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Controversy Begins on Capitol Hill Over Alito; David Addington to Serve as Vice President's Chief of Staff; Civil Rights Activist Shares Memories of Rosa Parks

Aired October 31, 2005 - 13:00   ET

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

KYRA PHILLIPS, HOST: Will the president's new pick make it to the bench? This hour, what sort of Supreme Court justice would Samuel Alito be? We're going to talk about it.
And former Ambassador Joe Wilson, his wife's identity as a CIA agent at the center of a Washington scandal. We expect to hear from him live this hour.

And honoring a woman who changed America. Live pictures from Washington, D.C., right now, where a memorial service for civil rights pioneer Rosa Parks is under way. We're going to take a look at her legacy this hour.

From the CNN Center in Atlanta, I'm Kyra Phillips. This hour of CNN's LIVE FROM starts right now.

In simple terms, he's the man to replace the woman who was to replace Supreme Court Justice Sandra Day O'Connor. It gets much more complicated from here, though.

President Bush today nominated Circuit Court Judge Samuel Alito to the Supreme Court, moving quickly after the doomed nomination of Harriet Miers. The choice is already controversial, and Alito is already making the rounds on Capitol Hill.

CNN Congressional correspondent Ed Henry is there. I guess we should talk about the controversy first. What's everyone saying, Ed?

ED HENRY, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, Democrats are hitting Judge Alito hard. They're also hitting the president. They believe that he is basically selling out to the conservative base, the right wing, in their words, of his party. They feel that it was conservatives that pushed out Harriet Miers so now the president is trying to reward those who got him re-elected in 2004 by reaching out and naming Judge Alito.

He's being welcomed with open arms here on Capitol Hill by Republican leaders. You can see they feel that this is a much better nomination, that they want to move ahead, full steam ahead.

And it was very interesting, a little bit of political stage craft. The first place Senate Majority Leader Bill Frist took Judge Alito was to the Capitol Rotunda, where as you've been reporting, Rosa Parks was lying in honor, the civil rights pioneer obviously someone that we saw leaders in both parties honoring. But particularly interesting that it's coming at the very time that Democrats are hitting Alito hard, claiming he's no friend of civil rights, claiming he's no friend of privacy rights.

Here's Democratic Senator Chuck Schumer.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

SEN. CHUCK SCHUMER (D), NEW YORK: Judge Alito's visit to Rosa Parks this morning was appropriate. His record, as I'm sure Rosa Parks would agree, is much more important.

A preliminary review of his record raises real questions about Judge Alito's judicial philosophy and his commitment to civil rights, workers' rights, women's rights, the rights of average Americans, which the courts have always looked out for.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

HENRY: The comments of Senator Schumer and many other Democrats on the judiciary committee really seemed to be laying the groundwork for a possibility of a filibuster to try to stop this nomination. Really, all about abortion and other social issues but particularly abortion.

Democrats fear that Judge Alito is somebody who might vote to overturn Roe v. Wade on the high court, but Republican chairman of the judiciary committee, Arlen Specter, who supports abortion rights, told Democrats today that Judge Alito's views might not be as clear-cut as they think.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

SEN. ARLEN SPECTER (R-PA), JUDICIARY COMMITTEE CHAIRMAN: We'll be interested in Judge Alito's views on following precedents. He said in his very brief statement that he has worked hard to follow the precedents of the Supreme Court, and there is a lot more to the issue of a woman's right to choose than how you may feel about it personally.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

HENRY: Now, a couple of blocks away from the Capitol at the Supreme Court it's class picture day. We saw Chief Justice John Roberts there, of course, in the center of the photo, a reminder of the fact that this is all about President Bush's opportunity here to reshape the high court. He's already gotten John Roberts through with 78 votes, a clear bipartisan majority there. He had a stumble on a second pick, clearly hoping the third pick will be much better.

But also a reminder when you see those pictures of retiring Justice Sandra Day O'Connor. This is all about that critical fifth swing vote on the high court on abortion, a whole range of social issues. Democrats very concerned this is what will tilt the balance on the high court -- Kyra.

PHILLIPS: All right, Ed Henry on Capitol Hill, thank you so much.

Well, you've likely never heard of Samuel Alito before today, but it's a name that you'll hear a lot in the coming weeks, and in the coming years, if he's confirmed. So who is Alito? CNN's Brian Todd takes a look at the man and his record.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

BRIAN TODD, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Fifty-five-year-old Samuel A. Alito is held in high regard by many conservatives...

GEORGE W. BUSH, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: Good morning.

TODD: ... has history with the president's family and is often compared to Justice Antonin Scalia. In fact, he's been nicknamed Scalito, or Little Nino, for his Italian background and ideological likeness to Scalia.

In a 1991 case, Alito was the only dissenting voice on the Third Circuit Court of Appeals when it struck down a Pennsylvania law requiring women to notify their husbands if they planned to get an abortion.

Alito is a New Jersey native, a 1975 Yale Law School graduate and rose through the assistant attorney ranks of the U.S. Department of Justice before being nominated by President Ronald Reagan in 1987 to be a U.S. attorney in New Jersey.

In 1990 he was named by President Bush's father to the Third U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals and has been there ever since.

Now the nominee selected to replace retiring Justice Sandra Day O'Connor recalls a connection to her, as well, from 1982 when he argued his first case before the Supreme Court.

JUDGE SAMUEL ALITO JR., SUPREME COURT NOMINEE: I argued my first case before the Supreme Court in 1982, and I still vividly recall that day. I remember the sense of awe that I felt when I stepped up to the lectern, and I also remember the relief that I felt when Justice O'Connor, sensing, I think, that I was a rookie, made sure that the first question that I was asked was a kind one.

TODD: Alito has earned exemplary reviews from the legal community, but his conservatism may spark an ideological battle for confirmation. And for that, Alito says he draws great strength from his wife, Martha, and their two children.

Brian Todd, CNN, Washington.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

PHILLIPS: And this just in to CNN. Since the CIA leak indictment of Scooter Libby as, you know, Vice President Dick Cheney's chief of staff, we're getting word now that there may be a possible replacement. Dana Bash working this from the White House.

I understand there are some names out there. Dana, is it confirmed?

DANA BASH, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Yes, Kyra, it is. The White House put out this personnel announcement, as we call it. The vice president naming two people, actually as expected, two people to fill the role of one. One that Scooter Libby held, of course, until Friday when he resigned.

And essentially the chief -- the counsel in the vice president's office, David Addington, is moving up to take over the role of chief of staff to the vice president. And Scooter Libby's deputy as national security adviser will now move up to be the national security adviser. And that is John Hannah.

So it's interesting to look at this, because I know there's a lot of talk about whether or not the White House needs to change staff. Well, if you ask the vice president clearly, by looking at what he has done to replace Scooter Libby, he essentially moved up Scooter Libby's top two deputies to take over the role that he left on Friday.

PHILLIPS: All right. Dana Bash, with word just in now. So it is confirmed. David Addington going to replace Scooter Libby there. Dana Bash bringing us the latest from the White House. As you know, the vice president's chief of staff indicted last week and also resigned. Dana Bash now working that story. We'll bring you more on David Addington and the fact that he will be the next chief of staff to Vice President Dick Cheney later on in the hour.

Also, President Bush calling for Alito's confirmation by the end of the year. It's the other top story that we're working today, but the process could be a bit bruising. It was all smiles today, of course, with Republican lawmakers but Senate Minority Leader Harry Reid is also already promising Alito will get an especially long, hard look by the Senate.

Let's talk more about the choice with Edward Lazarus, former Supreme Court clerk. He's also the author of "Closed Chambers."

Ed, great to see you again.

EDWARD LAZARUS, FORMER SUPREME COURT CLERK: Good to see you, Kyra.

PHILLIPS: I want to talk about -- you clerked for Sandra Day O'Connor and, of course, this would be the individual that would replace that seat. Do you see similarities? Do you see a lot of differences? Could we even match the two in any way?

LAZARUS: Well, I actually clerked for Justice Blackman but just on that question, I would say that you definitely have to put Judge Alito to the right of Sandra Day O'Connor.

They don't really have the same kind of approach. Sandra Day O'Connor is very much of a pragmatist, very moderate in the way she approaches issues, very narrow in scope in her decisions. Judge Alito is more of an ideological thinker, more conservative, probably more prone to some more sweeping rulings, more in the -- more like Justice Scalia, who he's often compared with.

PHILLIPS: Now Ed, forgive me. I thought you clerked for Sandra Day O'Connor. Did you advise her during the confirmation hearings? I thought there was a link between you two.

LAZARUS: No link with Justice O'Connor other than that we share some interests in Native Americans. But other than that, no.

PHILLIPS: Forgive me. Forgive me. I'll work on our information and background. All right.

So, all right, so considering -- I mean, there's a lot of talk now -- well, you bring up an interesting point, talking about diversity. You feel that women and Hispanics will be upset by this. We were mentioning even earlier the president of the United States, his wife wanted a woman to even replace Sandra Day O'Connor.

Is it because the issue of -- is the issue of diversity going to be the main reason why women and Hispanics are saying, "Look, you've got to change the face of this court. It's got to be more diverse. It's got to represent more of mainstream America"?

LAZARUS: Well, I think Hispanics in particular thought this was the moment when they were going to get their first justice up to the court. They thought that there was some excellent Hispanic potential appointees such as Alberto Gonzales and others. And so I think there's just a political disappointment there.

The president has actually been terrific about appointing a diverse group to high office and I think the Hispanics may have felt it was their turn. Women also felt, look, Sandra Day O'Connor was the first woman justice. There's only one other woman on the court. Women have become much more important in the law. It would be a great statement to have another woman.

I think both constituencies will be disappointed, but the ultimate focal point of this confirmation battle is almost certainly going to be Roe v. Wade where people are going to suspect that Judge Alito is another vote to overturn Roe. And that's going to be the battleground.

PHILLIPS: Of course, that was the major -- that was the issue that we kept talking the last time around. And Harriet Miers and, you know, her Christian faith and would it play a part in that?

But aside from Roe v. Wade -- we've been talking a lot about the issue of abortion -- but do you think because of what happened with Harriet Miers and how controversial this was and, you know, even the issue of, you know, sexism came up and she was just getting lambasted because she's a female, do you think that the president just thought, "OK, there is no way I'm even going to go or move any way close to nominating another female"?

LAZARUS: Well, I think he certainly wasn't going to nominate another what I'll call a stealth nominee, someone with very few known views and little paper trail. But there are an awful lot of women out there now who have a very extensive record, including many distinguished federal judges. So I don't think the move away from...

PHILLIPS: But you wouldn't define them as stealth, the women that were out there?

LAZARUS: No, somebody like an Edith Jones has been on the Fifth Circuit for many, many years. I'm not promoting her particularly, but there are many women candidates out there who have a lot of experience, who have a long track record, very distinguished in constitutional law. Marine Mahoney (ph), who was a private practitioner who's in the S.P.'s office (ph) who has credentials very much like John Roberts. So there were potential women candidates out there. There's no question about that.

PHILLIPS: Ed Lazarus, interesting. We'll continue to talk about it, especially as the hearings get under way. Ed Lazarus, thank you so much.

LAZARUS: See you again.

PHILLIPS: All right. Well, Supreme Court nominee Samuel Alito is just one of the many Americans paying tribute to Rosa Parks today. A memorial service for the civil rights icon is under way at the Metropolitan AME Church in Washington, and earlier today, thousands of people filed past her casket at the Capitol, where she became the first woman ever to lie in honor in the rotunda.

Parks died last week, 50 years after a defiant act that sparked a revolution.

Joining me here once again in Atlanta, someone who knew Rosa Parks very well, the Reverend Joseph Lowery. Great to see you again, sir.

REV. JOSEPH LOWERY, CIVIL RIGHTS ACTIVIST: Thank you. Good to be with you.

PHILLIPS: You know, and we've been covering -- I want to talk, of course, about your relationship with Rosa Parks. But real quickly, if you don't mind, because as we've been reporting on Samuel Alito, I've been listening to your little comments here, trying not to -- wanting to pull you in on the conversations.

Samuel Alito, friend of civil rights? Is this -- are you happy about this nomination?

LOWERY: Well, it looks like the person that may have dealt with something akin to the sin of omission and commission all at the same time.

I think he missed a great opportunity to increase the diversity on the court. He's ignored women. He's ignored minorities. And it appears that he's also kowtowed and pandered to the extreme right-wing fundamentalist faction of the Republican Party. He is pandering. He's kowtowing. He's bowing down to the great Zion of fundamentalism and radical right-wingism.

If he's a clone or another Scalia, he'll be no friend of civil rights and of women's rights, no workers' rights.

PHILLIPS: Wow. All right. Well, maybe we can talk you into sticking around then for a few more minutes. And we'll get you involved in a debate that we're going to have on this issue.

Meanwhile, let's talk about someone who was an incredible individual with regard to civil rights, and that was Rosa Parks, the mother of civil rights, if you will. This beautiful memorial service taking place right now at the AME Church.

You had such an incredible relationship with her. You brought in some personal photos. Tell me about this time that she was at your house, I love it. She's sitting in your La-Z-Boy. She was definitely making herself very comfortable in your home.

LOWERY: Yes, she was. She'd been a friend of the family for a long time, having given my -- the mother of these children that you see a wedding present 20 some years ago.

PHILLIPS: That $25 check that you talked about.

LOWERY: That $25 check that you were talking about. These are the children that came out of that marriage.

Mrs. Parks was visiting us in our home, and the grandchildren were there, and they gathered around her in this chair and took a picture. It's been a long time. The tallest boy there now is now a sophomore at Georgia Tech.

PHILLIPS: Wow.

LOWERY: So that's how long it's been. The picture you see there now is a conversation between my wife on the right and Rosa Parks. They were very good friends, and they're both members of the same sorority. AKA I believe it is. They're going to pay me to get that in.

But she was a delightful woman, Mrs. Parks, and I can't think of anybody nicer to have the honor of being in the rotunda. I was at the service yesterday in Montgomery, where her body was brought to the AME Church there where she was a member. And was remembered by the pastor and we had a beautiful service, that packed the church. People were -- hundreds were on the outside. Couldn't get in the church.

And she was then taken to the rotunda and now at the Metropolitan AME Church in Washington. And Wednesday I'll be joining the group at the -- at the church in Detroit, where she will be -- she was not a member of this church. The church is too small so they -- Grace Church I believe it is. The pastor offered it because they can seat 4,000, 5,000 people, and the funeral will be there Wednesday.

PHILLIPS: All right. Well, I want you to stay with us. Because we're following, of course, live coverage of the special service. And I want to talk with you much more about Rosa Parks and why you think God chose her to do what she did.

All right. We'll take a quick break. We're going to have more of the Reverend Joseph Lowery with us talking about Rosa Parks.

And we're also going to be talking about the identity of his wife at the center of a Washington scandal. Live pictures from the National Press Club in Washington where former ambassador, Joe Wilson, is expected to speak. The leak of his wife's identity as a CIA agent led to an investigation, as you know, and the indictment of Vice President Cheney's chief of staff. We'll see what Joseph Wilson has to say right after a quick break.

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PHILLIPS: All right. Talking -- about to talk today at the National Press Club lunch. And Joe Wilson, you know, he's the husband of the outed CIA agent, Valerie Plame. He is expected to address the case that, of course, led to Friday's indictment of Lewis "Scooter" Libby.

Libby, who's the former chief of staff of Vice President Dick Cheney, is accused of making false statements during a probe of who leaked Plame's name to reporters back in 2003. We are monitoring what's going on here. We're going to take you there for live coverage, of course, if things heat up.

Meanwhile, last night on the CBS program "60 Minutes," the former ambassador alluded to personal threats since his wife's CIA cover was blown.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

JOE WILSON, FORMER U.S. AMBASSADOR: I don't go into security matters, but you can be sure that we've discussed security at great length with various agencies. There have been specific threats. Beyond that I just can't go.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

PHILLIPS: Now, tonight much more from Joe Wilson as he joins Wolf Blitzer for a special edition of THE SITUATION ROOM. That's at 7 p.m. Eastern.

And as for Libby, news today that he's scheduled to make his first court appearance on Thursday. Libby is the first sitting White House official to be indicted in more than 100 years. He faces five federal charges related to the alleged leak, and there may be more to come. Special prosecutor Patrick Fitzgerald says that his investigation is not over.

A man, a plan, a pandemic. President Bush is scheduled to unveil his plan to combat a potential global flu outbreak tomorrow morning at the National Institute of Health. According to "The Washington Post," Mr. Bush is expected to ask Congress for money to develop a bird flu vaccine but also to fund a pandemic infrastructure team ready to address additional issues like providing food, basic medical care, utilities and even security.

In the meantime, Thailand reporting its 20th confirmed case of bird flu. Officials say that the 50-year-old woman fell ill a day after she helped clean out a chicken coop.

And Australia is hosting a 21-nation bird flu summit, seeking cooperation among Asia-Pacific nations for a region-wide response in the event of a large-scale outbreak.

OK. So we all know that air pollution is bad for your lungs. But new evidence suggests that inhaling all this airborne gunk might increase your risk of stroke.

CNN's medical correspondent, Elizabeth Cohen, with more on smog and strokes.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

ELIZABETH COHEN, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Just how harmful is air pollution? Researchers are finding pollution not only makes it hard to breathe; dirty air can also raise your risk of stroke, the third leading cause of death among Americans.

In a study of over 150,000 cases of stroke, Harvard scientists identified a one percent higher risk for the most common type of stroke on days with high air pollution. One percent may not sound like a lot, but 700,000 cases of stroke are expected this year in the U.S. That one percent can contribute to thousands of additional life- threatening incidents.

GEORGE THURSTON, NYU DEPARTMENT OF ENVIRONMENTAL MEDICINE: We have confirmatory evidence of what we thought, that air pollution does, in fact, have severe long-term health effects on the population across the United States.

COHEN: Researchers are not sure yet how pollution contributes to stroke. They suspect that inhaling solid particles in the air changes blood clotting patterns and increases heart rate and blood pressure.

Those are the same cardiovascular effects responsible for another known risk factor linked to air pollution: heart disease. Recent studies show that high levels of air pollution can raise the risk of heart attacks by up to 50 percent.

THURSTON: The thing about air pollution is that it's so pervasive and that people really don't have any choice but to breathe the air.

COHEN: So what can you do to protect yourself from the noxious air out there? Here are some tips.

No. 1, reduce your exposure. Stay indoors as much as possible on days when it's hot and humid, especially when the EPA's air quality index indicates unhealthy levels of air pollution in your area.

If you do have to venture out avoid early morning and late afternoon rush hours. That's when air particle concentrations are at their peak.

When you exercise outdoors, stay away from workout locations next to heavy traffic.

At home turn on your air-conditioning unit and keep the windows closed. And finally, consider using an air purification machine with a HEPA filter in your bedroom when you sleep at night. These tips are especially important when people have existing cardiovascular or respiratory problems, but they can help every one of us breathe a little easier.

Elizabeth Cohen, CNN, Atlanta.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

PHILLIPS: He's now the most talked about man in America: Samuel Alito. President Bush's new choice for the Supreme Court. We're going to take you to his hometown for a peek into his past and what it reveals about him.

ANNOUNCER: You're watching LIVE FROM on CNN, the most trusted name in news.

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