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L.A. Filmmaker Heading Home After Being Jailed for 54 Days in Iraq by U.S. Military; Latest Developments in CIA Leak Investigation

Aired July 12, 2005 - 11:31   ET

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

TONY HARRIS, CNN ANCHOR: And just past the half hour, I'm Tony Harris, in for Daryn Kagan. Here is what's happening now in the news.
New video and new developments on the London terror attacks. British police raided several homes in Leeds this morning. The operation is tied to last week's London bombings. British media reports police made several arrests. CNN has not been able to independently confirm that. But we do know about 500 to 600 people have been evacuated.

Meantime, police have shutdown a train station north of London. They indicate a car located there may have some connection to the attacks. Police plan a news conference shortly where we may get additional information.

Warsaw's subway system was shutdown today after an anonymous bomb threat there. Bomb squads searched the rail system, but as far as we know, they found nothing yet. Poland is considered a potential target because they sent troops to Iraq.

President Bush sat down for breakfast today with four U.S. senators He sought their input on potential Supreme Court nominees, as well as a timetable on the confirmation process. All four senators will be actively involved in that process once Mr. Bush nominates a replacement for Sandra Day O'Connor.

And hot on the heels of Dennis comes Tropical Storm Emily. Forecasters predict it will become a hurricane soon. Emily looks like it may take a northwesterly track into the Caribbean, but the storm is still too far out to know whether it will threaten the U.S.

Let's get you up to date this morning on the news from Iraq. A land mine explosion kills an American soldier on patrol outside of the capital. The military says three other soldiers were wounded in that blast. An Iraqi police officer is gunned down in Baghdad today. He worked at the interior ministry. The bold attack happened in rush hour traffic. Gunmen pulled up behind the officer's car and opened fire. And in the northern city of Kirkuk today, a car bomb killed two Iraqi civilians and left another seven wounded. One report suggests the U.S. military may have been the intended target. A convoy passed by shortly before the explosion.

A Los Angeles filmmaker is heading home now after being jailed for 54 days in Iraq by the U.S. military. Cyrus Kar was shooting a documentary in Iraq with permission. Iraqi police arrested him when they found potential bomb-making parts in the taxi he hired. Kar, a U.S. citizen and military vet, was held in solitary confinement and was denied a lawyer according to his family. The ACLU filed suit last week, demanding the government release Kar. It did so on Sunday.

Mark Rosenbaum is legal director of the ACLU of Southern California. And Shahrzad Folger Cyrus Kar's cousin. Both join me from Los Angeles this morning.

And good morning to both of you.

MARK ROSENBAUM, ACLU OF SOUTHERN CALIF.: Good morning.

SHAHRZAD FOLGER, CYRUS KAR'S COUSIN: Good morning.

HARRIS: Well, Shazid, let me first ask you, have you talked to your cousin recently?

FOLGER: Yes, actually, I talked to him last night. We had a long conversation. I was filling him on everything that has happened at home. And he said he has plenty of stories to share with us when he gets home.

HARRIS: How is he doing?

FOLGER: He's doing good.

HARRIS: OK, so he's well now? But over the last couple of months, it's been a different story for your cousin. Did he explain to you why he was being held, and if he was ever questioned, what the questioning was of him?

FOLGER: You know, he didn't go into that too much. We were mostly just trying to catch up with each other. I'm sure when he comes home, he'll go into what it was like a lot more.

HARRIS: Let me ask you, the claim is that some bomb-making parts were found in the taxi cab that he was riding in. Was he the only one detained? Was, for example, the Iranian cameramen he was working with, was that person detained? Was the taxi driver detained as well?

FOLGER: They sure were. All of them were detained.

HARRIS: And why solitary confinement? Did he give you a sense of what his surroundings were?

FOLGER: Well, he was just in a very small cell pretty much for 23 hours of today.

ROSENBAUM: He was separated from the camera person. They were put in separate detention facilities. And he was interrogated repeatedly. He repeatedly quested attorneys. He was denied that access. He said to the military almost immediately, look, check me out. I'm a veteran. I served in the Navy for three years. Call my aunt. Get the keys to my apartment. You can check out everything about me. I've been working on a project to go to Iraq, to go throughout that area, to do a documentary about Cyrus the Great, who is a 5th century BCE ruler of Persia, and the first leader who supporting human rights. He said, check me out, I'll take a lie- detector test.

HARRIS: Did he do that?

ROSENBAUM: Yes, the FBI did check him out. An agent came to the apartment, went through all his belongings, removed from the apartment his computer, all his papers, went through it. He took a lie-detector test. He passed a lie-detector test. The FBI came back to the family and said, he's cleared. He'll be home in a couple of days. That was June 9th or June 10th. He never learned that he had passed the lie- detector test, and he never learned that he had in fact been cleared by the FBI.

And we know that after 9/11, the FBI does not lightly clear individuals in national security investigations, but he remained there in communicado, not able to talk to his family, except for a couple of phone calls for 10-minute spurts, heavily monitored, couldn't get information out at all. And he was not told was going on. It took worldwide publicity and the filing of our lawsuit and the ordering of a judge, saying, United States, you've to come and explain why you are holding this individual indefinitely for him to be released. He was released about 30 hours before a hearing was scheduled in front of a federal judge in Washington D.C.

HARRIS: And, Mark, maybe this serves as a bit of a cautionary tale. Do U.S. -- or should U.S. citizens expect the same kind of legal protections we enjoy here in the United States of due process?

ROSENBAUM: Well, They're entitled to them. It's a terrific question. The Constitution in the United States Supreme Court in an opinion by Justice O'Connor stated just over a year ago that all United States citizens are entitled to the same sorts of protections whether they're in Los Angeles or whether they're in Baghdad. The United States military doesn't recognize that. In fact, Saddam Hussein got more due process rights and more hearing rights than a Navy veteran, Cyrus Kar.

HARRIS: OK, Mark Rosenbaum, let's leave it there, legal director for the ACLU of Southern California, and Shahrzad Folger, we wish you well, and we hope your cousin gets back to you safely.

ROSENBAUM: Thanks very much.

SHAHRZAD: Thank you.

HARRIS: It's not an illness you hear a lot about all across the country, but lyme disease can be extremely dangerous, especially during the summer months, more after the break on what just one tick bite can do.

And the Senate takes up the stem cell issue again this morning. Can Congress make political progress on medical research. These stories are next in our "Daily Dose" segment.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

HARRIS: Lance Armstrong. Amazing. OK, apparently -- this just in here, just a couple of minutes ago -- blew away the competition. Blew away the competition in today's stage in the Tour de France, winning today's stage in the mountains, and we understand snagging that yellow jersey again. Lance Armstrong, as you know, going for an unprecedented seventh Tour de France title. Blew away the field today at the Tour de France.

The emotional debate over stem cell research is playing out on Capitol Hill this morning. Senator Arlen Specter is holding a hearing on a bill to lift restrictions on embryonic stem cell studies. Specter, who is battling cancer, says he and millions of Americans have a vested interest in the debate.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

SEN. ARLEN SPECTER, (R) PENNSYLVANIA: There's a very strong personal note to my own view. As has been reported some 50 Republicans voted for the legislation in the House because, in many ways, personal experiences. I hope we don't have to come to a point where 535 of us have personal experiences before we leave the battle for some Americans who suffer directly or indirectly from maladies which could be cured by NIH research or perhaps by stem cells.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

HARRIS: Senators were hearing from scientists who support alternative methods. They say they may be advance stem cell research without destroying embryos.

In our "Daily Dose" of health news, a tiny tick that poses a big health risk, especially this time of year. Summer is peak season for Lyme disease, which is spread by deer ticks. Florida State quarterback -- have you heard this story? Wyatt Sexton -- there is he is, number 19 -- was diagnosed with Lyme disease last month. He was found dazed and disoriented on a city street and will need several months of treatment with antibiotics.

Joining us from New York to talk about the disease and the best ways to prevent it is Dr. Holly Phillips. Dr. Phillips, good morning.

DR. HOLLY PHILLIPS, GENERAL INTERNIST: Good morning.

HARRIS: Well, we're talking about a deer tick. And describe this thing for us. Because it's -- apparently, it's just a tiny thing.

PHILLIPS: They're absolutely minuscule. The type of ticks that carry Lyme disease primarily are called the ixsodes tick. They live on deer and also in leafy green areas, particularly moist leafy green areas, such as off of hiking paths, in the rough of golf courses, that sort of thing.

HARRIS: I see. But, Dr. Holly, it's a tiny thing. We know that it's infected, but what is it infected with? What kind of bacteria are we talking about here that's causing these problem?

PHILLIPS: Well, the Lyme disease is carried by a bacteria called a sphirochete. And it's very difficult to detect, because when a person is first detected, they don't have obvious symptoms. You know, it's very -- it's a very subtle diagnosis.

HARRIS: And when these symptoms manifest themselves, they can manifest themselves in some kind of ugly ways. What kind of diseases are you susceptible to, conditions?

PHILLIPS: Well, in early Lyme disease, you'll have a fever, a rash, maybe some muscle aches, that sort of thing. If it goes long enough and it's not treated, you can develop central nervous system effects, you can get some psychiatric problems, even some heart problems.

HARRIS: Do you feel it when it's on you? When it bites you, do you feel it?

PHILLIPS: Most people do not feel the bite.

HARRIS: They don't feel the bite. So, all right, so you want to get it early. The treatment is, I understand, antibiotics. Is that correct?

PHILLIPS: Exactly. It's a three-week course of antibiotics if it's caught early. If it's caught later in the course, a longer course of antibiotics is needed.

HARRIS: Lyme disease can disorient you neurologically? It can lead you, in the case of this football player, to wandering around the streets disoriented, dazed and confused?

PHILLIPS: Absolutely. Once it enters the central nervous system, it can cause all kinds of confusion and psychiatric effects.

HARRIS: Brother. All right, so what do we do? How do we protect ourselves?

PHILLIPS: The best way is to prevent the tick bite to begin with. So if you're going to be out in a leafy green area, if you're going to be gardening, hiking, we recommend you wear long sleeves shirts, pants tucked into socks, that sort of thing. Insect repellent that has DEET in it is also very useful.

HARRIS: Dr. Holly Phillips for us from New York. Dr. Phillips, thanks. Good to see you. Thanks for being with us.

PHILLIPS: Thank you.

HARRIS: And for your "Daily Dose" of health news online, log on to Web site. You'll find the latest medical stories, special reports and a health library. The address is CNN.com/health.

He's the man some Democrats love to hate. Now CNN's roving reporter Jeanne Moos takes a look at the presidential adviser now at the center of a controversy about politics and the press. Stay with us.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

HARRIS: A nearly 12,000-acre wildfire in southern Colorado is reported to be about 30 percent contained. Thousands of people are still under evacuation orders, and hundreds of homes are threatened. Firefighters are hoping for cooler weather and calmer winds today as they try to get the upper hands on this. Find out more about the science and the dangers of wildfires on our Web site.

Veronica De La Cruz has details from the dot-com desk.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

VERONICA DE LA CRUZ, CNN CORRESPONDENT: You can think of it as a double-edged sword, essential to the ecosystem, but ravaging and dangerous when it comes to human life and property. At CNN.com, a closer look at wildfires. The number of homes damaged by wildfires has doubled in the last decade, as urban development encroaches on wild land. Most wildfires occur west of the Mississippi River, in areas known for their dry and hot summer months.

The National Wildland Fire Outlook has placed Nevada, Florida and the Pacific Northwest at higher risk of major fires this season, but the deadly blazes also act as a cleansing agent, by eliminating dead underbrush, weak organisms and more. You can find out the details on the science of a wildfire, from how the weather may effect it to detention, prevention, and suppression by clicking through this interactive gallery. You can also revisit some of the worst wildfires in North America, including the Pestigo (ph) Fire in 1871, which killed nearly half of a Wisconsin town's population, and the Great Fire of 1910 in Idaho and Montana.

Finally, what is the number-one cause of wildfires? Is it lightning, human activity, lava or solar flares. take our quiz and find out. It is all online at CNN.com/wildfires.

From the dot-com newsdesk, I'm Veronica De La Cruz.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

HARRIS: Congressional correspondent Ed Henry is following the latest developments in the CIA leak investigation, and the role that top President Bush adviser Karl Rove may have played in leaking that information.

Ed Henry joins us now with the latest details -- Ed.

Ed, can you hear me?

ED HENRY, CNN CONGRESSIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Tony, Senators John Kerry and Hillary Clinton are now both indicating that they believe Karl Rove should be fired in this case. This is just a few moments ago at a press conference Democrats were holding, in which they were saying they believe rail security and port security in this country is not getting enough funding. But at the end of his statement on homeland security, John Kerry had this cryptic reference, where he said he believes the White House cares more about the job security of top aides than homeland security. So I pressed Senator Kerry on whether or not he was referring to Karl Rove. Kerry then teed off on rove. And all of the while, Senator Clinton was off camera nodding and smiling. You'll hear me at the end ask whether she also believes that Karl Rove should be fired.

Take a listen.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

SEN. JOHN KERRY (D), MASSACHUSETTS: Is the value of day-to-day politics, and the value of political advice and the value of his position greater than the national security of our country and the protect of the identity of people as well as their own word and their own policy? The White House house's credibility is at issue here, and I believe very clearly Karl Rove ought to be fired.

SEN. HILLARY CLINTON (D), NEW YORK: I'm nodding.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

HENRY: Now, Senator Rick Santorum, a member of the Republican leadership, told me a few moments ago that he thinks this is overheated rhetoric on the Democrats part. Santorum and other Republican senators saying that they believe Karl Rove did not nothing wrong in this case. Santorum saying, quote, that is just politics as usual.

Also, a very tough statement from the Republican National Committee chairman Ken Mehlman, a close friend of Karl Rove, who put out a statement a short while ago saying, quote, "It's disappointing that once again so many Democrat leaders are taking their political cues from the far left (INAUDIBLE) wing of the part. The bottom line is Karl Rove was discouraging a reporter from writing a false story based on a false premise, and the Democrats are that engaging in blatant partisan political attacks. That from Ken Mehlman, the Republican National Committee chairman, but again, the news this morning, now two top Senate Democrats, potential presidential candidates in 2008, John Kerry and Hillary Clinton, calling on Karl Rove to be fired -- Tony.

HARRIS: All right. Congressional correspondent Ed Henry in Washington for us.

As you can see, a whiff of scandal is turning up the heat on Washington's long, hot summer. And reporters seem hungry for a story. Barbecue anyone?

CNN's Jeanne Moos reports.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

JEANNE MOOS, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Talk about getting grilled. Nothing got pressed and prodded more than the White House press secretary.

QUESTION: You're in a bad spot here, Scott, because... QUESTION: When did you change your mind?

SCOTT MCLELLAN, WHITE HOUSE PRESS SECY.: If you'll let me finish.

QUESTION: No, you're not finished, because you're not saying anything.

MOOS: Not saying anything except...

MCCLELLAN: While that investigation is ongoing, the White House is not going to comment on it. Our policy continues to be that we're not going to get into comment. You can keep asking them, but you have my response.

MOOS: The left has accused the press of not asking, of barely uttering the 'R' word, as in Karl Rove, White House deputy chief of staff. But now...

QUESTION: I want to ask you this: Did Karl Rove commit a crime?

MOOS: That's practically all they were asking, 23 questions.

MCCLELLAN: Do you have questions on another topic?

QUESTION: No, no, no.

MOOS: And though Press Secretary Scott McClellan showered reporters with appreciation for their efforts.

MCCLELLAN: I appreciate your question.

I appreciate your questions.

I appreciate the question.

MOOS: He didn't appreciate it enough to answer, not until the investigation into who leaked the name of a CIA operative is over.

GEORGE W. BUSH, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: If there's a leak out of my administration, I want to know who it is.

MOOS: Now that "Newsweek" reports Karl Rove's name has surfaced in an e-mail "Time" magazine was forced by the court to turn over, reporters are attacking the subject as if it's red meat.

QUESTION: So you're not going to respond as to whether or not the president has confidence in his deputy chief of staff?

QUESTION: When did the press learn that Karl Rove...

QUESTION: Are you standing by what you said previously?

MCCLELLAN: You've heard me response.

MOOS: It was enough to leave reporters twiddling their pens, looking for answers, perhaps from a higher source.

QUESTION: Scott, I mean, this is ridiculous.

MOOS: As anyone who does it know, s, grilling can make you thirsty.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: What would you like? We've got fresh lemonade.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: A beer.

MOOS: I bet the White House press secretary could use a drink after a briefing that must have seemed anything but brief. Still he managed to smile when it was all over, emitting no visible smoke.

Jeanne Moos, CNN, New York.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

HARRIS: And this just in to CNN. We're getting of an explosion at a mall in Netanya, Israel, an explosion in Israel, and we understand that this is in a mall in Natanya, coastal city of Natanya, in Israel. No word yet of injuries, but we can be assured that there are casualties in this explosion. Once again, an explosion in Natanya Israel, and we are also standing by for a briefing from Scotland Yard an update on the investigation into the terror attacks last Thursday.

That's it for CNN LIVE TODAY. I'm Tony Harris.

International news is up next.

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