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9/11 Commission Going to Have Some Tough Questions for America's Top Law Enforcement Officials Today

Aired April 13, 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.


BILL HEMMER, CNN ANCHOR: Good morning. Leading members of the U.S. law enforcement defending what they did to stop terrorism to the 9/11 Commission live today.
A fierce gun battle between the Marines and insurgents in Fallujah. Another heavy toll today.

And the baby Eagles in California -- before they ever learned to fly, they will go on one wild ride. Their story on this AMERICAN MORNING.

ANNOUNCER: From the CNN Broadcast Center in New York, this is AMERICAN MORNING with Bill Hemmer and Soledad O'Brien.

SOLEDAD O'BRIEN, CNN ANCHOR: And good morning, welcome everybody.

Other stories that we're following this morning. Lots going on again today in Iraq.

We are hearing word from the Associated Press that a U.S. Apache helicopter has gone down just outside of Fallujah.

The A.P. reporting that witnesses saw the helicopter hit by a rocket. CNN is still working to confirm details of what happened and any casualties and, of course, we're going to get an update from Jane Arraf in just a moment.

HEMMER: Also this hour, another significant day for the 9/11 hearings. We'll talk to the chairman and the vice-chairman on that commission -- Thomas Kean and Lee Hamilton.

Today they are trying to get to the bottom of how hard law enforcement was pursuing terrorism before 9/11. Expecting a lot of tough questions on both sides yet again today.

The former FBI director Louis Freeh the first witness today. He starts promptly at 9:30 a.m. Eastern time, live coverage right here on AMERICAN MORNING for Mr. Freeh later today.

O'BRIEN: All right, talking about that a lot this morning.

Also, Jack Cafferty is with us. Hello.

JACK CAFFERTY, CNN ANCHOR: Good morning. Speaking of tough questions, President Bush will meet the press tonight -- I believe it's 8:30, and he will host a news conference, something he hasn't done a whole lot of during his first term. I think this is his 12th.

We will carry it live here on CNN, but ahead of that, we're going to put together a list of questions, things we'd like to know from the President of the United States, so we'll...

HEMMER: Be a long list on that one, too.

Thanks, as we start this morning, our top stories -- another intense and deadly day for U.S. troops in Iraq.

At least two Marines were killed in heavy fighting in Fallujah last night. Eight others were wounded, we're told. A building housing the Marines had been hit by mortar and/or rocket fire there.

Presidential hopeful John Kerry says he wants to, quote, de- Americanize the transformation of Iraq. Senator Kerry says that if he were president he would go to the U.N. and ask other nations to take a larger role in Iraq. He also believes the U.S. administrator; Ambassador Paul Bremer, should be replaced with a top U.N. aide.

Kerry says other countries need to see that it's not just an American occupation.

A Pakistani scientist claims to have seen three North Korean nuclear devices. "The New York Times" reporting today Abdul Qadeer Khan, known as the father of Pakistan's nuclear program, told Pakistani interrogators that North Korea granted him a brief inspection underground the weapons program five years ago.

U.S. intelligence officials are unsure if Khan had the time, the expertise, or the equipment to verify that nuclear claim.

The judge in the Jayson Williams trial likely ruling today on whether or not charges against the former NBA star will be dropped. Williams accused of accidentally shooting a limousine driver, then trying to make the death look like a suicide.

Yesterday the defense argued the charges should be dismissed because the prosecution they say withheld evidence.

A Missouri grad student is this year's Miss U.S.A. She's 25 years old, Shandi Finnessey, crowned the 52nd annual pageant yesterday.

She says she's a Republican and says she will use her new position to help explain the U.S. involvement in Iraq. She will compete for the Miss Universe crown on the first of June.

7:03 in New York.

(WEATHER REPORT) O'BRIEN: The 9/11 Commission is going to have some though questions for America's top law enforcement officials today. The heads of the FBI and the Justice Department under the current and former administrations will testify during the next two days at the Capitol.

David Ensor is there for us this morning -- David, good morning.

DAVID ENSOR, NATIONAL SECURITY CORRESPONDENT: Good morning, Soledad. Former senior FBI officials are expected to say that they didn't think that Attorney General Ashcroft was particularly interested in counterterrorism before 9/11. He'll get a chance to answer that charge today.

But the FBI will come under some serious questioning by the Commission today as well. What did the FBI do or what did they not do in the summer of 2001 when the intelligence threat looked high from al Qaeda.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

TIM ROEMER, 9/11 COMMISSION MEMBER: There was a crescendo type activity that is causing the CIA director to have, so to speak, his hair on fire. Why aren't we seeing the commensurate reaction out of FBI at Justice to try to meet this threat?

ENSOR: Commissioners want to know more about the 70 FBI-al Qaeda related investigations in the summer of 2001 referred to last week by National Security Adviser Condoleezza Rice and contained in the now- famous August 6 Presidential Daily Brief from the CIA.

Also, why didn't law enforcement connect the dots between Zacharias Moussaui and the flight training mentioned in the FBI's Phoenix memo? Why didn't the CIA share its information about two al Qaeda suspects in the United States?

According to Commission sources, Attorney General John Ashcroft will face criticism from then-acting FBI director Thomas Picard. He has said Ashcroft had little interest in counterterrorism before 9/11, a charge the attorney general's aides reject.

The Bush and Clinton law enforcement teams may also be asked whether the U.S. should set up a British-style MI-5 domestic spy agency and take that job away from the FBI.

JOHN LEHMAN, 9/11 COMMISSION MEMBER: Their whole internal systems and culture was not to share anything.

ENSOR: With the Commission staff having seen thousands of classified pages, official's say new revelations can be expected.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

ENSOR (on camera): Commission sources say they are asking the White House to declassify yet another Presidential Daily Brief -- this one was given to President Clinton back in December of 1998 -- and it covers the subject of al Qaeda's desire to hijack aircraft. There may be more revelations coming there -- Soledad.

O'BRIEN: One can imagine. David Ensor for us this morning -- David thanks.

Just a few minutes ago I spoke with the chairman of the 9/11 Commission, Thomas Kean, and also the vice-chairman, Lee Hamilton.

I asked Governor Kean what he thinks the most important question is that needs to be answered over the next two days of testimony.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

THOMAS KEAN, CHAIRMAN, 9/11 COMMISSION: What did the FBI do before 9/11, what are they doing now, and have they reformed their organization well enough so there aren't going to be the kind of mistakes they made before 9/11?

O'BRIEN: And vice-chairman Hamilton, what do you think is the most significant piece of information that you've gotten so far to date in these hearings?

LEE HAMILTON, VICE CHAIRMAN, 9/11 COMMISSION: We've received literally thousands of pieces of information. It's pretty hard to sort through them and say a single piece of information is more important than others.

What we're looking for are trends. What are the assessments of the threats prior to 9/11? What kind of capabilities did the FBI and the CIA have prior to 9/11? What kind of performance did those institutions give us during that period of time?

What kind of changes have they made since 9/11? What are the deficiencies that exist still today? So we're looking for a lot of information, no one fact jumps out at me from all of the thousands of witnesses that we've interviewed.

O'BRIEN: Governor Kean, does -- is there one fact that jumps out at you as maybe the biggest surprise for the hearings so far?

KEAN: No, not the biggest surprise, although I'll tell you what was a surprise to me is that we've had the kind of witnesses that we've had.

We've seen everybody in public or private that we've ever -- we've requested. We've seen over a thousand witnesses and gotten over two million documents. I was optimistic, but I never really thought we'd be able to see as much as we have. We've really got the full record here and we'll be able to make some judgments based on that record.

O'BRIEN: So to some degree the cooperation has been the biggest surprise to you out of all of this. I want to play a little bit of what President Bush told reporters yesterday at the ranch in Crawford about the information that he got from the FBI before 9/11. Let's listen.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

GEORGE W. BUSH, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: There were with the acting FBI director, had they found something was that Mr. President, we have found something that you need to be concerned about at -- in your duties to protect America -- that didn't happen.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

O'BRIEN: Well Thomas Picard was the acting FBI director. Sounds like the president is blaming him. Do you think that's a fair assessment and do you think that's what the president is saying and that's fair?

KEAN: Well it's not -- it's not a question of blame. It's a question of did the president have the information.

Because presidents act on information, and if the FBI was not giving him the proper information, then that's a failure on the FBI. One of the questions we have to answer is do we have intelligence agencies that have failed two presidents now and do we have to reform those agencies in some way or other. That's probably the biggest question before us right now.

O'BRIEN: Vice Chairman Hamilton, a Democrat on the panel, Jamie Gorelick, said that there is this major game of finger-pointing going on right now.

I'm curious to know when the panel is said and done with all of its work, will you name names or is it going to be a general assessment of well we all share blame to some degree in this?

HAMILTON: I don't think we know the answer to that yet but our primary focus will not be the blame game, our primary focus will be the future and to try to make recommendations that will make people safer and more secure in this country.

I think there is indeed some subtle finger-pointing going on here as you hear one witness and then the next one but that's not really where I think the Commission is or should concentrate its focus.

Our focus should be, number one, to understand the facts as best we can and then from those facts develop recommendations, which will have broad support. The blame game we'll leave to other people.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

O'BRIEN: Lee Hamilton and Thomas Kean talking to us a little bit earlier this morning.

CNN is going to have live coverage of today's 9/11 hearings. That begins at 9:30 a.m. Eastern time -- Bill.

HEMMER: Note from overseas, Soledad, the vice-president, Dick Cheney, arriving in China earlier today. Second stop on his tour of Asia. He'll meet with China's president, talk about tensions in Iraq and also the situations ongoing in Taiwan and North Korea. Earlier in our broadcast we mentioned that "New York Times" report that says that North Korea already might have nuclear devices. It may come up in Cheney's talks, we're told.

The vice-president may cite that as a reason to push for stronger action to try and disarm Pyongyang. We'll follow that trip from overseas in China today as well.

O'BRIEN: And still to come this morning we're going to take you live to Baghdad for the very latest on reports of a downed U.S. helicopter near Fallujah.

HEMMER: Also an American civilian still captive in Iraq. What's the latest word on his fate? To his hometown in a moment. They're anxiously praying for his safety.

O'BRIEN: And some very big headaches at the Los Angeles airport. It was all caused by one little bird. That story is ahead on AMERICAN MORNING. Stay with us.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

HEMMER: At 15 minutes past the hour, a number of developments yet again today out of Iraq to talk about. As we mentioned a bit earlier there are reports of a downed Apache helicopter near the city of Fallujah.

Our Baghdad bureau chief Jane Arraf live in the Iraqi capitol. Let's start in Fallujah, Jane, what are you learning today so far?

JANE ARRAF, BAGHDAD BUREAU CHIEF: Bill, there is sporadic fighting going on and that fighting pretty intense.

You can see from pictures in Fallujah that there have been attacks that have really been intense enough to result in casualties. Now from this firefight, two U.S. Marines killed and eight wounded late last night.

An indication that despite the cease-fire that we are told is still holding generally to allow civilians to get in, get aide, and negotiations to go on there is still sporadic firing going on.

Also, reports Bill of one U.S. soldier killed heading south and that's part of a build up of troops going south to Mesia (ph) where radical Shiia leader Muqtada Al-Sadr is holed up, still in control of that city -- Bill.

HEMMER: Let's go to Sadr in a second here, but back in Fallujah east of that town there, there are reports of a downed Apache helicopter. Can we confirm that?

ARRAF: There are eyewitness reports that they are seeing a helicopter. We do not have military confirmation or independent confirmation but there are extensive eyewitness reports that they're seeing a helicopter in flames near Fallujah. Now we know on Sunday there was another helicopter down near Fallujah in a battle that involved small arms fire on the ground. Two soldiers killed in that one.

No indications yet of casualties, no independent confirmation but it seems pretty clear that this is a helicopter that has been downed somehow and it is near that town of Fallujah where fighting is going on -- Bill.

HEMMER: Jane, as you were talking we were taking in some videotape live here at CNN that showed a helicopter in broad daylight, smoke trailing in the distance as they got closer.

Did not appear to be much smoke or flames there but a little later in this videotape you can see armed gunmen masking their faces guarding that area. Some reports have indicated when American troops went in there to safeguard that area they came under small arms fire. Let's move on to Muqtada Al-Sadr -- an aide taken into custody -- what can you tell us about that earlier today?

ARRAF: That is the aide to Muqtada Al-Sadr who is head of the Sadr office and one of the main Shiia neighborhoods (UNINTELLIGIBLE), which is home to the holy shrines. He was here in this hotel complex actually local tribal leaders say he had come to meet with them and they demanded his release.

He was taken away actually in front of the television cameras later secretive into an armored vehicle. The U.S. military says it has detained him for questioning but they're not saying yet whether he is formally under arrest. What we do know of course though is there is an ever-present threat from the military to either kill or capture the leader, Muqtada Al-Sadr and they have declared the entire organization hostile forces, meaning that pretty well everyone in that organization is subject to arrest.

HEMMER: Jane Arraf, a lot to talk about, thanks for clarifying a number of issues there in Baghdad -- Soledad.

O'BRIEN: Well seven U.S. civilian contractors and two American soldiers are missing in Iraq. One of those civilians, Thomas Hamill has been seen on television in the custody of masked armed men.

National correspondent Gary Tuchman has visited Hamill's anxious hometown.

GARY TUCHMAN, NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: The people of Macon, Mississippi are asking for help.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: (UNINTELLIGIBLE) we are announced our prayers.

TUCHMAN: One of Macon's own is in peril. Thomas Hamill took a job driving trucks in Iraq. This video was taken by an Australian news crew after he was kidnapped by insurgents. UNIDENTIFIED MALE: What's happened?

THOMAS HAMILL: They attacked our convoy.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: (UNINTELLIGIBLE)

HAMILL: That's all I'm going to say.

TUCHMAN: Hamill's attackers threatened to kill him this past weekend. His wife and two children in seclusion in his home -- do not know if he is still alive.

Macon mayor Dorothy Hines is close friends with Hamill's wife Kelly.

MAYOR DOROTHY HINES, MACON, MISSISSIPPI: He's just a good old country boy and he's just -- you know, I just wanted to try to get a job and try to do something that would help his family.

TUCHMAN: In this poverty-stricken part of Mississippi, the 43- year-old Hamill had sold this dairy farm, but still found himself in financial trouble. He took the job in Iraq with a division of Halliburton because it paid good money.

SCOTT BOYD, REPORTER, THE MACON BEACON: It was a chance to go and earn wages much higher than probably with what he could have made staying and working here even though there were a lot of sacrifices that came along with the job.

TUCHMAN: And now a community puts up yellow ribbons and American flags and a loving family sits and waits, praying that Thomas Hamill hasn't paid the ultimate sacrifice.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: What is your name?

HAMILL: Hamill, Thomas.

TUCHMAN: Thomas Hamill's family members have asked the people of Macon to limit their public comments about the situation. Their fear? That publicity can make things worse for him. Gary Tuchman, CNN, Macon, Mississippi.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

O'BRIEN: Macon's mayor who we just spoke to a few moments ago said that Hamill's wife is recovering from open heart surgery and as a reminder of his captivity the lights in some of Macon's buildings are being kept on through the night.

HEMMER: Let's get a break here in a moment. How much did the FBI know prior to 9/11 and what did the agency do about it? Tough questions today from the 9/11 Commission. We'll look at some of them in a moment.

Also some of the biggest names in business may be kicked out of the boardroom. Andy has that when we return after this on AMERICAN MORNING.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

O'BRIEN: The SEC is readying charges against a media giant plus they also tried to oust Disney's Michael Eisner. Who is next? That and a look at the market with Andy Serwer's "Minding Your Business." Hello.

ANDY SERWER, "FORTUNE" MAGAZINE: Good morning to you. Yes, indeed.

Let's start with this situation here at AOL. I hope you have some extra pocket change, Soledad, because our company might be getting a huge fine.

We're going to need all the help we can get. "Washington Post" reporting this morning that the securities and Exchange Commission is preparing to charge Time Warner, parent of AOL and CNN, that it booked more than $400 million in questionable ad revenues.

This is an investigation that goes back more than two years. We've been sitting around waiting for this. But apparently this summer, according to the "Post," the SEC will be sending what's known as a "Wells notice" to this company talking about these charges and very serious business, be interesting to see how the stock responds this morning to that.

O'BRIEN: No question about that. All right let's talk about these state pension funds.

SERWER: Yes.

O'BRIEN: Really the power, the clout that they can wield -- this time they've sort of focused their attention on two other big wigs.

SERWER: That's right, I mean this is the new shareholder activism and we're talking about two of the biggest corporate titans out there.

First of all, we're talking about CalPERS -- the big California pension fund. Suggesting or actually withholding votes from Coca- Cola's board, not voting for Warren Buffet to be on the Coca-Cola board.

Also Sam Nunn and Peter Uberoff. Saying that there's questionable -- possible conflicts of interest -- excuse me. I think it's crazy. Who wouldn't want Warren Buffet on your board? I mean, he is only the smartest guy in American business.

Now, also CalPERS and others are withholding votes at Citigroup in terms of Sandy Weil who is the chairman there. A little bit different, saying that he should be held accountable for some of the problems that the bank has had over the years. So, big news there.

O'BRIEN: And the market? SERWER: The market yesterday was a very, very nice day indeed. Stocks up across the board. You can see here the Dow is up over 75 points. Futures up this morning, what do we got? Intel reporting today and Johnson & Johnson -- optimism over earnings season, which is looking pretty good.

O'BRIEN: Well, good news there. Thank you, Andy.

SERWER: Yes, you're welcome.

HEMMER: Enjoy our question and the "Question of the Day" is a question.

CAFFERTY: Thank you, Bill. President Bush set to address the nation tonight, his 12th news conference since taking office, look for Iraq, September 11 to be high on the list of topics.

In Iraq, the first 12 days of April, the deadliest month for the U.S. military there, 73 troops killed. The president said yesterday he's considering overhauling the national intelligence services, which have been criticized for their pre-9/11 failures.

There's also the economy, healthcare, jobs, the election and yadda, yadda, yadda. The question is this: what would you like to ask our president if you were in that room tonight for the news conference? am@cnn.com -- we'll read some of the letters a bit later.

O'BRIEN: Interesting; I bet you get a lot of response on that because I think...

CAFFERTY: I bet you we do.

O'BRIEN: Good, all right. Still to come this morning, fighting in Iraq, where are the Iraqi security forces? Some of them apparently running away.

Also, high flying help for some young symbols of America. It's all about keeping an endangered species flying free. Those stories are ahead as AMERICAN MORNING continues.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

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Aired April 13, 2004 - 07:00   ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
BILL HEMMER, CNN ANCHOR: Good morning. Leading members of the U.S. law enforcement defending what they did to stop terrorism to the 9/11 Commission live today.
A fierce gun battle between the Marines and insurgents in Fallujah. Another heavy toll today.

And the baby Eagles in California -- before they ever learned to fly, they will go on one wild ride. Their story on this AMERICAN MORNING.

ANNOUNCER: From the CNN Broadcast Center in New York, this is AMERICAN MORNING with Bill Hemmer and Soledad O'Brien.

SOLEDAD O'BRIEN, CNN ANCHOR: And good morning, welcome everybody.

Other stories that we're following this morning. Lots going on again today in Iraq.

We are hearing word from the Associated Press that a U.S. Apache helicopter has gone down just outside of Fallujah.

The A.P. reporting that witnesses saw the helicopter hit by a rocket. CNN is still working to confirm details of what happened and any casualties and, of course, we're going to get an update from Jane Arraf in just a moment.

HEMMER: Also this hour, another significant day for the 9/11 hearings. We'll talk to the chairman and the vice-chairman on that commission -- Thomas Kean and Lee Hamilton.

Today they are trying to get to the bottom of how hard law enforcement was pursuing terrorism before 9/11. Expecting a lot of tough questions on both sides yet again today.

The former FBI director Louis Freeh the first witness today. He starts promptly at 9:30 a.m. Eastern time, live coverage right here on AMERICAN MORNING for Mr. Freeh later today.

O'BRIEN: All right, talking about that a lot this morning.

Also, Jack Cafferty is with us. Hello.

JACK CAFFERTY, CNN ANCHOR: Good morning. Speaking of tough questions, President Bush will meet the press tonight -- I believe it's 8:30, and he will host a news conference, something he hasn't done a whole lot of during his first term. I think this is his 12th.

We will carry it live here on CNN, but ahead of that, we're going to put together a list of questions, things we'd like to know from the President of the United States, so we'll...

HEMMER: Be a long list on that one, too.

Thanks, as we start this morning, our top stories -- another intense and deadly day for U.S. troops in Iraq.

At least two Marines were killed in heavy fighting in Fallujah last night. Eight others were wounded, we're told. A building housing the Marines had been hit by mortar and/or rocket fire there.

Presidential hopeful John Kerry says he wants to, quote, de- Americanize the transformation of Iraq. Senator Kerry says that if he were president he would go to the U.N. and ask other nations to take a larger role in Iraq. He also believes the U.S. administrator; Ambassador Paul Bremer, should be replaced with a top U.N. aide.

Kerry says other countries need to see that it's not just an American occupation.

A Pakistani scientist claims to have seen three North Korean nuclear devices. "The New York Times" reporting today Abdul Qadeer Khan, known as the father of Pakistan's nuclear program, told Pakistani interrogators that North Korea granted him a brief inspection underground the weapons program five years ago.

U.S. intelligence officials are unsure if Khan had the time, the expertise, or the equipment to verify that nuclear claim.

The judge in the Jayson Williams trial likely ruling today on whether or not charges against the former NBA star will be dropped. Williams accused of accidentally shooting a limousine driver, then trying to make the death look like a suicide.

Yesterday the defense argued the charges should be dismissed because the prosecution they say withheld evidence.

A Missouri grad student is this year's Miss U.S.A. She's 25 years old, Shandi Finnessey, crowned the 52nd annual pageant yesterday.

She says she's a Republican and says she will use her new position to help explain the U.S. involvement in Iraq. She will compete for the Miss Universe crown on the first of June.

7:03 in New York.

(WEATHER REPORT) O'BRIEN: The 9/11 Commission is going to have some though questions for America's top law enforcement officials today. The heads of the FBI and the Justice Department under the current and former administrations will testify during the next two days at the Capitol.

David Ensor is there for us this morning -- David, good morning.

DAVID ENSOR, NATIONAL SECURITY CORRESPONDENT: Good morning, Soledad. Former senior FBI officials are expected to say that they didn't think that Attorney General Ashcroft was particularly interested in counterterrorism before 9/11. He'll get a chance to answer that charge today.

But the FBI will come under some serious questioning by the Commission today as well. What did the FBI do or what did they not do in the summer of 2001 when the intelligence threat looked high from al Qaeda.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

TIM ROEMER, 9/11 COMMISSION MEMBER: There was a crescendo type activity that is causing the CIA director to have, so to speak, his hair on fire. Why aren't we seeing the commensurate reaction out of FBI at Justice to try to meet this threat?

ENSOR: Commissioners want to know more about the 70 FBI-al Qaeda related investigations in the summer of 2001 referred to last week by National Security Adviser Condoleezza Rice and contained in the now- famous August 6 Presidential Daily Brief from the CIA.

Also, why didn't law enforcement connect the dots between Zacharias Moussaui and the flight training mentioned in the FBI's Phoenix memo? Why didn't the CIA share its information about two al Qaeda suspects in the United States?

According to Commission sources, Attorney General John Ashcroft will face criticism from then-acting FBI director Thomas Picard. He has said Ashcroft had little interest in counterterrorism before 9/11, a charge the attorney general's aides reject.

The Bush and Clinton law enforcement teams may also be asked whether the U.S. should set up a British-style MI-5 domestic spy agency and take that job away from the FBI.

JOHN LEHMAN, 9/11 COMMISSION MEMBER: Their whole internal systems and culture was not to share anything.

ENSOR: With the Commission staff having seen thousands of classified pages, official's say new revelations can be expected.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

ENSOR (on camera): Commission sources say they are asking the White House to declassify yet another Presidential Daily Brief -- this one was given to President Clinton back in December of 1998 -- and it covers the subject of al Qaeda's desire to hijack aircraft. There may be more revelations coming there -- Soledad.

O'BRIEN: One can imagine. David Ensor for us this morning -- David thanks.

Just a few minutes ago I spoke with the chairman of the 9/11 Commission, Thomas Kean, and also the vice-chairman, Lee Hamilton.

I asked Governor Kean what he thinks the most important question is that needs to be answered over the next two days of testimony.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

THOMAS KEAN, CHAIRMAN, 9/11 COMMISSION: What did the FBI do before 9/11, what are they doing now, and have they reformed their organization well enough so there aren't going to be the kind of mistakes they made before 9/11?

O'BRIEN: And vice-chairman Hamilton, what do you think is the most significant piece of information that you've gotten so far to date in these hearings?

LEE HAMILTON, VICE CHAIRMAN, 9/11 COMMISSION: We've received literally thousands of pieces of information. It's pretty hard to sort through them and say a single piece of information is more important than others.

What we're looking for are trends. What are the assessments of the threats prior to 9/11? What kind of capabilities did the FBI and the CIA have prior to 9/11? What kind of performance did those institutions give us during that period of time?

What kind of changes have they made since 9/11? What are the deficiencies that exist still today? So we're looking for a lot of information, no one fact jumps out at me from all of the thousands of witnesses that we've interviewed.

O'BRIEN: Governor Kean, does -- is there one fact that jumps out at you as maybe the biggest surprise for the hearings so far?

KEAN: No, not the biggest surprise, although I'll tell you what was a surprise to me is that we've had the kind of witnesses that we've had.

We've seen everybody in public or private that we've ever -- we've requested. We've seen over a thousand witnesses and gotten over two million documents. I was optimistic, but I never really thought we'd be able to see as much as we have. We've really got the full record here and we'll be able to make some judgments based on that record.

O'BRIEN: So to some degree the cooperation has been the biggest surprise to you out of all of this. I want to play a little bit of what President Bush told reporters yesterday at the ranch in Crawford about the information that he got from the FBI before 9/11. Let's listen.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

GEORGE W. BUSH, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: There were with the acting FBI director, had they found something was that Mr. President, we have found something that you need to be concerned about at -- in your duties to protect America -- that didn't happen.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

O'BRIEN: Well Thomas Picard was the acting FBI director. Sounds like the president is blaming him. Do you think that's a fair assessment and do you think that's what the president is saying and that's fair?

KEAN: Well it's not -- it's not a question of blame. It's a question of did the president have the information.

Because presidents act on information, and if the FBI was not giving him the proper information, then that's a failure on the FBI. One of the questions we have to answer is do we have intelligence agencies that have failed two presidents now and do we have to reform those agencies in some way or other. That's probably the biggest question before us right now.

O'BRIEN: Vice Chairman Hamilton, a Democrat on the panel, Jamie Gorelick, said that there is this major game of finger-pointing going on right now.

I'm curious to know when the panel is said and done with all of its work, will you name names or is it going to be a general assessment of well we all share blame to some degree in this?

HAMILTON: I don't think we know the answer to that yet but our primary focus will not be the blame game, our primary focus will be the future and to try to make recommendations that will make people safer and more secure in this country.

I think there is indeed some subtle finger-pointing going on here as you hear one witness and then the next one but that's not really where I think the Commission is or should concentrate its focus.

Our focus should be, number one, to understand the facts as best we can and then from those facts develop recommendations, which will have broad support. The blame game we'll leave to other people.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

O'BRIEN: Lee Hamilton and Thomas Kean talking to us a little bit earlier this morning.

CNN is going to have live coverage of today's 9/11 hearings. That begins at 9:30 a.m. Eastern time -- Bill.

HEMMER: Note from overseas, Soledad, the vice-president, Dick Cheney, arriving in China earlier today. Second stop on his tour of Asia. He'll meet with China's president, talk about tensions in Iraq and also the situations ongoing in Taiwan and North Korea. Earlier in our broadcast we mentioned that "New York Times" report that says that North Korea already might have nuclear devices. It may come up in Cheney's talks, we're told.

The vice-president may cite that as a reason to push for stronger action to try and disarm Pyongyang. We'll follow that trip from overseas in China today as well.

O'BRIEN: And still to come this morning we're going to take you live to Baghdad for the very latest on reports of a downed U.S. helicopter near Fallujah.

HEMMER: Also an American civilian still captive in Iraq. What's the latest word on his fate? To his hometown in a moment. They're anxiously praying for his safety.

O'BRIEN: And some very big headaches at the Los Angeles airport. It was all caused by one little bird. That story is ahead on AMERICAN MORNING. Stay with us.

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HEMMER: At 15 minutes past the hour, a number of developments yet again today out of Iraq to talk about. As we mentioned a bit earlier there are reports of a downed Apache helicopter near the city of Fallujah.

Our Baghdad bureau chief Jane Arraf live in the Iraqi capitol. Let's start in Fallujah, Jane, what are you learning today so far?

JANE ARRAF, BAGHDAD BUREAU CHIEF: Bill, there is sporadic fighting going on and that fighting pretty intense.

You can see from pictures in Fallujah that there have been attacks that have really been intense enough to result in casualties. Now from this firefight, two U.S. Marines killed and eight wounded late last night.

An indication that despite the cease-fire that we are told is still holding generally to allow civilians to get in, get aide, and negotiations to go on there is still sporadic firing going on.

Also, reports Bill of one U.S. soldier killed heading south and that's part of a build up of troops going south to Mesia (ph) where radical Shiia leader Muqtada Al-Sadr is holed up, still in control of that city -- Bill.

HEMMER: Let's go to Sadr in a second here, but back in Fallujah east of that town there, there are reports of a downed Apache helicopter. Can we confirm that?

ARRAF: There are eyewitness reports that they are seeing a helicopter. We do not have military confirmation or independent confirmation but there are extensive eyewitness reports that they're seeing a helicopter in flames near Fallujah. Now we know on Sunday there was another helicopter down near Fallujah in a battle that involved small arms fire on the ground. Two soldiers killed in that one.

No indications yet of casualties, no independent confirmation but it seems pretty clear that this is a helicopter that has been downed somehow and it is near that town of Fallujah where fighting is going on -- Bill.

HEMMER: Jane, as you were talking we were taking in some videotape live here at CNN that showed a helicopter in broad daylight, smoke trailing in the distance as they got closer.

Did not appear to be much smoke or flames there but a little later in this videotape you can see armed gunmen masking their faces guarding that area. Some reports have indicated when American troops went in there to safeguard that area they came under small arms fire. Let's move on to Muqtada Al-Sadr -- an aide taken into custody -- what can you tell us about that earlier today?

ARRAF: That is the aide to Muqtada Al-Sadr who is head of the Sadr office and one of the main Shiia neighborhoods (UNINTELLIGIBLE), which is home to the holy shrines. He was here in this hotel complex actually local tribal leaders say he had come to meet with them and they demanded his release.

He was taken away actually in front of the television cameras later secretive into an armored vehicle. The U.S. military says it has detained him for questioning but they're not saying yet whether he is formally under arrest. What we do know of course though is there is an ever-present threat from the military to either kill or capture the leader, Muqtada Al-Sadr and they have declared the entire organization hostile forces, meaning that pretty well everyone in that organization is subject to arrest.

HEMMER: Jane Arraf, a lot to talk about, thanks for clarifying a number of issues there in Baghdad -- Soledad.

O'BRIEN: Well seven U.S. civilian contractors and two American soldiers are missing in Iraq. One of those civilians, Thomas Hamill has been seen on television in the custody of masked armed men.

National correspondent Gary Tuchman has visited Hamill's anxious hometown.

GARY TUCHMAN, NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: The people of Macon, Mississippi are asking for help.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: (UNINTELLIGIBLE) we are announced our prayers.

TUCHMAN: One of Macon's own is in peril. Thomas Hamill took a job driving trucks in Iraq. This video was taken by an Australian news crew after he was kidnapped by insurgents. UNIDENTIFIED MALE: What's happened?

THOMAS HAMILL: They attacked our convoy.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: (UNINTELLIGIBLE)

HAMILL: That's all I'm going to say.

TUCHMAN: Hamill's attackers threatened to kill him this past weekend. His wife and two children in seclusion in his home -- do not know if he is still alive.

Macon mayor Dorothy Hines is close friends with Hamill's wife Kelly.

MAYOR DOROTHY HINES, MACON, MISSISSIPPI: He's just a good old country boy and he's just -- you know, I just wanted to try to get a job and try to do something that would help his family.

TUCHMAN: In this poverty-stricken part of Mississippi, the 43- year-old Hamill had sold this dairy farm, but still found himself in financial trouble. He took the job in Iraq with a division of Halliburton because it paid good money.

SCOTT BOYD, REPORTER, THE MACON BEACON: It was a chance to go and earn wages much higher than probably with what he could have made staying and working here even though there were a lot of sacrifices that came along with the job.

TUCHMAN: And now a community puts up yellow ribbons and American flags and a loving family sits and waits, praying that Thomas Hamill hasn't paid the ultimate sacrifice.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: What is your name?

HAMILL: Hamill, Thomas.

TUCHMAN: Thomas Hamill's family members have asked the people of Macon to limit their public comments about the situation. Their fear? That publicity can make things worse for him. Gary Tuchman, CNN, Macon, Mississippi.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

O'BRIEN: Macon's mayor who we just spoke to a few moments ago said that Hamill's wife is recovering from open heart surgery and as a reminder of his captivity the lights in some of Macon's buildings are being kept on through the night.

HEMMER: Let's get a break here in a moment. How much did the FBI know prior to 9/11 and what did the agency do about it? Tough questions today from the 9/11 Commission. We'll look at some of them in a moment.

Also some of the biggest names in business may be kicked out of the boardroom. Andy has that when we return after this on AMERICAN MORNING.

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O'BRIEN: The SEC is readying charges against a media giant plus they also tried to oust Disney's Michael Eisner. Who is next? That and a look at the market with Andy Serwer's "Minding Your Business." Hello.

ANDY SERWER, "FORTUNE" MAGAZINE: Good morning to you. Yes, indeed.

Let's start with this situation here at AOL. I hope you have some extra pocket change, Soledad, because our company might be getting a huge fine.

We're going to need all the help we can get. "Washington Post" reporting this morning that the securities and Exchange Commission is preparing to charge Time Warner, parent of AOL and CNN, that it booked more than $400 million in questionable ad revenues.

This is an investigation that goes back more than two years. We've been sitting around waiting for this. But apparently this summer, according to the "Post," the SEC will be sending what's known as a "Wells notice" to this company talking about these charges and very serious business, be interesting to see how the stock responds this morning to that.

O'BRIEN: No question about that. All right let's talk about these state pension funds.

SERWER: Yes.

O'BRIEN: Really the power, the clout that they can wield -- this time they've sort of focused their attention on two other big wigs.

SERWER: That's right, I mean this is the new shareholder activism and we're talking about two of the biggest corporate titans out there.

First of all, we're talking about CalPERS -- the big California pension fund. Suggesting or actually withholding votes from Coca- Cola's board, not voting for Warren Buffet to be on the Coca-Cola board.

Also Sam Nunn and Peter Uberoff. Saying that there's questionable -- possible conflicts of interest -- excuse me. I think it's crazy. Who wouldn't want Warren Buffet on your board? I mean, he is only the smartest guy in American business.

Now, also CalPERS and others are withholding votes at Citigroup in terms of Sandy Weil who is the chairman there. A little bit different, saying that he should be held accountable for some of the problems that the bank has had over the years. So, big news there.

O'BRIEN: And the market? SERWER: The market yesterday was a very, very nice day indeed. Stocks up across the board. You can see here the Dow is up over 75 points. Futures up this morning, what do we got? Intel reporting today and Johnson & Johnson -- optimism over earnings season, which is looking pretty good.

O'BRIEN: Well, good news there. Thank you, Andy.

SERWER: Yes, you're welcome.

HEMMER: Enjoy our question and the "Question of the Day" is a question.

CAFFERTY: Thank you, Bill. President Bush set to address the nation tonight, his 12th news conference since taking office, look for Iraq, September 11 to be high on the list of topics.

In Iraq, the first 12 days of April, the deadliest month for the U.S. military there, 73 troops killed. The president said yesterday he's considering overhauling the national intelligence services, which have been criticized for their pre-9/11 failures.

There's also the economy, healthcare, jobs, the election and yadda, yadda, yadda. The question is this: what would you like to ask our president if you were in that room tonight for the news conference? am@cnn.com -- we'll read some of the letters a bit later.

O'BRIEN: Interesting; I bet you get a lot of response on that because I think...

CAFFERTY: I bet you we do.

O'BRIEN: Good, all right. Still to come this morning, fighting in Iraq, where are the Iraqi security forces? Some of them apparently running away.

Also, high flying help for some young symbols of America. It's all about keeping an endangered species flying free. Those stories are ahead as AMERICAN MORNING continues.

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