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U.S. Military Officials Now Saying They Believe They've Found Remains of Two of Their Own; David Safavian, Former Bush Administration Official, Convicted in Federal Court on Four of Five Charges

Aired June 20, 2006 - 10:29   ET

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

DARYN KAGAN, CNN ANCHOR: We move on back to Iraq.
Bodies found in Iraq. U.S. military officials are now saying they believe they have found the remains of two of their own. The soldiers went missing after an attack at a checkpoint. CNN's Arwa Damon's following the story for us from Baghdad.

Arwa, hello.

ARWA DAMON, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Hi, Daryn.

That's right, the announcement coming just under an hour ago from the Major General William Caldwell, spokesman for multinational forces here in Iraq, telling a press conference in Baghdad that the U.S. military has found what they believe are the bodies of the two soldiers, Private First Class Thomas Tucker and Private First Class Kristian Menchaca.

They had been missing since Friday, when their checkpoint came under attack in the southern area of Yusufiyah, just south of the capital, an area known as the triangle of death. He said, though, that where they -- he believes that the bodies were mortally wounded and then were later on moved. He said that where they found the bodies was not based on their own movement -- Daryn.

KAGAN: Yes, and this comes -- how would you put it in geographic relationship to where the checkpoint was from where they went missing, Arwa?

DAMON: Well, from what we know -- and, of course, the information is going to keep on coming -- but the bodies were not found far from the location that the attack took place. This is an area that is south of Baghdad, Yusufiyah. It is in the Triangle of Death. It's a very, very volatile area, as we know. And also, Major General Caldwell adding in that press conference that in the ongoing search operation that took place after the two soldiers were missing on Friday, one U.S. soldier was killed and another 11 were wounded in those search operations -- Daryn.

KAGAN: And the families in the process of being notified here in the U.S. Arwa Damon in Iraq, thank you.

Well, they had been praying for Private Thomas Tucker's safe return in his hometown and now residents must deal with today's grim news.

CNN's Brianna Keilar is in Madras, Oregon, with that story -- Brianna.

BRIANNA KEILAR, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Hi there, Daryn.

It's still relatively early here in Madras. We've only started to see cars taking to the streets, and people are still waking up here. But very early today, in the 5:00 hour, we did see some people come to the home of the parents of PFC Tom Tucker. We saw people out in front of the house crying, hugging each other, consoling each other.

And Madras is really a very small community. People here, they all seem to know each other. And everyone that we talked to is familiar with the Tucker family and with PFC Tom Tucker, and they are stunned by this news.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: It's a shock when it hits home. It's, you know, it's like your neighbor, your best friend. And it's not something to happen in small town and it's not something to happen around here at all. But when it does, it's just -- it's heartbreaking. Everybody knows everybody.

RICKY STRADER, FORMER CO-WORKER: Around here, things are limited, OK, as far as jobwise and things. So I think part of his thinking probably was, you know, hey, go in, get some skills, get some really good skills,. And, then, you know, if I want to come out, I can come out and do whatever and go back to college and, you know, do something.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

KEILAR: There's been an outpouring of support here in Madras for the Tucker family and for Tom Tucker. American flags were hoisted in the front yard of the Tucker household. And around town, we've seen a lot of reader boards, people -- or reader boards urging people to keep the Tucker family and to keep Tom Tucker in their prayers and thoughts.

And the woman you just heard from, that was Keena Woods (ph), she actually went to high school, graduated in 1999 with Tom Tucker. And she and her younger sister, Candice (ph), we saw them along the main street yesterday. They were putting up signs, flags, ribbons. Just really, Daryn, wanting people to remember the Tucker family and make sure that they keep them in their thoughts and prayers.

KAGAN: Absolutely. Brianna Keilar, live from Madras, Oregon. Brianna, thank you.

The National Guard is back on the streets of New Orleans. This time the focus is crime, not Katrina. Details on that story ahead. This is CNN, the most trusted name in news.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

KAGAN: Live pictures of smoke hanging over Sedona, Arizona, in northern Arizona. About a 1,500-acre wildfire still burning there. And firefighters trying to knock that down. Really a concern of the area, the Oak Creek Canyon that links Sedona to Flagstaff, that then takes you on to the Grand Canyon. Those in the West familiar with one of the most beautiful parts of Arizona will be watching this one closely.

And this just into CNN: word that a former Bush administration official has been found guilty on four felony counts of lying and obstruction of justice.

Our Ed Henry is at the White House with more on that -- Ed.

ED HENRY, CNN WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT: Good morning, Daryn. That's right. This is another shoe dropping in the probe of Republican lobbyist Jack Abramoff. As you noted, CNN has confirmed that David Safavian, a former Bush administration official, has been convicted here in Washington in federal court on four of five charges of lying and obstruction of justice. Significant because this is the first trial of -- related to the Abramoff influence peddling case. The verdict coming on the fifth day of deliberations in the Safavian trial.

Safavian was charged with lying about his relationship with the Republican lobbyist and also lying about his knowledge of the lobbyist's interests in some federal properties here in Washington that were owned by the General Services Administration, a bureaucratic agency here. Safavian was the chief of staff at the GSA.

No comment so far from the White House on the verdict. But this will certainly give Democrats more fodder in their election year claim that there is a Republican culture of corruption that extends, in their words, from the White House to Capitol Hill.

But, of course, that case, the Democratic case, could be undermined a bit by the fact that there have been some high profile Democrats caught up in various influence-peddling scandals, as well. Of course, the most notable in recent weeks, Democratic Congressman William Jefferson of Louisiana. Of course, we all know about the $90,000 -- allegedly bribes, cash -- that was kept in his freezer here in Washington. He has denied any wrongdoing, but that has enabled Republicans to push back a little bit against Democrats.

But here, a guilty verdict on four of five counts against a former Bush official -- Daryn.

KAGAN: Ed Henry at the White House. Plenty of corruption charges to go all the way around.

And Ed, that extends to the mayor of Bridgeport, Connecticut. This just coming into CNN. The mayor, John Fabrizi, now admitting that since he's been in office as mayor of that city, he has used cocaine. He says he hasn't used it in over a year, but wanted to come out and be honest. And he's willing to go through drug testing. Earlier today, early this morning, the mayor, John Fabrizi, talking to city employees.

Let's listen in.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

MAYOR JOHN FABRIZI, BRIDGEPORT, CONNECTICUT: Over the course of a number of years, I have abused alcohol and used cocaine occasionally. About a year and a half ago, I recognized that I had a problem and I sought professional help to address the issue.

(APPLAUSE)

FABRIZI: It's been a difficult road, but it was one I knew I had to take. I believe the steps that I have taken are the correct ones for me personally, for my family, and I am pleased to tell you that I have not used drugs in the past 18 months.

(APPLAUSE)

I have put this personal struggle behind me, and it has never ever affected my job performance. The tremendous progress Bridgeport has made over the past three years is a testament to that.

Folks, my record speaks for itself. Separately it became clear to me that I needed to stop drinking entirely, as well. Approximately four months ago, I did that. I thought that these were personal and private matters to me and my family that I can deal with these issues with my family and myself. I now recognize my actions affected many others, and I want to apologize for my family, my friends and all of the people of the city of Bridgeport for my actions, my past actions.

KAGAN: The mayor of Bridgeport, John Fabrizi, admitting in the past he has used cocaine, saying he hasn't used drugs in a year half and quit drinking four months ago. He said he has no intentions to resign his office in Connecticut.

Well, her fame helped shine a spotlight on world refugees. Coming up, Angelina Jolie speaks about her role with the U.N. Refugee Agency. Anderson Cooper joins us with a preview of his exclusive interview with the actress and activist.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

KAGAN: The plight of refugees, it's a tremendous global problem that goes largely unnoticed by most everyday Americans. Today, though, is World Refugee Day. CNN is focusing on this important issue and potential solutions. Around the world millions of people have been uprooted by war, poverty and political crisis. The U.N. says five nationalities are of particular concern: Afghans, nearly 3 million; Colombians 2.5 million; Iraqis, almost two million; Sudanese, 1.6 million; and Somalis, 839,000. Around half of all refugees are children.

Hollywood superstar Angelina Jolie helped put the world's attention on refugees. She is the goodwill ambassador for the United Nations Refugee Agency. Jolie has traveled to more than 20 countries and she has donated more than $3 million for refugee causes.

She gave an exclusive interview to our own Anderson Cooper. The actress talks about the efforts to help refugees in Africa and around the world.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

ANDERSON COOPER, CNN ANCHOR: Since the late '90s, I mean, more than 3 million people have died. A thousand, they say, die a day from war-related conditions, malnutrition and things like that.

JOLIE: And there's all the rapes and (INAUDIBLE) that...

COOPER: Oh, the rapes.

JOLIE: ... which is -- and from Rwanda, which, you know...

COOPER: Right.

JOLIE: That shocked me. I didn't realize how that was still intricate. I mean, that's the thing you realize, and I think why people worried about Darfur now. You -- one area of Africa falls apart and then how it just destabilizes as a region. And you can see from Rwanda, still affecting Congo, from these, you know...

COOPER: It's also so often women and children who are the ones bearing the brunt of all this. I mean, in the Congo, it's women being raped, tens of thousands of women. I mean, I read that you saw children who had been, you know, macheted. And what is that like to see that? I mean, to see that being done to kids?

JOLIE: It's just -- well, I mean, how do you possibly explain that? It's like, being in Sierra Leone, I saw a 3-year-old who had her arms cut off? And you just think, you know, what kind of a human being -- you try to imagine, it must be drugs, it must be -- but what kind of a person could do that?

And the rapes in the Congo are so brutal. I mean, for the people that don't know about it, there's so much. And even recently, I had a baby in Africa, and people talking about the surgeries and the different types of surgeries. But they talk so much about Congo and having to sew the kids back together because they've been just ripped completely open.

And, you know, that's -- how do you make sense of any of that? It doesn't make any sense. It's disgusting and it's horrible and it needs -- you start to wonder, with all of these things, when does it take us as an international community to just get together and say, OK, that just has to stop. Joseph Cohen (ph) has to stop. And it has to stop now. How long does it have to take for us to start to enforce an international law on these kind of situations and deal with it immediately?

(END VIDEO CLIP)

KAGAN: And my colleague Anderson Cooper joins me live now from New York City. Anderson, hello.

COOPER: Hey, Daryn.

KAGAN: What was your impression of Angelina? Had you ever met her before you did this interview?

COOPER: I had never met her before. And, you know, it's interesting, she is clearly very committed to the cause of refugees around the world and a number of other causes, as well. And she -- you know, there are a lot of celebrities who just talk about causes and appear on camera talking about them, you know, here and there.

She has dedicated huge amounts of time. She says she donates about a third of her income to refugees and other causes around the world. I mean, she seems incredibly committed. And I was really impressed by her knowledge and her willingness to continue to put herself out there, you know, sometimes even in harm's way to sort of bring attention to the plight of the refugees.

KAGAN: In our world of journalism, this is known as a good get. A good interview. I mean, you get to talk to Angelina Jolie four days -- was this four days after she got back from having Brad Pitt's baby? How did you get the interview?

COOPER: Well, they approached us. I mean, I think they had gotten a sense that we do a lot of stories on Africa. I've traveled there numerous times. I've been going there since I was a kid, and try to focus on my show a lot on the plight. We've been talking a lot about the Congo recently. So I think they knew we would do a serious interview and focus attention on some causes that needed it. And so they called us up.

KAGAN: And, of course, she is the whole celebrity package. Has our attention with her serious work with refugees, but also the world focusing because of the baby. What did she tell you, and did you get to see baby Shiloh?

COOPER: I did not see baby Shiloh. I didn't ask to intrude in that way. But, you know, she talks a lot about her family. She talked a lot about giving birth in Namibia, what it was like in the operating room. Brad Pitt apparently was inside the operating room when she gave birth. She talks about, you know, some of her fears as labor began, but also fears about what might happen afterwards in terms of how she would feel about her biological child versus her two adopted children. And so it's a really interesting look at her as a mother, in addition to being a goodwill ambassador for the UNHDR.

KAGAN: So I imagine this is only a part of what you're doing with your two-hour special tonight?

COOPER: Yes, basically. I mean, we're really trying to focus. We're sort of taking viewers along with this journey, not only into the life of Angelina Jolie and her work, but also into the lives of these 15 million refugees that we've been talking about on CNN all day. Kind of showing you what Angelina Jolie has seen in the various places she visited and that we visited. And sort of informing the interview she gives with some of the stories of the people that she's met along the way.

KAGAN: A long day for you. A big day. More importantly, a good day.

COOPER: It certainly is.

KAGAN: Thanks for taking some time with us.

COOPER: Thanks, Daryn.

KAGAN: Anderson Cooper. Anderson, thank you.

And you can watch all of Anderson's exclusive interview with Angelina Jolie, 10:00 Eastern, on "ANDERSON COOPER 360."

KAGAN: Coming up, a story out of Iraq that has been developing all morning long. The two soldiers who were missing, the Pentagon believes their bodies have been found. This is CNN, the most trusted name in news.

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