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The Situation Room
Authorities Foil Plot to Attack Transit Tunnels in New York
Aired July 07, 2006 - 19:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
JOHN KING, CNN ANCHOR: Happening now, a terrorist threat below. It's 7:00 p.m. in New York, where authorities say they've foiled a plot to attack transit tunnels. How vulnerable are the trains and bridges that thousands of commuters use every day? Also this hour President Bush defends his policy on North Korea. It's 6:00 p.m. in Chicago, where Mr. Bush was grilled about missile defiance within the so-called axis of evil. I'll ask Democratic Party chairman Howard Dean if the president is doing the right thing. And in New York, the hot spotlight on conservative pundit Ann Coulter, we'll show you why some accuse her of plagiarism in her columns and her new best selling book. Wolf Blitzer is off today, I'm John King. You're in THE SITUATION ROOM.
We begin tonight with a terrorist dream of another 9/11 type attack. Officials say eight suspects hoped to inflict death and destruction by blowing up themselves and others in New York City trains and tunnels. But instead of getting traction, officials say they stopped the plot using intelligence and a lot of help from around the world. We have several reports. Our Mary Snow is standing by in New York, but we begin with CNN Justice Correspondent Kelli Arena. Kelli?
KELLI ARENA, CNN JUSTICE CORRESPONDENT: John, here's what we know, the FBI says that the plot to attack New York City tunnels was getting very close to operational, but officials moved in before it could. Officials say that the plot involved putting suicide bombers with backpacks on planes -- on trains and that those backpacks would include explosives. Now the alleged mastermind of this plot is a man named Asim Hamud. He's in custody and he is facing charges in Lebanon. According to both the FBI and Lebanese security officials, he is a self proclaimed member of Al Qaeda.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
MARK MERSHON, FBI ASSISTANT DIRECTOR: We know that he has acknowledged pledging allegiance to Osama bin Laden and he proclaims himself to be a member of Al Qaeda.
(END OF VIDEO CLIP)
ARENA: Officials say that there are seven other people who were involved in the plot. Two are in custody, but the FBI will not say where. The other five are being sought.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP) MERSHON: It's our understanding at this point that none of the individuals who are, as we say, principal players in this plot, have been in the United States and they are certainly not here now.
(END OF VIDEO CLIP)
ARENA: The FBI says that there are six countries involved in this investigation which has been going on for nearly a year. Sources tell CNN that they include Pakistan, Canada, and Iraq. Several sources told us that there is a loose connection, John, between one member of this group and Abu Musab Al Zarqawi, now that's the Al Qaeda leader in Iraq who was killed last month. Bottom line, authorities say there's no eminent threat at this time to New York City or any other city in the United States. John?
KING: Kelli Arena for us on this developing story. Kelli, thank you very much.
450 million people every year, that's how many people the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey says, use the tunnels, bridges, airports and transportation system. CNN's Mary Snow is at one of those train stations. She joins us now with more. Hi Mary.
MARY SNOW, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Hi there, John. The FBI here in New York cites a path transit tunnel as a potential target. Now the path system carries commuters from New Jersey to New York to stations like this one. And it carries about 215,000 riders per day.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
SNOW: Tunnels leading into New York City have long been considered terror targets. The FBI says this latest plot involved the path train, carrying hundreds of thousands of commuters under the Hudson River from New Jersey to lower Manhattan every day.
SAMUEL PLUMERI, PORT AUTHORITY OF N.Y & N.J.: I think that any explosion any place in any tunnel regardless of its size would cause an issue obviously, and a disruption. To get into details as to what that means in terms of size of explosives, etcetera, I'm not prepared to do that here today.
SNOW: While the FBI specifically mentioned the transit tunnel, officials also said there have been a number of threats over the years targeting all river crossings. The Holland Tunnel also crosses into lower Manhattan and was mentioned in a 1993 terrorist plot, with authorities weary of an explosion going off inside the tunnel.
LEE AMRAMSON, TUNNEL ENGINEER: It's possible that such an event would damage the inside of the tunnel, but they would very unlikely cause a complete collapse of the tunnel and water rushing in.
SNOW: Engineers say the path tubes much like the Holland Tunnel are built under the riverbed, protected by bedrock in most parts. Experts say that a "New York Daily News" report of a scenario to intentionally flood lower Manhattan's financial district, would be unlikely because New York is above sea level. Pat D'Amuro, formally with the FBI and now the CEO of Guiliani Security and Safety says it wouldn't take much to inflict a lot of damage.
PAT D'AMURO, CNN SECURITY ANALYST: It's the fear and it's the panic that Al Qaeda or groups like that would want to bring into play by attacking a venue such as that.
(END OF VIDEOTAPE)
SNOW: Now, as the details of this plot became public, New York City's police commissioner said coincidentally he had ordered beefed up security on the city's train systems because of the anniversary, the one-year anniversary of the London bombings. John?
KING: Mary Snow tracking this developing story for us in New York. Thank you Mary.
And as always, stay tuned to CNN day and night for the most reliable news about your security.
On another security front tonight, President Bush is urging North Korea's dictator to quote, make a choice, end his missile defiance or face isolation and condemnation by the world. Mr. Bush fielded questions about the missile standoff in Chicago today. Here's our White House correspondent Suzanne Malveaux.
SUZANNE MALVEAUX, CNN WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT: Well John President Bush blew through the windy city in his first solo news conference outside of Washington, as all a part of a media strategy to show a president who's in touch with people's concerns, their issues, even taking reporters questions from the local media. But make no mistake the main issue that dominated this press conference was the standoff with North Korea.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
MALVEAUX: Since the missiles were launched two days ago, Mr. Bush has been trying to get North Korea's neighbors to unite, in convincing the regime to come back to the stalled six-party talks and for them to agree on sanctions.
GEORGE W. BUSH, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: The problem with diplomacy, it takes a while to get something done.
MALVEAUX: If I could follow up, you say diplomacy takes time.
BUSH: Yes it does.
MALVEAUX: But it was four years ago that you labeled North Korea a member of the axis of evil, and since then it's increased its nuclear arsenal, its abandoned six-party talks and now these missile launches.
BUSH: Let me ask you a question. It's increased -- that's an interesting statement. North Korea has increased its nuclear arsenal. Can you verify that?
MALVEAUX: Well, intelligence sources say. If you would like to dispute that --
BUSH: No I'm not going to dispute it, I'm just curious.
MALVEAUX: According to U.S. intelligence sources, North Korea had the capability to produce one or two nuclear weapons in the mid to late 1990s. But since it began reprocessing 8,000 spent fuel rods in April 2003, U.S. intelligence estimates North Korea can produce six to eight nuclear weapons, while other experts suggest as many as 12 or 13.
Why shouldn't Americans see the U.S. policy regarding North Korea as a failed one?
BUSH: Because it takes time to get things done.
MALVEAUX: What objectives has the U.S. government achieved when it comes to North Korea and why does the administration continue to go back to the same platform process if it's not effective in changing North Korea's behavior?
BUSH: Suzanne, these problems didn't arise overnight and they don't get solved overnight. It takes a while. You asked what we've done. We've created a framework that will be successful. I don't -- my judgment is you can't be successful if the United States is sitting at the table alone with North Korea. You run out of options very quickly if that's the case.
(END OF VIDEOTAPE)
MALVEAUX: So the question now is whether or not the president has the credibility and the standing when he meets with world leaders next week at the G-8 Summit in Russia to convince them that his strategy is a winning one in convincing North Korea to cooperate. John?
KING: Suzanne Malveaux in Chicago. Dramatic images from Chicago today, outside of a political fund-raiser attended by President Bush. Several dozen protesters carried anti-Bush and anti-war signs, and a couple of them burned an American flag. No arrests were reported.
Coming up, in the air with NATO, patrolling the World Cup to protect millions of fans from terrorists. We'll take you in the sky for a training mission.
Also the North Korean missile threat, will a new focus on security help the president's party or the democrats? I'll ask the Democratic Party chairman Howard Dean. Plus she's a best selling author and an expert at causing controversy, now there's a new one, centering on her, serious new questions about Ann Coulter's writing. We'll show you what those questions are all about. You're in THE SITUATION ROOM.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
KING: A new development at the World Cup. Not on the ground, but in the sky. For the first time NATO will be playing a role in security for the final. CNN's Becky Anderson has a firsthand look from the air. She joins us now live to share that view from Berlin. Hi Becky?
BECKY ANDERSON, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Yes, it's been an interesting day up with the integrated multinational force that NATO has stationed here in Germany. I took to the skies with them to take a look at Berlin from 30,000 feet.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
Crew, we are clear to take off.
Let's go.
ANDERSON: NATO flight 21 taking off from (INAUDIBLE) air base near Cologne. Its mission to fine tune surveillance operations ahead of the World Cup final on Sunday. This is one of 16 Awax aircraft called in by the German government to help protect the host nation from a terrorist attack from the skies. At 30,000 feet the plane's radar can detect rouge aircraft within 250 miles. NATO mission commander Marshall Hugues is scanning his screen looking for anything over Berlin that could be a low flying threat.
LT. COL. MARSHALL HUGUES, U.S. AIR FORCE: It could be anything from a Cessna to as we saw in 9/11 a full-size aircraft that is on a profile that doesn't make sense. It's not in contact with ATC or anybody else.
ANDERSON: If he spots a problem he'll notify higher command and says in the worst case scenario, fighters could be scrambled and the target eliminated. NATO helped secure the air space over the winter tour and Olympic Games earlier this year. But this team's primary role is combat surveillance, providing security and tactical advice to pilots in the theater of war.
(END OF VIDEOTAPE)
ANDERSON: And John, while German officials say there is no significant intelligence to suggest an attack is eminent here on Sunday for that clash between Italy and France with millions of fans flooding in to this capital city, the authorities here are taking absolutely no chances. John?
KING: And, Becky, exclusive access, as you say, an eye in the sky from 30,000 feet over Berlin. Any surprises during your flight?
ANDERSON: Yeah, it was surprising today, actually. This was effectively a training flight. They'd been trying these missions over the venues and the ceremonies during this month long tournament. So this was effectively a training session for Sunday. But while we were on board the German authorities actually scrambled a simulated dog fight. The guys on board, the surveillance operators and the weapons operators, then sort of threw the training out of the window as it were and went into combat surveillance operation mode. How fascinating to see just how quickly they work and just how efficiently they work to keep what is effectively going on in the sky organized and effective. John?
KING: Testing their reflexes. Becky Anderson, with a fascinating glimpse for us, security for the World Cup from high above. Becky thank you very much. And Zain Verjee joins us with a look at other news making headlines around the world. Hi, Zain.
ZAIN VERJEE, CNN ANCHOR: Hi John. Will you be watching the World Cup?
KING: Absolutely.
VERJEE: The final this weekend? Let's look at some headlines. A new wave of sectarian violence in Iraq today. There were attacks on three Sunni mosques and a Shia holy site. Police say mortars landed in a market, also in a Shia area of Baghdad. In all at least 13 people were killed and more than 75 wounded.
Israel is denying that it's agreed to negotiate for the release of an Israeli soldier. Palestinian president Mahmoud Abbas said earlier that Israel had promised to free captive Palestinian politicians and certain prisoners once Hamas releases the soldier. Meanwhile, Hamas says a 19-year-old Israeli soldier held by the group is being treated quote humanely. Israel's pushing ahead with military operations in Gaza. Palestinian officials say five people were killed in air strikes and one died in a gun battle with Israeli troops today. Five rockets launched by Palestinians landed on a southern Israeli town, slightly wounding two people.
Conservative candidate Felipe Calderon is calling for unity after being declared the winner of Mexico's presidential polls by the thinnest of margins. Supporters of leftist candidate Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador are turning out for nationwide protests. They're alleging widespread fraud and they're promising to challenge the vote count in court. But Calderon says that he's confident that the results will be validated by Mexico's electoral tribunal. A tally completed yesterday shows that Calderon edged out Obrador by about half of one percent.
And a serious injury for an American at the Spanish festival of the running of the bulls. A 31-year-old New York man was partially paralyzed after a mock bull fight. Seven other people were hospitalized after being gored or just trampled by those bulls. Thousands of people took part in this annual event in (INAUDIBLE) in an ancient city in Spain, running in front of six bulls that weigh about 1500 pounds each. John?
KING: I'm not sure I would get in the path of one of those bulls. Zain Verjee thank you very much.
And still to come tonight in THE SITUATION ROOM, Democratic Party Chairman Howard Dean caught in the middle of a political war over Iraq. I'll ask him about Senator Joe Lieberman's primary problem and the problem that's posing for democrats.
And another democratic senator who's explaining himself after controversial comments about Indian Americans. We'll tell you what Joe Biden said, what he's saying now and why it's the talk of the blogosphere.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
KING: Safe to say at first glance you might not compare Congressman John Murtha to a rock star. But the Pennsylvania democratic is on a nationwide tour of sorts in places where opposition to the Iraq war strikes a positive chord. Our Brian Todd has more now on Murtha's new mission. Brian?
BRIAN TODD, CNN CORRESPONDENT: John, Iraq is basically the only issue fueling John Murtha's rise, but analysts say that is plenty to make him a big draw on the campaign trail.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
TODD: He just turned 74 and has been in congress more than three decades, but right now crusty old John Murtha is a democratic rock star.
It's a grain great honor to ask Congressman John Murtha to come take the podium.
TODD: At campaign appearances or fund-raisers, Murtha is a hot booking. He's raised more than $1 million for democratic candidates according to their congressional campaign committee. Analysts say to shore up their base or find an opening against republicans on Iraq, democrats have a gold mine in the stocky gray haired ex-marine who won two purple hearts in Vietnam.
STUART ROTHENBERG, ROTHENBERG POLITICAL REPORT: He's the guy who's taken on George W. Bush, he spoke out. Even though he has a record of supporting the military, he spoke out when other democrats wouldn't, and I just think that has made him a star at the moment.
TODD: Last November the man from Pennsylvania's coal country sees his national profile skyrocket, after a very public reckoning that the war he voted for was, he believed, a failure.
REP. JOHN MURTHA, (D) PENNSYLVANIA: it's time to bring the troops home.
TODD: Since then he's taken on not only the president, but Mr. Bush's chief political strategist, who accuses Murtha of favoring a cut and run strategy.
KARL ROVE, WHITE HOUSE DEPUTY CHIEF OF STAFF: If Murtha had his way American troops would have been gone by the end of April and we wouldn't have gotten Zarqawi.
TODD: Remarks that got Murtha's blood boiling in an interview with Wolf Blitzer.
MURTHA: This one guy in the White House said cut and run. I don't know what the hell he knows about cutting and running.
TODD: As long as Murtha's willing to trade blows with GOP heavyweights on Iraq analysts say, he'll carry weight into the midterm elections. But one republican who's battled with Murtha on the house floor sees a chink in the armor.
REP. PATRICK MCHENRY, (R) NORTH CAROLINA: The moderates in the country are very turned off by this outlandish rhetoric and this ostrich policy of sticking your head in the sand and ignoring the threats around the world.
(END OF VIDEOTAPE)
TODD: Still the Murtha momentum rolls on, he's predicted to safely win his district in November and his initiated a bid for majority leader if the democrats win back the house. John?
KING: A man worth watching. Brian Todd thank you very much, great piece. Thanks to Brian Todd, part of the best political team on television, CNN, America's campaign headquarters. And just ahead, Democratic Party Chairman Howard Dean joins us here in THE SITUATION ROOM to talk about President Bush, North Korea, and what it means to be a democrat.
Plus she's made a career out of lobbing bombshells at the left. Now some are questioning whether they're really hers. We have details of the controversy swirling around best-selling author Ann Coulter.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
KING: You're in THE SITUATION ROOM, Wolf Blitzer is off today. I'm John King.
In the North Korean missile standoff President Bush is trying to keep international tensions from exploding, but what about political tensions here at home? Why democrats try to use North Korea against Mr. Bush? Governor Howard Dean, chairman of the Democratic National Committee joins us from Burlington, Vermont. Governor welcome to THE SITUATION ROOM. I want to begin with a simple yes or no question. Should the president of the United States, in the wake of the North Korean missile launches meet with Kim Jong-Il?
HOWARD DEAN, DEMOCRATIC NATIONAL COMMITTEE CHAIRMAN: I don't want to get that far, because I think that would be premature. I think the president of the United States ought to have a policy on North Korea that's better than let's see what happens. Here's the fundamental problem. The president has been there for six years. Iran was well on its way to nuclear weapons, North Korea has quadrupled its size of plutonium.
The president dithers and dallies and doesn't do anything about it because his administration is divided into a group of hard line ideologues who think North Korea somehow will collapse of its own weight. And a group of pragmatists are getting smaller and smaller by the day, who want to negotiate. The democrats handled North Korea properly. We should negotiate, we should be tough and smart in defending America, not just talk tough at election time.
KING: I want you to listen to something the president said today. Before I toss to that byte though, the White House would say, and add this please to your next answer if you want to, the White House would say the democrats negotiated a deal with Kim Jong-Il, he signed it and then he promptly violated it. But I want you to listen to something the president said today defending his approach to handling this.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
BUSH: Now that he has defied China and Japan and South Korea and Russia and the United States, all of us said don't fire that rocket, he not only fired one, he fired seven. Now that he made that defiance, it's best for all of us to go to the U.N. Security Council and say loud and clear, here are some red lines, and that's what we're in the process of doing.
(END OF VIDEO CLIP)
KING: You say he doesn't have a policy. You're the same party that said the president was a unilateralist cowboy when he went to war in Iraq. Now he's doing what you wanted then, going to the United Nations.
DEAN: The president's timing is awful. Where was the president five or six years ago when North Korea was violating their obligations? He was divided because he wouldn't listen to the people who understood what was going on like Colin Powell, he was in the grip of these neo conservatives, who had this bizarre world view of how things are going to work out. The president's timing is awful. He's always making the wrong step at the wrong time.
The fact is going to the Security Council is a very good idea, they've been fooling around with that for four years. What he should have done is gone to the Security Council a long time ago, made the deal with China, which was perfectly easy to understand. What they want is food, fuel and ultimately a pack that we won't attack them. We could do that in response for verifiable nuclear disarmament with people on the ground. It's a perfectly simple deal, this president seems unable to do it because of the divisions in his administration.
KING: I want to ask you a question about the potential domestic political fallout or ramifications of all of this. You have North Korea on the front pages, the president, of course, is dealing with the Iran issue which you mentioned as well. You have this foiled plot in New York today that the FBI and Mayor Bloomberg and others are talking about, an apparent terrorist plan that was foiled. Does it concern you at all that with national security and terrorism back on the front pages that republicans will benefit from that issue as they have in the past two elections?
DEAN: They believe that. I believe that republicans are done benefiting because you can't trust the republicans to defend America. Not because they don't want to, but because they have not applied common sense to their defense policy. Again, the president's been there for six years. Osama bin Laden is still on the loose. Iran is now talking about developing nuclear weapons and moving everyday towards that. North Korea is firing missiles. The president has done nothing. They talk tough. But you have to be tough and smart and I think that's what the democrats can offer the American people to defend America. We will have a bold vision, a clear vision, right from the beginning when we take power again, and we will defend America the same way Harry Truman and Franklin Roosevelt did, the same way John f. Kennedy did.
KING: I want to talk to you for a few minutes about what it means to be a Democrat. As you know Senator Joseph Lieberman faces a primary challenge in his home state of Connecticut. Senator Lieberman's position seems to be I'm a good Democrat unless someone dares to challenge me in the primary, then I reserve the right to get on the ballot as an unaffiliated candidate. Right now, is that a loyal Democrat? Is Joe Lieberman welcome in the Democratic party, assuming he loses the primary but wins the election?
DEAN: We don't get involved in primaries at the Democratic National Committee. Others can do that if they want. We don't do that. We have to be an impartial arbiter. What we do is support Democrats and try to get Democrats to win.
(CROSSTALK)
DEAN: And, John, we allow the voters to decide who's a Democrat, so whoever the voters choose in Connecticut is who we're going to support.
KING: Would you then lean on the Senatorial committee and use Democratic National Committee funds, if necessary, should Ned Lamont, if he beats Joe Lieberman in the primary, get financial support? Should Chairman Dean go up there and campaign for him? Should Senate Democrats who are friends of Joe Lieberman go up there and campaign for him?
DEAN: John, I'm going to campaign for the Democratic nominee, and if it's Joe Lieberman, you'll see me along side Joe Lieberman, if it's Ned Lamont, you're going to see me along side Ned Lamont. We don't get involved in primaries, we do support the Democratic nominee chosen by the people in the Democratic party in Connecticut.
KING: Senator Lieberman has tried to hold out his position that again if I win the primary, great, if not, I'm going to get on the ballot anyway, even though I said I was running as a Democrat. He holds out that that position is better for the party in the long run, that he's trying to help the Democratic party. He says, much as you criticize Republicans for perhaps having litmus tests on abortion or litmus tests when it comes to taxes, that he doesn't want the party to have a litmus test when it comes to Iraq. Listen to something the Senator said earlier this week on this program.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
SEN. JOE LIEBERMAN (D), CONNECTICUT: The question that is being asked of the Democrats here in Connecticut is will we impose a litmus test, the same kind of litmus test that we criticize the Republicans for imposing, particularly on one issue on which I have taken a principled stand, clearly not one that's to my political advantage, which is the war against terrorism.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
KING: You ran for president, you were the anti-war candidate, you didn't get the nomination but you had a pretty good following. Is opposition to the war in Iraq now a litmus test in the Democratic primary?
DEAN: Opposition to the war in Iraq is one factor among many factors that voters in Connecticut are going to make up their mind on. We do not get involved in primaries, I will say again. This is up to voters in the Democratic primary in the state of Connecticut. They will choose.
KING: I want to jump in because we're almost out of time. What about nationally? You know what's going on in the party. You know what the base is saying on the Internet and everywhere about this race. They are making this a defying race for Democrats, watching to see what people do.
DEAN: The nice thing about our party is we don't dictate from the top down, we actually let voters make decisions, and I think that's a very healthy thing to do, I encourage voters to make decisions, and who they choose is who we support.
KING: Governor Dean, Chairman of the Democratic National Committee, Howard Dean. Thank you very much for joining us.
DEAN: Thanks, John.
KING: Take care.
Now talking issues with a political figure of a very different persuasion. It's an exclusive chat with President Bush's former chief of staff Andrew Card. It's also his first TV interview since leaving the White House.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
KING: I'm going to ask you first to reflect on when you left the White House and I'm wondering if after all your years of service to the president you felt at all like you were being made a scapegoat?
ANDREW CARD, FMR. W.H. CHIEF OF STAFF: No, I felt comfortable about leaving the White House. It was time for a new leadership to come in there. The president has a very great agenda for America, but people were losing their tension, and I think that they need something to call more attention to the White House and its organization and Josh Bolten is doing a terrific job as the chief of staff and I'm very supportive of what he's doing and I've talked with him several times. I'm excited about the direction the White House is offering to the president and how the president's leadership is making a difference, and I think it was time for me to go.
KING: The president made a conscious decision after winning reelection where he said he had political capital, he believed, to spend a great deal of time on Social Security. He got nothing for it. He didn't get legislation passed, Republicans in his own party were reluctant to do it, and he spent so much time traveling on it and investment on it, the war became unpopular in that period of time as well and his poll standing fell. In hindsight was it a mistake with a 51 percent victory to take on such a huge issue?
CARD: We lost a lot of momentum as we tried to build momentum to address the challenge of Social Security, but the president was right to call attention to the problem, and I think that history will show that the president's solution was the right solution and hopefully it will come maybe during the final year of his second term. We need a new Congress to recognize the leadership, but that new Congress will be a Republican congress because I think the Republicans have an agenda that is positive, it stands for something, it's not negative, and I think that the Republicans will be there to help solve some of these problems that we know have to be addressed to protect future generations.
KING: One of this president's strengths as a Republican leader, not president of the United States, has been the solid support of the Republican base throughout his administration and yet when the Harriet Myers choice was announced for the Supreme Court, you saw the bubble pop, if you will. Conservatives were outraged, they thought the president blind sided them. Many said the president betrayed them by picking someone they didn't know.
CARD: Well, he was picking someone that he thought would be right for the Supreme Court, and she reflects the president's philosophy, and he knows that. She would have been a terrific member of the Supreme Court, and we would have been very proud of her sitting there as a justice, but it wasn't meant to be.
KING: Another moment that has hurt the president in the second term is the government's response to Katrina. You've had time to be away from the White House to maybe reflect a bit when you're not in the day to day constant meetings and meetings and phone calls and more meetings. Anything stick out now? You think boy, we missed it here?
CARD: We learned valuable lessons, but the good leadership that came from the White House was much better than is perceived, and some of the frustration that I experienced in the White House was that people didn't recognize that the president's hands were tied frequently during the response to Hurricane Katrina by a relatively weak response from the state and local governments.
KING: Take us behind the scenes into this president's mind-set at a time that must be very difficult for him, the war is troubling to begin with. Politically at home it's unpopular. He's in his second term and he has to be thinking he's approaching the midterm elections when, as you know, the term lame duck gets thrown around in Washington, either just before or certainly after the midterm elections. I know he says he doesn't govern by the polls, doesn't dwell on the polls, but he's also a human being and somebody who has been around politics a long time. He has to dwell a little bit on his legacy. CARD: What he's worried about is the security of the country, and he knows that it is very important that we win the war on terror, and part of that war on terror includes winning the battles in Iraq. And now we have a new government in Iraq. It took a lot longer to form than anybody wanted and took a lot longer time to get the new secretary, the minister of defense and the minister of interior, and I was grateful that the new prime minister picked a leadership team that appears to have a will to succeed and when the president had that surprise visit to Baghdad and he met with the new prime minister and the new minister of defense and interior, the president came back and he was filled with optimism.
KING: What is life after the White House mean for Andy Card? I assume it means not getting up at 4:00 in the morning any more?
CARD: I get up at 5:00 in the morning rather than 4:20.
KING: That's a break?
CARD: It is a break. I have a wonderful wife, I'm spending more time with her, helping her and that's something that I've wanted to be able to do more of and I just couldn't do it when I was White House chief of staff. I'm getting a little more exercise, I'm learning to spend more time with the grandchildren and so I have a wonderful life and I'm very blessed.
KING: Andy Card, thank you very much.
CARD: Thank you John.
KING: New developments tonight in the Jack Abramoff scandal. Just released by the Justice Department, previously undisclosed records of the convicted lobbyists appointments at the White House. The watchdog group Judicial Watch had sued to obtain the documents in May. The group was given just two of Abramoff's visits, records of those visits. What do these new documents mean? Let's bring in our Internet reporter Abbi Tatton.
ABBI TATTON, CNN INTERNET REPORTER: John, those previous documents had shown two visits, as you said, by Abramoff, March 2001 and January 2004. Late today, released by the Department of Justice, records of additional scheduled appointments that Abramoff had. At least six more all in 2001 from these records that you can see here. And now some of these scheduled appointments we already knew about. "Time Magazine" released a photo earlier showing Abramoff in the White House, that from May 2001, that corresponds to records released today.
Why the delay in releasing these secret service logs? Well, a letter accompanying the release from the Department of Justice says the Secret Service unexpectedly discovered the data after a data glitch. Now, there are some things that we don't know. We don't know if Abramoff kept all of these appointments. We don't know where in the White House complex he was headed, there are several buildings. However, the data that's been release just in the last hour sure to generate scrutiny in the coming days, John. KING: And questions probably at the White House briefings next week. Abbi Tatton, thank you very much. Up ahead tonight, a hot spotlight on conservative pundit Ann Coulter. We'll show you why some accuse her of plagiarism in her columns and her new best selling book. Details of the controversy coming up.
Also Senator Joe Biden, did he put his foot in his mouth, or was he taken out of context? Find out right here in THE SITUATION ROOM.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
KING: For weeks now conservative columnist and author Ann Coulter has sat high on the "New York Times" best-seller list with her controversial new book. But there's a new controversy brewing, not about her comments, about the inspiration behind them.
Once again, our Brian Todd is here to explain. Hi, Brian.
BRIAN TODD, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Hi, John.
Charges now of plagiarism against the woman who's made a career out of being a lightning rod.
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TODD (voice-over): She's the left wing's living nightmare but spares seemingly no one who she thinks is politically insincere, like some September 11 widows.
ANN COULTER, AUTHOR: Apparently, cutting a campaign commercial for John Kerry was an important part of the grieving process.
TODD: She's also wrote about the widows that she's "never seen enjoying their husbands' deaths so much." Now, conservative author and columnist Ann Coulter is getting as good as she gives, with allegations that she plagiarized several passages in her columns and in her best-selling new book, "Godless."
HOWARD KURTZ, CNN'S "RELIABLE SOURCES": When you engage in the kind of incendiary rhetoric that Ann Coulter does, there are a lot of people out there that are going to be poring over every syllable that you write, trying to find something they can use against you.
TODD: One passage in question -- on page 95 of the book, Coulter writes of Judge Charles Pickering, quote, "As the president of the Mississippi Baptist Convention, Pickering presided over a meeting where the Convention adopted a resolution calling for legislation to outlaw abortion."
Checked against this passage in a 2002 news release from the group Planned Parenthood, the only difference is that Planned Parenthood had the word "judge" before Pickering's name and the year 1984 later in that line.
Coulter's publicist said she couldn't appear on camera, but her book publisher issued a statement saying, quote, "We have reviewed the allegations and found them to be as trivial and meritless as they are irresponsible."
Coulter's syndication company says its reviewing the allegations, but the editor of a conservative weekly who runs her columns also defends Coulter.
TERRY JEFFREY, EDITOR, "HUMAN EVENTS ONLINE": Does anyone really think that Ann Coulter is trying to plagiarize Planned Parenthood? Ann is not a reporter, she's a commentator. She takes her facts from other sources.
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TODD: The investigation of Coulter was done by a company called iParadigms, which looks into plagiarism for high schools and colleges. Company officials and representatives of the "New York Post" newspaper tell CNN the "Post" reached out to iParadigms to investigate Coulter.
"Washington Post" and CNN media analyst Howard Kurtz says the "Post" may have been upset by Coulter's attacks on the September 11th widows. The "Post" denies that. Its editor-in-chief says the paper looked into this after seeing online rumors about Coulter's alleged plagiarism -- John.
KING: Likely more back and forth in that controversy. Brian Todd for us tonight. Brian, thank you very much.
Senator Joseph Biden's way with words could be getting him into trouble. The 2008 presidential hopeful made some controversial comments to supporters on a recent trip to New Hampshire, and his statements caused quite a stir online. Our Internet reporter Jacki Schechner has that story -- Jacki.
JACKI SCHECHNER, CNN INTERNET REPORTER: John, Senator Joe Biden took a trip to New Hampshire on June 17th, and while he was there he spoke to a representative of the United States Indian Political Action Committee. He was talking about the growth of Indian-Americans in his home state of Delaware, and C-SPAN was there. They caught the conversation on camera. I want you to take a listen.
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SEN. JOSEPH BIDEN (D), DELAWARE: You cannot go to a 7-11 or a Dunkin' Donuts unless you have a slight Indian accent. I'm not joking. Oh, gigantic. I met with a group. Do you realize of the CEOs of Silicon Valley, 30 percent of the CEOs in Silicon Valley are Indian-American?
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SCHECHNER: Now, many people may have missed that on C-SPAN, but the clip hit the Internet, and it has been making the rounds. A lot of conservative bloggers wondering if the media wouldn't have paid more attention to it if it had been said by a Republican as opposed to a Democrat.
Other bloggers, both liberal and conservative are saying that Senator Biden misspeaks all the time, and comments like this are par for the course. Now, we spoke to the chairman of the U.S. Indian Political Action Committee who says, on a whole, his organization are not offended by these remarks.
But in contrast to that, the Indian-American Republican Council put a statement on their Web site saying that even though Senator Biden often makes inappropriate remarks, this one was, quote, "over the top" even for him -- John.
KING: Jacki Schechner, thank you very much. And Senator Biden is in Iraq right now. Earlier, I had a chance to ask him about those comments and just what he was thinking.
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BIDEN: What I was thinking was they took out of context the whole of what I said. I was making the point that up until now in my state, we've had a strong Indian community made up of leading scientists, and researchers, and engineers.
I pointed out that over 30 percent of the engineers in Silicon Valley were Indians, and I said but now it's even healthier. We're having middle class people move to Delaware, take over Dunkin' Donuts, take over businesses just like other immigrant groups had, and I was saying that -- and my comment that you can't go in unless you have an Indian accent was making the point that they're growing, it's moving.
I could have said that 40 years ago about walking into a delicatessen and saying an Italian accent in my state. The point was this is healthy. We're now having not merely engineers and scientists and the significant brainpower that came our way from the Indian community, but we're also now having ordinary middle class people move to this country, building businesses, building families, and strengthening our neighborhoods.
That was the generic point I was making. I've made it a number of times, in the Indian community and out of the Indian community. This is a vibrant, vibrant community that ranges all the way from CEOs in Silicon Valley to families that are taking over the Dunkin' Donuts and fast food stores in my state and building businesses and building the community.
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KING: There you have it, Senator Biden's side. He's in Iraq with Democrat colleague Jack Reed of Rhode Island assessing the security situation.
Let's find out now what's coming up in the next hour on "PAULA ZAHN NOW." John Roberts is in for Paula and right here with us.
JOHN ROBERTS, CNN SENIOR NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Hey, good evening to you, John.
We're going to have more on the newly revealed terror plot targeting tunnels between New York and New Jersey. Also an eye-opening look at a program that gets troubled kids and unwanted dogs together. Could it give them both a new chance at a better life?
Plus, what's different about a new video game in addition to the explosions, the shooting, and the death? You'll also need to pray. We'll take a very close look at this very controversial Christian video game at the top of the hour.
KING: Sounds pretty interesting. We'll be watching. Thank you, John.
And up ahead here, "Hot shots" plus an interview that's out of this world. We'll take you on board the International Space Station.
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KING: Here's a look at some of the hot shots coming in from the Associated Press, pictures likely to be in your newspaper tomorrow. In northern Gaza young Palestinians run to avoid Israeli sniper fire during an incursion into Bethlehem. At least two dozen Palestinians and one Israeli soldier have been killed in the fighting.
Pamplona, Spain, a madator performs a pass to a charging bull during the first bull fight of the famous San Fermin festival.
In Canada, a cowboy wrestles a steer during the Calgary stampede, the annual event kicked off today.
In Costa Rica a novice clown gets help applying his makeup at the national clown conference. That's today's hot shots, pictures often worth a thousand words.
Today Shuttle Discovery astronauts have been busy moving supplies and cargo on to the International Space Station. Earlier spoke with three space station crew members, Commander Pavel Vinogradov of Russia, flight engineer Jeffrey Williams of the United States and astronaut Thomas Reiter of Germany. It's their first television interview since the mission began.
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KING: Let me start with you, Tom Rider. You flew up on the Discovery. They said there was a one in 100 chance you wouldn't make it, it was clearly a risky mission. NASA's top safety official actually recommended not launching. I want your thoughts on the process of going through that and what did the astronauts as a group say when you were preparing and giving your recommendation on whether it should be a go.
THOMAS REITER, SPACE STATION ASTRONAUT: I do not believe too much in these kind of statistics, if you compare it to daily live, the risks of reaching a certain destination when you go by car are probably sometimes less. It was a great ride, and I couldn't imagine that from now on all the next succeeding missions will continue as plans. KING: And Jeff Williams, the shuttle as it came in yesterday had a majestic flip, it looked beautiful down here to the human eye, if you will, the untrained eye, but it was also done for safety reasons, it was done so that you could take a look out from the space station and inspect those critical heat shields for any damage. Tell us a bit about what it looked like and tell us about did you see anything that troubles you at all?
JEFFREY WILLIAMS, SPACE STATION FLIGHT ENGINEER: It was a magnificent view that Pavel and I had as the shuttle approached directly below the space station, and as we did that back flip, if you will, as you described, just a fantastic view to see such a grand vehicle outside our window, and as you mentioned we had an inspection requirement through photography, and we completed that as planned, and we saw nothing out of the ordinary, nothing of interest.
KING: Pavel, you've been in space now a few months, the two of you, you and Jeff Williams up on the space station. You have a third guest now. Astronaut Rider will stay with you for a little bit. What's your first piece of advice to him on joining what looks to be a pretty crowded little dorm room up there?
PAVEL VINOGRADOV (through translator): He's a quite experienced space pilot, he's spent a lot of time on MIR station, and it's hard to give him any advice. I can only mention that me and Jeff are very happy that it's three of us and we start working together.
KING: Well Jeff, he mentioned the three of you now. One of the criticisms here in the United States is why spend these tens and tens of millions of dollars, why risk the lives of shuttle astronauts given the safety record and the recent tragedies in the program, why take such risks in money and potential human life to essentially resupply the space station? Tell us what you think is being done there that's worst while in terms of the experiments. What are you learning?
WILLIAMS: Well, let me talk a little bit in the bigger picture, and if you look at the human history, it is a history of exploration, and there's always been debate on every step of the way throughout history and whether we ought to go beyond what we know, but there's something in our nature that wants to seek and understand and look around the corner and over the horizon to understand what we, and to discover what we haven't discovered yet.
And that's what we're doing now, and it's no different now than at any other point in history, this is a stepping stone to future programs and future exploration, back to the moon and on to Mars, so nobody's ever said it was easy. It's not easy, it's difficult. It takes a lot of, tens of thousands really of dedicated hard working people that believe in that dream and believe in that focus, and the team that we're honored to work with believe in that. So the steps come small at times, they come difficult at times, but it's a worthy cause, and we need to continue the program.
KING: Gentlemen, we need to end it there unfortunately because of time, but we appreciate your cooperation and your words of wisdom and your advice in sharing your experience in your first interview from the space station. We wish you well. Enjoy the flight, and it looks a little crowded in there. I hope things go OK. Commander Pavel Vinogradov, Flight Engineer Jeff Williams and Astronaut Tom Reiter of Germany, now aboard the International Space Station. We wish you very well. Thank you, take care.
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KING: And thank you for joining us. Join Wolf Blitzer this Sunday for "LATE EDITION," the last word in Sunday talk. Among his guests the Undersecretary of State Nicholas Burns. I'm John King, my thanks to THE SITUATION ROOM crew for putting up with me for the past six days. PAULA ZAHN NOW just ahead.
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