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Cheney Remains Tight-Lipped About Scooter Libby Controversy; Search Continues for Missing Westminster Dog

Aired February 16, 2006 - 14:30   ET

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

KYRA PHILLIPS, CNN ANCHOR: Behind closed doors, a secret debate on a formerly secret program. The Senate Intelligence Committee is believed to be either launching or refusing to launch an investigation of President Bush's domestic spying program. A federal judge, meanwhile, is ordering the White House to release some pertinent documents within 20 days or make a list of what it's keeping secret. The Justice Department says it hasn't decided how to respond.
Vice President Cheney newly forthright about that hunting accident last weekend, not so much about the other controversy swirling around his office. That would be the indictment of his long time aide Scooter Libby, who now says an unnamed superior told him to release pre-war secrets about Iraq. In his interview yesterday, the vice president didn't say he did, only that if he did, there would be nothing illegal about it.

Former Republican congressman and regular CNN contributor Bob Barr is here with us.

OK. So a couple of things to hammer up here, or hammer on. Declassification of documents. From what you've known and know, did you know or do you believe that a vice president has the ability to declassify documents?

BOB BARR, CNN CONTRIBUTOR: It's not quite that simple, but the bottom line, Kyra, is that no, the vice president cannot just wake up one day and say, oh, I'm going to declassify something. It doesn't work that way. It is a specific procedure that the vice president, who does have authority to classify information, which is very different from the authority to unilaterally declassify information -- he has the authority to classify. But if he wants to have something declassified, there is a process through a National Security Council adviser that he has to go through.

PHILLIPS: OK, because he came out in his interview yesterday, and this is what he said when he was asked about this. "I certainly advocated declassification. I have participated in declassification decisions. There's an executive order that specifies who has classification authority, and obviously it focuses first and foremost on the president, but also includes the vice president."

OK. So we went digging a little further here and found executive order 13292, section 1.3. Now I'm getting really technical here.

BARR: I'm impressed. PHILLIPS: Yes, are you impressed? OK, I tell you, this took all morning. Our staff was going crazy. All right, here's what it says. "The authority to classify information originally may be exercised only be the president and in the performance of executive duties, the vice president, agency heads and officials designated by the president." So if you're looking at this executive order, it looks like Dick Cheney is right, he would have the ability to declassify documents.

BARR Now, there's another -- there a number of documents that one would really have to look at here. The vice president clearly has the authority, in his official duties as vice president, to classify information.

But the vice president cannot, under these executive orders -- plus the fact there are federal laws that relate to certain types of information, such as, in the Valerie Plame case, the identity -- releasing the identity of an undercover operative of the CIA, for example. An executive order cannot override those specific statutes. That's sort of a side issue here.

But having the authority to classify information and being able to participate, as the vice president correctly said in his interview just the other day, in declassification procedures and requests, are very different from having the unilateral authority to declassify, which I do not believe from reading these documents the vice president has.

PHILLIPS: So why would the vice president come forward and say this? Because if it's -- if Scooter Libby, indeed, was told by a superior -- you would think that's Dick Cheney, his boss -- that he could release this information about Iraq, talking about the identity of Valerie Plame.

And now you've got the vice president coming forward, saying I can declassify information if I want. If you start putting everything together, it looks like if that indeed, if all those facts -- well, if all that information are, indeed, facts, that they didn't do anything wrong?

BARR: Well, of course, what we're not dealing with here are facts. We're dealing here with interpretations of executive orders, interpretations of perhaps other bureaucratic procedures, interpretations of law.

And the vice president, although I don't think he's said anything technically wrong in his statement to the press the other day, he's being very clever about it. He throws this issue out there, that hey, I really may have authority to declassify something. Then when he's pressed on it, he says, oh, I might be a witness, so I can't say anything about that. What they're doing is very simple. It's an old Latin term called muddying the waters.

PHILLIPS: We know that expression. All right, so let me ask you this. Let me just kind of re-ask it in a different way. Valerie Plame and the fact that she worked for the CIA, her position as an agent with the CIA, can you -- does that make sense? Can somebody -- because that's supposed to be classified information, right?

BARR: Right.

PHILLIPS: If she's working undercover? OK, has an agent, position, a covert position, ever been declassified before? I mean, would that make sense?

BARR: Certainly, it can make sense in certain circumstances, but it's very unusual to do that. Because -- and let's take the case of Valerie Plame. She was in what's called non-official cover, working overseas in a cover capacity that didn't identify her even as a government official.

That's a very sensitive type position. And even though she or a person in a similar situation may later on be employed in a capacity that is overt, you very rarely would want to declassify a person's position that they -- even though they're not in that position -- because that can set in motion a chain of events that our adversaries can uncover that would identify people she dealt with in her prior undercover capacity that could endanger them.

PHILLIPS: Interesting. It just keeps getting more interesting.

BARR: It is.

PHILLIPS: Have you ever been hunting with Dick Cheney, by the way?

BARR: Do I look like I've been hit with pepper spray? The obvious answer is -- or pepper shot. The answer is obviously no.

PHILLIPS: Birdshot? No birdshot with you. All right, thank you so much, Bob Barr.

Well, you may not know what a comptroller does, but here's something one of them may wish he hadn't done. William Donald Schaefer, 84 years old, state comptroller of Maryland, one time Maryland governor and Baltimore mayor, watched a 24-year-old aide walk away after she brought him something to drink, then he asked her to come back and walk away again. And he watched her as she did that.

Elizabeth Krum, an aide to the governor, hasn't commented, but her father calls it sexual harassment. Schaefer at first was unapologetic, saying, "The day I don't look at pretty women is the day that I die." But his communications director tells CNN, that Schaefer quote, "did not mean to make the office worker uncomfortable." The comptroller has often promoted women to influential positions while he was Baltimore mayor and governor. He has a huge and strong group of female supporters, as always has." Close quote.

A $100,000 hound on the loose, presumed to be running around JFK Airport. LIVE FROM grabs a leash, some liver snacks, heads out to find Vivi, straight ahead.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK) PHILLIPS: Severe weather watch right now, Jacqui Jeras working a number of things in the Weather Center. Where is this tornado watch, Jacqui?

(WEATHER REPORT)

PHILLIPS: All right, Jacqui, keep us updated, thanks.

Missing a flight is no big deal for most people, but a Vivi isn't a person. She's a Whippet, a really special Whippet. And she's lost somewhere around New York's JFK Airport. The search was called over earlier this afternoon and Giovanna Drpic of our affiliate WWOR talked to Vivi's owners when that search began.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Vivi!

GIOVANNA DRPIC, WWOR-TV REPORTER (voice-over): Where oh where can 3-year-old Vivi be?

JIL WALTON, DOG OWNER: We were going home. And I'm waiting to get the little tag when you get on an airplane that your dog is there. And they came and said that my dog has gotten loose.

DRPIC: Jil Walton, who is one of Vivi's owners, is now beside herself after her show dog escaped. It happened just as the Whippet was about to board her Delta Airlines flight to head home to California after getting an Award of Merit at the Westminster Dog Show.

WALTON: We had a helicopter up. She was just running scared. Somehow she got out of her crate. And it's driving me crazy.

DRPIC: A family friend says a cop spotted the Whippet show dog bolt down a runway at the airport, go through a fence and then dash toward marsh land.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Right now it's really like picking a needle out of a haystack.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Right.

DRPIC: A search party, including another one of Vivi's owners, her breeder, and a New York City Animal Control officer, are combing Rockaway Boulevard, desperately looking for the beloved dog.

HONI REISMAN, SEARCHING FOR DOG: She's very friendly. And she will come to you if you go down to her level and call her, and not to chase her.

DRPIC: As the search goes on, concern grows for how the white and brown dog will endure the elements.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: The worst part is that she's out here and she's scared and cold. And we hope she's not hurt. WALTON: I just want the dog back. It's just scary.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

PHILLIPS: Well, same town, but different dog. While a frantic Vivi most likely spent a chilly night in the marsh. Best in Show winner Rufus dined with pals and paparazzi at Sardi's. I wonder if his picture is up on the wall. The superstar bull terrier reportedly enjoyed a raw steak and a little bit of champagne.

Straight ahead, entertainment news with A.J. Hammer of "SHOWBIZ TONIGHT." Hey A.J., what's on tap?

A.J. HAMMER, CNN ANCHOR: Hey Kyra, I hope you're ready for some legal news today because I've got lots of legal news for you. One superstar may be going to court, a top musician won with his day in court and another mega-star loses his first round in court.

I'll sum it all up for you with all those court details when LIVE FROM continues.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

PHILLIPS: This weekend, the Stones at the Copa. Need I say more? Well maybe. The Rolling Stones plan a free concert in Rio de Janeiro Saturday night. Look for 1.5 million people on Rio's Copacabana Beach and 6,000 police. Some nearby areas are pretty dangerous and nobody wants any violence spilling over when they head that way.

Hollywood has always been a hot bed of rumors, charges, denials, sometimes angry denials and usually they're about Tom Cruise. OK, we're exaggerating a little bit, but Cruise is steaming over a magazine article that claims that he and Katie Holmes are on the outs. CNN's Brooke Anderson goes behind the magazine cover to find out what the heck is going on.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

BROOKE ANDERSON, CNN ENTERTAINMENT CORRESPONDENT: Don't mess with the bull, you'll get the horns. Tom Cruise is fighting back against a report that he and much photographed fiancee Katie Holmes are on the outs.

We at "SHOWBIZ TONIGHT" received this e-mail yesterday at 3:00 p.m. Eastern from the folks at "Life & Style" magazine, announcing a Tom and Katie split, on Valentine's Day no less.

Their cover story is filled with juicy details like the claim that the wedding is off and the claim that a 7-months pregnant Katie Holmes is sleeping in a separate bedroom from Cruise.

OPRAH WINFREY, TALK SHOW HOST: Have you ever felt this way before?

ANDERSON: The couch jumping Cruise who famously celebrated his love for Katie on Oprah is not jumping now. "SHOWBIZ TONIGHT" immediately called Tom's rep, Paul Bloch, and he fired back telling us the rumors are "100 percent false. Tom and Katie are spending a wonderful Valentine's Day together. I hope media outlets are not being irresponsible and reporting false information."

More damage control post Valentine's Day. "SHOWBIZ TONIGHT" just spoke to Tom's lawyer, Bert Fields, and he told us "this story is 100 percent false." And that he "will be sitting down with Tom to decide whether or not to sue."

Tom's lawyer says they have demanded a retraction and added that "publishing the story is despicable." Word of a Cruise lawsuit doesn't come as much surprise to TMZ managing editor Harvey Levin, but he told "SHOWBIZ TONIGHT" Cruise has no case.

HARVEY LEVIN, TMZ MANAGING EDITOR: It really doesn't affect Tom Cruise. If they're wrong, they're wrong -- if the magazine is wrong. So what did Tom Cruise suffer as a result of this? It's not emotional distress. He's been through a lot worse than that. So I just don't see any basis for a lawsuit, even though this magazine may well be dead wrong.

ANDERSON (on camera): Walk by any magazine stand and you'll come across front page Cruise coverage. Those magazines sell, true or false, but in the past, Cruise hasn't been amused.

Back in 2001, he filed a defamation lawsuit against a gay porn star who allegedly told tabloids that he and Cruise had an affair. Cruise walked away victorious to the tune of millions.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Dad, Tom Cruise won't come out of the closet.

ANDERSON (voice-over): It's got to be frustrating for Tom, with his sexuality questioned again here in this "South Park" episode, and sprayed with a squirt gun at this "War of the Worlds" premier in London. But he's a lover and a fighter and is known for standing up and speaking his mind.

TOM CRUISE, ACTOR: Now, you see, here's the problem. You don't know the history of psychiatry. I do.

ANDERSON: He wasn't afraid to argue against psychiatry with Matt Lauer on "The Today Show" this fall and he's not afraid to quash rumors that his storybook romance night not be so, well, storybook.

LEVIN: The relationship between Tom Cruise and Katie Holmes has been curious from the beginning. People have had questions about it and I'm sure that has bugged Tom Cruise and this is probably a hot button issue for them.

ANDERSON: As for "Life & Style," they aren't backing down. They tell "SHOWBIZ TONIGHT," "we stand 100 percent behind our story."

(END VIDEOTAPE)

PHILLIPS: Well, that was Brooke Anderson for a Tomkat update though, and how an English newspaper learned that sorry may not be the hardest word. Let's head back up to New York and "SHOWBIZ TONIGHT" with A.J. Hammer. OK, A.J., what's the real scoop?

HAMMER: Well, first of all, I can't believe you said Tomkat. I have an absolute moratorium on the use of that word on all programs.

PHILLIPS: Why? Tell me why.

HAMMER: I don't know. It's just annoying. It's kind of like Branjelina.

PHILLIPS: I'm trying to think of one for you. What can I put A.J. with? All right, we'll come back to that.

HAMMER: Well, first of all, Tom Cruise and Katie Holmes are still the happy couple despite what you've been hearing. There's no word yet if a lawsuit has been filed, shall I say, against "Life & Style" magazine over this article that's saying that they split up.

Of course, Tom and Katie are awaiting their first child, arriving in spring, but, Kyra, as you just saw in that piece, "100 percent standing by our story" is what the magazine says, "100 percent not true" is what Tom and Katie's people are still saying today. So really no change there but, again, don't be surprised if some legal action does follow from this.

PHILLIPS: OK, I'm never saying Tomkat again either. OK, I promise you.

HAMMER: I don't want to tell you how to you do the job, but that's just how I feel about it.

PHILLIPS: No, it's the -- you know, the writers that come up with this stuff. But anyway, all right, but maybe ...

HAMMER: Writers.

PHILLIPS: ... Cruise can get some legal advice from Elton John. He won his day in court, right?

HAMMER: He did have a good day. Today in London, Sir Elton is singing a happy tune. Take a look.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

(MUSIC)

(END VIDEO CLIP)

HAMMER: It may not be actual courtroom footage, but the Grammy winner did win an apology. He also won an undisclosed libel settlement from a British newspaper. Now, this publication had reported a story that said John had acted in -- are you ready for this -- a, quote, "self-important, arrogant and rude manner" at one of his AIDS charity functions last year. Well, according to the singer's people, the pop star was very embarrassed, very distressed over this, especially because he feared that it could hamper his fund-raising efforts.

So, as a result of all this, the paper has issued an apology. They're going to pay damages to the musician, but Elton John is going to be donating that money to his charity, the Elton John AIDS Foundation, which has raised a lot of money and done good things over the years, Kyra.

PHILLIPS: All right. Speaking of lawsuits, Michael Jackson -- he's no stranger to lawsuits. What's the latest with him?

HAMMER: Lawsuit of the day from Michael Jackson. All right. Let's get into it with the King of Pop. He actually could be facing the loss of the custody of two of his three children. His former wife Debbie Rowe, who is the mother of Jackson's two oldest kids, won round one. This is a pretty big victory towards regaining custody in a Los Angeles appeals court.

Now, you might remember that way back in 2001 she gave up her parental rights to her son and daughter. She gave Jackson the sole care of them, but she also said at the time he was a wonderful father. Well things have changed over the years and now her tune is basically saying that with this latest legal decision the doors are now reopened.

Basically a custody fight can occur despite what happened back in 2001. The appeals court has said that the initial ruling wasn't handled properly. The judge apparently failed to ask for a state investigation into what would be in the best interest of the children.

Now Rowe has recently added that she feels her young family is in danger because Michael has ties with the Nation of Islam. This is according to Debbie Rowe. Now, Debbie is Jewish. She believes that members of groups like the Nation of Islam dislike Jews and that possibility is going to be putting her offspring in jeopardy.

Whether or not it is, you know, that's up for discussion, but certainly, you know, we're seeing a battle we didn't expect to when we thought Debbie had relinquished her custody rights years ago.

PHILLIPS: Speaking of discussion, what else are you going to be talking about tonight on the show?

HAMMER: Well, we're going to get into the fact that "American Idol" seems to be crushing everything in its path. Everybody is watching "American Idol." It's even beating out the Olympics this year, not good news for NBC, good news for Fox.

But it's not just about the entertainment, we have a "SHOWBIZ TONIGHT" Special Report on that, coming up on "SHOWBIZ TONIGHT." We are on at 7:00 and 11:00 p.m. Eastern on CNN Headline Prime. And I'm waiting to get that picture replaced.

PHILLIPS: Come on, that's not so bad. Let's look at it one more time. Let me take a look here. Come on.

HAMMER: No, but it looks squished.

PHILLIPS: It's the serious, I'm a Hollywood guy, know what I'm talking about, kind of shot.

HAMMER: Like this.

PHILLIPS: OK. Hold that thought. There we go. We'll keep that. We'll replace it. A.J., thanks.

HAMMER: All right, Kyra.

PHILLIPS: We're going to take a quick break. More LIVE FROM right after this.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

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