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Starting Point with Soledad O'Brien
Economists Anticipate Job Growth for March, 2012; Interview with Representative Nan Hayworth; Republicans Continue to Criticize President's Remarks on Supreme Court; Fighting Threatens Peace In Syria; UA Coach On Leave After Crash; Anti-Obama Marine Could Be Kicked Out; New Virus Targets Macs; Airline Bans Kids From Upper Deck; Analyzing The Audio; NFL Bounty Bombshell; "Mrs. Kennedy and Me"; Remembering JFK's Death
Aired April 06, 2012 - 07:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
SOLEDAD O'BRIEN, CNN HOST: And ladies, thank you very much. Welcome, everybody. Our starting point this morning is the centerpiece hopefully of the economic recovery, the huge jobs report for March is going to come out in just about 90 minutes. We'll tell you why economists expect an upswing in the economy and what that means for jobs in this country.
And what was that word? There's a new analysis of that 9-1-1 tape from the night that Trayvon Martin was killed. George Zimmerman telling what he said.
Plus players paid to inflict pain and now there's audio proof that they were pushed by their coach. Listen.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
GREGG WILLIAMS, FORMER NEW ORLEANS DEFENSIVE COORDINATOR: We're going to dominate the line of scrimmage and we're going to kill the (inaudible) head.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
The man in the middle of this NFL bounty scandal on tape telling his players to go headhunting Listen.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: It's only my vacation. Love to the nation, I'll never be under OIG investigation.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
O'BRIEN: Oh, wait maybe you will be under OIG investigation in the wake of that scandal at the GSA. It was revealed, you remember, that they spent $825,000 at a regional conference.
A new video emerges, this video -- a rap video -- the first place winner of a competition at a conference, with lyrics like "donate my vacation, love to the nation, I'll never be under OIG invstigation."
How's that for rapping?
ALI VELSHI, CNN CHIEF BUSINESS CORRESPONDENT: That's good.
O'BRIEN: It is Friday, April 6th, and STARTING POINT begins right now.
(MUSIC)
O'BRIEN: That's off of Ali's playlist, Donna Summer, "She Works Hard for the Money." That videotape is pretty crazy. Let me introduce you to the panel this morning. Ali is joining us, CNN's chief business correspondent and the anchor of "World Business Today." John Fugelsang is with us as well, political comedian and radio personality. And Will Cain is with us. He's a CNN contributor and columnist for theblaze.com.
Our starting point this morning, gentlemen, is jobs, jobs, jobs. Everyone's going to be looking. What do you think, Ali, are we going to see?
ALI VELSHI, CNN CHIEF BUSINESS CORRESPONDENT: We'll see an addition of more than 205,000 jobs, that's the estimate for the month of march, that will be the third month in a row for 200,000 plus. It will be the 18th month in a row of job creation.
There are a lot of questions as to why that's happening. Some people say that back during the financial crisis, way too many people were laid off. They overshot. Or they didn't -- companies didn't hire enough in the ensuing months of the recovery. Whatever it is, it's here. The rate will probably stay the same at 8.3 percent, but remember, there's a disconnect as more jobs are created more people who haven't been looking for jobs get back in. It's quite possible the unemployment rate goes up or stays the same.
O'BRIEN: It's why we invited Republican Congressman Dr. Nan Hayworth from New York. She serves on the congressional job creator's caucus here to talk about the jobs report. So first, let's talk a little bit about if the projections hold true, and sometimes that can be a little bit of a big if, but people are having consensus around the numbers Ali just gave, what do you think it means on the democratic side and Republican side?
REP. NAN HAYWORTH, (R) NEW YORK: It's always welcome to have more Americans employed. The numbers should be higher and in previous recoveries as high you know, Ali, as 300,000, even 500,000 jobs a month. So this has been the slowest recovery since the Great Depression unfortunately and the unemployment remains at 8.3 percent in U6, which is of course those unemployed or underemployed some 15 percent. So we've got a long way to go.
And the big concern for all of us, irrespective of party is that we have conditions that we know are on the horizon. There is still a lot of hesitation on the part of employers to bring on new human beings in their employ, new employees, because the terms of the 2010 health law now being debated by the Supreme Court can be quite onerous and going to get worse. We're facing what Ben Bernanke face a tax cliff, or fiscal cliff, at the beginning of 2013. And my concern is that employers, businesses small and large will look at that cliff and saying you know what? We're going to have to hold back more than they otherwise would.
JOHN FUGELSANG, CNN CONTRIBUTOR: There is a flipside to that, which is under the health care law allowing Americans up to age 26 being covered by their parents' insurance, encourage lots of companies to hire young people because they won't have to deal with.
HAYWORTH: Or a consumer directed system like what they have in Indiana, the health savings accounts for Medicaid recipients and state employees. I were every that model.
FUGELSANG: Unless they run out.
(CROSSTALK)
O'BRIEN: We're not going to debate health care. Go back to jobs before you derail my entire segment on the jobs war. I know I'm such a task master.
HAYWORTH: And rightly so, but that's the concern is that we are, there are conditions that prevail, an economic climate in the United States that could be far better. So we can see the opportunities.
O'BRIEN: Let's talk about the politics of that, right, because in a way, when it comes to the Republican candidates right now who are going through the primary process, how challenging is it to run against a jobs number that is, you know, a graph that's kind of going up, right? No matter how you read it, and it may not even be in the sectors that would be the best sectors, it's still a positive report.
HAYWORTH: Well, again, I welcome a positive report. I want nothing more than for our economy to recover completely and that has got to be a good. So it's not about partisanship and who is running.
But I endorse Governor Romney. I endorsed him back in November. And I do feel that he has a very sound and healthy understanding of what makes an economy tick. I do worry about the president's fiscal approach. I'm certainly not going to be shy about that.
But again, because look at what we're facing come 2013 and look at what the president's budget proposed, which is an enormous tax increase at a time when we really need those dollars flowing into growth. He signed the jobs act yesterday. That was passed through the House and then through the Senate. The House accepted the Senate's amendment. That's designed to help our start-ups.
O'BRIEN: Will Cain?
WILL CAIN, CNN CONTRIBUTOR: Soledad, I'm going to say politically three messages from Republicans, you heard two from representative Hayworth, the length of the recovery and jobs. I assume people can't hear so I want them to read it.
O'BRIEN: Barely. CAIN: The length of the recovery is too long, there's --
VELSHI: Do you have an e-mail where you get these from? I apologize to my good friend, Will, for the recovery, because it's messing up the conservative campaign.
CAIN: This is a legitimate explanation of what some of the arguments will be, still a high level of debt, going through de-leveraging. There are external threats like Iran. In the end, how do Americans feel. In most polls, most indicators like your take-home pay Americans don't feel like the economy is in recovery. That will be the biggest impact on the election.
VELSHI: The difference, will, this is what Americans are doing, they're taking money out of their pocket --
(CROSSTALK)
VELSHI: I disagree with the idea that we should always hope the recovery comes on the back of consumerism and that people feel good so they spend more and get into more debt. Right now it's the only game we have, and it's working. However you feel about this, the fact is Americans are spending money, they're going out and --
CAIN: I can read. I know we have a recovery in play. These are the questions about that recovery.
VELSHI: Now you're looking for an excuse.
O'BRIEN: Are you really going to fight in front of the congresswoman? We're having a brawl and it's not between our guests and panelists as that sometimes happen.
HAYWORTH: It's the effect I have on men.
O'BRIEN: I like it.
HAYWORTH: The fundamentals are Republicans and Democrats alike we have to think together how best we extend opportunity, growth, prosperity to as many Americans as possible. One of the most telling things I heard recently was Secretary Geithner came to the financial services committee which I'm a member and he extolled the growth potential of increases taxes and he did feel that was a smart thing to do. So I asked him a simple question, not hostilely, I just asked him a question, could he point to any one of our 50 states, all of which have their own microclimate and tax and regulatory structures, could he point to a state among the 50 that with a heavy tax and regulatory structure was growing better than a state with a lighter structure.
FUGELSANG: We could point to the '90s or the '50s, a decade.
HAYWORTH: He could not point to a state if which that's the case. We see it in New York
CAIN: And California and over and over. HAYWORTH: Exactly, that they're all leaving. Enterprise is leaving them. And the worry is that enterprise and investment are leaving the United States. We have to worry about what the Fed is doing to accommodate and accommodate monetary policy and accommodate an extraordinary level of government spending. We need spending restraint. We need a long-term view of the role of the federal government in the economy. The budget we passed in the House a couple of weeks ago accommodates those goals.
O'BRIEN: And the person who can manage that message the best is the person who really has the leg up in the election. We've got to move on.
VELSHI: And the long-term role of the government and the economy is crucial.
O'BRIEN: Got to get to headlines. Congresswoman, nice to have you. Thanks for being with us.
HAYWORTH: Thanks for having me.
O'BRIEN: Christine has got the headlines for us. Good morning.
CHRISTINE ROMANS, CNN ANCHOR: Good morning, Soledad.
New analysis of George Zimmerman's 911 call may shed new light on the Trayvon Martin shooting. After separating Zimmerman's voice from cell phone interference, a forensic audio expert concludes Zimmerman did not use a racial slur before he shot Trayvon Martin. He says the word Zimmerman used was "punks." Here's that portion of the tape on a loop for you.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
GEORGE ZIMMERMAN: These punks. These punks. These punks.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
ROMANS: We're bleeping out the expletive. At 7:30 eastern, Soledad talks with attorney family Natalie Jackson for her reaction.
Rescue crews in Alabama will search in daylight for a college student who fell overboard into a river. The male student was attending a sorority party on the "Bama Belle" when he fell into the Black Warrior River in Tuscaloosa. Police say alcohol was being served at that party but it's not clear if alcohol played a role.
New video in overnight of the Coast Guard blasts an empty fishing vessel that was swept away by the Japanese tsunami more than a year ago. This so called ghost ship was unlit, unmanned, adrift at sea. The Coast Guard decided to sink it because it posed a navigation threat for other vehicles in the area.
It's Good Friday for Christians around the world celebrating Lent. Good Friday is the Friday before Easter Sunday when Christians remember the crucifixion of Jesus Christ. Pope Benedict XVI will lead Good Friday services at the Vatican at 5:00 p.m. this afternoon. The Jewish celebration of Passover begins at sundown tonight. Passover celebrates the exodus of ancient Israelites from slavery in Egypt. Soledad?
O'BRIEN: Christine, thank you very much.
We told you about this story earlier in the week, the GSA, the General Services Administration. They're in charge of managing really the procurement for the federal government and the story was they had this lavish conference in Las Vegas, featured a clown, a mind reader, and they ended up spending more than $825,000.
FUGELSANG: It was a Bar Mitzvah.
O'BRIEN: Basically, yes, a really, really good one. The GSA chief Martha Johnson and several other top administrators resigned from the fallout of that. But now, if you will say, piling bad on to worse, there is a video, an accompanying music rap video made for, by an employee for a contest held at the conference, and the video itself mocks the excessive spending they were blasting in the report anyway. Listen to it.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
(SINGING)
(END VIDEO CLIP)
O'BRIEN: Ali said while that was playing, "ill-advised but excellent." They were doing it off of the Bruno Mars, a parody of that. And he ends with the line with "I'll never be under OIG investigation."
(CROSSTALK)
CAIN: Let's put these bureaucrats in charge of the health care.
O'BRIEN: In the one-minute segment I have here, Will Cain, work with me today.
CAIN: We always look for the deeper message. There is one. We don't to look very part.
FUGELSANG: It's that white people should stop rapping.
(LAUGHTER)
VELSHI: He was good.
FUGELSANG: No, he was not good. This O.G. will visit OYG.
O'BRIEN: If you had BA 61, building operation of Cal funds is one of the lyrics to work in, and ATF, for alcohol, tobacco, and firearms, can't touch these guns.
VELSHI: He's not going to be employed by GSA. CAIN: It's not about race. It's is not Eminem White?
O'BRIEN: Will Cain brings all of these big issues with a capital I in my segment this morning.
VELSHI: Why did you steal fun? And why are you shaved? What is going on with the facial hair?
(CROSSTALK)
CAIN: I noticed Bradley Cooper has been doing this.
(LAUGHTER)
O'BRIEN: So usually other people should say that about your --
VELSHI: I'm doing the same thing. Kojak has been doing that.
(CROSSTALK)
O'BRIEN: All right, let's move on, shall we. Ahead on STARTING POINT, the Senate's top Republican has some pretty tough words for the president. Listen.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
MITCH MCCONNELL, (R-KY) SENATE MINORITY LEADER: So I would respectfully suggest the president needs to back off.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
O'BRIEN: Tough words, respectfully. Mitch McConnell says when it comes to health care the president's not respecting the Supreme Court. We'll tell you about that.
Plus our "Get Real" this morning, a good idea, handed inmate a metal iron club. A police officer is under investigation for taking a prisoner out for a round of golf because the prisoner was a really good golfer.
If you're about to head to work, you don't have miss the rest of the show, check out our live blog at CNN.com/startingpoint. We had Congresswoman Hayworth joining us just a few minutes ago. This is from her playlist, John Mayer, "No Such Thing."
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
O'BRIEN: The Senate's top Republican is telling the president to back off. Minority Leader Mitch McConnell says President Obama crossed a dangerous line when he commented on the Supreme Court's deliberations over health care reform. Here's what he said.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
MCCONNELL: Regardless of how the justices decide this case, they're answerable above all to the constitution that they swore to uphold. The fact that this president does not appear to feel similarly constrained to respect their independence doesn't change that one bit. So I would respectfully suggest the president needs to back off.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
FUGELSANG: I'm sorry you had to see him that enraged. He to the loafer tassels right off after that speech.
(LAUGHTER)
O'BRIEN: He said "respectfully I would like to say." The Department of Justice is dialing back on the president's comments, Attorney General Eric Holder was asked for a three-page single-spaced memo.
FUGELSANG: He defied the court and wrote only two and a half pages.
O'BRIEN: Maybe he had no more to say, clarifying the president's comments and then outlining whether the Obama administration indeed believes the court has the right to judicial review. The attorney general Holder wrote this, "The power of the courts to review the constitutionality of legislation is beyond dispute."
CNN's senior legal analyst Jeff Toobin has been following this case closely.
JEFFREY TOOBIN, CNN LEGAL ANALYST: This phony, ridiculous controversy marches on.
O'BRIEN: I was about to say you were not super quotable because you were sort of saying these over the hissy fit and train wreck and yesterday was kind of --
CAIN: He has to meet his own bar.
O'BRIEN: And it's been met. This is about politics ultimately.
TOOBIN: It is and this started with the president saying this shocking thing that he thinks this law is constitutional and hopes the Supreme Court upholds it, which is a perfectly routine and ordinary sentiment for a president who, after all, signed the legislation.
O'BRIEN: But he said more than that. What he said was if they did not, that would be the Supreme Court intervening. Really it wasn't --
CAIN: That would be unprecedented.
TOOBIN: It would be unprecedented given these circumstances, that's what he said. The argument that others have made is if you parse his words very carefully he was saying that it would not be -- it would be unprecedented for the Supreme Court to overturn legislation, which is of course ridiculous because he knows the supreme contract can overturn legislation. His own administration is asking the courts to overturn the defense of marriage act, DOMA. So it is hardly foreign to the president for overturning legislation.
CAIN: His exact it would be unprecedented and extraordinary for an unelected of men and women in black robes to overturn a majority decision in Congress, he said like an overwhelming majority. I don't have to parse his words and suggest he's questioning the legitimacy of the courts to overturn his favorite law.
TOOBIN: This is a rematch. We did this yesterday.
VELSHI: But I wasn't here for it.
O'BRIEN: Will Cain, how can he be questioning something at the same time he's asking the Supreme Court to do.
CAIN: That's not a question for me. That's a question for president Obama. He seems to like to apply the law the way he sees fit. We don't have a red phone.
TOOBIN: It's just theater. You have the outrage machine everything Obama says.
O'BRIEN: Will is very outraged this morning.
TOOBIN: Which is fine. When Bush was president there was a Democratic outrage machine. But this is not a real controversy.
O'BRIEN: But is it a strategy for reelection? Now it's been posited that a lot of this on the reaction from McConnell on the right is a political strategy but also the entire thing is a re-election strategy for Obama.
TOOBIN: There is a paradox here. Republican voters, especially Republican voters in the base of the party, feel very strongly about the courts, about issues like abortion, about same-sex marriage. Democratic voters do not seem as motivated by the Supreme Court as an issue. Perhaps that will change this year. I doubt it.
It is something that the people who are most motivated by the Supreme Court in issue are the people who are going to vote for that party no matter what. Swing voters, the people who decide the outcome of elections, don't seem to care that much about the Supreme Court. It's very important substantively. I don't know how important politically it is.
O'BRIEN: Jeff Toobin, it's always nice to have you.
TOOBIN: Good to be here.
O'BRIEN: We've gotten a chance to chat with Jeff three times this week.
TOOBIN: Lucky for both of us.
(LAUGHTER)
O'BRIEN: Yes it is.
Still ahead this morning on STARTING POINT, new audio released at the center of the NFL bounty scandal. On tape you can hear him calling for the bounty on opposing players.
And in our get real this morning, out of lockup and onto the links, we'll tell you how an inmate ended up doing time at a golf resort in Catalina Island. It sounds like something we might all want to do. that's ahead on STARTING POINT.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
(MUSIC)
O'BRIEN: What has happened to you today, Will Cain?
VELSHI: Something happened to him.
O'BRIEN: He's dancing. Oh it's Ali Velshi happened to you?
VELSHI: Will got his groove back.
O'BRIEN: I like that. I like that. Obviously Michael Jackson, "Billy Jean." We're going to separate the two of you.
VELSHI: Good thing this is a taped show.
O'BRIEN: Yes. You can see the entire playlist every morning on our Web site at CNN.com/startingpoint.
Our "Get Real" this morning may be my favorite story of the day. A question you have to ask yourself, how far would you go, Ali Velshi, to improve your golf game?
VELSHI: Hire a crook who happens to be a good golfer.
O'BRIEN: Ding, ding, ding. That would be the winning answer. It appears that a Los Angeles county sheriff's captain in order to try to lower his handicap, they believe that he sprung a suspected and convicted jewel thief who also happens to be an expert golfer from jail in order to get some free tips on his swing. Jeff Donahue is the name of the sheriff's deputy. He allegedly took the prisoner to a course on Catalina Island, has a yellow prison jump suit and wristband removed.
VELSHI: That spoils the mojo on the course.
O'BRIEN: They put him into civilian clothes, polo shirt, Dockers.
FUGELSANG: They took his leg irons off, convenient.
O'BRIEN: I don't think he was wearing leg irons. Apparently one of the other deputies blew the whistle on the outing. Donahue apparently said it was cleared by his boss, the L.A. county sheriff, and said it wasn't me.
FUGELSANG: Tim Robbins did the warden's taxes in "Shawshank."
VELSHI: If somebody approved a prisoner outing, someone had to sign something. So they'll get to the bottom of who said this was OK. O'BRIEN: Apparently this guy served two years for stealing cash and jewelry from people at golf courses.
VELSHI: So he's got a remarkable familiarity with golf courses.
O'BRIEN: Not only skill on the golf course.
CAIN: Reintegrate him back into society, take him to the scene of the crime.
(CROSSTALK)
FUGELSANG: This is just like the episode of "Oz."
O'BRIEN: You and the one percent today.
FUGELSANG: Where the Aryans traded a cigarette for a nine iron. We saw that episode years ago.
CAIN: You lost me completely.
O'BRIEN: Me, too, lost me as well.
Still ahead on STARTING POINT. He was by her side during her entire time as first lady, and he was right there when President Kennedy was shot. Jackie Kennedy's bodyguards sharing some of their most personal moments. We'll talk to secret service agent Clint Hill this morning.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
O'BRIEN: This is off of Christine's playlist, Maroon 5's "Moves Like Jagger." I was in a car with a bunch of 40-year-old women, tried to figure out the lyrics. At that moment, I feel like we were old.
JOHN FUGELSANG, POLITICAL COMEDIAN: It could be called uses auto tune unlike Jagger but --
O'BRIEN: Let's get right to Christine. She's got headlines for us. Hi, Christine. Good morning.
CHRISTINE ROMANS, CNN BUSINESS CORRESPONDENT: That song it just reminds me of Ali Velshi, that's why I have that because it looks kind of like --
ALI VELSHI, CNN CHIEF BUSINESS CORRESPONDENT: Stop, stop.
O'BRIEN: Jagger doesn't move like that.
VELSHI: Stop, stop, you can't let them see that.
O'BRIEN: News, please, headlines.
ROMANS: All right, I'll take it away from you. Here we go. Thanks, Soledad.
A peace plan in Syria looking shaky as fierce fighting erupts this morning. At least 12 people killed as government loyalists clash with opposition activists. Syria's President Bashar Al-Assad has agreed to a U.N. brokered peace plan that calls for his government to take steps to end this bloodshed.
The International Criminal Court is demanding Libya hand over the captured son of former leader Moammar Gadhafi. Officials say Saif Al- Gadhafi has been mistreated and quote, "physically attacked" since he was captured last year. Officials say he's been kept in total isolation and denied treatment for dental pain.
The University of Arkansas putting head football coach, Bobby Petrino, on paid administrative leave. It comes after the school learned the passenger on Petrino's motorcycle when he crashed last weekend was a 25-year-old female member of his coaching staff.
The two were having a, quote, "inappropriate relationship." Petrino, who is married with four children, says he failed to disclose the information because he wanted to protect his family.
A Marine who harshly criticized President Obama could be booted out of the service. A military panel is recommending something other than honorable discharge for Sergeant Gary Stein.
That would mean Stein would not be eligible for veterans benefits. Stein is accused of posting messages on Facebook calling the president a coward and an enemy. A Marine Corps commanding general will make the final decision on his data.
Viruses aren't just for PCs anymore. A new virus is targeting Apple machines. More than half a million Mac computers have been infected so far. The virus is a Trojan malware, hackers trick users into downloading the virus by disguising it as an update to Adobe Flash Video software.
It may sound like a delayed April Fool's joke, but Malaysia Airlines is banning kids under 12 from being seated in certain sections of its new super jumbo jets.
These child free zones apply to the economy section of the jets, which debut this July. The same airline banned babies from first class last year after receiving numerous complaints from customers about crying babies -- Soledad.
O'BRIEN: I have no problem at all with my children sitting with other people in another part of the plane. I fully support that. Listen, I'll go sit --
VELSHI: Baby's cry is the music of life.
ROMANS: This is true.
O'BRIEN: What? No, it's not.
FUGELSANG: Especially trying to sleep on a Red Eye, Ali.
O'BRIEN: Listen, when they can't seat me with my kids. I'm like, OK. Hello, stranger. My children would love to sit next to you.
VELSHI: Mothers like this idea of separating the kids?
O'BRIEN: Not -- I will have a cocktail, please, before takeoff, absolutely. All right, Christine, thank you.
A grand jury is going to be convened in just a couple of days from now on Tuesday, April 10th in Seminole County, Florida, going to be potentially looking into the death of Trayvon Martin.
Angela Corey, the special prosecutor in the case says she doesn't need a grand jury to decide whether or not to arrest George Zimmerman. So you could see movement in the case any day now.
Joining us this morning is Natalie Jackson, she's an attorney for Trayvon Martin's family. Nice to see you Miss Jackson. Thanks for talking with us.
NATALIE JACKSON, ATTORNEY FOR TRAYVON MARTIN'S FAMILY: Nice seeing you.
O'BRIEN: Are you hearing anything from Miss Corey, the special prosecutor as the date of convening this grand jury gets closer? It's just on Tuesday.
JACKSON: No, we haven't heard anything. We know they're investigating the case and we know that she said that it's her option of what she wants to do as far as have the grand jury or not have the grand jury.
O'BRIEN: So does that mean that she could even once the grand jury is convened on Tuesday, she could wait weeks and weeks before she makes the decision or do we have to look at Tuesday as potentially a deadline?
JACKSON: Well, we're looking at Tuesday as a deadline. However, her office can decide that they want to wait. They can decide to arrest without the grand jury. So she pretty much has all the power now, and what happens in this case.
O'BRIEN: Interesting. OK, let me ask you about again back to the audio clip, I think you and I have talked about this eight times or something over the last few weeks.
George Zimmerman now says what he, through his lawyers that he's claiming he said the word "punks." We've talked about an expletive, a curse word and then maybe a racial slur. He says it wasn't a racial slur.
The word that people may think was a slur was actually the word "punks." Audio expert who we've had on this show before, Tom Owens them went back and redid his audio analysis.
And now he's confirming that. He told me originally that he thought it was clothes. He said no, it's curse word, the word punks. Let's play a little chunk of that and I'm going to ask you a question on the other side.
OK, so we've looped it a couple of times that I don't know if that helps people hear it better or it makes it even more confusing. Let's say in fact that it is the word, punks. How does that change allegation of a hate crime potentially in this case?
JACKSON: Well, I think what people have to remember that there are two investigations going on. There's a federal investigation, which investigates the hate crime. The state investigation, which Angela Corey is in charge of that's just a homicide investigation.
It's to decide what to charge him on a state level. So there is no hate crime element in that so it really doesn't change what we're looking at on April 10th with the grand jury.
O'BRIEN: But there's no question that Angela Corey is going to also look at that 911 call, that conversation with dispatch. So it does give insight into his state of mind and his thoughts, right?
JACKSON: Exactly. It will go to the intent of what he was thinking, but whether or not he said a racial slur, that's not the end all be all of the case. So that's just a portion that may go to intent of what he meant.
O'BRIEN: George Zimmerman has a new attorney in the case, Hal Uhrig and here is what he says, has been talking over the last few days, which gives insight into the case that he's going to pursue. Listen.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
HAL UHRIG, ATTORNEY FOR GEORGE ZIMMERMAN: The reason that Trayvon Martin is dead is not because he was black or because he wore a hoodie or because he was walking in the rain.
It's because that 6'3" young man made a terrible decision and a bad judgment and decided to smack somebody in the face and break their nose, jump on him and smack their head into the ground, and in doing that, put him in reasonable fear for his safety.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
O'BRIEN: You get a sense of how he's going to position this case.
JACKSON: Yes, and I think that you know, that's such an insult to the Martin family. The reason that he's dead is because George Zimmerman got out of his car when he was told not to, with a 0.9 millimeter. So we'll see how that plays out to a jury.
O'BRIEN: Ultimately though if it's presented as in the final moments there was a struggle over a weapon and that maybe both men could say self-defense. How challenging does that make your case?
JACKSON: Well, the thing is it's not our case. It's Angela Corey's case. I think that society -- the public really needs to be aware of that, is that the Martin's family lawyers, we are not going to be the ones prosecuting this case. This is up to the state attorney. There is the justified use of force. However, we don't believe that this, that law applies to George Zimmerman because he was the pursuer. His own words on the 911 tape says that Trayvon was running away from him and that he was chasing Trayvon so it will be how the state presents this case.
O'BRIEN: Natalie Jackson is an attorney for the Trayvon Martin family. Thanks for being with us. It's always nice to see you. We appreciate it.
JACKSON: Thank you.
O'BRIEN: You bet. Still ahead this morning on STARTING POINT, caught on tape, the coach in the middle of that NFL bounty scandal, you hear him apparently asking for limbs and heads. Have you heard this tape? Listen.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Yes, it's terrible.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Kill the head and the body will die. We've got to do everything in the world to make sure we kill Frank Gore's head. We want him running sideways. We want his head sideways.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
O'BRIEN: That was a pep talk the night before a big game. We're going to talk nor about the repercussions of that now.
Also the most trusted man in the life of the first lady, Jackie Kennedy, and it wasn't JFK. The Secret Service agent assigned to her had some intimate moments.
We'll tell you about that, a new memoir is out that he's written. He's going to join us live. You're watching STARTING POINT. We got a short break. We're back in just a moment.
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O'BRIEN: The scandal -- all right, everybody, I know it's Friday, pipe down. We are just circling the drain this morning.
The scandal that alleged football players were paid to hurt their opponents was certainly disturbing enough. Now there's a new recording that in some ways takes it to a whole new level.
I mean, it's much more, you know, bigger in a way than the conversations because for the first time we're hearing what it is that reportedly Saints' Coach Gregg Williams was saying on tape to his players to take out members of the other team.
In this particular case he's talking about the 49ers. Listen.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP) UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Little 32? We're going to knock the (inaudible) out of him. He has no idea what he's in for. When he's on the side lines we got to turn that (inaudible) over, turn their coaches over, turn the spectators over. Go get that on the sidelines.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
O'BRIEN: The clip comes from a documentary that filmmaker, Sean Pampelo is working on. It's called "The United States of Football." He was inside the locker room. He was shooting, I guess, Steve Gleason, a part of that documentary.
So he was shooting in the locker room before the game against the San Francisco 49ers. Ironically, Gleason, of course, is suffering from ALS, which they can't quite -- there's some sense it's linked to potentially all these hits that he took on the field.
So Steve is also in the room, all these clips are playing. I should note that CNN hasn't yet confirmed the authenticity of the recording and the portion that Pampelo is releasing is an edited version of the 12-minute speech that he had.
It's on his web site as well. He has a lengthy explanation, but it was pretty shocking to hear the entire thing I have to say.
WILL CAIN, CNN CONTRIBUTOR: Yes, I so badly want to resist joining the emotional wave going in one direction. I always do.
O'BRIEN: What direction? What do you mean?
CAIN: Towards outrage towards Coach Gregg Williams and towards this whole situation. Let me finish. But I'm in the emotional outrage wave. This is absurd. He's got quotes in here trying to over and over reemphasize. Let's target Frank Gore's head. Let's take that head out, Kyle Williams who had previous concussions.
O'BRIEN: Let's play that first, if you go down to the "Frank Gore's head" clip. Let's play that one.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Kill the head and the body will die. We've got to do everything in the world to make sure we kill Frank Gore's head. We want him running sideways. We want his head sideways.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
CAIN: Football is an inherently violent game. You accept it as part of the game, but this is so far outside the bounce of the game. This is just nasty.
FUGELSANG: I'm shocked people find it shocking. I mean, do we presume this doesn't happen all the time? Just happened to be caught on tape this one occasion?
CAIN: I think you're right. I think we should presume this happens much more often. I don't know if it happens -- I've never been in the NFL. I've never been in college football.
O'BRIEN: What? We're stunned.
CAIN: Shocking to many people, I know, but this blatantly, this purposefully? I don't know.
O'BRIEN: Here's let me play one more clip and then we'll talk on the other side of it, Ali. Let's do the second clip about we hit a sniff.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: We hit (inaudible) Smith right there. Remember me. I got the first one. I've got the first one. Go lay that (inaudible) out. We're going dominate the line of scrimmage and we're going to kill the (inaudible) head.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
O'BRIEN: He's rubbing money --
CAIN: Doing this.
O'BRIEN: Like this, like there's money in his fingers while he's saying that.
VELSHI: There are two issues here. Obviously, when anybody is talking about hitting and money involved, we always go to the other thing that we've seen in boxing, and wrestling so often, there's money involved in hits.
This is probably a little bit broader. This is the money involved in winning. I also think in the last few years as much as I agree with you, why are people surprised about this?
The last few years have been so much documented about the damage of these hits. Documentary on the potential damage of hits to a person's physique, a person's health so I think the situation is changing.
I grew up in Canada where hockey fights were the reason you went to hockey games and now that's changed.
O'BRIEN: Steve Gleason is in the room in a wheelchair, in a wheelchair listening to that speech. That's really horrifying I think. All right, we got to take a short break.
Ahead on STARTING POINT, we're going to talk about this new memoir. It's called "Mrs. Kennedy and Me" and it's written by the Secret Service agent who was in the motorcade when JFK was assassinated. His name is Clint Hill and reveals his very personal relationship with Jackie Kennedy. We're back in just a moment.
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O'BRIEN: Jackie Kennedy, of course, is one of the most iconic women in American history. The man who stood by her side throughout her time as first lady was Secret Service Agent Clint Hill. Very few people knew her like he did.
Hill was there on that terrible day in Dallas when she lost her husband and when America lost a president. Now, he's speaking out about their relationship and that day in a new book.
He wrote this, every time I saw a paparazzi snap a picture, I knew what she was thinking in every shot. I could see it in her eyes. There were no secrets for me in those eyes.
We had gone through so much together, Mrs. Kennedy and me. In fact that's the name of Mr. Hill's book. It's called "Mrs. Kennedy and Me". It's nice to have you joining us, sir. Thanks for being with us.
CLINT HILL, FORMER U.S. SECRET SERVICE AGENT: Thank you very much.
O'BRIEN: Forty nine years have gone by since the shooting death of JFK, why now did you write this book?
HILL: Well, I'm not getting any younger to start with and I had assisted a friend of mine in writing a different book previous to this and in the process it became very cathartic for me to relive some of those events, some of those days back in 1960s.
I had some serious emotional depressive problems because of what happened in Dallas and that helped me. Then through that agent I met the writer and I began to trust her and I was willing to reveal certain information.
And then I talked to some former members of the White House press corps and they said, you know, we covered Mrs. Kennedy. We were never permitted to interview her. We didn't know her, but you did, why don't you document that?
It was historically significant they said so I decided that it would be the best thing to do.
FUGELSANG: It's an honor to meet you. I have so many questions for you, but I want to get this out of the way. Because I'm sure you were asked constantly about location of gun reports that day.
And why would the president's brain fly backwards if the shooting by behind. I'll just simplify it by saying, would you support an investigation, a new investigation into the president's shooting?
HILL: I don't think that's necessary because I think the Warren Commission got it almost completely right, except I don't believe in the magic bullet theory. That's beyond me.
Other than that the shots came from the right rear of the motorcade. There were only three. They did hit the president in the rear of the head just above the right ear.
O'BRIEN: You describe it in the book and I'm going to read that for folks. You said I was scanning to the left to the grassy area when I heard a sudden explosive noise over my right shoulder from the back of the motorcade.
I turned my head towards the noise. As my eyes moved across the president's car, I saw President Kennedy grab at his throat and lurch to his left.
HILL: And that's when I realized the seriousness of the situation. I jumped in the car and ran, trying to get on top of the presidential limousine to form a shield between the president and Mrs. Kennedy and whoever was shooting them.
O'BRIEN: And at the same time, Mrs. Kennedy is clawing her way.
HILL: Well, not yet. That didn't transpire until after the third shot hit the president in the head. Then she came up out of the seat trying to retrieve some material that came out of the president's head on to the rear of the car.
VELSHI: You then cradled his head in your jacket.
HILL: Well, no.
O'BRIEN: Let me read a piece from the book where you described what happened and then we'll have you elaborate. You say this, "I thrust myself on to the trunk, grab her arm and pushed her back into the seat.
When I did this, the president's body fell to the left on to her lap. As I peered into the back seat of the car, I saw the president's head in her lap. His eyes were fixed and I could see inside the back of his head." She was so worried -- she wouldn't move from the car.
HILL: That was when we got to the hospital, yes.
O'BRIEN: And you figured out why she wouldn't move from the car.
HILL: The scene was so gruesome. She didn't want anybody to see the condition he was in. That's when I took my coat off, covered his head. Then she released her hold on the body and we put him on the gurney and took him into the emergency room.
O'BRIEN: You've talked about all the guilt that you felt in the years that have past. You sort of alluded at the beginning of the interview to a lot of down spiral that you went into after the shooting.
HILL: Yes.
O'BRIEN: Can you tell us more about that?
HILL: Well, I was the only agent that had a chance that day to do anything because of the way I was situated. I was on the left running board of the car behind the president's vehicle. The shots came from the right rear.
Everybody turned where they were looking back towards where the shots came from. My eyes hit the car so I could see what happened. Everybody else's eyes went back to where the shooter was. They didn't see the president get hit, I did. That's when I jumped and ran. They didn't have a chance. Only I had the chance and I was close, but I wasn't close enough.
O'BRIEN: There's no way you could have done it so why do you feel guilt about it?
HILL: Well, because we had the responsibility to protect the president and we failed to do so.
VELSHI: What would you have done? Would you have gotten between president and those bullets?
HILL: Yes, if I could have. Unfortunately, I wasn't there at the time. That was the objective to get up there and shield him. Take the hit if you have to.
O'BRIEN: What happened with your life? You described a down spiral.
HILL: I was fine as long as I was kept very busy. I returned to the White House detail in November of 1964. I was very busy. Then I ended up in a desk job in headquarters for a while.
And when that happened I had too much time to think and the things that I thought about was that day in Dallas. And what had happened, and how could we have done things differently.
O'BRIEN: You became a big drinker.
HILL: After I left the service, I lived on scotch and tobacco for seven years.
O'BRIEN: The book is amazing. It's called "Mrs. Kennedy and Me" by Clint Hill. Thank you for coming in to talk to us about it.
HILL: Thank you very much.
O'BRIEN: We appreciate it. We have to take a break. STARTING POINT will be back in just a moment.
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