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Paula Zahn Now
Osama bin Laden Threatens Another Wave of Terror; Mother of Kidnapped American Journalist Speaks Out; Sex For Salvation?
Aired January 19, 2006 - 20:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
PAULA ZAHN, CNN ANCHOR: And good evening, everyone. Appreciate your joining us.
Tonight, a disturbing message and a startling surprise -- the man behind September 11 is still alive and threatening another wave of terror against the U.S.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
ZAHN (voice-over): A chilling new threat: Osama bin Laden promising to unleash another deadly attack on U.S. soil. How real is the threat, and can al Qaeda carry it out?
And a mother appeals directly to the terrorists holding her daughter.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP, "AMERICAN MORNING")
MARY BETH CARROLL, MOTHER OF JILL CARROLL: Jill's welfare depends upon you, to ensure that Jill is returned safely home to her family who needs her and loves her.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
ZAHN: But will the message get through in time?
Tonight's "Eye Opener," sex for salvation, a trusted minister and shocking allegations of sin and scandal.
MONA BREWER, FORMER CHAPEL HILL HARVESTER CHURCH MEMBER: He said, well, I guess you will just have to take your clothes off because I'm going to have to love you. You know, I didn't want to do it. But what choice did I have?
ZAHN: What really went on behind the walls of this mega- ministry?
And drop-dead famous -- what do you do if you want to be in pictures, but you don't have superstar looks or superstar talent? Can the Internet's newest celebrity find the perfect movie role?
(END VIDEOTAPE)
ZAHN: And, again, welcome.
Tonight, there are some major developments in the war on terrorism. Here is what you need to know at this hour. The CIA has confirmed that Osama bin Laden's voice is on a new audiotape broadcast today by Al-Jazeera. On the tape, he boasts about terrorist attacks in Europe, like the ones last summer in London. Bin Laden also warns that planning in now under way for similar attacks in the U.S., adding -- quote -- "It is only a matter of time."
Bin Laden also offers what he calls a long-term truce, so Afghanistan and Iraq can be rebuilt. He didn't go into any details. And the White House isn't waiting for any.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
SCOTT MCCLELLAN, WHITE HOUSE PRESS SECRETARY: We do not negotiate with terrorists. We them out of business. The terrorists started this war. And the president made it clear that we will end it at a time and place of our choosing.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
ZAHN: Meanwhile, bin Laden's threats are already having an effect. The Los Angeles Police Department has deployed additional security at LAX, the city's major international airport. But FBI counterterrorism and intelligence officials tell CNN that there has been no increase in the terrorists' so-called chatter, the communications which also sometimes signal an imminent attack.
In another story tonight, there is still no word on the fate of American journalist Jill Carroll. Her kidnappers have threatened to kill her if the U.S. doesn't release the Iraqi women it holds prisoner.
During an exclusive interview on "AMERICAN MORNING," Carroll's mother pleaded for her daughter's release.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP, "AMERICAN MORNING")
CARROLL: Taking vengeance on my innocent daughter, who loves Iraq and its people, will not create justice.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
ZAHN: We will have a report from Soledad O'Brien in a little bit with more from Jill Carroll's mother.
But I want to start with Osama bin Laden's new threats against America. The audiotape that Al-Jazeera played today is the first message we have heard from bin Laden since December of 2004. In it, he makes reference to some recent events. But experts think the tape was probably recorded before last week's CIA missile attack in Pakistan which targeted bin Laden's number-two man, Ayman al-Zawahri.
The thing that is raising the most concern in Washington and elsewhere is bin Laden's threat against the U.S.
National security correspondent David Ensor has more on that.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
DAVID ENSOR, CNN NATIONAL SECURITY CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): After a technical analysis at the Central Intelligence Agency, an official there says the voice is indeed that of Osama bin Laden. On it, the al Qaeda chief threatens, bombings, like the ones in London last year and Madrid, will take place inside the United States soon.
(BEGIN AUDIO CLIP)
OSAMA BIN LADEN, AL QAEDA (through translator): As for similar operations taking place in America, it's only a matter of time. They're in the planning stages, and you will see them in the heart of your land as soon as the planning is complete.
(END AUDIO CLIP)
ENSOR: Counterterrorism officials say they believe the audiotape was recorded last month. They say the tape appears to be an attempt to reassert himself, after over a year of public silence.
Bin Laden's vague offer on the tape of a truce for the United States if it pulls out of Iraq and Afghanistan is, intelligence analysts say, aimed at bolstering his image in the Muslim world, and not, in their view, a serious offer.
The tape grabbed the attention of U.S. intelligence from the top down, and very likely came up at a White House meeting attended by the nation's top two intelligence officers, though aides say the meeting was already scheduled.
A key question now: Is bin Laden still in a position to order up attacks, or is he just a figurehead, who can only hope to inspire them?
JOHN PARACHINI, RAND CORPORATION: He is sort of like a snake that's gone quiet, but you never know when he might strike. But if we look at the attacks that have occurred in recent years, it has not been from the core people associated with bin Laden and al Qaeda, but, rather, with people in the broader global jihadist movement who are inspired by the call to jihad by bin Laden.
ENSOR: And, in fact, after CIA airstrikes on a compound in a Pakistani mountain village last week, the al Qaeda core may be smaller.
Pakistani and U.S. officials say Ayman Al-Zawahri was probably not killed, but the group's top chemical weapons and explosives expert, Abu Khabab al-Masri, may have been. Two other senior al Qaeda leaders may also have been killed.
(on camera): Most importantly, from the point of view of al Qaeda, from the new audiotape showed, for the first time in over a year, that Osama bin Laden is still alive and still threatening terrorism against Americans.
David Ensor, CNN, Washington. (END VIDEOTAPE)
ZAHN: And joining me now, the author of the new book "The Osama bin Laden I Know," terrorism analyst Peter Bergen.
Thanks for joining us tonight, Peter.
So, how real do you think this threat is?
PETER BERGEN, CNN TERRORISM ANALYST: I think, to some extent, it is hyperventilating.
It is no surprise to anybody that al Qaeda is planning attacks on the United States. But it is one thing to plan them. It's another thing to execute them. Al Qaeda has been quite disrupted post-9/11. We have seen a lot of activity in Europe, as David Ensor's piece pointed out.
But the kinds of attacks that can -- what happened in London and Madrid I don't think are something that al Qaeda could easily mount in the United States. We did see a case in Torrance, California, of a group of people who got radicalized in prison who planned to attack American military bases in California, and also some synagogues, allegedly. That case will go trial in October 2006.
But that's more the exception, rather than the rule.
ZAHN: So, what -- in this degraded state, what do you think al Qaeda is capable of pulling off here?
BERGEN: Well, here, I mean, it is -- it is a good question.
We have seen a Belgian female conduct a suicide attack in Iraq in November of last year. I -- I imagine somebody with a European passport, perhaps even a female, could come here and conduct some kind of low-level attack, but -- on behalf of al Qaeda.
We have seen al Qaeda in Iraq attack American targets in Jordan also in November. So, these sorts of attacks, American targets outside the United States, I think that's fairly straightforward for al Qaeda. Inside the United States, by the law of averages, they will eventually get something passed, you know, American national security apparatus. But that could be tomorrow. It could be 10 years from now.
I think that, of course, bin Laden is going to say, we're planning attacks. But I -- I really think that the capacity of al Qaeda, the formal organization, to launch those attacks has been severely degraded.
ZAHN: Peter, you used a very interesting word at the top of this interview. You said this is part hyperventilation on Osama bin Laden's part.
But we also know that timing is critical to these kinds of messages that we have received over the years. What do you make of this timing?
BERGEN: Well, I mean, the most important thing about the timing is just to demonstrate sort of a proof of life, as it were. We have had so many audiotapes and videotapes from bin Laden since 9/11, 19 in all, by my count, that to make a connection between a particular tape and a particular attack, it doesn't happen all the time.
Certainly, he has called for attacks of members of the coalition in Iraq. We saw attacks in London and -- and also Madrid, members of the coalition in Iraq, as a result of those calls. He's called for attacks on Iraqi oil facilities and Saudi oil facilities. We have seen a lot of that.
So, sometimes, there is a connection, and, sometimes, there isn't. This tape, you know, who knows what it presages. It's -- I -- the most important thing for -- for al Qaeda, after the attack in -- in Pakistan, last Friday, which killed a number of senior al Qaeda people, was to demonstrate the al Qaeda leadership still had some life in it.
ZAHN: Quickly, in closing here, Peter, you mentioned, by your count, you believe there have been 19 communications between Osama bin Laden and the United States and other nations as well. Does it surprise you, given than number of communications, we don't seem to be any closer to getting him?
BERGEN: Yes, of course. In fact, we have had perhaps something like 35 between bin Laden and Ayman al-Zawahri tapes and communications since 9/11. Obviously, the chain of custody of these tapes should be the one way that we can guarantee we can find them, seemingly, so far, without much success.
ZAHN: Peter Bergen, we will leave it there tonight. Thanks so much for joining us.
BERGEN: Thank you.
ZAHN: In just a minute, today's other developing story -- the kidnapping of American reporter Jill Carroll. Will the kidnappers listen to her mother's impassioned...
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
CARROLL: Find a way to contact us with the honorable intent of discussing her release.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
ZAHN: The deadline is getting near. Coming up next, what else is her family saying? And will her captors listen?
And a little bit later on, shocking allegations against a popular and nationally known preacher -- was he demanding sexual favors from women in his congregation?
Plus, a husband's frantic search -- how could his wife vanish without even a trace?
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
ZAHN: Now on to the story of American hostage Jill Carroll. The freelance journalist was kidnapped in Iraq two weeks ago. Her captors say they will kill her unless the U.S. releases all Iraqi women in military custody.
Today, Carroll's mother made an emotional plea for her daughter's life in an exclusive interview with Soledad O'Brien on "AMERICAN MORNING."
And Soledad joins me now.
SOLEDAD O'BRIEN, CNN ANCHOR: Good evening.
ZAHN: Thanks for being awake for us tonight.
O'BRIEN: Oh, absolutely.
Mary Beth Carroll is a truly remarkable woman, especially when you consider the -- the truly horrific circumstances that she's in. And she's holding strong. And she has a very direct message for her daughter's captors.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
O'BRIEN (voice-over): First, Mary Beth Carroll read a prepared statement, knowing that, with CNN's global audience, a plea for her daughter's release might reach her captors.
MARY BETH CARROLL, MOTHER OF HOSTAGE: I, her father and her sister are appealing directly to her captors to release this young woman, who has worked so hard to show the suffering of Iraqis to the world.
O'BRIEN: Jill's mother is well aware there is so much at stake, yet, she's calm and steady and strong.
CARROLL: Taking vengeance on my innocent daughter, who loves Iraq and its people, will not create justice.
O'BRIEN: Jill was abducted nearly two weeks ago at midday on a Baghdad street in a Sunni neighborhood. It was as if they came out of nowhere, her driver said. The men were clean-cut, well-dressed, and armed with pistols.
They swarmed Jill's car, killed her interpreter with two shots to the head. Jill's driver barely escaped. He described it as a perfect ambush. On Tuesday, Al-Jazeera television aired videotape of Jill in captivity. In the short clip, she appears uninjured and seems calm. She appears to be making a statement. But there is no audio on the tape.
Al-Jazeera says the captors have a demand, the release of all female Iraqi prisoners in Iraq by Friday. With the deadline looming, Mary Beth Carroll came forward to appeal for her daughter's safe return and to share more about Jill's life in Iraq.
O'BRIEN (on camera): And she spoke Arabic fluently.
CARROLL: Well, she didn't when she went there three years ago.
(LAUGHTER)
CARROLL: She studied very hard, went to school. When she didn't have enough money, she engaged a tutor, an Arab tutor, who wanted to learn English. And she also spent a lot of time in Iraq at -- at friends -- Iraqi friends' homes, where I think she really sharpened her -- her skills speaking Arabic.
O'BRIEN (voice-over): An indication, her mother says, of Jill's commitment to the Iraqi people. She wanted to talk to them in their own language.
She wore the traditional headdress, the hijab, to blend in. She wrote about the everyday struggles. This article, "What Sunni Voters Want," ran shortly before the election. She wrote about their anger and their hope. She delved into the power struggle between the ethnic and political factions. But, with her mother, Jill spoke very frankly about the risks.
CARROLL: We talked about even the eventuality of her being kidnapped, and that gives me some comfort now to know some of the things that she knew and had talked with other about people vis-a-vis kidnapping.
And, also, I told her, frankly, how I felt, if she was kidnapped, what I would be thinking, and supporting her and knowing that she was doing what she loved and what she thought was very important to do, and that that would give me and her family comfort at this time. And it does.
O'BRIEN (on camera): If her captors are listening, what do you want them to know? What do you want to say to them?
CARROLL: Well, that they have picked the wrong person. If they're looking for somebody who is an enemy of Iraq, Jill is just the opposite, and her Iraqi friends can attest to that.
O'BRIEN: And if she can hear you or see you, what do you want her to know?
CARROLL: Well, what she already knows. Those things have been said, and she knows that we love her and we support her. She knows that we can be strong for her, and we know that she's a strong woman, and that her strength of character and her mind will get her through this.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
ZAHN: What a strong mom.
O'BRIEN: Yes. Yes. ZAHN: So, the question is, in -- in talking to her, because you spent more time than what we saw on camera, how optimistic is she that this might have any impact at all on her daughter's fate?
O'BRIEN: I think she is very optimistic.
I think it was one of the reasons she wanted to talk to CNN, is that we are seen in, and -- and we ran that interview simultaneously on CNN International. So, it was seen in every Middle Eastern country, and If not seen at that moment, certainly, in replays.
She thought there's a very good chance Jill's captors are going to see this and -- and hear the plea. And I think she was truly trying to underscore what her daughter was doing in Iraq, which was to tell the stories of the Iraqi people, their struggles, you know, their daily life issues.
ZAHN: And that's the one issue that seems to crop up over and over again, and when you look at her reporting in its totality, that, in some way, maybe her captors might sympathize with her, because she has this love of the Iraqi people.
O'BRIEN: Sympathize with her and also understand what she was -- what -- why she was there.
I mean, she learned Arabic when -- when she was there, because she said it is important to interview people in their own language. And most Western journalists don't do that: I want to tell the stories of the Iraqis using their own words.
And -- and I think that -- that Jill is what her mom is trying to get across.
ZAHN: Nothing more powerful than a mother-daughter bond. Soledad O'Brien...
O'BRIEN: Gosh, we certainly hope so.
(CROSSTALK)
ZAHN: ... try to catch three hours of sleep before you come back in here tomorrow morning.
O'BRIEN: I'm going to...
(CROSSTALK)
O'BRIEN: Yes, I will.
(LAUGHTER)
ZAHN: See you in the morning.
O'BRIEN: Thanks, Paula.
ZAHN: Thanks again for dropping by here tonight. Of course, "AMERICAN MORNING" will have all the latest developments on the story, as this crucial deadline approaches. That gets under way -- and, boy, does Soledad know this -- at 6:00 a.m. That alarm clock goes off very shortly.
We're looking at just about 19 minutes past the hour right now, time for Erica Hill at Headline News to check the hour's other top stories.
Hi, Erica.
ERICA HILL, HEADLINE NEWS CORRESPONDENT: Hi, Paula.
A little more heat today over the president's domestic surveillance program. The Justice Department issued a report saying the president does have the constitutional power to order domestic spying during wartime. But critics, including the ACLU, are suing to prove he doesn't.
Italy, meantime, is bringing home all of its 2,900 troops now in Iraq, bringing them home by the end of this year, 2006. It is an election year in Italy. And most Italians oppose the war.
A coalition of smokers from New York state is suing Philip Morris, but not for cash. They want the tobacco giant to pay for yearly lung scans to check for cancer.
A perfect launch today, as NASA began its New Horizons mission to get a close-up look at the planet Pluto and mysterious icy objects at the edge of our solar system. But they're so far away, it is going to take nine years.
And the man who gave us "Mustang Sally" and "The Midnight Hour" has died. Soul singer Wilson Pickett had a string of hits in the '60s. He died of a heart attack today at the age of 64, and, Paula, will be missed by many.
ZAHN: Certainly will.
Thanks so much, Erica. Appreciate it.
In just a minute, we move on to a story you may not want your little ones to see. It centers on allegations that, if proven, would be a horrible breach of faith. Was a longtime church pastor involved in sexual misconduct for years?
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
BREWER: I have been taught for all these years not to question him. And I had this word from God. I was on the spot. So, I took off my clothes.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
ZAHN: Coming up next, what really happened at the Chapel Hill Harvester Church. And did it really go on for as long as one woman says?
And, then, a little bit later on, a mystery that has police in South Florida baffled at this hour. What exactly happened to this man's wife? She has disappeared without a trace.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
ZAHN: I want to warn you now that you may not want the kids in the room for this next story. It deals with some disturbing allegations of sex, trust and betrayal. The central figures in the story, a major church in a big city, its respected leader, and a young woman who turned there for spiritual comfort after a crisis.
Here is David Mattingly with tonight's "Eye Opener."
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
MONA BREWER, FORMER CHAPEL HILL HARVESTER CHURCH MEMBER: And she died when she was 18 in a car accident suddenly. And I really had a real experience with God at that time.
DAVID MATTINGLY, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Twenty years ago and just a teenager, a young Mona Brewer was reeling from the death of her sister and turned to God. She found comfort in the welcoming arms of the Chapel Hill Harvester Church near Atlanta. At the time, it was one of the nation's growing charismatic mega- churches, with thousands of members led by the influential Bishop Earl Paulk.
BISHOP EARL PAULK, CHAPEL HILL HARVESTER CHURCH: I want you to praise God with us today.
BREWER: He had a -- a fresh word from God every time he came to the pulpit, which was several times a week. And it was amazing, you know, that God spoke to him such -- on such a frequency. And we were taught that spiritual authority was -- your level of spiritual authority was according to, you know, your revelation from God, or the things that God revealed to a person. And he was -- we were taught he was a prophet and an apostle in the church.
MATTINGLY: Mona says she came to view Paulk, a married father and grandfather, as a holy messenger of the lord selected by God to speak for the almighty. And, over time, Bishop Paulk's church became her life. Mona became a teacher in the church school, a soloist in the church choir. And, at age 27, she even married an associate church pastor, a union blessed by Paulk himself, a man she believed so close to God that his words could never be questioned.
BREWER: There were signs on the walls at the church. They didn't put scriptures on the wall. They put his sayings, his quotations. And one of them was, "The kingdom of God is built in trust." And we were taught that we were to trust our spiritual authority, and we were taught not to question it.
MATTINGLY: And so it went for years, Mona says, until, one day, Paulk asked for a meeting with her. It was a request that left her both elated and curious.
BREWER: I was just overwhelmed, because that was such a great opportunity. Nobody got to do that. I mean, he was awesome. I mean, everybody wanted to talk to him. And he just invited me to his office to talk to him for a few minutes. And that was really incredible.
(MUSIC)
MATTINGLY: She says this man she respected so much, it turns out, had been moved by her singing and wanted to take her to a higher level of ministry.
BREWER: And, at the end of the chat, he said, well what is it you want for me? And I thought to myself at the time, well, I didn't -- I didn't ask to come here. You asked me to come. But I couldn't say that, because that would sound verbose. And I couldn't say that. So, I just said, well, I guess I need a father, because that's what everybody was -- said. And I thought -- and I did. I thought, you know, well, that's a good thing to say. So...
MATTINGLY: But Mona was about to get something she never expected. She says, in her next few meetings with Paulk, his plans for her became shockingly clear.
BREWER: He said, well, I guess you will just have to take your clothes off, because I'm going to have to love you. Whoa. And I thought, oh, God. You know, I didn't want to do it, but what choice did I have? I mean, I have been taught for all these years not to question him. And I had this word from God. I mean, God obviously wanted me to do this.
And it was so foreign to me, but I -- I didn't know what else to do. I was on the spot. So, I took off my clothes, and we did it.
MATTINGLY: The tryst, she says, went against all she had been taught about marriage, sin and adultery. Then age 29 and a member of Paulk's church for 10 years, she was left confused, conflicted, and questioning what she knew about her faith.
(on camera): And, according to Mona Brewer, it was just the beginning. The liaisons continued, she says, and became frequent. She says that Paulk used the scriptures to justify the seemingly unholy behavior, claiming that God had elevated him above the sin of adultery.
BREWER: Because he said, you know, the adultery issue was for the little ones. It was for the -- the people, the, you know, commoners. It wasn't for people who God elevated and trusted with special things like this, relationships like this. And that's the way he explained it to me.
MATTINGLY: And now you were elevate as well?
BREWER: Oh, yes. God trusted me with this relationship. And that was major.
MATTINGLY: And how long did this go on?
BREWER: Fourteen years.
MATTINGLY (voice-over): Fourteen years of alleged silence, secrets and sin, now spelled out in a stack of legal documents in a lawsuit filed in 2005 by Mona Brewer and her husband, Bobby, against Paulk, other church leaders, and the church itself.
The couple accuses Paulk of abusing his confidential relationship with Mona as her spiritual adviser and, through manipulation, coercion and deception, caused her to believe her only route to salvation was to engage in sexual acts, at the request of Bishop Earl Paulk.
But Paulk responded, denying all allegations, including that he coerced or manipulated Mona into having sex. Paulk and the others filed a countersuit seeking damages for libel and slander.
Mona claims, however, that Paulk's request didn't just involve having sex with him. She claims Paulk arranged for her to have sex with a member of his family and, once, with a visiting minister.
BREWER: Paulk brought him into Atlanta, had him stay in his own home, in the basement bedroom, where we always had sex. He wanted me to go downstairs and have sex with him, and then come upstairs and have sex with himself, and tell him all about it.
MATTINGLY: And the list of alleged encounters would not end here.
Mona Brewer claims there were times that, unknown to her, Paulk had others watching while they had sex.
Still, for years, she never denied him. All the while, she says, thinking her salvation depended on it. But eventually she says there was one Paulk perversion that even God couldn't make her do.
BREWER: The whole time I'm laying there praying, praying, God, you know, I will do anything for you. You know, I've proven that. But please don't make me do that. I don't want to do that.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
ZAHN: So what does Mona Brewer say her pastor actually wanted? And what do other women of the church have to say? David Mattingly's report continues in just a minute, we'll be right back.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
ZAHN: Can't tell from the picture, but a nice, crisp night out there tonight in New York City. We continue the story now of Mona Brewer. She says the influential pastor of her church abused his power and then pressured her into an affair that lasted more than a decade. And it grew more and more bizarre as time went on. Again, here is David Mattingly.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE) MATTINGLY (voice-over): From the outside, Chapel Hill Harvester (ph) appears much more than a church. A campus of rolling hills gives way to schools and offices and a massive multi-million dollar cathedral. All of it built under the charismatic leadership of Bishop Earl Paulk, who is now named in a lawsuit by a devout former church employee, Mona Brewer, alleging acts of sexual coercion.
BREWER: I mean, it certain wasn't consensual in the way that you would -- say you were in the office working with someone and you were attracted to each other even though you had spouses, and then you just went ahead and -- that's consensual to me. This situation, I was brainwashed. And I was taught that he was infallible and I had to do whatever he said, not knowing it would lead to something like that.
MATTINGLY: What it led to was an alleged 14-year sexual relationship between Paulk and Brewer, in which Paulk is accused of also manipulating her into having sex with a member of his family and a visiting leader of another church.
Believing all the while, she says, that she was acting in the service of God. Mona, however, reached a critical moment when she says Paulk had the idea for her to pick up strangers in bars, have sex with them, then return and tell him all about it.
BREWER: The whole time I'm laying there just praying. I'm praying, God, you know, I will do anything for you. You know, I've proven that. But please don't make me do that. I don't want to do that.
MATTINGLY: Fortunately Mona says Paulk never asked her to go through with it. And eventually she says she found the strength to break away, reject what Paulk was telling her and leave the church that had become her entire life.
(on camera): People are going to see this interview and hear how you were doing this and talked into doing this and how you were manipulated. Sure, I can believe it once. OK, maybe twice, but for years?
BREWER: Well that's how much I believed it. But anyone who's ever been in a cult or known someone in a cult will immediately recognize it and understand. But if you've never been in anything like that, or related to it in any way, it does seem so bizarre, doesn't it?
MATTINGLY (voice-over): Brewer's reference to a cult is her way to describe the pressure she felt to comply with Paulk's wishes and her lawsuit does not allege that the church itself is a cult. Paulk's attorney describes Chapel Hill Harvester as a non-denominational, full gospel, charismatic church.
And in a statement to CNN, he writes, "It would be interesting to see what percentage of viewers would buy into this beautiful 40-year- old woman's preposterous sex fantasy."
The attorney claims it was Mona who seduced Paulk and only on one or two occasions. He says Paulk has openly confessed this to his congregation and he suggests that the Brewer's lawsuit is driven by money.
(on camera): Now almost 80-years-old, Paulk, according to his attorney, is recovering from recent cancer surgery and remains in very poor health. He has not commented publicly outside of church about the lawsuit. And Mona Brewer is not alone in her accusations.
Mona was talking about that she -- there was a time when someone was watching. That was you.
CINDY HALL, FORMER CHURCH MEMBER: Yes.
MATTINGLY: Did she know it at the time?
HALL: No. She did not know it at the time.
MATTINGLY: What did he get out of it? Did he have you come talk about what you saw?
HALL: Yes, well, he was turned on by the fact that I was watching while he was having sex with another woman.
MATTINGLY: And when she would leave, what would it then be your turn?
HALL: Yes.
MATTINGLY (voice-over): Cindy Hall is also a married former member of the Chapel Hill Harvester Church, who claims to have also been manipulated by Paulk for 10 years into performing sometimes twice daily sexual acts with him and occasionally other men and women.
Now, a friend of Mona Brewer, Hall has provided a deposition for the lawsuit. And like Mona, she says she was made to believe she was serving God and was compelled by her faith to obey.
(on camera): After these episodes, did he ever pray with you?
HALL: Oh, yes. There were several occasions that he prayed with me.
MATTINGLY: Right there in the bedroom?
HALL: Oh, yes. Oh, yes.
MATTINGLY: What would he say?
HALL: Oh he'd pray with me during sex sometimes. He'd pray for me and, yes, during sex.
MATTINGLY: Pray for you?
HALL: Pray for -- pray for the relationship. Pray for -- yes, he would pray during -- sometimes during sex, yes. When I say pray over me, that's kind of hard to describe. MATTINGLY (voice-over): And hard to believe, according to Paulk's attorney, who writes "Cindy Hall's story is even more ludicrous and unbelievable that Mona's. All of it categorically denied by Bishop Paulk."
But through the years there have been other lawsuits and accusations. In 2001, there was another lawsuit by a woman claiming Paulk molested her as a child. That case ended with a confidential settlement. In 1992, seven women held a press conference to publicly accuse church members of sexual misconduct, one of those women accused Earl Paulk. They were sued by the church for libel and slander, but that libel case was later dropped.
(on camera): By coming forward, what do you hope to accomplish?
HALL: My goal is to help stop it and whatever I can do to expose, this type of behavior, you know, I'm willing to do that. And I'm willing to come forward and talk about my situation. Maybe somebody that sees this, that has been through a similar situation, maybe it will help them.
(voice-over): Cindy Hall says she is now in counseling. She and her husband left the church and have stayed together. But the experience with Bishop Earl Paulk, she says, has shaken her faith. For a time, Mona Brewer says, she was suicidal.
BREWER: And I thought of ways to do it. And every time I would think, "What if the kids think it's their fault?" And I couldn't deal with that, so that kept me, you know, going every day. Just putting one foot in front of the other.
MATTINGLY: For Mona Brewer, the final break came in March of 2004. She told her husband Bobby of the 14-year affair and the couple invited Paulk and his brother Don to their homes. These photographs reveal the result. The meeting ended when Bobby punched both of them in the face.
Mona says because her husband has stayed by her side, it has given her the strength to pursue their lawsuit. She is also thankful that her faith in God remains in tact.
BREWER: And I know there's a God up there that loves me in spite of everything and I know he forgives mistakes and I know that he will vindicate the righteous.
MATTINGLY: David Mattingly, CNN, Atlanta.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
ZAHN: And Mona Brewer and Cindy Hall say they hope that by telling their stories, others will come forward from the church. The church, meanwhile, continues to hold regular services and no court date has yet been set.
Our next story isn't about the betrayal but about a husband who is so intensely loyal to his missing wife, he is spending almost every waking moment looking for her.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
ANDRE KAHLEEL, HUSBAND OF MISSING WOMAN: I can't think and I don't want to eat and my main focus right now is her.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
ZAHN: He's even probably looking as we speak. Where did his wife vanish and who can help him solve this mystery?
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
ZAHN: Tonight, a husband in Florida is desperately handing out flyers in a frantic search for his missing wife. Two weeks ago she simply vanished, leaving no sign of why or what happened. It is a case that has police stumped, literally, tonight without a clue. And now has her husband devoting the whole family business to finding her. Here is J.J. Ramberg.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
J.J. RAMBERG (voice-over): It's approaching midnight, nearly nine days after Andre Kahleel's wife mysteriously disappeared. Kahleel, his friends, and relatives, spend another sleepless night distributing flyers asking for help in finding her.
KAHLEEL: We plan to put out 2,000 flyers tonight and as many posters as we can safely put up.
RAMBERG: On January 10th, Olga Kahleel dropped her two children off at her mother-in-law's house, something she did every day. Then she found her secretary at the family's printing business, who says Olga told her she was going to the bank to make a $2,400 deposit. That's the last time anyone heard from her. She never made the deposit.
KAHLEEL: My body cries at night. I actually feel my body shaking. You know, my heart is actually shaking, it's what it feels like. And there is times when I just shut down. You know, I can't think and I don't want to eat and -- my main focus right now is her.
RAMBERG: Andre and Olga met 14 years ago and Andre says that before this, they hadn't spent a day apart since then. They worked together at their printing shop, eat just about every meal together and share the job of raising their one and seven-year-old children.
KAHLEEL: We talk, and I'm not kidding you, 30 times a day.
RAMBERG: He says he knew when he couldn't reach his wife within an hour, something was wrong. Police say Andre is not a suspect in his wife's disappearance. Police investigators are trying to help him, but say they have little to go on.
LT. BILL BAMFOD, FLORIDA POLICE DEPARTMENT: We have nothing. There is absolutely no paper trail of Mrs. Kahleel, where she was, where we suspect her of going. We don't know where this woman went.
RAMBERG (voice-over): Andre Kahleel has taken on the investigation himself. He's devoted the resources of his business to printing and distributing these flyers, more than 150,000 of them so far.
And he's hired helicopters so his cousins can search for Olga's missing car. They've flown all over the Miami region, covering areas like these canals in West Broward County. On Tuesday they spotted an oil slick in one, but when police divers went down, they found nothing. Kahleel and his family say there is absolutely no chance that his wife just ran away.
CAROL KAHLEEL, SISTER-IN-LAW: She wouldn't leave her kids. That I know for sure.
RAMBERG (voice-over): Kahleel worries that as more time passes, finding his wife will become harder and harder.
KAHLEEL: I'm going continue, and if it's 10 years from now, I'm going to be continuing looking for her every day. This is -- it is a promise I made to her.
RAMBERG: The one comfort he has, he says he's certain Olga Kahleel knows he's doing everything he can to find her. J.J. Ramberg, CNN, Miami.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
ZAHN: And there's one more thing to add. Andre says he has already spent $25,000 searching for his wife and he intends to keep searching until he finds her. He says, that's his job now.
We have a lot more ahead, but right now it's time to check the stories that are affecting your money. Here is Erica Hill with the "HEADLINE NEWS BIZ BREAK."
(BUSINESS REPORT)
ZAHN: Thanks Erica, appreciate it. "LARRY KING LIVE" gets underway in about 12 minutes from now. Hi, Larry, how are you doing?
LARRY KING, CNN ANCHOR: I'm doing fine, Paula. We're going to look at the Osama bin Laden question with three journalists, all of whom have interviewed Osama bin Laden.
Also Steve Kroft of CBS will join us, and then we'll look, of course, of the story of the missing journalist, the captured journalist in Iraq. So we'll cover both sides of those big stories. Take viewer phone calls, all that coming up at the top of your hour, immediately following the lovely and talented Paula Zahn.
ZAHN: Oh, Larry, you didn't have to say that.
KING: I know, but I did. ZAHN: Hey by the way, did you see the interview with the mother of this journalist that's now being held? It's really heart-breaking, boy, what a strong woman to make a plea directly to those terrorists.
KING: What a thing to go through, yes.
ZAHN: All right, Larry, look for you in about -- time's ticking away here, 11 minutes from now. See you at the top of the hour.
KING: Bye.
ZAHN: So what's the easiest way for a balding computer programmer to get his picture on T.V.? Jeanne Moos knows the answer and has a body of evidence to prove it.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
JEANNE MOOS, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Hang your head out a little more. That's good. That's good.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
ZAHN: So who is this guy? And aren't you dying to find out why he seems to be dying every minute of the day? Please stay tuned.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
ZAHN: So what exactly do you do when you're a middle aged guy, not exactly a hunk anymore, but you have your heart set on being in a movie? Well, one Ohio man figured over my dead body. Jeanne Moos explains.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
JEANNE MOOS, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): He's been dying all over New York.
(on camera): Hang your head out a little more. That's good. That's good.
(voice-over): Dying live on morning TV. Dying in the makeup chair, dying on the anchor desk. He's dying to play a dead guy. Who needs movie star looks?
CHUCK LAMB, DEADBODYGUY.COM: Look at me. I'm no Tom Cruise, but I don't jump on couches either. But I just --
MOOS (on camera): You die on them.
LAMB: I'm going to get a part if it kills me. Ready?
MOOS (voice-over): And finally he got what he was dying to get. The chance to play a dead guy in a movie.
(on camera): It worries me you'll be in a body bag. Is anyone going to see your face. LAMB: Yes. They promised they would see my face.
MOOS (voice-over): Chuck Lamb is better known as the dead body guy. His Web site features Chuck posed all over his Columbus, Ohio, home, under the garage door, caught eying new divorcee. His wife Tonya makes fake blood out of corn syrup and food dye. These days every show needs a corpse.
Maybe on CSI it is wrong to photograph the dead, but Chuck wants his picture taken. He's even posed electrocuted in a tub though he didn't submerge himself like this guy in "Law & Order."
Chuck's favorite death scene is from the film "Tombstone."
LAMB: Bill Paxton never blinks. If there is ever an academy award for dead, it was Bill Paxton in "Tombstone."
MOOS: Chuck just wants his name in movie credits. This was the easiest way for a balding computer programmer to do that.
Finally on an MSNBC talk show a movie producer called in offering Chuck a role as a corpse in a film about a funeral home starring Danny Aiello.
LAMB: Are you serious.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: He's serious.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Dead serious.
LAMB: The movie is called "Stiffs." Chuck proved his stiff status when we took him to Central Park and positioned him in a pool of fake blood. It took ten minutes but finally a good samaritan actually called the police as he checked Chuck.
MOOS (on camera): Sir, don't call 911. Because he's not real.
How would you rate him as a dead guy?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: He was warm. So --
MOOS: You touched him and he was warm.
LAMB: Yes.
MOOS (voice-over): Touched him but says he drew the line at mouth to mouth.
(on camera): What you to want on your tombstone?
LAMB: I'm not kidding this time.
MOOS: Jeanne Moos, CNN, New York.
(END VIDEOTAPE) ZAHN: That has you wondering will it make any difference at all. If you see him in a live performance. Be sure to stay with us for "LARRY KING LIVE." It gets underway about five minutes from now. What else is on Osama bin Laden's new tape? How serious is this new threat? Larry has a panel of top experts, all of whom have sat down and talked with Osama bin Laden. That's coming up at the top of the hour.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
ZAHN: Right now is when you get to weigh in on some of the stories we put on the air. We've had some strong responses to our segment about bank robber William Genglen (ph) who was turned in by his own sons. Last night we heard from Genglen who has been sentenced to 40 years in prison after pleading guilty to robbing five banks in The Midwest. His sons told us they tried to confront their father after they recognized him in surveillance photos. When they couldn't find him, they simply went to the police.
Here's what Elizabeth of Texas had to say about that: "This is their father. I think if they had cared about him, that they would have gone out of their way to find him. I think there is a certain loyalty that you have to have when it's a family member. I cannot understand sons turning in their father to the police, at least until they had given him a chance to turn himself in."
ZAHN: Well, we always want to get your take on what we're covering. Leave us a voice mail at 1-877-PAULA-NOW or email us at heypaula@cnn.com. Love to hear from you.
That wraps it up for all of us here tonight. They are taking vows, they are putting on rings but are high school students really going to end up practicing vows of chastity. You'll find out tomorrow night. Have a good night everybody. Thanks for joining.
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