Return to Transcripts main page

Rick's List

Afghan War Documents Leaked; Is Tony Hayward Out at BP?

Aired July 26, 2010 - 20:00   ET

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

RICK SANCHEZ, CNN ANCHOR: Are the people who leaked the documents on Afghanistan, are they heroes or are they bums? We want to know what you say, America.

Here's my LIST.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

SANCHEZ (voice-over): Here's what making the LIST in prime time.

The bombshells, the list of them out of Afghanistan, insurgents using Stinger missiles, dead civilians, Iran's connection, Pakistan's connection. Why didn't we know these things. Should we know?

JULIAN ASSANGE, FOUNDER, WIKILEAKS: I have really only just scratched the surface.

SANCHEZ: The Wiki leak, what is it? We will take you through it. The P.R. disaster that is BP may claim its biggest victim. Is Tony Hayward Out?

JERRY BROWN (D), CALIFORNIA GUBERNATORIAL CANDIDATE: You have a duty as a public official to act as a fiduciary, using your utmost good faith and loyalty to the taxpayers. When you pay somebody $800,000, what's the basis?

SANCHEZ: How can they pay each other so much money legally?

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: You're taking our money and you're paying each other?

SANCHEZ: A screamer of a RICK'S LIST coming your way.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

SANCHEZ: And hello again, everybody. Welcome back. I'm Rick Sanchez.

And we're going to begin with the secret documents.

As Afghanistan is laid bare, 76,000 classified military documents dropped like a bomb on a Web site last night, painting a bleak picture of a war that's been dragging on for nearly nine years. They were posted by a group known as WikiLeaks, obtained -- well, we don't know exactly how they were obtained. And that's a huge part of this story. Just how did WikiLeaks get their hands on all of this stuff? This is the focus of intense speculation and a Pentagon investigation as well tonight. Words like treason are being thrown around, and perhaps with some just cause.

White House Press Secretary Robert Gibbs says the leaking of the reports amounts to a very real threat to national security. Yet, while many Americans have contacted this show, saying they're against the WikiLeaks report, many others are saying they appreciate getting real information about Afghanistan.

Here's why. A CBS News poll earlier this month showed 62 percent believe the war is going badly. So, what do the documents actually say? "The New York Times" was the only U.S. paper to publish the story.

Here's my list of some of the most surprising items in this report. Number one, it reports high-ranking members of the Pakistani spy agency met with Taliban officials and actually helped organize attacks against Americans. Pakistan, that's supposed to be our ally, right?

Number two. The situation on the ground is more grim than what we have been hearing from Washington. Number three, the Taliban is better armed than we have been led to believe. In fact, "The Times" reports they have actually been using heat-seeking missiles against allied aircraft, weapons used, as you recall, by the mujahedeen against the Soviets when they kicked their butts.

Four, "The Times" reports on equipment shortages, specifically American vehicles. And, five, a strain between American forces and their Afghan counterparts.

Gary Berntsen is a former CIA actor who spent a lot of time in Afghanistan since 9/11. He's currently a partner in a company that's doing development work over there. He's also running as a Republican for Senate in the state of New York.

Gary, thanks so much for being with us once again.

Pentagon spokesman Geoff Morrell said today these are combat reports and have a very narrow view of the war. The latest one is dated a year ago, and it doesn't reflect the current status of the war.

Gary, you were in Afghanistan. You and I have talked about Afghanistan many times in the past. Do these leaks tell the real story, do you believe, of what's going on over there?

GARY BERNTSEN, AUTHOR, "HUMAN INTELLIGENCE, COUNTERTERRORISM AND NATIONAL LEADERSHIP: A PRACTICAL GUIDE": Of course, it's a complicated war.

These leaks do tell and provide some accurate reporting on different aspects of the conflict. It's a shame that these things have been leaked because these are classified reports. All of us knew -- all of that have been involved in Afghanistan understand the difficulties of the war.

We knew those things, that the Pakistanis had cooperated with the Taliban. We know the difficult -- we are aware of the fact that they have used surface-to-air missiles, that the Iranians have been involved. The difficulties with working between American and Afghan military units, these things are common knowledge among the forces on the ground.

It doesn't help the effort from a propaganda sense, you know, from the U.S. side. This is a boost to the Taliban, because it's going to sap morale in the U.S.

(CROSSTALK)

SANCHEZ: But it doesn't sound like I'm necessarily hearing you say that these reports from these secret documents are either wrong or made up, which, by the way, pretty much jibes with what we have heard from Jones and from the administration today.

Let me ask you another question. I want to show our viewers some video here. This is Secretary of State Hillary Clinton. See if we have that, Rog. She's in Pakistan just last week. She's giving them another $500 million in U.S. aid, $500 million. You know how much we have given them in the past. If anyone knows, you do.

Now these reports essentially show the Pakistani intelligence agency, maybe some commanders, a wing of the country's military, coordinating attack against American forces. And it again makes Americans ask this question. Can we trust the Pakistanis, given what we keep hearing, and now again in this report, Gary?

BERNTSEN: U.S. interests in the region are based on two things, fighting terrorism in Afghanistan, making sure that al Qaeda is suppressed, and then also containing the proliferation of nuclear weapons in Pakistan.

We don't want the loss of their nuclear arsenal. Pakistan is a place that's highly unstable. That's our greater interest there, not democracy in Pakistan over the long haul. It's making sure they don't lose control over their 90 nuclear weapons they have.

I haven't reviewed all of those documents. I suspect that the documents are accurate. We have to assume that, you know, going into this, because I have read some other things about how the documents were leaked. They probably are accurate.

It does paint a bleak picture on this, but it doesn't mean that this fight is less worth fighting and trying to make progress on.

(CROSSTALK)

SANCHEZ: All right. Let me ask you about these heat-seeking missiles. It sounds to me like they have the same kind of Stingers that were used against the Soviets that the mujahedeen had such good ways with when they used them against the Soviets. And what does that say about us now if that some weapon is being used against us? Have you put that together yet in your head?

BERNTSEN: Well, yes. The point is just if it was in fact a Stinger, it would have been old and a very, very old Stinger that was used and they have found some way to get the batteries to work, because in most of those cases the battery was not working properly.

The agency, the CIA, whom I worked for, for many years, collected many, many of those things off the battlefield. There's still concern about a few being out there. They may have gotten a couple of those old ones to still fire. But the challenge for them was getting that battery to function on there. And they probably got some assistance from the Iranians, I suspect.

SANCHEZ: Do you think that this report, these leaked documents, will hamper our effort in Afghanistan? And let me put a caveat on that before I let you go. Should it?

BERNTSEN: Well, clearly, the Taliban are going to be reading those documents and studying them and looking for advantages on the tactical and strategic side as they combat us. From that point, it's damaging.

The other part is that the Taliban are in this for the long haul because they want to lessen U.S. public support. And if the result of the leak of this is lessened public support, then the Taliban have gained significant advantage.

COOPER: Gary Berntsen, who was a commander in Afghanistan at one time, and continues to work diligently on that cause, my thanks to you, sir, for joining us tonight.

By the way, here's another caveat. Tonight at 9:00, right after this show, Larry King is going to have WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange joining him. He runs the Web site that published these leaked documents. You can catch that right here at the top of the hour.

And, yes, many of you have been commenting, as well as people relative to the news. We collect tweets here from people who make news as well as you.

Let's go with Steve Krakauer on Mediaite: "White House and Gibbs blames WikiLeaks, saying it poses real threat to military, but there's no criticism of 'New York Time,' 'The Guardian,' and others."

Here's another one. "The leak of Afghan war materials is profoundly irresponsible and harmful to our national security." Joe Lieberman weighing in there. We know he is a hawk, or has a history of it.

And look at this. "WikiLeaks reckless to post classified documents. Reports predate new strategy, should not be used to paint current picture."

That's a good point. They did actually stop a year before. So, we will stay on top of this story.

Take a look at this piece of sound I want to share with you now.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

PAUL RIECKHOFF, FOUNDER & EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR, IRAQ AND AFGHANISTAN VETERANS OF AMERICA: And understand that Julian Assange, who heads WikiLeaks, is an anti-war activist who has repeatedly cast a very unfair light on the American military and on the American population in general.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

SANCHEZ: Yes, there's a lot of heat going in that direction. That's American war veteran Paul Rieckhoff. He's coming up, and he's saying to my industry, as journalists, we all need to take a breath and consider the source here.

And when does the public's need to know trump the political leanings of a Web site like WikiLeaks?

Also, you know, this whole WikiLeaks controversy had me thinking of some other famous leaks that had a profound on our country. You ready?

Number three on my list: the Pentagon Papers from the Vietnam era. Back in 1971, "The New York Times" got a hold of raw documents that revealed the true depth of the U.S. involvement in Southeast Asia and the ways the public had been misled by the Johnson administration.

Number two, Valerie Plame, the CIA agent outed by a conservative columnist, Robert Novak, in 2003 after Plame's husband, Joe Wilson, wrote an op-ed questioning the Bush White House's claims that Saddam Hussein had tried to buy uranium.

Number-one leak changed our nation forever. What is it? You're going to see it as we kick off a brand-new week of our national conversation in prime time, your LIST, my LIST. We call it RICK'S LIST.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

SANCHEZ: Welcome back. I'm Rick Sanchez. Did you figure this one out yet? We were racking our brains and doing research to make sure we brought you the right one.

Tens of thousands of pages of confidential pages on the war in Afghanistan were leaked online this weekend, but the number-one leak in U.S. history came long before the Internet, and it came from someone named Mark Felt. Until a few years ago, almost no one knew that he was the real Deep Throat. His leaks to "Washington Post" reporters Bob Woodward and Carl Bernstein brought down the entire Nixon presidency. And there you go.

Immigration, it seems to be at the very top of every American's list of issue, and CNN's polling tonight bears that out. We are three days now, folks, from the day the toughest immigration law in the country is scheduled to take effect in Arizona. We have got fresh polling tonight showing a majority of Americans are dissatisfied, and some are just downright angry, about the number of illegal immigrants in the United States.

But that's the emotional toll the national conversation on immigration has taken so far. When it comes to policy, what do you do next? Most Americans think the federal government's focus should be to stop the flow of illegal immigrants into the United States in the first place and deport the ones that are already here, instead of a plan that would lead illegal immigrants to become legal residents.

And there's a demographic split on this as well. Let me take you through it. Take a look at some of these numbers. Most white non- Hispanics want a policy that focuses on deporting illegal immigrants. Most Hispanic Americans want a plan to legalize those illegal immigrants currently living and working in the United States.

That's the national focus. But let's take you to ground zero. Let's take you to Arizona for this heated immigration debate now and our Jessica Yellin, who is right there in the thick of things in Phoenix.

What's it -- what's the mood there? What does all this mean for the people of Arizona? And what are you seeing and hearing, Jessica?

JESSICA YELLIN, CNN NATIONAL POLITICAL CORRESPONDENT: Rick, I'm trying to get a lot of different snapshots of reactions here in Arizona.

And today we visited with undocumented workers whose own lives will be directly impacted by this law. I will tell you two different experiences we have seen. One example of the way the law you could say is having a -- is working, in a sense, we visited day laborers who told us that for 15 days now, they have not been able to get a job because no one wants to hire them without papers in this environment, because they're afraid of fines and prosecution.

So, you could argue that in a way it's having a positive effect by enforcing the law. It's hard for those day laborers, but you're not supposed to work without papers. On the other hand, Rick, we met a woman who had a heartbreaking story. Her husband had lived here.

He was deported last year after living here for 15 years. When he went back to Mexico, he was shot and killed for his truck. So, she says she cannot face returning to Mexico with her three children, and she's fleeing Arizona ahead of this law because she's so afraid of being sent back to Mexico.

And I asked her what she thinks of the law. This is what she told us.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: She says that they want to capture the bad guys, like the narco traffickers and all, but it seems like we all pay for it, she says, because they capture the innocent folk ace long with them. YELLIN: What does she think about the argument that it should be done legally, you can be here, but you should get papers?

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE (through translator): Well, yes, we would like, so that we can work.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

YELLIN: In fact, Rick, she still has a job. She says she's been working nonstop. She says she will work until the day she leaves. And here's the kicker. Guess where she's fleeing to? Los Angeles -- Rick.

SANCHEZ: Interesting. Hey, what's going to happen over the next couple of days there? One would expect, as we get down to Thursday, we will see what, protests, challenges? What are you hearing?

BERNTSEN: There will be challenges, there will be protests on both sides, supporters and, massive, a movement of objectors coming into this state who will do a sit-in in front of the state capitol and march to the federal building here in Phoenix.

And, Rick, a lot of people, we're told, will be showing up without a driver's license and without any papers to call attention to what they describe, the objectors describe as a flaw in this law, which is it's very difficult to enforce for one reason. If you are a citizen of the United States of America, and you are Latino, you do not have immigration papers that prove that you are a citizen here because you were born here.

You also don't -- aren't in the immigration system, so police officers will have to figure out who is illegal, who is legal, who was born here. And the whole point of this demonstration, they say, is to call attention to some of the flaws in the law, and then, of course, to get a notice for just how upset this community is.

They say there are also mass voter drives throughout the state to get Latinos who are here legally registered to vote and participate in the electoral process.

SANCHEZ: So, it sounds like what you just described is that they're going to try to throw a whole wrench into this thing, and go out there and try and get themselves stopped by police, possibly detained, and then questioned, but not have I.D. on them, even though they are, in fact, legal, they're residents or, in fact, citizens.

YELLIN: That's right. You put it better than I did. Exactly. Legal citizens of the United States and legal residents who are Latino will come without identification to make it all very difficult, and then sit in and force police to arrest them, to move them, and force police to sort out how you can even enforce this law for a person who's a legal citizen of the U.S.

SANCHEZ: Wow. That's going to be interesting to watch.

(CROSSTALK) SANCHEZ: Jessica Yellin following this story for us there out in A.Z.

And, look, as this story develops, we're going to have every possible part of this that you can imagine. We will continue to do this all the way up until Thursday and then beyond right here on RICK'S LIST.

Meanwhile, take a look at this.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

TONY HAYWARD, CEO, BP GROUP: There's no one who wants this thing over more than I do. You know, I would like my life back.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

SANCHEZ: Well, guess what? Soon, he may be starting a new life. There are reports that BP chief Tony Hayward is on his way out. Wait until you hear who might replace him. It may surprise you. That is ahead.

Another day, another gaffe by a Senate hopeful in Colorado. A candidate supported by the Tea Party is heard calling members of the Tea Party -- quote -- "dumbasses." What did he mean by that?

Also, my list of the greatest gaffes in that race so far, and there are several. That is next on RICK'S LIST prime time. We will be right back.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

SANCHEZ: We keep lists, and we also connect to you on social media. You tell us what's going on. We report that as well. So, we share. And let's do that.

To the Twitter board we go.

"Don't believe the smear hype. Julian works for truth and transparency" -- he's referring, of course, to WikiLeaks' founder -- "nothing more, nothing less. Few honest men left."

That's one opinion. Here's another. "Politicians don't like the public knowing the truth, especially Lieberman. Let it leak. Consider it Patriot Act for Americans."

Number three: "Really? Are you really surprised by the revelations in WikiLeaks content? I'm not and lots revealed we already assumed true."

This one: "Rick, if you are naive, you would trust Pakistan, but it would be wiser to be skeptical of nation who say they are allies."

There you go.

Now, I should remind you as well that at the very top of the hour, we're going to bringing you the interview with Julian, who you just referred to in one of those tweets. He's going to be doing an exclusive interview with Larry King tonight. And you will be hearing all sides of that controversy as well.

Now, you and I both know there is no shortage of people in politics saying things that they probably shouldn't, right? But there's a Senate race going on right now and it's Colorado that's giving us enough material to make my LIST.

First, listen to Republican Senate candidate Ken Buck. He was caught on tape in audio obtained by "The Denver Post" and KUSA talking about his supporters in the Tea Party.

(BEGIN AUDIO CLIP)

KEN BUCK (R), COLORADO SENATORIAL CANDIDATE: Would you tell those dumbasses at the Tea Party to stop asking questions about birth certificates while I'm on the camera?

(LAUGHTER)

(END AUDIO CLIP)

SANCHEZ: Buck told "The Denver Post" -- quote -- "I'm not suggesting that language was appropriate" -- stop quote.

He went on to say that he was tired and frustrated by 16 months of campaigning, but this is not the first time he's suffered from a bit of foot in the mouth, you might say. You probably remember this as well.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

BUCK: Yes?

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Why should we vote for you?

KEN BUCK (R), COLORADO SENATORIAL CANDIDATE: Why should you vote for me? Because I do not wear high heels.

(LAUGHTER)

(END VIDEO CLIP)

COOPER: That was in response to a campaign ad former Lieutenant Governor Jane Norton, who does. Listen to what she said about Buck.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

JANE NORTON (R), COLORADO SENATORIAL CANDIDATE: Have you seen those TV ads attacking me? They're paid for by a shady interest group doing the bidding of Ken Buck. You would think Ken would be man enough to do it himself.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

SANCHEZ: All right, here's what you need to know. The Colorado primary is still two weeks away. So, stay tuned.

All right, now, I need to warn you. The video that you're about to see is in fact graphic. We know that. It shows the end result of the first face transplant in history. And for the first time, the world is seeing the man who went under the knife. It's coming up in just a little bit here. We will share it with you.

Also, America's secret war diaries are now exposed, and the people who released them, are they bums or are they heroes? We're hearing from you so much and from those relevant to this particular conversation, this national conversation.

Up next: why one critic says the people behind it all are dead wrong.

This is RICK'S LIST prime time. Come on back.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

SANCHEZ: Welcome back. I'm Rick Sanchez.

I'm so glad that you're with us.

Back to our lead story tonight, the trove of Afghanistan war documents that we're still combing through as we speak. Thousands of pages of classified material has been released. And some of CNN's best journalists are on that, as are many other journalists from around the country. The administration says that breaks the law, what they did, and it could also put military personnel at risk.

So, I want to bring in Paul Rieckhoff. He's with the Iraq and Afghanistan Veterans of America. And he has some strong words about this. As a matter of fact, I got to tell you, this guy is heated up. He really believes that this is part of an anti-war agenda. Here it is.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

RIECKHOFF: We also have to look at WikiLeaks themselves here. I mean, this is a platform that operates without standards. It's run by an anti-war activist who has said he is bent on ending the war in Afghanistan.

And -- and this published material supports his agenda. We're a little disappointed, as a veterans group, that the mainstream media is running with this information like it is facts on the ground about Afghanistan. This provides a very incomplete view of what's happening on the ground.

And it's a component. And I think we really need to look at Julian Assange, who has called for full transparency, but is running an organization under a veil of secrecy that operates outside of U.S. regulations. He doesn't disclose his primary sources.

SANCHEZ: But...

RIECKHOFF: I mean, here is a bit of hypocrisy...

SANCHEZ: But -- but to be -- but...

RIECKHOFF: ... here coming out of WikiLeaks.

SANCHEZ: Well, OK, but -- but, to be fair -- and, look, I don't have a dog in this fight. I don't care either way, but from everything I have read from General Jones, for example, and everything I have read coming from the White House, it doesn't sound like they're saying this is all made-up crap, we don't believe it, we think that the media community should ignore it.

As a matter of fact, they seem to be saying they're bothered by the fact that it's out there, but they're not putting it down.

RIECKHOFF: Well, I have yet to talk to anybody who's made their way through the 91,000 pages, including the people from WikiLeaks themselves.

SANCHEZ: That's a fair point.

RIECKHOFF: We've got to put it in context and we've got to make sure that there's no information out there. And I would argue, Rick, you do have a dog in this fight. I mean, there are American troops in harm's way right now getting shot and killed. And if WikiLeaks is endangering them, we need to push back and then the American public needs to push back and understand that we've got men and women in harm's way.

SANCHEZ: But hold on, here's where this gets interesting. Here's my role as a journalist. My role as a journalist is also to protect those troops with the truth so that they're not getting buffaloed with somebody else who has a dog in this fight who wants to make sure they're staying there, either a, for personal reasons or b, for monetary reasons.

Now, we've learned this in the past in this country through examples in Vietnam and others, that truth is important. I'm not saying in this particular case every journalist has to go out there and just put this information out there without checking with the military to see what harm it might bring, but to say that the public doesn't deserve to know when it's their money and their sons and daughters' blood that's being spilled, I think that can also be a reckless decision, Paul. Am I wrong?

RIECKHOFF: My point here is if you've dealt with secure information, if you dealt with top secret and classified information, you'll understand that --

SANCHEZ: But you and I are arguing about is absolute restrictions as opposed to some information being disseminated. Are you saying -- and here, let me get you on the record, are you saying none of this should be reported, Paul?

RIECKHOFF: I am not saying that. I am saying that like everyone else, I have yet to go through the 91,000 pages and we need to exercise a little bit of restraint here. Don't rush to judgment. And understand that Julian Assange who heads WikiLeaks is an anti-war activist who has repeatedly cast a very unfair light on the American military and on the American population in general.

SANCHEZ: Paul Reickhoff, good guest. I'm so glad that we had a chance to discuss this and go through this, and hopefully we'll get a chance to do this again real soon.

OK. This is part of the report. We'll continue combing through it, continue sharing information with you, continue getting reaction from those against and those for. And as it comes in, we will share it with you. Both sides.

Meanwhile, take a look at this. Can you tell what those flying objects are? It's in tonight's list of the best video. Yes, we've got that list as well. Comes in every night. We call it "Fotos del Dia."

And then next, we're on the verge of an announcement from BP about the fate of Tony Hayward. Brooke's got the list of his greatest hits, if you will. That story is trending.

Do you want to see what we're doing behind the scenes every day on RICK'S LIST, by the way? Check out RICK'S LIST twit vids. We put one together every single day so you see how the stories how formed. We post them every afternoon. We work on the list that you care about. This may be something you wouldn't see anywhere else. So go to twitter.com/ricksanchez. Twitter.com/ricksanchesCNN. Stay with us. Brooke Baldwin is coming right up.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

SANCHEZ: For those of you who are frequent viewers of RICK'S LIST, you know, this is where we take the things that are trending. In other words, what people are e-mailing each other about, what people are facebooking about, what people are tweeting about. And Brooke follows those things. So this is the top list of trending items. And we begin with two words, Tony Hayward.

BROOKE BALDWIN, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Yes. We are oozing tonight with trending goodness, first beginning with the head of BP and we're watching and we're waiting for his fate. That's really we're still hanging on that.

Meantime, though, as we wait, let's take you back. Remember those brilliant moments? I say brilliant perhaps facetiously of leadership by BP's chief Tony Hayward.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

TONY HAYWARD, CEO, BP: This wasn't our accident. This was a drilling rig operated by another company. It was their people, their systems, their processes. We are responsible, not for the accident.

I think the environmental impacts of this disaster is likely to be very, very modest. No one wants this thing over more than I do. You know, I'd like my life back.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BALDWIN: The sound bite heard around the world. Well, guess who may finally be getting his life back. Everyone on the web now talking about BP CEO Tony Hayward potentially here stepping down. I'm talking British media, "AP," "Wall Street Journal," "New York Times" all reporting that Hayward's departure could be announced as soon as tomorrow morning. That is now what we're hearing here. He could be leaving the post as early as October, but BP is, you may imagine, they're standing by their man for now. Here's what they're saying on record today. Let me read for you. Quote, "BP notes the press speculation over the weekend regarding potential changes to management and the charge for the cost of the Gulf of Mexico oil spill. BP confirms that no final decision has been made on these matters."

If you're already asking and thinking ahead as we are here, the rumor of successor, Bob Dudley. Right now, he is BP's managing director. There he is. He is also, may I add, an American.

SANCHEZ: That makes it different, by the way. Let me add something else. We just got a tweet today from BP, so let's add that to the mix. Go ahead, if we could, and get a shot at the tweet board.

More than 1,089,047 barrels of oily liquid -- notice they call it oily liquid now --

BALDWIN: Oily liquid.

SANCHEZ: -- skimmer or recovered in controlled surface burns. And there is BP's update as to how they're doing in the Gulf of Mexico.

All right.

BALDWIN: OK.

SANCHEZ: So I understand now that you have something. And we thought long and hard about this, about doing this story. But there's a real human drama involved here. And it's part of what's going on in medicine. So have at it. I think it's fair.

BALDWIN: I think it's fascinating and I will. It's the world's first full face transplant. It is a success as you mentioned. We have the picture. We thought long and hard. We have the after- picture of this patient. If you're bothered by images like this, take this moment, turn away. Here we go. Here we go.

31-year-old Oscar from Spain, he had lost his jaw, he lost his nose, other pieces of his face.

SANCHEZ: Wow.

How? What happened? BALDWIN: They basically blasted away in a shooting accident.

SANCHEZ: So it was a gun?

BALDWIN: It was a gun accident. 24-hour long operation, it took place in Barcelona back in March. Thirty people working on him, but not only was the surgery a success, but today, Oscar made his first public appearance. Thanks to a new jaw, he's able to speak.

I want you to listen in Spanish. You can help with the translation, friend.

SANCHEZ: I will. I will.

BALDWIN: We're going to tell you what he's say on the other side. But watch him talk.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

"OSCAR", WORLD'S 1ST FACE TRANSPLANT: (Speaking in a foreign language)

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BALDWIN: I know it's kind of hard to understand, right?

SANCHEZ: Yes, it is hard to understand no matter what language he would be speaking.

BALDWIN: We did it with Spanish subtitles earlier and essentially he's giving thanks to the doctors and the donor.

SANCHEZ: But we have to put into perspective, by the way. I mean, this has got to be so far along from where he was before.

BALDWIN: Yes. I think I read something like nine failed operations. This was the 10th miracle. By the way, another number for you, separate story. There have been 10 partial face transplants in the past I think in world history, but Oscar is the first full facial transplant. It's amazing.

SANCHEZ: Yes.

BALDWIN: That's why we wanted to share.

SANCHEZ: Well, good for him, you know? Good for him.

BALDWIN: OK, you're ready for this?

SANCHEZ: Yes.

BALDWIN: Trending topic number three. I'm going to make you hip. That is going to be my goal. "Mad Men."

SANCHEZ: So many others have tried before you and failed.

BALDWIN: I'm trying.

SANCHEZ: "Mad Men," two words for you. You know if you're a "Mad Men" watcher. Don Draper --

SANCHEZ: Yes.

BALDWIN: Ladies, Emmy-award winning TV hit "Mad Men" premiered last night. Season four. Massive reviews. Like three million people watching. Everyone is all atwitter, especially some of the ladies. People have been tweeting and blogging about actor John Hamm. There he is. He's this advertising superstar, Don Draper, "Mad Men." It stands will all the men working on Madison Avenue back in the day and New York. And while some might be tuning in for Hamm's looks, MTV.com is reporting he'll be lending his voice to an upcoming episode of "The Simpson's."

And that's not all. This just in. Don Draper showing up these days a little bit differently here at an episode of "Sesame Street." Here's a spoof of the show.

SANCHEZ: Oh.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

NARRATOR: And now, EMC, the emotional movie channel presents, "Mad Men."

DON DRAPER: So, gentlemen, where are we with the happy honey bear account?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Coming right along, Mr. Draper.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Oh, would you like us for us to show you some ideas, Mr. Draper?

DRAPER: Yes, let's take a look, shall we?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: OK, here we go.

How is that, huh?

DRAPER: Let's see. But this doesn't make me happy. The raccoons are running off with the bear's honey. This makes me mad, very mad.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Yes, it makes me mad, too.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Very mad.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BALDWIN: So mad. You know you're doing well when "Sesame Street" does a spoof on you. But seriously, I mean, this is so huge. We had, you know, some of our folks down from New York --

SANCHEZ: Yes. BALDWIN: -- sort of grumbling today that they couldn't watch in their hotel rooms. You know?

SANCHEZ: You know, when you're so handsome that you even look handsome as a "Sesame Street" character --

BALDWIN: I was about to say it's tough -- I was going to say, are you experiencing from experience?

SANCHEZ: Yes, yes.

BALDWIN: Yes. Yes. When you're so handsome, people must do you as a muppet.

SANCHEZ: Would you stop that? You are out of control, you.

Hey, thanks for coming out here. We like the trending stuff.

BALDWIN: Yes.

SANCHEZ: We'll keep doing it. All right.

BALDWIN: Thank you. Thank you.

SANCHEZ: Don --

BALDWIN: Don Draper.

SANCHEZ: Draper. Yes.

BALDWIN: I'm trying.

SANCHEZ: Do that.

Here's what else we've got coming up.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: We need to really work this out with the attorney general and make sure that they all go to prison and not let them get away with anything.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

SANCHEZ: The attorney general is in, by the way. Citizens calling for justice in a California city. We've been telling you about this since last week. Several leaders are under fire for their incredible six-figure salaries. Some officials have already announced their resignations. But tonight, a sudden about-face to report on this. It's all unfolding as we speak. It's happening right now, folks.

Also, they say college students are the leaders of the future, but sometimes they make history, even if it involves water balloons? Water balloons. The incredible video next on my list of best videos of the night. And we bring you those as well. It's on RICK'S LIST, prime time.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

SANCHEZ: I want you to listen now to the person we believe is the most intriguing person in the news on this day. Julian Assange, the man responsible for the WikiLeaks Web site that over the weekend published more than 70,000 pages of classified documents pertaining to the war in Afghanistan.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

JULIAN ASSANGE, "WIKILEAKS" FOUNDER: The document as we describe it is true. We publish CIA reports all the time. They are legitimate CIA reports. That doesn't mean the CIA is telling the truth.

Similarly with this material, there is reporting from military units of various kinds in Afghanistan, reporting from U.S. embassies across the world about matters relevant to Afghanistan. Reporting from informers in Pakistan and Afghanistan. Those are legitimate reports. It doesn't mean that the contents are true.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

SANCHEZ: As you see, Assange says he can't vouch for any level of truth in the reports that he releases. But either way, the United States government is not happy. I want to show you now what the State Department had to say about this whole debacle today. Here, take a look for yourself.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

PHILIP CROWLEY, ASST. SECRETARY, U.S. STATE DEPT.: The State Department joins the White House and DOD in condemning the disclosure of classified information by WikiLeaks. The fact that these are, in many cases, documents that are several years old does not change our concern that this action risks our national security.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

SANCHEZ: Risk our national security is what he said. A serious charge.

All right. Here we go. There are good Samaritans and then there are great Samaritans. Proving this point, a group of commuters in Atlanta, they topped our list of the best videos of the day. We gather this for you. It's part of our most important list. We call it "Fotos del Dia."

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Ah, dios mio.

SANCHEZ: OK. Set the scene here in Atlanta for you. A visually impaired woman walks out onto a train station platform and doesn't stop. She falls directly on to the tracks. She can't see. Worst part, the train is fast approaching. One brave man rushes to pull her out. Other commuters pitch in. The train stops four feet from where the woman lay on the tracks and the crowd pulls her to safety. That's human drama.

Now, in Voorhees, New Jersey. How's this for irony? The truck is supposed to anchor the crane. Right? But when the crane fell on the Olive Garden restaurant, the tables were suddenly turned. Look at that. Stuck on the restaurant's roof, the crane pulled the truck off the ground where it hung in midair.

Finally to Provo, Utah. You know all that college tuition your kids are racking up? Well, who says they can't have a little bit of fun along the way.

Brigham Young University students set a world record Friday for the largest water balloon fight ever -- ever. Three thousand nine hundred people participated. A total f 120,000 water balloons went splacked (ph). The BYU students ended up beating the previous record set at the University of Kentucky by 1,000 balloons. One thousand balloons.

And whenever you want to see these "fotos," this list, you can do so without having to watch our show. All you've got to do is go to our Web site, our blog at CNN.com/ricksanchez.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Ah, dios mio.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

JERRY BROWN, CALIFORNIA ATTORNEY GENERAL: I give up. It's beyond belief. It may be a first in the annals of public salaries anywhere in the country.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

SANCHEZ: California's attorney general Jerry Brown makes RICK'S LIST tonight. He told me the bloated salaries of these officials in one of the state's poorest cities is worth investigating. And tonight, the people paying those salaries are declaring war on their leaders.

We're just now getting word that one of the targets has made a game-changing announcement on this story. We're all over it. Up next, that person is making my list. The one that, by the way, "The List You Don't Want 2 Be On." We'll be right back.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

SANCHEZ: Welcome back to RICK'S LIST. When citizens declare war on their leaders, it's a fascinating story. When they actually take their rage to the streets and win those battles, that's a moment. That moment is happening right now in one of California's poorest cities. Several local leaders have already announced plans to resign after the public found out that they were making some unbelievable salaries.

We were the first to bring you this story on a national stage. Tonight, there's a sudden about-face to report. And it comes from the man who has found himself on a little something we call "The List You Don't Want 2 Be On."

All right, these are the facts. California is out of money. People are struggling. That includes people across the city of Bell. That's right, Bell. It's 14 miles south of Los Angeles. Fewer than 40,000 people, one in six residents lives there in poverty. Yet for some reason the city manager, Robert Rizzo, makes more than $787,000 a year there. That's almost twice what President Obama takes home.

Are you outraged yet? Take a look at what he reportedly stands to make each year in pension payments. His assistant makes more than $370,000 a year. And the city police's chief makes nearly $460,000 a year. That's 50 percent more than what the police chief of Los Angeles makes. That's a real big city.

Remember, taxpayers are on the hook for these salaries. And three officials announced last week they will resign. But tonight, citizens are once again sounding off. They called on four city council members, including the mayor, to slash their salaries. Now they all make $100,000 a year. Council members. You want some context? Another member sitting on the same council makes just $8,000 a year. And these are considered part-time positions. I asked the state's attorney general whether the officials committed any crimes at this point.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

JERRY BROWN, CALIFORNIA ATTORNEY GENERAL: Well, I have issued subpoenas to find out. We're going after their records. We want the employment contracts within 48 hours. This is more money than the president makes. This is more money than any city manager in America.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

SANCHEZ: Yes, we know. Jerry Brown, by the way, is running for governor. Last week, listen to how the mayor of Bell justified some of these monstrous salaries.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

MAYOR OSCAR HERNANDEZ, BELL, CALIFORNIA: If you want good service, I think you deserve to get good money. The only thing I say, this community, they're receiving good service. They deserve to have the best service.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

SANCHEZ: Tonight, a sudden change of heart. Mayor Oscar Hernandez is now apologizing to people in his city for the outrageous salaries. He says he will finish his term without pay and will not run for re-election. Of course, we invited the mayor to appear on the show, but he has not responded to our e-mails or our phone calls. But because he's still under investigation and can't seem to explain why he was making big bucks in a poor city in the first place, as well as his staff, he has landed himself on this thing we call "The List You Don't Want 2 Be On." All right, it's almost time for our "Laugh List" now where we rank some of the best late-night comedy. That's coming up. Stay right there. We'll be right back.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

SANCHEZ: Here's your "Laugh List." Take it.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

JIMMY KIMMEL, HOST, "JIMMY KIMMEL LIVE": A new recording what again sounds like Mel Gibson engaging in flirtatious banter with his ex-girlfriend was released online today. He's really got to stop making these tapes. I don't know why he would continue with this. This is the sixth recording to come out. He's become the Tupac of angry ranting.

JAY LENO, HOST, "THE TONIGHT SHOW WITH JAY LENO": The Detroit Lions president Tom Lewand has been arrested for drunk driving. They say he was drinking pretty heavily, but then again, he's president of the Lions. Can you blame the man?

JIMMY FALLON, HOST, "LATE NIGHT WITH JIMMY FALLON": The man dressed as Darth Vader robs a bank in Long Island this week. Today, the bank's manager issued a statement saying catch him, we must.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

SANCHEZ: And from the list of the "king," here's Larry.