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Massachusetts Murder Suspect to Waive Extradition to United States; Abramoff E-mails Raise Eyebrows

Aired February 10, 2006 - 15:00   ET

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

KYRA PHILLIPS, CNN ANCHOR: Well, grip and grin, photo-ops aside, President Bush says he doesn't know Jack Abramoff, but e-mail from the disgraced former lobbyist paints a different picture. We have got details.
The third hour of LIVE FROM starts right now.

Red tape, deaf ears and baloney -- Michael Brown points to factors that he says made it impossible for him to do a heck of a job in the wake of Hurricane Katrina. The former FEMA chief told senators today that the problems started long before Katrina posed a threat and far from the ravaged Gulf Coast.

Brown says somebody at Homeland Security just isn't telling the truth.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

MICHAEL BROWN, FORMER FEDERAL EMERGENCY MANAGEMENT AGENCY DIRECTOR: I find it a little disingenuous that DHS would claim that they were not getting that information, because FEMA held continuous video telephone conferences -- I will refer to them as VTCs -- in which, at least once a day, if not several times a day, we would be on conference calls and video calls, to make certain that everyone had situational awareness.

Now, I'm sitting in Baton Rouge, so I'm not sure at all times who is on the -- on the video conference, on the VTC, but the record indicates that, on numerous occasions, at least Deputy Secretary Jackson and at least Matthew Broderick or Bob Stephan, someone from the HSOC, the Homeland Security Operations Center, is in on those conversations on those VTCs.

So, for them to now claim that we didn't have awareness of it, I think is just baloney.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

PHILLIPS: Michael Brown testified three straight hours today.

President Bush has said that he doesn't know jack about the former -- doesn't know jack about the former D.C. lobbyist who pleaded guilty last month to corruption, Jack Abramoff by name. But e-mails suggest a relationship that goes beyond the occasional photo-op.

CNN senior political correspondent Candy Crowley reports. (BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

CANDY CROWLEY, CNN SENIOR POLITICAL CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): He's off-camera these days, but Jack Abramoff still knows his way around a computer keyboard. Portions of his e-mails to a Washington journalist are making the rounds, surfacing first on a liberal blog, and confirmed by CNN. The snippets include this one, Abramoff describing his relationship with President Bush.

"The guy saw me in almost a dozen settings and joked with me a bunch of things, including details about my kids. Perhaps he has forgotten everything. Who knows?"

GEORGE W. BUSH, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: You know, I frankly don't even remember my picture being taken with the guy. I don't know him.

CROWLEY: A source close to Abramoff talks about six pictures of Abramoff and/or his family with the president in various settings.

SCOTT MCCLELLAN, WHITE HOUSE PRESS SECRETARY: I think what the president said still stands, that Mr. Abramoff is someone who was involved in wrongdoing. He acknowledged that himself. He is being brought to account. And there's an investigation going on by the Justice Department.

CROWLEY: It's not like they were friends, the source said, of the president and the lobbyist, but Jack was at the White House on a number of occasions. In his e-mails, Abramoff also talks of being invited to, but not attending a fund-raiser in Crawford.

In a town where the grip and grin is the native waltz and the offices of politicians, lobbyists and journalists are plastered with power pictures, people who have spoken with Abramoff say he's amused by the to-do over the photos.

And, in fact, the discrepancy of memory between the president and the lobbyist is a P.R. problem, not a legal one. A well-placed source says the ongoing Justice Department investigation is not looking at the president as anyone who did something wrong with Jack Abramoff.

The federal probe has been focused on the actions of some members of Congress and their staff. But there have been what the source called interchanges between Abramoff and investigators about members of the Bush administration.

Candy Crowley, CNN, Washington.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

PHILLIPS: At least one mystery is solved in a heartrending murder case in Massachusetts. The Englishman accused of killing his American wife and baby daughter will return to the U.S. willingly to stand trial.

Britain's home secretary has signed extradition papers -- wrong video -- sorry about that -- for Neil Entwistle, who is expected to leave in the next few days. His lawyer says he didn't want to cause his late wife's family any more distress. Entwistle is accused of shooting his 27-year-old wife, Rachel, and their 9-month-old daughter, Lillian, at their home outside Boston last month.

His lawyer refused to comment today on whether Entwistle admits or denies the allegations.

Now the Entwistle killings and the Internet -- the family Web site is the very picture of happiness, smiling parents, healthy infant, not a worry in the world. But, elsewhere on the Web, dubious dealings, possible cyber-scams, all of it pointing, in investigators' eyes, to a plausible motive for a desperate, despicable act.

CNN's Joe Johns reports.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

JOE JOHNS, CNN CAPITOL HILL CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): The way the prosecutor tells it, Neil Entwistle had hit rock bottom. He was in debt, with a house and a car and a business that was in trouble.

MARTHA COAKLEY, MIDDLESEX, MASSACHUSETTS, DISTRICT ATTORNEY: He had no money and really had no assets, and, because his business was failing, may not -- may not have had any possibility -- or at least any apparent ability -- to provide income for himself and his family.

JOHNS: He was an out-of-work computer technician trying to make a living selling software on eBay. Just after the 1st of the year, in early January, something strange happened to his sales praying. Suddenly, it tanked. That was three weeks before his wife and baby were murdered.

Ina Steiner edits an online auction newsletter. We talked to her by Webcam and speakerphone about Entwistle's Internet sales collapse.

INA STEINER, EDITOR, AUCTIONBYTES.COM: From January 6 to January 9, this seller just got an amazing amount of, you know, 15 feedback, 14 of them negative. And things looked like they were really going downhill for this seller.

JOHNS: Downhill, because after months of positive customer feedback, a string of complaints posted on eBay -- they accused Entwistle, who was doing business under the name "srpublications," of taking people's money and failing to deliver the product.

A typical complaint: "Do not do business with this individual, as he does not exist. Thief."

(on camera): People were saying things like, "I paid for the product. No response to e-mails."

And, then up here, around January 9 of 2006, that's the very last communication from somebody who bought a product from "srpublications." (voice-over): On that day, January 9, eBay suspended Entwistle's srpublications from trading. So, what was he selling? One buyer complained about software he had purchased, saying, both the C.D.s are pirated versions and are corrupt.

STEINER: Buyers were accusing him of selling them illegal software copies, copies of software, not the original disks.

JOHNS: And it apparently wasn't Entwistle's first foray into questionable online business endeavors. There are reports Entwistle was operating an Internet sales business in the United Kingdom, before he and his wife moved to Massachusetts.

Those reports suggest, those business activities were not successful and that, when he moved, he left behind unpaid business debts.

STEINER: But some of the things were -- really looked like maybe multi-level marketing or pyramid schemes, gambling, even the possibility of pornography. Some of the pictures in the listings had scantily-clad women.

JOHNS: But, for all the apparent shadiness of it, it was pretty small-time. We checked with the Federal Trade Commission. And they said they had no complaints on file against Entwistle. An Internet security expert says, even if Entwistle was engaging in fraud, it's not surprising that no one complained.

MARK RASCH, FORMER JUSTICE DEPARTMENT OFFICIAL: Most people who commit fraud on the Internet never get caught, and they never get prosecuted. A lot of fraud comes in under a dollar value that makes it worthwhile to even investigate.

JOHNS: Small-time and apparently under the radar -- but, today, some are asking whether Neil Entwistle's online business failures were linked in any way to the murders of his wife and baby.

Joe Johns, CNN, Washington.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

PHILLIPS: Two more casualties of war from Iraqi insurgents' weapon of choice -- two U.S. Marines killed yesterday when their patrol hit a roadside bomb near Fallujah, just west of Baghdad. Their deaths raise the total of American troops killed in Iraq to 2,267.

A car bomb -- car bomb, rather, explodes near a mosque in Iraq, killing at least seven people today, and wounding more than 20 others. And, later in the day, mass gunmen showed up and shot three people. One person died. Elsewhere in Baghdad, gunmen wearing police uniforms kidnapped a Sunni cleric. Sunnis call it more proof that they are being targeted by Shiite-dominated government forces.

The easy part is over. Iraqis voted for their new parliament, not Saddam Hussein's. The votes have finally been certified, and now the really hard job, forming a government that works, can they do it? CNN's Aneesh Raman has been talking with playmakers and ordinary Iraqis.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

ANEESH RAMAN, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Weathered by two months of Iraqi winter, December's campaign posters now signs of a country stuck in political pause.

But with election results just certified, things must start to move. The new Council of Representatives has 15 days to convene. The winners will begin jockeying for positions of power in the new government. And for Iraqis, that can't happen soon enough. Only a few would talk to us at this cafe, many afraid or simply fed up.

"It's been months," says this man, "who refused to give his name, and we still have nothing, no government -- and it is chaos. People's heads are spinning.'

Building confidence now falls to the Shia Religious Alliance, which won the majority of seats, is poised to put one of its own as prime minister, and which must try for Iraq's persistently elusive political end game.

MOWAFFAK AL-RUBAIE, UNITED IRAQI ALLIANCE: Over the last two- and-a-half years, our national unity has suffered a great deal. So, this coming government needs to do a lot of outreaching, need to -- need to revisit a lot of -- of files we have sort of left behind.

RAMAN: Fires, in part, fueled by Sunni anger. After boycotting the first round of elections, the Sunnis are now a political force, with over 20 percent of the seats. They will demand key ministry positions. And in their corner will likely be the secular list of Ayad Allawi, also keen to keep the dominant Shia party in check.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Things looks pretty optimistic, you know? People are very nice to each other.

(LAUGHTER)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: But I think that cruelty will come later on.

RAMAN: Add to the mix the Kurds, who want near autonomy in the oil-rich north, who want Jalal Talabani to remain as president, and it's not difficult to see why this could take a while, and why, for many Iraqis, the disconnect between daily life and politics is growing.

"No one cares," says this man, "because all they want is just to be able to live and provide a piece of bread for their kids" -- one of many issues, including the biggest, security, that this new government faces.

(on camera): So, when will the new prime minister actually take over? With talks just now getting under way, don't expect them to end any time soon. It's hard to find anyone here that expects a government to form until the end of march, at the earliest.

Aneesh Raman, CNN, Baghdad.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

PHILLIPS: He once used his speed to run away from gangs on the South Side of Chicago. Now Shani Davis is making history as a U.S. Olympic skater. We are live from Torino, Italy.

Stay with us.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

PHILLIPS: Information coming in to us about Jill Carroll.

Fredricka Whitfield has it for us in the newsroom -- Fred.

FREDRICKA WHITFIELD, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, Kyra, yesterday, we showed you new images and a new message from the American journalist being held hostage in Iraq, Jill Carroll.

Well, today, a new message, according to Kuwaiti TV -- and they are crediting sources close to her captors that Jill Carroll's kidnappers are saying they have set a February 26 deadline, if their demands are not met. And we know from the past, the demands among them have been that female inmates in Iraqi prisons be released.

We are not getting any more information about what new demands, if there are any, that may be made by those captors. Carroll was abducted a month ago. She had been on assignment in Iraq with "The Christian Science Monitor" -- and, of course, this information now coming from sources close to the captors, according to Kuwaiti TV.

Yesterday, we saw the new images of her making the plea, asking that, whatever demands be made, that they be met, and that this was her last message that she was able to convey to us -- so, the new message now coming from information from the sources close to the captors that a deadline of February 26 now being made, if their demands are not met -- Kyra.

PHILLIPS: All right, Fred, thanks.

Spectacle, the symbolism, the sheer human drama, it's all on display in Torino, as Italy welcomes the world to the Winter Games.

CNN's Alessio Vinci is in the middle of it.

Alessio, the opening ceremony under way. Kind of tell us what you are seeing and what it's like right now.

ALESSIO VINCI, CNN ROME BUREAU CHIEF: That is correct, Kyra.

It is under way here at the Olympic Stadium in Torino right behind me. It is a ceremony that started about an hour-and-a-half ago. And it is a ceremony that blends everything, what Italy has best to offer. There's, of course, passion. And we saw at the beginning of the ceremony large balls of fire high up in the sky above the stadium, and, of course, speed. We saw skaters zipping at 50 miles an hour on skates, with flames spewing from their helmets.

And style -- Giorgio Armani, the famous designer, has designed the costumes of the ceremony presenting the Italian flag. The ceremony opened with an Italian athlete banging a -- a hammer on a large anvil. And, then, after that, it was a blend of -- of music and lights.

And, as you can see here behind me, the lights are a big part of this ceremony tonight. At some point, we saw about 100 or so performers dressed in colorful dresses, huddled together. And, from a distance, they were making a shape of one single skier. And, then, in rhythm with the music, the skier would change shape and would become first a downhill skier, and then, eventually, a ski jumper. That was one of the -- perhaps the most -- the most -- the -- the most beautiful moments of the ceremony.

At times, we saw some quirky things, like fake cows on roller blades and stuff like that -- so, altogether, a ceremony that is under way -- 35,000 people inside this stadium behind me. It is not a sold- out stadium. We saw people outside, scalpers, especially, selling tickets. But, also, tickets were still available up until an hour before the ceremony began at 8:00, local time, here -- Kyra.

PHILLIPS: Only in Italy would Armani design the costumes. That's so Italian.

Now, you are from this country. This is where you grew up. What has this been like for you, your friends, your family, those in Italy?

VINCI: Well, Kyra, just to straight -- to make the record straight, I did not grow up in Italy. But, nevertheless, of course, I spent a lot of time here, especially in the last few years.

And I can tell you that Italy, as a nation, but, also, especially this region, up here in the northeastern corner -- northwestern corner of the country, is very proud. You know, Torino is not your first destination as a tourist. Usually, you go to Venice. You go to Bologna, perhaps. You go to Florence, to Rome, or to Sicily.

But Torino has never been, really, a major destination for tourists. And, so, they are hoping that this ceremony and these Olympic Games will make this region and this city better known, because there is a lot of beautiful things to do here. And that is what people here are really hoping.

As you can see behind me, there's a lot -- a lot -- of security, 15,000 men throughout the city and up in the -- in the mountains. So, it is -- obviously, Italian authorities don't want to leave anything up to chance. There is, of course, the risk of potential terrorist attack. Italian officials -- Italian officials say there are no specific threats.

But, nevertheless, they have put as many in the streets as possible to make sure that these are peaceful Games, without any kind of innocents -- Kyra.

PHILLIPS: All right, Alessio. Before we go, our Italian correspondent, where the heck did you grow up?

(LAUGHTER)

VINCI: In Luxembourg.

(LAUGHTER)

VINCI: That's a small little country between Germany...

(LAUGHTER)

VINCI: ... Belgium, and France.

PHILLIPS: That makes sense.

OK, Alessio Vinci...

VINCI: What, can't you tell from my accent?

PHILLIPS: Yes, right.

(LAUGHTER)

PHILLIPS: Grazie. All right. I will remember this.

Thank you, Alessio. I won't mess that up again.

VINCI: All right. Arrivederci.

(LAUGHTER)

VINCI: Goodbye.

PHILLIPS: Arrivederci.

(LAUGHTER)

PHILLIPS: Baci (ph).

Well, as the Winter Olympics in Torino does get under way, organizers are hoping for a major TV audience turnout. Here's the facts.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE (voice-over): Olympic officials say TV viewership for the 2004 Summer Games in Athens set a new record. Nearly four billion people worldwide tuned in at least once to watch the Olympics. Two hundred and three million viewers watched in the U.S. alone. That, too, is a record for Olympic Games held in other countries.

Olympic officials are expecting a similar-size U.S. audience for the games in Torino. NBC is projecting an average viewership of more than 60 million in prime time, and about 200 million for the entire 17-day period. That's more than the entire viewership for Super Bowl XL. And while ad time for that game was going for $2.5 million for 30 seconds, 30 seconds during the Olympics is available at the bargain price of $700,000. Maybe that's why some advertisers, including Visa and McDonald's, chose to buy time during the Winter Games, instead of the Super Bowl.

In fact, NBC says that it's 90 percent sold out and should hit its target advertising revenue of about $900 million. That's about 22 percent more than ads bought during the 2002 Winter Games in Salt Lake City.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

PHILLIPS: Now, this is an athlete we have been talking about and following, Shani Davis. He has got his eye on the gold. All the while, this speed skater hope he will catch the eye of younger athletes, who might want to follow in his tracks.

CNN's Larry Smith has his story from Torino.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

LARRY SMITH, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Shani Davis has always had reasons to go fast. Some weren't as good as others.

SHANI DAVIS, U.S. OLYMPIC SPEED SKATER: The only reason why I really wanted to roller skate was because they had lots of video games there. So, I would escape as fast as I could to go play the video games.

SMITH: When Davis switched to skating on ice, his approach didn't change. But his reasons for going fast got better. His speed had him winning races at the rink and staying out of trouble away from it.

CHERIE DAVIS, MOTHER OF SHANI DAVIS: I -- I didn't know you used to run to school. And -- and he says, yes, I used to run home, too. And I would say why. He said, because of the gangs. But he never really told me.

S. DAVIS: I seen all kinds of gangs, and I seen all kinds of, like, real bad gang fights, and things like that. But, I mean, I -- it was just nothing that really interested me.

SMITH: Davis grew up on the South Side of Chicago, when Michael Jordan was making basketball the sport of choice for most kids.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Number 23, Michael Jordan!

(CHEERING AND APPLAUSE)

SMITH: That made the neighborhood speed skater even more of an oddity.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: From Chicago, Illinois, Shani Davis!

(CHEERING AND APPLAUSE)

C. DAVIS: Shani didn't even go, like, trick-or-treating. You know, he didn't go to a prom. So, it was always skating. Skating was life.

S. DAVIS: A lot of kids spited me for it. The taunting never really, like, persuaded me not to want to skate. It just made me stronger, you know? It made me, you know, like the sport even more, because it was something that I could, you know, show my friends.

SMITH: Davis my soon have an Olympic medal to show his friends. He is the world record holder in the 1,000 meters and barely missed becoming the first athlete to ever qualify for both long track and short track teams.

S. DAVIS: I gave it my best shot. And I didn't, like -- I wasn't a coward about it, and, you know, tuck my -- my tail between my legs, and, you know, said I couldn't do it before I even tried. I went out there and I gave it a good honest fight. And that's -- that's all I could do.

SMITH: Davis will settle for the distinction of being the first African-American to ever make the long track team, and the honor that some kid might run home to watch his performance and decide he wants to go fast some day, too.

S. DAVIS: To me, that's -- that's a gold medal within itself. You know, that's a -- that's a -- that's winning a -- a gold medal in life.

SMITH: Larry Smith, CNN, Torino.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

PHILLIPS: Well, you have probably heard of the three tenors, but what about these guys?

(MUSIC)

PHILLIPS: We will introduce you to three more tenors -- ahead on LIVE FROM.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

PHILLIPS: Hold the phone. Stop the press. Stop shaking. There's a vodka shortage in Russia. We are not kidding. Red tape surrounding a new anti-counterfeiting stamp is holding up distribution of the high-octane beverage.

A shill for Smirnov -- that's with a V. -- says things are not quite to crisis level yet, but hints of trouble, if the snafu isn't worked out in the next week or so. Smirnov vodka has no connection to the Smirnoff brand.

People would rather buy fancy footwear than fancy clothes, at least, if you look at the sales and the money that's being sent.

Susan Lisovicz knows a lot about shoes and sales numbers.

(LAUGHTER)

PHILLIPS: She has the story live from the New York Stock Exchange.

Let me see those shoes, Susan.

SUSAN LISOVICZ, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, I'm outed again, Kyra.

(LAUGHTER)

PHILLIPS: I'm sorry.

LISOVICZ: Except, I have boots on, for the record, today.

(LAUGHTER)

LISOVICZ: Well, one analyst, Kyra, says that footwear is on fire.

Rising demand for jeweled shoes, wedge heels, and all types of boots helped fuel footwear sales last month. According to NPD Group, U.S. sales growth for footwear nearly tripled that of apparel. One reason why is that fashion apparel really hasn't changed that much.

And Kyra and I know that you can update your look with a new pair of shoes. Or at least that's what we say -- we like to believe. Consumers spent nearly $42 billion on footwear in '05, up 9 percent from a years earlier. Apparel sales growth rose just 3.4. percent.

And it's not just pretty strappy sandals catching the buyers' eye. Dress casual, hiking, and casual shoes were also in high demand. According to one of the analysts at NPD, hiking boots are the SUV of footwear. Now we know.

Turning to the markets right now, well, stocks are higher after a weak session -- most of the day, anyway. Right now, the Dow industrials are up 47 points. The Nasdaq, meanwhile, is up eight, or one-third of a percent.

In economic news, the nation's trade gap soared to record levels in '05,. to an all-time high of more than $725 billion. In December alone, U.S. imports outstripped exports by over $65 billion, the third-highest monthly figure on record. Oil accounted for about one- third of the trade gap in the month, and about 31 percent of the full- year deficit as well.

And that is the latest from Wall Street.

Join me at the end of the hour for closing bell, live from the New York Stock Exchange.

We are back after a quick break. (BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

HARRY WILGAR, RETIRED RAILROAD WORKER: If you got good eyes, I'm in there. Seventy-five-ninety-four is the last steam locomotive that we built, brand new on this B&O Railroad.

JENNIFER WESTHOVEN, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Harry Eck and Harry Wilgar spent their working lives building and running trains.

WILGAR: I was an apprentice machinist when I came here in 1947. I was an 18-year-old brat who knew it all. I started here, building steam engines, and rebuilding them here, here at Mount Clare.

WESTHOVEN: Both Harrys still work together, but now they are back at the tracks as volunteers at Baltimore's B&O Railroad Museum.

HARRY ECK, RETIRED RAILROAD WORKER: Well, after I had been retired about five years, the -- the management asked me to come down and help prepare a locomotive that was going to be recognized as a national engineering, civil engineering landmark, and I just stayed. They have started a docent program, and I joined that. And here I am 15 years later.

WILGAR: Put your pajamas on, because we're going to talk all night long.

(LAUGHTER)

WESTHOVEN: With more than 80 years of experience, the two Harrys share their stories about life on the railroad with visitors.

WILGAR: Well, for me, I enjoy meeting and talking to people in here. And I have some knowledge that I can offer to people that do come in here, and we can help them understand the -- what railroading is all about. So, we perpetuate that.

ECK: My regular day is Thursday. That's a high point of the week for me.

WESTHOVEN: Jennifer Westhoven, CNN.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

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