Return to Transcripts main page

CNN Live Today

CIA Leak Probe; Judging Miers; Look & Leave

Aired October 12, 2005 - 10:59   ET

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

DARYN KAGAN, CNN ANCHOR: And a lot more ahead in the next hour of CNN LIVE TODAY.
Controversy surrounding Supreme Court nominee Harriet Miers. A look at what the Bush administration may have told a religious leader about how Miers would vote on controversial cases.

Plus, five days after the quake a sign of hope. Amazing pictures of the rescue of a little boy in Pakistan. Look at that. A camera helped to lead the way.

The second hour of CNN LIVE TODAY begins right now.

And let's take a look at what's happening "Now in the News."

"New York Times" reporter Judith Miller has made a second appearance before a grand jury investigating the leak of a CIA operative's name. And sources familiar with the case tell CNN White House adviser Karl Rove is scheduled to make his fourth appearance before the panel on Friday.

Details just ahead in a live report.

A man who was beaten by New Orleans police in a videotaped incident was in court just a short time ago. Officers accused 64- year-old Robert Davis of being drunk and resisting arrest. He pleaded not guilty.

The officers charged in the beating have scheduled a news conference for the next hour. We will bring you live coverage.

More relief supplies have arrived in earthquake-ravaged areas of northern Pakistan. Aid workers, though, say it's not enough. Quake survivors mobbed trucks carrying desperately needed food and water. Weather conditions have improved, which has allowed helicopters to start flying again. The magnitude 7.6 earthquake killed thousands and left millions homeless.

Three people are dead, four others are missing as a result of flooding in New Hampshire. Remnants of Hurricane Tammy flooded the southwest area of the state, wiping out roads and washing away homes. The forecast calls for more rain in the region.

Let's check the time around the world.

It is just after 11:00 a.m. here in Atlanta, Georgia; just after 10:00 a.m. in New Orleans; and just after 7:00 p.m. in Baghdad. Good morning to all of you. From CNN Center in Atlanta, I'm Daryn Kagan.

We begin this hour with the CIA leak investigation. "New York Times" reporter Judith Miller returning for a second round of grand jury testimony this morning. And this is new video into us here at CNN.

Sources familiar with the case tell us that Karl Rove is expected back on Friday. That'll be the fourth time in front of the grand jury for the president's close and trusted adviser.

Our national correspondent, Bob Franken, is at the courthouse in Washington with more.

Bob, hello.

BOB FRANKEN, CNN NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Hello. And it was a briefer appearance than her last time before this grand jury. But Judy Miller had less that she had to say to the grand jury and nothing to say to reporters as she walked out with her attorney, Robert Bennett.

She had been before the grand jury for probably just a little bit over an hour. The subject, according to sources, a newly-discovered notebook that she had kept in her "New York Times" office. It was a notebook that contained notes, according to these sources, of conversations she had had with White House chief of staff Scooter Libby, Louis Scooter Libby. Conversations that occurred earlier than -- this was the vice president's chief of staff, by the way -- he is the vice president's chief of staff -- conversations she had had earlier than she testified last time with Libby.

Now, Judy Miller had spent quite a bit of time yesterday with the prosecutor, Patrick Fitzgerald, discussing this information today. She went before the grand jury. And as I said, had no comment coming out.

Karl Rove, the deputy White House chief of staff now, the president's chief political adviser for about the entire career in politics of the president, is expected on Friday. Rove, along with Libby, has been frequently mentioned as the sources who have been explored for the information about Valerie Plame, who was the CIA operative whose identity was disclosed in July of 2003. Value Plame, the wife of Joe Wilson, who had been the harsh critic of the administration's claims about weapons of mass destruction.

Patrick Fitzgerald in the process of what many people believe will be winding up his investigation. It's an investigation that's gone on for nearly two years into the possibility that those disclosures were the result of -- or caused the laws to be broken. It is an investigation that has reached the top levels of the White House. We are expecting decisions quite soon on whether there will be indictments, and if so, against whom -- Daryn.

KAGAN: Bob Franken, live in Washington, D.C. He denies any wrongdoing. Karl Rove, though, is implicated as one source of the CIA leak. And Bob was talking about this some. Whispers of a possible indictment are having an impact on Rove's standing in Washington.

More on that now from our congressional correspondent, Joe Johns.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

JOE JOHNS, CNN CONGRESSIONAL CORRESPONDENT (voice over): Karl Rove took George Bush from the Texas governor's mansion to the White House, riding high on Inauguration Day. But by the summer, rove was showing some strain.

KARL ROVE, DEPUTY WHITE HOUSE CHIEF OF STAFF: Aren't you embarrassed? Get off my driveway. Aren't you embarrassed?

JOHNS: He is under pressure. A federal prosecutor hounding him about the leak of a CIA operative's name. The media camped out.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Good morning, Mr. Rove.

ROVE: Get off the lawn.

JOHNS: To some, he's a genius. To others, a master of the political dark arts, brewing up nasty, under-the-radar whispering campaigns. True or not, Rove is a big target.

UNIDENTIFIED GROUP: Rove leaked Plame for political gain.

JOHNS: Democrats are lumping Rove in with other Republicans in trouble, trying to build a case that the GOP is corrupt.

HOWARD DEAN, DNC CHAIRMAN: We are talking about an atmosphere of arrogance and corruption that the Republic Party has brought to the highest levels of our government.

JOHNS: The most serious allegation is that Rove leaked the name of CIA officer Valerie Plame to reporters to discredit her husband, Joe Wilson, who had cast doubt on Bush's reasons for going to war in Iraq. Rove denies outing her.

ROVE: I didn't know her name and didn't leak her name.

JOHNS: He's been interviewed three times by the federal grand jury investigating the matter, and he's going back for a fourth. Prosecutors have told Rove there's no guarantee he won't be indicted.

RANDALL ELIASON, FMR. FEDERAL PROSECUTOR: There appears to be an assumption that the fact that he's going back into the grand jury is really bad news for Mr. Rove. Not necessarily.

JOHNS: Randall Eliason is a former federal prosecutor with a record of going after political figures. His take on Rove's repeat grand jury appearances? ELIASON: On one end, the possibility is that he really has nothing to fear and he's being fully cooperative and is going in just to answer any further questions. The opposite end of the spectrum is that it's a last desperation move to try to head off on indictment.

JOHNS: If Rove is indicted and forced to resign, the Republicans would lose their best strategic mind at the worst possible time.

Joe Johns, CNN, Washington.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

KAGAN: And you can log on to CNN.com for a complete timeline of the CIA leak probe. While there, you can also read an interview with Judith Miller. That's CNN.com/politics.

And now to the Supreme Court nomination of Harriet Miers. A prominent Christian leader denies getting assurances from the White House about how Miers would vote on abortion. So what did the administration tell James Dobson?

White House Correspondent Dana Bash joins us with some answers.

Hey, Dana.

DANA BASH, CNN WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT: Hey, Daryn.

And what happened essentially is that last week James Dobson gave a hesitant and even sometimes tortured explanation of why he, unlike some other Christian leaders, decided to support Harriet Miers' nomination. Ad in that explanation, he seemed to suggest he maybe got a wink and a nod from here at the White House about her views.

Now he's trying to set the record straight.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

BASH (voice over): Christian conservative James Dobson insists top Bush aide Karl Rove gave him no backroom assurances on how Miers would come down on abortion or other key social issues.

DR. JAMES DOBSON, CHRISTIAN CONSERVATIVE: I did not ask that question. You know, to be honest, I would have loved to have known how Harriet Miers views Roe v. Wade.

BASH: With Rove's permission and urging, Dobson is now talking about their private conversation, trying to clarify his cryptic comments last week suggesting he reluctantly endorsed Miers because of inside information.

DOBSON: What did Karl Rove say to me? What we all know now, that Harriet Miers is an evangelical Christian, that she is from a very conservative church which is almost universally pro-life.

BASH: The GOP Senate Judiciary chairman threatened to call both to testify about their discussions. Dobson defiantly says he has nothing to hide.

Why is Dobson vouching for Miers' conservative credentials so critical to the president? His Christian organization, Focus on the Family, is an empire with remarkable reach. The radio show reaches 26 million in the U.S. a week. And there are 10 monthly magazines, plus a personally written newsletter.

His tremendous clout among rank and file Republicans and conservative Democrats comes from the wide appeal of his message: family issues. Dobson's an evangelical leader, but not a clergyman. He has a Ph.D. in psychology. Best-selling books, videos, DVDs, focused not just on religion, but practical guides for families. Niche specificity on issues like strong-willed children and bringing up boys.

TERRY HOLT, FMR. BUSH CAMPAIGN SPOKESMAN: Dr. Dobson has established himself as a kind of arbiter or conduit to that community. And he has quite a bullhorn. He can either help you or hurt you.

BASH: Karl Rove and top GOP leaders have been courting Dobson for years and talk to him frequently, making sure he's clued in on big policy initiatives and appointments before they are announced in the hopes he'll approve or at least not denounce the move to his vast following.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

BASH: Now, Dobson did reveal some new information he said he learned from Rove, and that is that some of the candidates the conservatives liked and wanted for the position actually took their names off the list because the confirmation process had become too bitter.

But here's the thing, Daryn. Senior officials say that Rove didn't tell Dobson who those candidates were. The White House won't tell us either. What they are saying here at the White House this morning, however, is that that happened back when the list was in "double digits." Scott McClellan, the White House spokesman, insists that Miers was the president's first choice -- Daryn.

KAGAN: Dana Bash at the White House.

Dana, thank you.

BASH: Thank you.

KAGAN: Congressman Tom DeLay trying to turn the tables on the prosecutor leading the criminal case against him. DeLay's lawyers have sent a subpoena to Travis County D.A. Ronnie Earle. The defense team wants to know about communications between Earle and the grand juries that heard evidence against DeLay. The congressman was indicted on conspiracy and money laundering charges but denies any wrongdoing.

Defense attorneys have also asked a question of Earle and his staff. DeLay accuses Earle of a political vendetta against him. The D.A. disputes that accusation.

There are more questions today about Senate Majority Leader Bill Frist and his stock in a family-founded hospital chain. The Associated Press says Frist accumulated stock in the company outside of a blind trust. There are no allegations of wrongdoing related to Frist accumulating that stock, but federal officials are investigating his sale of shares from the blind trust. Frist set up the trust to avoid conflicts of interest when voting on healthcare legislation.

The man who was videotaped being beaten by New Orleans police officers was in court last hour. Robert Davis pleaded not guilty to charges of public intoxication, battery on a police officer, and resisting arrest. A trial date has been set for January 18.

Officers were seen on videotape punching Davis in the incident on Saturday. The officers have been suspended and a federal civil rights investigation has been launched.

Three officers face battery charges stemming from the incident. They pleaded not guilty during a hearing on Monday, and they were released on bond. And, in fact, we expect to hear from the officers charged in connection with the videotaped beating in the next hour. A news conference is scheduled for noon Eastern. We will bring you live coverage.

Some residents are being allowed back in the Lower Ninth Ward of New Orleans today. But they are not allowed to stay. The mayor has imposed what he calls a look and leave plan. It lets residents go in, inspect the damage, and then get out. For most of the residents of the Ninth Ward, there is very little to salvage.

CNN's Alina Cho reports from that neighborhood.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

ALINA CHO, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Keith Calhoun and wife Chandra have not seen their home in the Lower Ninth Ward since Hurricane Katrina until now. It is not pretty.

KEITH CALHOUN, LOWER NINTH WARD RESIDENT: This is it.

CHANDRA MCCORMICK, LOWER NINTH WARD RESIDENT: It's just a mess.

CHO: The home they've owned for 12 years in the historic Holy Cross section has been flattened.

CALHOUN: Basically, we just got to start over.

CHO: Chandra says there is a hidden blessing.

MCCORMICK: This is not good at all, but we have each other and we have our family, and that's going to keep us going.

CHO: The couple, along with their two children, have temporarily settled in Texas. For six weeks, they've been waiting to come back.

MCCORMICK: That was what I wanted to come back here for, you know, mainly to just see if I had anything of my work.

CHO: There is not much, if anything, that is salvageable. So Keith begins a new chapter of documenting, taking pictures of what's left of his home. Later, the couple checks on Chandra's mother's home. There's a surprise. They found boxes of their photos, pictures that tell the story of the Lower Ninth Ward.

CALHOUN: Do you see these men? Lifting two sacks? They were working for their money, despite how hard they worked, you know? They was able to take care of their family. And we leave this life back in the city.

CHO: The Lower Nine, as locals call it, is home to Fats Domino, a place where corner grocery stores are called "superets," where historically, blacks in New Orleans have found affordable housing. It's a place where neighbors say good morning and good night. It's why the couple says it's important to rebuild, why their family will be back.

CALHOUN: This is where we come back to. At least now I know what I'm facing. I know that, hey, you don't have nothing no more, but you got to keep going.

CHO (on camera): Residents who want to come in to the Lower Ninth Ward for this look and leave will have to do so between the hours of 8:00 a.m. and 6:00 p.m. Central Time. No one will be allowed in after dark.

Alina Cho, CNN, New Orleans.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

KAGAN: Residents in New Orleans aren't the only ones left homeless by Mother Nature. Up next, the struggle to get aid to millions of desperate victims of the quake in South Asia. And concern now there may not be enough to go around.

Also, it's being called a miracle after the ruin. Days after being buried by rubble, a little boy is found alive. You are going to see the pictures just ahead.

Plus, bird flu is a killer, but it might not have many people contracting the disease. At least not yet. There are concerns that could change. Details ahead.

And later, a Smurf tale. It's for a good cause, but some say it makes for some really bad TV. Why the blue guys and gals are being blown up.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

KAGAN: An amazing sight and a rare sign of hope amid the devastation in South Asia. Yes, that's a little boy who was pulled alive from the rubble that was left by Saturday's massive earthquake. It was a search team in Balakot in northwestern Pakistan. They rescued the boy after spotting him with a high-tech camera. Great story.

More international aid is arriving in the earthquake disaster zone today. But the sheer scope of the tragedy is putting relief efforts to the test.

CNN's Becky Anderson reports from the Pakistani capital of Islamabad.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

BECKY ANDERSON, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice over): Relief efforts pick up pace five days after the major earthquake that devastated northern Pakistan and disputed Kashmir. Deliver of aid becoming more manageable now that Tuesday's stormy weather has passed.

The Pakistani prime minister, in a visit to the hardest-hit town of Muzaffrabad, says the disaster has united Pakistanis.

SHAUKAT AZIZ, PAKISTANI PRIME MINISTER: They have gelled today. They have galvanized. And there's a spirit -- there's a resilience in the people.

This is a terrible tragedy. It is unprecedented in the world. But people are committed to help each other, and we will proceed in this direction. And as I said, every day the facilities will get better and better.

ANDERSON: But for hundreds of thousands of people, the government's optimism is unfounded. Looters fight over relief supplies. Many people desperate after waiting day after day for food and water. In many cases, there is simply not enough to go around right now.

JAN VANDEMOORTELE, U.N. RESIDENT COORDINATOR: This is an understand precedent disaster that is beyond the scope of any government and any organization alone.

ANDERSON: Help is arriving from other governments. An Indian relief flight landed in Pakistan on Wednesday, indication that the two countries have cast aside suspicion to deal with the quake's aftermath. And the arrival of more U.S. helicopters from Afghanistan to aid in the effort is a much needed boost to survivors who are sick and/or wounded.

MAJ. FAROOQ NASIR, PAKISTANI ARMY SPOKESMAN: It's very significant, because the Chinook helicopter can carry 100 people at one time. And today, the first sortie, they've treated more than 65 (INAUDIBLE) at one time.

ANDERSON: But much more help is needed. This earthquake struck a vast area. Much of it remote, mountainous and poor. And with winter approaching, the authorities are soon going to have to switch gear from rescue to finding shelter for more than 2.5 million people made homeless by this disaster.

Becky Anderson, CNN, Islamabad.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

KAGAN: And then back here in the U.S., residents in New Hampshire are dealing with devastation of their own. Communities under water and overwhelmed. Up next, one woman whose home was literally swept away by floodwaters talks to CNN.

Stay with us.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

KAGAN: Enough problems in New Hampshire. The state already saturated from a weekend of rain. About 11 inches in places.

Flooding washed homes away, homes and lives. At least three people are dead, four missing.

CNN's Chris Huntington reports from the small town of Alstead.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

MARLENE WADE, FLOOD VICTIM: This was the entrance to our front porch, which was all glassed in. And then our house ran to the right of it.

CHRIS HUNTINGTON, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): That ramp she's standing on is now a ramp to nowhere. The surging waters of Cold River swept away the house that she and her husband had lived in since 1957, as well as their garage, their barn and virtually all of their land.

WADE: My son said later on, "Ma, we don't have any land, and we can't rebuild here."

HUNTINGTON: Marlene is a diabetic. Her husband of 52 years, Leroy, has Parkinson's, and has been in a wheelchair since suffering a stroke two years ago. They were sound asleep on Sunday morning, unaware that the rising river was ripping out their foundation.

(on camera): Early Sunday morning, Marlene and Leroy Wade got the call from their neighbor that probably saved their lives. From the neighbor that lived in this house, on a house that now sits directly on the bank of a greatly expanded Cold River.

Marlene and Leroy's territory was cut back. You can see the line here extending under the shed, which is the only bit of their property that really exists anymore. They have absolutely nothing left.

(voice-over): They did have flood insurance years ago, but canceled it once they paid off their house. Now, they're relying on family, their friends and a lot of faith.

WADE: My feet are on the ground and I'm strong-willed anyway. But my faith keeps me going.

HUNTINGTON: And that faith is one thing the river could not take.

Chris Huntington, CNN, Alstead, New Hampshire.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

KAGAN: Let's see if more rain is on the way to the area. Here's Jacqui.

(WEATHER REPORT)

KAGAN: Still ahead on CNN LIVE TODAY, there is more bloodshed in Iraq. It is just days before Iraqis go to the polls to vote on a constitution. Many fear more violence is yet to come.

There's also a new deal in Iraq to tell you about. We're live in Baghdad coming up next.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

KAGAN: We are coming up on the half-hour. Good morning once again. I'm Daryn Kagan. Here's a look at what's happening "Now in the News."

At least 30 people have been killed and 40 others injured in a suicide bombing near the Iraqi city of Tal Afar. Local hospital officials say the blast went off at an army and police recruitment center.

TO ORDER A VIDEO OF THIS TRANSCRIPT, PLEASE CALL 800-CNN-NEWS OR USE OUR SECURE ONLINE ORDER FORM LOCATED AT www.fdch.com