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The Situation Room
Michael Brown Spreading the Blame; White House Upset Over "New York Times" Story Critical of Katrina Response; Cheney May Have Authorized Leak; New Questions About Thwarted Los Angeles Terror Plot; Wife Of Hockey Legend Wayne Gretzky Caught In Illegal Gambling Probe; New Tomb Found In Egypt; Only Fraction Of TVs And Computers Recycled
Aired February 10, 2006 - 17:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
WOLF BLITZER, CNN ANCHOR: It's 5:00 p.m. here in Washington, and you're in THE SITUATION ROOM, where news and information from around the world arrive at one place at the same time.
Happening now, Michael Brown unrestrained. The former FEMA director is spreading the blame over the response to Hurricane Katrina. Brown says he was screaming and cursing at the slow government response, and he suggests the Bush administration hung him out to dry.
A P.R. problem for the White House. It's one day after we learned Lewis "Scooter" Libby apparently testified he was authorized by his superiors to leak classified information to reports. But just who can declassify classified material?
And it's midnight in Egypt's Valley of the Kings, where some mummies are now like celebrities. Experts unearth the first new tomb since King Tut was discovered 80 years ago. We'll have details.
I'm Wolf Blitzer. You're in THE SITUATION ROOM.
It's a Michael Brown tell-all. The former FEMA director is unshackled from his obligations to the White House. Now he's spilling what he knows about the bungled government response to Hurricane Katrina. Brown says some have tried to make him the fall guy, but he says others much higher than him deserve to share the blame.
We have two reports. Our White House Correspondent Suzanne Malveaux is standing by, but let's begin with our Homeland Security Correspondent Jeanne Meserve -- Jeanne.
JEANNE MESERVE, CNN HOMELAND SECURITY CORRESPONDENT: Wolf, President Bush once famously said, "Brownie, you're doing a heck of a job." But it is doubtful the president would give that review to Brown's performance today.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
MESERVE (voice over): Michael Brown, uncensored.
MICHAEL BROWN, FMR. FEMA DIRECTOR: It was balls to the wall, and I was certainly screaming and cursing.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Do you feel like you have been sort of set up to be the scapegoat, to be the fall guy?
BROWN: Yes, sir. Yes, sir. I can't lie to you. But yes, I feel that way.
MESERVE: But today, Brown got even, dishing who know what when about New Orleans. President Bush and Homeland Security Secretary Michael Chertoff have said they didn't know the enormity of the crisis until Tuesday, the day after Katrina made landfall. But Brown said he had made the picture clear Monday in video conferences with top homeland officials.
BROWN: So for them to now claim that we didn't have awareness of it I think is just baloney.
MESERVE: He also testified he had talked that Monday to Deputy White House Chief of Staff Joe Hagin.
SEN. JOSEPH LIEBERMAN (D), CONNECTICUT: Did you tell Mr. Hagin in that phone call that New Orleans was flooding?
BROWN: I think I told him that we were realizing our worst nightmare.
MESERVE: But Brown said he didn't remember whether he had talked to the president or Chertoff the day of the storm.
Brown said he frequently went straight to the White House for help, circumventing Michael Chertoff.
SEN. ROBERT BENNETT (R), UTAH: You're telling us that a face -- well, not face to face, but wire-to-wire conversation directly with Secretary Chertoff would not have produced any kind of worthwhile results?
BROWN: No, it would have wasted my time.
BENNETT: That is a staggering statement.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
MESERVE: Brown testified that he was well aware of FEMA's shortcomings long before Katrina, but his efforts to improve preparedness had been futile because FEMA was a stepchild that was doomed to failure in the Department of Homeland Security. A DHS spokesperson says FEMA's budget has increased since the merger, and he insists Secretary Chertoff did not know about the levee breach until Tuesday -- Wolf.
BLITZER: Jeanne, why was he is so candid and blunt today?
MESERVE: Well, when Brown has spoken before to congressional committees and investigators, he has been advised by White House attorneys not to divulge anything about specific conversations with top White House officials. The White House wanted to protect the confidentiality of White House decision-making. However, Michael Brown is now a private citizen, and he wrote to the White House seeking advice. The White House did not assert executive privilege with him, nor did they do that with the committee chairman. And so Michael Brown spoke his mind -- Wolf.
BLITZER: Jeanne Meserve reporting.
Thank you, Jeanne, very much.
They're watching all of this very closely over at the White House. Our correspondent Suzanne Malveaux has details -- Suzanne.
SUZANNE MALVEAUX, CNN WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT: And Wolf, you can bet that the White House is watching this very closely as well. I can tell you, of course, that while the president went about his business as usual, behind the scenes White House aides were furious, and it was not over Mike Brown's testimony. They have chosen not to even react to it, but rather react to "The New York Times" article this morning saying that the White House knew the levees failure on the night of the storm.
Scott McClellan, the press secretary, in an off-camera briefing earlier today, describing the article this way, saying, "It is sad and irresponsible that "The New York Times" is rewriting history to fit an inaccurate storyline and conveniently ignoring key facts."
He went on to say, "We knew full well the flooding was going on, and that's why our efforts were focused on rescuing people."
The White House coming forward very, very aggressively, saying, look at the timetable, look what happened ahead of the storm. That it was Sunday night before the storm even hit the president was on the phone with the area governors, with the -- with the mayor of New Orleans. He had issued emergency declaration, even went before the cameras issuing a dire warning for people to follow directions and essentially to evacuate.
Having said that, McClellan also recognized -- he said that there were failures on the state, local and federal levels. And Wolf, you can believe, you can bet that the White House very eager to get their own report out from Fran Townsend, the Homeland Security adviser, very, very soon -- Wolf.
BLITZER: All right, Suzanne. Thank you very much.
In other news we're following, just when many were hoping winter was behind them, spring was on the way, a harsh forecast that says snow and rain are in fact coming. The National Weather Service is out with heavy snow warnings for many parts of Tennessee. Up to a foot of snow is forecast in some areas.
And after a rather mild winter, the snow is also heading toward New York. Areas around the state are expecting a messy snowstorm this weekend. Up to a foot of snow could fall potentially, at least, in New York City. Let's get some more on this late season wintry woe. Our meteorologist, Jacqui Jeras, is joining us from the CNN weather center in Atlanta.
(WEATHER REPORT)
BLITZER: Let's go up to New York right now. Jack Cafferty is getting ready to do some shoveling in New Jersey this weekend.
Are you ready, Jack?
JACK CAFFERTY, CNN ANCHOR: I'd like to get a second opinion on the weather. I mean, Jacqui's terrific and everything, but I -- we haven't had any measurable snow here since December the 15th. And she's saying we could get over a foot at my House.
That's very depressing.
BLITZER: Get ready.
CAFFERTY: You never get ready for that.
Forget for a minute about Saddam or whether he had weapons of mass destruction. There are now indications that the U.S. intelligence community warned about exactly the kinds of things that we're seeing happen in Iraq.
A former CIA officer says the Bush administration cherry-picked intelligence to support a decision it had already made to go to war. Paul Pillar (ph), who talked to Wolf during the last hour here on THE SITUATION ROOM, says there was no request for an assessment of post- invasion Iraq until a year after the war began. That the intelligence community did assessments before the invasion that indicated post- invasion Iraq would not provide fertile ground for democracy. It hasn't.
That oil revenue would fall short of being enough to restoring Iraq's economy. It has.
And that Sunnis and Shiites would fight for power. And they are.
So what exactly are we doing? The war is a huge drain on America resources, hundreds of billions of dollars. The Iraqi economy light years away from being rebuilt. No sign of the oil revenue we were told would pay for all of this. And there's nothing approaching a consensus among Shiites, Sunnis and Kurds about the political direction of Iraq.
So here's the question. In light of these new revelations about prewar intelligence that forecast a lot of this stuff, is there any point in staying in Iraq?
E-mail us at CaffertyFile@CNN.com.
Wolf, if you're not busy, I've got an extra shovel. You can come up and help me. I've got a circular drive, and it's a two-handed job to get it cleaned up.
BLITZER: I've got a guy coming over to plow my driveway.
CAFFERTY: Yes. Well, you make more than I do -- Wolf.
(LAUGHTER)
BLITZER: All right, Jack. Thank you very much.
Up ahead, he apparently says his superiors gave him permission to discuss classified information with reporters. Could the president or the vice president or other senior White House officials be prosecuted for Scooter Libby's disclosures?
Also, millions of pieces of electronic trash tossed out each year. Now one state is making it illegal to send it to landfills. We're going to show you why some say that law just won't work.
Plus, the first -- the first find of its kind in more than 80 years. Details of what American researches uncovered in Egypt's Valley of the Kings.
You're in THE SITUATION ROOM.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
BLITZER: Welcome back.
Did the vice president's indicted former chief of staff, Lewis "Scooter" Libby, have his boss's blessing to disclose secret intelligence information to reporters? Could Vice President Dick Cheney himself be in any hot water?
CNN's Brian Todd has been looking into these questions. He's joining us now live -- Brian.
BRIAN TODD, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, Wolf, it may help to parse out the political hot water with any potential legal trouble. For this purpose, we decided to look at the legal questions.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
TODD (voice over): According to special prosecutor, Scooter Libby told a grand jury his superiors authorized him to disclose classified information to reporters. Libby's former bosses aren't saying much about that. We're not even sure which bosses may have given him permission.
Still, could Vice President Cheney, President Bush or other White House officials be prosecuted for telling Libby that? It depends on who you ask.
Lanny Davis is a former White House counsel under President Clinton.
LANNY DAVIS, FMR. WHITE HOUSE COUNSEL: My understanding is whether it's the president, the vice president, or anyone, that before you declassify sensitive intelligence material that could affect sources and methods that you should go to director of the CIA and to other intelligence agencies.
TODD: CNN contacted two former top intelligence officials, former federal prosecutors, and former White House attorneys. They say the president or vice president as matter of protocol should first consult the CIA director or other intelligence heads before declassifying information. That's because the intelligence officials are responsible legally for protecting sources and methods.
But there may be legal exceptions. An executive order signed by President Bush roughly three months before Scooter Libby spoke to reporters says, "The need to protect such information may be outweighed by the public interest in disclosure."
We asked a professor of national security law if this power applies only to the president, and whether it might give legal protection to Scooter Libby's other superiors.
PROF. ROBERT TURNER, UNIVERSITY OF VIRGINIA: Presumably, if the vice president has acted in this area, it's with the knowledge and the approval of the president, in which case it's legal.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
TODD: Experts say the president can also deputize others to authorize declassification, cabinet level officials, sometimes people below that level. Others say the only way any kind of legal case can be made against the superiors who gave Libby that authorization is if it could be proven they did it only for political gain and knowing it would compromise national security.
Very, very difficult to prove legally -- Wolf.
BLITZER: Brian, thank you very much.
Brian Todd reporting.
And joining us now here in THE SITUATION ROOM to talk a little bit more about this, the former U.S. attorney Joe DiGenova, and Richard Ben-Veniste, a former Democratic White Water Committee counsel, former Watergate prosecutor.
Both excellent lawyers here in Washington.
Thanks very much to both of you for joining us.
Richard, let me start with you. Is anyone of Scooter Libby's superiors, whether the vice president or chief of staff or the president, in potential legal danger as a result of his testifying before a grand jury that he was authorized by superiors to leak classified information from a National Intelligence Estimate to reporters?
RICHARD BEN-VENISTE, FMR. WATERGATE PROSECUTOR: I doubt it from any legal standpoint, Wolf. I think this is political in nature, and there's a lot of political fallout from this, because it's going to give further strength to those critics of the administration who point out that the administration has been in the habit of cynically leaking classified information when they felt it would help them for political purposes. And then, with thunderous indignation, criticizing those who leak information that is either embarrassing or illegal, like torture, like unwarranted wiretapping of American citizens.
This has been the practice in the administration. And it's more political, in my view, and not likely to result in any criminal prosecution.
BLITZER: All right. I want to press you on that.
But I want to get your initial answer to that question, I posed, Joe.
JOE DIGENOVA, FMR. U.S. ATTORNEY: Well, first of all, let me say I thought we were here to discuss the legal questions, so that's what I'll do.
Mr. Fitzgerald is the one who revealed this grand jury...
BLITZER: Fitzgerald is the special counsel.
DIGENOVA: He is the one who revealed this grand jury testimony of Mr. Libby. This wasn't revealed by the defense as part of a strategy.
What happened here was Mr. Libby testified and they asked him about various discussions that he had with reporters. And he said in the course of doing that, that he had been authorized by his superiors to disclose portions of the National Intelligence Estimate.
This has nothing to do with Valerie Plame, it didn't have anything to do with her identity, which Mr. Fitzgerald has said he never even investigated to determine whether or not Valerie Plame was a covert officer. At any rate, Mr. Fitzgerald has been in possession of this particular information for years. And at his press conference he said that there were no other people at this point in his sights, including the vice president.
So whoever authorized Mr. Libby to do this, they are not in any legal jeopardy, according to Mr. Fitzgerald.
BLITZER: All right. But this is what I don't understand. There are lower-ranking Pentagon officials who are -- who are prosecuted for leaking classified information. Yet -- and some of them even go to jail for doing that.
DIGENOVA: Yes.
BLITZER: And you used to prosecute these people...
DIGENOVA: Yes.
BLITZER: ... as you well know from your days as you were a U.S. attorney.
DIGENOVA: That's right.
BLITZER: So why wouldn't senior officials who authorize leaking classified information be in any legal danger?
DIGENOVA: Because they're authorized by law to declassify information and to disclose it. Those people that you're talking about who have been prosecuted were not authorized to disclose it by anyone except themselves.
Whoever his superiors Mr. Libby got permission from presumably were authorized by law to declassify.
BLITZER: Well, presumably.
DIGENOVA: Well, but Mr. Fitzgerald has been in possession of this information for three years and has not said anyone is in jeopardy of prosecution. So, for the moment, the only thing we know is that Mr. Fitzgerald thinks that it was legal. In fact, he said that in his letter.
BLITZER: It's sounds to a lot of people, though, like it's hypocritical.
BEN-VENISTE: Of course it's hypocritical.
BLITZER: It sounds like lower-level officials go to jail for leaking this information, top officials are protected.
BEN-VENISTE: Well, the thing about it is that the administration -- and this administration, in all candor, is not alone. Historically, over-classification in this town has been the rule rather than the exception. And the secrecy is often the handmaiden for incompetence and embarrassment.
Many of the things that have been revealed about which the administration, I would say, hypocritically thunders that this is endangering the national security, when it turns out only embarrassment that they're concerned with.
We went through this with 9/11. You saw how the administration tried to protect the August 6 PDB that said, you know, the attack may come in the United States.
BLITZER: But let's go back to the law, Joe.
DIGENOVA: That's a great idea, Wolf, since that's what we were invited to discuss.
BLITZER: Is there -- is there a legal double standard here?
DIGENOVA: No, of course not. Authorized disclosure is authorized disclosure. This was not a leak. If Mr. Libby was authorized by a superior to discuss parts of the National Intelligence Estimate with reporters, that is not a leak. BEN-VENISTE: Of course it's a leak.
DIGENOVA: That is an authorized disclosure.
BLITZER: Here, let me read to you from the law.
DIGENOVA: Even if it's on background.
BLITZER: The declassification and downgrading the statute, the executive order signed March 25, 2003. It says they can declassify information, and in these cases the information should be declassified when there's a public interest.
DIGENOVA: Right.
BLITZER: "When such questions arise, they shall be referred to the agency head or the senior agency official."
DIGENOVA: Yes.
BLITZER: If this decision was made without referring to the agency, the CIA, just made by the vice president -- it's a hypothetical -- would that be legal?
DIGENOVA: Absolutely. First of all, number one, the vice president and the president are constitutional officers. The authority to declassify stems from their authority as the executive branch.
We have no evidence that this was not discussed with the CIA director or people form the...
BLITZER: That's correct.
DIGENOVA: And so, right now, Mr. Fitzgerald's letter simply says that Mr. Libby testified that he had permission from his superiors to discuss not Valerie Plame, but portions of the National Intelligence Estimate dealing with the lead-up to the war with Iraq. It was authorized, and under the law that is an authorized disclosure. It is not a leak.
BLITZER: All right.
BEN-VENISTE: That's according to Scooter Libby, of course. He didn't have all that many superiors. We haven't heard from the superiors as to whether he was...
DIGENOVA: Couldn't agree more we haven't heard from them. Couldn't agree more.
BEN-VENISTE: ... in fact authorized. But that simply begs the question on the question you posed initially, was it a leak?
Of course it was a leak. This is not the way you disclose classified information, to give it to one reporter secretly under various kinds of protections. I was only -- please identify me as a former Hill staffer and the like.
BLITZER: All right.
BEN-VENISTE: So, you know, this is not the way you would go about officially declassifying information. And that gets back to the cynicism of the way they leak information that they think will help if it's classified and are outraged when it doesn't help.
BLITZER: On that note, a relative note of an agreement between the two of you, we'll leave it.
Joe, Richard, thanks very much for joining us.
DIGENOVA: Thank you, Wolf, very much.
BLITZER: Coming up, sources tell a Kuwaiti television station that Jill Carroll's kidnappers have set a new date for its demands to be met. We'll tell you when and what Carroll's captors say they want.
And will the hockey legend Wayne Gretzky and his wife be called to testify in a gambling investigation? We have details.
Stay with us.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
BLITZER: Let's head back to Fredricka Whitfield at the CNN Center in Atlanta for a closer look at other stories making news -- Fred.
FREDRICKA WHITFIELD, CNN ANCHOR: Hello again, Wolf.
Well, this story comes to us from Gaza. Security officials say a tunnel used by Palestinian smugglers has collapsed. At least two people are reported trapped inside. Rescue teams reportedly are on the scene. Smuggling of weapons and other contraband is common on the Gaza-Egyptian border.
The kidnappers of American journalist Jill Carroll reportedly have issued a new threat. The Kuwaiti television station that broadcast a tape of Carroll yesterday reports that the kidnappers say they will kill her if their demands are not met by February 26. Those demands include the release of all women prisoners held by U.S. forces in Iraq.
And he went from the governor's mansion to a prison cell. Now the former governor of Connecticut, John Rowland, is free. He served 10 months in a minimum security prison after pleading guilty to corruption charges. Rowland says he's going try to be, in his words, a better person.
And she's only three feet tall, she weighs 37 pounds, she has a debilitating bone disease and she uses a wheelchair. But now the California woman is a mother. She gave birth by Caesarian section eight weeks prematurely. Her husband says, "She's a strong lady."
And Wolf, obviously a very happy one now, too.
BLITZER: Congratulations to them.
Thank you very much, Fred, for that.
Coming up, the wife of a star athlete a possible witness in a nationwide undercover gambling sting. We're covering this story.
And also, new questions about the L.A. terror plot President Bush talked about yesterday. We're going to show you why some are asking just how far along that plan really was.
You're in THE SITUATION ROOM.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
BLITZER: Welcome back to THE SITUATION ROOM. I'm Wolf Blitzer in Washington.
Our CNN "Security Watch" now, and new questions today about the thwarted terrorist plot against a Los Angeles skyscraper that the president spoke about yesterday.
Kelli Arena of CNN's America Bureau is joining us now live. She has more -- Kelli.
KELLI ARENA, CNN JUSTICE CORRESPONDENT: Wolf, the question sounds pretty basic, but it's actually complicated. When does a terror plan become a real threat?
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
ARENA (voice-over): The president says the U.S. Bank Tower in Los Angeles was an al Qaeda target. But new details raise questions about how far along the plot actually got.
BRUCE HOFFMAN, RAND CORPORATION: Was it at the beginning? Was it the middle? Was it about to reach fruition? And that, I think, becomes the evidence that we tantalizingly lack.
ARENA: For starters, the White House says there were four operatives who were recruited for the attack. But counterterrorism officials tell CNN the one man who was key to plan and who was supposed to be the pilot, Zaini Zakaria, told interrogators that he had no intention of participating in a suicide mission and had even refused to leave Southeast Asia.
Then, there's the issue of the target. Officials say terrorists never specifically mentioned the U.S. Bank Tower by name. Instead, it was intelligence analysts who determined it was a likely target based on the information they had.
PAT D'AMURO, CNN SECURITY ANALYST: There was also intelligence information that the Sears Tower was threatened. There was intelligence information that the Space Needle in Seattle was also a potential target for al Qaeda. ARENA: All four of the alleged recruits are in custody. So, no one will ever know what they may have accomplished. At least one intelligence expert says, it doesn't really matter how developed the plot was. He believes the men posed a serious threat.
JOHN MCLAUGHLIN, CNN NATIONAL SECURITY ADVISER: You want to catch them in the early stages. I mean, what if we had arrested Mohamed Atta a year before 9/11?
(END VIDEOTAPE)
ARENA: In the end, most experts agree that it's best that the men are in custody, Wolf, and unavailable for service.
BLITZER: Kelli Arena, thank you very much for that.
Is the war on terror a winning political issue for Republicans? Listen to what the vice president, Dick Cheney, said last night here in Washington about the debate over domestic spying. Listen to this.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
DICK CHENEY, VICE PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: This debate has clarified where all of us stand on the issue. And, with an important election coming up, people need to know just how we view the most critical questions of national security, and how we propose to defend the nation that all of us, Republicans and Democrats, love and are privileged to serve.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
BLITZER: Mr. Cheney's comments echo similar words from the White House deputy chief of staff, Karl Rove, a couple weeks ago.
Let's talk about this. We will bring in our CNN political analyst, Carlos Watson.
Who has the upper hand, Democrats or Republicans, Carlos, when it comes to national security?
CARLOS WATSON, CNN POLITICAL ANALYST: Wolf, so far, it clearly seems to be Republicans, with more of the half of the public saying that they trust the president on the terror issue. And that's in stark contrast to how they feel about his performance on questions of the economy and health care and even the war in Iraq.
So, I think, when you heard Vice President Cheney speak, and Karl Rove a month ago, two other things should stand out. One is putting it in historical context. Usually, second-term presidents, the party in power, usually loses seat in the congressional elections. Clearly, the president doesn't want that to happen.
Instead, he wants what happened to Bill Clinton in '98 to happen, which is actually to gain seats. And, so, I think that's part of turning to their very best issue. And, then, number two, don't forget that there is a very serious issue in Iran right now. And, clearly, the president of Iran is making statements that, from the perspective of Republican strategists, make him almost a dream person to run against, and kind of say, this is an extraordinarily dangerous world, in which we need to take every means possible in order to protect the country.
BLITZER: Carlos, if you take a look, though, at -- at the U.S. anti-terror policy right now, I take it you sense there could be some changes unfolding.
WATSON: I think there could.
I think that particularly -- well, let's talk about two angles of it. First, on the Democratic side, clearly, whether it's on the Patriot Act or on the spying, you clearly see Democrats trying to weigh in more, although there's a real divide. And I think two issues stand out.
One, will Democrats, when it comes to this issue, focus, ultimately, more on Iraq and try and shift the conversation away from, if you will, the war on terror to the war abroad?
And, number two, will they, ultimately, move away from this issue overall and focus more, if you will, on bread-and-butter issues, health care, the economy, et cetera?
But, no matter what Democrats do, I think the other big question is, what will the courts do? There are a couple big cases, at least one case that the Supreme Court has agreed to take, which looks at the war on terror, particularly from the Hamdan case, that looks at what will happen with detainees.
If the court were to back the president's position, that he needs strong executive power in this war on terror, it could send an important signal. Conversely, if some of those, like the ACLU, who are pushing on these spying cases to allow the courts to look at what's going on, if the courts actually take such a case, which, right now, they're not, because no one can prove that they have been spied on, then that certainly could reshape the conversation.
Again, frequently, when the courts get involved, whether it was on Schiavo or the election in Florida in 2000, they often reshape the overall political debate.
BLITZER: Carlos Watson, our political analyst -- thanks, Carlos, very much.
(CROSSTALK)
BLITZER: And, to our viewers, please stay tuned to CNN day and night for the most reliable news about your security.
Other news we are following -- the wife of the hockey legend Wayne Gretzky is caught up in a probe into alleged illegal gambling. The nationwide undercover sting is called Operation Slap Shot. CNN's Mary Snow is joining us from New York. She is watching this story -- Mary.
MARY SNOW, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, Wolf, police in New Jersey uncovered the alleged plot earlier this week.
They say unnamed athletes and celebrities placed over $1.7 million in illegal bets on both pro and college games. Now, one of Wayne Gretzky's coaches has been charged. And it has put Gretzky and his wife into the spotlight.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: ... is pressured. Gretzky in front!
SNOW (voice-over): With a nickname of The Great One, and four Stanley Cup titles, Wayne Gretzky has always enjoyed royalty status in the hockey world. His actress and model wife, Janet Jones Gretzky, added to his fame. With questions about an alleged gambling ring involving one of his coaches and headline like "Betzky," the hockey star is facing the sort of attention that he has never had in his career.
WAYNE GRETZKY, NATIONAL HOCKEY LEAGUE COACH: I never bet. Didn't happen. It's not going to happen. It hasn't happened. It's not something that I have done.
SNOW: Gretzky and his wife, Janet, haven't been accused of any wrongdoing in what New Jersey dubbed Operation Slap Shot, an illegal sports gambling ring. Gretzky's wife's spokesman says she is a possible witness in the illegal betting investigation.
The Associated Press reported, but CNN hasn't independently confirmed, that the police obtained a wiretap, where Gretzky asks about how his wife can be avoid be implemented in the probe. Gretzky did not answers questions about the wiretaps Thursday and spoke about his future plans.
GRETZKY: I'm not going anywhere. I'm still going to coach the Phoenix Coyotes. I have done nothing wrong, or nothing that has to do with any sort of -- on the lines of betting.
SNOW: Gretzky's wife came to her husband's sort of Thursday. She released a statement saying, "At no time did I ever place a wager on my husband's behalf." She says, "Other than the occasional horse race," her husband does not bet on any sports.
Among three people facing charges, including promoting gambling and money-laundering is Gretzky's assistant coach of the Phoenix Coyotes, Rick Tocchet. His lawyer says the charges are categorically false. Lawyers for all three men say they will fight the charges.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
SNOW: Now, we were unable to reach a spokesperson for Gretzky today for comment. Meantime, the National Hockey League says it has hired a former prosecutor to look into Operation Slap Shot -- Wolf.
BLITZER: All right, Mary, thank you very much -- Mary Snow in New York.
Still to come, a one-of-a-kind find being dug up from deep in Egypt's Valley of the Kings. Experts say they haven't seen anything like this since the discovery of King Tut.
And, in our 7:00 p.m. Eastern hour here in THE SITUATION ROOM, he was the point man on Iraq until last year. Paul Pillar now says, before the war, the Bush administration cherry-picked the intelligence to justify its means. Hear how he explains that in my one-on-one interview with him. That is coming up, 7:00 p.m. Eastern, here in THE SITUATION ROOM.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
BLITZER: U.S. archaeologists are reporting a major find in Egypt, the first of its kind in more than eight decades, an ancient tomb in the Valley of the Kings.
CNN's Ben Wedeman is in Egypt. He is joining us now with details -- Ben
BEN WEDEMAN, CNN CAIRO BUREAU CHIEF: Wolf, this is the spot here in the Valley of the Kings where the -- this discovery has been made.
In fact, the story of the discovery is fascinating itself. What happened is that a -- an expedition from the University of Memphis in the United States was digging right in this area. In the foreground, what you see are workmen's quarters from the 19th dynasty.
Now, they found, however, that some of the chips that were underneath these workmen's quarters indicated that there was more to come underneath. So, they started to dig in one -- in an area where they saw that the dust, the gravel, the rocks were looser.
Now, they continued to dig down. This is basically a stone shaft that goes about 20 or more feet below the surface. And, down at the bottom, they found an opening, into which, apparently, one of the photographers of the expedition was able to see five coffins and some jars as well.
Now, they say that this dates back to somewhere 3,000, 3,500 years ago. And, in fact, scientists, the archaeologists here, are saying that this is really just skimming the surface, that almost 70 percent of Egypt's archaeological treasures still lie below the surface -- back to you, Wolf.
BLITZER: Ben Wedeman reporting for us -- Ben, thank you very much.
Fredricka Whitfield once again joining us from the CNN Center in Atlanta with a closer look at some other stories making news around the world -- Fred. WHITFIELD: Now, Wolf, staying in Africa, more demonstrations today against cartoons of the Prophet Mohammed. Thousands demonstrated in Egypt, including hundreds at a mosque in Cairo.
And, in Kenya, police opened fire on hundreds of protesters there. At least one was wounded. Across Asia, Africa and the Middle East, at least 11 people have been killed in demonstrations against the cartoons.
Earlier this week, the Danish newspaper who first published the cartoons was here in THE SITUATION ROOM. Now the editor, Flemming Rose, is on vacation. His boss urged Rose to take some time off, after Rose said he would be happy to print Iranian cartoons mocking the Holocaust. Flemming told CNN this afternoon that he hasn't been fired. The newspaper has apologized for offending Muslims, but not for publishing the cartoons.
And one person was killed and at least 15 injured in an avalanche in Japan. The injured were not skiing, however, but bathing in a hot spring, a popular year-round pastime in Japan. It happened at an inn about 300 miles north of Tokyo. The man who died was shoveling snow near the bathers.
The State Department says Russia is promising to take a hard line in any talks with Hamas, the militant group that won recent Palestinian elections. Russian President Vladimir Putin infuriated Israel by inviting Hamas officials to a meeting in Moscow. The U.S. says it will have no contact with Hamas, until the group accepts Israel's right to exist -- Wolf.
BLITZER: Fred -- Fred, thank you very much.
To our viewers, can you report the war in Iraq from a dorm room? A group of Pennsylvania college students think so. And they're chronicling the war stories online.
Our Internet reporter, Jacki Schechner, has more -- Jacki.
JACKI SCHECHNER, CNN INTERNET REPORTER: Wolf, if we can pull up the audio, what you're hearing right now is a clip from WarNewsRadio.org.
(BEGIN AUDIO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: He was calm and soft-spoken.
(END AUDIO CLIP)
SCHECHNER: This piece in particular is about fear at Iraqi checkpoint, from the Iraqi perspective and from the American perspective.
It's a group of students at Swarthmore College in Pennsylvania. And it was the brain child of a veteran television producer, who thought that maybe students could have a better perspective on the war in Iraq. So, what they do is, they use the Internet. They use a free Internet communication tool called Skype to reach out to Iraqis on the ground in Iraq.
They also search Web site for contacts. They report on all sort of things. There is no journalism major. So, these are anthropology students. These are language majors, poli-sci majors. This is a true labor of love. You can go to Web site, download it, or stream it.
And, Wolf, they say, even as they get more popular and have interest from radio stations, you will be able to get this free online.
BLITZER: Jacki, thank you very much.
Lou Dobbs getting ready for his program that begins right at the top of the hour.
Lou, what are you working on?
LOU DOBBS, CNN ANCHOR: Wolf, thank you.
Coming up at here at 6:00, we will have all of the day's news, of course, as well astounding accusations tonight against two people. They have been charged by the U.S. government of plotting to export U.S. missiles and military aircraft engines to -- guess where and to whom? To our free-trade friends, the communist Chinese. We will have that special report.
And, Wolf, we have been reporting on this broadcast for some time now on the war against this country's middle class -- tonight, another wakeup call. Perhaps, it won't be heeded, but at least another wakeup call for our friends in Washington.
New examples that our trade policies are failing and bankrupting this country -- new details on the impact on this country's working middle-class families. We will have that special report and a great deal coming up at the top of the hour.
Please, join us -- back to you, Wolf.
BLITZER: Thank you very much, Lou. We certainly will.
Still ahead, award-winning snapshots from around the world. We will show you the best of a world contest.
And don't touch that dial, and don't throw out those batteries. Don't do a lot of things if you live in California. We are going to tell you what's going on.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
BLITZER: A special edition of our "Hot Shots," award-winning photographs from the 2006 World Press Photo Contest.
First to Zambia. Thousands of fruit bats flood the sky at a national park.
New Orleans -- fire and flooding in the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina.
Normandy, France, British World War II veteran Frederick Bentley (ph) is shown during a D-Day commemoration ceremony.
Reno Airport -- a fallen Marine is brought back to the United States. He was killed by an explosive device after only a month in Iraq -- some of today's award-winning "Hot Shots."
Let's get some more on these pictures.
We will turn to our Internet reporter, Abbi Tatton -- Abbi.
ABBI TATTON, CNN INTERNET REPORTER: Well, the organization is World Press Photo.
And they have been running this photography contest now for 50 years. This is the winner of the overall photo of the year. This was from Canadian photographer Finbarr O'Reilly, who took this picture of a mother and child in a Niger feeding center in August of last year.
Other pictures in the news category show you some of the most important stories from 2005, like this one. This photo was taken at the London bombings on July 7 of last year.
Other amazing categories -- the sports section has some incredible photos, like this one of a Spanish bullfighter. Now, the archive goes back some 50 years, right back to 1955. And, as such, it's an important historical collection. This was winner of the photography competition in 1968, this from Saigon in Vietnam -- and another famous picture here, from 1989, and China's Tiananmen Square -- Wolf.
BLITZER: Abbi, thank you very much.
We will move on to some other news we are following.
It has been said that one man's trash is another man's treasure. But, apparently, that is not true when it comes to trashing electronic devices, like computers and TVs. Dumping those things could pose a real health risk.
Our Chris Lawrence is in San Francisco to explain.
CHRIS LAWRENCE, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Wolf, it seems like, every month, we're all replacing our old cell phones, iPods, TVs, with something new. But all this electronic waste is starting to pile up. As of now, Californians can't just toss this stuff in the trash. A new law is designed to keep this waste out of the landfills, where it could leach into the water and ground.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
LAWRENCE (voice-over): This year alone, the government estimates, 100 million computers and TVs will become obsolete. And only a fraction will be recycled.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Removal and ...
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Yes.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: OK.
LAWRENCE: Cell phones, iPods, TVs, electronic junk that contains lead, arsenic, all kinds of toxic chemicals that could leak into the water supply at landfills.
JAMES BURGETT, ELECTRONIC RECYCLING CENTER: There's a whole bunch of stuff that we don't really know what it does. And, when it mixes together, we know even less. All we do know is that it's not good for us.
LAWRENCE: That's why California lawmakers made it illegal to toss out electronic waste with the trash. But there's no garbage police to enforce it and not enough recycling centers to make it convenient.
BURGETT: Setting up a system where they make it illegal, with no funding mechanism to dispose of the material, is just inviting people to dump.
Monitors come through...
LAWRENCE: James Burgett runs a recycling center. He says the state hasn't given collection centers enough money to expand, and all this is just a prelude to what happens when HDTV kicks in, and half-a- million TVs become obsolete overnight.
BURGETT: The states across the country that are looking at this as a model need to realize that, in 2009, every program will go bankrupt.
LAWRENCE: Some say, if companies want customers to constantly upgrade to the new products, they should get rid of the old one.
BILL POLLOCK, PROGRAM MANAGER, ALAMEDA COUNTY HOUSEHOLD HAZARDOUS WASTE FACILITY: What I would recommend people to do is to -- if they have a bad iPod, they should wrap it up and send it back to Apple with a nice little note that asks them to dispose of this responsibly.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
LAWRENCE: Starting this summer, stores that sell new cell phones must be willing to take back the old ones. And, since January, the state has been charging $6 to $12 dollars on new computer monitors and TVs, trying to raise money for the recycling programs -- Wolf.
BLITZER: All right, Chris, thank you very much, Chris Lawrence reporting.
Up next, given what we have heard about how the United States went to war and why, should the U.S. now stay in Iraq? Jack Cafferty has your e-mail. That's coming up.
You're in THE SITUATION ROOM.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
BLITZER: Jack Cafferty's back with us with "The Cafferty File" -- Jack.
CAFFERTY: Wolf, there are indications, the U.S. intelligence warned about exactly the kind of things we're seeing now in Iraq before the war.
A former CIA officer says the Bush administration cherry-picked intelligence in order to support a decision it had already made to go to war. The question is, in light of these new revelations about pre- war intelligence, is there any point in staying in Iraq?
Randy in Woodstock, Illinois: "With this new information, along with the continued revelations this administration has lied about other things, I think we need to get our young men and women out of harm's way, until we can get to the real truth. Not one more life should be disabled or lost."
Daniel in Princeton, New Jersey: "Cutting and running at this point will serve no purpose, except to leave behind a vacuum, which we all know nature abhors. It will just get filled in as soon as we leave, and I don't much like any of the options."
Paul in Harlan, Kentucky: "If there are people who still believe this war is worth fighting, let them pick up an M-16 and fight on."
Bob in Dade City, Florida: "Well, of course there is reason to stay. Halliburton hasn't given Cheney the OK to tell George it's time to leave. There are still billions of dollars to be made. God bless America."
Danny in Lebanon, Virginia: "We have to clean up the mess before we can leave. You can't just waltz into a people's country, blow it all to hell, and then just, 'My bad.'"
Curtis in Portland, Maine, says: "Don't ask us, Jack. Ask the families of the brave men and women who died there in the name of faulty intelligence."
A reminder: This weekend, on "IN THE MONEY," the man who founded the Vanguard family of mutual funds, Jack Bogle, will join us to talk about why he is convinced the mutual fund industry is stacked against the individual investor. This is a very bright guy. "IN THE MONEY" airs tomorrow at 1:00, Sunday at 3:00 Eastern time.
And in light of the fact that the big nor'easter snowstorm is on the way in here, I expect all people in the Northeast to watch it both days.
BLITZER: It's...
CAFFERTY: Wolf. BLITZER: You're going to get a huge audience Saturday and Sunday. All of us who are going to be stuck inside our houses, we are going to have nothing else to do, no football. Really -- football season is over with. You're going to be -- you're going to be huge.
CAFFERTY: The program of last resort, when there's nothing else to do. We will look for you on "IN THE MONEY" this weekend.
(LAUGHTER)
BLITZER: We will be watching.
(LAUGHTER)
BLITZER: Not twice, just once, either Saturday or Sunday. Jack...
CAFFERTY: All right.
BLITZER: ... thank you very much. See you in an hour.
Remember, we are here in THE SITUATION ROOM weekday afternoons, 4:00 to 6:00 p.m. Eastern. We are back at 7:00 p.m. Eastern. That's one hour from now.
Until then, I'm Wolf Blitzer in THE SITUATION ROOM.
"LOU DOBBS TONIGHT" starts right now.
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