, as your tweeter said --
BURNETT: Yes.
KHANNA: -- but they're going to keep the pressure on, to make sure that the military doesn't completely, you know, grasp power forever.
BURNETT: Danielle, there's a great irony in all of this, of course which is that the Mubarak era judges and the military that were behind what happened today, their candidate, Shafiq, is the candidate that most people would acknowledge is the candidate the West and the United States wants. The West and the United States isn't really excited about the Muslim Brotherhood candidate, the guy who was introduced with "banish the sleep from all the eyes of the Jews." I mean this is an irony, isn't it?
DANIELLE PLETKA, AMERICAN ENTERPRISE INSTITUTE: Well, the irony is, you know, as I think Parag said rightly that we are sitting idly by while Egypt's revolution has been turned backwards and I think part of the -- the biggest part of the problem is that the West and the Arab world have all sort of averted their eyes as Egypt has returned to a modicum of authoritarianism. The problem really is that the military has been taking back power for some time now. And everybody has been a little bit quietly applauding.
BURNETT: Well and Parag that is, that is the kind of dirty secret about it. The West wants the military's guy, the non- democratic side of this in today's news to win.
KHANNA: Haven't we already learned the hard way that when you think that your guy, your SOB, you know the man who holds power that he's actually in control of society that in fact he isn't? We have to learn to play all sides and to understand that the people have a voice, that constitutions matter. The parliament is going to be very influential whether or not it's controlled by the Brotherhood because whoever's in it is going to demand that there be a new kind of government, a separation of powers. Something that you know we should be supporting.
BURNETT: Danielle what should the United States do about this? I mean because you can play this out and say and there are many, obviously, some sympathetic to the Muslim Brotherhood today who are saying look this is a disaster. This could lead to civil war. This could be the first step towards Egypt becoming an Iran on steroids. That is obviously coming from one political side of the spectrum, but how real is the risk?
PLETKA: Well, I think the problem is that it's not one political side of the spectrum or the other. You know for many countries it's far more comfortable to deal with a dictator. Everybody likes one- stop shopping. The problem is that we really do rely on this one guy. And we continue to embrace that model.
We've done very little over the last year and a half to help Egypt institution build. We've done very little to help all of those people who were in the middle of Tahrir Square actually build political parties. The biggest failure here has been that Egypt has been divided between Mubarak retreads and Islamists. There really isn't anybody in the middle who represents the liberals, the people who actually led part of this revolution and that's a tragedy.
BURNETT: Right. Of course, that is what takes a long, long time, is a country that's not been a democracy for ever, thousands of years of great history. But Parag, what really is the risk to the United States if this goes deeply wrong, most populous country in the Arab world, if it does go -- I mean wrong, if democracy leads you in the direction that is much more radical?
KHANNA: Right. It's not that it's going to taint democracy per Senate because we know that these transitions take a very long time. Obviously there is many countries in the Persian Gulf for example, the family-led --
BURNETT: Right.
KHANNA: -- authoritarian monarchies that are going to say look at how we've maintained and weathered this Arab Spring storm, maintained stability and economic growth, this is a better model, something that's more technocratic --
BURNETT: Yes, but what's the risk to the U.S. I mean if this really goes awry?
KHANNA: Well again, I mean already we see the tendency in the Egyptian foreign policy is a much harder line on Israel, and that it's much more resistant to any U.S. pressure, which is why we don't want to be overly meddling. Remember if we're seen as perceiving -- perceived as supporting either Mubarak too much or Shafiq too much, that's going to lead to a huge popular backlash against us, so we absolutely have to lay low.
BURNETT: All right, well thanks very much to both of you. And just for everyone out there, I mean it's the -- you know Shafiq, the guy that's running, the military guy, you know it was under him when that textbook about treason and treachery being attributes of Jewish people, would have been approved and the Muslim Brotherhood guy is the one is saying "banish the sleep from all the eyes of the Jews". It's very hard to see who's the good guy.
Still ahead OUTFRONT, the president has a big meeting with supporters tonight, so why is he so shy about it, making a big deal about it, hiding from the cameras?
And a disturbing report from Greece about what is being done with children there.
And you probably missed it even if you are a fan of "The Game of Thrones", in fact we can almost assure that you missed it, a hidden joke that has the producers in serious trouble.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK) BURNETT: Our second story OUTFRONT President Obama and the city, just the city, nothing in the city, just the city. He's looking to Hollywood for cash, holding fund-raisers tonight at Sarah Jessica Parker's home and at the Plaza Hotel and Mariah Carey. He's going to bank more than $4 million from the two events. But don't expect a photo op for that price.
The closest we could get is this. This is actually -- this is -- bear with me everyone -- this is a live picture. You see all these people massing because they're wondering what's behind the dump trucks. Well the dump trucks are on purpose so that no cameras and no people can actually get down that street. The street is where Sarah Jessica Parker lives.
They pulled up some dump trucks. That's how much they want us to see what's going on. John Avlon, Reihan Salam and Jamal Simmons are with me. All right, this is -- this is kind of interesting. You know we looked into this. These are the president's 18th and 19th celebrity fund-raisers this year.
That's a -- I mean that's a lot of time for the Clooney's of the world, John Avlon. Fifty million dollars total from these events, 51 to be exact. So Romney is trying to label him as out of touch. You hang out with celebrities all the time, celebrities obviously have money, but you know we're not seeing him glad-hand take pictures, brag about this.
JOHN AVLON, CNN CONTRIBUTOR: Yes, particularly today and particularly this fund-raiser. I think he steps on his message. Here he gives a very strong economic speech today all about how the president's the guy's who's going to defend the middle class and then he goes spends the night at a fund-raiser with (INAUDIBLE). Now I can't think of anyone who symbolizes anything less middle class than (INAUDIBLE) "The Devil Wears Prada" who was part of, you know the auction off thing, so you're just stepping on your message there. You're giving the Romney campaign ammunition. Wait a day. Instead this becomes the cycle because you know politics and pop culture it's catnip.
BURNETT: And Jamal, I mean the thing is we never really see him at these events. You're lucky if you get a snap of the back of his head. Why is everything behind closed doors? Why not let everybody see who's going into your event? After all, we're going to be able to see their donations on paper if we want to look that hard.
JAMAL SIMMONS, DEMOCRATIC STRATEGIST: Yes, I would challenge the premise just a little bit. I think that the president does allow most of his fund-raising events, they allow (INAUDIBLE) pool press (INAUDIBLE) remarks, maybe not the rest of the time where he's out shaking hands or the Q&A, but most of them have formal remarks as pool press or at least photographers.
BURNETT: We couldn't get any of the 19 celebrity ones I have to say we did --
SIMMONS: OK. BURNETT: -- Jamal.
SIMMONS: Well I think -- well I think probably you know we're sort of more eager to see George Clooney and Sarah Jessica Parker than we are Barack Obama at some of those fund-raisers.
BURNETT: Maybe.
SIMMONS: But let's look at Mitt Romney on the other hand who didn't have his first open fund-raiser of any kind until May, until last month. It was the first time that he had an open fund-raiser. And so Mitt Romney has been incredibly secretive not only with fund- raisers but with his bundlers and also with his tax returns. He would only let out one year. And meanwhile, my last point, he met with Sheldon Adelson the last time he was in Nevada. Sheldon Adelson today or yesterday, sometime this week, $10 million donation to his Super PAC, so the president has 19 fund-raisers with a bunch of people at them, raised $50 million. Mitt Romney has one meeting with one billionaire, $10 million and then goes to his Super PAC. I think there's a bigger deal there than Sarah Jessica Parker and (INAUDIBLE).
BURNETT: All right, fair point. Reihan though had his pen out, scribbling, looking very distressed --
(CROSSTALK)
SIMMONS: Do math --
(CROSSTALK)
REIHAN SALAM, CNN CONTRIBUTOR: Just two minor points, there was a little off the record fund-raiser that President Obama had in 2008 at which Mahal Fowler (ph), a reporter for "The Huffington Post" said gosh, President Obama talked about Pennsylvania voters who are bitter and who cling to guns. Given that Obama has led a White House that leaks like a sieve I can see why he would be more open about his fund- raisers because again, someone might leak from them, so better to be prepared for that prospect --
BURNETT: Couldn't resist, huh?
(CROSSTALK)
SIMMONS: -- fund-raisers, right?
(CROSSTALK)
BURNETT: -- leaks like a sieve?
SALAM: Who knows what else is going to be said? And then the other piece of this is that you know "Buzz Feed" had a wonderful recent report which showed that when you look at the folks, the small dollar-donors who raised money for President Obama in 2008, about 90 percent of them have not opened their wallets this time around, so of course President Obama is going to cling as tightly to celebrities as Pennsylvania voters cling to their guns and religion, because he needs to raise money.
BURNETT: OK. John.
AVLON: Well, well constructed. You worked on that one, didn't you?
(CROSSTALK)
BURNETT: That's why the pen was out, the scribbling --
(CROSSTALK)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Look --
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: All doodles.
AVLON: Look -- I mean look there is a stereotype that Democratic politicians rely a lot on Hollywood for fund-raising and this was something said about Bill Clinton. I think it's certainly true in this cycle as well that Wall Street becomes the Republican's Hollywood. The irony of course in all of this is that we've only had one literal Hollywood president and it was Ronald Reagan.
(CROSSTALK)
SIMMONS: Hold on one second. Hold on one second.
BURNETT: Yes.
SIMMONS: Let's not blow past the fact -- let's not blow past the fact that Mitt Romney does not release his bundlers. Barack Obama does release his bundlers. Mitt Romney is raising billions of dollars from these oligarch you know billionaires, you know millions of dollars (INAUDIBLE) billionaires while the president has not been able to do that with some of the Wall Street folks. So you know Anna Wintour, the celebrities is all fun and interesting, but meanwhile you've got these sorts of shadowy businessmen who are just giving this money to these shadowy organizations.
AVLON: But Jamal, when you heard they were auctioning off dinner with Anna Wintour, did you do a little fist pump? Were you like who OK'd that secretly?
SIMMONS: No, because I saw "Devil Wears Prada," I admit it.
(CROSSTALK)
BURNETT: Let's take the numbers on Mitt Romney because Hollywood to the president is actually more important, Jamal, numbers wise, than Wall Street is to Mitt Romney. That's actually not -- look at the other screen, the financial industry one. Mitt Romney, $29.8 million -- there it is -- for Mitt Romney, 3.4 for Barack Obama. But the number from Hollywood for Obama was 51, so that's actually kind of interesting, John --
SALAM: Well you know Hollywood is an incredibly important export industry for the United States.
AVLON: It is.
BURNETT: Yes, it is.
SALAM: We should celebrate it. We should respect it and also --
BURNETT: Could be our greatest export.
SALAM: Yes, absolutely, absolutely, so I don't think that you know there's anything intrinsically wrong with raising money in Hollywood, but I mean certainly the optics are problematic. Why, because I mean it certainly seems though the president enjoys spending time with his celebrity fans and also -- I mean when you're looking at the small dollar donors --
BURNETT: Well who doesn't? I mean --
(CROSSTALK)
BURNETT: Mitt Romney gets to hang out --
(CROSSTALK)
BURNETT: Like if you got to hang out with Angelina Jolie you'd think --
(CROSSTALK)
SALAM: But here's the other contrast.
(CROSSTALK)
SALAM: The other contrast when you look at the contributions the small dollar donors dropping off and the Hollywood donors being the ones who stick to him, well part of it is because those are the ones who still have disposable income. And that's another commentary on the state of larger economy. You know what I mean --
(CROSSTALK)
BURNETT: Final word to Jamal. I'll let you rebut that.
SIMMONS: Let's just have a little perspective. Hollywood did not almost tank the entire global economy in 2008 and 2009.
BURNETT: Just global culture and society, Jamal. That's all, hey, you know. No, I'm just kidding.
(CROSSTALK)
BURNETT: I'm kidding.
(CROSSTALK)
BURNETT: Separate issue. (CROSSTALK)
SALAM: -- Wall Street in 2008.
SIMMONS: George Clooney was not responsible for, you know, taking --
(CROSSTALK)
SALAM: Jamal, you know that President Obama is happy to raise money from Wall Street in 2008 and happy to do it this time around as well.
BURNETT: Yes he is and he's raising it from private equity --
SALAM: Absolutely.
BURNETT: They don't really want to give it to him.
SIMMONS: Hey, I will take it.
BURNETT: Right. You know what, hey, you're running for president, you take it from almost anywhere you can get it, almost everybody. There's got to be somebody you'd say no to. Please.
Still ahead OUTFRONT the Apple number that will amaze you. And what you should know before you buy your next computer.
And later a doctor with a military background on the run from police after his ex-girlfriend died. Those running the manhunt, how they plan to catch him, they're coming up.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
BURNETT: Tomorrow, Sotheby's is auctioning off this. What is that? Well it's an Apple 1 computer. This is the mother board. They didn't actually have a keyboard or a monitor when this was built. I'll tell you when in a moment, but it does come with the original instruction manuals. I mean this is pretty amazing. It looks like it's in the 1800's. Anyway, there were only 200 of these computers made and this is one of the six left that actually still work.
Now, keep in mind that for the eventual buyer, you're not really going to obviously use this computer. The iPhone is 1,000 times faster, but power isn't what drives price in this case. This is a piece of history, expected to sell for as much as $180,000, which is a far cry from the $666.66 it sold for back in 1976. Now, Apple's co- founder, Steve Wozniak has said this price has nothing to do with the devil.
It's just repeating digits are easier to type. You know I call baloney on that, sorry, because honestly 777 better, 555, whatever, anyway our number tonight is $2,721.44. That's actually the amount in today's dollars, which means it is adjusted for inflation that a buyer paid for the original Apple 1 back in 1976. You can actually buy most Mac books today for that. Granted, Apple makes a lot more money off you now.
It's cheaper to make computers in China after all, but it's nice to know that you're not getting massively ripped off. All right, well I was reading the German magazine "Der Spiegel" today when an item caught my eye. Apparently Swedish car company Volvo is after a really long hiatus getting back into the safety innovation game. According to the article, Volvo has developed the first external air bag designed to save pedestrian lives.
So there are seven sensors on the front of the car. They recognize when a vehicle strikes a human leg as opposed to you know a garbage can. And then it releases an air bag who is split in the hood of the car, cushions the victim and saves lives. It's a pretty eye catching invention. Not as eye catching as what else I saw in the article.
Which read, quote, "Unlike Swedish carmaker Saab which fell apart under General Motors' ownership, Volvo is still going strong. After coming close to ruin under Ford, the company is now owned by a Chinese auto manufacture called Geely, whose most visible product so far was a clumsy Rolls Royce knock-off."
I mean that's a pretty brutal shot you Germans at two of America's major carmakers, not to mention China's Geely. But that's to the expected from Germany. They think no one can make cars but them, you know, the whole BMW and Mercedes high-horse thing. And while it's true that Ford's Volvos weren't that great, I mean, they did kind of look like a watered-down Taurus, I'm not sure that Germany is in any position to take shots like that at America and China right now because guess what, Germany, we may have ruined a car company or two but you're on your way to bringing down an entire continent -- seriously.
All right, OUTFRONT next, did the defense for Jerry Sandusky have its best day in court since the trial began? There was a major development today. And why the creators of "Game and Thrones" are apologizing for a scene in the finale episode (INAUDIBLE) season one. What does it have to do with running for the head of the United States?
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
BURNETT: We start the second half of our show with stories we care about, where we focus on our own reporting from the front lines.
Dueling speeches on the economy from President Obama and Republican candidate Mitt Romney in the battleground state of Ohio. We watched them both. Romney spoke just minutes before the president, criticizing him for failing to deliver the economic growth he promised.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
MITT ROMNEY (R), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: He's going to be a person of eloquence as he described his plans for making the economy better. But don't forget: he's been president for 3 1/2 years, and talk is cheap.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
BURNETT: The president of course turned the tables on Romney. In his speech, he described the attacks he faces from the GOP.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
BARACK OBAMA, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: The other side will spend over $1 billion on ads to tell you the economy is bad. That it's all my fault. That's what the scary voice in the ads will say. That's what Mr. Romney will say.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
BURNETT: All right. The U.S. military has completed planning for how the United States could conduct operations in Syria. Officials tell our Barbara Starr that the plans include the number of units and troops that would actually be needed for some sort of land involvement and what the costs would be.
The planning is a protective measure. There haven't been any orders for action from the White House which has steadfastly stayed out of it.
Meanwhile, the violence in Syria escalated, according to an opposition group, at least 60 people were killed in Syria today.
Allen Stanford, the Texas billionaire convicted of a $7 billion Ponzi scheme was sentenced today to 110 years in prison. In March, a jury found him guilty on 13 charges. His attorney, Ali Fazel, tells OUTFRONT, "We believe there's no Ponzi scheme and we're appealing the case."
The jury ruled the $330 million in offshore accounts that were tied to the fraud has to be returned to Stanford's victims, but none have been compensated so far.
Thirty-year mortgage rates meantime rose to 3.71 percent, which is still insanely low but it is just off a record low. Homeowners have been taking advantage of those low rates and have been putting more money into their homes.
So, in fact, a Federal Reserve report shows home equity rose to $6 trillion in the first quarter of this year. That is a lot of money. More than 7 percent jump over the prior quarter. And "Bloomberg" notes that it is the biggest jump in 60 years in home equity in this country. We've heard a lot of bad news recently about how much Americans are earning. That is really important and really good news.
It's been 315 day since this country lost its top credit rating. What are we doing to get it back?
Europe is still a big problem and France got another downgrade today by Egan-Jones. Parts of the reason, nagging on some of its plans to tighten up on things like pensions, recently cutting the retirement age -- cutting the retirement age, you heard me right -- to 60.
Our third story OUTFRONT: another dramatic day of testimony in the case against former Penn State assistant football coach Jerry Sandusky. His defense team may have finally scored some points. One alleged victim testified that Sandusky touched him inappropriately but it didn't exactly add up to what he told a detective in 1998.
Jean Casarez is a correspondent with "In Session" on truTV. She's been in the court over the past few days, was there today.
Paul Callan, our criminal defense attorney and contributor, is with us as well.
So, Jean, let me start with what you heard today. Obviously, we're saying the defense has had a terrible few days. It looked like they had some points today. This is -- one of the victims saying what he said in 1998 when he first talked to authorities about this is different than what he said today?
JEAN CASAREZ, "IN SESSION": Well, I think the main point that the cross examination made with alleged victim number six is that this young man, and he's 25 years old now, has continued a relationship with Jerry Sandusky. In other words, last summer, he was in town and asked to borrow his car. He went out to lunch with Jerry Sandusky and his wife.
So, the defense is saying, wait a minute, if he did something to you in 1998, why are you still going out to eat with him and borrowing his car? And the young man, the accuser, said, you know, I was 11 years old then, and when Jerry took me in that shower and he touched me and he lifted me up, and I truly blacked out, I don't remember exactly what happened. I didn't understand it at that point.
But now, once investigators came to me and said we are reopening your investigation from 1998 and said I really realize that it's wrong. By the way, he just graduated from college, Bible College, and that's the direction he wants his life to go.
BURNETT: Paul, the defense also -- there were three victims who testified. One of them - she's talking about victim number six. Victim number three also testified. This was very sad to hear, but talking about how he felt when Jerry Sandusky -- when the relationship broke off.
And here's what he said. I just wanted to quote it. "He made me feel like I was part of the family. He gave me things that I had never had before." When asked -- they asked, did you like Jerry Sandusky, and he responded, "I loved him."
We've heard similar things now from eight of the 10 alleged victims in the case. Can the defense get past these sorts of -- these emotional human stories, sentences like that?
PAUL CALLAN, CNN LEGAL CONTRIBUTOR: You know, I think it's very, very hard to imagine the defense getting around us. You know, when I see criminal cases usually tried by good attorneys, you see an escape hatch. You see something that jurors can follow to say he's not guilty in this case.
But when you look at all of the evidence that has come in, the number of victims, all describing similar conduct, the janitor testimony the other day -- remember, one janitor heard another janitor say, I saw something that was one of the worst things I'd ever seen in my life.
BURNETT: Yes.
CALLAN: What motive did they have to lie?
But my point is, where's the escape hatch here? Where are jurors going to find reasonable doubt? I'm not seeing it in the evidence that's been presented so far. And there's got to be a miracle pass come up by the defense I think in order to assume that a jury might find him not guilty.
BURNETT: And, Jean, before I ask you sort of what you're hearing about how the defense may plan to proceed, I want to ask one other thing. The third victim that testified today, victim nine, a horrific tale actually and this seems to involve Dottie, Jerry Sandusky's wife. That when the child was being abused, at one point, cried out for help, he said at a level she would have heard. She was upstairs and did not answer.
CASAREZ: That's right. That's right. And, you know, times you save the best for last. Well, this is one of the most serious cases that prosecutors say from what we believe is their last witness. This young man also alleged, there's no other way to say it, anal sex, and that's the most serious charge here against Jerry Sandusky.
But the defense has Dottie Sandusky on their witness list. So they may call her to say nobody ever screamed in my house at all.
BURNETT: Jean, in terms of the defense, you're saying Dottie may testify. What else are you hearing about the defense's plan to proceed?
CASAREZ: What we're hearing -- we're hearing more than 60 witnesses. I don't think they're going to call all 60, but the family members. The adopted children of Jerry Sandusky on that list, Dottie Sandusky.
Also, they're trying to bring in a defense called histrionic syndrome. In other words, a mental issue that you just try to please everybody and you want the attention and you're very aggressive. Even you can be sexually aggressive but it's not for sexual purposes. It's just that you're trying to get attention.
They want to get an expert before the jury during the defense case.
BURNETT: Before we go, Paul, you're saying you don't see an escape hatch, does that mean Jerry Sandusky will take the stand?
CALLAN: I think in most cases, you would say don't put him on. But, you know, here they've already put him on television, the defense attorneys. He's told his story at least in part.
He's very egotistical. He walks around State College like nothing's happened. You see him coming out of the courthouse smiling every day in the film we see.
I have a feeling his ego is going to force him on to the witness stand. Regardless of what his lawyers say. And that's' going to be the ultimate Hail Mary pass in this case, the testimony from Sandusky.
BURNETT: All right. Thanks very much to both of you.
And now, our fourth story OUTFRONT, a nationwide manhunt under way tonight for a former Army Special Forces surgeon who disappeared after his ex-girlfriend was shot and killed in Buffalo, New York.
Dr. Timothy Jorden is wanted in connection with the death of 33- year-old Jackie Wisnieewski, who is shot to death at the Erie County Medical Center on Wednesday morning.
Now, Jorden spent 18 years in the military. He's being pursued by local, state and federal authorities, according to the Buffalo Police Commissioner Daniel Derenda.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
DANIEL DERENDA, BUFFALO POLICE COMMISSIONER: This was a targeted -- incident that took place was not a random act, but again he should be considered armed and dangerous.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
BURNETT: Tom Fuentes is a former FBI assistant director. He's following the case and he's OUTFRONT tonight.
And, Tom, how did they go about finding -- how do you go about a manhunt like this, and finding him?
TOM FUENTES, FORMER FBI ASSISTANT DIRECTOR: Hi, Erin.
Well, normally, in a case like this, you contact everybody that he may go to for assistance whether it's parents, brother, sister, children, work colleagues, other friends, associates. You contact as many people that would know him to find out where he's going to go or where he's likely to go? Especially at some point a fugitive needs money, they need assistance, and they will leave an electronic trail.
So, he's not going to be able to use his own credit cards or own ATM cards for long because they will be trackable by the authorities. So, that's the key thing here is that the people he knows.
BURNETT: And part of this is obviously, he spent many years in the military. The description of the way that his girlfriend was killed was a precision shot, which is obviously then he fled. That's why he's a person everyone is looking for.
Former weapons expert, Special Forces -- what does that mean in terms of how likely he is to be dangerous to anybody else?
FUENTES: Well, he could be dangerous, especially if cornered, and he could be dangerous to the authorities when they try to, when they do locate him and try to apprehend. But he could get desperate and try to do a carjacking or a home invasion to seek refuge. If he thinks someone is going to betray him or not help him in some way with his escape plan, he could be very dangerous. So --
BURNETT: How long does it usually take to find people? You've done this so many times. I mean, how long till -- most likely, you know, historically, he's found?
FUENTES: Couple hours to couple decades.
BURNETT: There you go.
FUENTES: I think in this case it will probably be a lot sooner than that.
You also have a possibility he may turn himself in. He may realize that because authorities know that he would have weapons capability and skill, he may feel that it would be best for him to turn himself in and be safely taken into custody. But, normally in a case like this, with someone who is not an organized plan figure, hasn't planned for an escaped, hasn't placed money in overseas safety deposit box to access later --
BURNETT: Yes.
FUENTES: -- if all of that's true, it will be difficult for him to stay on the run for very long. So, I think within a couple of days even he could end up being apprehended.
BURNETT: All right. Thanks very much, Tom. Appreciate it.
Next, days before the Greek election, a disturbing trend about the children -- the country's children. This is a really -- really sad story but one we think you really would want to hear.
And then another case of the flesh-eating virus in the United States. A man who knows what to do OUTFRONT next.
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BURNETT: We're back with our "Outer Circle" -- where we reach out to our sources around the world. And we begin in China where late today, evidence of a forced late term abortion started to spark international condemnation and outrage. The abortion was forced on a woman whose family could not pay the $6,000 fine. That's the fine you pay if you're going to violate China's one child policy. She was seven months pregnant.
Eunice Yoon is in Beijing and I asked her how people in China are reacting.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
EUNICE YOON, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Erin, this case has stirred public debate on a very controversial issue over here. We've been seeing some very rare domestic media coverage and heated comments on line. Most of the comments seem to side with the couple, with some of them saying, bring the murders to justice.
Now, a lot of these comments appear to be having some effect. The authorities originally insisted the operation was voluntary. Later, though, they backtracked and said that the procedure had been illegal. They apologized. And, in fact, said the case was going to be investigated.
The father has been online venting his frustrations, posting the developments. So far, he said the village leaders have been telling him not to hype the incident -- Erin.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
BURNETT: That's an unbelievable story.
Now, we go to Greece where political instability and the crisis have made it so hard for some Greek families that they haven't been able to take care of their own children. They've had people coming to orphanages and leaving children there.
Matthew Chance is in Athens and visited one of the orphanages and we asked him how widespread this is.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
MATTHEW CHANCE, CNN SENIOR INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Erin, it's definitely a growing problem. The Greek economy gets worse, and it is getting worse, families are increasingly falling through the cracks. At the moment, most parents who are struggling to make ends meet are being supported by charities like the one we visited in Athens to help them keep their children at home.
But social workers say the problem of kids being abandoned is a real concern. I think that underlines the fact the economic crisis in Greece that we hear so much about is also having a devastating impact on real people's lives -- Erin.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
BURNETT: All right. Thanks very much to Matthew. Just to show the part of the story that really is the most important.
All right. Let's check in with Anderson Cooper, with a look at what's coming up on "A.C. 360."
ANDERSON COOPER, HOST, "A.C. 360": Hey, Erin.
Yes, we're keeping them honest. Millions of dollars donated to a program called Baghdad Pup, to help dogs. It's a charity allegedly. Military dogs abandoned in Iraq and Afghanistan. So why are just pennies on the dollar actually going to help any animals?
And the group, a group called SPCA International, they admit it hasn't rescued a single military dog yet. You will not believe what our Drew Griffin uncovered. We're keeping them honest tonight.
Also tonight, he's an American citizen locked inside one of Nicaragua's most dangerous prisons. He's serving a 22-year prison sentence for a crime he says he did not commit. In fact, plenty of experts who studied the case say there's no evidence this American man, Jason Puracal, committed any crime.
We'll speak to him from inside that prison. And also, we'll hear from Eric Bowles (ph), who spent more than a year in a Nicaraguan prison himself.
Those stories and tonight's "Ridiculist" at the top of the hour, Erin.
BURNETT: All right, Anderson, really looking forward to it and see you in a few minutes.
Now, our fifth story OUTFRONT: Flesh-eating bacteria has taken the life of a California pastor.
The Sacramento County coroner's office tells OUTFRONT that Linda Snyder died on Tuesday. Her family told a local television station that the cause was a bacteria known as necrotizing fasciitis. The 62- year-old is just one of the six known cases that had been made public in just the past two months and the first known death.
It's the same bacteria that attacked 24-year-old Amy Copeland. Doctors amputated her hands, part of an abdomen, a foot, one of her legs. She is miraculously seems to be recovering.
Her father Andy Copeland is OUTFRONT again tonight.
And good to see you again, sir. I just -- it's amazing. It was obviously a few weeks ago that we talked. And, you're back, and I know she's been upgraded from critical to serious.
When you hear about that California pastor, though, that just died, does this make you realize even more what a miracle it is that she is on the road to recovery?
ANDY COPELAND, FATHER OF FLESH-EATING BACTERIA VICTIM: Absolutely. We're extremely thankful every day of the miracle we have in Amy's recovery. We can only say that we've been blessed by God throughout this entire process.
So yes, we know that the odds were very, very slim. She had about a 1 percent chance of survival. But she remains with us today and is doing very well.
BURNETT: That's amazing. That 1 percent. And just -- it's incredible. I know you saw her today. What did she say?
COPELAND: Well, today, basically, she was actually having a little bit of pain today. She's been experiencing the phantom pain in her hands. I say in her hands, in her arms where her hands used to be. She said it feels like her hands are inside of her forearms trying to get out.
I can't imagine what that pain must be like. Every time I talk with her, Amy is very upbeat. She's very positive. She's very hopeful about her future.
BURNETT: That's hard to hear and hard to imagine, I have to say, Andy. Obviously, her physical recovery going to be very long. I know last time we spoke, you were talking about how she didn't yet know what happened. Obviously now she does, right? I mean, what was --
COPELAND: That's right.
BURNETT: When did she understand and how -- how was she able to actually able to process that?
COPELAND: Well, it's interesting, because the doctors, when they told us that they recommended the amputation of her hands and her foot, I asked them if I could go and break the news to her. She had been complaining about pain in her leg and asked us to move her leg that wasn't there.
And so when I went in there and broke it to her, I was really concerned, the reaction that we would get from her. But she talked about it. When I talked to her about it, she looked at us and we told her about the amputation of her hand. She says, "You know, I'm a little confused," she said, "But I'll figure it out." She looked at her hands and she says, "Let's do this, referring to the amputation." Which is blew me away, the courage she displayed.
BURNETT: Let's do this. That's what she said, huh?
COPELAND: In fact, we've kind of taken that slogan -- we've actually got a t-shirt we designed. Actually a good friend of hers, Trad Moore (ph), designed a t-shirt. He's a comic book artist.
This t-shirt -- I've actually got a t-shirt for you, Erin. We're going to be offering this t-shirt at the Amy day -- Amy weekend in Snellville that starts tomorrow and runs to Saturday.
And I got to tell you, there's some guys that -- Action Awards Cody and Spencer Milton (ph), who were generous enough to donate 50 shirts -- I'm sorry 550 shirts for us to sell to raise money for Amy's prosthesis.
So, when you have that kind of a coming together of a community, it just tells you know, we've been truly blessed for all this. Just to be able to see the way people reached out to us.
BURNETT: Well, your ability to talk about it and share it I have to say is truly incredible. How has it been for you seeing your daughter go through this and also having -- this has to be your whole life. But you also have to -- you have to work. You have to pay for these bills.
I mean, how has it been for you and your family?
COPELAND: That's the tough part. But I will tell you this -- I work for a company that's been extraordinary supportive of us.
Edward Jones is the company I work for. They reached out to us and said, hey, we're here to help you. We want you to get through this. You just tell us what you need. They supported me in amazing ways that I can't even begin to describe.
We've had people offer to help pay for Amy's prosthesis. Home Depot has offered to provide us with the material it takes to do renovations to our house, so I had independent contractors, general contractors, rather, step up to offer the work, the labor to do the job. So it seems like wherever we turn, people are at every turn to help us and just to extend a loving hand. And I've just been blown away. I've never experienced anything like this in my life.
BURNETT: Amazing testament to what people are capable of in this country. Thank you so much, Andy.
All right. Well, next, George W. Bush. His head was literally on a spike. It's a joke. But it is not our joke, next.
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BURNETT: So, making movies can be a long and sometimes frankly boring process. So, filmmakers do things to entertainment themselves. It's why Alfred Hitchcock pops up in the background of many of his own movies. And why R2-D2 showed up in "Indiana Jones."
Yes, a tip of the hat to the fans. You know, the real, avid watchers. Innocent fun. But the creators of the HBO show "Game of Thrones" did something that wasn't so innocent.
During the finale of season one, the character King Joffrey is seen showing off a line of heads on spikes. It was a gruesome scene. It was made more gruesome this week when it was revealed one of the heads looked an awful lot like former president George W. Bush.
It wasn't a coincidence. It wasn't an accident. It was done on purpose.
During the DVD commentary, the creators of the show said George W. Bush's head appears in a couple of beheading scenes. It's not a choice. It's not a political statement. We had to use whatever heads we had lying around.
OK, guys, that's not true, come on. You didn't just happen to have a head of George W. Bush laying around and put it on a spike. As we said on the show, it doesn't add up. The fact of the matter is, you probably did it because you thought you could get away with it, because of how unpopular President Bush at the time. I also suspect had it been President Obama's head on that stick, it would have been a much different response. Probably wouldn't have done it -- all for fun. But the fact of the matter is, we've got to respect the office of the president, even if you don't agree with or like the person. And that goes for the left and the right.
"A.C. 360" starts now.
