Return to Transcripts main page
The Situation Room
Hurricane Wilma Centered on Yucatan; Suspicious Package Near Capitol; Tom DeLay Says Charges Are Wrong And Politically Motivated.
Aired October 21, 2005 - 16:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
(MARKET REPORT)
WOLF BLITZER, CNN ANCHOR: It's 4:00 p.m. here in Washington. And you're in THE SITUATION ROOM where new pictures and information from around the world are arriving all the time.
Happening now, Hurricane Wilma's slow but punishing path. It's 3:00 p.m. in Cancun, Mexico where popular resorts are taking a beating. When will Florida be hit? We'll bring you a National Hurricane Center update, that's coming up live here in THE SITUATION ROOM.
Also this hour, Tom DeLay faces a judge and indictment but keeps on smiling. We'll take a closer look at why the former house majority leader is calling this, in his words, a good day.
And President Bush pays homage to Ronald Reagan at a time when he might use some tips from the conservative icon. We're following President Bush and two big burdens on the White House right now, the CIA leak probe and the Harriet Miers nomination.
I'm Wolf Blitzer. You're in THE SITUATION ROOM.
The worse Hurricane Wilma gets for Mexico, the better, maybe, maybe, it might be for Florida. The massive storm now lashing resorts in Cancun and Cozumel and expected to stall somewhat. So Wilma may be slower and weaker when it actually moves toward Florida.
This hour, we'll go live to the National Hurricane Center for the newest forecast. But, let's check in right now with the CNN Hurricane Center with our severe weather expert Chad Myers.
Bad for Mexico, might be good for Florida. Explain a little bit more why that could happen.
CHAD MYERS, CNN METEOROLOGIST: Wolf, when a hurricane sits over water, it can grow, especially the warm water that is here in the western Caribbean. But, as the storm now moves over land it actually is going to lose its gas, it's going to lose its fuel, to get stronger.
So, it is going to weaken as it hits this little tip of the Yucatan Peninsula. Unfortunately, this is the absolute worst case scenario for Cancun.
Here is Cancun right over here. And I've got the western Caribbean here for you. The storm itself driving itself right over Cozumel. The northern and most dangerous part of the eye wall right over the hotel zone right now.
The weather going down as far as it's going to go in Cancun in about 20 minutes to an hour. This is where the northern eye wall makes land fall right at Cancun with wind speeds of 130 to 140 miles per hour. The longer it stays over land, the more those numbers go down, maybe to 100 miles per hour before it gets back into the Gulf of Mexico.
This is actually a radar picture from the Cancun radar right before it went out. It's now out of service. This is two hours ago, but this is the northern part of the eye wall then. Now this northern part of the eye wall is right over Cancun, just kind of push this ahead two hours at about five miles per hour.
The storm, itself, right over Cancun, the most dangerous part, the heaviest winds and now the most damage taking place right over that resort town of Cancun.
BLITZER: All right, Chad, stand by for a moment. Susan Candiotti is in Cancun. She is joining us on the phone. Chad, I want you to help us debrief Susan on what's going on where she is right now. Susan, it's getting worse I assume.
SUSAN CANDIOTTI, CNN CORRESPONDENT: (INAUDIBLE). We just clocked almost 135 miles per hour where we are and this is one of the seaside hotels further in the gulf.
I mean, the palm trees are just bent over sideways. You cannot see the surf right now. It is just blistering. (INAUDIBLE)
To the downtown area, we hope they are making out all right. Hotels there are doubling as shelters. They've got people living in ballrooms.
We did take a ride about an hour ago out on the streets, some of the roads are impassable. There is debris in the streets. I did not see any structural damage but I am seeing some broken windows in the hotels here.
As a matter of fact, despite the fact that they are boarded up (INAUDIBLE) has crashed through at this particular hotel and there is debris crashing to the floor. Some of the glass walls (INAUDIBLE) also gone.
They suffered some of the same kind of damage from all the way back in July, but it was not as strong a storm as Wilma is -- Wolf.
BLITZER: Susan, I want Chad to ask you a question or two to get a better sense of what's going on there -- Chad.
MYERS: Please, Susan, tell me where you are. Are you on the hotel zone or are you in the old part of downtown?
CANDIOTTI: We're in a hotel right on the Gulf side. We are not downtown gulf. So, we're getting the brunt of it here. The waves are crashing the shore. I mean, they are eating away the erosion.
The waves are crashing over on to what would have been the patio and pool area right up to where the lobby is. And we are about 20 feet, according to the hotel manager, above sea level here.
MYERS: Have you seen any water wash completely over the island and into the bay behind you?
CANDIOTTI: I, you know, some of the roads are impassable. I have not been out in the last hour. (INAUDIBLE) So, by now that might have happened.
But certainly they are standing in deep water on some of these very -- what is usually a very busy area, Copeland Road, that runs the length of Cancun, up and down where the island is, where the hotels are located.
BLITZER: All right, Susan, we're going to get back to you. Be careful over there. Susan Candiotti is our reporter in Cancun right now.
Chad, we're going to get back to you very soon, as well. And remember we're standing by this hour to hear from the National Hurricane Center.
Max Mayfield will update us on the path of Hurricane Wilma, what happens after it gets through, rips through this area. The Yucatan, Cancun, Cozumel and heads into the Gulf of Mexico, makes a right turn toward Florida.
They're getting new information. We'll bring that news conference with Max Mayfield live to you. That's coming up later this hour.
Other important news we're watching, including an important political story. Congressman Tom DeLay's first day in court after his indictment on conspiracy and money laundering charges.
The former house majority leader still of the one of the nation's most powerful Republicans is touting his appearance today as a success. CNN Sean Callebs is joining us from outside the courthouse in Austin, Texas, with an update on what happened -- Sean.
SEAN CALLEBS, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Indeed, one of the most powerful men in politics in the U.S. really, here in the courtroom in Travis County, here in the heart of Austin.
And really, DeLay's attorney firing the first salvo in this case. The attorney wants the judge in this case to step aside. And during what will be a highly publicized trial, he wants to see somebody else on the bench.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
CALLEBS (voice-over): Why is this man smiling, this while facing two criminal indictments in a Texas court. REP. TOM DELAY (R), TEXAS: You may be surprised to hear this from me today, but I find this is a very good day. For the first time in over three years, I was provided the opportunity to go before a court and refute these baseless charges.
CALLEBS: Charges which former House Majority Leader Tom DeLay says are wrong and politically motivated.
DICK DEGUERIN, DELAY'S ATTORNEY: This is what Ronnie Earle wanted.
CALLEBS: DeLay's attorney, Dick DeGuerin, spent the brief hearing pursuing his claim that his client is the victim of pure politics. He filed a motion to have the judge, Bob Perkins, remove himself from the case, a request a senior judge will rule on.
In Texas, judges run for office. Judge Perkins ran as a Democrat. DeLay's lawyer points out that the judge donated money to presidential candidate, John Kerry, the Democratic National Committee and $200 to MOVEON.ORG, an organization DeLay's attorney says is so hostile to his client it's selling T-shirts emblazoned with DeLay's mug shot.
Moveon denies that. Indeed, there's no sign of such a T-shirt on its web site although Moveon lobby to have DeLay removed from his leadership position.
DEGUERIN: The judge has every right to be a Democrat or a Republican, that's not what it's about. It's about Judge Perkins having actively supported people in opposition to Congressman DeLay.
CALLEBS: DeLay is charged with money laundering and conspiracy. The charges state that a political action committee formed by DeLay and two others illegally funneled money from corporations to Republican candidates running for state offices.
Prosecutor Ronnie Earle has been investigating the allegations for three years. He wants Judge Perkins to remain on the case.
RONALD EARLE, TRAVIS COUNTY, TX, DISTRICT ATTY.: The judge has a record of fairness to all who come before his bench. And again, membership in a political party does not determine the quality of justice in this country.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
CALLEBS: Now, we also got a bit of a clarification from DeGuerin, DeLay's attorney, a short while ago. He says he made an error in court and at the news conference and he didn't mean to say MOVEON.ORG is selling the T-shirts. But rather a couple of organizations that were funded by MOVEON.ORG.
Well, we contacted one of those organizations, they say no T- shirts have been printed yet. No money collected. They are still considering whether to print any T-shirts. Just a pretty good idea of perhaps the give and take we can expect in the weeks to come as this trial plays out. Wolf, back to you.
BLITZER: Thanks very much, Sean Callebs reporting for us.
Back here in Washington, a bomb scare on Capitol Hill today. Police blew up a suspicious package in a car parked not far from the Capitol Building. Our Congressional Correspondent Ed Henry joining us now with details. It was a very dramatic for the hours it was going on.
ED HENRY, CNN CONGRESSIONAL CORRESPONDENT: That's right, Wolf. Capitol Hill was on high alert for several hours starting at about 10:50 a.m. Eastern time. That's when two white males showed up in a 2005 gray Chevy Impala. The driver of that vehicle, according to two sources, basically told the Capitol Police, just a couple blocks from the Capitol, that he had a bomb in the car.
Capitol Police, as you mentioned, exploded the suspicious packages at about 1:10 p.m. Eastern time. We have confirmed at CNN that, in fact, it was more than one package. It was several packages, in fact, and then the two men were brought in for questioning by the Capitol Police and the FBI.
Now, we've also just confirmed some other new details. Two officials telling CNN, in fact, that the driver of this vehicle started out in Mexico, then flew to Fort Myers, Florida. That's why this Impala was rented. It was a rented vehicle with Florida plates.
We're also now told that the driver picked up a hitchhiker in Daytona Beach, Florida. That was the second white male in the car. He was headed for Buffalo, New York. And a short while ago, CNN producer Nicole Jackson (ph), caught up with the man who claims to be the hitchhiker emerging from Capitol Police headquarters here on Capitol Hill. He identified himself as Steve Stovall (ph), and he said that when the duo reached Washington, the driver starting, in his words, wigging out. Take a listen.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: What happened?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I have no idea. Man, this dude's talking about like there was people chasing him and he was freaked out and weirded out. He was weirded out.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
HENRY: Now, this hitchhiker went on to tell CNN that the driver started claiming that he was best friends with President Bush. He also reportedly starting rambling and said that Spiderman was out to get him. Then, at some point, the driver approached Capitol Police officers, said that he had these packages, that he had a bomb.
That's when they, obviously, approached the scene. They shut off several streets, but the United States Capitol and their office buildings were never shut down. It was relatively calm although tense for sure. Capitol Police and the FBI still investigating the details, Wolf.
BLITZER: Well, was there a bomb?
HENRY: They have not commented on that. The Capitol Police will not comment whether or not it was a bomb. They will basically just say that they were able to interrupt whatever device was there, but they are not confirming whether or not it was a bomb, Wolf.
BLITZER: All right. Thanks very much. Ed henry reporting for us from Capitol Hill.
Let's go back to New York, Jack Cafferty with another chance to get some e-mail from you. Never dull in Washington either, Jack.
JACK CAFFERTY, CNN ANCHOR: It's interesting. It looked like Kato Kaelin was the hitchhiker there in this guy's car.
BLITZER: He looked a little bit like him, yes. The blonde hair, yes.
CAFFERTY: Sounded a little like him too, just sort of mumbling his part, looking down at the ground, not real coherent. Reminds me of the interviews they did during the O.J. -- and then at the Tom DeLay thing over there in Austin, his lawyer should get As for his work today.
They managed to put the judge on trial. No talk about the criminal behavior that Tom DeLay is accused of, but rather the judge donated some money to a Democratic cause so we've got to get a different judge. Pretty amazing.
Check out this list, Wolf. Possible indictments in the CIA leak case. The "New York Times" reports that Karl Rove and Scooter Libby have been advised they could be in quote, "serious legal jeopardy," unquote. Former House Majority Leader Tom DeLay arrested, hauled into court. He's accused of conspiracy and money laundering.
Senate Majority Leader Bill Frist under investigation by the SEC and the Justice Department for possible insider stock trading. The Harriet Miers Supreme Court nomination looking to be in more trouble with every passing day. FEMA, where e-mails now indicate an aide to former director Mike Brown said her boss needed more time to eat his dinner during the Katrina aftermath.
Oh yes, and then there's that pesky war in Iraq, the record low approval ratings for the president, the deficits and on and on and on. Here's the question -- could things get any worse for the Republican party? caffertyfile@cnn.com. Talk to you in a half hour.
BLITZER: If Patrick Fitzgerald, the special prosecutor, indicts someone next week, the answer is ...
CAFFERTY: Yes.
BLITZER: I think so. All right, Jack. Thanks very much. Here in THE SITUATION ROOM, we're constantly tracking Hurricane Wilma. Still ahead this hour, we'll get an up-to-date forecast. From the National Hurricane Center, a new forecast about to come out. We'll carry it live. That's coming up this hour.
Also, President Bush embracing the Reagan legacy. Can he borrow from the late president's playbook and bounce back from all the controversy?
And Tom DeLay's courtroom drama. Did the indicted Congressman seem overconfident or did he play it just right? A DeLay "Strategy Session." All that coming up here. You're in THE SITUATION ROOM.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
BLITZER: Just a reminder, we're standing by to hear from Max Mayfield, the director of the National Hurricane Center in Miami. He's got a new forecast, a new update on Hurricane Wilma, where it's heading, when it will hit Florida, assuming it's still going to be hitting Florida. We're standing by for that live news conference, his announcement. We'll go there live as soon as it starts.
In the meantime, other news we're following. In Southern California, President Bush is helping to open a new exhibit at the Ronald Reagan Library and he may be hoping to borrow some of the late president's political Teflon, as they used to call it, his famous ability to prevent controversy from sticking to him. Our White House correspondent Dana Bash is following Mr. Bush's travels. She is joining us now live -- Dana.
DANA BASH, CNN WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT: Well, Wolf, there is no question President Bush would probably love to channel many of the qualities Ronald Reagan was known for, but you're right. Right about now, Teflon tops the list.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
BASH (voice-over): At the Reagan Library, a nostalgic tribute to The Gipper.
GEORGE W. BUSH, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: We believe, as President Ronald Reagan did, that freedom is one of the deepest and noblest aspirations of the human spirit.
BASH: The irony here? A lesson fellow Republicans learned from Reagan is causing one of this president's many headaches. Don't trust Supreme Court picks with thin records. The White House tried to relaunch Harriet Miers' embattled nomination this week by talking up her resume instead of her religion. But several GOP sources tell CNN her meetings with key senators looking for evidence she grasps complex constitutional issues did not go well, producing lukewarm statements like this.
SEN. JOHN THUNE (R), SOUTH DAKOTA: But it certainly isn't determinative in terms of where I may end up coming down on this. BASH: One long-time Bush family friend compared picking the unknown Miers to putting Dan Quayle on the ticket, a decision by an insulated staff who didn't contemplate how hard it would be to sell. But privately, some Bush aides admit a key problem lies in their own ill-prepared, even clumsy sales plan.
SEN. ARLEN SPECTER (R-PA), JUDICIARY CHAIRMAN: I think it's been a chaotic process, very candidly, as to what has happened.
SEN. PATRICK LEAHY (D-VT), JUDICIARY CHAIRMAN: We'd actually like to know what the heck is going on.
BASH: An exasperated Bush source said this. No one is in charge. Top aides are overwhelmed with monumental troubles, from hurricane missteps to the war in Iraq to a criminal investigation. And some Republicans say that the president's sinking approval means he's lost his leverage, simmering frustration is now bubbling over.
REP. CHRIS SHAYS (R), CONNECTICUT: Well, I think this White House, unfortunately, has come across as very arrogant and so they have a lot of people pretty angry at them.
BASH: It's taking a toll inside the White House. A former senior Bush official told CNN the circle around the president is too small, top aides have been in their jobs too long and they are tired. And the biggest source of anxiety is something they cannot control, whether Karl Rove or any other key figures will soon be indicted.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
BASH: And there is no question despite the fact that publicly Bush aides say that they are going about their business, it's business as usual here at the White House, there is deep concern. They're definitely sort of in a state of suspended animation, Wolf. I talked to one Bush source who said right now it's not a very happy place to be here at the White House.
BLITZER: Dana Bash, at the White House. Thank you, Dana, very much. The former presidential adviser, David Gergen, knows plenty about the Reagan legacy. He knows what it's like to be in a White House in crisis. He served four U.S. presidents. He is joining us now from Harvard.
David, thanks very much. It must be very, very uncomfortable, but give us your sense, what are White House officials going through during these days presumably before possible indictments?
DAVID GERGEN, FORMER WHITE HOUSE ADVISER: It's gut check time at the White House, Wolf. This is a time when people do go to the meetings, they go through the paces. They claim they're not distracted but they're only pretending.
Of course, all the conversations outside their regular substance are about what do you think it's going to happen. How do you think he's going to handle it? How is the old man doing? How is Mrs. Bush doing. There are all those kind of questions. In this White House, with so many things coming together, there is obviously a direct connection between the threat of this investigation and the threat of indictments and the troubles they're having with the Harriet Miers nomination and their inability to handle that. Their distraction with the indictments is prompting them to be unable to handle the nomination. That's why it's so clumsy.
BLITZER: And I've been told by officials from White House officials that many of them are even afraid to discuss this amongst themselves, privately behind closed doors for fear of being subpoenaed and asked about any conversations they might have had. So it sort of hovers over a room but people can't even talk about it.
GERGEN: Well, they can and they can't. I mean, they can talk about what's in the papers. They can tell each other, you know, what's in the public realm but they can't exchange inside information. This is a time when you begin to think, do I need a lawyer?
That's a very unhealthy place to be in any White House. It began to spread across the Clinton White House at one point. Everybody had to have his or her own lawyer. It's a really uncomfortable feeling when you've got to go out and get a lawyer.
BLITZER: Our latest CNN/USA Today Gallup poll that came out this week shows the president's job approval numbers at only 39 percent approve of the way he's handling his job, 58 percent disapprove, a significant drop from 45 percent at the end of September. The president says it's just background chatter. He's focused. He's doing his job. But what you're saying is it's hard under these circumstances.
GERGEN: It's not only hard, it's impossible. And I think that, again, there's clear evidence their distraction is leading to all sorts of other problems. The issue becomes, Wolf, in terms of borrowing Reagan's magic, as Dana -- sorry -- raised that question, it's important to remember that Ronald Reagan did have a second term crisis.
It was the Iran-Contra scandal. It almost -- it sent his ratings down into the 30s. In fact, there was even talk of impeachment. And but yet he recovered. And I think the lesson for the Bush people is not how you get Reagan's magic to, you know, communicate well, but how do you look back upon his recovery process, because it was absolutely remarkable.
First and foremost, Wolf, he recognized reality. He accepted he'd made mistakes and he said so. And he had his people say so. Then he made the entire administration -- everything up there cooperated with Capitol Hill totally. But very importantly, he cleaned house. He brought in a new team.
As you'll recall, he brought in, you know, Howard Baker, Ken Duberstein, Colin Powell, fresh blood and they had a fresh infusion of effort. They turned the page. In the second part of his second term, he actually recovered. So when he left office, he had some of the highest ratings of any president in recent years and there was a lot of nostalgia for him.
So it's possible for President Bush. But when you talk to people around Bush, they say I don't think he's going to change. He's bitter, and the people around him are bitter. Now, they've got to deal with that. And I think for the country's sake, it's important to have a president who's not disabled for three years.
There are some important things. Whether you're a Democrat or Republican, there are some things we need to do in Washington in the next three years in which the two parties need to work together. So I think for the country's sake, there's a lot riding on the next few weeks.
BLITZER: Good advice from David Gergen, a man who knows the White House well. I remember when President Clinton brought you into the White House when he was in trouble, you gave him good advice then. You're giving our viewers good advice now. Thanks very much, David.
GERGEN: Thank you.
BLITZER: There's a new development coming into CNN. Let's immediately go to the CNN Center. Our Zain Verjee is standing by with details. Zain, what's going on?
ZAIN VERJEE, CNN ANCHOR: Wolf, a scaffolding has collapsed at Fenway Park in Boston. We're hearing that nobody has been hurt. We want to show you live pictures here, though. The Associated Press is giving us more details about this.
Workers have escaped injury at Fenway Park after a temporary scaffolding that you see here is utterly collapsed and fallen on some of the seats there in the stadium. It was set up behind home plate, essentially for the demolition of the 406 club there.
It fell around mid-afternoon, and one of the sections, as you can tell from these pictures, is just completely collapsed in a heap. Red Sox and fire officials quoted by the Associated Press say that no one has been hurt. Those are all details we have. And fire officials are telling us that the cause of this accident is unknown -- Wolf.
BLITZER: All right. Dramatic picture indeed. Thanks very much, Zain. We'll get back with you. Still ahead, from your hurricane headquarters, the threat from Wilma. We'll get a live update from Mexico. It's now taking a pounding from the storm. We'll also get the latest forecast on when and where Florida will be hit.
Also ahead, new jabs in Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger's tiff with President Bush. You're in THE SITUATION ROOM.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
BLITZER: Florida residents are on alert for a delayed but still potentially disastrous encounter with Hurricane Wilma. An evacuation order now in effect for part of the Gulf coast, the Town of Naples and on Marco Island. Let's get an update on what Wilma is up to, where it's heading next. Our severe weather expert, Chad Myers, standing by at CNN hurricane headquarters. What is the latest, Chad?
MYERS: The latest is it's just pounding Cancun right now. The latest wind at 97 miles per hour at the airport. And I suspect -- and that's a little bit farther inland. That's not even on the shore, that's not in the hotel zone where that wind is coming straight off the ocean and just pounding right into Cancun at this hour.
There's the town, the resort of Cancun. This is Cozumel right here. And watch the eye of the storm go right over Cozumel. Right now, Cozumel, the weather is probably pretty good. You can look outside and see the sky. You are actually in the eye of the storm. Do not go outside because the other side of the eye is still to come. It may be an hour or so, but it's still to come.
Hurricane hunter aircraft, Wolf, in the storm right now. As they flew across from one side of the eye to the other, they encountered 137 mile per hour winds here. They got to the center. The winds went to eight miles per hour, and then they flew into the other side, and the winds are coming from the other direction at 129, still a very dangerous Category 4, possibly down to a Category 3 later tonight, and then turning toward the U.S. We'll have the latest though from the hurricane center as soon as that 5:00 update becomes available.
BLITZER: Thanks very much, Chad. We'll get back with you. Let's check in with Jacki Schechner, she's checking the hurricane situation online. What are you picking up, Jacki?
JACKI SCHECHNER, CNN INTERNET REPORTER: Well, no vacation in Cancun and Cozumel, but they are still hanging out in the bars in Key West. We wanted to keep an eye out for the web cams because we'll see how this progresses as the hurricane gets closer.
First to Sloppy Joe's, you can see people still hanging out.
This from the Hog's Breath Saloon, you can see on the raw bar there, a little sign, it says, "Life is still in Key West." And if you go to the other angle, you can see it's raining, but people are still hanging out in the bar.
We'll keep an eye on these web cams in Key West and let you know how they progress as the storm gets closer -- Wolf.
BLITZER: All right Jacki, thanks very much. Lets go back to the CNN Center, Zain Verjee in Atlanta with a closer look at other stories making news -- Zain.
VERJEE: Wolf, Britain's confirmed a case of avian flu. In a statement today, the chief British veterinary officer said a parrot imported from Suriname died in quarantine and has tested positive for the virus.
Now, the parrot was among the 148 birds that arrived last month. And the Associated Press is also reporting this hour that there's been a case of bird flu confirmed in yet another European country, this time Croatia. The shooting death of Iraqi attorney Sadoon al-Janabi, has the other lawyers in Saddam Hussein's trial, calling either for a delay, that the trial move out of Iraq.
Janabi's body was found dumped near a Baghdad mosque yesterday hours after his abduction. He had been shot twice in the head and there wee signs of torture. Janabi represented one of Saddam's seven co-defendants.
The number of U.S. military deaths since the Iraq war began is nearing 2,000. Four more U.S. service members were killed yesterday in insurgent attack in Anbar province.
Three marines died when a bomb hit their patrol. About 25 miles west of Baghdad. In the northwestern town of Heafton (ph) an American soldier was killed in a mortar or in a rocket attack.
President Bush calls the United Nations report linking Syrian and Lebanese officials in the assassination of former Lebanese Prime Minister Rafik Hariri disturbing. Hariri and 22 other people died in a Beirut bomb blast in February.
The report was released today. The report, itself, lists the names of the men accused of plotting the attack.
Buckingham Palace says Prince William will follow younger brother into the army. The 23-year-old royal, who is second in line to the British throne has been accepted at Sandhurst, which is an elite military academy.
Just ahead here on THE SITUATION ROOM, the threat to Florida from Hurricane Wilma, where will it hit? How bad will it be? We're waiting to hear from National Hurricane Center Director Max Mayfield. We're going to carry his briefing live.
And indicted Congressman Tom DeLay turns a day in court into a smiling photo-op. His secret weapon just ahead. You're in THE SITUATION ROOM.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
BLITZER: Now we look behind Congressman Tom DeLay's ever present smile as he went to court today on charges of conspiracy and money laundering. Our Senior Political Analyst Bill Schneider thinks he knows the secret to DeLay's claims of success -- Bill.
WILLIAM SCHNEIDER, SENIOR POLITICAL ANALYST: Wolf, in a high profile political case, you don't just need a lawyer who can handle your defense, you need a lawyer who can handle your image, one who can even win the political "Play of the Week."
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
SCHNEIDER (voice-over): This is not Tom DeLay's campaign poster. It's his mug shot.
JON STEWART, THE DAILY SHOW: It's a great shot of him. Him, literally, doing this like it's, literally, the best day of his life.
DELAY: I find this is a very good day.
SCHNEIDER: How did DeLay avoid an embarrassing mug shot? He went out and got himself a high profile Texas lawyer who wears a Stetson hat and speaks with a drawl.
DEGUERIN: With a fair trial and a fair tribunal, the jury will find that Tom DeLay has not committed a crime.
SCHNEIDER: Dick DeGuerin is a celebrity defense lawyer. He once represented branch Davidian leader, David Koresh.
When Travis County Prosecutor Ronnie Earle brought charges against Republican Senator Kay Bailey Hutchinson in 1984, DeGuerin got her acquitted. Now, that same prosecutor has brought charges against DeLay.
DeGuerin has charged Earle with prosecutorial misconduct.
DEGUERIN: We've also filed a request to have the case moved out of Travis County.
SCHNEIDER: He has asked the judge, an elected Democrat, to be removed from the case.
DEGUERIN: The motion is serious. It deals with not just the fact that the judge is an active Democrat, as he has every right to be, but that he has supported causes and persons that have been in direct opposition to Congressman DeLay, including MOVEON.ORG.
SCHNEIDER: When reporters and photographers staked out the court house in DeLay's district, where he was expected to surrender, DeGuerin advised his client to surrender 40 miles away in Harris County. No perp walk, inkless fingerprints, no mug shots with numbers across the chest and for God's sake, look happy.
DEGUERIN: Mug shot, so he could put it out to Congressman DeLay's political opponents. And he's got what he wanted.
SCHNEIDER: DeGuerin claims his client is being prosecuted because of his politics. So DeGuerin is playing politics right back. Skillfully enough to win the political "Play of the Week."
(END VIDEOTAPE)
SCHNEIDER: As it happens, DeGuerin is a Democrat, whose father once worked for Lyndon Johnson. But, he's given money to both Democrats and Republicans. Smart lawyer -- Wolf.
BLITZER: All right, Bill. Bill Schneider, thank you very much.
Let's immediately go to our severe weather expert, Chad Myers at CNN Hurricane Headquarters. You're getting some specific new information, Chad. MYERS: Well, as we knew, Wolf, and we knew this was going to come out, it just is a matter of time when the hurricane center actually calls land fall.
They just did call center of eye land fall right on the island of Cozumel right there, just to the south of Cancun, just to the east of Playa Del Carmen, Playa Car, that very populated area there right up through the hotel zone and into Cancun, itself.
Cozumel, the island, right out there, actually gets the center of the eye. Everybody wants to call land fall when one of the walls, one of the eye walls makes land fall. But, that's not how the hurricane center does it.
When the center of the eye passes over a coastal area, not a marsh sometimes, when it passes over a real coast, that's when they call land fall and they just did right over the island of Cozumel. It actually moved down the northern half of Cozumel.
We could see it really on radar for a while. Now the Cancun radar is out of service probably because they just had a wind gust there of 107 miles per hour.
BLITZER: Chad, thanks very much. Chad Myers, we'll get back to you.
Coming up, more on Hurricane Wilma and its assault on Mexico and its slow crawl toward Florida. We're only minutes away from an update from the National Hurricane Center Director, Max Mayfield, we'll carry it live.
And the uncertainty hanging over Karl Rove and the Bush White House with the CIA leak investigation coming down to the wire. Tough strategy questions. All that coming up. Stay with us.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
BLITZER: We're only moments away from Max Mayfield in the National Hurricane Center. He's going to update us on Hurricane Wilma. We'll bring that to you live as soon as he starts talking.
In the meantime, let's get to today's strategy session. Joining us here in the "Situation Room," CNN political contributors Donna Brazile and Bay Buchanan.
Ladies, thanks very much joining us. Let's talk about Tom DeLay and his day in court. Smiling, great success. He can't be very happy about this.
DONNA BRAZILE, CNN CONTRIBUTOR: Well, look, I think his strategy right now is to grin and bear it for the time being and to allow his lawyers to do the talking especially to blame Democrats. What surprised me today is how desperate his team is. They didn't address the substance, they just kept blaming Democrats, blaming Moveon, blaming the judge. I don't know if that's an effective strategy. But it appears that that's what Mr. DeLay is doing in the short term. BLITZER: He did get the judge, because of that strategy, to acknowledge, well, let's have another judge see if I do have a conflict.
BAY BUCHANAN, CNN CONTRIBUTOR: It's an excellent strategy. They're doing two things. First, they've got DeLay looking very confident and certain and recognizing this is his chance to get this investigation behind him. It's been three years now.
And secondly, he picked up an attorney who's extremely aggressive and says, look, this judge can't -- it's not that he's a Democrat. There's a conflict of interest or at least an appearance of a conflict of interest. And hopefully he will get a judge that will be more sensitive, very likely more sensitive to his client.
BRAZILE: Judges in Texas are elected. And all of them appear to be either Democratic or Republican.
BUCHANAN: Sure they are.
BRAZILE: I don't know if that will in any way shape their opinion about the case.
BUCHANAN: But you made point. It's not that he's a Democrat. It's that he's been very actively involved in Kerry's campaign and (INAUDIBLE) a contributor as well as Moveon.com.
And so the idea is this is an appearance of a conflict of interest. A Democrat's fine, but not one that's been so generous with his money towards...
BLITZER: Donna, the conventional wisdom out there among Republicans, I assume, based on what you read, what you hear, is that DeLay's problem's bad for the Republican party. But there's one school of thought among Republicans that says maybe not. Maybe it's good to get rid of him, if you will, let more moderate voices -- a more pleasing voice take charge of the Republican leadership in the House and that this in the long-term would be good for the Republicans.
BRAZILE: Well, I think, first of all, it's bad for the Republicans right now. There's this scandal by the minute that's developing on Capitol Hill, the corruption of cronyism, so to speak.
And this is not a good time for the Republican party. They have seen their numbers in the polls now with the American people drop almost 10 percent since the beginning of the year.
So this is not a good day for the Republicans. And I think Democrats are doing a good job talking about the issues and reminding the American people...
BLITZER: Hold on one second. We're going to interrupt. We're going to come back. Max Mayfield of the National Hurricane Center briefing us on the latest forecast. MAX MAYFIELD, NATIONAL HURRICANE CENTER: ... update on Hurricane Wilma. This is still an extremely dangerous Category 4 hurricane. On the satellite loop behind me, you can see the very well defined eye. It's actually right over the island of Cozumel off the northeast coast of the Yucatan. In fact, the island itself is mostly within that eye.
If you look at the radar coming out of Cancun, you can see a double eye wall structure. There's a little delay on this radar about 45 minutes here. But the innermost eye wall, you can see in here. The outer eye wall is very strong and it is almost up to Cancun at the present time.
The maximum sustained winds are estimated to be near 140 miles per hour making it a very solid Category 4 hurricane. And I could contrast this a little bit with a couple of other hurricanes.
Hurricane Emily from July of this year was a borderline Category 3, 4 hurricane. It hit about the same area.
Also back in 1988, Hurricane Gilbert was actually a Category 5 hurricane. Both very powerful hurricanes but they were both moving fairly rapidly across the Yucatan.
This hurricane is moving much, much slower, about five miles per hour still toward the northwest. And what that means is it's going to be over the Yucatan for a much, much longer period and will continue to pound that region for at least 24 hours.
And also that outer most eye wall that we talked about there is a pretty broad eye wall looking at the recon data. We've got 100-knot winds over a very, very large area there.
So it's going to take some time for this hurricane to weaken as it crosses the Yucatan peninsula.
But it will indeed weaken and by this time tomorrow, we'll have a much weaker hurricane than we have today. I would like to show some of the model data on the -- for the future forecast of this.
The official forecast is very consistent with what we've had earlier today. This is the Navy model. It's a five-day forecast that basically shows the hurricane moving across south Florida. And in five day's time being up here off the coast of Nova Scotia. That's one model.
Here's another one. The global forecast system of the National Weather Service, usually one of our more reliable models that takes it across south Florida and in five day's time has it east of Nova Scotia up in this area.
And here's one more. I'll just show three here. This is what we call the GFDL model. It was developed up at the NOAA lab at Princeton University. It's more specifically designed for hurricanes. And you can see that also brings it over south Florida and moves it up toward the New England area. Now the one thing I really want to focus on here is that at least they're all consistent in showing that motion advancing toward the northeast and over south Florida.
They vary on the timing of that. And now that's something that we're really going to have to watch. The official forecast takes a very reasonable blend of the different models that we're looking at and by Monday afternoon, the center of the hurricane is forecast to be near the southwest coast of Florida and will be picking up speed moving toward the northeast.
What I really want to convey here is that we have some computer guidance that is much faster than that, some much slower than that.
So since this is Friday afternoon and we're starting the weekend, people really need to pay close attention to the forecast coming out of the National Hurricane Center and listen to the advice of their local officials to make sure that no one gets caught by surprise here.
On the current forecast track, we will likely have tropical storm force winds very late -- this is in the lower Florida Keys, the first portion of the United States to be impacted likely very late on Sunday night or possibly very early on Monday morning.
So the first watches for the U.S., if it stays close to our forecast track, will likely go up sometime during the day tomorrow. We'll have to wait and see how it plays out.
We're (INAUDIBLE) flying the NOAA jet aircraft in the environment of Hurricane Wilma, snapping the stirring current and fitting all that data into these various committed.
So the message here is to continue to pay very close attention. It's still coming. It's just been slowed down. It looks like it will interact with the Yucatan Peninsula long enough to weaken and will likely we'll be dealing with a Category 2 or a Category 1 hurricane as it approaches Florida.
But I don't want to minimize that in any way. It's still going to be a hurricane, and a Category 1 or a Category 2 hurricane can have very significant impacts. And with that I'm going to toss it over for a short update from Billy Wagner on the Florida Keys.
BILLY WAGNER, MONROE CO., FLA., EMERGENCY MGMT.: Thank you, Max. Good afternoon, everyone. Florida Keys currently are under a local state of emergency. We've started responding to a major hurricane a couple of days ago with the first objective being a mandatory evacuation of all our residents -- non-resident population, RVs that we have in the county, travel trailers, and the closure of all our state parks and county parks.
So far today, our mandatory evacuation has been on hold for our resident population and we plan on phasing an evacuation order later tomorrow sometime for our resident population. When this takes place, we'll have very limited capabilities for our emergency services. There will be no hurricane shelters available in the Keys. Our primary shelter on the mainland will be here at FIU, which is now open, and we have approximately 100 evacuees there.
We will have transportation for those needing transportation to this shelter. We've been having close coordination with Dade, Broward, Palm Beach, and Collier Counties in regarding regional evacuation which will be taking place in the next day or so. We will start a mandatory evacuation of all our mobile home residents throughout the Keys tomorrow morning at 6:00 a.m., and we'll start our special needs population early in the morning.
Those who have questions regarding our major tourist attractions which we're supposed to start today and continue through next weekend such as Fantasy Fest and those in Marathon and Islamorada can find information regarding these activities on the Web at F-L-A-K-E-Y- S.com, or floridakeys.com.
One thing I want to make very clear to our residents down there and the people who have chosen not to evacuate yet, that when we make the recommendations tomorrow, we certainly hope we get an immediate response because the timing of this is critical that we don't have any problems with the regional evacuation of our neighbors. With that, I'll turn it over to Max.
MAYFIELD: And one thing we want to continue to emphasize is don't just focus on the center of this hurricane. It's a large circulation. The tropical force winds extend out about 200 miles. And please don't forget that portions of U.S. 1, which is the only road, you know, through the Florida Keys, portions of that road can go underwater when the winds get up to tropical storm force, even up in the Upper Keys, well away from the center of the hurricane. And once the road's cut off, that's it. No one else can get out after that.
I know they'll be a lot of questions on exactly how much rain and exactly how strong the winds will be. It's really to -- and how high the storm surge. All very good questions but I've done this a long time, and it's just too soon to be getting specific.
It's still moving slowly northwest and towards the Yucatan. Once it makes that commitment to the northeast and starts picking up speed, we'll have a better handle on that. And, you know, once we get the watches and warnings posted for the United States, then we'll activate the formal media pool and that will make it a lot easier. We have a few minutes for questions and answers if you have some. Yes, ma'am.
QUESTION: Linda Gellinelli (ph), NBC Action News in Tampa. On the current track, what would be the effects in Tampa Bay?
MAYFIELD: Well, that's what we don't want to -- the question is the effects of Tampa Bay. Right now, the forecast has the center of the hurricane moving into the south, well south of Tampa Bay. That would be on the weak side. The strongest winds in this hurricane will definitely be on the south side of the track.
If it's on this track, the Tampa Bay would not be in the worst quadrant there, but we're still, you know, over three days away from landfall. And I've seen too many changes. A lot of things can change between now and then, so the message up there as elsewhere in the Florida peninsula, just pay very close attention.
The storm surge will definitely be the greatest near and to the south of where the center crosses the coast. And in this case, the winds will also be strongest near and to the south of where the center crosses the coast. Anything else? Yes, sir.
QUESTION: Max, you saying 24 hours minimum over the Yucatan Peninsula. How long maximum could it be there?
MAYFIELD: Well, some impact, I think they'll actually have here for you know, a couple of days here. The -- you know, even Sunday morning, it's still going to be here in the -- or Sunday afternoon likely near the Yucatan Channel. So they're still going to be on the fringe of the circulation even Sunday. The Yucatan is really getting nailed on this as we speak. Yes, ma'am.
QUESTION: (INAUDIBLE). Even though we are assuming that staying over the Yucatan for 24 hours, maybe longer or shorter and it may be downgraded to a Category 1, or 2, (INAUDIBLE) when it hits Florida, we don't know how much rain is going to come down. What kind of impact can a Category 1 or 2 rainfall still do? What kind of destruction can it produce?
MAYFIELD: Well, the question involves the rainfall, how much rainfall can we expect and we're going to have a major rainfall event here over the Yucatan and very likely over portions of western Cuba. We're forecasting 10 to 20 inches because of that slow motion, likely some isolated amounts up to near 40 inches. There will be tremendous rains in those two areas.
As it heads towards the United States, I just don't want to get too specific on the rainfall yet because it really depends on that forward motion. The point is, there's no good correlation between the intensity of a storm and the amount of rainfall. As we've learned many times, you can have a lot of rainfall, even from a tropical storm or tropical depression, more so than even with some very strong hurricanes.
The rainfall in this event will likely be most reamed to how fast it's moving at the time. But we're certainly going to get some rainfall. The best news would be if it really starts accelerating and moves at a faster pace as it moves over us. OK. One more, please. Yes, ma'am.
QUESTION: (INAUDIBLE). Do you still feel that way?
MAYFIELD: The question was, is this still a perplexing storm and I guess to me, they're all like that to some extent. And what I was referring to a couple days ago was the fact that we had a lot of scatter in the computer models. And at that time, we had one model that kept -- one of our better models was keeping it over the Florida Straits for five days and the other one had it up near know Nova Scotia or Maine, so that's more uncertainty than I like to see.
As you saw today, we have much better agreement. Still some variation on the timing, but the overall tendency towards the Florida Keys and south Florida is still there. And so at least that's some consistency today. OK, thank you very much.
BLITZER: Max Mayfield of the National Hurricane Center with the latest information. It's almost 5:00 here in Washington, and you're in THE SITUATION ROOM where we're tracking this information on Hurricane Wilma, a very dangerous Category 4 storm right now.
And happening now, it's 4:00 p.m. in Mexico's Yucatan Peninsula, being whipped by Wilma, the eye of the storm passing directly over the resort island of Cozumel. We'll have exclusive pictures of Wilma's wrath.
And in nearby Cancun, thousands of tourists, many of them Americans, trapped by the storm, hunkered down in shelters, in conditions some say are miserable.
And it's coming up on 5:00 in southern Florida, now bracing for Wilma's arrival Monday. Are residents ready? We'll take you there live.
I'm Wolf Blitzer. You're in THE SITUATION ROOM.
We have just gotten word in the last few minutes. You saw it live here on CNN. Hurricane Wilma has made landfall, and there's a new forecast just out from the National Hurricane Center. Our severe weather expert, meteorologist Chad Myers, standing by at the CNN hurricane headquarters with all the latest information. We got a lot of information from Max Mayfield. Help our viewers digest and understand what we just heard.
TO ORDER A VIDEO OF THIS TRANSCRIPT, PLEASE CALL 800-CNN-NEWS OR USE OUR SECURE ONLINE ORDER FORM LOCATED AT www.fdch.com
