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CNN Live Today

U.S. Will Soon Dispatch More Troops to Afghanistan; 9/11 Commission Hearings; Kobe Bryant Case

Aired March 25, 2004 - 10:00   ET

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

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


DARYN KAGAN, HOST: At CNN headquarters in Atlanta, I'm Daryn Kagan.
Checking the headlines at this hour, one U.S. soldier was killed and two were wounded by a roadside bomb today, just north of Baghdad. Since the U.S.-led invasion one year ago, 589 American forces have died in Iraq.

Britain's prime minister is in Libya today, where he met with longtime leader Moammar Gadhafi. The U.S. official met with Gadhafi on Tuesday. Libya's standing in the west has done an about face since it public renounced terrorism and weapons of mass destruction several months ago.

In Eagle, Colorado the hearing into the sexual history of Kobe Bryant's accuser resumes today. Lawyers for the NBA star will question the young woman's friends and alleged sex partner. She was questioned yesterday for more than three hours; it's not yet known if that testimony will be admitted at the trial.

In Washington, presidential candidate John Kerry is scheduled to meet at this hour with supporters of former rival, Howard Dean. Dean will then accompany Kerry to a rally the next hour at Washington University, where he's expected to endorse Kerry for the Democratic nomination.

The first hour of CNN LIVE TODAY begins right now.

We're going to start the hour with a developing story. CNN learned that the U.S. will soon dispatch more troops to Afghanistan, bolstering the hunt for suspected terrorists.

Our Pentagon correspondent Barbara Starr has been working her sources since first learning of the story just a short time ago. She joins us with details.

Barbara, good morning.

BARBARA STARR, CNN PENTAGON CORRESPONDENT: Good morning to you, Daryn. Well, all of this part of the Pentagon's springtime offensive strategy. Sources confirming to CNN that plans are now in the works to send about 2,000 additional Marines to Afghanistan in the next few weeks, expected to be there by the end of April. Now, at the moment, they will join the 11,000 U.S. troops already in Afghanistan. They will be part of this spring offensive, adding additional firepower to what is already there, according to senior officials. But it will all be very interesting to watch over the next several weeks as that offensive unfolds, as they move into those mountain areas along the border with Pakistan. Officials say eventually the troop levels will come back down, but at least for the moment, there will be some additional firepower in Afghanistan -- Daryn.

KAGAN: Meanwhile, Barbara, any more fallout from the two days of hearings that we watched right here on CNN? The 9/11 Commission hearings, where the U.S. military was the subject of a lot of criticism about a lack of response of hunting down terrorist, specifically Osama bin Laden?

STARR: Well, we expect to have a press briefing by Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld 2:00 p.m. Eastern Time in this very room. And lot of questions still likely to be fired at him. But of course, yesterday it was the turn of Richard Clarke, the former counterterrorism chief who testified before the commission. Still the subject of a real offensive -- political offensive by the White House. The White House late yesterday, releasing e-mails, other documents saying that when Richard Clarke was on the White House staff, he was very supportive of the president's counterterrorism strategy. A lot of that coming up at the commission hearing yesterday. Let's listen to one of the exchanges.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

JAMES THOMPSON (R), MEMBER, 9-11 COMMISSION: Are you saying to me that you were asked to make an untrue case to the press and the public, and that you went ahead and did it?

RICHARD CLARKE, FMR. COUNTERTERRORISM ADVISER: No, sir.

THOMPSON: What are you saying?

CLARKE: Not untrue. Not an untrue case. I was asked to highlight the positive aspects of what the administration had done. And to minimize the negative aspects of what the administration had done. And as a special assistant to the president, one is frequently asked to do that kind of thing. I've done it for several presidents.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

STARR: So Richard Clarke saying he did what he had to do when he was special assistant to the president, but now very critical and continuing to be critical of the Bush administration's handling of its anti-terrorism policy -- Daryn.

KAGAN: Barbara Starr at the Pentagon. Barbara, thank you for that.

Well, you heard Barbara talking about Richard Clarke and assailing the Bush administration in his book on Capitol Hill. He also was last night, a guest on CNN's "LARRY KING LIVE." And on the show Clarke dismissed the White House assertion that he remained too quiet for too long, in order to remain credible.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP) CLARKE: It seems very ironic to me that what the White House is sort of saying is they don't understand why I, as an assistant -- as special assistant to the president of the United States, didn't criticize the president to the press. If I had criticized the president to the press as a special assistant, I would have been fired within an hour. They know that. And this is part of their whole attempt to get Larry King to ask Dick Clarke this kind of question.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

KAGAN: Well, Clarke had predicted that the White House would come after him. He says he's outgunned and outnumbered by the White House, and for most accounts, the administration's counter offensive has been extraordinary.

Our White House correspondent Dana Bash has that view from the executive mansion.

Dana, good morning.

DANA BASH, CNN WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT: Good morning, Daryn. Expect it to continue. Several officials I spoke to this morning, said as long as Richard Clarke continues to take to the airways, like we saw on Larry King, they are going to try to combat the allegations that he is making essentially; broadly that the president was ill- prepared for the terrorist attacks and the fight against al Qaeda at the beginning of his administration.

Now, as you can imagine there were also some very unhappy people here, to put it mildly, about another allegation that Richard Clarke made last night on Larry King, suggesting that Condoleezza Rice personally perhaps could have had more meetings and perhaps prevented September 11, in some way, from happening. There are discussions underway this morning on how exactly to respond to that. But one issue that they are talking about responding to is the fact that perhaps Clarke says that he warned Condoleezza Rice just days before the 9/11 attack, that perhaps they would happen.

The strategy here is to hit back on him hard on that. And more broadly use his own words, as you've seen over the past 24 hours, to raise questions about his credibility; what he is saying now in his book and what he said when he worked for President Bush.

Now, we did not hear publicly from Condoleezza Rice yesterday, but reporters did hear from her, a very angry Condoleezza Rice trying to hit back personally at Richard Clarke, saying that he was making "scurrilous allegations" that the president was inattentive the fight against terrorism. And to back up her point, she declassified and released an e-mail that Clarke sent to her September 15, 2001, just four days after the attacks, where he seemed to be engaged in trying to figure out some damage control if the White House came under attack for not being prepared enough for September 11.

He said, quote, "When the era of national unity begins to crack in the near future, it is possible that some will start asking questions, like did the White House do a good job of making sure that intelligence about terrorist threats got to FAA and other domestic law enforcement agencies."

Now, in that e-mail he also attached some evidence saying that in the summer of 2001, he did warn local law enforcement, domestic law enforcement agencies, including the FAA that some attacks could be imminent, and to take proper measures in order to help prevent them -- Daryn.

KAGAN: Dana Bash at the White House. Dana, thank you.

The politics of the 9/11 blame-game are especially painful for those who bear the deepest scars, the families of those killed in the attacks. Many attended the hearings but found little comfort.

Our national correspondent Kelly Wallace has their story.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

KELLY WALLACE, CNN NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT (VOICE-OVER): You could see the heaviness in the front rows, on the faces of families who lost loved ones, and you could hear it.

BOB KERREY, MEMBER, 9/11 COMMISSION: Osama bin Laden held a press conference to declare open war on the United States of America in February 1998.

WALLACE: Two days of troubling questions. Could September 11 have been prevented? Could the Clinton and Bush administrations have done more?

SAMUEL BERGER, FMR. NAT'L. SECURITY ADVISER: We struck with the intent of killing bin Laden and/or his operatives. I deeply regret that we did not succeed.

WALLACE: Henry and Elaine Hughes of Smithtown, Long Island listen and take notes. Their son Chris worked on the 89 floor of the south tower.

HENRY HUGHES, FATHER OF 9/11 VICTIM: I'd like to see somebody come forward and just say once, you know what? Maybe we could have did a better job.

WALLACE: And that happened inside the hearing room Wednesday.

CLARKE: Your government failed you. Those entrusted with protecting you failed you. And I failed you.

WALLACE: Welcome words, even two and a half years later.

ELAINE HUGHES, MOTHER OF 9/11 VICTIM: At least some of the witnesses actually said they were sorry and apologized. That the job didn't get done.

WALLACE: The Hughes stayed for almost every word, but other families left as a public protest when Deputy Secretary of State Richard Armitage appeared in place of Condoleezza Rice, the president's national security adviser who chose not to testify. KRISTIN BREITWEISER, WIFE OF 9/11 VICTIM: Three thousand lost lives warranted her coming before the American people to restore confidence and to set the record straight.

WALLACE: Politics did not stay away from the hearing room. Democratic members of the commission appeared to be tougher on the Bush team and Republicans...

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: You've got a real credibility problem.

WALLACE: Tougher on the Bush administration's critics, like former terrorism adviser Richard Clarke.

As the Hughes headed home, this hope, that politics during a presidential election year doesn't get in the way of finding some answers.

E. HUGHES: I mean what I'm hearing now is that God forbid something like this happens again. They're still not ready. They're not ready to prevent anything and that's what scares me.

WALLACE: The commission now has just four months to put together a report with recommendations on how to prevent another September 11. Kelly Wallace, CNN, Washington.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

KAGAN: A young Palestinian boy slated for a suicide mission, but he didn't want to die. Details of this dramatic story just ahead.

Kobe Bryant's lawyers fight to have his accuser's sexual history included and keep some of his statements out. Harvey Levin joins us for a look at celebrity justice.

Also, immortal rockers, according to "Rolling Stone." Find out who tops the list as magazine commemorates 50 years of rock 'n' roll.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

KAGAN: L.A. Lakers star, Kobe Bryant is back in Eagle, Colorado this morning for Day 2 of a pretrial hearing. Attorneys will continue questioning friends and alleged sex partners of the young woman, whom Bryant is accused of raping. The alleged victim testified about her sexual history yesterday for more than three hours. The judge will determine if that testimony is admissible at trial. Also today, Bryant's lawyers may seek to have some evidence thrown out including Bryant's statements to police.

In the Michael Jackson saga, selection begins today of a grand jury that may hear the child molestation case against the pop star. Already extraordinary secrecy has been imposed.

Our Miguel Marquez is in Santa Barbara with details on that.

Good morning. MIGUEL MARQUEZ, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Good morning, Daryn. Typically grand juries are secret proceedings. In this case, they're sort of double secret proceedings, I suppose. The presiding judge of Santa Barbara Superior Court has issued a order advising media that he doesn't want any of the jurors tampered with. Today they are going to begin the process of selecting 19 grand jurors to sit on a grand jury. That is a fairly typical situation that they will seek grand jurors.

What we do know, though, is that one of the cases they will be hearing evidence on is the Michael Jackson case. District attorney Tom Sneddon could begin presenting evidence on the Jackson case to those grand jurors as soon as this Monday. And that evidence could be presented to them for as long as two to four weeks. Presumably, he will ask those grand jurors to indict Mr. Jackson on child molestation charges and also giving an intoxicating liquor to an agent.

A former supervising grand jury supervisor from L.A. County says that the grand jury in this case must vote to indict -- 12 of the 19 grand jurors must vote to indict Mr. Jackson on each and every charge.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

DAVID GUTHMAN, FMR. GRAND JURY SUPERVISOR: The grand jury has the discretion to indict or not indict as it sees fit, to indict on the charges requested; or on lesser charges or on greater charges. The prosecutor is then, to use a technical legal term, "stuck with the indictment" that the grand jury returned.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

MARQUEZ: So what does all this mean? Essentially, we're going proceed along two separate legal tracks at the same time, with regard to Mr. Jackson. One will be the grand jury process that is begun today, with selection of the grand jurors. The other was the criminal process that was begun last year, when Mr. Jackson was arrested on similar charges, child molestation and giving an intoxicating liquor to a minor's charges.

If the grand jury does return an indictment, it would supercede the criminal indictment. The upshot is, is that Mr. Jackson would have to reappear in court at some point, quite possibly to be arraigned all over again on molestation charges, and giving an intoxicating liquor to a minor charges, or whatever the grand jury indicts him on -- Daryn.

KAGAN: Well, I don't know that Santa Barbara County is looking forward to that. You can remember, only too well, what happened in Santa Maria when he had to show up in court on that day.

Miguel Marquez in the City of Santa Barbara, thank you that.

To Fresno, California now. Marcus Wesson will finally be arraigned today after two delays. Wesson is accused of killing nine of his children about two weeks ago. Police say he has not been allowed to make phone calls or have visitors. Services for several of the victims were held yesterday. The bodies, including one adult daughter, were discovered inside Wesson's home after a standoff with police.

Coming up on CNN's LIVE TODAY, how Israeli soldiers saved the life of a boy who was on a suicide mission.

And the constitutionality of pledging under God in America's public schools.

This is CNN LIVE TODAY.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

KAGAN: Want to talk on more about some of the legal cases we were discussing right before the break there. First, the Michael Jackson case and the Kobe Bryant case. For that, let's bring in Harvey Levin, executive producer of "Celebrity Justice."

Harvey, good morning.

HARVEY LEVIN, EXECUTIVE PRODUCER, "CELEBRITY JUSTICE": Hi, Daryn.

KAGAN: First, help me understand this process with the grand jury just now being convened in Santa Barbara. This seems out of order to me in the Michael Jackson case.

LEVIN: Well, it's a way of preventing a preliminary hearing. And there are several benefits. No. 1, the accuser doesn't have to testify at a prelim. Doesn't have to be cross-examined. There's still secrecy, which the prosecution wants. And it's also a way of kind of testing your case. You don't have cross-examination, but you can see how various witnesses do, at least on direct exam. Then you make a decision on whether you want them for the real deal.

KAGAN: All right. You're talking about an accuser on the stand. So let's go ahead and talk about Kobe Bryant, where his accuser had to take the stand in a closed session yesterday. Kind of makes you wonder who is on trial here -- Harvey.

LEVIN: Well, look. To be fair, Kobe Bryant's defense team is saying that the prosecution is allegering -- alleging that Kobe injured this woman during sexual intercourse. And their position is look; she had sex around that same time. And the injuries could have occurred from somebody else, and therefore, it's relevant to know who she had an encounter with.

Now Daryn, what is particularly interesting about yesterday is there was a fellow by the name of Bobby Petrak, who showed up and went into the courtroom. He is the bellman at the Cordillera Lodge, who was there that night she complained to him. And the defense says she was having a relationship with Bobby Patrak. The defense believes she lied to him that Kobe Bryant did it forcibly, so that he wouldn't get angry at her. And that's going to be one of their theories. This is turning into a classic love triangle.

KAGAN: Well, and to he said/she said. Basically because at the end of the day, only two people in that room. LEVIN: Two people in that room. Bobby Patrak, kind of a percipient witness after the fact. But remember, all Kobe Bryant has to do is show that there is some kind of reasonable doubt. If he can do that, he wins this case. So advantage to Kobe in that sense.

KAGAN: If, in fact, this is admissible in trial because, Harvey, is it not a two-part process? It was a partial victory for the defense to just even have this testimony take place. But we do not know that that will be presented at trial.

LEVIN: Absolutely. The real issue here is whether the jury can hear it. And if the jury can hear it, it really does give the defense a big, big advantage.

Daryn, I never do this to you, but can I tell you something that we found out about the Michael Jackson case? Because I think this is really interesting.

KAGAN: Oh, you want to go back to Michael Jackson? Just real quickly on Kobe Bryant. When is this thing going to trial already?

LEVIN: Well, you know, it's going to depend on what kind of preliminary motions that they make. I mean they're going to challenge a lot. The rape shield law is going to be a big issue in this case. I am guessing this is going to go to trial in June or July; because I think it's going to kind of coincide with the end of basketball. I think that's going to happen.

KAGAN: All right. Now give me your nugget on Michael Jackson that "Celebrity Justice" just found out.

LEVIN: This is so interesting. There was a news report out that the psychologist who interviewed this child, his name is Dr. Stan Katz, was enticing this boy into saying look, you can get a lot of money if you press a claim against Michael Jackson. That report is bogus. We have confirmed from multiple sources in this case.

What happened Dr. Stan Katz was using a famous technique developed after the McMartin Preschool disaster. And he was testing this kid's credibility and motivation. He did say to the kid, look, do you know that Larry Feldman, the attorney, could get you a lot of money? He wanted to see what the child would say back. The child said to this psychologist, "I don't want money. I know what happened to the boy 10 years ago. He got money and Michael," quote, "did it again."

This boy is going to testify before the grand jury. The psychiatrist will test -- the psychologist rather, will testify before the grand jury. And they will hear that evidence.

KAGAN: OK. The psychologist will. But you said earlier that the accuser doesn't have to go in front of the grand jury. Well, the boy will go in front of the grand jury?

LEVIN: The advantage is -- yes, the boy will go -- the boy is going to go in front of the grand jury. The mother is going to go in front of the grand jury. His brother is going to go in front of the grand jury. The advantage is he doesn't get cross-examined.

KAGAN: Ah.

LEVIN: So it's not going to be as difficult for him. And one of the reasons we know the family is going, is because we are told the very first sign of trouble is that the boy was starting to act out in odd ways at home. And that's one of the thins the family is going to testify to behind closed doors.

KAGAN: Got it. Well, you can only imagine -- well, whatever happened with this poor child has been through with everything, and now the world watching.

Harvey Levin, "Celebrity Justice." Harvey, thank you for that. Appreciate it.

LEVIN: My pleasure.

KAGAN: Well, if you are not a huge fan of Richard Simmons' exercise videos keep it to yourself, because if you say it to his face, you might get slapped. We'll tell you that story coming up in a little bit.

Also...

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: No. 9, No. 9, No. 9, No. 9.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

KAGAN: Rock 'n' roll turns 50. "Rolling Stone" magazine celebrates the occasion with a list. Find out where the Beatles ranked.

This is CNN LIVE TODAY.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

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Aired March 25, 2004 - 10:00   ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
DARYN KAGAN, HOST: At CNN headquarters in Atlanta, I'm Daryn Kagan.
Checking the headlines at this hour, one U.S. soldier was killed and two were wounded by a roadside bomb today, just north of Baghdad. Since the U.S.-led invasion one year ago, 589 American forces have died in Iraq.

Britain's prime minister is in Libya today, where he met with longtime leader Moammar Gadhafi. The U.S. official met with Gadhafi on Tuesday. Libya's standing in the west has done an about face since it public renounced terrorism and weapons of mass destruction several months ago.

In Eagle, Colorado the hearing into the sexual history of Kobe Bryant's accuser resumes today. Lawyers for the NBA star will question the young woman's friends and alleged sex partner. She was questioned yesterday for more than three hours; it's not yet known if that testimony will be admitted at the trial.

In Washington, presidential candidate John Kerry is scheduled to meet at this hour with supporters of former rival, Howard Dean. Dean will then accompany Kerry to a rally the next hour at Washington University, where he's expected to endorse Kerry for the Democratic nomination.

The first hour of CNN LIVE TODAY begins right now.

We're going to start the hour with a developing story. CNN learned that the U.S. will soon dispatch more troops to Afghanistan, bolstering the hunt for suspected terrorists.

Our Pentagon correspondent Barbara Starr has been working her sources since first learning of the story just a short time ago. She joins us with details.

Barbara, good morning.

BARBARA STARR, CNN PENTAGON CORRESPONDENT: Good morning to you, Daryn. Well, all of this part of the Pentagon's springtime offensive strategy. Sources confirming to CNN that plans are now in the works to send about 2,000 additional Marines to Afghanistan in the next few weeks, expected to be there by the end of April. Now, at the moment, they will join the 11,000 U.S. troops already in Afghanistan. They will be part of this spring offensive, adding additional firepower to what is already there, according to senior officials. But it will all be very interesting to watch over the next several weeks as that offensive unfolds, as they move into those mountain areas along the border with Pakistan. Officials say eventually the troop levels will come back down, but at least for the moment, there will be some additional firepower in Afghanistan -- Daryn.

KAGAN: Meanwhile, Barbara, any more fallout from the two days of hearings that we watched right here on CNN? The 9/11 Commission hearings, where the U.S. military was the subject of a lot of criticism about a lack of response of hunting down terrorist, specifically Osama bin Laden?

STARR: Well, we expect to have a press briefing by Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld 2:00 p.m. Eastern Time in this very room. And lot of questions still likely to be fired at him. But of course, yesterday it was the turn of Richard Clarke, the former counterterrorism chief who testified before the commission. Still the subject of a real offensive -- political offensive by the White House. The White House late yesterday, releasing e-mails, other documents saying that when Richard Clarke was on the White House staff, he was very supportive of the president's counterterrorism strategy. A lot of that coming up at the commission hearing yesterday. Let's listen to one of the exchanges.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

JAMES THOMPSON (R), MEMBER, 9-11 COMMISSION: Are you saying to me that you were asked to make an untrue case to the press and the public, and that you went ahead and did it?

RICHARD CLARKE, FMR. COUNTERTERRORISM ADVISER: No, sir.

THOMPSON: What are you saying?

CLARKE: Not untrue. Not an untrue case. I was asked to highlight the positive aspects of what the administration had done. And to minimize the negative aspects of what the administration had done. And as a special assistant to the president, one is frequently asked to do that kind of thing. I've done it for several presidents.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

STARR: So Richard Clarke saying he did what he had to do when he was special assistant to the president, but now very critical and continuing to be critical of the Bush administration's handling of its anti-terrorism policy -- Daryn.

KAGAN: Barbara Starr at the Pentagon. Barbara, thank you for that.

Well, you heard Barbara talking about Richard Clarke and assailing the Bush administration in his book on Capitol Hill. He also was last night, a guest on CNN's "LARRY KING LIVE." And on the show Clarke dismissed the White House assertion that he remained too quiet for too long, in order to remain credible.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP) CLARKE: It seems very ironic to me that what the White House is sort of saying is they don't understand why I, as an assistant -- as special assistant to the president of the United States, didn't criticize the president to the press. If I had criticized the president to the press as a special assistant, I would have been fired within an hour. They know that. And this is part of their whole attempt to get Larry King to ask Dick Clarke this kind of question.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

KAGAN: Well, Clarke had predicted that the White House would come after him. He says he's outgunned and outnumbered by the White House, and for most accounts, the administration's counter offensive has been extraordinary.

Our White House correspondent Dana Bash has that view from the executive mansion.

Dana, good morning.

DANA BASH, CNN WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT: Good morning, Daryn. Expect it to continue. Several officials I spoke to this morning, said as long as Richard Clarke continues to take to the airways, like we saw on Larry King, they are going to try to combat the allegations that he is making essentially; broadly that the president was ill- prepared for the terrorist attacks and the fight against al Qaeda at the beginning of his administration.

Now, as you can imagine there were also some very unhappy people here, to put it mildly, about another allegation that Richard Clarke made last night on Larry King, suggesting that Condoleezza Rice personally perhaps could have had more meetings and perhaps prevented September 11, in some way, from happening. There are discussions underway this morning on how exactly to respond to that. But one issue that they are talking about responding to is the fact that perhaps Clarke says that he warned Condoleezza Rice just days before the 9/11 attack, that perhaps they would happen.

The strategy here is to hit back on him hard on that. And more broadly use his own words, as you've seen over the past 24 hours, to raise questions about his credibility; what he is saying now in his book and what he said when he worked for President Bush.

Now, we did not hear publicly from Condoleezza Rice yesterday, but reporters did hear from her, a very angry Condoleezza Rice trying to hit back personally at Richard Clarke, saying that he was making "scurrilous allegations" that the president was inattentive the fight against terrorism. And to back up her point, she declassified and released an e-mail that Clarke sent to her September 15, 2001, just four days after the attacks, where he seemed to be engaged in trying to figure out some damage control if the White House came under attack for not being prepared enough for September 11.

He said, quote, "When the era of national unity begins to crack in the near future, it is possible that some will start asking questions, like did the White House do a good job of making sure that intelligence about terrorist threats got to FAA and other domestic law enforcement agencies."

Now, in that e-mail he also attached some evidence saying that in the summer of 2001, he did warn local law enforcement, domestic law enforcement agencies, including the FAA that some attacks could be imminent, and to take proper measures in order to help prevent them -- Daryn.

KAGAN: Dana Bash at the White House. Dana, thank you.

The politics of the 9/11 blame-game are especially painful for those who bear the deepest scars, the families of those killed in the attacks. Many attended the hearings but found little comfort.

Our national correspondent Kelly Wallace has their story.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

KELLY WALLACE, CNN NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT (VOICE-OVER): You could see the heaviness in the front rows, on the faces of families who lost loved ones, and you could hear it.

BOB KERREY, MEMBER, 9/11 COMMISSION: Osama bin Laden held a press conference to declare open war on the United States of America in February 1998.

WALLACE: Two days of troubling questions. Could September 11 have been prevented? Could the Clinton and Bush administrations have done more?

SAMUEL BERGER, FMR. NAT'L. SECURITY ADVISER: We struck with the intent of killing bin Laden and/or his operatives. I deeply regret that we did not succeed.

WALLACE: Henry and Elaine Hughes of Smithtown, Long Island listen and take notes. Their son Chris worked on the 89 floor of the south tower.

HENRY HUGHES, FATHER OF 9/11 VICTIM: I'd like to see somebody come forward and just say once, you know what? Maybe we could have did a better job.

WALLACE: And that happened inside the hearing room Wednesday.

CLARKE: Your government failed you. Those entrusted with protecting you failed you. And I failed you.

WALLACE: Welcome words, even two and a half years later.

ELAINE HUGHES, MOTHER OF 9/11 VICTIM: At least some of the witnesses actually said they were sorry and apologized. That the job didn't get done.

WALLACE: The Hughes stayed for almost every word, but other families left as a public protest when Deputy Secretary of State Richard Armitage appeared in place of Condoleezza Rice, the president's national security adviser who chose not to testify. KRISTIN BREITWEISER, WIFE OF 9/11 VICTIM: Three thousand lost lives warranted her coming before the American people to restore confidence and to set the record straight.

WALLACE: Politics did not stay away from the hearing room. Democratic members of the commission appeared to be tougher on the Bush team and Republicans...

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: You've got a real credibility problem.

WALLACE: Tougher on the Bush administration's critics, like former terrorism adviser Richard Clarke.

As the Hughes headed home, this hope, that politics during a presidential election year doesn't get in the way of finding some answers.

E. HUGHES: I mean what I'm hearing now is that God forbid something like this happens again. They're still not ready. They're not ready to prevent anything and that's what scares me.

WALLACE: The commission now has just four months to put together a report with recommendations on how to prevent another September 11. Kelly Wallace, CNN, Washington.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

KAGAN: A young Palestinian boy slated for a suicide mission, but he didn't want to die. Details of this dramatic story just ahead.

Kobe Bryant's lawyers fight to have his accuser's sexual history included and keep some of his statements out. Harvey Levin joins us for a look at celebrity justice.

Also, immortal rockers, according to "Rolling Stone." Find out who tops the list as magazine commemorates 50 years of rock 'n' roll.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

KAGAN: L.A. Lakers star, Kobe Bryant is back in Eagle, Colorado this morning for Day 2 of a pretrial hearing. Attorneys will continue questioning friends and alleged sex partners of the young woman, whom Bryant is accused of raping. The alleged victim testified about her sexual history yesterday for more than three hours. The judge will determine if that testimony is admissible at trial. Also today, Bryant's lawyers may seek to have some evidence thrown out including Bryant's statements to police.

In the Michael Jackson saga, selection begins today of a grand jury that may hear the child molestation case against the pop star. Already extraordinary secrecy has been imposed.

Our Miguel Marquez is in Santa Barbara with details on that.

Good morning. MIGUEL MARQUEZ, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Good morning, Daryn. Typically grand juries are secret proceedings. In this case, they're sort of double secret proceedings, I suppose. The presiding judge of Santa Barbara Superior Court has issued a order advising media that he doesn't want any of the jurors tampered with. Today they are going to begin the process of selecting 19 grand jurors to sit on a grand jury. That is a fairly typical situation that they will seek grand jurors.

What we do know, though, is that one of the cases they will be hearing evidence on is the Michael Jackson case. District attorney Tom Sneddon could begin presenting evidence on the Jackson case to those grand jurors as soon as this Monday. And that evidence could be presented to them for as long as two to four weeks. Presumably, he will ask those grand jurors to indict Mr. Jackson on child molestation charges and also giving an intoxicating liquor to an agent.

A former supervising grand jury supervisor from L.A. County says that the grand jury in this case must vote to indict -- 12 of the 19 grand jurors must vote to indict Mr. Jackson on each and every charge.

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DAVID GUTHMAN, FMR. GRAND JURY SUPERVISOR: The grand jury has the discretion to indict or not indict as it sees fit, to indict on the charges requested; or on lesser charges or on greater charges. The prosecutor is then, to use a technical legal term, "stuck with the indictment" that the grand jury returned.

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MARQUEZ: So what does all this mean? Essentially, we're going proceed along two separate legal tracks at the same time, with regard to Mr. Jackson. One will be the grand jury process that is begun today, with selection of the grand jurors. The other was the criminal process that was begun last year, when Mr. Jackson was arrested on similar charges, child molestation and giving an intoxicating liquor to a minor's charges.

If the grand jury does return an indictment, it would supercede the criminal indictment. The upshot is, is that Mr. Jackson would have to reappear in court at some point, quite possibly to be arraigned all over again on molestation charges, and giving an intoxicating liquor to a minor charges, or whatever the grand jury indicts him on -- Daryn.

KAGAN: Well, I don't know that Santa Barbara County is looking forward to that. You can remember, only too well, what happened in Santa Maria when he had to show up in court on that day.

Miguel Marquez in the City of Santa Barbara, thank you that.

To Fresno, California now. Marcus Wesson will finally be arraigned today after two delays. Wesson is accused of killing nine of his children about two weeks ago. Police say he has not been allowed to make phone calls or have visitors. Services for several of the victims were held yesterday. The bodies, including one adult daughter, were discovered inside Wesson's home after a standoff with police.

Coming up on CNN's LIVE TODAY, how Israeli soldiers saved the life of a boy who was on a suicide mission.

And the constitutionality of pledging under God in America's public schools.

This is CNN LIVE TODAY.

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KAGAN: Want to talk on more about some of the legal cases we were discussing right before the break there. First, the Michael Jackson case and the Kobe Bryant case. For that, let's bring in Harvey Levin, executive producer of "Celebrity Justice."

Harvey, good morning.

HARVEY LEVIN, EXECUTIVE PRODUCER, "CELEBRITY JUSTICE": Hi, Daryn.

KAGAN: First, help me understand this process with the grand jury just now being convened in Santa Barbara. This seems out of order to me in the Michael Jackson case.

LEVIN: Well, it's a way of preventing a preliminary hearing. And there are several benefits. No. 1, the accuser doesn't have to testify at a prelim. Doesn't have to be cross-examined. There's still secrecy, which the prosecution wants. And it's also a way of kind of testing your case. You don't have cross-examination, but you can see how various witnesses do, at least on direct exam. Then you make a decision on whether you want them for the real deal.

KAGAN: All right. You're talking about an accuser on the stand. So let's go ahead and talk about Kobe Bryant, where his accuser had to take the stand in a closed session yesterday. Kind of makes you wonder who is on trial here -- Harvey.

LEVIN: Well, look. To be fair, Kobe Bryant's defense team is saying that the prosecution is allegering -- alleging that Kobe injured this woman during sexual intercourse. And their position is look; she had sex around that same time. And the injuries could have occurred from somebody else, and therefore, it's relevant to know who she had an encounter with.

Now Daryn, what is particularly interesting about yesterday is there was a fellow by the name of Bobby Petrak, who showed up and went into the courtroom. He is the bellman at the Cordillera Lodge, who was there that night she complained to him. And the defense says she was having a relationship with Bobby Patrak. The defense believes she lied to him that Kobe Bryant did it forcibly, so that he wouldn't get angry at her. And that's going to be one of their theories. This is turning into a classic love triangle.

KAGAN: Well, and to he said/she said. Basically because at the end of the day, only two people in that room. LEVIN: Two people in that room. Bobby Patrak, kind of a percipient witness after the fact. But remember, all Kobe Bryant has to do is show that there is some kind of reasonable doubt. If he can do that, he wins this case. So advantage to Kobe in that sense.

KAGAN: If, in fact, this is admissible in trial because, Harvey, is it not a two-part process? It was a partial victory for the defense to just even have this testimony take place. But we do not know that that will be presented at trial.

LEVIN: Absolutely. The real issue here is whether the jury can hear it. And if the jury can hear it, it really does give the defense a big, big advantage.

Daryn, I never do this to you, but can I tell you something that we found out about the Michael Jackson case? Because I think this is really interesting.

KAGAN: Oh, you want to go back to Michael Jackson? Just real quickly on Kobe Bryant. When is this thing going to trial already?

LEVIN: Well, you know, it's going to depend on what kind of preliminary motions that they make. I mean they're going to challenge a lot. The rape shield law is going to be a big issue in this case. I am guessing this is going to go to trial in June or July; because I think it's going to kind of coincide with the end of basketball. I think that's going to happen.

KAGAN: All right. Now give me your nugget on Michael Jackson that "Celebrity Justice" just found out.

LEVIN: This is so interesting. There was a news report out that the psychologist who interviewed this child, his name is Dr. Stan Katz, was enticing this boy into saying look, you can get a lot of money if you press a claim against Michael Jackson. That report is bogus. We have confirmed from multiple sources in this case.

What happened Dr. Stan Katz was using a famous technique developed after the McMartin Preschool disaster. And he was testing this kid's credibility and motivation. He did say to the kid, look, do you know that Larry Feldman, the attorney, could get you a lot of money? He wanted to see what the child would say back. The child said to this psychologist, "I don't want money. I know what happened to the boy 10 years ago. He got money and Michael," quote, "did it again."

This boy is going to testify before the grand jury. The psychiatrist will test -- the psychologist rather, will testify before the grand jury. And they will hear that evidence.

KAGAN: OK. The psychologist will. But you said earlier that the accuser doesn't have to go in front of the grand jury. Well, the boy will go in front of the grand jury?

LEVIN: The advantage is -- yes, the boy will go -- the boy is going to go in front of the grand jury. The mother is going to go in front of the grand jury. His brother is going to go in front of the grand jury. The advantage is he doesn't get cross-examined.

KAGAN: Ah.

LEVIN: So it's not going to be as difficult for him. And one of the reasons we know the family is going, is because we are told the very first sign of trouble is that the boy was starting to act out in odd ways at home. And that's one of the thins the family is going to testify to behind closed doors.

KAGAN: Got it. Well, you can only imagine -- well, whatever happened with this poor child has been through with everything, and now the world watching.

Harvey Levin, "Celebrity Justice." Harvey, thank you for that. Appreciate it.

LEVIN: My pleasure.

KAGAN: Well, if you are not a huge fan of Richard Simmons' exercise videos keep it to yourself, because if you say it to his face, you might get slapped. We'll tell you that story coming up in a little bit.

Also...

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UNIDENTIFIED MALE: No. 9, No. 9, No. 9, No. 9.

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KAGAN: Rock 'n' roll turns 50. "Rolling Stone" magazine celebrates the occasion with a list. Find out where the Beatles ranked.

This is CNN LIVE TODAY.

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