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Abu Ghraib Guard Faces Possible 38 Years in Prison; Plane Crash in Texas

Aired August 03, 2004 - 13:58   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.


KYRA PHILLIPS, CNN ANCHOR: From international image to courtroom defendant, the private at the center of the Abu Ghraib Prison scandal faces military justice. Churning surf after a brush with Alex -- we're live with the latest on the hurricane's move up the East Coast. Monumental moment -- Lady Liberty invites America back over for a visit. We're live from the post-9/11 celebration.
A battle for survival between a boy and a shark -- the boy finishes the rest of the fishing story ahead on LIVE FROM. From the CNN Center in Atlanta, I'm Kyra Phillips. Miles is off. This hour of CNN's LIVE FROM starts right now.

Up first this hour, abuse, disgrace, and global outrage just for fun. The U.S. Army's lead investigator in the Iraqi prisoner mistreatment scandal says the GIs captured on camera, quote, "Didn't think it was that big a deal. They were joking around." We're following a hearing in North Carolina today that could lead to court marshal for one of those troops, 21-year-old, six months pregnant, Lynndie England. CNN's Bob Franken is at Fort Bragg with the latest -- Bob.

BOB FRANKEN, CNN NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Well, Kyra, she faces up to 38 years in prison, but this is a preliminary hearing -- they call it an article 32 -- to decide which of the 19 charges against Lynndie England will go forward to court marshal, if any do. She is out of the court right now. The court is not in session. There has been a delay while attorneys meet with the presiding officer, which is the name for the judge here.

No explanation about what those discussions might be. I will say that in the past, this particular hearing has been delayed twice, and again now, we're having a short delay before it proceeds in the afternoon. In the morning, there was testimony from some of the investigators who immediately were called in after all the charges...

(AUDIO GAP)

FRANKEN: ... that Lynndie England's explanation to him of why this occurred was because, quote, "It was just for fun." They were joking around, he says she told him. Of course, the attorneys are now arguing that there was much more involved in this. He's arguing that they were...

(AUDIO GAP)

RICHARD HERNANDEZ, ENGLAND'S ATTORNEY: What the government wants you to believe is that this was a rogue band of adequately trained soldiers who went behind their chain of command to do whatever they wanted to do. Nothing could be further from the truth. They know that this goes through MI. They know it's a systematic problem.

And you don't have to take my word for it. The International Red Cross, Amnesty International...

(AUDIO GAP)

(WEATHER REPORT)

PHILLIPS: Well, our news across America now -- making it public. A Colorado judge has reluctantly released transcripts in the Kobe Bryant case. They provide a glimpse of the battle between prosecutors and the defense over evidence about Bryant's accuser. Filing for divorce -- Russell Yates is seeking to end his marriage to his wife Andrea. Andrea Yates, you may remember, is the Texas woman...

(AUDIO GAP)

PHILLIPS: She's serving life in prison. Russell Yates' petition is requesting an uncontested divorce. Expanding the search -- authorities looking for a missing 9-year-old boy near California's Big Bear Lake are holding out hope that he's OK. David Gonzalez vanished four days ago from his family's campsite. Searchers are using dogs, helicopters, ATVs, and horses to find the boy.

Rude awakening in Long Beach -- a big rig crashed off the side of the 405 freeway earlier this morning, just outside LA. It ended up in the backyard of a house. Luckily, no injuries are reported. The cause of that rig accident is under investigation. Artisans answering the call of duty...

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED WOMAN: It's an honor to get to do this. But it's also a little scary when you realize what you're doing it for.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

PHILLIPS: Artisans building signs in troubled times, later on LIVE FROM. And keep on trucking -- trying to stay in business when your city is on terror alert. Well, we'll go inside the cab of some dedicated drivers. A post-9/11 celebration for the lady who stands for freedom. We're standing for freedom, live from New York, just ahead on LIVE FROM.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

PHILLIPS: Well, in New York, heightened security is taking its toll on truckers getting through the new checkpoints. It's turning once routine runs into anything but a normal day behind the wheel. Jason Bellini hitches a ride and gets an earful.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE) JASON BELLINI, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): "It's a moral imperative that New Yorkers conduct business as usual," said Senator Charles Schumer.

NEIL, TRUCK DRIVER: We went probably 90 feet in 45 minutes.

BELLINI: "The increased security should give everybody comfort," said Mayor Michael Bloomberg.

NEIL: This is like the line to the men's room at a Led Zeppelin concert, and there's only two urinals.

BELLINI: Monday, the city closed the Holland Tunnel, the Williamsburg Bridge, and the Northbound Battery Tunnel to trucks entering Manhattan. Truck driver Neil doesn't know when he'll have his next normal day.

NEIL: Wait here, the checkpoint is up here, and that's where we're going to go. And if I was allowed to use the Williamsburg Bridge, we never would have met.

BELLINI: In Manhattan, a frustrated foreman waits for Neil and his load of gravel. The contract -- to pave a school sidewalk.

ROB CHARLES, CONSTRUCTION FOREMAN: What's usually a 40-minute trip, round trip, turned into six hours.

BELLINI: Yeah, that hurts.

CHARLES: Tell me about it. I'm going broke real quick here.

BELLINI: Idle time is time when Neil contemplates why he's here in the first place.

NEIL: That's Julia, see her. That's who I do this for. Six days a week, 60, 70 hours, that's what it's all about, so she don't have to do what I do.

BELLINI: ... Brooklyn Bridge, police check trucks one by one.

NEIL: I've got gravel on. Be careful up there.

BELLINI: After making it to the bridge, Neil is home free. Foreman Rob Charles is still waiting, but most of his workers had already left for the day.

CHARLES: It's killing us, it's killing us. Forty other guys are relying on this truck to get here with the material.

BELLINI: Charles points out his labor costs come to $20,000 a day.

(on-camera): Neil was supposed to complete six round trips today. He only ended up making one. And now, on his way back, he's not carrying back any debris with him, as he planned to, because the dump's already closed. NEIL: Frustrating... the clock is running.

BELLINI: As Neil sees it, that's now the cost of doing business. Jason Bellini, CNN, New York.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

PHILLIPS: Welcome back the huddled masses -- the Statue of Liberty is again open to tourists today for the first time since the September 11th attacks, at least her pedestal is. Alina Cho is at Ellis Island now with the details -- Alina.

ALINA CHO, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Hi there, Kyra. You know, it is a beautiful day here in New York City, and an even better day to be a tourist. The Statue of Liberty is officially back open to the public, and visitors aren't wasting any time. We captured some of the people going to the pedestal today, getting a look inside, seeing what's in there. As you mentioned, the base is open, the crown is not, and everywhere, there's security.

With great fanfare, New York City officials welcomed visitors to the State of Liberty for the first time since 2001.

(AUDIO GAP)

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

PHILLIPS: The White House wants to give workers the option of getting paid for overtime or taking time off, and not everyone is happy about that proposal...

(MARKET REPORT)

PHILLIPS: Well, a comforting image in time of war is that of service people returning home from the front to a grateful nation, rewarding them with jobs, home loans, and college on the GI Bill. But as CNN's Aaron Brown reports, many reservists are facing a far different reality.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

CAPT. MICHAEL MALONE: We lost a lot of clients.

TED CURTIS, FOUNDER, CURTIS CONSTRUCTION: I lost everybody.

AARON BROWN, CNN ANCHOR (voice-over): Captain Michael Malone and Sergeant Ted Curtis are fighting to save their businesses.

CURTIS: I had to shut my business down in 48 hours, tell my employees I'm leaving and you're going to have to go find another job someplace else, and I was gone.

MALONE: I was gone for 16 months. It's probably going to take three years before I get back to where I was.

BROWN: They are Army reservists. They were deployed in Iraq for more than a year. They are now trying to save a way of life.

CURTIS: Our lifestyle, for my wife and my kids, changed drastically while I was gone. We basically went from a fairly -- living financially stable, I would say, to just scraping by.

BROWN: For Ted Curtis, it's a construction company, for Michael Malone, an Internet consulting firm. What's left of both companies sits in their garages collecting dust.

CURTIS: This is all that's left.

MALONE: Well, this is the remnants of our office.

BROWN: Malone left his partner, Eric Johnson, to run the business while he served back to back deployments.

ERIC JOHNSON: It was the final nail in the coffin, really.

MALONE: And when I left, my partner had no choice, because I do a lot of the marketing for the firm, but had no choice but to lay everybody off. So you know, you have 23 people who end up without jobs.

BROWN: The law ensures that companies will hold a job for deployed reservists, but there is no guarantee for a small business owner. They can apply for a low interest government loan. They can get deferments from creditors under the Soldiers and Sailors Civil Relief Act. But otherwise, they fend for themselves.

MALONE: You come back as a small business owner, well, there is no revenues guaranteed for you. You're not coming back to a paycheck. You're coming back to whatever the company can afford to pay you.

BROWN: As an officer in charge of personnel issues for his unit, Malone believes his story is fairly common. He says he counseled at least 15 other reservists whose businesses have suffered because of long deployments.

MALONE: The 15, 16-month deployments that you have now, small business owners can't survive those and are going to get out. Although we like to serve the country, we also need to earn a living, and right now, you just can't do both.

BROWN: Both men are staying in the reserves for now, and both could be deployed again. But despite their losses, they say that for now, they have no regrets.

CURTIS: I signed up to do that, and I was proud to do that, and proud to be able to do my part. But I live in America, you know, and it's the best country in the world to live in, and I have the capabilities still to come back here and restart my business and build it back up to where it was, and that's what I'm going to do.

BROWN: Aaron Brown, CNN, New York.

(END VIDEOTAPE) PHILLIPS: Developing story now. This just coming in to CNN. In Lakeway, Texas -- that's just outside of Austin, Texas -- we're being told a small plane crashed. I'm not sure if it skimmed the house here or it's gone into this house. These pictures coming to us via our affiliate KXAN out of Austin, Texas. But it looks like a golf course community there.

The FAA is reporting to the Associated Press that six people have died after the small plane crashed into a home here in Lakeway, just outside of Austin, Texas. You can see here now as the helicopter is coming around the back of the house, you can actually see parts of that small plane at the back of this home -- looks like it hit sort of the top of the roof and came down and crashed just behind the house on the edge of a golf course here in Lakeway, Texas.

We are working this story. We'll try and bring you more information. But right now, the FAA reporting to the Associated Press, six people dying in this small plane crash not long ago in Lakeway, Texas, just outside of Austin. We're going to take a quick break. We'll be right back.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

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 August 3, 2004 - 13:58   ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
KYRA PHILLIPS, CNN ANCHOR: From international image to courtroom defendant, the private at the center of the Abu Ghraib Prison scandal faces military justice. Churning surf after a brush with Alex -- we're live with the latest on the hurricane's move up the East Coast. Monumental moment -- Lady Liberty invites America back over for a visit. We're live from the post-9/11 celebration.
A battle for survival between a boy and a shark -- the boy finishes the rest of the fishing story ahead on LIVE FROM. From the CNN Center in Atlanta, I'm Kyra Phillips. Miles is off. This hour of CNN's LIVE FROM starts right now.

Up first this hour, abuse, disgrace, and global outrage just for fun. The U.S. Army's lead investigator in the Iraqi prisoner mistreatment scandal says the GIs captured on camera, quote, "Didn't think it was that big a deal. They were joking around." We're following a hearing in North Carolina today that could lead to court marshal for one of those troops, 21-year-old, six months pregnant, Lynndie England. CNN's Bob Franken is at Fort Bragg with the latest -- Bob.

BOB FRANKEN, CNN NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Well, Kyra, she faces up to 38 years in prison, but this is a preliminary hearing -- they call it an article 32 -- to decide which of the 19 charges against Lynndie England will go forward to court marshal, if any do. She is out of the court right now. The court is not in session. There has been a delay while attorneys meet with the presiding officer, which is the name for the judge here.

No explanation about what those discussions might be. I will say that in the past, this particular hearing has been delayed twice, and again now, we're having a short delay before it proceeds in the afternoon. In the morning, there was testimony from some of the investigators who immediately were called in after all the charges...

(AUDIO GAP)

FRANKEN: ... that Lynndie England's explanation to him of why this occurred was because, quote, "It was just for fun." They were joking around, he says she told him. Of course, the attorneys are now arguing that there was much more involved in this. He's arguing that they were...

(AUDIO GAP)

RICHARD HERNANDEZ, ENGLAND'S ATTORNEY: What the government wants you to believe is that this was a rogue band of adequately trained soldiers who went behind their chain of command to do whatever they wanted to do. Nothing could be further from the truth. They know that this goes through MI. They know it's a systematic problem.

And you don't have to take my word for it. The International Red Cross, Amnesty International...

(AUDIO GAP)

(WEATHER REPORT)

PHILLIPS: Well, our news across America now -- making it public. A Colorado judge has reluctantly released transcripts in the Kobe Bryant case. They provide a glimpse of the battle between prosecutors and the defense over evidence about Bryant's accuser. Filing for divorce -- Russell Yates is seeking to end his marriage to his wife Andrea. Andrea Yates, you may remember, is the Texas woman...

(AUDIO GAP)

PHILLIPS: She's serving life in prison. Russell Yates' petition is requesting an uncontested divorce. Expanding the search -- authorities looking for a missing 9-year-old boy near California's Big Bear Lake are holding out hope that he's OK. David Gonzalez vanished four days ago from his family's campsite. Searchers are using dogs, helicopters, ATVs, and horses to find the boy.

Rude awakening in Long Beach -- a big rig crashed off the side of the 405 freeway earlier this morning, just outside LA. It ended up in the backyard of a house. Luckily, no injuries are reported. The cause of that rig accident is under investigation. Artisans answering the call of duty...

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED WOMAN: It's an honor to get to do this. But it's also a little scary when you realize what you're doing it for.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

PHILLIPS: Artisans building signs in troubled times, later on LIVE FROM. And keep on trucking -- trying to stay in business when your city is on terror alert. Well, we'll go inside the cab of some dedicated drivers. A post-9/11 celebration for the lady who stands for freedom. We're standing for freedom, live from New York, just ahead on LIVE FROM.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

PHILLIPS: Well, in New York, heightened security is taking its toll on truckers getting through the new checkpoints. It's turning once routine runs into anything but a normal day behind the wheel. Jason Bellini hitches a ride and gets an earful.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE) JASON BELLINI, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): "It's a moral imperative that New Yorkers conduct business as usual," said Senator Charles Schumer.

NEIL, TRUCK DRIVER: We went probably 90 feet in 45 minutes.

BELLINI: "The increased security should give everybody comfort," said Mayor Michael Bloomberg.

NEIL: This is like the line to the men's room at a Led Zeppelin concert, and there's only two urinals.

BELLINI: Monday, the city closed the Holland Tunnel, the Williamsburg Bridge, and the Northbound Battery Tunnel to trucks entering Manhattan. Truck driver Neil doesn't know when he'll have his next normal day.

NEIL: Wait here, the checkpoint is up here, and that's where we're going to go. And if I was allowed to use the Williamsburg Bridge, we never would have met.

BELLINI: In Manhattan, a frustrated foreman waits for Neil and his load of gravel. The contract -- to pave a school sidewalk.

ROB CHARLES, CONSTRUCTION FOREMAN: What's usually a 40-minute trip, round trip, turned into six hours.

BELLINI: Yeah, that hurts.

CHARLES: Tell me about it. I'm going broke real quick here.

BELLINI: Idle time is time when Neil contemplates why he's here in the first place.

NEIL: That's Julia, see her. That's who I do this for. Six days a week, 60, 70 hours, that's what it's all about, so she don't have to do what I do.

BELLINI: ... Brooklyn Bridge, police check trucks one by one.

NEIL: I've got gravel on. Be careful up there.

BELLINI: After making it to the bridge, Neil is home free. Foreman Rob Charles is still waiting, but most of his workers had already left for the day.

CHARLES: It's killing us, it's killing us. Forty other guys are relying on this truck to get here with the material.

BELLINI: Charles points out his labor costs come to $20,000 a day.

(on-camera): Neil was supposed to complete six round trips today. He only ended up making one. And now, on his way back, he's not carrying back any debris with him, as he planned to, because the dump's already closed. NEIL: Frustrating... the clock is running.

BELLINI: As Neil sees it, that's now the cost of doing business. Jason Bellini, CNN, New York.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

PHILLIPS: Welcome back the huddled masses -- the Statue of Liberty is again open to tourists today for the first time since the September 11th attacks, at least her pedestal is. Alina Cho is at Ellis Island now with the details -- Alina.

ALINA CHO, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Hi there, Kyra. You know, it is a beautiful day here in New York City, and an even better day to be a tourist. The Statue of Liberty is officially back open to the public, and visitors aren't wasting any time. We captured some of the people going to the pedestal today, getting a look inside, seeing what's in there. As you mentioned, the base is open, the crown is not, and everywhere, there's security.

With great fanfare, New York City officials welcomed visitors to the State of Liberty for the first time since 2001.

(AUDIO GAP)

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

PHILLIPS: The White House wants to give workers the option of getting paid for overtime or taking time off, and not everyone is happy about that proposal...

(MARKET REPORT)

PHILLIPS: Well, a comforting image in time of war is that of service people returning home from the front to a grateful nation, rewarding them with jobs, home loans, and college on the GI Bill. But as CNN's Aaron Brown reports, many reservists are facing a far different reality.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

CAPT. MICHAEL MALONE: We lost a lot of clients.

TED CURTIS, FOUNDER, CURTIS CONSTRUCTION: I lost everybody.

AARON BROWN, CNN ANCHOR (voice-over): Captain Michael Malone and Sergeant Ted Curtis are fighting to save their businesses.

CURTIS: I had to shut my business down in 48 hours, tell my employees I'm leaving and you're going to have to go find another job someplace else, and I was gone.

MALONE: I was gone for 16 months. It's probably going to take three years before I get back to where I was.

BROWN: They are Army reservists. They were deployed in Iraq for more than a year. They are now trying to save a way of life.

CURTIS: Our lifestyle, for my wife and my kids, changed drastically while I was gone. We basically went from a fairly -- living financially stable, I would say, to just scraping by.

BROWN: For Ted Curtis, it's a construction company, for Michael Malone, an Internet consulting firm. What's left of both companies sits in their garages collecting dust.

CURTIS: This is all that's left.

MALONE: Well, this is the remnants of our office.

BROWN: Malone left his partner, Eric Johnson, to run the business while he served back to back deployments.

ERIC JOHNSON: It was the final nail in the coffin, really.

MALONE: And when I left, my partner had no choice, because I do a lot of the marketing for the firm, but had no choice but to lay everybody off. So you know, you have 23 people who end up without jobs.

BROWN: The law ensures that companies will hold a job for deployed reservists, but there is no guarantee for a small business owner. They can apply for a low interest government loan. They can get deferments from creditors under the Soldiers and Sailors Civil Relief Act. But otherwise, they fend for themselves.

MALONE: You come back as a small business owner, well, there is no revenues guaranteed for you. You're not coming back to a paycheck. You're coming back to whatever the company can afford to pay you.

BROWN: As an officer in charge of personnel issues for his unit, Malone believes his story is fairly common. He says he counseled at least 15 other reservists whose businesses have suffered because of long deployments.

MALONE: The 15, 16-month deployments that you have now, small business owners can't survive those and are going to get out. Although we like to serve the country, we also need to earn a living, and right now, you just can't do both.

BROWN: Both men are staying in the reserves for now, and both could be deployed again. But despite their losses, they say that for now, they have no regrets.

CURTIS: I signed up to do that, and I was proud to do that, and proud to be able to do my part. But I live in America, you know, and it's the best country in the world to live in, and I have the capabilities still to come back here and restart my business and build it back up to where it was, and that's what I'm going to do.

BROWN: Aaron Brown, CNN, New York.

(END VIDEOTAPE) PHILLIPS: Developing story now. This just coming in to CNN. In Lakeway, Texas -- that's just outside of Austin, Texas -- we're being told a small plane crashed. I'm not sure if it skimmed the house here or it's gone into this house. These pictures coming to us via our affiliate KXAN out of Austin, Texas. But it looks like a golf course community there.

The FAA is reporting to the Associated Press that six people have died after the small plane crashed into a home here in Lakeway, just outside of Austin, Texas. You can see here now as the helicopter is coming around the back of the house, you can actually see parts of that small plane at the back of this home -- looks like it hit sort of the top of the roof and came down and crashed just behind the house on the edge of a golf course here in Lakeway, Texas.

We are working this story. We'll try and bring you more information. But right now, the FAA reporting to the Associated Press, six people dying in this small plane crash not long ago in Lakeway, Texas, just outside of Austin. We're going to take a quick break. We'll be right back.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

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