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CNN Wolf Blitzer Reports

Senate Majority Leader Suggests President Bush's Policies Are Eroding U.S. Leadership

Aired July 19, 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, President Bush and British Prime Minister Tony Blair play down differences over missile defense and global warming, as Senate Democratic leader Tom Daschle plays up his differences with the president. Daschle says his timing could have been better, but...

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

SEN. TOM DASCHLE (D-SD), MAJORITY LEADER: Having said them, I certainly will not back away from my comments.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BLITZER: As police keep searching for clues in the Chandra Levy case, there are questions about where the investigation is heading. I'll ask D.C. police chief Charles Ramsey.

And as a member of the House Intelligence Committee, Congressman Gary Condit has access to the nation's top secrets. Are Condit's secrets about his private life a source of concern to the intelligence community? I'll ask former CIA Director James Woolsey.

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

We'll get to my interviews with D.C. police chief Charles Ramsey on the Chandra Levy investigation and with former CIA Director James Woolsey on Congressman Gary Condit's membership on the House Intelligence Committee shortly, but first: President Bush is now knee- deep into his European trip, even as he gets hammered back at home by Senate Majority Leader Tom Daschle, and that's our top story.

President Bush may have thought he was getting away from it all, having lunch with Britain's Queen Elizabeth at Buckingham Palace and doing some London sightseeing. Later, he and Prime Minister Tony Blair papered over differences on missile defense and global warming.

Amid all the harmony, the only note of discord came from Senate Democratic leader Tom Daschle back here in Washington. He suggested Mr. Bush's polices are eroding U.S. leadership. In an interview with "USA Today," Daschle said this: "I don't think we are taken as seriously today as we were a few years ago."

The president was asked if the senator went too far. And while Daschle stuck by his comments, he conceded his timing was off.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

GEORGE W. BUSH, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: I think that's going to be up for Tom Daschle to make up his own mind, whether he did or not. I do believe it's important to have a bipartisan spirit when it comes to foreign policy, and I would hope that tradition continues.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

DASCHLE: There are times and places for evaluations and assessments of the president's record, and -- but I think one of those legitimate times to be a little more supportive publicly is when he is traveling abroad.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BLITZER: A short while ago, I spoke with CNN senior White House correspondent John King, who has been traveling with the president in London.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

BLITZER: John, how angry are they, the presidential party traveling with Mr. Bush at Tom Daschle?

JOHN KING, CNN SENIOR WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT: Well, Wolf, they were quite furious to wake up here in Europe this morning, the president facing a very tough sell, his views on global warming, his views on missile defense being greeted with a great deal of skepticism, indeed outright opposition from many key European allies, not to mention the Russians, so to have Mr. Bush criticized by a leading opposition figure back home, in the White House view, quite counterproductive.

They believe it will be very difficult to convince the Europeans to go along with the president anyway, all the more so when if the European leaders believe that Mr. Bush can't sell his policies back at home. So, Karen Hughes, the counselor to the president, complained publicly, then the press secretary, Ari Fleischer, then the president himself. And Condoleezza Rice, the national security adviser, got on the telephone, and we are told, read Senator Daschle the riot act, saying they did not believe that this was helpful.

So Senator Daschle apologized somewhat. He said he stood by his comments, but thought the timing was indeed unfortunate. But then, the Democrats, of course, rushing to point out this happened many times during the Clinton administration, when the Democratic president was overseas and Republicans in Congress criticized him as well. This debate will continues when the president gets home.

BLITZER: I remember those debates earlier on as well. And John, on the key issue of a national missile defense system, did you sense there is any opening between the talks involving Tony Blair and George W. Bush on this issue, is there any room for a compromise as he heads off to meet with the rest of the European leaders?

KING: Well, certainly, the key test of any friendship comes at a time of stress. There is a great deal of stress right now in the U.S.-British relationship, in U.S.-European relationships, because of both missile defense and global warming; Prime Minister Blair saying it is too soon to say whether he can support the plan, because President Bush hasn't put any specifics forward yet.

But the prime minister doing his best today to try to buy President Bush some time. What Prime Minister Blair said was, look, the biggest issue right now is between the United States and Russia. The 1972 Antiballistic Missile Treaty bans the research and the testing the United States wants to do just a few month from now. What Mr. Blair did is tried to buy Mr. Bush some time, saying other European leaders should withhold judgment for now and see if Mr. Bush can convince the Russian president, Vladimir Putin, to set the ABM treaty aside.

So essentially, Mr. Blair unable to come forward, as opposition, the polls show here in Britain to the missile defense plan, unable to say, "I support the plan," but he certainly said he supports the president's strategy for now. So, he's trying to help as much as he can.

BLITZER: John King from London, thanks very much.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

BLITZER: And Mr. Bush's next stop, the Italian port of Genoa, is being turned into a fortress for this weekend's G-8 summit. Anti- globalization groups, which have already begun demonstrating, hope to mobilize tens of thousands of protesters, while police and paramilitary forces, numbering 20,000, have sealed off the city and freed up jail space. President Bush encountered violent protests at the EU summit in Sweden last month.

Here in Washington, police keep searching for clues to the disappearance of Chandra Levy, but the frustration is mounting. Let's go live to CNN national correspondent Bob Franken for more -- Bob.

BOB FRANKEN, CNN NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Well, Wolf, the story of the day is what did not happen. Just a few minutes ago, the House Ethics Committee decided it would not investigate the complaint by Congressman Bob Barr against Congressman Gary Condit, who is, of course, one of the central figures in this investigation because of his relationship with the disappeared former Washington intern Chandra Levy.

And we also know that the fourth day of searching in the forests and the park lands around Washington did not produce any results today. The police cadets -- or the recruits, rather, from the police academy fanned out once again. That's Rock Creek Park, which is near where Chandra Levy lived -- and in other park lands around the district, looking for some signs of Chandra Levy, signs that she had met with foul play. They were not able to come up with any results. They are going to be continues these searches for the next four week. Of course, the Rock Creek Park area was one of those areas that was cited when Chandra Levy went onto her computer and spent about three hours on May 1, the last day she was accounted for, looking at areas, one of them was of the Rock Creek Park area.

What also did not happen today is that Congressman Condit did not get any relief from all the media coverage, the intense media coverage that has followed him since the story first broke. You can see, he is surrounded by cameras as he tries to make his way to the Capitol to get involved in the normal business of the House Agriculture Committee. The police are saying that they may -- might want to interview him for a fourth time. No decision.

Also, they did not get results of a lie detector test that Congressman Condit took privately. Those results have been turned over to the FBI. They have not come yet -- Wolf.

BLITZER: Bob Franken, the Web sites that have not yet been released -- I know that the police are planning on releasing some of those Web sites that Chandra Levy visited in the hours before she disappeared. Do we know anything what to expect from that release?

FRANKEN: Well, all we know is what we have been told, and that is the Web sites included surfing some restaurants perhaps, and of course what we know has been turned up was her looking at certain committees where one of the members was Congressman Condit. We perhaps are going to see more of the same.

BLITZER: Bob Franken in Washington, thank you very much.

And there have been hundreds of tips in this case, intensive searches for evidence, and it's all been conducted under a very bright spotlight. A short while ago, I discussed the investigation with Chief Charles Ramsey of the D.C. metropolitan police force.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

BLITZER: Chief Ramsey, day 80 of this extraordinary search for Chandra Levy. Are you any closer today than you were at the beginning, with a hard lead knowing about her whereabouts?

CHIEF CHARLES RAMSEY, D.C. METROPOLITAN DEPARTMENT: We still don't have a hard lead. We still don't have anything that causes us now to focus our investigation on one of the main possibilities that are still open to us. So, right now, we are still wondering what happened to Chandra Levy.

BLITZER: And so, the honest answer is, you don't have a clue right now?

RAMSEY: No, we don't. Not really. We've got -- we're, again, exploring all possibilities: whether or not she is missing on her own accord, whether or not she met with foul play, and albeit remote the possibility of suicide. BLITZER: You have analyzed the apartment, the information that you took out of the apartment of Representative Gary Condit, you've sent that over to the FBI. Is there anything suspicious so far based on your analysis whatsoever that you found?

RAMSEY: Nothing that I have been made aware of. In fact, I don't believe all the results are back yet. At least if they are, I have not yet been briefed on that, so I don't believe there is anything of significance. Had there been, I'm sure I would have known about it by now.

BLITZER: You've also been the polygraph that Abbe Lowell, his defense attorney, organized. Any information at all useful from that polygraph?

RAMSEY: Well, our experts are going over it now. FBI, MPD folks taking a look at it, interviewing the examiner to find out what questions were asked and so forth, and how he proceeded with the exam.

I don't have any results of that, but from what I have been told, there is nothing that is going to come of that that is going to be of any particular use, because we still don't know exactly which questions were asked, what the graph represents. We had no input in it, obviously, and it's questionable as top whether or not it will be of any use.

BLITZER: Do you still want him to take another polygraph that is administered by you?

RAMSEY: Well, I mean, if that's possible. Certainly, that would be something we'd be more than interested in, but again, we need to be part of the process of formulating the questions, observing the examination, having input on who conducts that examination and so forth.

BLITZER: Has anyone else been given a polygraph in connection with this missing person's investigation?

RAMSEY: Well, it is a valuable tool that we use quite often, And whereas I'm not going to get into the particulars as to who we may have given that exam to, it is not unusual for us to use it. We certainly ask a variety of people whenever we interview them whether or not they would agree to a polygraph examination. So it's not uncommon. So...

BLITZER: But have there been others who have been polygraphed so far?

RAMSEY: Well, I can't give a definitive answer to that, only because, again, that's all part of the ongoing investigation that we have going on. But suffice it to say that that's a tool that we don't hesitate to use.

BLITZER: There have been reports, as you well know, that you want to polygraph some specific individuals who may have been close to Chandra Levy in the week before she disappeared. RAMSEY: Well, again, I mean, sometimes it's just to lockdown information that we have. We don't have any suspects in this case. We still have no evidence of a crime. We're investigating it as a missing person. People have been good enough to step forward and volunteer to do some of these kinds of things, and we're going to take advantage of it.

BLITZER: There has been some criticism as well that the investigation has been too focused on Congressman Condit and perhaps not on others. Is that a valid criticism?

RAMSEY: No, it's not. In fact, it almost makes me laugh a little bit, because, I mean, we've said from the beginning as a police department it has been a broad investigation. We're looking at a lot of possibilities. There are a lot of individuals that we talk to, still need to talk to. And now all of a sudden, we're the ones conducting a narrow-focus investigation. It's simply not true.

BLITZER: One of our viewers, Scott from Ohio e-mailed me with this comment and question. He says: "How can you justify the use of resources being occupied by one missing person's case?"

It's been an extraordinary amount of resources you have devoted to this case.

RAMSEY: Well, we do devote a lot of resources, but if we have a missing child, if we have any other critical missing, we do devote a lot of resources. Now, it may not get a lot of coverage, but we do this quite frequently when we have critical missing persons.

I think the unusual thing is the fact that this case has received the kind of attention that it has over time as far the publicity it's generated.

BLITZER: What can you tell us about Chandra Levy's fascination, if you will, with Congressman Condit?

RAMSEY: I wouldn't really call it a fascination. I don't know if that's the case or not. Certainly they knew one another and knew one another quite well. I don't see anything in her behavior that strikes me as being particularly unusual.

BLITZER: The behavior pattern the week before, the fact that she obviously worked out at the sports club, she worked as an intern at the Bureau of Prisons: Have you been talking to people at the sports club as well as at the Bureau of Prisons to see what if anything they may know about this?

RAMSEY: Oh, yeah. One of the things we're trying to do is talk to anyone and everyone who knows her at all, anyone who can give us any clue as to her state of mind, any friends or other acquaintances that she might have that we may not be aware of that we need talk to. So, yes, we've interviewed probably more than 100 people.

BLITZER: At this point, would you say it's more likely it was a random act of violence or that there was a deliberate decision in effect to try to get her?

RAMSEY: Well, what makes this case so unusual is that we really can't say that, because a random act of violence, let's say, if it's a street thug, they don't normally discard a body or hide a body. If she's missing on her own accord, she obviously would have had to change her identity and her appearance by now because, I mean, her picture has been literally everywhere. It would be difficult for her not to be recognized by someone.

So we really don't know what happened to her. We have to leave all cards on the table. The longer we go without having found her, the more concerned we get. But the good news is we haven't found anything yet that indicates foul play.

BLITZER: And the theory advanced by John Walsh of "America's Most Wanted" that there may be a serial kill on the loose in this area given the fact that two other young women were killed, apparently, from the Dupont Circle area.

RAMSEY: Well, I think he's making a huge leap, and I've stated that before. Certainly, we have other missing persons. We entered the information on Chandra into VICAP, which is the Violent Criminal Apprehension Program the FBI has, about two months ago. We've not found anything. We have laid all these cases side-by-side as well as some other cases, and we have not found any -- any connection between them as of yet. But obviously, we're going to explore all possibilities.

BLITZER: Chief Ramsey, it was kind of you to join us.

RAMSEY: Thank you.

BLITZER: Thank you very much. Good luck.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

BLITZER: And along with other members of congressional intelligence panels, Gary Condit has full access to the country's top secrets. But do they get background checks? I'll ask former CIA Director James Woolsey if there's cause for any concern. And will religious charities get government handouts? Lawmakers vote on the president's faith-based initiative.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

BLITZER: Welcome back.

In the spotlight for his ties to Chandra Levy, Gary Condit has been followed by the cameras as he works in the House Agriculture Committee. But he also serves on the House Intelligence Committee, where many meetings are behind closed doors.

As someone who's had a secret private life, Condit also has access to the nation's top secrets.

A short while ago, I spoke about that situation with the former CIA Director James Woolsey.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

BLITZER: Mr. Woolsey, thanks. Thanks for joining us.

As you know, Congressman Gary Condit is a member of the House Intelligence Community (sic). Should that be a source of any concern to the U.S. intelligence community?

JAMES WOOLSEY, FORMER CIA DIRECTOR: It's really not their business to decide. If they had some evidence that he had betrayed a secret that was related to intelligence, they would to, I think, bring it to the attention of Congressman Gephardt and the leadership of the Congress.

But other than that, it's not their business. It's Congress' business to decide who's on that committee.

BLITZER: How important is the information that the U.S. intelligence committee shares with the House and Senate intelligence committees?

WOOLSEY: Very important. Some 72 members of the House and Senate intelligence committees and the appropriations subcommittees and the 80 staffers that are in charge with oversight of the U.S. intelligence committee get virtually everything. I mean, they don't ask for agent names and that sort of thing, but they are as fully and currently informed as anybody at the very top levels of the executive branch.

BLITZER: So these are the most important national security secrets of the United States that are shared with these members of Congress.

WOOLSEY: Most important that deal with intelligence, absolutely.

BLITZER: The fact, though, remains that these members of Congress who sit on these prestigious, powerful committees have to undergo absolutely no background checks, polygraphs, FBI interviews with neighbors or friends. No background checks whatsoever.

WOOLSEY: None of that, that's right. Congress decides how it wants to deal with this and it's entirely up to Congress. And I must say I think that's as it should be.

In a way, they have very vigorous background investigations. They're conducted by having to run for office. They're -- they have to deal with questions from a free press and they have to gain the confidence of the senior members of their own body in being appointed to that committee.

BLITZER: You probably know this, but our viewers probably don't: The U.S. government has guidelines as far as access to classified information. One of the specific points it makes is this: "Sexual behavior is a security concern if it involves a criminal offense, indicates a personality or emotional disorder, subjects the individual to undue influence or coercion, or reflects lack of judgment or discretion."

If Gary Condit, based on what we all now know publicly, were applying for an entry-level job at the CIA, an agency that you once headed, would he be asked these kinds of questions? Would he qualify to get a job?

WOOLSEY: To some extent. Some issues regarding lifestyle, if it might subject you to blackmail, for example, are going to be relevant. But since he's a congressman, this is entirely up to the Congress. In a way, you know, Wolf, that issue got decided over 200 years ago by James Madison and his colleagues on that hot summer in Philadelphia: Congress is a co-equal branch of the government, and it can give this classified information to whom it wants.

BLITZER: But does that bother you?

WOOLSEY: Not really. I think the oversight process works reasonably well. The Oversight Committees do a good job, generally. I think we need a proxy for the Congress as a whole and for the public, and those are the House and Senate Appropriations and Oversight Committees, that 72 members of those committees generally I think do a good job.

And generally, I think, they are not the problem when intelligence information leaks; usually it's from the executive branch.

BLITZER: And just in fairness to Gary Condit, I want to point out to you and to our viewers out there, what Representative Porter Goss, the chairman of the House Intelligence Committee, himself a former CIA official told the hometown "Modesto Bee" of Congressman Condit:

"He's a valued member of the committee and I count on him. He asks what i would call questions on behalf of the American taxpayer and he has a great deal of common sense."

I just wanted to button that up, to make sure we are not raising any undue suspicion.

WOOLSEY: Fine. I don't know him, but I must say, I think it is entirely up to the Congress to decide whether he stays on the committee; it's not the executive branch's business.

BLITZER: James Woolsey, thanks for joining us.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

BLITZER: This footnote: the day he was named to the Intelligence Committee, two-and-a-half years ago, Condit's office issued this news release quoting the Congressman.

"This is an opportunity for me to serve our country in a capacity that doesn't get headlines or grab attention, but is nonetheless one of the most important committees in the Congress."

BLITZER: More bad news for Firestone. The government says more tires need to be recalled; I'll tell you what the company is saying.

And another legend of the silver screen is ailing. We'll have an update on actress Katharine Hepburn.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

BLITZER: Welcome back.

Lawmakers in the House handed President Bush a victory today, on his faith-based initiative. The measure passed 233 to 198. It allows religious groups such as this church-affiliated soup kitchen, to use federal money to offer social services in their communities. The bill must now be considered by the Senate, where it faces an uncertain future.

In other news tonight, Bridgestone/Firestone is being asked by federal safety officials to recall millions more tires, but the company says it won't. The National Highway Traffic and Safety Administration met with Firestone representatives today to discuss the government's defect investigation. The company recalled six-and-a- half million tires on Ford Explorers last year and says an expanded recall is unwarranted. The government is moving toward litigation in the case.

A damaging blow tonight to one of the world's top medical research centers. This comes after a healthy 24-year-old volunteer died in an asthma experiment last month at Johns Hopkins University. The federal government is suspending all funded research on people there. The government says the university failed to outline the possible risks to volunteers.

Four-time Oscar winner Katharine Hepburn has been undergoing tests today at a hospital in Hartford, Connecticut. She was admitted last night. A hospital spokesman says Hepburn's family has requested the nature of her visit be kept private. The 94-year-old actress has suffered from arthritis and Parkinson's disease. Hepburn is expected to go home within the next few days.

Up next, I'll open our mailbag. One viewer wants to know how much interest there would be in Chandra Levy had she not had an affair with Congressman Condit.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

BLITZER: Welcome back.

Time now to open our mailbag. Lots more e-mail about the Chandra Levy investigation.

Sandra in Flagstaff, Arizona writes this: "The poor family of this missing young woman is fortunate that she had a relationship with a congressman. Otherwise, her disappearance would barely get a mention."

But there was this defense of Gary Condit: "It is high-time for those who suggest the congressman did something wrong to put up or shut up, and to show how his personal life affect's the public's business."

This from Ira: "I'm far more interested in covering of excess of politicians where campaign finance reform is concerned than your continuous reporting of a congressman's sex life."

Remember, to reach us just go to our Web site at cnn.com/wolf. Please stay with CNN throughout the night.

John Walsh, the host of "America's Most Wanted," is among Larry King's guests at the top of the hour.

Thanks very much for watching. I'm Wolf Blitzer in Washington. "THE POINT WITH GRETA VAN SUSTEREN" begins right now.

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