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White House Refusing To Make Specific Comments About Court Documents that Link President Bush to White House Intelligence Leak; Woman Plucked From Detroit River; Another Horrific Attack in Iraq

Aired April 07, 2006 - 13:59   ET

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

FREDRICKA WHITFIELD, CNN ANCHOR: The White House is refusing to make specific comments about court documents that link President Bush to a White House intelligence leak. According to legal filings, Vice President Dick Cheney's former chief of staff, Lewis Libby, says that he was told by Cheney that President Bush himself authorized the leak of intelligence information about Iraq.
At a White House briefing last hour, Press Secretary Scott McClellan said the president remains opposed to the release of the classified information.

CNN's Elaine Quijano just took part in that briefing and joins us now live.

And Elaine, certainly some contentious moments there. Scott McClellan trying to stand his ground. Really, it looks like a war of words in terms of what the White House interpretation is versus what the press corps' interpretation of what has transpired.

ELAINE QUIJANO, CNN WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT: Right. Well, you know, this is, in some respects, turning out to be about definitions, if you will, what is the definition of a leak? And the reason, obviously, that is so important is because of the testimony that has been revealed in these new court documents, the testimony by the former chief of staff for the vice president, Scooter Libby.

Now, what we heard Scott McClellan say essentially is he is not confirming or denying what is contained in those court papers; namely, that testimony. Instead, we heard McClellan say there is a difference, if you will, a difference between what the White House sees as sharing information to provide historical context and leaking classified information.

Here's a little bit of the briefing that just took place a short time ago.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

SCOTT MCCLELLAN, WHITE HOUSE PRESS SECRETARY: The president believes the leaking of classified information is a very serious matter, and I think that's why it's important to draw a distinction here. Declassifying information and providing it to the public when it is in the public interest is one thing, but leaking classified information that could compromise our national security is something that is very serious. And there is a distinction. Now, there are Democrats out there that fail to recognize that distinction or refuse to recognize that distinction. They are simply engaging in crass politics.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

QUIJANO: Now, what's interesting about that, well, a few things. First of all, while Scott McClellan did not go into the assertions made in these documents, he was very willing to provide examples of the distinction, if you will.

He said one example, essentially, of how a leak can be harmful is the disclosure of the domestic surveillance program, the NSA secret surveillance program. That is a harmful leak. And at the same time, though, McClellan also pointing to a National Intelligence Estimate, a document about prewar intelligence that the White House, in fact, did release parts of in the summer of 2003.

And what Scott McClellan was saying that, in essence, this was helpful for the public interest. This was necessary to refute allegations which the White House at that time was trying very hard to defend against.

You'll remember -- taking you back to some of 2003, there were no weapons of mass destruction found, and there was quite a contentious debate going on about the administration's rationale for going to war. And as we know, as we have reported, there was, in fact, a concerted effort to fight back against that criticism.

So what we have here is the White House trying to turn the conversation away, if you will, from the specifics of what Scooter Libby perhaps outlined in the court documents. But at the same time, talking about the NSA surveillance program, reinforcing the idea that the president is acting in the interest of protecting the country.

Very interesting to watch. I know it's a confusing story on a lot of different levels. But what we saw here is Scott McClellan essentially fighting back against those criticisms from Democrats who say that the president, in effect, is being hypocritical when he says that he doesn't like leakers, and yet here now, perhaps suggestion that he authorized the release of classified information.

WHITFIELD: All right. Elaine Quijano at the White House.

And, of course, we'll delve more into this topic in a moment.

But first, we want to focus on some potentially dangerous storms that are now targeting the southeast this afternoon and tonight.

CNN meteorologist Reynolds Wolf is tracking them.

And what is happening right now?

REYNOLDS WOLF, CNN METEOROLOGIST: The latest that we have right now is the state of Tennessee is getting rocked by some strong storms.

(WEATHER REPORT)

WOLF: Back to you.

WHITFIELD: All right. Thanks so much, Reynolds.

WOLF: You bet.

WHITFIELD: All right. Let's check in with Tony Harris with some breaking news out of Detroit -- Tony.

TONY HARRIS, CNN ANCHOR: Yes, Fred, pictures we're going to show you right now. We're going to try to do a little mix of live and taped pictures. Let's go to the taped pictures right now.

The story is that there is a woman who has been plucked from the Detroit River. And the car she was in, you see it there. And you see the Coast Guard on top of the car working over it right now. It's still, as you see, submerged.

Here's the problem for the Coast Guard right now as we mix in some live pictures for you. The problem for the Coast Guard is they seem to have left the immediate area for right now, which, at least, would suggest that there is no one else in the car. The problem is, is that the woman when she was finally brought to shore, was unresponsive and couldn't tell police whether or not there were other passengers inside that vehicle.

Now, search teams, as you have seen, have been in the area on the car itself. All four-doors, as I think you can even make out from this shot on the vehicle, are open, and the Coast Guard ship that was working on the car just a moment ago has pulled away from the immediate area. That would seem to indicate that there is no one else inside the car at this time.

And back to taped pictures now of a few moments ago when the Coast Guard and some of the team rescue members were actually on that vehicle. So it would seem to suggest that there was no one else in that vehicle at this time.

The woman, as we mentioned, has been plucked from the river and is at a local hospital being cared for right now. But we'll keep an eye on this to see if there's anything else that develops -- Fred.

WHITFIELD: All right. That's an incredible story. Thanks so much, Tony.

HARRIS: You bet.

WHITFIELD: Meantime, another horrific attack in Iraq today. The target? A house of worship in Baghdad affiliated with a major political party.

CNN's Aneesh Raman is in Baghdad -- Aneesh.

ANEESH RAMAN, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Fredricka, good afternoon. This was the deadly Iraq -- attacks, sorry, Iraq as seen in months. A trio of suicide bombers detonating just outside one of the capital's most prominent Shia mosques. As you say, the imam there, a member of parliament, part of Skiri (ph). That's the majority Shia party that's the backbone of the current government.

Iraqi police tell CNN that one suicide bomber detonated at the perimeter security. In the ensuring aftermath and chaos, the two other suicide bombers went in closer to the mosque, killing even more.

Numbers we have tonight, at least 74 people were killed. Well over 130 others were wounded.

This is the second attack in as many days against Shia religious sites. It is why Shia leaders are urging calm.

Also today, the U.S. ambassador to Iraq, Zalmay Khalilzad, issuing a statement expressing his condolences to the Iraqi people, urging restraint. The biggest fear is, of course, Shia militias. In the weeks after the bombing of the Askaria Shia mosque some six weeks ago, they were behind a number of reprisal attacks against Sunnis. They are out there essentially doing the job they say that Iraq's security forces cannot, but U.S. military tell us on the ground that Shia militia are now the biggest threat to Iraq towards bringing any stability to the country -- Fredricka?

WHITFIELD: And right now it seems that it bears all the hallmarks of a Sunni insurgency attack or something else?

RAMAN: It does. We've heard from Shia leaders who say this is al Qaeda in Iraq, that this is the takfiris, the Sunni-dominated insurgency again attacking the Shia people as Shia leaders say they have done for nearly three years now. When you talk of the Shia response, it has been restraint up until the bombing of that Shia mosque. But in recent weeks, we have seen more Shia rage -- Fredricka.

WHITFIELD: All right. Aneesh Raman, thank you so much, in Baghdad.

Well, now let's turn back to the controversy regarding court documents linking President Bush to a White House intelligence leak.

I'm joined by our chief national correspondent, John King.

John, good to see you.

All right, watching that press briefing somewhat painful, but can we take away from it that the White House is determined to if not defend, try to justify by the use of some tricky language?

JOHN KING, CNN CHIEF NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Well, they're certainly going to try to justify any decision the president made to declassify information, as Elaine Quijano was saying at the top of the show. What they will say is the president has the authority to declassify information at any time, and if he thinks he needs to do so to defend himself, if you will, in this case, to defend his use of intelligence in the run-up to the Iraq war, he will do so.

But as you noted, the briefing was a bit painful, because Scott McClellan, on the one hand, wants to defend the president's actions. On the other hand, he says, I can't say specifically he authorized any specific leak because that's part of this ongoing trial of the top -- vice president's former top aide, Scooter Libby.

So this is easy politics for the Democrats and other critics of the White House. It's very complicated when you get into the president's authority, the president's decision-making, and even more complicated when you get into, how does this play into the actual charges against Scooter Libby?

WHITFIELD: Well, speaking of the Democrats, let's listen to what Harry Reid had to say not long ago.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

SEN. HARRY REID (D-NV), MINORITY LEADER: It is an understatement to say that this is a serious allegation with national security consequences. It directly contradicts previous statements made by the president, it continues, in my opinion, of misleading America by this Bush White House. It raises somber and troubling questions about the Bush administration's candor with Congress and the American people.

Today, I come to the floor to request answers on behalf of our troops, their families and the American people.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

WHITFIELD: And now, John, during that press conference, McClellan was trying to skirt the issue, you know, of contradictions. But how long can the White House or even the press secretary go on to avoid direct -- directly answering to that?

KING: Well, it's a tough one, Fredricka. And the president, obviously, will get a question about this the next time reporters get to ask the president a question about this. What he chooses to say is up to the president, but there are nine months between now and Scooter Libby's scheduled trial, and it seems with almost every one of these filings by the special prosecutor, there are new revelations that raise new questions about White House behavior.

And any Republican around town will tell you, even if Scott McClellan called crass politics, any Republican in Washington will tell you the Democrats, especially in an election year, are being "smart," if you will, in raising questions about the president.

Mr. President is at a near or at an all-time low in public opinion polling, the momentum is with the Democrats right now. They want to keep this president down. So, of course, they're going to press him. And even though the White House would say when the president has condemned leaks in the past, for the most part they've been in the context of specific questions about who outed the CIA operative, Valerie Plame. This is an administration that has complained about leaks, complained about members of Congress being sloppy with classified information. So a disclosure quoting a former top White House official saying the president told me to leak classified information is certainly easy fodder for the Democrats and it does raise a question the president is going to have to at some point answer.

WHITFIELD: All right. That's big. Thanks so much.

John King from Washington.

A stinging message to Senate leaders from the rank and file today: not so fast. Just one day after key Republican and Democratic senators proudly announced a compromise on the heated issue of immigration reform, the Senate has voted to delay any decision until after its two-week Easter recess.

CNN Congressional Correspondent Andrea Koppel is standing by.

Andrea, why isn't the legislation moving forward now?

ANDREA KOPPEL, CNN CONGRESSIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Well, there's an impasse, Fredricka. And, in fact, we heard just a short time ago Senate leaders expressing more remorse than anger, blaming one another for the latest impasse over what would have been considered landmark immigration reform.

Now instead of celebrating, as you mentioned, just 24 hours ago they felt they were so close, just a few hours ago senators voted 60- 38 against ending debate on this compromise legislation that was hammered out in recent days by senators Mel Martinez of Florida and Chuck Hagel of Nebraska.

Just the latest chapter in an emotionally-charged saga here in the Senate as Republicans especially struggle to bridge the deep divide within their very own party, with moderates on the one hand hoping to lay out a path to citizenship for an estimated 11 million to 12 million immigrants, and on the other, conservatives who say that's tantamount to amnesty.

Now, only 24 hours ago, Majority Leader Bill Frist was standing shoulder to shoulder with the minority leader, Harry Reid, with Senator Frist saying that they were on the cusp of a major breakthrough. Now, today, Senator Frist is blaming Reid for blocking what he said were just a couple of dozen amendments from being raised on the floor.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

SEN. BILL FRIST (R-TN), MAJORITY LEADER: The fact that after nine days, with 400 amendments filed, only three were allowed to come to the floor, be debated and voted upon, is a travesty, because that ultimately brought down very good policy. Good progress being made on a very real need, a need that does address the security of the country.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

KOPPEL: Now, Democrats countered that Republicans were trying to, in their words, filibuster by amendments. In other words, to try to offer up so many amendments that it would effectively gut the bill -- Fredricka.

WHITFIELD: And so where do they go from here? We know a two- week break. Then what?

KOPPEL: That's right. Well, what we expect is -- and certainly Republicans are still putting forward a brave face, expressing optimism that after the break, they'll get down to work right -- you know, as soon as they get back, and that hopefully in the next couple of weeks they'll be able to -- after they come back, be able to offer up another bill for consideration on the floor of the Senate.

But as one Republican who was extremely frustrated put it yesterday, he said, "If you think that our borders are broken, you should see the U.S. Senate" -- Fredricka.

WHITFIELD: All right. Andrea Koppel, thanks so much from Capitol Hill.

Well, still to come, I'll speak with a whom who grew up in the United States even though she got here illegally as a child. What's her life been like? And how could she be affected by the new immigration proposals?

The news keeps coming and we'll keep brining it to you. More of LIVE FROM next.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

WHITFIELD: Still lots of dangerous weather out there. Let's check in again with Reynolds.

(WEATHER REPORT)

WHITFIELD: All right. Thanks so much, Reynolds.

WOLF: You bet.

WHITFIELD: Well, there was another student protest of proposed immigration limits today. This one was in the Miami area.

About 1,500 students walked out of three high schools. They marched to a rally in a parking lot outside Homestead, Florida, City Hall, waving Mexican, Haitian and American flags. School officials had no comment on the walkout.

Many younger illegal immigrants were brought into the United States by their parents and they've lived most of their lives here. While the parents found work in jobs that didn't require documents, the children attended U.S. schools and dreamed the American dream.

Now some of them face a problem. Unlike their parents, they're seeking jobs that do require documents.

We're going to talk now with a young woman in Austin, Texas, who faces that very dilemma. She doesn't want her last name used, so we'll just call her by her first name, Julie. She's also the co- founder of Young Immigrants for a Better Future.

Good to see you, Julie.

JULIE, UNDOCUMENTED IMMIGRANT: Hi.

WHITFIELD: Well, you came here with your parents. You were 11 years old. You came to the country illegally, is what my understanding is. You have been able to go to school here in the U.S., in Texas specifically, because of state and federal laws.

Meantime, being undocumented has certainly promoted some problems, some real obstacles. What have those obstacles been for you?

JULIE: Well, I'm a registered nurse since January 2004. And even though there is a great shortage in this country for bilingual nurses, especially, I cannot work because of my undocumented status.

WHITFIELD: So you went off to college, managed to get your degree. You're qualified, a trained nurse, but you can't seem to get the job as a result of being undocumented. So what do you do? What are your options right now?

JULIE: Right now I mainly volunteer about -- I would say about 15 or 20 hours a week at different hospitals, but I can only volunteer. I cannot work as a nurse.

WHITFIELD: So did you see this coming? Did you think naturally because you had gotten a college education that automatically that would give you what is needed in order to get a job? Or did you expect that because you're illegal, you might have that problem still of landing a job?

JULIE: I think I had more hope that maybe because there was such great demand...

WHITFIELD: OK. Julie, I'm sorry. Let me interrupt you for a moment because we've got another breaking story we've got to go to.

Tony Harris in the newsroom -- Tony.

HARRIS: Hey, Fred. Take a look at this. We're going to take you right now to Durham, North Carolina. Let's look at the live pictures right now.

Here's the situation. We understand that a man drove this white vehicle to a parking space just outside of the Durham, North Carolina, police station, apparently told someone in authority there -- and I'm not sure whether he went inside the building and told someone this or if there was an officer who came out -- but told someone that, "I have a bomb in my car." And so what we have now is tactical teams on the scene. We have the bomb squad, obviously, on the scene. And there was just -- a few moments ago there was a member of this team who attached something to -- a device to the car there.

You can see it there on the passenger side door. And they will send out a little charge -- an electrical charge to detonate the car, to open the doors, and to find out if there is some kind of device actually inside the vehicle.

That is what is being played out right now. Once again, this is in Durham, North Carolina.

Don't have much context for the scene that you're seeing right now. What might be behind the situation, you see the passenger door -- the driver's side door is wide open. Clearly, that area has been cordoned off, evacuated, and police and tactical teams are working over it right now.

We will keep an eye on this situation. But once again, just to recap, what we know so far is there was a person who was driving that vehicle who, at some point -- OK, let's do this. We've got to get to a break. And we'll come back and update this story.

You're watching LIVE FROM on CNN.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

WHITFIELD: Well, welcome back to LIVE FROM.

More now on the immigration issue. And we were talking just before the break to a young lady named Julie in Austin, Texas, who exemplifies what millions of young people in this country are facing: brought here illegally by their parents or guardians, have lived the American dream, gotten an education. In the case of Julie, even got her college education, and is now a trained nurse, but she's facing the same dilemma that a number of other undocumented young people are facing.

You're unable to get work. So, Julie, you got your education, your college education, going to the University of Texas. Now you're a qualified nurse.

You thought all along, perhaps, that by getting your college education, that was a sure-fire bet that you were going to be able to get a job. But the reality is, you haven't been able to.

What's that been like for you?

JULIE: Correct. It's been really hard. And I think a lot of people have to realize I'm not the only one.

There are a lot of cases out there. And there are at least 8,000 undocumented immigrants who are in the universities who are getting educated, who want to provide to this country and contribute farther to this country but are not able to because they're undocumented. WHITFIELD: So you and many others are real test cases for Texas, because Texas is one of those states that happened to have some laws on the books to help illegal or undocumented children get -- get an education, and then federal law has been able to allow you to get to further your education as a result.

So you have co-founded this group Young Immigrants for a Better Future. What is it that you all try to do?

JULIE: Actually, we're now a university leadership initiative, and it's a project from the Texas Criminal Justice Coalition. And we mainly help kids to know about the laws, that they can get higher education.

We try to emphasize the importance of education to the parents and to the children. We help them become leaders. We teach them different strategies, how to become leaders.

WHITFIELD: So now what? Do you look at the situation now and say, OK, I can't get the job here? Is there any thought that you might return to Mexico and perhaps put your expertise to work in that country if it turns out that you're unable to stay in this country and get a job?

JULIE: To be honest, in Mexico, I left there when I was 11. I am now 25. It has been 14 years. And I don't have anything else back there.

My sister and my mother are here. And I don't -- and my friends are here. I have made my life here in the United States, and I love this country. And going back to a place where I no longer know it, more like I'm foreign, it will be really hard. And I'm being hopeful and being patient to see if an immigration law that would help all of us will pass.

WHITFIELD: And so with the debates taking place on immigration reform now in Congress, what are your hopes? What are you hoping the outcome, if there is going to be a compromised bill or whatever form of legislation, what are you hoping it would include?

JULIE: I think the first thing is would be the pathway to legalization for the 12 million undocumented immigrants. We're not asking for an amnesty. An amnesty would be right then and there citizenship. This, I understand, would be a process.

And we want that. We want the process to become residents first and then citizens. That would take around 11 years. And we want that. That would be fair for everybody, even for those who are waiting to come here to this country legally and for those who are here already.

WHITFIELD: All right. Julie, out of Austin, Texas, thanks so much for sharing your story with us. And best of luck to you.

JULIE: Thank you.

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