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Tell-All Testimony?; CIA Leak Investigation; American Hostage; Skiers Suspended; Entwistle in Court

Aired February 10, 2006 - 06:00   ET

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

MILES O'BRIEN, CNN ANCHOR: Good Friday morning to you, I'm Miles O'Brien.
ZAIN VERJEE, CNN ANCHOR: And I'm Zain Verjee in for Soledad.

O'BRIEN: A heck of a day of testimony ahead, the former FEMA boss heads to Capitol Hill. It appears he will shed new light on the Katrina catastrophe, who knew what in the White House and when.

And did the White House aide get a green light to spill some secret beans? And did the vice president tell him to talk to those reporters? More on the Scooter Libby case.

VERJEE: New tape now showing kidnapped American journalist Jill Carroll. We're live in Baghdad with the latest.

The Games haven't even started and already some American athletes have been suspended. Live to Torino for the latest.

And this,...

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

WAYNE GRETZKY, PHOENIX COYOTES HEAD COACH: I didn't bet. Didn't happen.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

VERJEE: Hockey legend Wayne Gretzky still answering questions about gambling, but it's his wife's habits that may get him involved in the investigation.

O'BRIEN: We begin this morning with a storm brewing on Capitol Hill as the man who ran FEMA during Katrina prepares to divulge details on the administration response to the storm. Former FEMA Chief Mike Brown may have a heck of a lot to say today on Capitol Hill about Hurricane Katrina, but will he talk about secret White House communications?

CNN national security correspondent Jeanne Meserve in Washington with more.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

JEANNE MESERVE, CNN NATIONAL SECURITY CORRESPONDENT (on camera): When embattled former FEMA Director Michael Brown appears today, he may say a lot more than the White House would like. The White House had asked Brown and others not to answer questions from congressional investigators about communications with top administration officials.

But in a letter to the White House, Brown's lawyer says unless they tell Brown otherwise, he will answer all questions asked today fully and completely. As of last night, the lawyer was still waiting for a response.

Democratic Senator Joseph Lieberman, one of those leading the investigation, says he hopes to get key information today about who in the White House knew what, when and what they did about it.

Jeanne Meserve, CNN, Washington.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

O'BRIEN: Our coverage of Mike Brown's testimony starts this morning, 9:30 Eastern Time. We'll bring it to you as soon as he starts talking.

The latest in that CIA leak case, a letter claiming that the White House said it was OK to leak secrets to the press. The special prosecutor says Vice President Cheney's Chief of Staff, Lewis "Scooter" Libby," testified that higher-ups authorized him to discuss classified intelligence.

CNN's John King has a copy of that letter.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

JOHN KING, CNN CHIEF NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT (on camera): In this letter that is now part of the court record, the special prosecutor, Patrick Fitzgerald, says that Libby testified under oath to the grand jury that as part of making the case for war in Iraq he disclosed to reporters material from the CIA's highly classified National Intelligence Estimate of Iraq's weapons programs.

We also note Fitzgerald went on to say in that letter last month that it is our understanding that Mr. Libby testified that he was "authorized to disclose information about the NIE to the press by his superiors."

Now the pre-trial back and forth between the prosecution and the defense has been tense, to say the least. And what Fitzgerald is doing here is serving notice he plans to introduce that testimony at trial to show that Libby had a history of discussing classified information with reporters.

Critical background, the prosecutor says, to help him make the case that Libby lied to both the grand jury and the FBI about how and when he learned the wife of administration Iraq critic Joe Wilson worked for the CIA. And lied, the prosecutor says, about his conversations with reporters about her.

Now Libby's account is also a fascinating first-hand glimpse at the high-stakes administration effort to rebut those who questioned the White House rationale for war. And a reminder that one of the big unresolved issues in this case, which is not scheduled for trial until next January, is just how much classified information can be put before the jury.

Now the letter from the prosecutor does not name the superiors who Libby says authorized him to disclose that material from the CIA report. But the "National Journal" reported that Libby's account is that it was Vice President Cheney who was at least among those superiors. And a legal source close to the case tells CNN I wouldn't steer you away from that.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

O'BRIEN: Now, as John King said, the case began after former Ambassador Joe Wilson discredited the president's claim that Saddam Hussein was trying to get nuclear material from Africa.

Now another CIA official is challenging the way the Bush administration used pre-war intelligence. Paul Pillar is the former Intelligence Officer for the Near East and South Asia. And he writes -- and we quote him now -- "that intelligence was misused publicly to justify decisions already made." That's in the upcoming issue of "The Journal of Foreign Affairs" -- Zain.

VERJEE: Miles, more deadly violence in Iraq to report this morning. Also, kidnapped reporter Jill Carroll appearing in this newly released videotape. It's the third one made public by her captors since Carroll was abducted five weeks ago. On the tape, Carroll asks authorities to do whatever her kidnappers demand.

Let's get to Aneesh Raman who joins us now live from Baghdad.

Aneesh, what else does this tape tell us?

ANEESH RAMAN, CNN INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Well, Zain, good morning.

This is the first time that we have heard directly from Jill Carroll, that we have heard her voice. In the two previous tapes, Al Jazeera, which aired them, chose not to air her audio. And we hear from Jill Carroll in this tape that aired late yesterday making an urgent appeal.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

JILL CARROLL, KIDNAPPED AMERICAN JOURNALIST: Today is Thursday, February 6, February 2, 2006. I'm with the Mujahadeen. I sent you a letter written by my hand but you wanted more evidence. So we're sending you this letter now to prove I am with the Mujahadeen. I'm here. I'm fine. Please, just do whatever they want. Give them whatever they want as quickly as possible. There is very short time. Please, do it fast. That's all.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

RAMAN: Now in this tape, Jill Carroll seems more composed. The last we saw her on January 30 she was visibly distraught, she was crying as she demanded that the U.S. and Iraqi authorities listen to what her hostage takers are demanding, the release of all female Iraqi prisoners. No new deadline was set in this tape. But chilling words, Zain, at the end, Jill Carroll saying there is just a short time left -- Zain.

VERJEE: And, Aneesh, we're getting reports of a car bomb in Baghdad. What do you know about that? What can you tell us?

RAMAN: It detonating in just the past hour, a parked car outside of a Shiite mosque in the Al Dura (ph) neighborhood of Baghdad. It was just as Friday prayers were set to begin. The casualty numbers we have now, and they are initial, are that 7 people were killed, some 21 others wounded -- Zain.

VERJEE: Aneesh Raman reporting to us from Baghdad.

It's opening day for the Winter Olympics and already there's controversy. Two members of the U.S. team will be forced to miss their first events.

CNN's Alessio Vinci is live in Torino. He joins us this morning.

Alessio, what more can you tell us about those suspensions?

ALESSIO VINCI, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Good morning, Zain.

Well, as a matter of fact, the International Ski Federation has suspended for five days a total of eight athletes, two of them, as you said, American cross-country skiers Leif Zimmerman and Kikkan Randall. They have been suspended because they were found with high levels of hemoglobin in their blood. And that is a problem because that can increase endurance and, therefore, performance. And so that's the reason why they have been suspended for five days.

Now there is no proof that they did anything wrong. Those things can happen even naturally by simply the body adapting to high altitude or even by simple dehydration. But nevertheless, there is speculation that perhaps there was some blood transfusion to increase performance and, therefore, they have been suspended.

However, the International Ski Federation says that they have done this for the good of the athletes because those high levels of hemoglobin can create clots and, therefore, they have been suspended. However, it does appear that they will not miss any competitions because they have been suspended only for five days and their races occur after that -- Zain.

VERJEE: Alessio Vinci reporting from Torino.

Also from Torino, the U.S. will no longer have anyone on the Olympic Executive Board. Jim Easton was an IOC Vice President, but he's just lost that spot in a secret ballot. That's a serious blow to America's influence in The Games -- Miles.

O'BRIEN: Hockey legend Wayne Gretzky is on his way to Torino with the Canadian hockey team. It seems certain he won't be leaving that betting scandal behind. He has not been implicated, but his wife has, and he was caught on a wiretap talking about her involvement.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

GRETZKY: I felt like the last three days I've had I've defended myself over something that just absolutely, unequivocally never happened, that I was not involved with.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

O'BRIEN: Coming up a little later this hour, we'll talk with a sports writer for "The New York Post" about the impact this scandal could have on Gretzky.

Time for a check of the forecast, Chad Myers at the Weather Center.

Good morning -- Chad.

CHAD MYERS, CNN METEOROLOGIST: Are you sure you want it -- Miles?

O'BRIEN: What's that?

MYERS: Are you sure you want this forecast?

O'BRIEN: Six to 12 inches I hear.

MYERS: We talked about it yesterday.

O'BRIEN: The kids are happy. They want to do a little snow boarding.

MYERS: Blizzard watches.

O'BRIEN: Blizzard watch?

MYERS: Yes.

O'BRIEN: Getting to the mountain could be a problem.

MYERS: I think you just need to stay right there and just kind of slide down the street. There you go.

O'BRIEN: That can always be the way to go.

MYERS: You can always do something in Central Park.

(WEATHER REPORT)

O'BRIEN: Forget about it. That...

VERJEE: I hate being cold.

O'BRIEN: What a massive storm, though -- Chad. MYERS: It really is.

O'BRIEN: It's a big one.

MYERS: This is the first big nor'easter of the year.

O'BRIEN: And I'm planning on headed up to Boston, probably a bad idea. How's Boston going to be?

MYERS: Can you get a satellite truck to do live weather there on Monday? Maybe I'll be there.

O'BRIEN: I might be stuck. Just might be there.

MYERS: Yes.

O'BRIEN: All right, thank you -- Chad.

MYERS: You're welcome.

VERJEE: Thanks, Chad.

Coming up, the potential dangers of drugs used to treat Attention Deficit Disorder. An FDA panel response to reports of 25 deaths linked to the drugs.

O'BRIEN: Also, labor turbulence for a troubled airline. We'll tell you what that might mean if you are flying on Delta.

VERJEE: And later, Cindy Sheehan for Senate? The anti-war activist has something to say about running for office. That's ahead on AMERICAN MORNING.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

O'BRIEN: In London, accused murderer Neil Entwistle is waiting for his bail hearing as we speak. He appeared in court about an hour ago facing charges he shot and killed his wife and daughter outside of Boston, Massachusetts. Entwistle is fighting extradition to Massachusetts.

Paula Hancocks live now in London.

Paula, good morning.

PAULA HANCOCKS, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Hello there, Miles.

Well, he hasn't actually appeared yet. He is inside the Bow Street Magistrates' Court for the second time in 24 hours. He will be appearing shortly. We were expecting around 10:00 a.m. local time. His father has just arrived in court, so we should have that bail hearing any moment now.

Now Neil Entwistle was arrested Thursday just before noon local time. That's just before 7:00 a.m. Eastern Time. He was arrested on a subway tube train and then he was taken to a police station, then taken here at 6:00 p.m. where he spoke to confirm his name. He spoke also to say that he did not consent to extradition to the U.S. at this stage. Interesting that he said that at this stage. And also to say that he did understand the charges against him.

So we'll be hearing a bail hearing this Friday within the next few minutes. We also could get some sort of idea of when the date for the full extradition hearing will be played.

Also, on "LARRY KING LIVE" on Thursday evening, we had an interview with Martha Coakley, the D.A., and she said that this case was interesting because it didn't actually fit a lot of the profiles.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

MARTHA COAKLEY, MIDDLESEX COUNTY DIST. ATTY.: It didn't appear to be in the heat of passion, some kind of struggle. It also doesn't appear to have been planned in any way, either to benefit him financially or to allow him to escape. The -- his movements after this indicate he hadn't really planned to go to the U.K. and so it seemed as an afterthought. But there is some information we have that makes this a plausible theory in what is an otherwise somewhat inexplicable set of events.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

HANCOCKS: So the second appearance in 24 hours for Neil Entwistle. The fact his father has just appeared in court and just walked into the courtroom suggesting that his hearing could start any moment now -- Miles.

O'BRIEN: Paula, he had made it clear, at least as you say, for now he will fight extradition. We don't know whether that will continue. If it does, it can take many years if he decides to fight it, correct?

HANCOCKS: Well, actually it could take up to a year, Miles. There's a new Anglo-American Extradition Treaty in which they are trying to fast track these kind of cases, obviously with such a high profile case as well. They don't want this to drag on for years and years with legal wranglings as these kind of cases have done in the past.

Basically, he -- it could take up to a year if he decides to appeal it all the way. He has three chances to appeal. He has the Home Secretary to appeal to, then the High Court to appeal to and then finally he has the House of Lords to appeal to. If he loses all three appeals, then he will have to leave for U.S. within about a month. So it could just be a couple of months, it could take up to a year -- Miles.

O'BRIEN: Paula Hancocks in London, thank you.

The district attorney seen in Paula's report spoke on "LARRY KING LIVE," as she referred to. "LARRY KING LIVE" can be seen every night, 9:00 Eastern, right here on CNN.

And every morning a little after 6:00 a.m., you can see Carol Costello in the newsroom.

Good morning -- Carol.

CAROL COSTELLO, CNN ANCHOR: I know. I need some fancy music, though.

O'BRIEN: Yes. We can work on that. I can work on the theme song.

COSTELLO: Good. Thanks, Miles. I appreciate that.

Hey, good morning, everyone.

Brownie goes to Washington. Ex-FEMA Chief Michael Brown is apparently ready to tell it all. He will testify today before a Senate committee investigating the response to Katrina.

In the meantime, Senate Democrats have released new documents about the levees. The report show that officials gave early warning the levees had breached and that New Orleans was flooding. One report given as early as 8:30 a.m. on the day of the storm. It'll be interesting to see how this all comes into play this morning when Michael Brown faces lawmakers.

New violence this morning to tell you about out of Iraq. Police say a car bomb went off killing at least seven people. Several others are hurt.

And we're also getting word this morning from the U.S. military that two Marines have died. Their convoy hit a roadside bomb while on patrol near Falluja. They later died from their wounds.

The United States wants to know what's behind Russia's latest move to invite Hamas leaders to Moscow for talks. Russian President Vladimir Putin extended the invitation to Hamas leaders during a trip to Spain on Thursday. Putin says, unlike most of the West, Russia does not see Hamas as a terrorist organization. The U.S. State Department responded with a friendly reminder, saying Russia is on record as condemning Hamas violence. It's not clear when that meeting will take place.

A new twist, yet another twist in the CIA leak case. Seems Vice President Cheney's former chief of staff is now pointing fingers. Lewis "Scooter" Libby told a grand jury he got the OK from his superiors to give secret information to reporters. No word on exactly who those superiors are. But according to sources cited by the "National Journal," the vice president is on the list.

New warning labels for ADHD drugs. An advisory panel for the Food and Drug Administration is calling for black box warnings on Ritalin and other drugs used to treat Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder. Black box warnings are the strongest possible safety labels. The move comes after reports that 25 patient deaths may be linked to the use of ADHD drugs.

And adventurer Steve Fossett is hoping for strong tailwinds. The Virgin Atlantic GlobalFlyer is over the Pacific Ocean heading toward California now. Fossett, who took off on Wednesday, is trying for the longest non stop flight. He's more than halfway done now, but it will be touch and go as to whether he can land tomorrow near London. Fossett's plane lost some fuel during Wednesday's takeoff. And a problem with the ventilation system made temperatures rise to 130 degrees Fahrenheit, so it's mighty uncomfortable in that plane.

Richard Branson, by the way, Miles, says it's 50-50 whether Fossett will actually make his goal.

I'm going to Chad.

I'm sorry -- Chad.

MYERS: Yes, that's OK.

COSTELLO: And I'm wearing your favorite Elvis jacket this morning, too.

MYERS: Are you really? I'm sorry, I didn't turn around to see. Actually, I can't even see you now this morning. They're on -- I'm on -- it's like a seven-second delay from you.

Anyway, just what -- Steve Fossett is about 300 miles north of the Hawaiian Islands, though, so he's almost all the way over the Pacific, good news there.

Carol, I do want to tell you about something coming to your area for the weekend.

(WEATHER REPORT)

Soledad -- Zain, yes, there we go...

VERJEE: I've been called that before, too, it's fine.

Chad, thank you.

Layoffs at Oracle and are Delta pilots going to walk out?

CARRIE LEE, CNN CORRESPONDENT: But this is not all bad job news we're talking about this Friday.

Happy Friday to both of you. Happy Friday to everyone.

Oracle, the software company based in Silicon Valley, cutting 2,000 jobs. But it doesn't mean that the whole hiring scene in Silicon Valley is that dismal. In fact, quite the contrary. Google has over 1,000 jobs posted, over 1,000 jobs opening. Yahoo! has over 500 listings on its job site.

And SalesForce.com, this is a software company run by a former Oracle executive, is even specifically looking for people who have gotten pink slips from Oracle. So of course we feel for those folks who are losing their jobs at Oracle. It's a very company specific issue because they have had so many acquisitions, a lot of redundancy, so things looking good overall in California for jobs.

For Delta, not such a great thing here, the company's pilots union is once again reiterating that they will strike if they can't make a labor agreement by a March 1 deadline. Now if they can't reach a deal by then, what happens is they go into arbitration. Pilots saying they will strike if in arbitration their labor deal is nullified and management imposes new terms.

We have some comments from both sides. The union, here is what they are saying, "If they reject their contract, we will strike at a time and place of our choosing." Meanwhile, Delta, in response, saying, "We did not state that it is our intent to cancel the pilot pension plan. We have shared with the union that the plans are at risk, but no decision has been made at this time."

Basically, Delta now looking for a 19 percent pay cut. They're also having a hard time retaining a lot of executives. You can imagine a lot of people bailing out to go somewhere else.

O'BRIEN: I thought they had figured out a way with the pilots to get through this, but this is additional givebacks that they are asking for?

LEE: This is additional.

O'BRIEN: OK.

LEE: Now they're asking for $325 million or a 19 percent pay cut. The airline's stance is, look, we're doing what we can and it's better that we take a drastic pay cut then to go out of business altogether, then everyone is going to be stuck. So March 1 deadline, that's the next thing to keep an eye out for.

O'BRIEN: Carrie Lee, thank you very much.

VERJEE: Thank you.

O'BRIEN: Back with more in a moment.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

O'BRIEN: This just in to CNN. According to Paula Hancocks on a scene in London, Neil Entwistle has agreed not to fight the extradition proceedings that he now faces charged with the murder of his wife and his young daughter.

Paula Hancocks live now in London at the courthouse with more.

Paula, what do we know?

HANCOCKS: Well that's right. Yes, it was just as short a hearing as it was on Thursday, just a few minutes. They asked if he was going to consent to be extradited to the United States and he said that he would. So he's going to be remanded in custody until the time when they decide to send him, but it could be almost imminent that he is sent to the United States. Now a correspondent, Paula Newton, was in the courthouse when this was taking place.

So, Paula, what can you tell us about what happened?

PAULA NEWTON, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, it was a very short hearing, less than five minutes, really, but very, very dramatic. In fact, in the courtroom today was Cliff Entwistle, his father. He was sitting looking at his son. His son came in and said he would be waiving his right to extradition. The judge asked him do you understand that this is irrevocable, and he said, yes, I do. He had to sign a form then to consent to the extradition.

It is quite an incredible turnaround. His legal team has told us that he didn't really change his mind overnight, it's just that when the process was explained to him he decided that this would be the better option.

In very clear terms as he was leaving the court, he turned to his father and said, I'm OK, dad, it's going to be OK. And his father kind of nodded to him and then he went inside. Still wearing the same clothing from last night, he looked like he had had absolutely no sleep. And that was the scene from the courtroom today.

Quite a turnaround. This means he will now be extradited to the United States as soon as possible. Really, it could even be within a matter of hours.

HANCOCKS: Because that's the interesting thing, the fact that on Thursday he did say that I don't consent to this extradition...

NEWTON: And in fact we were expecting a bail hearing. And his defense lawyer, Dan Brandon, had said, OK, we will not be applying for bail. That was, at that point, quite a mute point. But it seems that once the process was explained to him that he decided to go for it.

But I have to say even last night he kind of indicated that that might be an option for him. He said, no, I do not waive my consent, not yet, meaning I'm going to give this some thought. It seems to be what's happened. It certainly moves the spotlight away from England now and back to the United States and the Massachusetts D.A.

HANCOCKS: Thank you, Paula Newton, our correspondent who was inside the courthouse.

There you go, Miles, that's the latest we have. He has agreed to extradition and he will be on his way back to the United States.

O'BRIEN: Paula Hancocks, Paula Newton, thank you very much -- Zain.

VERJEE: Miles, the morning's top stories are straight ahead, including the first hint of a scandal at the Winter Olympics. The U.S. team is involved.

Plus, ex-FEMA Chief Mike Brown gets ready to testify again on Capitol Hill. How worried should the White House be? We'll take a look at that. That's ahead on AMERICAN MORNING.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

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