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Moussaoui Asks for Guilty Plea to be Withdrawn; Brush Fires Wreak Havoc in Florida

Aired May 08, 2006 - 15:30   ET

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

KYRA PHILLIPS, CNN ANCHOR: You've seen the live pictures. We continue to follow these brush fires via one of our affiliates, WFLA out of Florida. This is Hillsborough County, Florida.
PIO Ray Yeakley on the line with us right now at the Hillsborough County Fire Department. Can you put this in the perspective for us, Ray? I know this is not far from Tampa, Florida, but where are these brush fires exactly? And are they threatening homes at this point?

RAY YEAKLEY, PUBLIC INFORMATION OFFICER (on phone): Fortunately right now it's not. It's in a very rural area, it's south and east of the Tampa -- the city of Tampa and it's very rural.

No homes are being threatened right now. Our only concern is like everything else, it's so dry out here. Once the fire actually burns to the interstate, it was able to jump the interstate and start some fires on the opposite side. We have a large amount of resources out here to try to control this and hopefully in due time, we'll be able to do that.

PHILLIPS: Have you had to call for any evacuations yet?

YEAKLEY: We did a reverse 911, which actually is a notification of residents in this area to let them know what is going on, just to make them aware and to make plans in case they need to evacuate immediately.

PHILLIPS: So right now you do have enough fire-fighting capabilities to keep this in check, to prevent it from getting close to any homes or any businesses. You feel like you've got it under control?

YEAKLEY: Well I'm not going to say it's under control. But what I will say is that in a rural area like this, it doesn't hurt it to allow it to burn. And that's what we're doing. As long as it doesn't affect any businesses or residents, we're going to allow it to burn and just control the perimeter. The only real impact of the community here is going to be that we have a portion of -- a very small portion of Interstate 75 both southbound and northbound shut down.

PHILLIPS: All right, and I'm looking actually at the live picture right now. It looks like it's been -- well, you can't obviously see any backed up traffic from this perspective. But where you shut down I-75, are you recommending that travelers take a different route? Can you say exactly where or what part of I-75 is shut down from where to where? YEAKLEY: There's an area -- again this is the southern Hillsborough County, and it's between the streets of Big Bend Road (ph), which is on the south and Gibsonton Drive, which is on the north. And if crews -- personnel want to take alternate routes, there is 301 which is east of 75. And there's U.S. 41, which is west of 75. Those are your only two north and south alternate routes.

PHILLIPS: Got it. Ray Yeakley, PIO with the Hillsborough County fire department. We're following these live pictures, via a number of our affiliates in Florida. Ray mentioned part of I-75 in that various stretch shut down because of these brush fires -- that he says they do have enough forces to try and keep this somewhat contained. Trying to get it under control and let it burn out. We'll continue to follow the live pictures and this story out of Florida.

Another story that's developing right now, we want to bring in Justice correspondent Kelli Arena. Another development in the Zacarias Moussaoui case. Just when we thought it was wrapping up, the drama continues, Kelli.

KELLI ARENA, CNN JUSTICE CORRESPONDENT: Oh, man, Kyra. OK, you remember because I know I'm not crazy -- the day that Moussaoui got up on the stand and said, "I was supposed to fly a fifth plane into the White House. Richard Reid, the shoe bomber, was supposed to be part of my team." You remember that?

PHILLIPS: Absolutely.

ARENA: Well, now he says, "Fooled you. I lied. I didn't mean to say that." He wants to withdraw his guilty plea. I'm looking at his affidavit, we just got it. He says, first of all he wanted a Muslim attorney, never got one.

He says solitary confinement made him hostile toward everyone and he began taking extreme positions to fight the system. He says at the time that he entered his guilty plea, his understanding of the American legal system was completely flawed. He says that he decided to testify that he was supposed to be part of the 9/11 plot even though he knew that was a complete fabrication.

He says he never met Mohammed Atta, that was the 9/11 ringleader. And while he had seen a few of the other hijackers at guest houses -- al Qaeda guest houses, he never knew any of them or anything about their operation. He says he was in the United States as a member of al Qaeda, but he was involved in a separate operation, which is what he said in the first place, if you remember. Not to be part of the actual September 11th plot.

And he says because now he sees that it is possible for him to get a fair trial, that even though the jury may have been emotionally impacted and even though the American justice system was seeking to put him to death, he could get a fair trial. And so now he wants to start all over again. He says he wants to withdraw the guilty plea, start all over again, enter the affidavit today.

PHILLIPS: All right. You talked to his lawyers. How are they reacting? What did they say? Are they pulling their hair out?

ARENA: I spoke for two seconds. This team -- Judge Brinkema, the judge who oversaw this case for the last four and a half years said to them that they needed to deal with whatever initial appeal that he wanted to make. And so they did.

But then she told them after this, you are off the hook. And they are happy to be off the hook. You know, whether he finds his Muslim attorney, whether this is actually even accepted. You know they think it's crazy.

Anybody looking at this would think it was crazy. I doubt very much this will go anywhere legally, but you know, leave it to Moussaoui to try.

PHILLIPS: Kelli, stay with us. Jeff Toobin on the phone, our legal analyst. Jeff, you've been hearing everything that Kelli has been bringing to us. He wants to withdraw his guilty plea. Is this ever going to end?

JEFFREY TOOBIN, CNN SENIOR LEGAL ANALYST (on phone): You know what? He's got nothing but time, because he's going exactly nowhere for the rest of his life. So I assume he will file papers and complaints and affidavits from now until forever. But the point is this has absolutely no chance of succeeding. This is frivolous. It sounds crazy because it is crazy. It's going nowhere.

PHILLIPS: So basically, a waste of time and money but it's got to still keep going in this direction, because this is his legal right.

TOOBIN: Our prisons are full of prisoners who keep filing things year after year trying to challenge their convictions. They can submit the papers to court. You can't stop someone from submitting something.

But no one should be under the impression that this is going to lead to a new trial or the withdrawal of his guilty plea. Remember, this is not only a guy who pled guilty, he then got the lesser of the two sentences he was eligible for. He won, as he pointed out in court. So the idea that he can now challenge it is either doubly or triply absurd. I can't keep track of how many absurds it is, but it's more than one.

PHILLIPS: Yep, and we've all had to follow the absurdity, no doubt. Kelli, so is he asking for anything specific? I mean, you were saying that he was naming the fact that he didn't get a Muslim attorney.

ARENA: Right. I mean, what he's saying is that he wants -- he's filed a motion to withdraw his guilty plea. And that is something that will be dealt with within the system. And as Jeff said, it's not going to go anywhere, but he did it.

And his lawyers did have an obligation according to Judge Brinkema's orders, to file whatever it was that he wanted to file right out of the gate. So they did that. And now they are off the hook. So whether or not he finds his Muslim attorney to represent him, whether he wants to represent himself. He can knock himself out, as far as they are concerned.

By the way, Kyra, he has not been transferred yet to the super maximum-security prison in Colorado. He is still in Virginia awaiting that transport. So he is doing this from there.

PHILLIPS: All right. Kelli Arena, Jeff Toobin, thanks guys. We're going to take a quick break. More LIVE FROM next.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

PHILLIPS: Well, when Warren Buffett speaks people listen. And he drew big crowds this weekend to hear the latest wisdom from the oracle of Omaha.

Susan Lisovicz live from the New York Stock Exchange with all those details.

Hey Susan.

SUSAN LISOVICZ, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Hey Kyra.

It's an annual pilgrimage when you're the second richest man of the world, when you far outperform the major indexes, and when you speak in a folksy charming manner, yes, people listen.

Warren Buffett has a problem that most of us would love to have, nearly $40 billion of cash burning a hole in his pocket. That's a problem because interest rates are low. So the idle capital doesn't earn much. And Buffett thinks the value of the U.S. dollar will continue to decline for years to come, so that cash could be worth less every year.

So Buffett's M.O. in the meantime is to buy small publicly traded companies, but Buffett's company, Berkshire Hathaway, has a market capitalization of about $130 billion. So finding stocks both cheap enough and big enough to make a difference in Berkshire's bottom line has become more difficult. And that was one of the big discussions this weekend, as his loyal shareholders made the pilgrimage out to Omaha -- Kyra.

PHILLIPS: So where is he investing the money?

LISOVICZ: Well, he's looking overseas, Kyra. He says that companies in Europe and Japan have the most to offer right now. And he has already started by buying this private company in Israel. It's a toolmaking company, which is all the talk of Israel now. It's not very glamorous, but it's the type of investment that Buffett likes to make, value driven with good growth potential.

Berkshire Hathaway also made a point of reassuring investors, who might be worried about the fact that Warren Buffett is now 75 years old. The company says he does not plan to step down any time soon, and they are confident that there is a long-term plan for his investment company. Twenty-four thousand people,by the way, trekked out to Nebraska over the weekend to hear him speak -- Kyra.

PHILLIPS: All right. So how is the Berkshire Hathaway stock doing?

LISOVICZ: Well, it's doing very well, Kyra. It's up $590 a share -- just under -- let me see, it is $89,300 a share. It is by far the most expensive stock in the market because Warren Buffett doesn't believe in splitting shares, which would make them more accessible. He wants a more quality shareholder. He doesn't want all the volatility. He doesn't do buybacks either.

Overall stocks are not quite doing that well. The Dow Industrial is up six points. The level is interesting, 11,584. If it closes at that level or above that level or at that level, it would be the second highest close ever for the blue chips. Of course not that far from the all-time close either at this point, 11,723 is the all-time high.

Nasdaq is up two points, and we'll talk to you a little bit later about the close. Back to you in the meantime -- Kyra.

PHILLIPS: Thanks. Good, Susan, thanks.

All right. When we come back, smoke, flames and backed up traffic on one of Florida's busiest interstates. We'll tell about it, where exactly those brush fires are hitting. Live pictures from our affiliate WFLA. The news keeps coming. We'll keep bringing it to you. More LIVE FROM next.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

PHILLIPS: Sunshine, a brisk breeze and low humidity, it's postcard weather in Florida, unless you're trying to fight a brush fire. It is the worst possible weather for that. A section of I-75 -- you can see here -- just south of Tampa is shut down because of the flames. Heavy smoke also forces shut down of I-95 between Daytona Beach and Cape Canaveral.

One thousand homes have been evacuated in that area. At least one is destroyed. The fires have scorched about 8,000 acres since Friday.

(WEATHER REPORT)

PHILLIPS: Well, straight ahead -- I am really serious about this -- he's drunk, he's driving and he is on a lawn mower. You don't want to miss this.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

WOLF BLITZER, CNN ANCHOR: And officials say that friendly fire casualties appear lower for Korea and Vietnam only because reporting standards were much looser. In fact, say officials, friendly fire casualties in those wars were much higher. Wolf Blitzer, CNN, the Pentagon.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

PHILLIPS: I don't know. I kind of like the bouffant 'do, Wolf. It's looking pretty stylin' there.

BLITZER: You like the hair color?

PHILLIPS: I like the hair color, too. You know -- such -- and what happened to the glasses? Are the glasses for looks now? Is that to give you a more distinguished, you know -- your glasses...

BLITZER: I think I could see better in those days. Didn't need them.

PHILLIPS: Happy sweet 16 there, my friend.

BLITZER: Thank you. Thank you very much. Sweet 16. Sixteen years ago today, May 8, 1990, I started my first day at CNN.

PHILLIPS: You still feeling young?

BLITZER: Feel strong, feel very young.

PHILLIPS: All right, Wolf Blitzer, take it away.

BLITZER: Let me tell you, Kyra, and our viewers what's coming up right at the top of the hour, not 16 years ago, but today.

Top story involves our top spy. President Bush names the man he wants to run the CIA. We'll find out why some on Capitol Hill are vowing to fight against this confirmation.

Plus, senators Trent Lott and Ron Wyden, both members of the intelligence committee, they'll join us live here in "THE SITUATION ROOM."

Also, another new poll looks at the president's job approval rating, and it just might surprise you.

Plus, genocide in Sudan. We'll take you live to one of the most dangerous places in the world and we'll hear from the deputy U.S. secretary of state on what the U.S. is trying to do to stop the murders.

And he's now one of America's most wanted and he's on the run. The FBI asks for all of our help in tracking down a fugitive church leader.

Kyra, all that coming up right here in THE SITUATION ROOM.

PHILLIPS: We'll be watching. Thanks, Wolf.

BLITZER: Thanks, Kyra. PHILLIPS: Well, who is this and what is that on her head? Royal watchers, they know the answer. I'll tell you more about the high falutin' royal relative nuptials coming up next.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

PHILLIPS: Well, only in England. A weekend wedding including the royal family, the Duchess of Cornwall, her new husband, her ex- husband and former underwear model. It all goes together. The bride was Laura Parker Bowles, daughter of Camilla; the groom, Harry Lopes, an accountant who used to be a Calvin Klein underwear model. Mother Camilla was joined by husband Prince Charles -- you see him on the right -- and former husband Andrew Parker Bowles, seen right there on the left. Well, young princes Harry and William were there, tan and rested from out-of-town vacations, looking pretty dapper. William got the biggest cheers, though, for showing up with his girlfriend Kate Middleton, although they may have been cheering for the hat.

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