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CNN Live Today

White House Quiet on Rove Evidence; Discovery Ready for Launch

Aired July 12, 2005 - 10:30   ET

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

TONY HARRIS, CNN ANCHOR: Right now in the White House, President Bush welcomes the 2004 and 2005 NCAA sports champions. Among the teams honored, Auburn's men's swimming and diving team, Minnesota's two-time national champion women's hockey team and Michigan's national championship softball team.
And Pennsylvania Senator Arlen Specter says it's time to raise hell on stem cell research on Capitol Hill. And live on Capitol Hill right, he's holding hearings. Specter, a cancer patient, says he's growing impatient with delays in studies on all-purpose cells.

In Florida, child welfare workers are investigating hundreds of child abuse claims that went unnoticed for almost two months. The Florida Department of Children and Families says more than 1,100 reports of possible abuse were sent in to the agency. But a spokeswoman says they went unnoticed, apparently because a fax line wasn't working. The reports were sent in between May 13th and July 6th. The newly discovered reports are now being investigated, but the department says, so far, they have no indication that any of the children were harmed because of the delay.

In Los Angeles this morning, still many questions following the shooting death of a 19-month-old girl. Police are waiting for autopsy results to determine if the bullet that killed her came from police or her father. Sunday, the girl was caught in the crossfire between police and her father. Also killed during a two-and-a-half hour standoff, a Los Angeles police chief had this to say about the shooting.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

CHIEF WILLIAM BRATTON, LOS ANGELES POLICE DEPT.: Officers have the right to protect themselves, their fellow officers and innocent bystanders and have the right to shoot back when faced with that danger. My heart goes out to the child's mother and to the family. Unfortunately, in this instance, the suspect's actions left the officers no choice.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

HARRIS: During the shootout, police say the father used the child as a shield.

Authorities in Arizona are looking for two young children missing after their grandparents and an uncle were found dead. Police say 18- month-old Brian Cervantes and his 3-year-old sister Jennifer may be with their father. The man is not being called a suspect in the case, but police do want to question him. They think he made be headed for Mexico.

So was he really involved with the outing of a CIA agent operative? The White House remains mum about possible comments from Karl Rove. Still to come, the latest in the investigation.

Plus, the countdown for the Space Shuttle Discovery has started. We'll take you live to the launchpad when CNN LIVE TODAY returns.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

HARRIS: And this just into CNN. We understand that police in London have shut down a British railway station. This is the Luton station, which is north of London. They are investigating, we understand, a car that may have had a role in last week's terror bombings. They have closed down the station to investigate a car suspected of being involved in those terror attacks of last week. And we understand the Luton station is about 20 -- 25 minutes north of London. Once again, police in London have shut down a railway station just north of London, the Luton station, while they investigate a car suspected of being involved in last week's terror attacks in London. We'll continue to follow developments in this case and bring you an update a little bit later.

White House officials don't want to talk about the ongoing investigation into a CIA leak, but questions persist about the role of presidential adviser Karl Rove may have played in outing a CIA operative.

CNN's Suzanne Malveaux has the latest.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

SUZANNE MALVEAUX, CNN WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT: President Bush's top political adviser, Karl Rove, was the secret source for "Time" magazine reporter Matt Cooper in a story that eventually ousted a covert CIA agent. But questions remain as to whether any laws were broken.

In e-mails first published in "Newsweek" and Monday's "Washington Post," Cooper tells his boss he "spoke to Rove on double super secret background," regarding Joe Wilson.

The ambassador said he'd been sent by the CIA to investigate whether Iraq was trying to buy uranium in Africa.

According to Cooper's e-mail, Rove tried to warn him off some of Wilson's assertions.

"It was, Karl Rove said, "Wilson's wife, who apparently works at the agency on weapons of mass destruction issues who authorized the trip."

Her name, Valerie Plame, was first reported by columnist Robert Novak in July 2003, three days after Cooper's conversation with Rove. Since then, a federal prosecutor has been investigating whether any knowingly blew her cover, which is a federal crime. Last august, Rove told CNN...

KARL ROVE, POLITICAL ADVISER: I didn't know her name. I didn't leak her name.

MALVEAUX: Rove's attorney, Robert Luskin, backs that claim, telling CNN, "A fair reading of Cooper's e-mail suggests that what Karl was trying to do was to discourage 'Time' from reporting allegations that proved to be false, not to encourage them to publish anything about Wilson's wife." Luskin says Rove never identified Plame by name, nor did he know she was covert operative.

Some legal observers say Rove's comments to Cooper are irrelevant because they don't meet the high standards set by federal law which make outing a spy a crime.

VICTORIA TOENSING, LEGAL ANALYST: That statement that Karl Rove gave the identity of Wilson's wife can only be illegal if the CIA was taking affirmative measures to protect her identity and Karl Rove was aware that the CIA was doing so.

MALVEAUX: When Rove's name first came up as part of the CIA leak investigation, the White House was seemingly quick to clear him and other administration officials.

SCOTT MCCLELLAN, WHITE HOUSE SPOKESMAN: I've known Karl for a long time and I didn't even need to go ask Karl, because I know the kind of person that he is, and he is someone that is committed to the highest standards of conduct.

MALVEAUX: But now the White House has changed its tack.

MCCLELLAN: Those overseeing the investigation expressed a preference to us that we not get into commenting on the investigation while it's ongoing.

MALVEAUX (on camera): Last year, Mr. Bush promised to fire anyone caught leaking, saying that, "if the person violated law, they will be taken care of."

So far, there is no evidence to show that Karl Rove knew that Valerie Plame's identity was being protected.

Suzanne Malveaux, CNN, the White House.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

HARRIS: The CIA leak probe and the Supreme Court vacancy are making for a lot of political chatter right now, so let's check in with our expert on such matters. CNN political analyst Carlos Watson joins us from Mountain View, California. Good to see you, my friend.

CARLOS WATSON, CNN POLITICAL ANALYST: Tony, good to see you. Long time, no see.

HARRIS: Yes, long time. All right, let's lay a little groundwork for a couple of questions on Karl Rove here. The president, September 30th, 2003: "If somebody did leak classified information, I'd like to know it and will take the appropriate action." OK.

Scott McClellan, October 7th, 2003: "If someone in this administration leaked classified information, they will no longer be a part of this administration because that's not the way this White House operates."

So, if we learn, ultimately, that it was Karl Rove who leaked this information, how difficult a decision will it be for the president to do what he says he's going to do, and that is to essentially remove this person from the administration?

WATSON: If -- and that's a big if -- it would be a very difficult for decision for someone who's been by his side for almost 30 years. But remember presidents over the last half century have faced these kinds of decisions a number of times.

You remember, Tony, that President Clinton faced an analogous, somewhat analogous, decision with the scandal-plagued adviser Dick Morris. President Reagan faced that with Michael Deaver. If you go back almost 50 years to Dwight Eisenhower, his first chief of staff, a former governor of New Hampshire, Sherman Adams, got involved in some controversy and was forced to step down.

So quite often one of the president's senior advisers is often caught up in a scandal. This one's a little unusual, given that it involves a covert agent and, frankly, whether or not her life was put at risk.

HARRIS: And, Carlos, it will all flesh out. I mean, you know, we won't have to wait long to find out if, in fact, it was Karl Rove who leaked this information. It will all play out soon enough, won't it?

WATSON: Well, although as you know these legal stories often have a mind of their own and take quite a bit of time. Whitewater during the Clinton term or the Monica Lewinsky scandal, as we saw, turned out not to be a six-month story, but rather, ran over a couple of years.

HARRIS: That's right. Let's turn our attention now to the Supreme Court. And we heard from the president just a short time ago who met for breakfast with members of the Judiciary Committee that will work through the nomination, through the confirmation process and also with leaders, Senate leaders, on both sides of the aisle here. This is about this pick and we understand it's an important pick. But you think the nomination process may end up not just being about the nominees, not just about the activists or even the president? Explain that, Carlos.

WATSON: Well, you know, clearly, activists are playing a major role, raising a significant amount of money. Lot of tough words coming out both to the left and the right. The president will be important here. So will the nominee. But, actually, senators could end up playing a starring political role here.

You may have a couple of senators who are on the Judiciary Committee who ended up helping their quiet presidential prospects for 2008. Again, they'll got a lot of air time, especially if this is a controversial nominee. So I mean, someone like Lindsey Graham, the freshman senator from South Carolina, who at least some people have talked about as a presidential candidate. Or even someone like Russ Feingold, who's not well-known outside of his native Wisconsin, but who also has thought a little bit about running for president 2008. This could be star turn.

The other thing to look for, by the way, Tony, a couple of wild card players, people who may become folk heroes either to left or the right, if they have a particularly strong stand. I'm thinking about people like Chuck Schumer, the Democratic senator from New York, or the freshman senator from Oklahoma, conservative Republican Tom Coburn.

HARRIS: I've got to ask you something. Could we be missing the boat? We seem to be focused a lot on this pick and how this pick might view cultural issues now playing out so prominently in the country. Could we be missing the boat by focusing so much on these so-called cultural issues?

WATSON: Well, they're certainly important issues. But if you assume that the next justice and maybe even the next justices, if there is more than one, will serve at least as long as Sandra Day O'Connor -- meaning 24 years, quarter of a century -- you could argue that while gay marriage and the Ten Commandments and some of these other issues will be important, that there may be other big substantive issues that are likely to come up that we're not hearing discussion about at all.

For example, given the advances in healthcare, it's likely that over the next 20 years, Tony, there will be drugs that will clearly work six or seven times better for a Tony Harris than they will for a Carlos Watson. And consequently, should Tony have to pay much more for those drugs? And what happens if, over that period of time, certain groups of people --healthcare for them ends up costing a lot more? Is there an unfair impact there? Does the government have a role to step in? The court will likely have to weigh in on that. You'll also see major decisions on business law and on the Internet. And we're not hearing any conversation about either of those now.

HARRIS: A lot to think about. Good to see you, my friend.

WATSON: Very good to see you.

HARRIS: Let's not take so long to do this again.

WATSON: Do it again soon. Have a great morning.

HARRIS: OK, you, too.

Still to come on CNN LIVE TODAY, a check on the markets this morning. Plus, some former Enron workers could finally be getting a pay- out. That story coming up next.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

(STOCK MARKET REPORT)

HARRIS: Let's take you back to the White House now. We mentioned just a moment ago that the president was meeting with the winners of a lot of NCAA events from last year, the 2004-2005 NCAA sports champions. We want to show you the picture again, because it's a great picture to see. Among the teams being honored, Auburn's men's swimming and diving team, Minnesota's two-time national champion women's hockey team, and Michigan's national championship softball team. We want to listen in for a second. Just a bit? OK. We'll take a break and come back with a little bit more, when we come back.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

HARRIS: All systems are go for tomorrow's scheduled launch of the Space Shuttle Discovery. It's the first shuttle mission since the 2003 Columbia disaster. CNN's Sean Callebs has a great view from the Kennedy Space Center in Florida. Good morning, Sean.

SEAN CALLEBS, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Good morning, Tony. You are exactly right. We have a front-row seat here. I cannot wait until tomorrow at 3:51 Eastern Time. It really should be something to see. First time in two and a half years.

And if you look over my left shoulder, you can see the countdown clock is at 11 hours right now. That is a built-in hold, something NASA plans on every time. And it'll start up again later on this evening, then move down toward that time toward tomorrow afternoon.

We had a briefing here at the Kennedy Space Center that ended not terribly long ago. Really the one item that NASA is focused on, is concerned about at this hour: the weather. Anybody who has been in Central Florida in the heart of the summer knows storms can crop up very quickly. There's a few concerns: not only rain, wind and lightning, which could postpone the shuttle, but also just heavy cloud cover.

The reason: One of the tremendous changes that NASA made over last two and a half years to the shuttle liftoff system, there will be more than a hundred cameras trained on Discovery as it lifts off from the pad and makes its way toward orbit, including a couple in (INAUDIBLE) at 65,000. Well, if the cloud cover is so thick that it could jeopardize some of those cameras, then NASA would postpone the liftoff.

It is scheduled for 3:51. Tony, it is only a five-minute window. So that's it. If they can't launch within that five minutes, they'll have to hold it and try again the next day.

HARRIS: Sean, a quick question. The return to space, national psyche on the line here, national pride -- are the folk there's at NASA explaining to us why this is such a big deal for them?

CALLEBS: Oh, it's a big deal not only for NASA, for the whole country, indeed for the International Space Station. This is something huge. No one -- it used to be, once the shuttle was in orbit, everybody could sit back, perhaps light that celebratory cigar and enjoy things.

HARRIS: That's right.

CALLEBS: Well, everything changed when Columbia came back through and disintegrated high over Texas. And so now, there is a whole focus on the just the entire time that the spacecraft is in space.

So they've taken a look at every aspect of the liftoff and coming back in. And a major concern, if there are problems that NASA can't overcome, what happens to the International Space Station? There was a whole feeling here by some who began to overlook the concerns that they -- and look at the concerns at NASA that they had simply not taken the safety issue as seriously as they should have, that they were really focused on timetables -- get up; get working on International Space Station; time is running out; this is an aging fleet.

HARRIS: It's not routine anymore. Sean Callebs.

CALLEBS: No.

HARRIS: Sean, thank you. And of course we'll provide live coverage of Discovery's return to flight. CNN space correspondent and AMERICAN MORNING host Miles O'Brien anchors our one-hour special tomorrow beginning at 3:00 p.m. Eastern. We will be back after a quick break.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

HARRIS: The first opportunity check the nation's weather this morning, which means our first opportunity to say hello to Jacqui Jeras in the CNN Weather Center. Good morning, Jacqui.

JACQUI JERAS, CNN METEOROLOGIST: Good morning, Tony. Good morning, everybody.

(WEATHER REPORT)

HARRIS: Okay, Jacqui Jeras. Don't want to hear that about Emily. Thank you. Appreciate it.

It could be one of the biggest threats to your health this summer, and it's no bigger than an eraser on a pencil. Stay tuned to find out why there are increased concerns about ticks and Lyme Disease.

And an American filmmaker held for months by U.S. forces in Iraq -- hear from family members about their difficult ordeal. The second hour of CNN LIVE TODAY begins right now. TO ORDER A VIDEO OF THIS TRANSCRIPT, PLEASE CALL 800-CNN-NEWS OR USE OUR SECURE ONLINE ORDER FORM LOCATED AT www.fdch.com