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Congressman Patrick Kennedy to Seek Treatment For Addiction and Depression; CIA Director Porter Goss Resigns; Court Hearing Wraps Up for Scooter Libby; Second Autopsy Shows Martin Anderson Died Due To Suffocation

Aired May 05, 2006 - 15:00   ET

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

TONY HARRIS, CNN ANCHOR: Bill, let's go back to Dana Bash for just a moment, who, I understand, has even more information -- Dana.
DANA BASH, CNN WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT: Well, not more information, but perhaps a little bit more context about...

HARRIS: Right.

BASH: ... context about the congressman and his past, and just, basically, what he is dealing with and what he has been grappling with, he says, often, his whole life, which is, first of all, an addiction, as I mentioned, to drugs, as he was -- when he was a young man, but also depression.

He has -- is very open about the fact that he has had chronic depression. He has also had health issues. And all of that has meant that he has had to take a series of prescription drugs for various things. The people around him talk about the fact that prescription drugs are a very real thing in his life.

So, he is certainly somebody who has dealt with that before and has dealt with that in the past, and, obviously, is dealing with that at this particular time. So, this is something that perhaps is not unexpected for him.

He's also somebody who has a mother, who, as...

HARRIS: Yes. Yes.

BASH: ... we know -- who is an alcoholic, and has talked about that openly. And that is something that as we know, is a genetic thing.

So, this is something that certainly is surprising, in that he's going to make this announcement. But when you think about even just the...

HARRIS: Sure.

BASH: ... facts of the last 24 hours, perhaps it's not that surprising.

HARRIS: And -- but let's keep in mind, as we put all of this in context -- and, Dana, you can speak to this -- there is still a two- track investigation that is...

BASH: Yes.

HARRIS: ... under way right now.

We don't know whether, ultimately, charges will be filed in this regard. But talk us through the two tracks of this investigation. I know one is of the accident itself. And then the second investigation involves the conduct of the Capital Police after the accident.

BASH: That's right. There are two investigations, as you just mentioned.

One is into what exactly happened in this traffic accident with Patrick Kennedy. That's something that's still ongoing, despite the fact that we have this report, which shows that he got three citations, and that he was let go and driven home by a Capitol Police officer.

At the same time, there is an internal police investigation as to essentially why he was driven home by a Capitol Police officer, why it is that the report says that they thought that he was intoxicated. They thought that he was drunk, and they didn't do a sobriety test on the scene, why it was that the higher-ups, we are told, the lieutenant in charge that night, decided to tell the patrol officers that they should just let him go and that he should just be taken home.

So, that's something that has caused a lot of controversy here. And it certainly is not going to stop that -- those questions, particularly when it comes to the actual investigation and what happened that night. That investigation is going on still -- Tony.

HARRIS: And, Dana, help me here. The sense that I get is that the union representing the Capitol Police is working hard to really professionalize that force, to make it a real functioning police force, and that this notion of higher-ups coming in and basically saying we're going to take it over from here, and then what they see is that the congressman is driven home, is something that they are having a difficult time with internally.

BASH: Yes. There's so many layers to this, in terms of the drama, if you will, of what goes on within the Capitol Hill Police force, and then also the police vis-a-vis, or their interaction in relationship with members of Congress and their staff up here.

But you're right. In general, I mean, we heard from the president of the police union on CNN saying that this was not an incident that should have happened, that he thought that he got preferential treatment, and it was clear that this is something that many of the rank-and-file police officers are not happy with, and it's -- sort of...

HARRIS: Yes.

BASH: ... speaks to, it's illustrative of a bigger problem and perhaps a bigger movement that -- here to change the way things are done.

HARRIS: Yes.

BASH: It has been, traditionally, that this is not unusual, that there's sort of a -- lack -- for lack of a better term, a family up here, where perhaps it shouldn't be that way, when you're talking about members -- law enforcement officials and members of Congress.

They still feel like they have to do their job and they should do it by the book, many of them.

HARRIS: Yes.

Dana, we appreciate that. Thank you.

And we're standing by, as you can see there, for -- I believe I see the photographer snapping away. So, obviously, this is Patrick Kennedy coming to the microphones to offer his statement. Let's listen in.

REP. PATRICK KENNEDY (D), RHODE ISLAND: Good afternoon.

Over my 15 years in public life I've felt a responsibility to speak honestly and openly about the challenges that I have with addiction and depression.

I have been fighting this chronic disease since I was a young man and have aggressively and periodically sought treatment, so that I can live a full and productive life.

I struggle every day with this disease, as do millions of Americans. I have dedicated my public service to raising awareness about the chronic disease of addiction and have fought to increase access to care and recovery supports for the many Americans forced to struggle on their own.

This past Christmas, I realized I needed to seek help again, so I checked myself into the Mayo Clinic for addiction to prescription pain medication. I was there over the holiday and during the House recess, as well, and I returned to the House of Representatives and to Rhode Island reinvigorated and healthy.

Of course, in every recovery, each day has its ups and downs, but I have been strong, focused and productive in my term of office.

But, in all candor, the incident on Wednesday evening concerns me greatly. I simply do not remember getting out of bed, being pulled over by the police, or being cited for three driving infractions.

That's not how I want to live my life, and it's not how I want to represent the people of Rhode Island.

The reoccurrence of an addiction problem can be triggered by things that happen in everyday life, such as taking the common treatment for a stomach flu. That's not an excuse for what happened Wednesday evening, but it is a reality of fighting a chronic condition, for which I'm taking full responsibility.

I am deeply concerned about my reaction to the medication, and my lack of knowledge of the accident that evening. But I do know enough that I know that I need help.

This afternoon, I am traveling to Minnesota to seek treatment at the Mayo Clinic to ensure that I can continue on my road to recovery. The greatest honor in my public life is to serve the people of Rhode Island.

And I'm determined to address this issue, so that I can continue to fight for the families of Rhode Island with the same dedication and rigor that I have exemplified over the past decade.

I hope that my openness today and in the past, and my acknowledgment that I need help, will give others the courage to get help if they need it.

I am blessed to have a loving family, who is in my corner every step of the way. And I'm grateful to my friends, both here and in Rhode Island, for reaching out to me at this time.

And I'd like to call, once again, for passage of mental health parity.

Thank you.

(CROSSTALK)

HARRIS: Well, there you have it, Rhode Island Congressman Patrick Kennedy acknowledging that he has -- he continues to be in a battle, a struggle with addiction and depression, as we have outlined here at CNN, dating back to his teen years, the congressman saying that he checked into the Mayo Clinic at Christmas '05 for treatment.

He also said he doesn't remember any of the events of Thursday morning, when he crashed his Mustang into a security barricade, very near the U.S. Capitol. He says he was taking two prescription drugs that made him disoriented. He said he doesn't remember getting up out of the bed. He doesn't remember anything of those events.

He doesn't remember being cited.

Dana Bash, you listened to the statement, as I did. And you have more on this.

BASH: Hi, Tony.

That's right. I have a statement from Congressman Kennedy's father, Senator Ted Kennedy.

And it reads as follows: "I love Patrick very much, and I am very proud of him. All of us in the family admire his courage in speaking -- in speaking publicly about very personal issues and fully support his decision to seek treatment." It goes on to say, "He has taken full responsibility for events that occurred Wednesday evening and he will continue to cooperate fully in any investigation." Continuing, it says: "I have the rare and special honor of being able to serve with my son in Congress, and I have enormous respect for the work Patrick has done. The people of the 1st District of Rhode Island have a tireless champion for the issues they care about. And, today, I hope they join me in feeling pride and respect for a courageous man who has admitted a -- to a problem and taken full action to correct it" -- that a statement from Senator Ted Kennedy of Massachusetts, Congressman Kennedy's father, who, as you mentioned, obviously serves with him here.

Now, this is something that Senator Kennedy has been, as you would imagine, very involved in. We know that his staff -- and, you know, when these things happen in Kennedy world, if you will, these crises, there's sort of a rhythm to it, unfortunately, for them, when these things happen.

And that certainly has been what is going on over the past 24 hours or so. And what was interesting, in this particular statement from Patrick Kennedy, going back to what we heard from him, is him saying that he simply, as you mentioned, does not remember anything that happened the other night.

And I can tell you, just in trying to gather the facts of this story and exactly what happened, I and my colleagues at CNN trying to talk to the people in and around the congressman, that was abundantly clear, that he didn't remember it, because, as I mentioned several times, we were trying to put the pieces of the puzzle together. Well, so were the people around him, to be able to tell us.

And he wasn't really able to give the information, and now we know why.

HARRIS: Thank you.

Whenever we have issues like this, medical issues, addiction, depression, and -- and whenever we need some medical answers, we bring in Dr. Sanjay Gupta.

And, Sanjay, I trust that you heard some of this statement and were trying to square a couple of things here. What in particular is the drug combination that the congressman says he was taking that led to this disoriented state?

DR. SANJAY GUPTA, CNN SENIOR MEDICAL CORRESPONDENT: Yes, you know, Tony, it's a little confusing, because, yesterday, he was talking specifically about Phenergan, which is an anti-nausea medication.

And he mentioned again during his statement that it was a medication it sounds like he was taking for the stomach flu, which may have caused his nausea, and Ambien, which is a more well-known medication for sleeping, a sleeping pill, essentially.

But then he talked about the fact that there was a concern about addiction to painkillers as well. He didn't mention any specific painkillers in the statement that you and I just both heard. But it sounds like maybe there was painkillers on top of that.

Now, you know, Phenergan is a very sedating medication, in and of itself. Added to Ambien, it can be -- you know, obviously compound the effect. And, then, if there was painkillers on top of that, you know, even a larger concern.

So, again, you know, the painkillers weren't mentioned specifically, but pieces of the puzzle sort of coming together there -- Tony.

HARRIS: It seems that we are -- we're missing -- do you go to the Mayo Clinic for a problem with the drug you mentioned for stomach flu and Ambien?

GUPTA: Yes. I don't think so.

You know, the -- while you certainly can develop some degree of tolerance to those medications, they aren't typically the medications that you think of with regards to outright addiction. Those are medications that are more under the opiate category, painkillers, per se. Obviously, there's other drugs, illegal, illicit drugs that you can develop an addiction to as well.

But there are some particular opiates which can develop, you know, a considerable addiction to. And, you know, it doesn't sound like the Phenergan and the Ambien are the only pieces of the story here.

HARRIS: That's sort of what I'm getting at here. He talked about years-long problem with addiction and depression. And I am wondering if we could ultimately be talking about some kind of a drug cocktail here?

GUPTA: Yes, you know, it's interesting.

And to the extent, as well, that if someone had sort of a borderline addiction, and then suddenly they added (AUDIO GAP) prescription like Phenergan or something like that, and made it that much worse, that could possibly explain it as well.

You know, he says he just doesn't recall anything at all. And I got to tell you, that actually doesn't surprise (AUDIO GAP). That can certainly happen in this sort of situation.

HARRIS: OK. Dr. Sanjay Gupta on the line with us -- Sanjay, as always, great to talk to you. Thank you.

GUPTA: Thank you.

HARRIS: We're going to take a break.

When we come back, we will talk to law enforcement analyst Mike Brooks, who has some -- an interesting take on the investigations that are now under way. Mike worked for a lot of years as an officer in Washington, D.C., and has an intimate knowledge of the workings of the U.S. Capitol Police.

We will take a break -- more LIVE FROM right after this.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

KENNEDY: I am deeply concerned about my reaction to the medication, and my lack of knowledge of the accident that evening. But I do know enough that I know that I need help.

This afternoon, I am traveling...

(END VIDEO CLIP)

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

KENNEDY: But, in all candor, the incident on Wednesday evening concerns me greatly. I simply do not remember getting out of bed, being pulled over by the police, or being cited for three driving infractions.

That's not how I want to live my life, and it's not how I want to represent the people of Rhode Island.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

HARRIS: Patrick Kennedy just a short time ago in a news conference from Washington, D.C., admitting that he is still struggling with his addictions and depression, saying that he checked himself into a rehab center in Christmas -- just over the Christmas holiday, for treatment, and doesn't remember, as you heard there, any of the events, doesn't remember getting out of the bed, the events of Wednesday night, Thursday morning, doesn't remember the accident, doesn't remember being interviewed by Capitol Police, being cited three different times, is checking himself in, again, at the Mayo Clinic in Minnesota for treatment, and wants to get treatment and resume his duties as representative of Rhode Island.

And our senior political analyst, Bill Schneider, is with us now.

And, Bill, we're covering this story to the extent we are for a number of reasons. But, my goodness, your first reaction is, here's another Kennedy having a problem, a car accident and -- and reports of a continued struggle with addiction and depression.

And give us sort of the -- the larger picture on the Kennedy family, its -- its service to the country, obviously, but also its rocky history.

WILLIAM SCHNEIDER, CNN SENIOR POLITICAL ANALYST: Well, it's called the Kennedy curse...

HARRIS: Yes.

SCHNEIDER: ... in popular parlance. And it goes back very far, to his father and uncles.

His -- one of his uncles was killed in a plane crash during World War II. Two of his uncles were tragically murdered. His father had the Chappaquiddick incident, where a young woman was killed, the rape trial of his cousin, his cousin JFK Jr. and his wife dying in that plane crash on the way to a wedding on Martha's Vineyard, his mother's struggle with alcoholism, Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis's untimely and tragic death from cancer.

Again and again and again, this family has been visited by tragic events, sometimes bad behavior, often terrible tragedies that have been visited upon this family.

The voters of New England, at least, have generally been forgiving. His father has been returned many times since I think -- he was first elected in, what, 1962 to Congress. He has been reelected many times.

And he just said, as he walked off the platform, Congressman Kennedy said: I need to stay in this fight.

He talked about the openness in acknowledging that he needs help and going to seek rehabilitation. In fact, the Associated Press quotes a speech he gave in February to a mental health care advocacy group, where he said: "I'm in recovery for depression, for alcoholism, for substance abuse. We need people to say that, "the congressman said, "without any sense of shame. The more people talk about it, the less sting it has for people."

HARRIS: Bill, is this the kind of thing -- you know the answer to this better than -- than -- than most, is this the kind of thing, this kind of admission, that the public responds to and is -- is willing to at least give him some rope to get his life back together?

SCHNEIDER: Well, there may be a difference between his constituents...

HARRIS: Yes.

SCHNEIDER: ... the people of New England, who know the Kennedy family well, who have shown a long tendency to be forgiving.

The question is going to be -- and this is going to be a debate -- was this bad behavior or was this...

HARRIS: Yes.

SCHNEIDER: ... tragic misfortune?

Addiction, depression, painkillers, the possibility that there was alcohol involved, the debate over to what extent these are moral issues or simply diseases, as he described them, that's going to be a matter of some debate.

HARRIS: Yes. And that's a separate debate from a lot of the law enforcement implications of this. SCHNEIDER: Yes.

HARRIS: Bill Schneider, we appreciate it. Thank you.

And to talk about those law enforcement implications, let's bring in Mike Brooks, who is a law enforcement analyst for us.

And, Mike, I think part of -- we understand that there are two tracks of this investigation going on right now. There is, first of all, what happened that night, in terms of the accident. And there is also the response, the internal investigation, of the behavior of the Capitol Police.

How are these -- how are these investigations likely to divert from one another? And how are they likely to intersect?

MIKE BROOKS, CNN LAW ENFORCEMENT ANALYST: Well, the officers who were first there on the scene said that they -- he was staggering. They thought they smelled alcohol. I mean, he almost hit a car head on...

HARRIS: Yes.

BROOKS: ... a U.S. Capitol Police officer head on, Tony.

So, they are going to look at the accident investigation. And, then, they are also going to have an internal affairs investigation to see whether or not this was handled properly and whether or not that Representative Kennedy was given preferential treatment.

You know, it is sad that he has to go through this. And I hope gets the help he really needs. But whether it's Representative Kennedy, any other senator, congressman or staff member on Capitol Hill, he did receive preferential treatment.

If it were you and I, we would have been taken away from that scene in handcuffs.

HARRIS: That's interesting.

One of the things you say to us is that this is a police force, how many members strong, Mike?

BROOKS: There are about 1,500 members, an excellent police department, Tony.

I retired from the Metropolitan Police Department in D.C., which is the -- the main...

HARRIS: Yes.

BROOKS: ... police department for the city, and worked quite a bit with Capitol Police.

In fact, after I retired, I was a senior instructor at the Federal Law Enforcement Training Center. That's where all the Capitol Police officers go through their initial training. And I can tell you, they are a professional law enforcement agency. They are not a baby-sitting service.

HARRIS: Yes.

BROOKS: They want to do their job.

And, as we have heard from Lou Cannon, president of the FOP, which is the labor union, if you will, for the Capitol Police, represent them, you know, they're -- the officers who initially stopped him, they are worried about their reputation as not being a professional law enforcement officer.

HARRIS: OK.

BROOKS: Law enforcement agency.

HARRIS: Let me stop you there. Let me -- let me stop you there. And let's put a really fine point on this, because what you're saying is, is that there was the way the Capitol Police used to operate, and now this new sense that, particularly post-9/11, that this needs to be a professional police force, not a taxi service, not guards.

BROOKS: That's exactly right. That's right.

You know, they -- in fact, some congressmen and senators, they still call them the Capitol Hill guards. But they're not. They're police officers. They have a job to do. They're extremely well- trained. It's an accredited agency.

In fact, the former chief of police there, Terrance Gainer, was trying to professionalize his department even more. He recently resigned. And that's a whole 'nother story for another time.

HARRIS: Yes.

BROOKS: But he resigned. There's an acting chief of police right now, Bill McGaffin. He is the one who is going to have to take the bulls by the horns.

Tony, we have to keep politics out of law enforcement. But, on Capitol Hill, it's a whole different story. There's a police board, a four-member police board, that governs the U.S. Capitol Police. It's made up of the sergeant at arms of the House, the sergeant of arms of the Senate, the architect of the Capitol, which I never understood that.

HARRIS: Yes.

BROOKS: What does an architect know about law enforcement?

HARRIS: OK.

BROOKS: And the chief of police.

But all policies have to go through this board and have to be approved by this board and their staff, before they can be implemented for the U.S. Capitol Police department. And, again, they are a police department, not a baby-sitting service, and not a taxicab service.

HARRIS: OK.

So, there are policies in place to handle this kind of an event, correct? So, here's...

BROOKS: There are written -- there are written policies, Tony. But, then, there's also...

HARRIS: There you go. That's where I'm going.

BROOKS: ... other policies that kind of -- things that were done, you know, kind of wink -- with a wink and nod, and things were done in the old days. I mean, I have seen Capitol Police officers back over the years, when I was on MPD, Metropolitan Police, where they actually would bring the representatives' cars around, like a valet service, you know?

HARRIS: Yes.

BROOKS: And that -- there's no place for that.

They -- we are living a -- in a post-9/11 world now, Tony. They are an excellent police department. They have a CERT teams. And this is one of the top SWAT teams in the country. They are up there to do a job.

The young officers who are -- go through initial eight weeks of training at FLETC, another 10 weeks with Capitol Police, 18 weeks of training.

HARRIS: Yes.

BROOKS: They want to do their job. And the police board ought to let them do that job.

HARRIS: And police board, it sounds like some supervisors.

Mike Brooks, good to talk to you, as always. Appreciate it.

BROOKS: Tony, good to see you. Thanks.

HARRIS: Let's go back to Capitol Hill now and Dana Bash, who is standing by for us.

And, once again, Dana, you have a statement from Senator Ted Kennedy.

BASH: I do. I can pull that up on my BlackBerry and read that to you in one second. I didn't know we were going to do that.

HARRIS: Oh, I'm sorry. I'm sorry.

BASH: But I can do that. HARRIS: I was given information that that's what you wanted to do.

BASH: OK.

HARRIS: But if you have other information...

BASH: Well, I will tell you -- I will tell you, in general, that Senator Ted Kennedy did release a statement, really, simultaneously with the congressman's press conference, essentially saying, giving his support and love for the congressman, and telling the people of the 1st District of Rhode Island that they still have a champion for their causes.

But one interesting thing to note, it's probably pretty obvious. That is that the congressman obviously came into a room, a press conference, and he didn't answer any questions. And that is something that is something to remember, because there are still a lot of unanswered questions on what happened that night specifically, questions, as you just heard from Mike, about law enforcement.

Why did the law enforcement act the way they did? Why did they actually take the congressman home? The congressman said yesterday that he didn't receive preferential treatment. He didn't ask to be taken home. But he also said today that he doesn't remember a lot of what happened, and he doesn't have a lot of details sort of in his memory from that night.

So, there are a lot of questions there, and still the discrepancy between what we saw in the police report, saying that they did think that he was under the influence of alcohol, and the congressman saying that he was not, that he was on this pain medication, combined with -- with the Ambien, the sleep medication, and the fact that no sobriety test was taken. So, we don't really know which one is accurate.

So, those are just some of the unanswered questions still from the incident that propelled this announcement that we just heard from the congressman, that this is sort of the last straw for him, and that he realized that he has to go to rehab.

But, still, in terms of the actual incident, no, we're still going to be asking law enforcement and members of -- of the congressman's staff for information about that.

HARRIS: Yes.

Dana Bash for us -- Dana, we appreciate it and appreciate you following this for us.

BASH: OK.

HARRIS: The other top story that we're following, obviously, is the resignation of CIA Director Porter Goss. We understand that there is a statement shortly from the CIA regarding the resignation of its director, Porter Goss.

Our justice correspondent, Kelli Arena, will have that for us on the other side of the break.

You're watching LIVE FROM.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

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 has spent a lot of time here in the Oval Office. And he has told me -- he has given me his candid advice. I appreciate his integrity. I appreciate the honor in which -- that he brought to the job.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

HARRIS: Well, once again, the news that Porter Goss, director of the CIA, is stepping down from that post. A long and distinguished career, certainly. Former congressman from Florida confirmed by the U.S. Senate to be the new CIA director by a vote of 77-17. That was in September of '04.

Some of the other career highlights. A member of a select committee on Homeland Security and vice chairman of the committee on rules. 1997 chairman of the House Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence and a member since 1995. Just some of the fast facts here. Porter Goss authorized intelligence committee report criticizing the CIA. And as you know, that report was highly critical of the CIA.

So what from the CIA at this hour on the news that its director is stepping down? Our justice correspondent Kelli Arena is standing by with that.

Hi, Kelli.

KELLI ARENA, CNN JUSTICE CORRESPONDENT: Hey there, Tony. I just got a statement actually from Porter Goss. And the headline here, it doesn't tell us anything why he is resigning. I can tell you that within the community, this was very unexpected. So a lot of shocked people out there. He's only -- you know, he hasn't even been on the job for two years.

But part of his statement, he -- you know, he says that he informed the president. He says that -- he cites some of his accomplishments, such as recruiting a record number of new employees, giving them better training, increasing analytic capabilities. He also says that over the next few weeks, he will be around to ensure a smooth and professional transition.

Now, under the Intelligence Reform Act of 2004, Tony, the director of national intelligence, John Negroponte, is the person who will recommend a new CIA director to the president. And I just got, hot off the presses, a statement from John Negroponte on the issue. And this doesn't tell us much of anything, either. He just says, "As my friend for almost 50 years, I will miss Porter's day-to-day counsel. I salute his service to our country. I want to thank him for his outstanding work."

But, again, no reason given for the resignation. And, unfortunately, Tony, you know when Washington works. You know, when there's an information vacuum, there's certainly a lot of rumor to fill up the space.

HARRIS: And that's actually what we're doing. And I'm going to ask you to help me fill some space here.

ARENA: Oh, no you're not! Get out of here. I'm not going there.

HARRIS: Are you -- well, let me put it this way. Are you getting any indication from the people you talked to as to why -- what the real -- we're all the question why.

ARENA: No. No. I mean, you know, when we're talking about the real reason?

HARRIS: Yes.

ARENA: No. No. That nobody seems to know. There's a lot of -- you know, there's a lot on the blogosphere out there. There's a lot of speculation and rumor about what could be. But in terms of any real facts, like something that I would come on the air and say to you, no.

HARRIS: OK, Kelli, appreciate it. Thank you.

Let's bring in David Ensor now, our national security correspondent. And David, good to talk to you.

One of the things we're trying to get a handle on for viewers is kind of the relationship between the CIA, the Pentagon and also this Office of National Intelligence. Was the CIA director actually briefing the Pentagon, as we know that job was conducted in years past?

DAVID ENSOR, CNN NATIONAL SECURITY CORRESPONDENT: Well, sure, at times, absolutely. But primarily, the CIA director reports through John Negroponte, the director of national intelligence, to the president. And he was in the Oval Office a lot, as the president said.

Just a couple of things on what's been discussed so far, Tony. First of all, it is no surprise to me and I don't think it will be a surprise to many people in the intelligence community that Goss is leaving. That he's leaving right now, this day, that is a surprise. But it's been widely expected he would be out by around September of this year. There is unhappiness, both in the president's foreign intelligence advisory board, which has been calling in senior CIA people and grilling them. And I know some unhappiness in the director of national intelligence office staff that the CIA under Goss, in their view, has not been changing quickly enough to adapt to the new intelligence set-up with the DNI's office over the top of the CIA.

The feeling was that the CIA was not adjusting well to being -- to its new role as a service organization for the director of national intelligence. After all, the CIA is used to being the top dog in the intelligence community and it no longer is. So there's a feeling that wasn't going well.

There was also a residue of ill will within the intelligence community towards Goss or at least toward Goss' staff that came with him from the Hill. Because immediately after he arrived, a number of top people were fired and his chief of staff Pat Murray was involved in the process. And there was a feeling, fair or unfair, among many in the intelligence community that was handled in a very political way, that some very good people were fired and should not have been. So there's been bad blood ever since the Goss regime started, to be frank.

HARRIS: Wow. And that helps us understand the point that I've been trying to get at since we learned this announcement. You can be put in ostensibly to do one job and maybe there is a pecking order of priorities here. But clearly, it was no secret that one of the things Porter Goss was charged with was sort of plugging the leaks.

And then the second question was, had he done an effective enough job of moving the agency forward? And you seem to be suggesting that there is at least a lot of conversation out there that he was not moving the agency forward as quickly as others would like to have seen it moved forward.

ENSOR: In fairness to Mr. Goss, who is a smart and very likable person, cares a lot about intelligence, I've talked to a number of people who said, you know, he really put his heart into rebuilding, or building to a greater extent, the human intelligence gathering capability of the United States. He's done a lot of work on that. There's been some real progress under his tutelage.

But there are these criticisms, both within the agency and people sort of over the top of him, the president's foreign intelligence advisory board and the DNI's office. I've talked to people associated with both, and I gather that they were not happy. They felt things were not going as quickly or as well as they should be -- Tony.

HARRIS: OK. David Ensor, we appreciate that.

Boy, still so much to learn about this. Once again, let's sort of recap this story as best we can for you right now. The director of the CIA, Porter Goss, offered his resignation to the president today and the president accepted. This is the Oval Office get-together between Porter Goss, the president, and members of the press to announce that resignation. And at that time, the president thanked him for his work, Porter Goss for his work, in increasing the number of analysts, of operators, trying to make -- to transform the agency. Porter Goss thanking the president for the opportunity to serve.

But as to the specific reason as to why Porter Goss is stepping down, that is still a bit of an unanswered question as to why now, as David Ensor alluded to just a moment ago.

We'll take a break and we'll come back with more on our top stories. You're watching LIVE FROM.

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KENNEDY: I am deeply concerned about my reaction to the medication, and my lack of knowledge of the accident that evening. But I do know enough that I know that I need help. This afternoon, I'm traveling to Minnesota to seek treatment at the Mayo Clinic to ensure that I can continue on my road to recovery.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

HARRIS: Patrick Kennedy doesn't remember much about that accident Wednesday night-Thursday morning where he slammed his Mustang into a security barricade very near the U.S. Capitol. He says he was taking two prescription drugs that made him disoriented.

He admitted in a news conference at the top of the hour, if you were with us, that he continues to struggle with addiction and depression. He checked himself into the Mayo Clinic in Minnesota Christmas of '05 for treatment. Doesn't remember anything, as he mentioned, about that incident the other night.

Capitol Police certainly clearly thought that he might have been drunk, clearly suspected alcohol but they did not do a sobriety check, and didn't make an arrest at the time. They cited him three times.

Patrick Kennedy is checking himself back into the Mayo Clinic in Minnesota, and he wants to get treatment and resume his duties as a Congressman for Rhode Island. We will continue to follow the latest developments and have more on this story certainly at the top of the hour when we join Wolf Blitzer in "THE SITUATION ROOM."

But let's get the latest now on the Martin Anderson case out of Florida. Carol Lin is following developments there for us. Hi, Carol.

CAROL LIN, CNN ANCHOR: Tony, you remember the 14-year-old boy -- we saw the videotape of these guards at a boot camp, a juvenile boot camp in Panama City, Florida. There is the young man who was at this boot camp and he died. And there were questions about, well, why did he die?

Then this videotape came out where the attorney general and the rest of the public saw an interaction there as the guards pushed him to the ground. All right. So there was an autopsy report and now we my may have some more conclusive evidence of what happened to that young boy.

John Zarrella is standing by in Miami right now. So yet another autopsy was done, John. What did they find?

JOHN ZARRELLA, CNN CORRESPONDENT: That's right, Carol. Let me set this framework a little bit. You go back to January when he died at that boot camp, and the first autopsy done by the Bay County medical examiner came out on Martin Anderson and that medical examiner's report said that Martin Anderson died of sickle cell trait.

That set off a firestorm of controversy with experts on sickle cell disease saying there's no way that could have happened, the family absolutely outraged by that finding. Governor Jeb Bush then appointed a special prosecutor who, in turn, asked for a second autopsy by a different medical examiner, this one, the medical examiner in Hillsborough County.

That was conducted back in March. And now the findings -- and the findings from this second autopsy are -- and I am going to read what the medical examiner said today in his statement from Vernard Adams, the medical examine, chief medical examiner in Hillsborough County.

He said number one, "Martin Anderson had sickle cell trait." Number two, "the repeated blows to Martin Anderson's limbs and the gripping of his limbs left several bruises but did not contribute to his death. In other words, he was not beaten to death."

Number three, "Martin Anderson's death was caused by suffocation due to actions of the guards at the boot camp. The suffocation was caused by manual occlusion of the mouth, in concert with forced inhalation of ammonia fumes that caused spasms of the vocal cords resulting in internal blockage of the upper airways."

In other words, the guards put the hands over his mouth in order to force him to breathe through his nose and to breathe the ammonia. Through their attorneys, the guards -- at least one of them -- has said that they thought that Anderson was faking that he was having problems, so they did this.

Now, the governor issued a statement late this afternoon just a few minutes ago, in fact. Governor Jeb Bush said, "I am disturbed by Dr. Adams' findings and consider the actions of the Bay County boot camp guards deplorable." That's quoting from the governor's statement.

Now, we must point out no charges have been filed in this case against any of the guards involved and, in fact, the special prosecutor is continuing his investigation. And, Carol, we do not know how long that's going to go on or how long it's going to take to wrap up his report, and whether, at that point, charges will be filed against any of the guards or the nurse who was present during Martin Anderson's first day at that boot camp when he died -- Carol. LIN: Well, and we're going to be hearing from the Anderson family, right, this afternoon, shortly?

ZARRELLA: That's right, 5:45 this afternoon, I believe, in Tallahassee.

LIN: All right. You have got the time, 5:45.

All right. So, you know, what is interesting about this, I mean, the medical examiner did specifically say suffocation due to the action of the guards at that boot camp. I mean, very specific, at least there. Is there a civil suit in this case? Are those guards still employed by that boot camp?

ZARRELLA: No, they are not. In fact, the boot camp has been closed. And, in fact, that boot camp employees, those guards, were not rehired by the county, by the state of Florida, any of those guards. They are not part of the payroll in the county or of the state. So -- and, again, that boot camp has been closed down.

As to civil suits, it really all depends on where this all goes now with what ultimately happens with charges. I don't know that anything is off the table yet. And, again, I'm not -- you know, I'm not an attorney but we also know that there's a Department of Justice investigation going on into whether Martin Anderson's civil rights were violated.

So lots of things are still on the table, Carol. I don't think, at this point, we can rule out civil, criminal, or anything until the special prosecutor comes back with his ultimate decision and the results of the Department of Justice investigation -- Carol.

LIN: If I was a lawyer, I sure would want that statement by the governor's office, because that is certainly something, an indication ...

ZARRELLA: Very powerful.

LIN: ... of things to come. John, thank you so much -- Tony.

HARRIS: And John, thank you both.

A court hearing, we're just understanding, has just ended for Lewis Scooter Libby, the indicted former chief of staff to Vice President Dick Cheney. There you see pictures there of Lewis Scooter Libby. Special prosecutor Patrick Fitzgerald you will see walking out of the U.S. District Courthouse building here in new video in just a moment. There you see him, special prosecutor Patrick Fitzgerald.

The latest hearing, we understand, before U.S. district judge Reggie Walton was to discuss what pieces of evidence the government plans to use in trying to prove its case against Libby who, as you know, resigned last October when a grand jury charged him with lying to the grand jury and to investigators in connection to the CIA leak investigation, basically obstructing the investigation into who leaked the name of former CIA operative Valerie Plame. Those pictures just in to CNN.

More on this story with John King on the other side of the break. You're watching LIVE FROM on CNN.

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HARRIS: As we just mentioned, a court hearing has just wrapped up for Lewis Scooter Libby. He is the indicted former chief of staff to Vice President Dick Cheney.

Our senior national correspondent John King is outside the courthouse in Washington, D.C. And, John, what happened in court today?

JOHN KING, SENIOR NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Tony, a lot of complicated legal back and forth. I'd leave you spinning if I tried to go through it all. But let me give you some of the quick headlines. Number one, the Scooter Libby defense team did say, without any doubt, that when this case comes to trial in January, they plan on calling Karl Rove as one of the defense witnesses. He, of course, is the president's top political adviser, the deputy White House chief of staff and a man who himself still remains the subject of some scrutiny by the grand jury looking into this whole CIA leak investigation.

A few other quick points. The Scooter Libby defense also says it plans to call at least five witnesses. And it says these five witnesses will say they were told by Ambassador Joe Wilson that his wife worked at the CIA. They're trying to make the case that when her name was leaked, if her name was leaked, that it was no big secret, as the government says, that she was a covert, classified CIA operative. The defense trying to make the case that if Joe Wilson was discussing this casually, why should somebody be on trial in federal court for allegedly being involved, at least tangentially, in the leaking of her name?

They're also saying today the judge is being very carefully here. He denied a broad defense request for every government document about Ambassador Wilson's trip to Africa. And those who are following the case closely will understand this all started when Ambassador Wilson came back from Africa and essentially challenged the Bush administration's case for war, including its assertion that Saddam Hussein was trying to buy nuclear materials in Niger and other African countries to reconstitute his nuclear program.

Well, the Scooter Libby defense wanted those documents because it says it will present in its defense the case that Mr. Wilson is, quote, "a habitual liar." It also says it will challenge the testimony to the grand jury of Marc Grossman. He's a former undersecretary of state, a former very high-ranking official at the State Department.

He is the one the government says told Scooter Libby that Valerie Plame was -- worked at the CIA and that she was the wife of Ambassador Joe Wilson. Scooter Libby's defense team saying today that it believes Mr. Grossman has a bias against Mr. Libby and in favor of Mr. Wilson, saying he -- those two, Grossman and Wilson, have a relationship going back to college.

So we're beginning to see, Tony -- and I understand that Mr. Libby is leaving the courthouse. If not through this entrance, it must be one of the other entrances. I'm being talked to in my ear, Tony, I'm sorry. I'm going to stay with you and try to ignore what I'm being told in my ear for the moment and try to explain this very complicated...

HARRIS: Sure.

KING: ... case.

HARRIS: Sure, sure, I'm with you there.

KING: What we are seeing is both sides laying out -- both sides are essentially laying out what they plan to do in the trial. The judge is trying to resolve the fight between the defense and prosecution over documents, much of it classified materials. He wants to get all that resolved in the spring and summer so there are no open fights in front of the jury when the trial comes in January.

One thing the judge and the prosecution making clear, they say they do not want to have a trial about why we went to war in Iraq. They want to have a trial as to whether Scooter Libby lied to the grand jury and tried to obstruct this investigation.

HARRIS: And John, part of what I believe our producers are trying to tell you -- and I can set it for everyone -- they're looking at pictures of Scooter Libby inside the courthouse right now. But as we get back to what happened in court today, this is not a question -- correct me if I'm wrong here -- this is not a question of whether or not it was widely known that Joe Wilson's wife was a CIA operative. This was, did you stand in the way of ascertaining who released that information to reporters? Is that at the crux of this?

KING: Well, it is at the crux of it. But the big question is, where will the judge allow this trial to go?

HARRIS: Yes.

KING: What the defense is saying is that the prosecution wants to say that Joe Wilson came back, he criticized the president, he said the president essentially was lying about his case for war. And what the prosecution is trying to say, if you believe the defense, is that because of that, the White House then developed this strategy to discredit, to blame, to punish Ambassador Wilson, including outing and destroying the career of his wife. What the Libby defense team says no, that Ambassador Wilson said a number of things that simply were not true.

HARRIS: I see.

KING: And they are rebutting factually Ambassador Wilson. And that as part of that tangentially, but a very minor point, there ended up being conversations about his wife because it is Scooter Libby's position that Ambassador Wilson came back and said the vice president sent him to Africa. Well, even the prosecution concedes that is simply not true. And Scooter Libby says he was told it was the CIA that sent him, perhaps his wife was involved. It gets very complicated.

But the key question for the judge is how -- what -- how broad of the testimony do you allow? Do you allow a big debate about Joe Wilson, what he did or didn't find in Africa? The whole political debate about why we went to war?

Or do you keep this very narrowly focused on when did Scooter Libby learn she worked at the CIA? What exactly did he tell reporters? And did he lie to the grand jury? The defense says it needs to paint the much bigger picture to get to motive. The prosecution wants to keep it very narrowly focused.

HARRIS: Very good, very good. Senior national correspondent John King for us. John, we appreciate it.

And before we go to break, obviously, you're looking at live pictures now of Lewis Scooter Libby leaving the courthouse with his attorney and a horde of media chasing him down the street.

We're going to take a break. Obviously, much more on this story, the Scooter Libby story, in "THE SITUATION ROOM" with Wolf Blitzer at the top of the hour. But first, a break. You're watching LIVE FROM.

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HARRIS: Boy take a look at this. You know, because it's been so busy around here today with so many events going on in Washington D.C. -- obviously the story with Congressman Patrick Kennedy, the developments with CIA Director Porter Goss resigning, Scooter Libby within the last couple of minutes, we haven't had an opportunity to talk to Ali Velshi at all.

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