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One Miner Survives Sago Tragedy; Abramoff Back in Court After Pleading Guilty
Aired January 04, 2006 - 13:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: They don't know how to run a mine!
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Back up across the line, gentlemen.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: It's not right! No. They need to know what's going on. Mixed communications is what they're blaming it on, mixed communications. Can you guys figure that?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: They told us 30 minutes ago that the miners agreed to come up here to the church instead of going to the hospital first. Now how could they agree if they didn't know?
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: If they're dead, how can they agree?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Who said that?
(END VIDEO CLIP)
KYRA PHILLIPS, HOST: From desperation, to elation then bitter despair, the tragedy at Sago mine, a tragedy compounded by confusion, miscommunication or what some grief stricken families are calling lies.
As you may know, it came out last night that after 49 hours one miner was known dead but the other 12 were not only alive. They'd be joining their friends and relatives at the church where all had been keeping vigil. The governor called it a miracle. And it was front page news in the early editions of several major newspapers.
But three hours later, the mine company president corrected the record. One miner saved, 12 dead. The sole survivor is Randal McCloy Jr., among the younger men in the group, if not the youngest, being treated today, Morgantown, for a collapsed lung and severe dehydration. We expect to hear from the hospital later this hour.
At Sago Baptist Church, jubilation met the false report. Pandemonium, the real one. The time was 2:47 a.m., and CNN's Anderson Cooper was on the air, live.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
LYNNETTE RUBY, FRIEND OF MINERS' FAMILIES: There's only one made it out alive.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: And the rest of...
ANDERSON COOPER, ANCHOR: Where...
RUBY: I think the name was Randal Ware (ph). The governor's in there and this big in charge CEO of the mine is apologizing and it's all -- they did nothing but -- I don't know how this information could come out that...
COOPER: Where have...
RUBY: There's one person alive, and he's en route to the hospital.
COOPER: Where have you gotten this information?
RUBY: From the CEO, who's been on the news...
COOPER: You were inside the church?
RUBY: We were inside the church and...
COOPER: And you said there's fist fighting now?
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Yes.
RUBY: People were screaming, you're a liar. You lied to us.
COOPER: Come over here, please. Stand over here.
RUBY: It's been misinformation, and it's awful.
COOPER: And you kids were in the church, too?
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Yes.
COOPER: And you heard this?
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Yes, we tried to run away.
RUBY: We -- I took the kids -- we ran out the church as fast as we can. They're...
COOPER: I can hear yelling now over at the church.
RUBY: They're screaming and yelling. And the police are -- in a big brawl. I don't know how something like this could happen. How -- drug the kids out of bed at this time of the morning to celebrate. You know, this is -- and it's not true.
So far, there's one person. And I believe the name is Randal Ware (ph), before the big break -- but it's -- they need to know that -- for the best of my knowledge, and I think they said the other 11 couldn't be saved. I don't know if that's for sure that they're perished or not but I do know only one is...
COOPER: This is unbelievable. RUBY: It's totally -- it's the worst thing that I've ever heard. I don't know how this information could get this far. And, and, and now -- we knew something was strange when the governor was coming in with -- just hugging -- it must be his wife, but just the look of total, total disbelief.
And what we just heard, it's -- I've never seen anything like -- I mean, how -- these people have been -- these families have been through so -- you know, for close to 45 hours now and...
COOPER: I'm completely stunned. What exactly did you hear?
RUBY: He was apologizing. He said that...
COOPER: This is the governor?
RUBY: No...
COOPER: This is the CEO of the company?
RUBY: The CEO of the mine.
COOPER: ICG?
RUBY: Yes.
COOPER: Yes. So he -- where were you in the church?
RUBY: We were right up front, right up front. We followed the cars coming in. We saw the governor. And we were running with the cars and coming in, what we appeared was going to be -- you know, were the miners. That's why we're here; that's why everybody's here.
And he apologized for the lack of communication and he said that he took total credit for that. And then just people started screaming "hypocrites" and so it's...
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Then they started running everywhere and then next thing you know, we see fists flying everywhere, cops and people and everything, was hitting each other.
COOPER: Inside the church?
RUBY: Yes.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Yes.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
PHILLIPS: Now, we should note that the woman misspoke there. The survivor's name is Randal McCloy Jr. And right now, he's in critical condition at West Virginia University Hospital, where doctors plan to brief reporters at quarter past the hour.
We're waiting for the presser at the hospital. We're going to bring that to you live as soon as soon as it happens. We're also waiting to hear from the company and its CEO, Ben Hatfield, two live events that we're monitoring for you. As soon as they happen, we'll take them both.
Meanwhile, CNN's Chris Huntington is waiting at the hospital for more news.
Chris, do we know anything more about McCloy's condition?
CHRIS HUNTINGTON, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, the good news, you can add "stable" to the "critical" listing of Randal McCloy Jr.'s condition. Critical but stable is how the head of trauma here at the West Virginia University Medical Center put it. That's Dr. Lawrence Roberts, who treated, and has been continually treating McCloy since McCloy arrived here at 3 a.m.
McCloy was initially treated at a hospital near the mine, brought here about 3 a.m. in the morning. When he arrived, he was breathing on his own. That's a good sign. But he had a collapsed lung. He also had some evidence of carbon monoxide poisoning.
On those two fronts, Dr. Roberts was optimistic. He said that they'd been able to restore or were making good progress on restoring the condition of his collapsed lung and that they were making good progress in getting the carbon monoxide out of his bloodstream and restoring normal oxygen levels to it.
Probably the biggest problem that Dr. Roberts pointed out with regard to McCloy's condition is severe dehydration. Dehydration also exacerbated by the fact that he was immobilized and also under just frightening stress. I mean, it's life-threatening stress that he was enduring.
He is under heavy sedation. He's basically asleep. They don't want to wake him up. They want to concentrate on rehydrating him, getting his electrolytes up. The doctor did say that they are hopeful to perhaps awaken him in the next day or so. McCloy is responding well to physical stimuli. So he's able to move fingers and toe, all a good sign.
And finally, Kyra, the doctors said there was no evidence of any head trauma for McCloy.
So overall, he's 27 years old. The outlook is guardedly optimistic. We'll know more, as you mentioned, in this press conference that's coming up in about 10 or 15 minutes -- Kyra.
PHILLIPS: And Chris, if you think about it, I mean, this is the only survivor. This is the only one that will be able to give investigators, family members, everybody in that community, a detailed description of what really happened down there.
HUNTINGTON: There will be a tremendous amount of pressure and attention on him when he -- when he is finally able to start talking to people other than his family. His family members are here.
But the -- obviously, the first consideration is for his recovery. He's still in the intensive care unit here. He's got a long way to go, presumably, before he's going to be ready to answer those kind of questions and inquiries into -- into what happened.
But you're absolutely right, Kyra, he is -- he's the only eyewitness, if you will, down there, who will be able to tell people what happened, certainly, from somebody's perspective that was in there. They'll be evidence taken as to other factors that led to the explosion, but Randal McCloy will play a crucial role in bringing some understanding to this terrible tragedy.
PHILLIPS: And Chris, we can't forget his wife, Anna. Very few family members spoke to the media. We happened to speak with Anna McCloy. She talked about how young her husband was, 27 years old, two children. He did this job only so she could stay home and not have to work and be with those kids and that he really didn't want to go back to this job in the first place.
HUNTINGTON: No, this is one of the -- Kyra, this is one of the stories that's going to come out of this whole tragedy. And it should shed some light on what it is to be a coal miner in this party of the country, in underground mining.
Severely dangerous conditions. Don't have to elaborate on that. The pay, relative to other careers you can have here in West Virginia is very, very good. A miner's average pay at this mine, about $50,000. A supervisor can earn up to $150,000. In a West Virginia economy, that's huge pay. So there's the lure of this pay, but the risk is tremendous, as we know now -- Kyra.
PHILLIPS: Chris Huntington, thanks so much.
And Chris, we're just getting word that the press conference that's going to happen there at the hospital where you are is now going to happen sometime after 1:30 Eastern Time.
Also, we are waiting for another press conference with Roger Nicholson, the general counsel to the International Coal Group, in addition to Ben Hatfield, the CEO of ICG. We're waiting for them to come to the mic and speak, in addition to the doctor who is working on that sole survivor in that mine shaft.
Now, of the dozen men who didn't survive, all about two or three lost their lives where they spent their lives, in the mines digging coal. Most also dreamed -- most often dreamed of something better, if not for themselves, than for their children. All leave a shattered community.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
JOHN CASTRO, FRIEND OF MINERS: I'm not kin to none of those people under that hill over there, but each and every one of them is a brother to me, each and every one of them. Because you're my brother and you're my brother, the way I look at it, because I love Christ.
MILES O'BRIEN, CO-HOST, "AMERICAN MORNING": All right, John...
CASTRO: And we're going to pray for each and every one of these people.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
PHILLIPS: CNN's Daryn Kagan tells us their names.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
DARYN KAGAN, HOST, "CNN LIVE TODAY": Alva Martin Bennett was known as "Marty." Relatives say mining was the only job they can remember him doing in his 50 years. Like many in this tight-knit community, working in the mine was a family tradition. His father and son worked as miners, as well.
Sixty-one-year-old Jim Bennett was known as a religious man who said he loved working in the mine. His son-in-law says he prayed every day for those going to toil underground. He had planned to retire this year.
Fifty-seven-year-old Jerry Groves had been a coal miner for more than 30 years. His father, grandfather and brother were miners, too.
Fifty-year-old Terry Helms mined coal for 35 years. But he wouldn't let his son become a miner. His sister says that Helms was the first one to go down into the mine on Monday morning before the deadly blast.
David Lewis worked in the mine so he could stay at home at night with his three daughters while his wife went to school. He was 28 years old.
Martin Toler was a mine foreman. The 50-year-old had worked with his son Chris, and Chris says he'd planned to tell his dad to retire.
Fifty-nine-year-old Fred Ware, had been getting ready for a Valentine's Day wedding. He'd been a miner for six years. His fiance says he always told her he believed he would die in the mines.
Jack Weaver was 52. Marshall Winans was 49 years old. And all we know of George Hamner Jr. so far is his name.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
PHILLIPS: Answers, that's what both the state of West Virginia and federal government are demanding in the wake of this tragedy. From the governor's office to the White House, investigations are being launched into all aspects of the mine accident: the cause, the response, the safety concerns, and the communication, or miscommunication, with the victims' families and friends.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
GOV. JOE MANCHIN (D), WEST VIRGINIA: We're going to do everything that's in our power in the state, to find out what had happened, to investigate this and to make sure our goal is not to have any accidents or any fatalities in West Virginia.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
PHILLIPS: Well, this is not the first time Governor Manchin has been through such an agonizing time. In 1968, he and other family members wanted -- waited, rather, days before learning that his uncle had been killed along with 77 other men in a mining accident in nearby Marion County.
While he calls the events in Tallmansville heart wrenching, he's not blaming anyone for the confusion that led to such emotional highs and lows. Here's how the governor put it in the early hours of this morning.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
MANCHIN: How could this happen? How -- you know, the miscommunication? And everybody's not for sure. Are we sure that all 11 didn't make it? Is it possible that we have one or two or three more? Does anyone really know? And we're trying to get information, trying to make sure that we're able to take care of the one that we knew survived. And the rescue squads are doing everything humanly possible.
So that was moving forward. And changing out teams to put fresh teams back in to make sure they can go back. And that's where I understand they are, at this point in time.
But the rescue teams that had gone in said that there was little chance, very little doubt, that there was any survivors. They did a thorough checking. And those were the informations that I've received. And -- about the confusion, I can't tell you of anything more heart wrenching that I've ever gone through in my life.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
PHILLIPS: Well, the governor was with the miners' relatives and friends all night at the Sago Baptist church.
CNN's Kimberly Osias is there now with more on what's happening at this moment.
You know, Kimberly, you were with us all day yesterday. You were up through the entire night. Right now, quite a different scene from the past two days. Is anything taking place inside the church or have people pretty much left the area?
KIMBERLY OSIAS, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, Kyra, it is very quiet inside the church. I did speak with family and friends earlier.
You know there have been a number of delays. We're waiting, as you well know, to hear from Ben Hatfield, the CEO of the International Coal Group. That has been delayed.
Of course, the biggest delay was in the wee hours of this morning, when that so-called miscommunication came down, some three hours. And these families are angry. And they can't understand why they didn't have more answers sooner. And, you know, talking about everybody wants to know where things started, how this happened.
Now, I spoke to -- to some family members. I also spoke to one very, very good friend of three of the miners that have perished. And what they believe happened -- now, remember, I mean, these folks are operating on no sleep. And it has been incredibly tumultuous, and their emotions are so close to the surface.
But they believe -- I want to show you, come with me this way that it was somebody wearing Red Cross tags. It was a Red Cross worker. They believe it was a worker that came through, in these doors, walked all the way through, into Sago Baptist Church and said, "Twelve are alive; they are alive." And of course that was the news that everybody wanted to hear, and the bells peeled out and jubilation erupted. And then it just continued from there a wave. And obviously, you know, everybody wanted to get caught up in this. This was something that everybody wanted to believe in.
Kyra, I did speak with the Red Cross. Obviously, they are taking these concerns very, very seriously. And the worker that I spoke with from the Red Cross, from the national part of Red Cross, said she knows these people very, very well. She doesn't, of course, want to believe that it could be any of her people, but says, you know, clearly we are certainly looking into this.
And I asked her about, if somebody could have maybe perhaps had some tags on that indicated that they could have been Red Cross workers. She said perhaps that could have indeed happened, because I was given a description, that this person was wearing a gray jacket and had the Red Cross tags on. And I asked my source, you know, could that person identify who this Red Cross worker was? He said, the name? No, didn't know the name, but that face, it will be forever etched in his brain -- Kyra.
PHILLIPS: Kimberly, you've spent a lot of time with family members. You're there at the church. You were there all through the night. You know, we are waiting for two press conferences. Of course, one from the hospital, to find out the condition of the lone survivor, Randal McCloy.
But we're also waiting to hear from Roger Nicholson and Ben Hatfield. Ben Hatfield, of course, the CEO from the International Coal Group.
I'm just curious if you even heard the words "legal action" from any of these family members? Because it seems that that could be the next step for these family members.
OSIAS: Indeed, I mean, it was bandied about on the radio, the talk radio coming in early this morning, but my family members have not told me that. I mean, they are grief stricken.
They have also spoken of the tremendous appreciation of the workers, and even pointed to the fact that the Red Cross was tremendously helpful. And also said, look, you know, one bad apple doesn't make for a bad bunch. I mean, the Red Cross has been here, along with the Salvation Army, has been here feeding and clothing these folks.
I think some people perhaps may be thinking about legal action, may be thinking about suing, but that, from my people and the families that I know, that is not forefront in their minds right now, Kyra.
PHILLIPS: Kimberly Osias, thanks so much. We'll talk more.
And we also, like we said, we expect to hear from the hospital where the only survival -- survivor, rather, Randal McCloy Jr., is being treated this hour. We're going to bring that to you live.
And also we expect to hear from the International Coal Group this hour. CEO Ben Hatfield is expected to speak, his attorney as well. We're going to bring that to you.
The news keeps coming. We're going to keep bringing it to you all day. More LIVE FROM right after this.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
PHILLIPS: We're going to take you live now straight to West Virginia Hospital to hear the condition of the remaining survivor, Randal McCloy Jr.
DR. LARRY ROBERTS, WEST VIRGINIA UNIVERSITY HOSPITAL: ... responded to his wife in an appropriate manner, and I think all of that's very, very positive. Due to his overall condition, though, keeping the sedation off is not really appropriate right now. So we reinstituted the sedation. But I think that that was a very positive and very good sign.
The progression of the disease, having been laying still for so many hours and poorly hydrated for that period of time, has resulted in some kidney dysfunction. His kidneys are not particularly working right now. We're instituting hemodialysis, which is a filtration process, which will start here momentarily. And we assume that will be a temporary phenomenon, while the kidneys recover.
His lung that we described earlier in the day that had collapsed is now almost completely re-expanded. And his oxygenation to his tissues seems very normal.
So in most respects, I think he's making progress, as we would expect. It's only been a few hours since I last spoke, but I think there's been progress in the right direction. Thank you.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: We'll respond to questions in one second. But first, first lady of West Virginia, Gail Manchin, would like to offer a statement and then we'll go to questions.
GAIL MANCHIN, FIRST LADY OF WEST VIRGINIA: Thank you for your care and concern, for being here today. I stand here as part of the West Virginia family that we talk so much about all of the time. My husband, the governor of West Virginia, pledged that he would not leave Sago until all families were reunited. So the miners and families there that are still being reunited, he stands there with them, to be with them.
But the governor also talked about a miracle. And so I'm here today with the one miracle that came out of this, and that is the young man, Randal McCloy Jr., who struggled, but he's struggling to live. His family, I believe everyone in West Virginia is either with us today physically, certainly in their prayers. And as I told Anna, the prayers of everyone in West Virginia is with her today and actually across this country as people have held their breath and prayed for the outcome. And so that we have our one miracle that we are continuing.
I would ask the people of West Virginia to please continue to keep all of these families in your prayers, the people who have been so touched. Unfortunately, this is a part of West Virginia history. And so we understand that it is devote prayer sometimes being far greater than us that makes those final decisions.
And as the governor has often said, while the sun doesn't always shine in West Virginia, its people always do. And so we have family here today. And we stand with them as family, as our West Virginia family, in prayer, that this miracle will be our happy ending.
Thank you very much.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: (UNINTELLIGIBLE)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I guess I'd offer a couple comments initially. First is I failed to mention, in the beginning, that obviously, Governor Manchin and his wife, Gail Manchin, have been very actively involved in this ordeal since it began on Sunday. We thank the first lady for coming here today. And I think it's a testament to her commitment to this state and to the families in this state that she's done that.
So both Doctor Roberts and first lady Gail Manchin are prepared to take questions. We'll start with Doctor Roberts first. Then we'll go to the first lady.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Dr. Roberts, can you please first respond -- what was appropriate response? Was it talking, squeezing the hand?
ROBERTS: He couldn't talk because he has a breathing tube in, but squeezing hands, facial expressions, when he was talking to his wife.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: What questions did you ask him?
ROBERTS: I didn't ask him any particular questions. I just -- well, I asked him to squeeze my fingers.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: And he did that?
ROBERTS: Yes.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: That's encouraging.
ROBERTS: Yes. Yes, it is.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: (UNINTELLIGIBLE)
ROBERTS: Well, I think mainly it has to do with his lung function, although the lung has more or less expanded. The majority -- it was -- the one lung was almost completely collapsed when he arrived.
And the -- when he's not sedated, a natural response to having a breathing tube in and a machine breathing for you is to fight the machine. And he's doing some of that and that I think is counterproductive at a time like this.
So -- but I think later I would envision tomorrow we ought to be able to decrease the sedation again and try to fully awaken him.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: How long do you think before you take the breathing tube out?
ROBERTS: How long before we can take -- a lot depends on how awake he becomes once we decrease the sedation.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Doctor, are you more optimistic than you were at 8?
ROBERTS: About the kidney problem?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: More optimistic about his recovery?
ROBERTS: I think a little bit, yes. I think as I said, the good news is in every other bodily function test that we do, he's really quite stable, with the exception of us analyzing how well -- how awake he is, how interactive he can be and the recovery of his kidneys really are the two main issues we're concerned about now.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Doctor, I know you've said there were appropriate responses. (UNINTELLIGIBLE) Can you tell us what the difference was (UNINTELLIGIBLE)...
ROBERTS: I wasn't right there when that happened, but that was the description, that he responded appropriately to his wife.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: (UNINTELLIGIBLE)
ROBERTS: Much improved, much improved.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: (UNINTELLIGIBLE)
ROBERTS: Probably laying still and not breathing deeply for hours would be the best guess.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: (UNINTELLIGIBLE)
ROBERTS: I beg your pardon?
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: (UNINTELLIGIBLE) ROBERTS: Probably the position in which he was laying, either on his right or left side. So the lung that was closer to ground would have deflated more likely than the other. It's probably the best explanation I can give.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: (UNINTELLIGIBLE)
ROBERTS: I don't know if I can answer that, ma'am. That would be pretty speculative.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: (UNINTELLIGIBLE)
ROBERTS: Well, the treatment for carbon monoxide poisoning is first and foremost giving oxygen and assuming oxygen can get into the lungs, you can displace or push away the carbon monoxide. But it takes time. And...
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: (UNINTELLIGIBLE)
ROBERTS: Yes.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Two questions. General condition, (UNINTELLIGIBLE) doctor, in your opinion, ability to (UNINTELLIGIBLE) after what he went through?
ROBERTS: I think good health and being young obviously contribute to being able to tolerate such insults (ph). I can't speculate on what happened nor to others or necessarily why -- at what stage he's in and for what reason. I'm not sure I could do that.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: (UNINTELLIGIBLE) overall condition if you will. (UNINTELLIGIBLE)
ROBERTS: Feeding is not a necessity today. It will be tomorrow. And we will start tomorrow. But in every other way, his blood pressure, his heart rate, other laboratory tests seem relatively normal.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: (UNINTELLIGIBLE) Carbon monoxide level has been (UNINTELLIGIBLE)
ROBERTS: And it is still improving, yes, that's correct.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: (UNINTELLIGIBLE)
ROBERTS: Yes, we do. Yes, we do.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Doctor there are certain (UNINTELLIGIBLE)
ROBERTS: I don't know in Mr. McCloy's situation whether any of those would apply.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: (UNINTELLIGIBLE)
ROBERTS: I really do not have information on that. I'm sorry.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: (UNINTELLIGIBLE)
ROBERTS: There is, there's a blood test that we use.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: (UNINTELLIGIBLE)
ROBERTS: I don't have the answer to that at the moment. I know it was foggy. Helicopter flights would have -- might have been precluded because of weather conditions. It's why I can't give you a specific reason. But I know he did come in by ground.
It's still considered critical, but guarded. And I do expect if the trend continues, that he will improve.
QUESTION: Doctor, what were the exact (INAUDIBLE)?
ROBERTS: I didn't mention an exact number. I just decided not to provide laboratory data.
No, I think this is as expected. I think this is an expected course for him.
QUESTION: Doctor, are there any long-term effects?
ROBERTS: Well, think what I'm alluding to with the lack of him being wide awake and fully communicating to us is, was he deprived of oxygen for a sufficiently long period of time? And we don't know that. And my -- that's something that time will tell.
At the moment, of course, he's getting more than sufficient oxygen.
No, we did not. First, the main reason is that his levels were not sufficiently high when he arrived. And within one hour, we re- evaluated the levels, and they had significantly dropped already. So moving him to an HBO chamber would not, in my opinion, be appropriate, given the other constellation of events that were going on with him.
Well, a CT scan of the brain is a limited study in this situation, but what we did find is that there were no major injuries to the brain on the CT scan, which I think is very good news.
OK, thank you very much. Appreciate it.
QUESTION: (INAUDIBLE) How are you helping this family? How are they coping (INAUDIBLE)?
GAIL MANCHIN, W. VA. GOVERNOR'S WIFE: Well, I think you do what family does. You just are there. If there's something that we can provide from a state point of view, we certainly want to be available to try to provide that. Sometimes it's just a squeezing hand that makes -- just a help.
QUESTION: You felt you needed to be here?
MANCHIN: Absolutely. Absolutely. I mean, it's all about West Virginia family. The governor could not be both places. He had made a pledge to be with the miners and their families. Until that's resolved, so I could be here. And that was my choice. I wanted to be here to do whatever I could do for support.
QUESTION: Anything you would like to say on your behalf, on your family?
ANNA MCCLOY, RANDAL MCCLOY'S WIFE: Just ask everybody to keep on praying. (INAUDIBLE)
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Are there anymore questions, for either Dr. Roberts or the first lady?
ROBERTS: Boy, that'd be really speculating, but 10 days.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: OK, I think that wraps it up. Thank you very much for coming, and we'll keep you posted as things progress.
PHILLIPS: Right now, all signs stable, accord to Dr. Larry Roberts there at West Virginia University Hospital. You're actually seeing a shot of Anna McCloy, the wife of the sole survivor of that mining accident, Randal McCloy. In between there, the governor of West Virginia, his wife, Gail Manchin.
What it looks like is that the governor is spending his time with family members that obviously lost a loved one in that mining accident, while his wife is spending time at the hospital with the sole survivor's wife and, of course, him. He was able to -- Anna and also the governor's wife, Gail Manchin, they were able to visit Randal McCloy, and evidently he responded to his wife, Anna. But the way he responded the governor's wife, to Anna and to his doctor, Dr. Larry Roberts, it was through facial expressions, squeezing their hands. He's got a breathing tube, so obviously he's not able to communicate verbally.
But the doctor right now saying the two things he is most concerned about, Randal McCloy's collapsed lung, and also he is experiencing kidney dysfunction, so right now he's on hemodialysis to try and cleanse the kidney at this point. So those are the two major concerns.
Meanwhile, the governor's wife, of course, calling Randal McCloy their sole miracle right now, asking for continued prayers for him, for his wife, Anna, and for all the other family members who did lose a loved one in that mining accident.
Now Anna didn't want to speak a lot there before the mics. Obviously this is pretty overwhelming for her and her family. But what was pretty amazing about that story was she talked to CNN a couple days ago and explained how her husband really didn't want to do this job. The only reason he was doing it was because he didn't want his wife to work so she could stay home with their two children, and this is what she told us just a couple days ago.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
MCCLOY: He has mentioned it to me before about the mine's safety. But there were a lot of things he didn't tell me because they didn't want me to worry. But yes, we had talked about the mine safety, and we had discussed him -- about him getting out.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
PHILLIPS: That was a strong Anna McCloy on Monday. She still remains strong, and she is definitely saying she's received her answer to prayer, and that her husband is still alive, 27-year-old Randal McCloy, there at West Virginia University Hospital. We'll continue to monitor his condition minute by minute. We're also waiting for another news conference. We are expecting Ben Hatfield, the CEO of the International Coal Group, along with his attorney, Roger Nicholson, to step to the mics. We're waiting to hear what they have say.
We're going to take a quick break. Our continuing coverage remains after a short break.
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PHILLIPS: We continue to wait for that live press conference from Roger Nicholson and Ben Hatfield, Hatfield. Hatfield the CEO of International Coal Group. Roger Nicholson, the general counsel for that company. We are waiting for them to step to the mics. We'll take it live as soon as it happens.
Meanwhile, our other top story of the day, Jack Abramoff is back in court this hour, one day after pleading guilty to charges linked to his activities as a Washington lobbyist. Abramoff pleaded guilty minutes ago to charges stemming from his 2000 purchase of a fleet of gambling boats. Under a plea bargain, Abramoff is cooperating with prosecutors investigating his dealings with government officials and members of Congress. That has much of Washington on edge.
CNN congressional correspondent Ed Henry standing by on Capitol Hill. As we wait for him, Ed, why are so many people in Washington concerned right now? Obviously, a lot of careers on the line.
ED HENRY, CNN CONGRESSIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Well, because clearly Jack Abramoff was somebody who had the ear of so many powerful people, most of the Republicans, but also some Democrats, may end up getting dragged in to this.
And the fact of the matter is, I've talk to a lot of people close to the investigation who say that Jack Abramoff was somebody who was sort of a ferocious e-mailer on his BlackBerry, on his laptop, everywhere. And he wrote everything down.
And prosecutors normally don't have that kind of evidence. And in this case, I've been told, there are thousands, maybe even tens of thousands of e-mails that Jack Abramoff was sending between his business partners, between himself and Congressional staffers that lay out in great detail a lot of the fraud, a lot of the corruption that was going on.
And the bottom line is, that might end up being a very good road map for prosecutors trying to root out corruption and it may lead to a lot of roads beyond just Jack Abramoff, Kyra.
PHILLIPS: Ed, as we continue our discussion -- the live pictures that we were monitoring -- I don't know if you've been able to listen to it or not, was Alexander Acosta, the acting U.S. attorney. He's actually talking to reporters right now. We're monitoring that, to see what he has to say.
Meanwhile, let's just talk about what you are hearing about the vulnerability of other leaders right now, leaders that have been tied to Jack Abramoff in one way or another. I mean, obviously, this is going to get a lot bigger.
HENRY: It's likely to get bigger but it's unclear yet. You're right to sort of be skeptical about, you know, where is this really heading? And the bottom line is, we hear so much about quid pro quos, where basically a lobbyist will give something and the quo would be them getting something back.
We've heard a lot about the quid here, about people like Republicans like Bob Ney of Ohio, getting this trip to Scotland, the golf trip, you know, getting campaign money, getting other things of value that may have helped him.
But the question is that prosecutors now are alleging in this plea deal with Jack Abramoff that the public officials did something, they did the bidding of Jack Abramoff's client. Number one, these lawmakers insist there's no wrongdoing, they did not do the bidding of his client. So that has to be proven.
And number two, in talking to some former federal prosecutors, they say that's a pretty high bar to cross, to show intent for bribery, that the lawmakers actually had this intent that they were going to bribed, that they were along for it, and they actually did.
To be able to tie an official action to the gifts -- that's going to be a long way down the road. It's one thing to accept a gift. It's another thing for these prosecutors to prove that there was a quid pro quo, Kyra.
PHILLIPS: It just seems -- you know, we were talking about this morning, about how blurred the lines are. Because do you say, OK, let's have a game of golf, OK, let's go on a trip, OK, I'll take those tickets to the football game. It's sort of -- I mean, is there something in black and white that -- what lobbyists can or can't offer and what a politician can say yes or no to? I mean, is it -- that, well, black and white or is it pretty much a gray area?
HENRY: I think you put your finger right on it. It's fairly gray. Sure, there are rules in the House of Representatives, for example, saying that if you're going to take one of these foreign trips to Scotland, a golf trip -- like Bob Ney took, like Tom DeLay, the former House majority leader took -- it has to be paid for by a non-profit. It can't be paid for by a lobbyist.
In both case, the lawmakers say it was paid for by non-profits. Jack Abramoff now saying well, wait a second, the Bob Ney in particular was actually paid for in part by the lobbyist. It was not paid for by the non-profit. Now, you would think that was black and white. The lawmakers though are trying to say well, I didn't really know who signed the check.
I think what a lot of observers in both parties are saying is wait a second. If you're going over to Scotland, you're playing golf, you're playing golf with a lobbyist, don't you ask some questions? Don't you get to the bottom of it?
Now, these lawmakers are going to defend themselves and say, look there was no wrongdoing at all. I was told that the non-profit paid for it. But you can bet these prosecutors are not just going to take that at face value. They're going to dig in here. They're going to dig in hard. A government official has told CNN that two dozen lawmakers and congressional staff are being looked at. And that's what has a lot of people nervous, Kyra.
PHILLIPS: All right, Ed Henry. We'll keep following it all day of course. Thanks so much.
HENRY: Thank you.
PHILLIPS: Well, the Abramoff case is reviving long-standing concerns about the power of Washington lobbyists and whether their activities fuel a climate of corruption.
Some critics say K Street, the Washington avenue where many lobbyists have their offices, now rivals Pennsylvania Avenue and Capitol Hill as a center of U.S. political power. CNN's Christine Romans takes a look at the business of influence.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
CHRISTINE ROMANS, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): It goes as far back as the days after the Civil War. One newspaper's description of the American lobbyist, quote, "stretched at full length on the floor of Congress, this dazzling reptile, this huge, scaly serpent of the lobby." A guilty plea from former power lobbyist Jack Abramoff.
CRAIG HOLMAN, PUBLIC CITIZEN: He certainly is not alone. Capitol Hill has an entire environment that just nurtures the kind of corruption through lobbying activity that we've seen from Jack Abramoff.
ROMANS: A culture, he says, in which campaign contributions are expected from lobbyists. They arrange fund-raisers, give gifts, arrange luxury travel for members of Congress and their staff.
And then there's the promise of lucrative future employment. A former member of Congress can earn $1 million to $2 million a year as a lobbyist, a savvy congressional staffer, at least $300,000.
DANIELLE BRIAN, PROJECT ON GOVT. OVERSIGHT: Washington is just teeming with people who are paid to help push particular clients', particular industries' agenda. And it is not in any way necessarily the public interest's agenda they're pushing. ROMANS: The numbers are astounding. According to the Center for Public Integrity, there are two drug industry lobbyists for each member of the Congress. Forty of those are former Congressmen themselves. Since 1998, 273 former White House staffers have registered as lobbyists.
Public Citizen says there are now 2,390 former federal officials in the revolving door from public service to K Street, and almost half of outgoing Congressmen and women sign up to lobby their former colleagues. About 14,000 people now lobby in Washington, constantly working to influence Congress, the White House, and the press.
Christine Romans, CNN, New York.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
PHILLIPS: Bob Barr was a Congressman from Georgia from 1995 to 2003. Today, he's a registered lobbyist as well and a CNN contributor. Of course, I have all kinds of interesting questions for Bob today. Good to see you, Bob.
BOB BARR, CNN CONTRIBUTOR: Well, thank you. And you have to remember, I'm just a poor CNN contributor. I don't make those kind of money that they were talking about there.
PHILLIPS: A poor, little, old registered lobbyist as well. All right, let's get back to when you were a Congressman. I want to start there. You know, you get up, you go to work, you go to your office. How often were you approached by lobbyists? How often would you say that happened? Daily basis, weekly basis?
BARR: Clearly on a daily basis. And lobbying is not all bad. There are many complex issues that appear before any member of Congress and United States senator and no member of Congress, no matter a rocket scientist or not -- you can't know all the ins and outs of every angle, of every piece of these complex pieces of legislation. So there are some very, very good and learned people who ply the hallways of the Congress to help explain these things.
The key here, of course, is keeping your mind focused on the hidden agendas, to make sure that you protect yourself, that you check these things out, six ways to Sunday. And if you do that, if you're very careful and if you are, of course, honest, it's pretty easy to separate out the honest lobbyists from the others.
PHILLIPS: Well, give me an example, Bob. Think back during your career as a Congressman. Can you think of a situation -- let me ask you two questions. Can you think of a situation where you knew something was not right and you had to cut off the relationship or you basically had to say leave me alone, I can't do this, it's not going to work out. Can you think of an example?
BARR: There really wasn't. And I think the reason is this, Kyra. If you are, in fact -- and I'm not patting myself on the back here, but I think if you take those steps, if you insulate yourself, if you have good staff, if you check these things out, if you call on lobbyists and allow them into your office under very clear terms that you're not there to discussion your campaign, you're there to discuss specific legislation, you keep your eyes and ears open, they're not going to approach you for something that is improper because they know by the way you operate, the way you used your staff, the way you checked them out, that you're not going to allow that to happen.
PHILLIPS: Did Abramoff ever come to you?
BARR: I've met Abramoff a couple of times, but we've never dealt on any matters that had to do with lobbying or whatnot. He was a pretty regular fixture for several years up there on the Hill among Republican circles. But frankly, he -- you know, focused more on the big fish, not Bob Barr.
PHILLIPS: All right, Bob, stay with me for a second here. Susan Candiotti, I'm told, just came out of the courtroom, of course, where Abramoff was. Susan, tell me what it was like in the courtroom, the feel, what happened, and where do we go from here?
SUSAN CANDIOTTI, CNN CORRESPONDENT: First of all, Kyra, inexplicably, Jack Abramoff came to court today wearing a dark business suit and on his head, a white baseball cap, flanked by his two lawyers.
Inside, the hearing was very brief. This, of course, was a time when he was to enter -- and did enter -- a guilty plea. He answered yes, sir to all of the judge's questions. And finally, when asked how he pleaded, he said "guilty, your honor" and appeared contrite, appeared, quite frankly, frightened, as he answered the judge's questions.
He has, indeed, pleaded guilty to two of six counts in the case against him here in Miami, that was actually indicted before the case up in Washington, D.C., pleading guilty to conspiracy to commit wire and then mail fraud. The other four counts against him were dropped in return for his cooperation.
And, again, this case involved -- according to the government, he is pleading guilty to cheating, in effect, a lender out of promising -- actually saying that he was going to make a cash contribution, a cash down payment of $23 million, to buy some floating casinos down here called Sun Cruise Casinos.
Now, the U.S. attorney down here, the acting U.S. attorney, Michael (sic) Acosta, was heartened by this guilty plea.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
ALEXANDER ACOSTA, U.S. ATTORNEY: As I said, I'm here to discuss terms of the plea. I think the plea is a good plea. It brings him to justice. He has plead to counts one and three. He will face, upon order of the court, significant jail time. He will face restitution.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
CANDIOTTI: Now, the sentencing in this case is set for March 16th. However, that might change given what is happening up in Washington, D.C., because that case has yet to be fully played out, as well. Naturally, he's cooperating and has to cooperate in both cases to get the kind of light sentence he hopes to get.
Back to you -- Kyra.
PHILLIPS: All right, Susan Candiotti, thank you so much.
I want to bring back former Congressman Bob Barr now, also now a registered lobbyist and of course a contributor here to CNN.
Listening to what Susan has to say, a lot of people wondering, will my name get mentioned, will my name be tied to Abramoff? How big do you think this is going to get, Bob, and are there a number of jobs at stake?
BARR: I think there are, Kyra, and I think this has the potential -- I'll explain why I used that word very carefully in just a moment -- to be a very, very far-reaching case with a lot of tentacles out there. But one really has to ask how far does the Bush administration want this case to go. Are they going to pull their punches?
Jack Abramoff's influence goes back even before the Bush administration took office. It goes back to the very first days of the Republican majority for the first time in 40 years back in the 1994 election. So if you think back over that period of time, there are an awful lot of people, very high-up folks in the Republican party, who are potentially, you know, worried here.
PHILLIPS: All right, Bob Barr, thank you so much. A number of stories happening as you and I are even talking at this moment. Bob Barr, of course, we're talking about Jack Abramoff there, pleading guilty. We'll continue to stay on that story.
But meanwhile, within the past ten minutes, you'll probably remember that pretty riveting news conference that we brought you from West Virginia University Hospital, where we heard from Randal McCloy's doctor, Dr. Larry Roberts.
As you know, Randal McCloy, Jr., the only survivor in that devastating mine accident in Upshur County. And also with his doctor, Gayle Manchin, the wife to the governor of West Virginia, Joe Manchin. And, of course by her side, we also saw Anna McCloy, the wife of Randal McCloy, the sole survivor.
And I believe we now have a live interview with Mrs. Manchin. Can you hear me OK, via our videophone?
MANCHIN: Yes, I can, thank you.
PHILLIPS: Well, I sure appreciate you giving us this interview. We've talked a lot to -- with your husband. Matter of fact, he was here for the bowl game on Monday when he came over and joined us here on LIVE FROM. And he talked about how he was in communication with family members, with you. He talked about his uncle. A lot of history in your family, Mrs. Manchin, with regard to those who worked in the mine. You know a lot about this industry and obviously the dangers that exist in this industry.
MANCHIN: Absolutely. Unfortunately, West Virginia has great history in this arena. And while the coal industry has been so important to this state, we have certainly paid the price over the years.
PHILLIPS: And I know that you have quite an influence on your husband. You've been married to him for 38 years. And there's been so much talk about what to do now. Not only taking care of the families, praying for the families, and making sure that everyone is getting the proper attention as they experience this hard time. But, you know, there's a lot of questions now on what to do about the safety of these mines.
As the governor's wife, as a mother, as a very active woman in this community, in this state, what do you want to see happen, Mrs. Manchin, with regard to safety procedures and moving forward on how to help prevent situations like this?
MANCHIN: Well, I think as with anything, we want to continue to move forward and progress, make sure that we are doing everything in our power to make sure that our minds are as safe as they possibly can be. Education is critical across our state, both in the mining industry and also with mining. And across the state, that we make sure that the miners, their families, everyone, has the highest level of education.
PHILLIPS: These, obviously, Mrs. Manchin, are individuals that depend on this job to survive. It's in their -- it goes from generation to generation. It's in their blood, it's their livelihood. And they depend on the safety of this job. Tell me how you are encouraging family members and encouraging those to stay in the business and tell them how important it is, alongside the dangers, just to keep the economy going and surviving as a very important industry in your state.
MANCHIN: You know, I believe that people across this state understand that. They know that it is part of our environment, part of our heritage . And it's a very rich part of our culture and our heritage. And you're right, it does go down from generation to generation. And that's why it's so important that we continue to do everything we can to enhance the safety and the well-being for our miners and their family.
PHILLIPS: Well, there's definitely something else we realized about this community, about these families and about you and your husband -- and that is how strong all of you are spiritually, continually asking for prayers and support from the church. We saw how pivotal the church was there in the community.
First of all, tell me how Anna is doing. You've had the chance to spend a lot time with her there at the hospital as she's by her husband's side. MANCHIN: I think that I would say Anna is guardedly optimistic. Certainly getting to within be with her husband has meant a great deal to her, the fact she's been able to hold his hand. She believes that he has heard her and knows that she's there. And so that has meant a great deal.
You know, we talk in West Virginia about believing in miracles. I think that comes from our faith. So I think right now her faith is helping to sustain her.
PHILLIPS: Gayle Manchin, the wife to West Virginia governor Joe Manchin. Thank you so much for your time. We really appreciate it today.
MANCHIN: Thank you, and we continue to ask for your prayers around this country. Thank you so much.
PHILLIPS: Believe me, there's a lot coming your way. Thank you so much.
We're going to take a quick break. More LIVE FROM right after this.
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