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Porter Goss Resigning as CIA Director; Patrick Kennedy Denies Drinking Before Accident; Rumsfeld Debates Anti-War Protester
Aired May 05, 2006 - 13:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
TONY HARRIS, HOST: From the CNN world headquarter, I'm Tony Harris, in for Kyra Phillips who has the day off and this is LIVE FROM.
We have learned here at CNN in the last 10 minutes or so that the president will be making a personnel announcement at 1:45 Eastern Time from the Oval Office of the White House. Here's White House spokesman Scott McClellan.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
SCOTT MCCLELLAN, WHITE HOUSE PRESS SECRETARY: At 1:45, the president does have a pool coverage announcement. That will be in the Oval Office. The pool will need to assemble after this briefing. So I'm not able to go further than that at this point. That's an announcement that will be made with the president.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: (UNINTELLIGIBLE)
MCCLELLAN: No.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Personnel? Is it personnel related?
MCCLELLAN: It's a personnel matter.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
HARRIS: OK. We already know that this is Scott McClellan's last day as White House spokesman, but as you heard from him just a moment ago, the president will be making a personnel announcement at 1:45 Eastern Time from the Oval Office of the White House. And when that happens, we will take you to the White House for that announcement.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
REP. PATRICK KENNEDY (D), RHODE ISLAND: I never asked for any preferential treatment.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: (UNINTELLIGIBLE)
KENNEDY: That's up for the police to decide, and I'm going to cooperate fully with them.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
HARRIS: Well, it's Kennedy not McKinney at a car wreck at a barricade. Not a scuffle at a checkpoint. But for the second time in a little more than a month, a member of Congress has had a brush with U.S. Capitol police, and both are under the media microscope.
Rhode Island Congressman Patrick Kennedy denies he was drunk during a wild ride to Capitol Hill early yesterday, a ride that ended with a thud but no injuries. And though police were suspicious, they neither tested nor arrested.
We've got a copy of the official report and we've got Dana Bash on the Hill with details -- Dana.
DANA BASH, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Hi, Tony. Well, here's the official report obtained for CNN by our Brian Todd.
And the most important thing, I think, to point out in here is the question of sobriety. That was the issue that we first heard about yesterday when the story broke. A law enforcement official saying that officers on the scene thought that he appeared intoxicated.
Well, that is essentially what this report says in official terms. It says that he had been drinking and under the degree to which he had been drunk, if you will, it said that his ability was impaired. So for the first time here, we do have this officially.
Now that does differ with what Patrick Kennedy himself said in a statement last night, which is, and he emphatically was not drinking, was not under the influence. And what had happened was that he was disoriented because of taking a combination of prescription drugs, and that is why he got up in the middle of the night, thinking that he had to vote, and ended up crashing his car into a security barrier.
Now, the other thing that this report says are that the contributing circumstances to the accident, lists them. Speed, it says, alcohol influence, wrong -- driving on the wrong side of the street and driver inattention.
The police report also shows that Congressman Kennedy was cited for three infractions: failure to keep a proper lane, unreasonable speed and failure to give full time and attention to the operation of a vehicle.
Now, we have a response to this now from the congressman's chief of staff to our CNN producer, Deirdre Walsh. And he said that, quote, "We never questioned the report of the incident except for some reports that claimed alcohol was involved."
So essentially, what the congressman's office is saying that they don't dispute what happened. They don't dispute any of details except for the fact that they still say he was not drinking. And that is really the critical thing here, Tony, in that we really probably won't know, because there was not, we understand, a sobriety test taken at the scene.
So the congressman is saying, "Look, they never -- they never really tested that. Maybe if they would have, they would have found out that I wasn't drinking."
And although they, on the scene, observed him and wrote down in this report that it looked like he was under the influence, there is no evidence of it, because no sobriety test was taken. And that is a real controversial thing right now. Because we understand that this was done at the behest of one of the commanding officers, a lieutenant essentially said to sergeants, sent some sergeants over to relieve the patrol officers who were dealing with Patrick Kennedy and said, "You know what? Just take him home."
HARRIS: OK, so Dana, are there unwritten rules on how to deal with members of Congress who get in trouble?
BASH: Well, there seems to be. You know, should note Patrick Kennedy said several times walking out of his office last night in a written statement that he never asked for preferential treatment. And that certainly might be the case for him and even in general.
But in talking to several officers around here today, it does seem to be really to be the case. There are sort of written rules and unwritten rules. And one of the unwritten rules is that the members of Congress, even the staff, that they know when things happen, especially in the middle of the night, you certainly want to do your job. But sometimes you maybe let things slide a little bit. But that is also a major point of controversy.
HARRIS: Sure, sure.
BASH: And that's what we heard from, for example, the police union chief, the president, who said look, there's a rub here. And there's sort of people who are very upset because they want to be able to do their job, but they perhaps feel pressure from above to sort of let things like this slide.
HARRIS: So Dana, let's turn now to the Kennedy response team. And what are they doing behind the scenes here?
BASH: Well, you just heard from Sean Richardson. We after several hours got a response to this report.
The other thing is that they say that they are reaching out. They reached out last night to the Capitol police, to the police chief, to say, look, the congressman is available to talk, to be interviewed, as part of any investigation, which we know is going on, still into this traffic accident that was done last night. We're told that he's going to reach out again.
He's still in Washington but he's going to go up to Rhode Island later today.
HARRIS: I see.
BASH: And we understand that we might hear from him later. He might talk to some reporters up in Rhode Island. So they're really trying to manage this, but at the same time, Tony, they're also trying to get the details of this, just as we are. HARRIS: Right.
BASH: Because they're obviously very sketchy.
HARRIS: OK. CNN congressional correspondent Dana Bash for us. Dana, thank you.
This isn't the first time Patrick Kennedy has come under scrutiny. Here's a CNN "Fact Check."
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
HARRIS (voice-over): Patrick J. Kennedy, born on July 14, 1967, is the youngest of three children of Senator Edward Kennedy and Joan Kennedy and is a nephew to former President John F. Kennedy.
In 1988, 21-year-old Patrick became the youngest of the Kennedy clan to successfully stake his political claim, when he beat a five- term incumbent to win a seat in the Rhode Island House of Representatives.
In 1994, Patrick went to Congress by winning an open seat in the U.S. House of Representatives. But his political career has sometimes been overshadowed by personal issues.
In March of 2000, Kennedy was caught on videotape at a physical altercation with Della Patton, a female security guard at Los Angeles International Airport. Kennedy later apologized for his part in the incident and reached an out-of-court settlement with Patton.
Then just a few months later, a New England boat company went public with claims that the congressman had trashed a sailboat he had rented.
Kennedy has acknowledged his stint in rehab for cocaine addiction during his teenage years and that he has taken prescription drugs for treating depression.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
HARRIS: So what do you think of the Kennedy incident? We want to hear from you. E-mail us your thoughts, LiveFrom@CNN.com, and we'll be reading some of your e-mails throughout the show.
Want to get to a developing story now. Carol Lin is following this developing story out of the Middle East -- Carol.
CAROL LIN, ANCHOR: Hey there, Tony.
Crossing the Associated Press that Israel, three Israeli -- or an Israeli aircraft attacked a Palestinian militant training camp. Now, apparently several Palestinian so-called militants were killed, including four family members of a top commander.
Now this is a group -- it's actually an umbrella group responsible for a number of rocket attacks against Israel. Israel insists that this group was training for attacks, future attacks on the state of Israel.
Now since Hamas took over the -- took over the Palestinian parliament, leadership of the Palestinian parliament, there have been more rocket attacks out of Gaza, and Israel has stepped up its response.
That's the latest out of the Middle East, Tony.
HARRIS: Appreciate it, Carol. Thank you.
LIN: You got it.
HARRIS: Construction costs for a 9/11 memorial at the site of the World Trade Center are skyrocketing: the newest estimate $1 billion. Last year building officials said the memorial would cost about half that.
The 16-acre site featuring memorial and an adjacent museum is set to open in 2009. Preliminary site work is set to begin next March.
Meanwhile, a planned 9/11 memorial in Shanksville, Pennsylvania, gets the green light. A House panel has approved $5 million to build -- and buy land for a memorial in Shanksville, Pennsylvania. The approval came after a North Carolina congressman dropped his opposition to using federal funds for the tribute to victims of United Flight 93.
The secretary of defense, on the defensive.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
RAY MCGOVERN, ANTIWAR PROTESTER: You said you knew where they were.
DONALD RUMSFELD, SECRETARY OF DEFENSE: I did not. I said I knew where suspect sites were. And we were just...
MCGOVERN: You said you knew where they were. Tikrit near Baghdad and northeast south and west of there. Those are your words.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
HARRIS: Donald Rumsfeld under fire and toe to toe with a war protester. A remarkable exchange. See it for yourself when LIVE FROM continues.
And a reminder, we're standing by for that Oval Office announcement from the president. LIVE FROM will bring that to you as soon as it happens.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
HARRIS: Once, twice, at least three times a hecklee, but what really put Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld on the offensive during a visit to Atlanta yesterday? His own words and those of other Bush insiders used against him. CNN's John Roberts tracked down the facts. (BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
JOHN ROBERTS, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): The secretary of defense is used to controversy and attacks on all sides. But this Atlanta, he took more incoming than we've ever seen, a full-on verbal assault by opponents of the Iraq war, who showed up to see him speak.
The first volley came from a woman who brought a banner, accusing Rumsfeld of war crimes.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: (UNINTELLIGIBLE) nuclear war.
ROBERTS: As most protesters are in a roomful of administration- friendly folks, she lost her banner and was quickly led out.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: We don't want to hear it.
RUMSFELD: Good for you, Sergeant York.
ROBERTS: The next attack came a short five minutes later, another woman with another banner accusing Rumsfeld of lying.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Get out.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: He's lied.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Get out of here.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: He's lied in Iraq and said oil would pay (ph) for the war. You've lied about everything.
ROBERTS: But this one the secretary just couldn't let go.
RUMSFELD: You know what, that charge is frequently leveled against the president for one reason or another, and it is so wrong and so unfair and so destructive of a free system where people need to trust each other and government.
ROBERTS: In truth, Rumsfeld never said Iraq's oil would pay for the war. But his then-deputy, Paul Wolfowitz, did say it would pay for the aftermath.
PAUL WOLFOWITZ, FORMER DEPUTY SECRETARY OF DEFENSE: We're dealing with a country that can really finance its own reconstruction and relatively soon.
ROBERTS: Hecklers, like the man who stood with his back toward the secretary during the speech, couldn't rather a man with Rumsfeld's steel, but in an extraordinary piece of public theater, Ray McGovern, a retired CIA analyst with 27 years experience, took Rumsfeld on mano- a-mano on prewar claims Iraq had weapons of mass destruction.
MCGOVERN: You said you knew where they were.
RUMSFELD: I did not. I said I knew where suspect sites were, and we were... MCGOVERN: You said you knew where they were, near Tikrit near Baghdad and north, east, south and west of there. Those are your words.
RUMSFELD: In my words, my words were that -- no, no, no. Wait a minute, wait a minute. Let him stay one second. Just a second.
MCGOVERN: This is America, huh?
ROBERTS: And in America, we fact check, and we found that in an appearance on ABC's "This Week" three years ago, Rumsfeld did say those words.
RUMSFELD: We know where they are. They're in the area around Tikrit and Baghdad and east, west, south and north somewhat.
ROBERTS: With what appeared to be the facts on his side, McGovern kept going, an exchange that lasted a full two minutes and 35 seconds.
MCGOVERN: I'd just like an honest answer.
RUMSFELD: I'm giving it to you.
MCGOVERN: We're talking about lies. And an allegation that there was bulletproof evidence of ties between al Qaeda and Iraq. Was that a lie? Or were you misled?
ROBERTS: Hold on, did Rumsfeld ever say bulletproof? According to "The New York Times" he did, September 27, 2002, in Atlanta. And a month later, he admitted saying it.
But a year after that, he told the National Press Club, bulletproof? Not me.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: You said about a year ago that there was bulletproof evidence that Saddam -- links between Saddam Hussein and the September 11t attacks. When will the American public see that sort of evidence?
RUMSFELD: I did not say that.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: OK. September 23.
RUMSFELD: And whoever said I said it is wrong.
ROBERTS: But back to the action in Atlanta.
RUMSFELD: Zarqawi was in Baghdad during the prewar period. That is a fact.
MCGOVERN: Zarqawi, he was in the north of Iraq in a place where Saddam Hussein had no rule. That's where he was.
RUMSFELD: He was also -- he was also in Baghdad.
MCGOVERN: Yes, when he needed to go to the hospital. Come on, these people aren't idiots. They know the story.
RUMSFELD: You are -- let me give you an example. It's easy for you to make a charge, but why do you think that the men and women in uniform every day, when they came out of Kuwait and went into Iraq, put on chemical weapon protective suits? Because they liked the style?
They honestly believed that there were chemical weapons. Saddam Hussein had used chemical weapons on his own people previously. He'd used them on his neighbor, the Iranians and he believed he this h those weapons.
MCGOVERN: That's what we call a non sequitur. It doesn't matter what the troops believe. It matters what you believe.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I think, Mr. Secretary, the debate is over. We have other questions, in courtesy to the audience.
ROBERTS: And with that, they declared and end to the face-off, but unlike the other opponents of the war, McGovern took his seat and remained quiet through the rest of the speech.
John Roberts, CNN, Washington.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
HARRIS: Ray McGovern, the man who challenged Rumsfeld on his past and present remarks, is a former CIA analyst. He's also a member of a group called Veteran Intelligence Professionals for Sanity, a group that has been critical of the Bush administration on its handling of the Iraq war.
Just another reminder here, the president is going to be making a personnel announcement at 1:45 Eastern Time from the Oval Office of the White House. And when that happens, we will bring that to you live here on CNN.
And coming up, calling all mint julep lovers. Get out your fancy hats and get ready to place your bets. We're live from Churchill Downs, and you'll hear the story of a very inspiring horse trainer.
The news keeps coming. We keep bringing it to you. More LIVE FROM straight ahead.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
HARRIS: We are seeing lots of green arrows on Wall Street today. Susan Lisovicz is live from the New York Stock Exchange to tell us why.
Hi, Susan.
(STOCK REPORT)
(COMMERCIAL BREAK) HARRIS: And once again, oh, about 17 minutes or so away from an announcement, from the president making a personnel announcement, 1:45 Eastern Time from the Oval Office. When that happens, we will bring that to you live.
Is Britain sick of Tony Blair? That's the most common interpretation of yesterday's humiliating showing by the Labour Party in local elections across the U.K. The party in power for nine years lost 251 seats, and soon after two of Blair's cabinet ministers lost theirs.
We get the fallout from CNN's Robin Oakley in London.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: A round of applause.
ROBIN OAKLEY, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Smile, he might. But the first test, the new leader of the opposition Conservatives, David Cameron, had hit Tony player's Labour government hard, wresting more than 250 seats fro them in council elections.
The Conservatives' share of the vote was 40 percent, enough to give them a chance at the next general election. The Liberal Democrats had 27 percent. And Blair's Labour dropped to third place with just 26 percent.
Champagne for the Tories, glum faces for Labour, who lost councils they'd held for 20 years.
Glummest face of all was that of Charles Clarke, the former home secretary. And the biggest sacrificial victim as Blair sought back to wrest back the initiative with a sweeping cabinet reshuffle.
The minister, who'd released a thousand foreign convicts onto the streets instead of processing for deportation, was sacked after declining other jobs.
CHARLES CLARKE, FORMER HOME SECRETARY: The prime minister, as is his right and responsibility, has made the judgment that my continued occupation of the post of home secretary is likely to stand in the way of the continued reforms which may remain necessary.
DAVID CAMERON, CONSERVATIVE PARTY LEADER: It's pretty desperate stuff. I mean, I was pressing the prime minister more than a week to go remove Charles Clarke, and he said no, never. And now he's had to do it.
OAKLEY: Public ridicule, though, proved less politically expensive. Despite these pictures showing him with his former secretary and mistress, Deputy Prime Minister John Prescott kept his title. He just had his department stripped away from under him.
The surprise was the demotion to Commons leader of Foreign Secretary Jack Straw, a personal friend of U.S. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice, whom he recently hosted in his Blackburn constituency. Mr. Straw, said some, had paid the price for moving closer to Gordon Brown, Mr. Blair's likely successor, and for going further than Downing Street in rejecting the use of military might against Iran.
Mr. Straw's successor as foreign secretary is the veteran Margaret Beckett, one of government's safest pair of hands, but not a figure with much profile outside of Britain about. She usually takes caravan holidays at home.
(on camera): Mr. Blair's dramatic and intensive reshuffle after the election rebuff shows the pressure he's under to give the Labor government new impetus. But a growing section of his party now believes that can only be achieved by changing the map at the top.
Robin Oakley, CNN, London.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
HARRIS: Five teens in Kansas are in a lot of trouble, under arrest, for what investigators believe, was a plot to attack their school. Emotional parents are in belief. They said they don't understand the evidence against their sons.
CNN's Keith Oppenheim talked to them and filed this report for "PAULA ZAHN NOW."
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
KEITH OPPENHEIM, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Right on the path of historic Route 66, Riverton, Kansas, lies in the middle of America. And in this tiny town of just 600 people, the question is whether five high school students were planning to commit a terrible crime.
Four are legally juveniles. One of those minors faces new charges of solicitation to commit murder. All five have been charged with criminal threat and incitement to riot. Coy New, one of the accused, is being charged as an adult because he just turned 18.
SCOTT NEW, FATHER OF COY NEW: They're all -- they're all convicted already, and they haven't even been to trial. They're all convicted already.
LISA NEW, MOTHER OF COY NEW: That's that's the opinion.
S. NEW: Bunch of boys.
OPPENHEIM: Lisa and Scott New are Coy's parents. In the presence of their attorney, they agreed to speak to us about their son and their frustration with authorities.
L. NEW: We don't know anything. And they should be out there telling somebody something, at least the attorney.
S. NEW: They need to justify their actions. These are boys' lives.
OPPENHEIM: The arrests of the five students happened in late April, after police were tipped about an ominous posting on MySpace.com. That Internet message has been removed, and police won't say who wrote it. But they did say it urged Riverton High students to celebrate April 20, Adolf Hitler's birthday, and referred to the Columbine High School shootings in Colorado, which also happened on that date.
Police told the news media they believe the five teens were at the very least planning to disable security cameras and attack the high school with guns.
ERIC RUCKER, KANSAS ATTORNEY GENERAL'S OFFICE: The nature of the investigation has revealed probable cause to believe that these crimes have occurred.
OPPENHEIM: Investigators say the evidence includes guns found at the home of one of the teens and a hit list of staff and students.
S. NEW: I just can't see it of any of the boys.
L. NEW: He's a caring person. I mean, we know our son, and he wouldn't do that.
OPPENHEIM: Coy New's parents say, until now, their son had no police record. They describe him as a teenager who likes to build things and go fishing.
(on camera): Did he ever talk about neo-Nazis, Adolf Hitler, Columbine High School?
L. NEW: No. So, I have no question about whether Coy would do this or anything like that. I just don't.
CHASINEE JAEGER, MOTHER OF ANDREW JAEGER: He is just -- just a boy.
OPPENHEIM (voice-over): Chasinee Jaeger is the mother of Andrew Jaeger. Andrew is a 10th grader, 15 years old, the youngest of the five teens accused. You can see him here in a light blue shirt, his identity concealed by police as he is walked into court.
Chasinee, born in Thailand, spoke with us with her attorney by her side.
JAEGER: Actually, we don't really know what's going on. It's very confusing.
OPPENHEIM: As for the investigation, Chasinee Jaeger says police came to their home twice.
(on camera): They took two pocketknives, a Ziploc bag with a dozen .22-caliber bullets she said that Andrew used when he went hunting with his father, some video games. She said they were not violent in nature. And here at the school, she said investigators took a copy of the book "The Hunt For Red October" from his locker. Bottom line, Chasinee Jaeger says she really doesn't understand what evidence the state has to press charges against her son.
(voice-over): We asked the attorney general's office to address the complaints of parents, but officials wouldn't comment on a case that's under investigation. At this point, with authorities tight- lipped and parents on the defensive, it's hard for people in Riverton to know whether the plot to attack the high school was real or fantasy. For sure, the families of the accused are still in shock.
L. NEW: It has been devastating. And I'm still numb, actually. I don't even think the full impact has hit.
OPPENHEIM (on camera): It's hard to understand.
L. NEW: Yes, it is.
OPPENHEIM (voice-over): The families of Coy New, Andrew Jaeger, and two of the other defendants have posted bond. That means, for now, all four have been released from custody and can go home, where they will stay under house arrest.
Keith Oppenheim, CNN, Riverton, Kansas.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
HARRIS: And Keith Oppenheim is one of many contributors to CNN's PAULA ZAHN NOW," weeknights at 8:00 p.m. Eastern, 5:00 Pacific.
The final White House briefing for Scott McClellan wrapped up just about, oh, a couple of moments ago. I want to bring you the final moments.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
SCOTT MCCLELLAN, WHITE HOUSE PRESS SECY.: I want to thank each of you in this room, and each of you in the White House press corps that aren't here today. I thank you for all do you to keep the American people informed. Thank you for all you do to hold those of us who are in elected office accountable for the decisions that are made. Keep after it. Keep up the good work. You are a terrific bunch of professionals, and it has been a real honor to serve with you all. Thank you.
(APPLAUSE)
(END VIDEO CLIP)
HARRIS: Scott McClellan wrapping up his duties as White House press secretary. You know his mom is running as an independent for the statehouse of Texas. Who knows, perhaps he'll move on to help mom. Scott McClellan saying goodbye to the press corps.
It is a car crash with a capital 'K,' and if I were with us at the top this broadcast, you know 'K' stands for Kennedy, Patrick Kennedy, six-term Democratic Congressman representing first district of Rhode Island. He says he was not driving drunk when he slammed his Mustang to into a security barricade near the U.S. Capitol early yesterday. He said he was taking two prescription drugs that made him disoriented. A Capitol Police report shows officers clearly suspected alcohol, but they didn't do a sobriety check, and they did not make an arrest, only three citations. Today those decision, and Kennedy actions are being investigated.
And the folks home at Rhode Island are coming to their own conclusions.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I think he was telling a story. He was lying about that.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I think you have to give him the benefit of the doubt until you know all the facts.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: If he takes some medication, he's got reason to take medication. You know, I mean, anybody takes medication. I take medication. It could happen to me, too, you know. So there's nothing wrong with that. The guy got drowsy, or got sick or something and got to an accident. I feel so bad for him.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Well, I think we haven't heard all of the information that we need before we can make any kind of a decision. And I know that he is always said he's a nondrinker. So until that's proven differently, I'd have to believe him.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
HARRIS: We will dig into this deeper at the top of the hour.
But what do you think was Kennedy incident? We want to hear from you. E-mail us at LiveFrom@cnn.com. Hit send. We'll be reading some of your e-mails throughout the show.
Before they run for the roses, who tests their medal for the pedal. Coming up on LIVE FROM, a track-side visit with Derby contender Brother Derek and a man who lives to watch him race.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
HARRIS: Hi, Will. The first Saturday in May is hard upon us and when it comes to the 132nd running of the Kentucky Derby, apart from about, oh, two riveting minutes around the track, most of the hard work happens long before post time, especially for those charged with getting their thoroughbreds ready for the first leg of the Triple Crown.
CNN's Will Selva joins us now with the one story, and more fanfare. That has a pretty special twist.
WILL SELVA, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Tony, this thing's killing my ear!
HARRIS: It's killing all of us!
SELVA: This thing is killing my ear.
HARRIS: Hey, Will, I got to tell you, this sounds like a story that was one of those that's fun to report.
SELVA: Yes, that's right. It seems like every year, Tony, there's no shortage of human interest stories. This year is no different. Most if not all the attention is on Derby favorite Brother Derek and his trainer, Dan Hendricks. Hendricks' tale is one of survival, perseverance and most of all, hope.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
DAN HENDRICKS, TRAINER, BROTHER DEREK: I'm giving him one more shot at this.
SELVA (voice-over): Every morning, Dan Hendricks checks the legs of his prized thoroughbreds. He feels for any problems and judges how much life is in them.
HENDRICKS: All good!
SELVA: He does no such thing with his own. Hendricks works in a world surrounded by powerful legs, making a living off of their strength and speed. But he lives in a world powered only by wheels.
HENDRICKS: But I've tried to say from the beginning is it's about the horse. And a lot of people are going to make it about me and the chair and the situation.
SELVA: Hendricks is the trainer of one of the Kentucky Derby's favorite, Brother Derek. The horse is the biggest thing in the trainer's life now, but the colt wasn't even in Hendricks' stable in July 2004, when he went out to practice his other passion, dirt bike racing.
HENDRICKS: Went out for a routine practice day on a maintained track, and took a jumper wrong, landed wrong. And as soon as I rolled over, I realized I'd messed up. I'd changed my life, and it wasn't going to be the same.
SELVA: Paralyzed from the waist down, Hendricks now lives his life sitting down. His specially-equipped wheelchairs allows him to get around the dirt of Santa Anita Park without much problem. Navigating his own mind is still the toughest test.
HENDRICKS: I deal with it every day, that part of it -- the personal part of it and the private part of it is not easy. At first, when you get something like this happens, you don't want to do anything. You want to go away and hide. Training horse is helping -- helping cope with dealing with my situation. Of course it is. It makes me go out and do something every day. And I can't sit and think about what situation I'm in. I just have to go out and deal with -- deal with it. SELVA: Hendricks attended the Kentucky Derby just once, 20 years ago, but he knows this time before everyone watches Brother Derek run, they will be looking at the guy in the wheelchair. He doesn't mind because he also knows that those looks are as fleeting as having a horse capable of winning the biggest race in the sport.
HENDRICKS: I've already thought about it and I wish this would have come -- this horse would have come to me before the accident. It would have been a little more enjoyable. And then when it's over, you know, I'm going to regret -- regret not enjoying it more than I have.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
SELVA: Now 16 days prior to Hendricks' accident in 2004, his jockey, Alex Solis. who will be riding Brother Derek tomorrow, broke his back. So as you can see, the horse really means a lot more than just winning. It represents hope for two of them, and it's created quite a unique bond.
In case you're wondering, Tony, he's a 3-to-1 favorite to win.
HARRIS: Hey!
SELVA: So if you want to put any money down, you better give it to me now!
HARRIS: Why don't you float me a little cash, put it on, and then I will gladly reimburse you, how is that?
SELVA: I don't make the Tony Harris cash. So it might be a little tough.
HARRIS: OK, well, we appreciate it. Thank you.
And we have just learned that Rhode Island Congressman Patrick Kennedy will be holding a news conference in the 3:00 hour, right at 3:00 p.m. Eastern time, to address -- well, just a number of questions that have been raised in the aftermath of his accident early Thursday morning. So once again, a Rhode Island congressman, Patrick Kennedy, will be holding a news conference in Washington 3:00 p.m. Eastern time. And when that happens, we will take you to Washington live.
And once again, let's go to Carol Lin in the newsroom right now. She's following a developing story for us -- Carol.
CAROL LIN, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Hey, Tony, we just got this in, literally a second ago. I'm learning that Porter Goss, the director of the CIA, is resigning. I don't have any other information other than that. But we are working the story hard. So Tony, I'm going to throw it back to you right now, and I'm going to get back to you as soon as I know anything more.
HARRIS: OK, appreciate it. Once again, we're going to get that official announcement. Carol Lin bringing that news to you to us. But at 1:45 -- oh, just a couple of minutes ago, we understand that the announcement was made. It was on tape. It wasn't live. We promise to you live, but it learned that it was going to be on tape. As soon as we get that tape into our possession here at CNN, we will bring that to you, that information that Carol Lin just reported, that Porter Goss is now resigning as CIA director.
We had a sense that this was going to be a major announcement, in the way that it was being portrayed, even by Scott McClellan, the outgoing White House press secretary in that the announcement was made in that press briefing that the president would be making the announcement of a personnel change from the Oval Office, which seemed to give it a little more importance. It seemed to give it a bit more weight. And I think we now understand why.
The news into us here at CNN, that Porter Goss is resigning as the CIA director. We will continue to follow this story and bring you the latest developments and try to put this into context, what it exactly means moving forward for the CIA.
We'll take a break. More LIVE FROM when we come right back.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
HARRIS: Once again, CNN confirming now that the personnel announcement that we're anticipating from the White House, we are learning that the director of the Central Intelligence Agency, Porter Goss, is resigning. Before he took over as director of the CIA, the former Congressman, even before that, he was a former CIA officer.
So the question is, where does the CIA move forward from here? Kathleen Koch is standing by now. As I understand, we're very close to having the tape in-hand of the president's announcement.
And, Kathleen, can you hear me?
KATHLEEN KOCH, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Yes, I can, Tony. Just trying to get a brief readout on what happened in the Oval Office. Apparently in there with CIA director Porter Goss, who apparently has tendered his resignation to President Bush. John Negroponte, the director of the national intelligence. And now we'll hear that tape and see what happened inside the Oval.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
GEORGE W. BUSH, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES This morning, Director Porter Goss offered his resignation as the director of the Central Intelligence Agency. I've accepted it.
During the course of his tenure, I've established a very close personal relationship with Porter, which is very important for the director of the CIA.
He's spent a lot of time here in the Oval Office. He's told me -- he's given me his candid advice. I appreciate his integrity. I appreciate the honor in which -- that he brought to the job.
Porter's tenure at the CIA was one of transition, where he's helped his agency become integrated into the intelligence community. And that was a tough job.
And he's led ably.
He has got a five-year plan to increase the number of analysts and operatives, which is going to help make this country a safer place and help us win the war on terror. He's instilled a sense of professionalism.
He honors the proud history of the CIA, an organization that is known for its secrecy and accountability.
I am confident that his successor will continue the reforms that he's put in place and, as a result, this country will be more secure.
We've got to win the war on terror, and the Central Intelligence Agency is a vital part of that war.
And so I want to thank you for your service.
PORTER GOSS, CIA DIRECTOR: Mr. President, thank you very much.
It has been a very distinct honor and privilege to serve you, of course the people of the country and the employees of the Central Intelligence Agency.
I can tell you the trust and confidence you've placed in me and given me the latitude to work is something I could never have imagined and I am most grateful for it.
I would like to report back to you that I believe the agency is on a very even keel; it's sailing well.
I honestly believe that we have improved dramatically your goals for our nation's intelligence capabilities, which are in fact the things that I think that are keeping us very safe.
And I honestly would report to you, sir, that we are safer for your efforts, your leadership and for the men and women in the community that are working so hard and doing so well.
Thank you for the support, the encouragement and the understanding of how tough the work is and how important it is.
BUSH: God bless.
Thank you.
GOSS: God bless, sir.
BUSH: I appreciate it. Thank you very much.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
HARRIS: OK, and there you have it. In the Oval Office of the White House, CIA director, now former CIA director, Porter Goss resigning. We understand that from the president that Porter Goss offered his resignation today, and the president accepted it obviously today.
Let's bring in Kathleen Koch right now. And as we heard, Porter Goss had a difficult job. His job was to go in to the CIA, after George tenet, and in the words of the president, to sort of establish more professionalism, which would probably be an insult to the folks who work at the CIA who consider themselves solid professionals. But that was a sense of what his job was, was to bring a sense of stability to the agency. Is that right, Kathleen? Is that overstating it?
KOCH: No, I think that's well-put, Tony. And there also were obviously these concerns about whether or not the CIA had given the Bush administration good intelligence. To make important policy decisions, including those to go to war in Iraq, but of course the the -- his -- Goss' role was somewhat diminished, as Congress required that a direct of national intelligence be established. That being John Negroponte. And so then instead the director of the CIA was no longer coming in and giving the president his daily intelligence briefings, thereby diminishing his role somewhat.
We did not hear Porter Goss really explain why he is leaving now, why he's making this choice right now. Perhaps this is in keeping with that call that White House chief of staff, Josh Bolten, put out several weeks ago, when he came in saying, if you are thinking about the leaving the Bush administration, now would be the time to do it.
HARRIS: Yes, you're absolutely right. And there's also a sense that one of the things that Porter Goss was charged to do was to plug the leak, wasn't it, to plug these leaks out of the CIA?
KOCH: Plug the leaks out of the CIA certainly, and a very tough job for someone indeed who was an outsider. Porter Goss not himself being a member of the Intelligence Committee, although clearly very powerful in his role as chairman of the permanent House Elect Committee on Intelligence. A lawmaker representing the 19th district of Florida for some 14 years -- excuse me, 16 years -- or the 14th district for some 16 years. But he came in there as an outsider from Capitol Hill. So clearly very tough for him to accomplish all that the administration had hoped he'd be able to.
HARRIS: And you know what, it seems to me, Kathleen, moving forward, boy, it's such -- it feels like such a sudden announcement, resignation tendered today, accepted today. One wonders where do you go? Who then takes that mantle moving forward? Porter Goss was just on the job a year.
KOCH: Quite so. Barely a year. There is a lot of pressure from Congress. We've all heard that in recent weeks for new blood, for outsiders to come in and re-envision rate the White House, the bush administration, hopefully pull up the president's sagging poll numbers, the lowest of his presidency. So, again, we have heard no word about successor. Obviously the president does have ample people who surround him now, people like Fran Townsend, his own director of homeland security on his staff. But there certainly is this pressure to go outside, so perhaps we'll hear in the coming days and weeks who he's leaning toward, but certainly hearing nothing right now. HARRIS: Yes, Kathleen, stick around for me. What we're going to do is we're going to re-rack all of that statement from the president and Porter Goss and play it again in just a moment.
But if you're just joining us, just about 2:00 p.m. Eastern Time, we've just learned inside the last 10 minutes or so that the director of Central Intelligence, Porter Goss, is resigning. Here is that statement from the president, from the Oval Office just a couple of minute ago.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
GEORGE W. BUSH, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES This morning, Director Porter Goss offered his resignation as the director of the Central Intelligence Agency. I've accepted it.
During the course of his tenure, I've established a very close personal relationship with Porter, which is very important for the director of the CIA.
He's spent a lot of time here in the Oval Office. He's told me -- he's given me his candid advice. I appreciate his integrity. I appreciate the honor in which -- that he brought to the job.
Porter's tenure at the CIA was one of transition, where he's helped his agency become integrated into the intelligence community. And that was a tough job.
And he's led ably.
He has got a five-year plan to increase the number of analysts and operatives, which is going to help make this country a safer place and help us win the war on terror. He's instilled a sense of professionalism.
He honors the proud history of the CIA, an organization that is known for its secrecy and accountability.
I am confident that his successor will continue the reforms that he's put in place and, as a result, this country will be more secure.
We've got to win the war on terror, and the Central Intelligence Agency is a vital part of that war.
And so I want to thank you for your service.
PORTER GOSS, CIA DIRECTOR: Mr. President, thank you very much.
It has been a very distinct honor and privilege to serve you, of course the people of the country and the employees of the Central Intelligence Agency.
I can tell you the trust and confidence you've placed in me and given me the latitude to work is something I could never have imagined and I am most grateful for it.
I would like to report back to you that I believe the agency is on a very even keel; it's sailing well.
I honestly believe that we have improved dramatically your goals for our nation's intelligence capabilities, which are in fact the things that I think that are keeping us very safe.
And I honestly would report to you, sir, that we are safer for your efforts, your leadership and for the men and women in the community that are working so hard and doing so well.
Thank you for the support, the encouragement and the understanding of how tough the work is and how important it is.
BUSH: God bless.
Thank you.
GOSS: God bless, sir.
BUSH: I appreciate it. Thank you very much.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
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