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American Morning
Pressure on Rice to Testify Publicly
Aired March 26, 2004 - 07:00 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.
SOLEDAD O'BRIEN, CNN ANCHOR: Beleaguered Rice going back to face the 9/11 Commission again, but she will not go before the public.
Democrats united.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
BILL CLINTON, FORMER PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: Our party has a new leader. We know we're going in the wrong direction. He knows what to do to turn it around.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
S. O'BRIEN: John Kerry assumes the mantle as leader of the Democratic Party in a warm-up for a speech to define his campaign agenda.
And shutdown. The Northeast partially paralyzed this morning after a huge accident on a major interstate.
Those stories are all ahead on this AMERICAN MORNING.
ANNOUNCER: From the CNN Broadcast Center in New York, this is AMERICAN MORNING with Bill Hemmer and Soledad O'Brien.
S. O'BRIEN: Good morning, welcome everybody. Bill Hemmer actually has the day off, but Miles O'Brien is filling in for him this morning. Nice to have you.
MILES O'BRIEN, CNN ANCHOR: It's good to be here. Planets in alignment; I'm here.
S. O'BRIEN: Always nice to have O'Brien and O'Brien on the set. At least how I feel personally.
M. O'BRIEN: Boston law firm.
All right, other stories we're following this morning.
We're looking at the Michael Jackson case with retired L.A. detective Bill Dworin. He was the lead investigator in '93 when Jackson was accused of child molestation then. We'll look at the evidence against Jackson then compared to what police might have now.
S. O'BRIEN: Also this morning it was just a week ago when some people thought that Pakistani troops might have al Qaeda's second in command cornered in the mountains. Well now there is some suggestion that Ayman al-Zawahiri is trying to fight back at the very heart of Pakistan's military.
We'll take a look at that this morning.
M. O'BRIEN: All right, no Jack Cafferty this morning so let's go...
S. O'BRIEN: He took a day off.
M. O'BRIEN: Yet somehow we'll press on.
S. O'BRIEN: Am I the only one who didn't get the memo about taking Friday off? Not that I don't want to be here with you, Miles.
M. O'BRIEN: You're going to give me a complex.
All right, let's get to the news. What is shaping up to be a traffic nightmare here on the East Coast this morning.
Part of Interstate 95 is closed after a tanker truck crashed in Bridgeport, Connecticut last night.
It exploded in flames. The fire fueled by 12,000 gallons of oil. It actually melted part of an overpass.
A driver and a firefighter were treated for minor injuries. A portion of the highway could be closed there for weeks.
The House has approved a $2.4 trillion budget for next year. The budget is a blueprint that is similar to the request President Bush had sent to Capitol Hill.
The House of Representatives will now have to work out a compromise version with the Senate, which passed its budget outline two weeks ago. Lawmakers expected to meet next week.
Overseas now where protests erupted in Taiwan as the central election commission certified President Chen Shui-bian as the winner of last weekend's presidential elections.
Demonstrators stormed the election building in an effort to stop members from making the announcement. Some opposition supporters had been demanding a recount after Chen won the election by 30,000 votes.
About 300,000 votes were declared invalid. Other demonstrators are calling for a new election all together.
A Colorado judge is being asked to set a trial date as soon as possible in the Kobe Bryant case. An attorney for the 19-year-old accusing the NBA star of sexual assault has filed a motion on her behalf.
As part of the motion, the accuser's mother sent a letter to the judge saying the daughter's life is on hold and her safety at risk until the case is over. More on this story a little bit later in the program.
Six British Navy divers have been rescued from a swarm (ph) of caves in Mexico, but they are apparently not out of trouble yet. The men have been trapped by floodwaters for more than a week, but now they're in hot water with the Mexican government.
They reportedly entered on a tourist visa and did not notify the government about their expedition.
(WEATHER REPORT)
S. O'BRIEN: After days of criticism, and also widespread calls for national security adviser Condoleezza Rice to testify publicly before the 9/11 Commission, the Bush administration is now seeking to get Rice back in front of that panel but it's another private meeting that's being sought.
White House correspondent Suzanne Malveaux with us this morning with more on this.
Hey, Suzanne, good morning.
SUZANNE MALVEAUX, CNN WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT: Good morning, Soledad. Well, Dr. Rice was formally asked to go before the 9/11 Commission to answer questions privately, not publicly, as the Commission had liked.
She'd done this back in February, she answered about four and a half hours worth of questions.
What has changed here is the White House counsel Alberto Gonzales sent this letter to the chair and the vice-chair at the Commission stating why they believe that this was necessary.
He said in light of yesterday's hearings in which there were a number of mischaracterizations of Dr. Rice's statements and positions, she has become really central in this.
Richard Clarke making a number of accusations, including one that she was incompetent in her job. Now as you know, Soledad, of course the White House is not changing its position when it comes to public testimony. They say that will not happen.
They still believe that the principle is that, as adviser to the president who is not confirmed under the Senate, should not have to go before a legislative created body and answer questions -- Soledad.
S. O'BRIEN: But Suzanne, I'm curious, though, to know if the continued pressure continues to build -- do you expect at some time that that could change, and, also the White House has been talking about no precedent for Dr. Rice to go forward before this panel.
Is that actually true? Could she in fact say, listen, I'm happy to waive my rights as others have done on this panel and sit down and talk? MALVEAUX: Well certainly if the president said he is waiving executive privilege he should -- she could go before this Commission. They say that is not going to happen. We don't expect that to happen.
We have heard a number of criticisms from Senate minority leader Tom Daschle and even some members of the Commission saying, well, if she can call meetings of reporters back in her office, if she can go before the television cameras and give interviews, why won't she publicly go and testify?
You could make the argument that it is an issue of national security, that perhaps there are concerns that questions would come up that she would inadvertently answer that would compromise that position, but they say it's a matter of principle.
The policy for this, of course, is that this is a president who is running on his record for national security. If the administration -- if the American people believe that somehow that has been compromise this president really is in trouble. So they want to make her case very strongly but they are not giving up that principle -- Soledad.
S. O'BRIEN: Suzanne Malveaux at the White House for us this morning. Suzanne, thanks. Miles.
M. O'BRIEN: The presumptive Democratic nominee, John Kerry, will lay out his economic plan to the country in a series of three speeches. Today he's expected to set an ambitious goal creating ten million jobs in four years.
Last night, Kerry was anointed as the leader of the his Party at a fund raiser featuring a who's who of Democratic luminaries.
Kelly Wallace has a look at the passing of the torch.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
KELLY WALLACE, CNN NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): In an effort to help define himself for voters, today John Kerry delivers what aides say will be a major speech on jobs, setting a goal of creating ten million new jobs during a first four years of his presidency.
SEN. JOHN KERRY (D-MA), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: Let me tell you that is one thing that we know how to do. We know to create jobs.
With President Clinton and Al Gore and the remarkable economic team they had leading this country, we not only created those 23 million new jobs, we turned vast budget deficits into record surpluses for America.
WALLACE: Kerry spoke at last night's Democratic Party dinner, which featured former presidents, a former vice-president, and most of this year's presidential candidates.
The body language shows there may still be differences, but the goal, trying to put those aside to win back the White House.
AL GORE, FORMER VICE-PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: I didn't support John Kerry. President Carter didn't support John Kerry, President Clinton didn't support John Kerry, Terry McAuliffe didn't support John Kerry in the primaries. John Kerry earned the nomination of this Party. He won it the hard way.
WALLACE: And this from the country's most popular Democrat.
CLINTON: I ask you to look at John Kerry tonight and say to him what he has said to us his entire adult life. Send me...
WALLACE: But concerns remain that despite the unity there is a third party candidate, Ralph Nader, to contend with once again.
JIMMY CARTER, FORMER PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: Ralph, go back to umpiring softball games or examining the rear end of automobiles, and don't risk costing the Democrats the White House this year as you did four years ago.
WALLACE: Kerry's immediate challenge, raising cash. His campaign trailing the Bush team by more than $100 million.
This dinner a start, brining in what Democratic officials say was a record more than $11 million for the Democratic Party.
Kelly Wallace, CNN, Washington.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
M. O'BRIEN: We'll talk about the presidential campaign throughout the morning. 8:00 Eastern, Democrat National Committee chairman Terry McAuliffe will join us.
9 a.m. Eastern, Republican National Committee chairman Jim Dyke will be here as well.
S. O'BRIEN: Well prosecutors in Santa Barbara California are now selecting a grand jury in the Michael Jackson child molestation case. The panel of 19 jurors will hear testimony and determine if there is enough evidence against Jackson to go to trial.
Bill Dworin is a retired LAPD detective, and he was the lead investigator back in 1993 when similar charges were made against Jackson.
He joins us from Los Angeles this morning. Nice to see you, sir. Thanks for being with us.
BILL DWORIN, RETIRED LAPD DETECTIVE: Good morning.
S. O'BRIEN: Let's talk a little bit about some of what you personally investigated back in 1993. Did you believe that Michael Jackson was a threat to children after your investigation at that time? DWORIN: Yes I did. I felt that based upon the investigation, the statements from the alleged victim in 1993 and Jackson's own statements that he was, in fact, a threat and continues to be a threat to children.
S. O'BRIEN: How much of your case in fact relied on that alleged victim in the case and what was he telling you that led you to believe that he was a threat to all children?
DWORIN: Well, the way Mr. Jackson seduces children is activities with children. The statements that the boy gave us, the reliability, the credibility of the statements and the fact that we obtained physical evidence to corroborate some of the things he said led me to believe that Jackson did sexually abuse him.
S. O'BRIEN: And yet at the same time the prosecution seemed to always want more from you, sort of a smoking gun.
Do you think that was because the case was weak or because Michael Jackson is a celebrity and they wanted more evidence?
DWORIN: Well, personally, I felt it was a strong case. I don't know what the prosecutors wanted. They wanted more. We could not show them any more and they decided not to prosecute.
S. O'BRIEN: In 1993, the case was abandoned because there was a financial settlement that was rumored to be somewhere between $15 and $20 million to the young man's family and the young man himself.
Did that surprise you; did you think you had essentially an open and shut case against Michael Jackson at that time?
DWORIN: It's hard to say; you never know how a jury would react. But we felt we had a strong case and unfortunately there was a civil settlement and the case went by the side.
S. O'BRIEN: Is there anything from that case that you think is relevant in the molestation charges that have now been brought against Michael Jackson?
DWORIN: It's very possible that they can bring the 1993 victim in to testify to show a pattern of seduction, to show that the same things occurred in 1993 that are occurring today.
S. O'BRIEN: Did you find him at the time when you talked to him and of course we're talking a while ago -- did you find him to be a credible and strong witness as you -- would you assume he'd be the same way now?
DWORIN: I believe he'll be the same as he was in 1993 and he was a very strong, credible witness.
S. O'BRIEN: The grand jury hearings are being held four months after the charges were filed. I mean, that seems a little bit unusual to me. Is that unusual in California? DWORIN: It's hard to say. The grand jury will be a substitute for a preliminary hearing. This will allow the witnesses to testify before a grand jury and not be cross-examined. It will be easier for the children to testify this way and easier for the prosecution to present the case.
S. O'BRIEN: Bill Dworin is a retired L.A.P.D. detective joining us this morning to talk about the Michael Jackson case.
Mr. Dworin, thanks. Appreciate it.
DWORIN: Thank you.
M. O'BRIEN: Still to come on the program, after two days of closed door hearings, Kobe Bryant's accuser is making a request of the judge. We'll get the latest ahead.
S. O'BRIEN: And after watching "The Passion of the Christ," one man makes a startling confession. Those stories are all ahead on this AMERICAN MORNING.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
S. O'BRIEN: In Houston, a man was prompted to confess to murder after watching "The Passion of the Christ."
Daniel Leach (ph) has been indicted on murder charges in the January death of his girlfriend, which was originally ruled as a suicide.
After viewing the film about the death of Jesus and discussing it with a religious adviser, Leach confessed to authorities. This is what his minister had to say.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
REV. DARRELL POWELL, SUSPECT'S MINISTER: He was obviously disturbed greatly for his actions and what he had done and asked for the prayers.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
S. O'BRIEN: Leach faces up to life in prison if he is convicted -- Miles.
M. O'BRIEN: Kobe Bryant's accuser is asking the judge in the rape case to set a trial date as soon as possible. The motion filed by her attorney says the 19-year-old woman has received hundreds of death threats, and in a letter to the judge the woman's mother writes her daughter's life is in jeopardy until the case is over.
Linda Fairstein is a former New York sex crimes prosecutor and she's also a best-selling author. Her new book is "The Kills," and she joins us now.
Linda, good to have you with us. LINDA FAIRSTEIN, FORMER SEX CRIMES PROSECUTOR: Good, Miles, to be here.
M. O'BRIEN: All right, let's get another excerpt from this letter just so that we can lay this out right from the outset.
This is from the mother of the 19-year-old victim. She goes on to say her life is on hold and her safety is in jeopardy until this case is over. "I am asking that the court do whatever possible to bring this case to trial as soon as possible."
Is this a legal motion or is this a public relations motion?
FAIRSTEIN: I think it's much more of a public relations motion.
The prosecution and defense are in the middle of hearings, they are hearing pre-trial, there can't be a trial without a resolution of these issues.
Whether it's her prior sexual history or the suppression of evidence, the statements Bryant made to police and the evidence found in his room.
And so I think this is a reminder that there is a -- an accuser, a living, breathing human being who is whether you believe her case or not -- suffering terribly while she waits through this.
She hasn't been able to go to school, she hasn't been able to hold a job and her life as her mother says is on hold.
Until the case is resolved.
M. O'BRIEN: The defense team would be interested in this going slowly though, right?
FAIRSTEIN: Well hard to say. I think Kobe Bryant is likely -- would like it over if he is innocent as he says I think he'd like to get this over and get his life on too.
I don't think there's a lot of point to dragging this out on either side at this point.
M. O'BRIEN: OK. Give us a sense of what's going on behind closed doors here. And to what extent is any of this going to play out if there ever is a trial date set?
FAIRSTEIN: Well so far the rape shield law is working in the sense that there have not been leaks from the courtroom and we don't know exactly what's gone on. We know that the accuser testified for more than three hours the other day.
Supposedly that concerns allegations of her sexual relations with in particular the bellman at the hotel and her ex-boyfriend.
Do they play any role in this? In this case? And the judge will make the ruling about whether the public ever hears if there is any relevance to any part of her personal life.
M. O'BRIEN: Now the wheels of justice move slowly -- we know that.
FAIRSTEIN: We do know that.
M. O'BRIEN: But is -- is the judge moving too slowly in this case do you think?
FAIRSTEIN: Well it's interesting -- it's neither the prosecution nor defense who've made that motion and that's usually what it is. One of them claiming that the other has asked for unreasonable things to slow it down.
This is the victim's personal attorney. I think just trying to let the public know how bad this is for her personally for her life and so I think at the end of these hearings the judge should set a trial date if that doesn't happen there's appropriate kicking and screaming.
M. O'BRIEN: The laws and customs which keep this 19-year-old woman's' name out of the media. It seems as if they are a bit anachronistic because they're supposed to protect her from precisely what this letter talks about. Should they be hanged?
FAIRSTEIN: Well, historically in this country we have a very bad history of treating victims of sexual assault, stigmatizing them. This was a crime traditionally, in which society blamed the victim for something that happened to her.
And so it was gentleman's agreement with the media not to name victims of sexual assault.
I think personally for a long time that it's healthier for the accuser to name herself and put her face to this issue and ego (ph) and everyplace else her identity has been revealed it might ultimately be one day a splash of media attention if she named herself and then the curiosity factor would be over.
So I always think it's healthier when the accuser is ready to put her name to the crime.
M. O'BRIEN: And perhaps more fair to defendants.
FAIRSTEIN: And perhaps certainly more fair to defendants.
M. O'BRIEN: All right, Linda Fairstein, thanks very much for coming by.
FAIRSTEIN: Thank you.
M. O'BRIEN: Appreciate it. Soledad.
S. O'BRIEN: Still to come this morning, high drama inside the Tyco jury deliberations. We're going to take a look at that up next.
Stay with us, you're watching AMERICAN MORNING.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
S. O'BRIEN: Could there be a hung jury in the Tyco trial and why is Madonna suing Time Warner?
With a look at that plus a look at the stellar day on Wall Street yesterday, Christine Romans is here "Minding Your Business."
She's in for Andy who is on a little vacation. Nice to have you.
CHRISTINE ROMANS, CNNfn CORRESPONDENT: Thank you.
S. O'BRIEN: Should we start with Tyco? What's going on there?
ROMANS: Trouble.
S. O'BRIEN: Drama.
ROMANS: Yes, trouble in the Tyco jury room. In its sixth day of deliberations the jury sent a series of notes to the judge complaining of a breakdown, Soledad, in the jury room.
The first note yesterday afternoon asked the judge for advise and counsel, called the atmosphere in the jury room "poisonous" and complained that one juror had simply stopped deliberating in good faith.
Then 20 minutes later another note said a lone juror felt so persecuted perhaps the trial couldn't continue. After six months of testimony rejected a mistrial, sent the jury back to reconcile its differences and finish this case. We'll see where it leads today.
S. O'BRIEN: All very interesting. It would be interesting too, of course, to be in there and know what the lone juror's position is that everybody else is not getting along with him or her.
Madonna -- still involved in her lawsuit against Time Warner.
ROMANS: She's filed the latest salvo in this long running battle.
Maverick Records, and she has a partnership with Warner Music and Time Warner.
She has charged Warner Music with breach of contract, accusing it of mismanagement and improper accounting that cost her and her partners millions of dollars.
This feud between Maverick and Warner not over yet.
S. O'BRIEN: And the markets? Really good news. We have nice weather today, we have good markets.
ROMANS: A good market yesterday -- it's still a three-month low. I hate to -- that is the trick.
It's a three-month low, but the Dow up 170 points, Nasdaq up 57, S&P 500 up 17. It was the best day for the Nasdaq and the S&P since last summer.
It has been a very volatile month. Volatility, that's sort of a fear gauge. Up 40 percent this month.
This is a chart I made for you. Look at all of those red and green lines. Those are the 100-point or more rallies or declines.
M. O'BRIEN: Looks like DNA.
ROMANS: Yes, exactly.
S. O'BRIEN: Was that a boy or a girl?
ROMANS: See if it were somebody like me, I love this. This is such the business graduate.
M. O'BRIEN: MBA gleam in her eye.
ROMANS: Yes, but what it means to show you is that there are a lot of wild days this month, so if you've been riding through this market, you know, you can feel that there have been big rallies, big swings. Volatility is up.
S. O'BRIEN: And you don't expect it to stop.
ROMANS: Not any time soon.
S. O'BRIEN: All right.
M. O'BRIEN: Half full, half empty.
ROMANS: I try.
M. O'BRIEN: All right you get it all, both sides. Thank you very much.
ROMANS: You're welcome. I'm glad I flew in for that.
S. O'BRIEN: You left yourself open for that; you realize that. Thank you, Christine.
M. O'BRIEN: I set you up; you hit them out of the park.
All right, "March Madness" is back in full swing with the first half of the elite eight now set to the UConn Huskies slapped down Vanderbilt at the regional semi-finals in Phoenix.
They built the cold shooting Commodores by 20 points. 20 points! 72-53 in that victory.
St. Joe's knocked out Wake Forest, dominating the second half in an 84-80 win. They will play Oklahoma State next. The Cowboys shut out Pittsburgh, beating the Panthers by a dozen. It's the third time in a row Pittsburgh has lost trying to make it out of the Sweet Sixteen.
And Alabama's Crimson Tide knocked off the defending champs Syracuse to a final score of 80 to 71.
And now you are up to date on the March Madness.
S. O'BRIEN: Who are you picking to win it all?
M. O'BRIEN: I'm kind of pulling for Georgia Tech. You know, I've got a father in law who is rabid for Georgia Tech.
S. O'BRIEN: So it's a family thing.
M. O'BRIEN: Yes.
S. O'BRIEN: It's like my thing for Stanford. They lost early on.
M. O'BRIEN: Well the Cardinal didn't rule in this case.
S. O'BRIEN: Sure did not. Still to come this morning, is al Qaeda's number two man corned in Pakistan or is he free and stirring up revolution?
We're going to take you live to Islamabad when we come back right here on AMERICAN MORNING.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
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Aired March 26, 2004 - 07:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
SOLEDAD O'BRIEN, CNN ANCHOR: Beleaguered Rice going back to face the 9/11 Commission again, but she will not go before the public.
Democrats united.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
BILL CLINTON, FORMER PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: Our party has a new leader. We know we're going in the wrong direction. He knows what to do to turn it around.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
S. O'BRIEN: John Kerry assumes the mantle as leader of the Democratic Party in a warm-up for a speech to define his campaign agenda.
And shutdown. The Northeast partially paralyzed this morning after a huge accident on a major interstate.
Those stories are all ahead on this AMERICAN MORNING.
ANNOUNCER: From the CNN Broadcast Center in New York, this is AMERICAN MORNING with Bill Hemmer and Soledad O'Brien.
S. O'BRIEN: Good morning, welcome everybody. Bill Hemmer actually has the day off, but Miles O'Brien is filling in for him this morning. Nice to have you.
MILES O'BRIEN, CNN ANCHOR: It's good to be here. Planets in alignment; I'm here.
S. O'BRIEN: Always nice to have O'Brien and O'Brien on the set. At least how I feel personally.
M. O'BRIEN: Boston law firm.
All right, other stories we're following this morning.
We're looking at the Michael Jackson case with retired L.A. detective Bill Dworin. He was the lead investigator in '93 when Jackson was accused of child molestation then. We'll look at the evidence against Jackson then compared to what police might have now.
S. O'BRIEN: Also this morning it was just a week ago when some people thought that Pakistani troops might have al Qaeda's second in command cornered in the mountains. Well now there is some suggestion that Ayman al-Zawahiri is trying to fight back at the very heart of Pakistan's military.
We'll take a look at that this morning.
M. O'BRIEN: All right, no Jack Cafferty this morning so let's go...
S. O'BRIEN: He took a day off.
M. O'BRIEN: Yet somehow we'll press on.
S. O'BRIEN: Am I the only one who didn't get the memo about taking Friday off? Not that I don't want to be here with you, Miles.
M. O'BRIEN: You're going to give me a complex.
All right, let's get to the news. What is shaping up to be a traffic nightmare here on the East Coast this morning.
Part of Interstate 95 is closed after a tanker truck crashed in Bridgeport, Connecticut last night.
It exploded in flames. The fire fueled by 12,000 gallons of oil. It actually melted part of an overpass.
A driver and a firefighter were treated for minor injuries. A portion of the highway could be closed there for weeks.
The House has approved a $2.4 trillion budget for next year. The budget is a blueprint that is similar to the request President Bush had sent to Capitol Hill.
The House of Representatives will now have to work out a compromise version with the Senate, which passed its budget outline two weeks ago. Lawmakers expected to meet next week.
Overseas now where protests erupted in Taiwan as the central election commission certified President Chen Shui-bian as the winner of last weekend's presidential elections.
Demonstrators stormed the election building in an effort to stop members from making the announcement. Some opposition supporters had been demanding a recount after Chen won the election by 30,000 votes.
About 300,000 votes were declared invalid. Other demonstrators are calling for a new election all together.
A Colorado judge is being asked to set a trial date as soon as possible in the Kobe Bryant case. An attorney for the 19-year-old accusing the NBA star of sexual assault has filed a motion on her behalf.
As part of the motion, the accuser's mother sent a letter to the judge saying the daughter's life is on hold and her safety at risk until the case is over. More on this story a little bit later in the program.
Six British Navy divers have been rescued from a swarm (ph) of caves in Mexico, but they are apparently not out of trouble yet. The men have been trapped by floodwaters for more than a week, but now they're in hot water with the Mexican government.
They reportedly entered on a tourist visa and did not notify the government about their expedition.
(WEATHER REPORT)
S. O'BRIEN: After days of criticism, and also widespread calls for national security adviser Condoleezza Rice to testify publicly before the 9/11 Commission, the Bush administration is now seeking to get Rice back in front of that panel but it's another private meeting that's being sought.
White House correspondent Suzanne Malveaux with us this morning with more on this.
Hey, Suzanne, good morning.
SUZANNE MALVEAUX, CNN WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT: Good morning, Soledad. Well, Dr. Rice was formally asked to go before the 9/11 Commission to answer questions privately, not publicly, as the Commission had liked.
She'd done this back in February, she answered about four and a half hours worth of questions.
What has changed here is the White House counsel Alberto Gonzales sent this letter to the chair and the vice-chair at the Commission stating why they believe that this was necessary.
He said in light of yesterday's hearings in which there were a number of mischaracterizations of Dr. Rice's statements and positions, she has become really central in this.
Richard Clarke making a number of accusations, including one that she was incompetent in her job. Now as you know, Soledad, of course the White House is not changing its position when it comes to public testimony. They say that will not happen.
They still believe that the principle is that, as adviser to the president who is not confirmed under the Senate, should not have to go before a legislative created body and answer questions -- Soledad.
S. O'BRIEN: But Suzanne, I'm curious, though, to know if the continued pressure continues to build -- do you expect at some time that that could change, and, also the White House has been talking about no precedent for Dr. Rice to go forward before this panel.
Is that actually true? Could she in fact say, listen, I'm happy to waive my rights as others have done on this panel and sit down and talk? MALVEAUX: Well certainly if the president said he is waiving executive privilege he should -- she could go before this Commission. They say that is not going to happen. We don't expect that to happen.
We have heard a number of criticisms from Senate minority leader Tom Daschle and even some members of the Commission saying, well, if she can call meetings of reporters back in her office, if she can go before the television cameras and give interviews, why won't she publicly go and testify?
You could make the argument that it is an issue of national security, that perhaps there are concerns that questions would come up that she would inadvertently answer that would compromise that position, but they say it's a matter of principle.
The policy for this, of course, is that this is a president who is running on his record for national security. If the administration -- if the American people believe that somehow that has been compromise this president really is in trouble. So they want to make her case very strongly but they are not giving up that principle -- Soledad.
S. O'BRIEN: Suzanne Malveaux at the White House for us this morning. Suzanne, thanks. Miles.
M. O'BRIEN: The presumptive Democratic nominee, John Kerry, will lay out his economic plan to the country in a series of three speeches. Today he's expected to set an ambitious goal creating ten million jobs in four years.
Last night, Kerry was anointed as the leader of the his Party at a fund raiser featuring a who's who of Democratic luminaries.
Kelly Wallace has a look at the passing of the torch.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
KELLY WALLACE, CNN NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): In an effort to help define himself for voters, today John Kerry delivers what aides say will be a major speech on jobs, setting a goal of creating ten million new jobs during a first four years of his presidency.
SEN. JOHN KERRY (D-MA), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: Let me tell you that is one thing that we know how to do. We know to create jobs.
With President Clinton and Al Gore and the remarkable economic team they had leading this country, we not only created those 23 million new jobs, we turned vast budget deficits into record surpluses for America.
WALLACE: Kerry spoke at last night's Democratic Party dinner, which featured former presidents, a former vice-president, and most of this year's presidential candidates.
The body language shows there may still be differences, but the goal, trying to put those aside to win back the White House.
AL GORE, FORMER VICE-PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: I didn't support John Kerry. President Carter didn't support John Kerry, President Clinton didn't support John Kerry, Terry McAuliffe didn't support John Kerry in the primaries. John Kerry earned the nomination of this Party. He won it the hard way.
WALLACE: And this from the country's most popular Democrat.
CLINTON: I ask you to look at John Kerry tonight and say to him what he has said to us his entire adult life. Send me...
WALLACE: But concerns remain that despite the unity there is a third party candidate, Ralph Nader, to contend with once again.
JIMMY CARTER, FORMER PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: Ralph, go back to umpiring softball games or examining the rear end of automobiles, and don't risk costing the Democrats the White House this year as you did four years ago.
WALLACE: Kerry's immediate challenge, raising cash. His campaign trailing the Bush team by more than $100 million.
This dinner a start, brining in what Democratic officials say was a record more than $11 million for the Democratic Party.
Kelly Wallace, CNN, Washington.
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M. O'BRIEN: We'll talk about the presidential campaign throughout the morning. 8:00 Eastern, Democrat National Committee chairman Terry McAuliffe will join us.
9 a.m. Eastern, Republican National Committee chairman Jim Dyke will be here as well.
S. O'BRIEN: Well prosecutors in Santa Barbara California are now selecting a grand jury in the Michael Jackson child molestation case. The panel of 19 jurors will hear testimony and determine if there is enough evidence against Jackson to go to trial.
Bill Dworin is a retired LAPD detective, and he was the lead investigator back in 1993 when similar charges were made against Jackson.
He joins us from Los Angeles this morning. Nice to see you, sir. Thanks for being with us.
BILL DWORIN, RETIRED LAPD DETECTIVE: Good morning.
S. O'BRIEN: Let's talk a little bit about some of what you personally investigated back in 1993. Did you believe that Michael Jackson was a threat to children after your investigation at that time? DWORIN: Yes I did. I felt that based upon the investigation, the statements from the alleged victim in 1993 and Jackson's own statements that he was, in fact, a threat and continues to be a threat to children.
S. O'BRIEN: How much of your case in fact relied on that alleged victim in the case and what was he telling you that led you to believe that he was a threat to all children?
DWORIN: Well, the way Mr. Jackson seduces children is activities with children. The statements that the boy gave us, the reliability, the credibility of the statements and the fact that we obtained physical evidence to corroborate some of the things he said led me to believe that Jackson did sexually abuse him.
S. O'BRIEN: And yet at the same time the prosecution seemed to always want more from you, sort of a smoking gun.
Do you think that was because the case was weak or because Michael Jackson is a celebrity and they wanted more evidence?
DWORIN: Well, personally, I felt it was a strong case. I don't know what the prosecutors wanted. They wanted more. We could not show them any more and they decided not to prosecute.
S. O'BRIEN: In 1993, the case was abandoned because there was a financial settlement that was rumored to be somewhere between $15 and $20 million to the young man's family and the young man himself.
Did that surprise you; did you think you had essentially an open and shut case against Michael Jackson at that time?
DWORIN: It's hard to say; you never know how a jury would react. But we felt we had a strong case and unfortunately there was a civil settlement and the case went by the side.
S. O'BRIEN: Is there anything from that case that you think is relevant in the molestation charges that have now been brought against Michael Jackson?
DWORIN: It's very possible that they can bring the 1993 victim in to testify to show a pattern of seduction, to show that the same things occurred in 1993 that are occurring today.
S. O'BRIEN: Did you find him at the time when you talked to him and of course we're talking a while ago -- did you find him to be a credible and strong witness as you -- would you assume he'd be the same way now?
DWORIN: I believe he'll be the same as he was in 1993 and he was a very strong, credible witness.
S. O'BRIEN: The grand jury hearings are being held four months after the charges were filed. I mean, that seems a little bit unusual to me. Is that unusual in California? DWORIN: It's hard to say. The grand jury will be a substitute for a preliminary hearing. This will allow the witnesses to testify before a grand jury and not be cross-examined. It will be easier for the children to testify this way and easier for the prosecution to present the case.
S. O'BRIEN: Bill Dworin is a retired L.A.P.D. detective joining us this morning to talk about the Michael Jackson case.
Mr. Dworin, thanks. Appreciate it.
DWORIN: Thank you.
M. O'BRIEN: Still to come on the program, after two days of closed door hearings, Kobe Bryant's accuser is making a request of the judge. We'll get the latest ahead.
S. O'BRIEN: And after watching "The Passion of the Christ," one man makes a startling confession. Those stories are all ahead on this AMERICAN MORNING.
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S. O'BRIEN: In Houston, a man was prompted to confess to murder after watching "The Passion of the Christ."
Daniel Leach (ph) has been indicted on murder charges in the January death of his girlfriend, which was originally ruled as a suicide.
After viewing the film about the death of Jesus and discussing it with a religious adviser, Leach confessed to authorities. This is what his minister had to say.
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REV. DARRELL POWELL, SUSPECT'S MINISTER: He was obviously disturbed greatly for his actions and what he had done and asked for the prayers.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
S. O'BRIEN: Leach faces up to life in prison if he is convicted -- Miles.
M. O'BRIEN: Kobe Bryant's accuser is asking the judge in the rape case to set a trial date as soon as possible. The motion filed by her attorney says the 19-year-old woman has received hundreds of death threats, and in a letter to the judge the woman's mother writes her daughter's life is in jeopardy until the case is over.
Linda Fairstein is a former New York sex crimes prosecutor and she's also a best-selling author. Her new book is "The Kills," and she joins us now.
Linda, good to have you with us. LINDA FAIRSTEIN, FORMER SEX CRIMES PROSECUTOR: Good, Miles, to be here.
M. O'BRIEN: All right, let's get another excerpt from this letter just so that we can lay this out right from the outset.
This is from the mother of the 19-year-old victim. She goes on to say her life is on hold and her safety is in jeopardy until this case is over. "I am asking that the court do whatever possible to bring this case to trial as soon as possible."
Is this a legal motion or is this a public relations motion?
FAIRSTEIN: I think it's much more of a public relations motion.
The prosecution and defense are in the middle of hearings, they are hearing pre-trial, there can't be a trial without a resolution of these issues.
Whether it's her prior sexual history or the suppression of evidence, the statements Bryant made to police and the evidence found in his room.
And so I think this is a reminder that there is a -- an accuser, a living, breathing human being who is whether you believe her case or not -- suffering terribly while she waits through this.
She hasn't been able to go to school, she hasn't been able to hold a job and her life as her mother says is on hold.
Until the case is resolved.
M. O'BRIEN: The defense team would be interested in this going slowly though, right?
FAIRSTEIN: Well hard to say. I think Kobe Bryant is likely -- would like it over if he is innocent as he says I think he'd like to get this over and get his life on too.
I don't think there's a lot of point to dragging this out on either side at this point.
M. O'BRIEN: OK. Give us a sense of what's going on behind closed doors here. And to what extent is any of this going to play out if there ever is a trial date set?
FAIRSTEIN: Well so far the rape shield law is working in the sense that there have not been leaks from the courtroom and we don't know exactly what's gone on. We know that the accuser testified for more than three hours the other day.
Supposedly that concerns allegations of her sexual relations with in particular the bellman at the hotel and her ex-boyfriend.
Do they play any role in this? In this case? And the judge will make the ruling about whether the public ever hears if there is any relevance to any part of her personal life.
M. O'BRIEN: Now the wheels of justice move slowly -- we know that.
FAIRSTEIN: We do know that.
M. O'BRIEN: But is -- is the judge moving too slowly in this case do you think?
FAIRSTEIN: Well it's interesting -- it's neither the prosecution nor defense who've made that motion and that's usually what it is. One of them claiming that the other has asked for unreasonable things to slow it down.
This is the victim's personal attorney. I think just trying to let the public know how bad this is for her personally for her life and so I think at the end of these hearings the judge should set a trial date if that doesn't happen there's appropriate kicking and screaming.
M. O'BRIEN: The laws and customs which keep this 19-year-old woman's' name out of the media. It seems as if they are a bit anachronistic because they're supposed to protect her from precisely what this letter talks about. Should they be hanged?
FAIRSTEIN: Well, historically in this country we have a very bad history of treating victims of sexual assault, stigmatizing them. This was a crime traditionally, in which society blamed the victim for something that happened to her.
And so it was gentleman's agreement with the media not to name victims of sexual assault.
I think personally for a long time that it's healthier for the accuser to name herself and put her face to this issue and ego (ph) and everyplace else her identity has been revealed it might ultimately be one day a splash of media attention if she named herself and then the curiosity factor would be over.
So I always think it's healthier when the accuser is ready to put her name to the crime.
M. O'BRIEN: And perhaps more fair to defendants.
FAIRSTEIN: And perhaps certainly more fair to defendants.
M. O'BRIEN: All right, Linda Fairstein, thanks very much for coming by.
FAIRSTEIN: Thank you.
M. O'BRIEN: Appreciate it. Soledad.
S. O'BRIEN: Still to come this morning, high drama inside the Tyco jury deliberations. We're going to take a look at that up next.
Stay with us, you're watching AMERICAN MORNING.
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S. O'BRIEN: Could there be a hung jury in the Tyco trial and why is Madonna suing Time Warner?
With a look at that plus a look at the stellar day on Wall Street yesterday, Christine Romans is here "Minding Your Business."
She's in for Andy who is on a little vacation. Nice to have you.
CHRISTINE ROMANS, CNNfn CORRESPONDENT: Thank you.
S. O'BRIEN: Should we start with Tyco? What's going on there?
ROMANS: Trouble.
S. O'BRIEN: Drama.
ROMANS: Yes, trouble in the Tyco jury room. In its sixth day of deliberations the jury sent a series of notes to the judge complaining of a breakdown, Soledad, in the jury room.
The first note yesterday afternoon asked the judge for advise and counsel, called the atmosphere in the jury room "poisonous" and complained that one juror had simply stopped deliberating in good faith.
Then 20 minutes later another note said a lone juror felt so persecuted perhaps the trial couldn't continue. After six months of testimony rejected a mistrial, sent the jury back to reconcile its differences and finish this case. We'll see where it leads today.
S. O'BRIEN: All very interesting. It would be interesting too, of course, to be in there and know what the lone juror's position is that everybody else is not getting along with him or her.
Madonna -- still involved in her lawsuit against Time Warner.
ROMANS: She's filed the latest salvo in this long running battle.
Maverick Records, and she has a partnership with Warner Music and Time Warner.
She has charged Warner Music with breach of contract, accusing it of mismanagement and improper accounting that cost her and her partners millions of dollars.
This feud between Maverick and Warner not over yet.
S. O'BRIEN: And the markets? Really good news. We have nice weather today, we have good markets.
ROMANS: A good market yesterday -- it's still a three-month low. I hate to -- that is the trick.
It's a three-month low, but the Dow up 170 points, Nasdaq up 57, S&P 500 up 17. It was the best day for the Nasdaq and the S&P since last summer.
It has been a very volatile month. Volatility, that's sort of a fear gauge. Up 40 percent this month.
This is a chart I made for you. Look at all of those red and green lines. Those are the 100-point or more rallies or declines.
M. O'BRIEN: Looks like DNA.
ROMANS: Yes, exactly.
S. O'BRIEN: Was that a boy or a girl?
ROMANS: See if it were somebody like me, I love this. This is such the business graduate.
M. O'BRIEN: MBA gleam in her eye.
ROMANS: Yes, but what it means to show you is that there are a lot of wild days this month, so if you've been riding through this market, you know, you can feel that there have been big rallies, big swings. Volatility is up.
S. O'BRIEN: And you don't expect it to stop.
ROMANS: Not any time soon.
S. O'BRIEN: All right.
M. O'BRIEN: Half full, half empty.
ROMANS: I try.
M. O'BRIEN: All right you get it all, both sides. Thank you very much.
ROMANS: You're welcome. I'm glad I flew in for that.
S. O'BRIEN: You left yourself open for that; you realize that. Thank you, Christine.
M. O'BRIEN: I set you up; you hit them out of the park.
All right, "March Madness" is back in full swing with the first half of the elite eight now set to the UConn Huskies slapped down Vanderbilt at the regional semi-finals in Phoenix.
They built the cold shooting Commodores by 20 points. 20 points! 72-53 in that victory.
St. Joe's knocked out Wake Forest, dominating the second half in an 84-80 win. They will play Oklahoma State next. The Cowboys shut out Pittsburgh, beating the Panthers by a dozen. It's the third time in a row Pittsburgh has lost trying to make it out of the Sweet Sixteen.
And Alabama's Crimson Tide knocked off the defending champs Syracuse to a final score of 80 to 71.
And now you are up to date on the March Madness.
S. O'BRIEN: Who are you picking to win it all?
M. O'BRIEN: I'm kind of pulling for Georgia Tech. You know, I've got a father in law who is rabid for Georgia Tech.
S. O'BRIEN: So it's a family thing.
M. O'BRIEN: Yes.
S. O'BRIEN: It's like my thing for Stanford. They lost early on.
M. O'BRIEN: Well the Cardinal didn't rule in this case.
S. O'BRIEN: Sure did not. Still to come this morning, is al Qaeda's number two man corned in Pakistan or is he free and stirring up revolution?
We're going to take you live to Islamabad when we come back right here on AMERICAN MORNING.
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