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The Situation Room
Libby Claims Cheney Authorized Disclosure of Classified Information; Interview With Mayor of Los Angeles
Aired February 09, 2006 - 19:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
WOLF BLITZER, HOST: You're now in THE SITUATION ROOM, where new pictures and information are arriving all the time. Standing by, CNN reporters across the United States and around the world to bring you today's top stories. Happening now, it's 7:00 p.m. here in Washington. Was Vice President's Dick Cheney's indicted former chief of staff authorized to disclose classified information? We're learning about some potentially significant new details.
It's 4:00 p.m. in Los Angeles. President Bush says al Qaeda's Asian wing was plotting to bring down the city's tallest tower in a 9/11 style attack? We're going to have details of the plot and why some question the announcement itself. We're also going to speak live with L.A. mayor Antonio Villaraigosa.
And it's 7:00 p.m. at the White House where President Bush says he hardly knows disgraced lobbyist Jack Abramoff. But e-mail from Abramoff himself paints a different picture of their relationship. We'll show you what the e-mail says. I'm Wolf Blitzer. You're in THE SITUATION ROOM.
We begin tonight with a new development in the CIA leak case involving the Bush administration. Did Vice President's Cheney's indicted former chief of staff Lewis "Scooter" Libby get the go-ahead to disclose information about Iraq? Can the dots now be connected more closely to the vice president himself? Let's turn to CNN's Brian Todd. He's in the newsroom. Brian?
BRIAN TODD, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Wolf, a letter obtained by CNN says former White House aide Lewis "Scooter" Libby admitted in grand jury testimony that he disclosed the content of a national intelligence estimate on Iraq to reporters. In a letter to Libby's attorney, special prosecutor Patrick Fitzgerald says quote, "Mr. Libby testified in the grand jury that he had contact with reporters in which he disclosed the content of the National Intelligence Estimate, NIE, to such reporters in the course of his interaction with reporters in June and July 2003. It is our understanding that will Mr. Libby testified that he was authorized to disclose information about the NIE to the press by his superiors."
The letter does not name the superiors. But an article published today by the "National Journal" citing attorneys familiar with the matter and court records says Libby testified he was authorized by Vice President Cheney and other superiors to disclose that information. Libby was Cheney's chief of staff at that time. Contacted by CNN, an official in the vice president's office said they will continue to cooperate fully in the investigation. And she referred us to this response today from White House press secretary Scott McClellan.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
SCOTT MCCLELLAN, WHITE HOUSE PRESS SECRETARY: I heard about this story earlier today but I think you know our policy is on this when it comes to this ongoing legal proceeding and it hasn't change.
QUESTION: Do you know anything about any ...
SCOTT: Well, again, our policy is we're not going to discuss this while it's an ongoing legal proceeding and that remains our policy.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
TODD: One very important note, our legal source says Libby did not testify and has never suggested that Vice President Cheney or anyone else acknowledged him to divulge the name of former CIA official Valerie Plame to reporters or to discuss her CIA role with reporters.
Senator Ted Kennedy released a statement saying quote, "The American people are entitled to know if President Bush knew that classified information was being used for this purpose and whether he authorized it himself," end quote.
Also, a former top U.S. intelligence official tells CNN it's very unusual for National Intelligence Estimates to be declassified by the president or vice president without consulting the CIA director. This former official says some key judgments of that National Intelligence Estimate were declassified on July 18th, 2003, but Patrick Fitzgerald's letter says Libby disclosed some of that information on July 8th, 2003. To sum it up, Wolf, this disclosure represents the first time that we've heard about testimony from Lewis "Scooter" Libby in this case saying he was authorized by superiors to disclose classified information to reporters. Wolf?
BLITZER: Brian Todd reporting, thanks very much.
And joining us now is David Gergen. He advised four U.S. presidents. What do you make of the disclosure in this letter that Patrick Fitzgerald, the special counsel has released, that Libby himself testified to the grand jury that he was authorized to release classified information by, quote, "his superiors"?
DAVID GERGEN, FORMER PRESIDENTIAL ADVISER: This is a significant development, Wolf, in this whole case. Because if Libby testified that he was authorized by superiors, Libby was very high up in the White House. He was the chief of staff to the vice president. There are not many other people in the White House more superior than that. And you're down to a very small handful and obviously a lot of fingers are going to be pointed at the vice president himself in this question. And we don't know whether he's saying the vice president versus others. But it really does bring it smack in the middle of the White House now that there were people at the top level of the White House who were telling Mr. Libby to reveal highly classified information in order to rebut critics on the war in Iraq.
And secondly, it does raise the question of whether that authorization Mr. Libby may have been told to discredit Mrs. Wilson, the wife of the CIA agent. So it has both political and legal implications. I think the political implications are large. Legally it does mean that Scooter Libby may be arguing as Oliver North did earlier, basically a lot of what he did was authorized by others. Therefore, as in the Oliver North case, legally he may be a lot closer to acquittal than anybody thought.
BLITZER: In your experience, having served in four White Houses, how unusual would it be for a president or a vice president or any senior official to tell someone to go ahead and release classified information, very secret information from the national intelligence estimate in order to leak it to reporters?
GERGEN: Highly unusual. The vice president -- the president of the United States is authorized, can do it, can declassify information on his own hook. I've never heard of a vice president doing that. I should tell you, Wolf, there's a lot of hypocrisy in Washington on this question. When it's convenient, a lot administrations have used classified out there and leaked it out there to favor their case. And then when somebody else leaks information that's inconvenient, they raise hell about it, they want to have the FBI come in and do investigations.
But this would not be the first administration. Many, many administrations have leaked classified information. It's very unusual to have someone high up like a vice president do that, to authorize that.
BLITZER: And the strategy supposedly that his lawyers, Scooter Libby's lawyers are devising, what they all graymail to tell the federal prosecutors, you know what, I need all these sensitive classified documents in order to defend myself and the government usually is reluctant to release all those documents.
GERGEN: Wolf, absolutely right. And the "National Journal" pointed out, where this has appeared first, Scooter Libby has hired this same lawyer who did the graymail defense for Oliver North. And it did help - Oliver North escaped punishment as a result of that defense.
And it is -- I think everybody expected that Scooter Libby would try to force journalists to testify and that would bollocks up the trial. Now it looks like he's got a second wing and that is try to get that highly classified information when they won't give it to you and then you can claim, well, I can't defend myself and get off. So it may work here.
We were saying way back when, when Scooter Libby was indicted, this case is going to come back and number the news again in the election year of 2006. It's here already.
BLITZER: David Gergen. Thanks very much for joining us.
GERGEN: Thank you, Wolf.
BLITZER: And coming up, we'll have more on these new developments in the CIA leak investigation. Can the vice president or other senior officials authorize the leaking of classified information? We're going to be joined live by our CNN legal analyst, Jeff Toobin. That's still ahead here in THE SITUATION ROOM.
Now to our CNN "Security Watch" and word of a 9/11-style plot targeting an L.A. skyscraper. That news delivered by President Bush himself. CNN's Tom Foreman is here. He's got the details on this, the controversy swirling around this story tonight. Tom?
TOM FOREMAN, CNN CORRESPONDENT: It's a huge story and it's part of an overall message from the White House. This is the message. Look at the world right now since 9/11. Red countries marked off here. Great Britain, Spain, Russia, move over to the Middle East. Afghanistan and Iraq. These are places where there have been terrorist attacks, on into Bali into the United States, in the world since 9/11. When you come over to the United States, you get the message that is being driven home by the Bush administration right now. The overall message for all of that trouble since 9/11, the United States has been free of any major terrorist attack.
And today, they were driving that home with details saying it hasn't been for want of trying. In Southern California there was a target picked out by terrorists, according to the administration, a very specific target, we're going to fly in and take a look at that now, and this they say was thwarted because of anti-terror methods. That is what they're trying to get out to the country right now. The reason this building is standing is because the antiterror methods are working.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
FOREMAN: Just over 1,000 feet high, the U.S. Bank Tower is the tallest building west of the Mississippi and the White House says it was to be hit by a hijacked commercial airliners. The president says shortly after 9/11 Osama bin Laden and the now imprisoned Khalid Sheikh Mohammed were training followers in Southeast Asia for this attack. But plot ended when a U.S. ally captured a key al Qaeda operative.
GEORGE W. BUSH, U.S. PRESIDENT: Since September 11, 2001, our coalition has captured or killed al Qaeda managers and operatives in over two dozen countries.
FOREMAN: The White House has talked about thwarted attacks before but has not released such details, apparently not even to the mayor of Los Angeles.
MAYOR ANTONIO VILLARAIGOSA, (D) LOS ANGELES: I'm not expecting a call from the president himself, but certainly somebody from the White House informing us of all of the things that they were going to be saying on national TV.
FOREMAN: Critics are pointing out at that president's comments come after weeks of complaints of domestic spying program and months of low approval ratings. The polls show Republicans lag behind Democrats on an array of domestic issues. But voters still trust the president's party more when it comes to battling terrorism. And the president is stoking that confidence.
BUSH: We're winning the war on terror.
FOREMAN: Of course, Democrats suggest he's simply trying to rally his party for fall elections around the politics of fear.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
FOREMAN: And that is the question about the timing here. You can look at this two ways. It was a carefully timed announcement to reassure the American people at a time when the world is in a bit of turmoil in particular. Or it was a carefully-timed presidential announcement to make the American people fearful of terror so they'll turn to the people they trust on terror, the Republicans. That we don't have the answer to right now, but two different ways of looking at and two different ways that people are looking at it right now, Wolf.
BLITZER: All right, Tom. Thank you very much. Tom Foreman here in THE SITUATION ROOM. We're going to speak to the Los Angeles mayor this hour. That's coming up. The White House has a different take on the situation. The mayor says he was blindsided by word of what the president said today, but of the president's spokesman has a different take.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
MCCLELLAN: My understanding was that we did reach out to officials in California and Los Angeles to let them know, I think it was yesterday, that the president would be talking about this. And the word I heard was that there's great appreciation for the notification that we provided.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
BLITZER: What do the people that work in that skyscraper in Los Angeles think about the plot that was revealed today? CNN's Kareen Wynter talked to some of them. She's joining us from Los Angeles outside the building right now. Kareen, what are you picking up?
KAREEN WYNTER, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, Wolf, our staff -- we just received a statement from building managers here in the U.S. Bank Tower. They said after 9/11, since then, they've been in constant contact with local and federal agencies and that they've also implemented extra security measures.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
WYNTER (voice-over): Not much surprise, but still some concern from U.S. Bank Tower employees after President Bush's revelation that a terrorist plot to attack the building had been thwarted.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Obviously, there still is that concern you've got in the back of your mind that we are a target.
WYNTER: Some 2,000 people work here. U.S. Bank employee Dan Izzle (ph) says workers there were informed about a conspiracy years ago, leading some to question the timing of today's disclosure.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: And I think it's the fear mongering that's been going on lately. And this is a three-year-old problem that they're just declassifying information now.
WYNTER: Employees say security measures inside the tower were tightened after 9/11. And there are frequent fire and evacuation drills. Last week, Los Angeles' mayor also says they're working on adding 83 permanent positions to address issues of emergency preparedness and counterterrorism.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: They've done a lot of things like the stanchions in front of the building. But someone could just come, drive by and fling a pack under it. So you have to seriously know that you're never completely safe.
WYNTER: Workers at the towers say that's especially true when you work in the tallest building west of the Mississippi and in a high-profile city like Los Angeles.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
WYNTER: And you heard about the safety measures that are now in the works. But despite all of that, Wolf, one woman is taking this threat so seriously, she's even considering keeping a parasail at her office just to have another way out. Wolf?
BLITZER: All right, Kareen. Thanks very much. Kareen Wynter in Los Angeles. And to our viewers, please stay tuned to CNN day and night for the most reliable news about your security. Let's check with Jack. He's in New York with THE CAFFERTY FILE.
Jack?
JACK CAFFERTY, CNN ANCHOR: Hi, Wolf, Brownie might do a heck of a job on the witness stand tomorrow. The former head of FEMA, Michael Brown, is supposed to testify before a Senate committee investigating the government's response to Hurricane Katrina. Brown now says he is ready to reveal his correspondence with President Bush and other officials during the disaster.
Brown's lawyer wrote a letter to the white house saying that Brown will testify about these details, unless they hear otherwise from the president. That would include, quote, "an assurance the president will provide a legal defense to Mr. Brown if he refuses to testify as to these matters," unquote. So far, Brown's lawyer says he hasn't heard back from the White House. Here's the question -- What would you want to hear from former FEMA chief Michael Brown? E-mail us at caffertyfile@cnn.com. Or you can go to cnn.com/caffertyfile. BLITZER: All right, Jack, thanks very much. Coming up here in the SITUATION ROOM, more on the foiled plot against Los Angeles. The city's mayor says he was blindsided by the president's announcement today. I'll speak live with Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa. That's coming up this hour.
And President Bush has said he hardly knows disgraced Republican lobbyist Jack Abramoff but in a newly revealed e-mail, Abramoff tells a different story.
And Senator Hillary Clinton is a political rock star to many in her own party but is she big you have to take on the Republican Party. She's launched a stinging new attack concerning the war on terror. We'll have details. You're in THE SITUATION ROOM.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
BLITZER: Welcome back. President Bush has said he doesn't really know Jack Abramoff, the lobbyist who pleaded guilty last month to corruption charges. To Mr. Bush he was another guy at the end of a handshake, a smiling face in a grip and grin photo op. But do e-mail from Abramoff tell a different story? Let's turn to our senior political correspondent, Candy Crowley. Candy?
CANDY CROWLEY, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, Wolf, that's the easy question. If it is do these e-mails tell a different story? The answer is most definitely yes.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
CROWLEY (voice-over): He's off-camera these days but Jack Abramoff still knows his way around a computer keyboard. Portions of his e-mails to a Washington journalist are making the rounds, surfacing first on a liberal blog and confirmed by CNN, the snippets include this one, Abramoff describing his relationship with President Bush.
"The guy saw me in almost a dozen settings and joked with me a bunch of things including details about my kids. Perhaps he has forgotten everything, who knows?
BUSH: You know, I frankly don't even remember my picture being taken with the guy. I don't know him.
CROWLEY: A source close to Abramoff talks about six pictures of Abramoff and/or his family with the president in various settings.
MCCLELLAN: I think what the president said still stands. Mr. Abramoff is someone who was involved in wrongdoing. He acknowledged that himself. He is being brought to account. And there's an investigation going on by the Justice Department.
CROWLEY: It's not like they were friends, the source said, of the president and the lobbyist but Jack was at the White House on a number of occasions. In his e-mails, Abramoff also talks of being invited to but not attending a fund-raiser in Crawford. In a town where the grip and grin is the native waltz and the offices of politicians, lobbyists and journalists are plastered with power pictures, people who have spoken with Abramoff say he's amused by the to-do over the photos.
And in fact the discrepancy of memory between the president and the lobbyist is a P.R. problem, not a legal one. A well-placed source says the ongoing Justice Department investigation is not looking at the president as anyone who did something wrong with Jack Abramoff.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
CROWLEY (on camera): The federal probe has been instead focused on the actions of some members of Congress and their staffs. But there have been what source called interchanges between Abramoff and investigators about members of the Bush administration. Wolf?
BLITZER: Thanks very much, Candy Crowley.
Reporting Jack Abramoff would argue he's more than just a guy at the other end of a presidential handshake. Kim Eisler is the national editor of the "Washingtonian Magazine" here in Washington. He was the person at the other end of Abramoff's e-mail. He's joining us here in THE SITUATION ROOM. Kim, thanks very much.
What kind of relationship, based on all the reporting that you've done, and you've done a lot on this subject, did the president of the United States have with Jack Abramoff?
KIM EISLER, NATIONAL EDITOR "WASHINGTONIAN": First of all, Wolf, let me just say that while a lot's been made of the fact that Jack Abramoff is very aware of his sticky legal situation and the fact that I corresponded with him about this e-mail was sort at my instigation, not his. He wasn't just sitting around sending out flippant e-mails about the president.
I've become increasingly concerned, over the last, having known Jack for eight years, he was the source of a book I wrote on Indian gaming called "Revenge of the Pequots." And I've known him off and on for all that time.
I've been concerned about the fact that a lot of his former associates, not just the president, but Ralph reed in particular was quoted in the "Washington Post" saying I wished I had never met Jack Abramoff, this is a man, Ralph Reed, who had slept at his house, had eaten dinner with him on Friday night dinners, had accepted business from him, now claims he didn't know Jack had represented Indian casino-owning clients.
BLITZER: And what about the president? What kind of relation did the president have with him?
EISLER: Well, the president, as -- had already been established that there are at least six to ten pictures of Abramoff with the president. There's a picture of Abramoff's wife with Laura Bush. In one of the meetings, it was not at a Christmas or Hanukkah party as the White House keep insisting but in fact was taken in the old executive office building where Jack had taken several of his clients up to shake hands with the president.
These are obviously, you know, pictures that, you bring them back home to your tribe or your company, whichever it is, you know, you put them on the wall. And they have some value.
BLITZER: So did you get the sense, based on your conversations, your e-mail with Jack Abramoff that if the president saw Jack Abramoff, he'd know who he is, he'd be able to have a conversation ...
EISLER: He definitely will know who he is. Jack was a pioneer who raised $100,000 for his campaign.
BLITZER: Pioneer is a give bigger to the Republican party.
EISLER: And every time the president would look at the list of the campaign contributors, Jack's name was the first on the list because it starts with A-B. The second thing is that he discussed with Jack on numerous occasions that they had met -- the fact that Jack has twin daughters and so the president has twin daughters and that was a point of commonality between the two of them.
BLITZER: The in the e-mail he specifically mentions that?
EISLER: I had pestered him on that, and he did respond eventually, pointing that out. Well, the frustrating thing as a journalist looking at this is, it would cost the president nothing to say, oh, yeah, I knew who he was, the guy who was the father of twins or he was the guy who was first name on the list of pioneers. There's no crime in knowing Jack Abramoff. A lot of people in town knew Jack Abramoff, including myself and it doesn't mean that we did anything illegal.
BLITZER: Kim Eisler, "Washingtonian" magazine. Thanks very much for joining us.
EISLER: Thank you, Wolf.
BLITZER: Appreciate it. We'll have you back.
Still to come here in THE SITUATION ROOM, Senator Hillary Clinton says she take no, sir back seat to anyone when it comes to fighting terror. She's sticking directly, speaking about the Republican Party and Karl Rove. We're going to tell what you she's saying.
And peace mom Cindy Sheehan mass made a decision on whether or not she plans to launch a campaign to be California's next senator. We're going to tell you what her decision is. Stay with us.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
BLITZER: Fredricka Whitfield joining us once again from the CNN Center in Atlanta with a closer look at other stories making news. Hi, Fred.
FREDRICKA WHITFIELD, CNN ANCHOR: Good evening, Wolf. The kidnappers of an American journalist have released a new videotape. Jill Carroll's kidnappers had been demanding the release of all women prisoners in Iraq held by the United States. In a new tape first broadcast by a television station in Kuwait, Carroll urges all demands be met.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
JILL CARROLL, KIDNAPPED JOURNALIST: February 2nd, 2006, Muslim Mujahideen, I sent you a letter written on my hand. You want more evidence. I'm sending this evidence now to prove I'm with the mujahideen. I'm here, I'm fine. Please just do whatever they want. Give them whatever they want as quickly as possible. There's very short time. Please do it fast. That's all.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
WHITFIELD: Carroll is a freelance journalist, she was reporting for the "Christian Science Monitor" when she was kidnapped a month ago.
A man charged with killing his wife and baby daughter in the United States is fighting to stay in Britain. Neil Entwistle was arrested yesterday at a London subway station. Now the British native is challenging efforts to extradite him. Entwistle allegedly fled to England after alleging killing his wife and child in Massachusetts.
Anti-war activist Cindy Sheehan says she won't run for senator. Sheehan had suggested she might challenged Democrat Diane Feinstein, one of the state's most popular election officials, but Sheehan says she can be more effective, in her words, a thorn in the side of politicians she believes have not been outspoken enough in opposing the Iraq War. Wolf?
BLITZER: Fred, thank you very much.
Back now to our top story. New developments in the CIA leak case involving the Bush administration. A letter now obtained by CNN and other news organizes says the vice president's former chief of staff Lewis "Scooter" Libby admitted that he disclosed classified information on Iraq to reporters. The letter from Libby's attorneys to the special prosecutor Patrick Fitzgerald indicates Libby testified he was authorized to disclose the information but what he calls his superiors. Let's bring in our senior legal analyst, Jeff Toobin, who is in New York.
Jeff, you've had a chance to digest this letter from the special prosecutor. What is your sense? How big of a deal is this?
JEFFREY TOOBIN, CNN SR. LEGAL ANALYST: Well, I think it's more of a political deal than a legal deal. Remember the charges against Scooter Libby. He's charged with lying to get grand jury about his conversations with reporters. He's not charged with unauthorized disclosure of classified information. So this doesn't really help him directly with the charges against him.
But politically, it raises a lot of interesting and unsettled questions. You know, what right does the vice president have to authorize anybody to release classified information? Clearly, I think the president has that right, and even the CIA director might have that right, but I don't think any court has ever settled the question of whether a vice president has that right, especially if it's just sort of for partisan political advantage.
BLITZER: You were a former federal prosecutor. What we're also picking up in this letter and elsewhere is that what Libby's attorneys may try to do is what Oliver North did during the Iran-Contra affair, and in effect, gray mail the government as it's called, demand all sorts of classified information that the government has no appetite to release.
TOOBIN: Right. I was actually one of the prosecutors in that case. And one of the lawyers on the other side, representing North, was a wonderful young lawyer named Jon Klein (ph), and neither of us are so young anymore, but he's now representing Scooter Libby. So obviously classified information is going to be a part of this defense.
There's a law called the Classified Information Procedures Act, nicknamed CIPA, which basically says whenever a defendant wants to disclose classified information, he has to disclose it in advance to the judge, and the judge has to decide whether it's relevant. And then he turns it over to government and says, can this be used in a criminal case? It's a cumbersome process, it takes a long time, but it's designed to avoid the gray mail problem. Sometimes it does; sometimes it doesn't.
BLITZER: Jeff Toobin, thank you very much. Jeff is our senior legal analyst.
Overseas now to Beirut, one of the largest protests yet against cartoons of the Muslim Prophet Mohammed. Our CNN senior international correspondent Brent Sadler has the latest details from the Lebanese capital -- Brent.
BRENT SADLER, CNN SR. INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Wolf, with the United States accusing Iran and Syria of stoking hatred, inciting violence, attention was focused on Beirut's suburbs today, Hezbollah's stronghold, where the armed and militant Islamic group held a religious rally, that turned highly political.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
SADLER (voice-over): Shia Muslims in Beirut turn a religious day into a protest day, condemning international calls to stop worldwide demonstrations supporting Muslim anger at Western values towards Islam.
The turnout is massive.
KHALIL EL-ZEIN, BUSINESSMAN: See how we're going to act over here. In a very respectful way, we're going to protect all the people around here. We're not going to attack anything. Because this is what Islam called for us. Islam doesn't call for violence, no. SADLER: A peaceful counterweight, say demonstrators, to claims that hard-core extremists have hijacked Muslim fury to promote anti- Western violence.
Top U.S. officials accuse Syria and Iran, labelled terrorist- sponsoring nations, for inciting violence, dismissed by many here as a big lie.
Hezbollah's leader, Hassan Nasrallah, urges Muslims to protest more. "Let Condoleezza Rice shut up," he says. "As well as Bush and all world tyrants. We're a nation that will not forgive or stay silent."
A no-compromise stand from a militant Muslim leader with an influential voice, setting his own conditions. Europe to change its laws on press freedom, and Denmark to apologize for insulting the prophet.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
SADLER: Those televised demands were broadcast live by satellite through Hezbollah's own TV station here in Beirut, the kind of broadcast that often guides Muslim supporters here in the Middle East how to think and how to behave -- Wolf.
BLITZER: Brent Sadler in Beirut, thank you very much.
Let's check in with CNN's Anderson Cooper now for a preview of what's coming up later tonight on his program -- Anderson.
ANDERSON COOPER, CNN ANCHOR: Yes, Wolf, tonight -- thanks very much -- at 10:00 p.m. Eastern, from husband and father to murder suspect. Tonight, Neil Entwistle is behind bars in England, accused of killing his wife and baby in Massachusetts. We'll talk with the district attorney on the case here, why she thinks they've got their man.
Plus, the two sides of Neil Entwistle. Praised at his former school, while others say he ran a shady Internet business.
Also, Randy McCloy's wife shares the letter her husband wrote when he was trapped in the Sago mine and thought he'd never see his family again. All that and more, "360" at 10:00 p.m. Eastern -- Wolf.
BLITZER: All right, Anderson, thank you very much.
And just ahead here on THE SITUATION ROOM, more on the just revealed 9/11-style plot against Los Angeles. The city's mayor says it was news to him. He's going to join us in just a few minutes.
Republicans have recently described her as angry, but Senator Hillary Clinton says she's tough enough to take on her political enemies on the issue of national security. We'll tell you about her stinging new attack. Stay with us.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK) BLITZER: Welcome back. New skirmishes in the war of words between Senator Hillary Clinton and the GOP. She's slamming the way the Bush administration has been handling the war on terror, among other things. Let's go to CNN's Mary Snow. She's in New York and has the story -- Mary.
MARY SNOW, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, Wolf, Senator Clinton is fighting back against Republican claims that Democrats are soft on security issues.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
SEN. HILLARY CLINTON (D), NEW YORK: I take a back seat to nobody when it comes to fighting terrorism and standing up for national and homeland security.
SNOW (voice-over): That is a direct reference to senior White House adviser Karl Rove, who told the Republican National Committee last month that the GOP will make the war on terror the issue to win elections.
KARL ROVE, SR. WHITE HOUSE ADVISER: Republicans have a post-9/11 view of the world. And Democrats have a pre-9/11 view of the world. That doesn't make them unpatriotic, not at all. But it does make them wrong.
SNOW: Clinton had her own interpretation of Rove's message.
CLINTON: Here's your game plan, folks, here's how we're going to win. We're going to win by getting everybody scared again. Contrary to Franklin Roosevelt, we have nothing to fear but fear itself, this crowd is, all we've got is fear and we're going to keep playing the fear card.
SNOW: She also took aim at the Bush administration when it comes to Osama bin Laden.
CLINTON: You cannot explain to me why we have not captured or killed the tallest man in Afghanistan.
SNOW: In response to Clinton's speech, the Republican National Committee said, "Hillary Clinton and her fellow Democrats continue to promote a litany of attacks rather than any agenda of their own. America will be better served when Democrats take off the gloves and come to the table with substantive ideas."
(END VIDEOTAPE)
SNOW: Wednesday's speech and the verbal dueling came just days after the Republican national chairman said that Mrs. Clinton was, in his words, "too angry" to run the White House. And on that same day, aides to Karl Rove met with her potential Republican New York Senate challenger, John Spencer -- Wolf.
BLITZER: All right, Mary, thank you very much. Mary snow reporting from New York. Up next, the mayor of Los Angeles joins us in THE SITUATION ROOM. He'll respond to President Bush's statements today about a terror plot that targeted his city.
And later, as the former director of FEMA, Michael Brown, gets ready to testify on Capitol Hill. Jack Cafferty asked this question: What do you want to hear from him? Stay with us.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
BLITZER: Welcome back. More now on our "Security Watch" coverage. President Bush is giving fresh details of a 9/11-style plot against Los Angeles. The White House says they warned officials in California in advance of the president's announcement today.
The mayor of L.A. says it was news to him. Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa is joining us now from Los Angeles. Walk us through exactly what happened, Mr. Mayor. When did you learn about this threat to the tallest building on the West Coast?
MAYOR ANTONIO VILLARAIGOSA (D), LOS ANGELES: Well, yesterday, we were informed by the State Department of Homeland Security that there might be a statement today and that there was going to be some details about the plot against the Library Tower here in Los Angeles. But today was the first time that I got the level of detail, when I was watching your station and heard the president speak to those details.
BLITZER: Was there a miscommunication from the White House to you, or was it internally in California that it didn't come up, didn't reach the mayor of L.A.?
VILLARAIGOSA: There was a communication with the Department of Homeland Security here in California, who then called my office. But, again, nowhere near the level of detail that was shared with the public today, was shared with us. And there was no direct call to my office.
I'm not expecting that the president of the United States would call me directly, but certainly, somebody from his office would call us directly, share with us the detail that they shared with the American public today.
BLITZER: How alarmed are you that this beautiful building in your city was apparently the target of an al Qaeda plot?
VILLARAIGOSA: Well, we're alarmed that it was apparently a target two times by al Qaeda: once in 2001, and again in 2003. But I want to make something absolutely clear, Wolf. Since that time, as soon as we found out that there was a threat to the Library Tower and other highrises here in Los Angeles, with Project Archangel, we've engaged in a series of security measures and precautions.
We've hardened assets at the library. We've trained security guards there. We've worked with our security personnel in those private buildings, the highrises all throughout the city. We're doing everything possible to harden our assets. In fact, last week I announced 83 new police officers and firefighting personnel dedicated to this issue of counterintelligence and counterterrorism and emergency preparedness. So we're very prepared here in Los Angeles but, again, we'd like to be working in a partnership with the White House and not get information after the fact.
BLITZER: Well, this is a very sensitive issue because, as you know, one of al Qaeda's trademarks is they go after similar targets. In 1993, they went after the World Trade Center in New York. They repeated it with devastating results in 2001.
So presumably that Library Tower in Los Angeles could be a target again. And what you're suggesting is you need to know about this to take further preventive steps to make sure that you can do whatever you can to save lives, Got forbid, if it comes down to that.
VILLARAIGOSA: That's exactly right, Wolf. And, again, notwithstanding the fact that there hasn't been that direct communication, the city of Los Angeles, the LAPD and the L.A. Fire Department have both worked together.
We've engaged in exercises at the Library Towers and at other highrises downtown. We're able to evacuate about 350 people an hour there in those buildings. We've engaged in a number of exercises, and we feel very prepared. But it would be a lot better, obviously, if we had more direct communication with the White House.
I do want to say this. Given that the president thought it was important enough to share these details with the American people, the people of Los Angeles and people of other big cities across the nation have implored the federal government to provide us more resources because we're the first responders.
We're the people that have to respond to an emergency or a terror attack. And the federal government needs to continue to support these efforts on the part of first responders here in Los Angeles and across the nation.
BLITZER: Mayor Villaraigosa, good luck to you. Good luck to everyone in L.A. Thanks very much for joining us.
VILLARAIGOSA: Thank you, Wolf.
BLITZER: The White House has released some details of that L.A. plot, as you know, along with nine other alleged thwarted terror plans. They include a 2002 plot to hijack planes and use them against unnamed targets on the U.S. West Coast, as well as a similar plan in 2003 targeting the East Coast.
Our plots the White House is detailing include one in Pakistan. It says in 2003, the United States and unnamed partners disrupted a planned attack in the city of Karachi. The White House says it was aimed at western targets in that city. No other details were given.
That same year, the White House says, the U.S. and several partners stopped a planned attack on London's Heathrow Airport, involving commercial jets. That plan allegedly involved a major operation figure in the 9/11 attacks.
And the White House cites another airport in its list, one of the busiest in the world, that would be Chicago's O'Hare. It says the arrest of Jose Padilla there in 2002 stopped a plot to try to detonate what the White House claims was a dirty bomb.
Padilla was held as an enemy combatant until late last year. He is now in civilian custody and was never charged with the dirty bomb plot. Stay tuned to CNN day and night for the most reliable news about your security.
Up next, here in THE SITUATION ROOM, what do you want to hear from Michael Brown when he testifies before Congress? Jack Cafferty has been going through your e-mail.
And another big name gets a satellite radio channel. But Howard Stern is probably not worried about the competition. The story and all that when we return.
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BLITZER: A possible airline strike calls for stronger drug warnings. Let's go back to Fredricka Whitfield at the CNN Center for a quick look at the "Bottom Line." Fred?
WHITFIELD: Hello again, Wolf. The union representing pilots at Delta Airlines is taking steps that might lead to a strike. The union calls it self defense. They say they want to be ready to strike if Delta moves to eliminate their pension plan. The company says it has not yet made a decision on pensions.
An advisory panel says the government should put the strongest warning possible on drugs taken by millions of Americans, including many children. The safety warnings would be on Ritalin and other stimulants used to treat attention deficit hyperactivity disorder. Data suggests possible increased risk of heart attack and sudden death from the drug.
Move over Howard Stern, you're getting competition on satellite radio. Make room for Oprah. Of course, it's not clear whether there's much overlap in the fan base for Stern and Oprah Winfrey. Oprah's channel on XM satellite radio is set to debut in September -- Wolf.
BLITZER: All right, thanks very much for that, Fred, appreciate it. Let's find out what's coming up right at the top of the hour. That means Paula Zahn is standing by. Hi, Paula.
PAULA ZAHN, CNN ANCHOR: Hi Wolf, thanks so much. Coming up just about six and a half minutes from now, we have an eye-opening look at a problem that more than half of all teenage girls in this country may be suffering from, but keeping secret from you. Is your daughter being abused by her boyfriend? Plus, the Britney Spears picture that has millions of her fans asking what the heck was she thinking when he was driving a car with her brand-new baby on her lap? Well what is she saying about it today? You'll have to join us at the top of the hour to find out, Wolf.
BLITZER: We certainly will, thanks Paula, much. Paula Zahn coming up in a few minutes.
Still ahead, what wow want to hear from former FEMA chief Michael Brown? It's our question of the hour. Jack Cafferty's standing by with your e-mail.
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BLITZER: Here's a look at some of the hot shots coming in from our friends over at the "Associated Press," pictures likely to be in your hometown newspapers tomorrow.
Northern Iraq, children suffering from bird flu like symptoms resting in a hospital. The World Health Organization is investigating suspected new cases of the deadly virus in Iraq.
Port-au-Prince, Haiti, election workers process ballot results. National elections were held two days ago.
Lima, Peru, visitors check out the Museum of Brains. The government-sponsored facility has thousands of brains to be used for medical research.
Jacksonville, North Carolina, U.S. marine Aaron Painter (ph) hugs his three daughters after returning from Iraq. Some of today's hotshots, pictures often worth a thousand words. Jack Cafferty standing by in New York with his words right now. Hi, Jack.
CAFFERTY: Hi, Wolf. The former head of FEMA, Michael Brown, scheduled to testify before a Senate committee investigating the government's response to Hurricane Katrina. Brown now says he's ready to reveal his correspondence with President Bush during that time and other officials as well, unless he hears from the president. The question is this, what do you want to hear from former FEMA chief Michael Brown?
Paula in Albuquerque, New Mexico: Everything. I hope he spills his guts and sings like a bird. Tell it, Brownie. I'll be at ringside.
John in Boardman, Ohio: I'm very sorry for taking a job I know nothing about. I guess I sort of fell into it, like a lot of George Bush's other friends who know nothing about their job. That's the way Washington works these days, isn't it?
Bilbo in Chicago, Illinois: He should tell the senators what they want to hear, that they are charming, of sound judgment, and handsome. Then he should start telling the truth, but only after telling a joke that involves the Three Stooges and a branch of government, any branch.
Michael in New Orleans writes: How do you sleep at night knowing your incompetence caused the pain and suffering and deaths of so many innocent people?
Patricia in Palmdale, California: Jack, I want to hear just how unclean Brownie felt receiving praise from Bush, praise he didn't deserve.\
Jim in Austin, Texas: Dear Mr. Brown, did you ever decide if a Brooks Brothers of a Ralph Lauren polo shirt would be more appropriate attire? I didn't know the Louisiana Superdome had a dress code.
And most of you write what Gates in Lenoir, North Carolina, wrote: I just want to hear the truth.
Wolf?
BLITZER: Nobody mentioned his previous job before he became the FEMA director?
CAFFERTY: Yes, there were some allusions to his training. What, was it Arabian horses in Colorado?
BLITZER: Yes.
CAFFERTY: Yes.
BLITZER: That was good preparation for the job. All right, thanks very much.
CAFFERTY: Well, part of it worked, the stuff you clean out of the stables was similar to the job he did.
BLITZER: All right, Jack. I'll see you tomorrow -- Jack Cafferty in New York. To our viewers, thanks very much for joining us. Don't forget, we're here in THE SITUATION ROOM weekdays 4:00-to- 6:00 p.m. Eastern, also 7:00 p.m. Eastern. I'll see you tomorrow. Let's head up to New York, Paula Zahn getting ready. Paula?
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