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CNN Wolf Blitzer Reports

President Bush Orders Navy to Pull Out of Vieques; Bush Discusses Global Warming With EU Leaders

Aired June 14, 2001 - 20:00   ET

THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.

THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
WOLF BLITZER, HOST: Tonight, the president pulls rank on the Navy and orders a pull-out from the controversial bombing range at Vieques, Puerto Rico.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

GEORGE W. BUSH, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: These are our friends and neighbors and they don't want us there.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BLITZER: But while the Navy is steaming over the eviction notice, protesters say the pull-out won't come soon enough.

Still shadowed by anti-American protesters, President Bush got a more polite welcome from European Union leaders today. They agreed to disagree on a global warming treaty. We'll hear from CNN senior white house correspondent John King, traveling with the president.

A missing intern, a congressman, and a lot of questions. I'll speak with Joseph Cotchett, the high-powered attorney for U.S. Representative Gary Condit.

Good evening. I'm Wolf Blitzer reporting tonight from Washington.

President Bush today did something highly unusual: He angered the U.S. Navy and many of his strongest Republican supporters in Congress, and pleased many of his Democratic critics.

He did something former President Bill Clinton refused to do, or didn't have the political muscle to do, for eight years. He ordered the Navy to end its controversial bombing exercises in Puerto Rico. CNN military affairs correspondent Jamie McIntyre has our top story.

JAMIE MCINTYRE, CNN MILITARY AFFAIRS CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Pentagon sources say it was a political decision by the White House to scuttle one of the Navy's top priorities: continued use of its bombing range at Vieques, which it claims is the only East Coast location to realistically train troops for combat.

President Bush, in Sweden, portrayed it as a Pentagon initiative.

BUSH: It's the right agreement. I applaud the Defense Department and the Navy for reaching that agreement.

MCINTYRE: Pentagon sources say newly-appointed Navy Secretary Gordon England was forced by the White House to back down from his position that the Navy would voluntarily give up Vieques in May of 2003 only if there was a good alternative training site, something the Navy has insisted for years doesn't exist.

England, sources say, was dispatched to Capitol Hill to take responsibility for the unpopular move, which overrules the advice of the uniformed military, and has infuriated pro defense conservatives in Congress.

REP. BOB STUMP (R-AZ), CHAIRMAN, ARMED SERVICES COMMITTEE: I think it's a step in the wrong direction. I think it's setting a bad precedent. We have other areas even within this country where there've been numerous complaints about our training around our bases.

MCINTYRE: In an effort to reverse the decision, key Republicans said they would call for hearings, and argued that current law requires the issue be settled by a referendum, not presidential decree.

SEN. JOHN WARNER (R-VA), ARMED SERVICES COMMITTEE: The secretary of defense should take the initiative to forward to the Congress a draft of the language desired.

MCINTYRE: Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld said he fully supported the decision, even while pointing out he didn't make it.

DONALD RUMSFELD, SECRETARY OF DEFENSE: The decision has been handled, as I said, by Deputy Secretary Wolfowitz and by the secretary of the Navy, in whom I have great confidence.

MCINTYRE: Navy officials say they believe they had a fighting chance of winning a November referendum on the issue, and privately they decry the decision as a political move aimed at winning Hispanic votes. Bush Administration officials counter that with polls indicating the Navy was headed for defeat in that referendum, the president is simply recognizing reality, not playing politics.

Jamie McIntyre, CNN, the Pentagon.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

BLITZER: Late this afternoon I spoke with a senior U.S. defense official who underscored to me that the new Navy secretary, Gordon England, had, quote, "Stepped up to the plate to take responsibility for this decision. This was a case," the official said, "of the Navy's civilian leadership making clear who's in charge."

During extensive and secret discussions in recent weeks, England was told the White House wanted the Vieques controversy resolved, knowing the Navy's admirals would be deeply angered. Many officials here in Washington are already pointing to a potentially new twist in the civilian-military relationship.

As a conservative Republican, President Bush can take decisions involving the military that a liberal Democrat, namely Mr. Clinton, might not have felt comfortable taking.

Still, some activists who've sought to shut down the bombing range have been less than enthusiastic about President Bush's decision, which won't take effect for two years. New York's Republican governor, George Pataki, who has a million Puerto Rican constituents, calls the decision a positive step but says he'd like to see the bombing "stopped today."

Protesters have gathered at every stop of President Bush's European tour. In Goteborg, Sweden today, there were clashes with police as thousands rallied against U.S. political and global warming policies, the death penalty, and world trade. Things were calmer inside the European Union summit, although the policy differences were no less sharp. In the end, Mr. Bush and the Europeans agreed to disagree on the controversial Kyoto Global Warming Treaty.

The president did pledge to work to bring the United States and Europe closer together.

BUSH: I believe the stronger Europe is, the better it is off for America. The more peaceful Europe is, the better it is for America. I am concerned about isolationism and protectionism not only amongst some voices in Europe but also in my own country.

BLITZER: CNN senior White House correspondent John King is travelling with Mr. Bush. A short while ago I asked him about the president's first-ever meeting with his EU counterparts and about the political fallout from the Vieques decision.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

John, did the president and his aides traveling in Europe see all the criticism on this Vieques decision coming?

JOHN KING, CNN WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT: They certainly did, Wolf. That is one of the reasons this was handled by such a small group. A few key officials at the Pentagon, and at the White House the president's top political lieutenant, Karl Rove. They knew from the Navy brass, they would get criticism. Criticism saying the Navy needs this Vieques training base for live fire exercises and from the left they would get criticism as they did, that, why not pull out immediately? Why not do this right away?

There is a reason the Democrats weren't consulted. They didn't want this to leak out, just the consultations. The administration, it's not the first time they haven't consulted the Democrats, it won't be the last, but the administration believes despite the dust-up now, politically, for president, this is a winner. When George W. Bush seeks reelection in year 2004 the bombing at Vieques will have been over more than a year.

BLITZER: All right, now let's get back to the president's agenda in Europe. He met with the European union at their summit today in Sweden. How are things going over there?

KING: Well, some positive comments on trade, but a very blunt remarkable open disagreement on the issue of global warming. The European Union has issued a very sharp statement critical of the Bush Administration saying Mr. Bush should reverse himself and sign on to the Kyoto treaty on global climate change. The president saying no, he's not about to do that, that the treaty is flawed, that it would hurt the U.S. economy.

Despite this, Mr. Bush emerging from those talks saying he believes candid discussions among friends are good thing, and that despite these differences, quite significant differences, he hopes to have a very productive relationship with the European Union.

BLITZER: John King reporting tonight from Sweden. Thank you very much.

A Washington intern missing for six weeks as questions continue about her relationship with a Congressman. Tonight, his lawyer speaks out. I'll speak with attorney Joseph Cotchett.

Also: reading, writing, 'rithmetic, and reform -- we'll explain.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

BLITZER: Welcome back.

A story we've been following now for some time: the parents of Chandra Levy, a Washington intern who disappeared some six weeks ago, are calling on California Congressman Gary Condit to come forward with any information he might have about their daughter. Condit's office has denied any romantic relationship between the two, but speaking with reporters today, Susan Levy, Chandra's mother, urged Condit to: "please be man enough to step forward and talk about it."

Gary Condit has hired a well-known litigator to represent him. Among other things, attorney Joseph Cotchett has defended "Consumer Reports" Magazine, against Suzuki Motors, and sued savings and loan figures Charles Keating on behalf of bond holders.

He joins me now live from San Francisco to talk about the Chandra Levy case.

Mr. Cotchett, thank you so much for joining us, and let's get right to what Sandy Levy said today --

JOSEPH COTCHETT, ATTORNEY FOR GARY CONDIT: First, let...

BLITZER: Yes, go ahead.

COTCHETT: First, let me say good evening.

BLITZER: Good evening, thank you very much. What do you say about what Sandra Levy is saying, that Congressman Condit should come forward and publicly talk about this case? COTCHETT: Well, tragically, Wolf, this has become a media circus and a tabloid frenzy. I mean, you have seen the paperwork, you have seen what's going on, you have seen what's put out over the airwaves, I see Starr has a "National Enquirer" type story out today about a new affair.

All of this is sheer nonsense, because in face of this, we have a very tragic, very real situation, in the nation's capital and that is not one missing person, but many missing people, but let's focus on Chandra Levy.

Chandra was a constituent of the congressman. She was a good friend of the congressman. She was, as you know, a very good friend of one of his well-known and longtime interns. The fact of the matter is that what the news media -- some of the news media, not all of it, has taken this frenzied situation, turned it on its head, and is looking now only at the relationship between a congressman and an intern, when we should be devoting all our resources to finding this very fine young woman.

It is a tragedy, and I just think the import of this so-called relationship is nonsense.

BLITZER: Mr. Cotchett, what does that mean precisely when they were quote -- "good friends," because as you can imagine, a married congressman, a 24-year-old, intern, to people who are not familiar necessarily with the ways of Washington, that might seem in and of itself rather strange.

COTCHETT: And first, what you have to understand is that the average age on a member of Congress's staff is somewhere around 30 years old, so this is not an unusual situation, these are the best, the brightest young people, come to Washington, to work on these staffs, work in these bureaus.

In this case, Chandra was working for the Bureau of Prisons as an intern. She had a very good friend working in Gary's office. Now it is not unusual at all for members of Congress to go to lunch, to go to dinner, to take interns to lunch and dinner. That is exactly what happened here. She became a very good friend.

Remember, she was the daughter of, and was in fact herself, a constituent of Gary's district. Gary is a very well liked person in his district. He is a very fine member of Congress. To say that there is something unusual here as proven through some picture that we have now talked about and I will talk about that in a moment, is just pure nonsense. I want to remind you -- go ahead, Wolf.

BLITZER: I was going say what Susan Levy, Chandra's mother, said today -- I quoted specifically. She said that "Representative Gary Condit needs to come out and share what he does know, we'd appreciate his help."

Now, specifically on that point, why not have Congressman Condit come out, publicly have a news conference, and just tell everybody, what he does know about Chandra Levy and the relationship. COTCHETT: Wolf, he has already done that, let me tell you what he has done. You know how the FBI got in this case? It was Congressman Gary Condit that called the FBI. He is the one that gave the interviews to the police, the metropolitan police. He is the one that put up $10,000 as part of the so-called finder's, whatever it was.

He is the one who has stepped forward and given all sorts of information to find this wonderful young lady. Now, what it is, is they want the congressman to stand in front of a camera, and answer questions of a personal nature about his relationship with her, which are totally unfounded. That is what they want.

They are not asking for him to give any leads. He has given every lead, he has put up everything he can put up, he has talked to police. What more can he do?

Now, would it appease certain people for him to come on a camera and say, she was a good friend, to repeat it, the Congressman just may do that.

BLITZER: When you say, he may do it, is he planning on doing an interview or doing a news conference or anything along those lines?

COTCHETT: All I can say to you, that is he, along with many other people, wants that young lady found for the benefit of everyone. If it means that he has to go on a camera, if it means he has to give a statement, he will do anything he can, I can assure you, to find her. Now let's talk about -- I have already mentioned...

BLITZER: Can I -- I just want to interrupt one second, before we get to something else. When you were on "Good Morning America" this morning, you were specifically asked whether the intern Chandra Levy had ever spent the night at his apartment here in Washington, D.C., and you said this.

"Absolutely not. If she spent the night, she spent it out on a couch somewhere."

COTCHETT: And then...

BLITZER: What does that mean? What does that mean?

COTCHETT: As your viewers just saw, there was a dot, dot, dot because you didn't finish what I said.

BLITZER: Well, please finish it. Tell us.

COTCHETT: Surely. What I said was -- with the dot dot dot -- is that she would have had to slept on the couch, because the nights before she allegedly -- when I say "allegedly," before she was last seen -- the congressman's wife was in Washington, D.C. So all of this nonsense about these anonymous sources that say she spent the night and you know what they mean by "the night" -- the night before she was missing -- at the congressman's home is sheer nonsense. His wife was in Washington from the 28th to the 3rd of May -- from 28th of April -- she was last heard from, we believe, according to her mother, on the 30th of April. So what I meant to say is that, if she was over at his house, she would have had to join his wife, and she would have had to slept on the couch.

BLITZER: Mr. Cotchett, we don't have a lot of time. I just want your explanation, if there is any explanation, if you have inside information, what do you believe happened to Chandra Levy?

COTCHETT: Well, Wolf, I'm glad you asked that question, because I think we are going to see in the coming days, now, something that the "Washington Post" is now looking at, something that many sources are looking at. I understand that a U.S. senator is going to call for an investigation of this. There are 453 people missing off the streets of Washington, D.C., since January.

Those are not my figures. Those are the figures from the FBI. As a matter of fact, the Washington police say it is closer to 550. But let's stay with the FBI figures: there are 190 still missing over the age of 19. There are 253 children under the age of 19, who are still missing.

Wolf, that is in five months. And you ought to hear the figures for last year. I think this is a tragic situation. As a matter of fact, in the area around Dupont Circle, where she had an apartment, I'm told and we are trying to gather facts on this, I'm told that there is something like 5 or 6 young women who have been missing in the past several months.

As a matter of fact, Saturday night, two people in Dupont Circle were taken at gunpoint over to Maryland, and shot and killed. This is a tragedy. This is a tragedy in our nation's capitol. This is a tragedy that newspapers and the media has not focused on -- and frankly, since I have written a letter to "Washington Post," now I see they have two or three articles on the -- on statistics on what the police are doing, and what are they not doing.

BLITZER: Mr. Cotchett, I know that -- I know that this has been a difficult period for the congressman, and you as his attorney -- if you have one brief point, go ahead, but make it very, very briefly, because we are all out of time.

COTCHETT: The very brief point is this: we can't let tabloid mentality runaway with our tremendous press in this country. You and I wouldn't be sitting here talking tonight, you know it and I know it, if it wasn't for the press and freedom of press. Nobody -- nobody is condemning the press.

BLITZER: I understand. Mr. Cotchett, thank you so much for joining us. Tell Congressman Condit, when he is ready to go public, we of course would welcome his views here on CNN. Thank you very much.

COTCHETT: Thanks, Wolf.

BLITZER: Thank you, and up next: progress on a labor standoff may mean good news for summer travelers. The story is ahead.

And in case you are not Tiger Woods, we will introduce to you a Web site that enables golf enthusiasts to save big bucks on equipment. Stay with us.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

BLITZER: Welcome back. In other news tonight, a victory for President Bush on education. The Senate today overwhelmingly approved a massive education reform package. The bill requires states to administer annual math and reading tests, and holds schools accountable for the results. The measure now must now be reconciled with a far less expensive bill adopted by the House.

Comair has struck a tentative deal with its striking pilots, just ahead of the busy summer travel season. Pilots with the Delta subsidiary walked off the job two-and-a-half months ago, demanding better pay and benefits. The walkout forced Comair to suspend its operation and lay off 2,400 employees.

At the U.S. Open, Tiger Woods got off to a slow start in his quest for a fifth straight major title. During the first round of the tournament, in Tulsa, Oklahoma, Woods finished the ninth hole at three over par. Play was then halted for the day because of an approaching storm.

Tonight on the "Leading Edge," golf enthusiasts who spend big bucks on new equipment only to be stuck with old gear can turn to the Internet. A Web site, called Golfclubexchange.com, allows golfers to buy and sell clubs, saving big money.

Today marks the 50th anniversary of the world's first commercial computer. The Univac was first put into service by the U.S. Census Bureau. About the size of a one-car garage, a total of 46 machines were built at $1 million a piece.

Up next, I'll open our mailbag. One of you makes a connection between former President Bill Clinton's record in reducing crime and his marriage. I'll explain.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

BLITZER: Welcome back. Time now to open our mailbag. Lots of reaction to the Justice Department's report on the dramatic drop in violent crime during the last eight years.

Nancy from Hopkinton, New Hampshire, writes this: "I strongly believe the Clinton administration and their agenda is responsible for the lower crime rate. Clinton did a good job running the country. Yes, he was not the picture-perfect husband, yet he who is without sin, let them cast the first stone."

Terry from Santa Monica, California, writes: "If the crime rate is dropping, why is it necessary for us to build more and more jails? Shouldn't the jail population also drop? We should look at who we are putting in jail these days." On our report last night that a U.S. subsidiary of a German firm has won the contract to build the World War II memorial in Washington, Michael writes from Mosback, Germany: "What do you want to tell your viewers? American companies must not be owned by German companies? You can guess what the Germans will think of this."

Remember, I want to hear from you. Please e-mail me at wolf@cnn.com. And you can read my daily online column and sign up for my e-mail previewing our nightly programs by going to my Web site, cnn.com/wolf.

That's all the time we have tonight. Thanks very much for watching. I'm Wolf Blitzer in Washington. "THE POINT WITH GRETA VAN SUSTEREN" begins right now.

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