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CNN Wolf Blitzer Reports
Charges in Aruba Case; Justice O'Connor to Retire; Iraq Update
Aired July 01, 2005 - 17:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
JOHN KING, CNN ANCHOR: And happening now, a new twist in the Aruba case. A missing girl, the missing Alabama girl, the Associated Press reporting the three young men who have been held now for three weeks actually have been charged during that entire time with the murder of Natalee Holloway. More as we get it on that developing story in Aruba.
WOLF BLITZER REPORTS starts right now.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
KING (voice-over): Supreme Court vacancy. The first woman justice and a crucial swing vote on key cases, Sandra Day O'Connor steps down.
A rare opportunity for the president to name a new justice.
GEORGE W. BUSH, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: I take this responsibility seriously. I will be deliberate and thorough in this process.
KING: And the battle lines are drawn.
SEN. TED KENNEDY (D), MASSACHUSETTS: If the president abuses his power and nominates someone who threatens to roll back the rights and freedoms of the American people, then the American people will insist that we oppose that nominee.
KING: Unaccounted for in Afghanistan. A chopper coming to their rescue was shot down. Now, elite American troops are missing in the mountains.
ANNOUNCER: This is WOLF BLITZER REPORTS for Friday, July 1, 2005.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
KING: I'm John King in New York. Thanks for joining us. Wolf is off today.
There was a resignation at the Supreme Court today, but not the resignation many people were expecting. Sandra Day O'Connor, the first woman ever to serve on the high court, announced her retirement, creating the first Supreme Court vacancy in 11 years.
O'Connor's departure is sure now to set up a bitter partisan fight over a successor and could tip the direction of the court for decades to come. In a letter to President Bush, O'Connor wrote, quote, "It has been a great privilege indeed to have served as a member of the court for 24 terms. I will leave it," she wrote, "with enormous respect for the integrity of the court and its role under our constitutional structure," unquote.
Up until today, most of the speculation about Supreme Court retirements has centered on Chief Justice William Rehnquist who is battling cancer. So far, Rehnquist has made no announcement about his future. And because she was such a critical swing vote on an often- divided court, most legal observers think O'Connor's departure is much more significant.
Given the stakes, the battle-lines began taking shape within minutes of O'Connor's announcement. If President Bush nominates a more conservative justice to replace her, it could impact future rulings on dozens of crucial issues, from abortion to affirmative action and more.
CNN White House correspondent Dana Bash has been tracking developments all day at the Bush White House and joins us live -- Dana?
DANA BASH, CNN WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT: Well, John, a dramatic day, indeed, but the president is going to take at least a week to make a decision as to whom he is going to replace Justice O'Connor with. He is going to spend some time reviewing the vast number of materials his administration has been gathering for quite some time as he is in Europe. But certainly, this is an administration that is quite prepared.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
BASH (voice-over): Into the Rose Garden, the moment the president's been waiting four-and-a-half-years for suddenly at hand.
BUSH: I will choose a nominee in a timely manner so that the hearing and the vote can be completed before the new Supreme Court term begins.
BASH: Selecting a Supreme Court nominee is a little like picking a pope. That's how a senior official intensely involved in the process describes it.
C. BOYDEN GRAY, FORMER W.H. COUNSEL: I know that there is a team in the White House that has interviewed the candidates.
BASH: Within minutes of Mr. Bush hanging up the phone with Justice O'Connor, he gathered an Oval Office version of a conclave. The vice president, the White House counsel and her predecessor, the attorney general, political adviser Karl Rove, counselor Dan Bartlett, and by phone, the White House chief of staff, top advisors who have been working in top secret on a detailed process for years and had a short list ready to go.
GRAY: They have probably got about five possibilities on that list. BASH: Records of candidates like Judges Michael Luttig and Harvie Wilkinson, now on the Fourth Circuit Court of Appeals. Samuel Alito, an appellate court judge in Philadelphia, John Roberts on the D.C. Circuit, Emilio Garza, a Texan on the Fifth Circuit.
Helgi Walker worked in the Bush counsel's office. And back on day one more than four years ago, she and her colleagues began scrutinizing records, writings, rulings, building profiles.
HELGI WALKER, FORMER BUSH STAFFER: To see what kinds of issues in their background might make them harder to confirm than other candidates.
GRAY: You'd be surprised what funny things can happen. As I say, there's nothing quite like a vacancy.
BASH: If Mr. Bush wants a woman to replace O'Connor, appellate judge Edith Jones, another Texan, is mentioned by Bush advisers. A wildcard is attorney general and long-time Bush confidant, Alberto Gonzales, who would be the court's first Hispanic. Conservatives, however, call him too moderate because of abortion rulings as a Texas state justice.
BUSH: The nation also deserves a dignified process of confirmation in the United States Senate, characterized by fair treatment, a fair hearing, and a fair vote.
BASH: So far, Bush advisers have only the consulted Republicans about potential candidates, although aides now say the president will reach out to leading Senate Democrats.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
BASH: And in fact, President Bush did talk to the Democratic leader of the Senate, Harry Reid, earlier this week when they had breakfast here at the White House just generally. And President Bush tried to call him but did not reach him today.
Mr. Bush did actually speak with the top Democrat on the Judiciary Committee, which, of course, will oversee the confirmation process, that's Senator Pat Leahy. The two men talked today, but, John, about the process in general. We are told that Mr. Bush did not talk specifically about any potential candidates. And it's very unclear, in talking to officials here, probably unlikely that he will.
KING: And, Dana, take us behind the scenes, this drama playing out today, but the first tip actually came yesterday.
BASH: The first tip definitely came yesterday. It was actually just before noon yesterday, John, that the top marshal at the Supreme Court called over to Harriet Miers, the White House counsel here, and said, "We have a letter for you from one of the justices, and will you be around tomorrow?"
And that certainly was a tip-off, though they didn't have the name. And then Harriet Miers told the president and the vice president that it was coming. It wasn't until this morning that they actually got the call that it was Justice O'Connor. And then President Bush did speak with the justice, saying that he wished that he could give her a hug.
And of course, O'Connor is from Texas originally, President Bush's home state. And he said, "For an old ranching girl, you turned out pretty well" -- John?
KING: Dana Bash for us at the White House on this dramatic day. Hope you weren't counting on a slow summer. Thank you, Dana.
And if you think this spring's fight over judicial nominations was rough, just wait until you see what happens when the Senate begins debating a Supreme Court nomination. CNN congressional correspondent Ed Henry is on Capitol Hill -- Ed?
ED HENRY, CNN CONGRESSIONAL CORRESPONDENT: That's right, John. In fact, both sides were already predicting that this could be the mother of all Senate confirmation battles.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
HENRY: The Democratic strategy, immediately try to limit the president's choice to a moderate.
SEN. TED KENNEDY (D), MASSACHUSETTS: ... mainstream conservative.
SEN. CHUCK SCHUMER (D), NEW YORK: ... mainstream Supreme Court justice.
SEN. DANIEL AKAKA (D), HAWAII: ... voice of reason and moderation.
HENRY: So they showered Sandra Day O'Connor with praise to make the case that her seat should stay centrist.
SCHUMER: We would expect the president to maintain the critical balance of the court that Justice O'Connor fought so long and hard for by nominating a consensus mainstream nominee.
HENRY: Senate Republicans seemed slightly less aggressive, preferring to just hail O'Connor and leave the confirmation battle for another day.
SEN. BILL FRIST (R-TN), SENATE MAJORITY LEADER: As the Senate moves forward to confirm a new nominee for the high court, it's important that we remember her legacy. America needs judges who are fair, independent, unbiased and committed to equal justice.
HENRY: While the fight to replace Chief Justice William Rehnquist would have been bitter, the battle for O'Connor's swing seat will be even fiercer because it can provide the tipping point on issues like abortion and gay marriage.
SEN. ARLEN SPECTER (R-PA), CHAIRMAN OF THE JUDICIARY COMMITTEE: This is a very polarized country when it comes to the issues which will come to the Supreme Court of the United States. And I would expect people would want their choice, and everybody can't have their own way. And that's why we have a president, and that's why we have a Senate.
HENRY: Arlen Specter said he expects to provide that balance with measured confirmation hearings in his Judiciary Committee. But the real power may rest in the hands of the so-called gang of 14 who recently averted a nuclear showdown over filibusters against the president's lower court nominees and are now urging the president to come to the middle on his first high court choice.
SEN. JOHN WARNER (D), VIRGINIA: This nomination of the first Supreme Court justice by this distinguished president gives him an opportunity to be a uniter, not a divider.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
HENRY: Democrats could be laying the grounds for a filibuster if the president picks someone that they believe is out of the mainstream. Conservatives already firing back that, in that case, Majority Leader Bill Frist may need to use the nuclear option to prevent those filibusters, yet another sign, John, that this could get ugly fast.
KING: Ed Henry, keeping track of the first round of what will be a lengthy battle on Capitol Hill. Thank you, Ed.
And Justice O'Connor today, perhaps Chief Justice William Rehnquist in the not too distant future. To help us put this momentous day in better perspective, let's bring in CNN senior legal analyst Jeffrey Toobin. He is here in our New York bureau.
Jeff, a lot of labels being thrown around. She was a swing vote, a closely divide court, a moderate conservative. Help the people at home understand. Give a case or two. Let's start with the cultural issues on which Sandra Day O'Connor made the difference.
JEFFREY TOOBIN, CNN SENIOR LEGAL ANALYST: Let's start with the famous gay sodomy case from Texas, Lawrence v. Texas. She was one of the five justices who voted that that kind of restriction on private, consensual sexual conduct was unconstitutional. She voted for Justice Anthony Kennedy's opinion in that case.
Let's talk about affirmative action. She wrote the opinion, another 5-4 decision, upholding the use of race in admissions at the University of Michigan law school. Those are the kind of hot button issues where she has held the balance in the court, pushing the court in a liberal direction.
She was also the fifth vote for President Bush in Bush v. Gore in ending the 2000 election. So she's been right in the middle for a very long time.
KING: Now, let's look ahead to the agenda of the next court. And let's assume, for the sake of this discussion, that her successor is confirmed by the time the court hears arguments. What is on the docket in which a more conservative court, assuming President Bush picks a more conservative justice and gets that justice confirmed, what is on the docket where we could see a difference, a tilt in the court's balance?
TOOBIN: Well, two big cases jump right out at us. The first is the assisted suicide case in Oregon, a very important case to both sides, the right which cares about the culture of life, the left which cares about death with dignity. That's going to be a big case.
There's also a parental notification case about abortion rights. You know, how much do parents have to be notified before a minor can get an abortion? That case is out of New Hampshire.
But that's just the beginning, John. There are going to be so many more. Because as you know, every big issue, especially those social issues, wind up in front of the justices usually sooner rather than later.
KING: And, Jeff, you know this better than most. If you could, your take on the legacy left behind by Sandra Day O'Connor.
TOOBIN: You know, I think she had an incredible radar for the center in American life. She was a classic moderate. And it sometimes drove the other justices a little crazy that she didn't have a consistent philosophy.
But she really had her pulse -- hand on the pulse of America, I think, and was remarkably good at steering the court in a direction that would be acceptable to most people. And I think that's what she'll be remembered for.
KING: Jeffrey Toobin, thanks for your insights on this very dramatic day. And more to come as the fight warms up. Thank you, Jeff.
Search and rescue in the Afghan mountains. U.S. Special Forces missing in Afghanistan since Tuesday after their military reinforcements were shot down.
All-American. Family and friends mourn the loss of those service members, 16 total, aboard that downed helicopter. We'll remember the victims.
And returning to our top story, much more on the retirement of Sandra Day O'Connor and what it means for the Supreme Court. A political battle over her replacement now looms.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
KING: Some confusing, perhaps conflicting, developments, or reports anyway, on the search and the investigation of that missing Alabama teenager in Aruba. Let's go now live to our Chris Lawrence on the scene who can give us the latest -- Chris?
CHRIS LAWRENCE, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Yes, John. Here is what we know right now.
We spoke with the police commissioner of Aruba. He says nothing has changed as far as he's concerned. We also spoke with a spokesperson for the prosecutor's office. She told us the investigation is ongoing.
We also tried to reach an attorney for one of those three suspects still in custody. David Kock is out of the country, but we reached him by cellphone, and he said he knows of no change in his client's status, as of right now.
Some of this confusion may be because of terms, trying to translate Dutch law here in Aruba into what we know in the United States. Here in Aruba, they don't really use the word "charge." They say someone is "suspected of" a certain crime. In this case, all three men are suspected of murder one, murder two, and kidnapping leading to murder.
Once they are suspected of that crime, the investigation goes through. Once that investigation is finished, then they repeat the suspicions, so that it's a slightly different term than what we're used to seeing in the United States, but again, it is a different legal system.
And I want to repeat from what we have heard from the police commissioner, from a spokeswoman for the prosecution, and from one of the attorneys for one of the men who is still in custody, nothing has changed, as far as their status is concerned.
KING: Chris Lawrence bringing us the latest from Aruba on a confusing day in that investigation. Thank you, Chris, for your report.
And the Special Forces helicopter that was shot down Tuesday with the loss of 16 lives was coming to the aid of elite U.S. troops who were under fire in the mountains of eastern Afghanistan. Those troops on the ground have been missing since. Let's go live now to our senior Pentagon correspondent Jamie McIntyre -- Jamie?
JAMIE MCINTYRE, CNN SENIOR PENTAGON CORRESPONDENT: John, tonight in Afghanistan, the search for Al Qaeda and Taliban is taking a backseat as the U.S. military puts all of its efforts into looking for some of its own.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
MCINTYRE: U.S. military search teams got a break in the weather Friday as rain and clouds cleared up. But by nightfall, there was still no sign of a small reconnaissance team of special operations troops missing in the rugged mountains of eastern Afghanistan.
The recon team has been unaccounted for since Tuesday when an MH- 47 helicopter carrying 16 U.S. troops, including an eight-man Navy SEAL team, was shot down as it attempted to land with reinforcements. The Pentagon won't say how many troops are missing or when they last made contact. LAWRENCE DI RITA, PENTAGON SPOKESMAN: I think people can appreciate that it's a sensitive matter. And we're trying to be precise in how we talk and trying not to disrupt ongoing operations.
MCINTYRE: The military has acknowledged an unmanned Predator spy plane was lost during the search, but says every available asset is involved in trying to locate the missing troops.
A U.S. military spokesmen in Afghanistan dismissed claims by a purported Taliban spokesman that a U.S. serviceman has been captured, saying there is no evidence that any members of the team have been caught or killed. At the Coronado Navy Base outside San Diego, where some of the Navy SEALs were stationed, a flag at half-staff marks the deadliest day for U.S. forces in Afghanistan since the Taliban was toppled in 2002.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
MCINTYRE: The missing troops are among the most highly trained in the U.S. military, capable of sustaining themselves on the ground for days, even in the harshest conditions. Right now, the U.S. military's top priority in Afghanistan is finding them and rescuing them -- John?
KING: Jamie McIntyre at the Pentagon. Thank you, Jamie.
Eight Navy SEALs and eight members of the Army's 160th Special Operations Aviation Regiment were aboard that Chinook helicopter that crashed in Afghanistan Tuesday. Today, their families are dealing with the loss.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
SELECTMAN RICHARD SEARS, WASHINGTON, CONNECTICUT: This kid should have been born on the Fourth of July. This is the son of America.
KING (voice-over): Friends and neighbors in Washington, Connecticut, remember 34-year-old Major Steve Reich, one of 16 American soldiers killed when their chopper was shot down in Afghanistan.
SEARS: We all thought that Steven's the kind of guy, no matter what kind of a bind he got himself into, he's coming home.
KING: Steve Reich was a baseball star at the Army Academy and carried the flag for Team USA at the World University Games. Friends say he could have played in the major leagues. He was married just four months ago.
SEARS: And he said the two that he loved the most in his life was his wife and his men under his command.
KING: In Franklin, Tennessee, Mayor Tom Miller paid tribute to another soldier aboard the downed helicopter, 36-year-old Sergeant First Class James Tre Ponder III. It was more than just an official statement. Besides being mayor, Miller was Ponder's father-in-law. Ponder and his wife had two young daughters. Miller says the family is comforted by knowing Ponder was serving his country.
MAYOR TOM MILLER, FRANKLIN, TENNESSEE: He's a real warrior. And the warrior in him is what has made this whole situation somewhat comforting for the family.
KING: Thirty-one-year-old Master Sergeant Michael Russell, a flight engineer, also leaves behind a wife and two daughters. They're in Savannah, Georgia. In North Carolina, Lee Russell says his brother Michael and the others were in an elite unit that had a very tough job.
LEE RUSSELL, VICTIM'S BROTHER: They went in when it was bad and helped clean things up and get people out.
KING: Michael Russell was on his sixth mission to Afghanistan. He left just before Memorial Day, phoning his brother first to say good-bye.
RUSSELL: I told him to be careful, told him to be safe, and that we were proud of him, and we'd see him when he got back.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
KING: Tough time. All those families in our thoughts and prayers.
And violence on the rise. Are enemy fighters gaining momentum in Afghanistan? I'll ask Brigadier General Mark Kimmitt.
O'Connor's announcement. She was both a tough and well-respected boss. Personal reflections from one of her former law clerks just ahead.
And a Hollywood feud. Brooke Shields now speaking out against Tom Cruise and his negative views of psychiatry.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
KING: The urgent search for a missing U.S. military team comes amid rising violence in Afghanistan. Are the Taliban and Al Qaeda making a comeback there, even as the insurgency rages on in Iraq? Brigadier General Mark Kimmitt is the deputy director for planning and policy at the U.S. Central Command. He joins me now live from Central Command Headquarters near Tampa, Florida.
General, let's start simply -- I know, for operational security reasons, you can't give us some of the specifics. But can you just update us as best you can on the search for those missing Americans?
BRIG. GEN. MARK KIMMITT, U.S. CENTRAL COMMAND: Well, I think Jamie McIntyre had it pretty good at this point. The operations are ongoing. We're continuing Operation Red Wing. We have finished the recovery operations for the soldiers that, sadly, were killed in the operation. But the operation is ongoing. But there's really no further news other than what you heard earlier.
KING: And, in terms of why those troops are there, General, the intensity of the fight, does that give you any indication of what kind of a target, what kind of enemy there you're dealing with? And specifically, as you know, many have speculated that Usama bin Laden is hiding somewhere up in that area.
KIMMITT: Well, I think it's probably more fair to say that these were former Taliban, possibly A.Q., Al Qaeda, trying to infiltrate into Afghanistan.
KING: Trying to infiltrate into Afghanistan. As you know, elections in the political process (INAUDIBLE) many expecting a rise in violence. Is this an isolated incident or are you seeing more incidents like this?
KIMMITT: Well, we are seeing some of this as the springtime has rolled around. It is clear that the Taliban understand that the parliamentary process, the parliamentary elections are going to happen in September.
They suffered an enormous defeat when President Hamid Karzai was brought into power, and they are fighting hard to ensure that democracy doesn't come to Afghanistan. But they are failing. It is evident that the parliamentary process is moving forward in Afghanistan. And despite their attempts to disrupt the elections, and we expect to see more of this, they will fail.
KING: If you expect to see more of it, and they are intensifying their efforts, do you have enough boots on the ground in Afghanistan to deal with it or do you need more?
KIMMITT: Our commanders are looking at this everyday. And right now, we anticipate the possibility of bringing in some additional forces around the time of the elections. NATO is committed to bringing in some additional battalions. We're taking a look at it, as well. You can be assured that, if the commanders ask for it, they're going to get it.
KING: I want to shift your attention, General Kimmitt, if we can to Iraq for a moment. And the president gave a big speech this week appealing to the American people for patience. In that speech, he was talking about the insurgency. And the president has said it, other senior officials have said there continued to be a flow of, quote, unquote, "foreign fighters" in and out of Iraq.
Why is it that the United States military, working with the Iraqis, has been unable to secure the border? What is the biggest problem?
KIMMITT: Well, I think it's just the sheer size of the border, number one. If you take a look at -- it's about the size of the border that we have with Mexico.
Number two, we have not received all the help we need in the region from the people on the other side of the border. Syria, for example, has been particularly unhelpful in staunching the inflow of foreign fighters from places such as Damascus through their country. So I think a combination of the size of the borders and the lack of help that we're getting from countries such as Syria are adding to the problem.
KING: Don't want to put you too much on the spot on television, General, but, as you know, the president says that the commanders say they have all the troops they need, yet every time a congressional delegation goes to Iraq, members of Congress come back and say, when look the generals in the eyeballs and the colonels in the eyeballs in Iraq, they say they need more troops. Who's telling the truth?
KIMMITT: Well, all I can tell you is that there has never been one of my fellow generals call me up or tell me that they need more troops and that they can't ask for it. Every general that I've worked with when I was over there -- and from my daily correspondent with my fellow generals on the ground -- none of them are asking for more troops. They feel comfortable. And they also feel comfortable that they know, if they need more troops, they'll get more troops.
KING: Brigadier General Mark Kimmitt joining us from Tampa, Florida, at a very difficult time for the U.S. Central Command searching for those missing troops in Afghanistan. General, thank you for your time today, sir.
KIMMITT: Thank you.
KING: The first woman Supreme Court justice announces she's retiring. What her vacancy means to the court. I'll speak with Senators Chuck Schumer and Sam Brownback.
Plus, our Brian Todd sits down with one of her former clerks, personal reflections and insight into this unique woman ahead.
And later, it's Shields versus Cruise, as the actress Brooke Shields goes on the offensive. We'll explain.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
KING: More reaction now to the resignation of Supreme Court Justice Sandra Day O'Connor. Democrats are praising her as an independent thinker. And trying to frame the fight just ahead, they say they want the president to pick someone just like her.
Earlier I spoke with a key member of the Senate Judiciary Committee, New York Democrat Charles Schumer.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
KING: For a Democratic per on the battle that could lie ahead, we're joined by Senator Chuck Schumer, Democrat of New York. Senator Schumer, thank you for joining us today.
You, of course, will have a key perch here as a member of the Judiciary Committee. Let me ask you this question on this day, with Justice O'Connor stepping down, name for me one or two conservatives with whom you might disagree on the issues but who you could support if the president were to send their name up.
SEN. CHUCK SCHUMER, (D) NEW YORK: Well, I'm not going to name judges today. I don't think that's appropriate.
I will say this, I've supported a whole lot of conservatives. So have most Democrats that the president has nominated. And in fact, the ideal justice would be someone just like Justice O'Connor, a mainstream conservative, someone who's thoughtful and someone who is pragmatic.
KING: One name viewed as a bit of a wildcard would be the attorney general, Alberto Gonzalez, a close friend of this president.
SCHUMER: We're not going to get into names today. I don't think that's a very good idea.
I have one test, just one. No litmus test on any specific issue. Will the nominee interpret the law, not make the law? Judges have enormous power. They are not elected. And any judge who thinks that they know better than years of law and jurisprudence shouldn't be on the bench whether they're far left or far right.
KING: Well, you say senator no litmus test. Many of the interest groups on your side of the debate are rushing out statements today saying they view Roe v Wade potentially at risk here with the president's next nominee, could tip the ideological balance of the court.
When you say no litmus test, does that mean that you believe it would be inappropriate for yourself or any Democrat to ask the president's nominee how he or she stands on the issue of Roe v Wade.
SCHUMER: Oh, no. It is appropriate. In fact, it's our obligation to ask them. But you have to ask them a lot of questions. There are judges on the bench right now, for all I know, Sandra Day O'Connor who don't personally support the right to choose, but believe it's part of American jurisprudence.
So it's appropriate to ask these questions. In fact, I think I originated the idea that these questions are appropriate a few years ago. And now they are.
But that doesn't mean you have any single litmus test. You want to get a whole picture of the man or the woman and see are they someone who's going to follow jurisprudence, interpret the law, not make law.
KING: Put into context for us, senator, what you believe to be the distinction. Many expected it would be the chief justice, Mr. Rehnquist, who would step aside. It is a swing vote, instead: Justice O'Connor. How does that make the battle ahead different?
SCHUMER: Well, that's the toughest -- Justice O'Connor's position is the toughest one to fill, because she was right in the middle at four to the left, four to the right. She was the fulcrum at the center of the court, and therefore, everyone, everyone on every issue is going to look and focus on who the new nominee would be and how they compare to Justice O'Connor.
When it's somebody who's a little more cut and dried, if you will, in terms of their views, whether it's Justice Rehnquist or somebody more on the liberal side, it's a little less focused and a little less controversial. This is the toughest test for us, and after all, we haven't had a nominee to the Supreme Court in over ten years.
KING: The toughest test you say. Do you expect, as many do, a battle royale here? Or are you one of the contrarians who think the president will pick somebody relatively in the centrist and there won't be a big fight after all?
SCHUMER: Well, the president is at the rubicon right now. And I think this will affect his entire presidency. If he is going to play to his hard right base and pick somebody who is way out of the mainstream, I think it will create a fight in all likelihood. But it will also (INAUDIBLE) to the president's detriment.
The people -- American people, want us all to come together. And the kinds of fights that have been there in the past, they don't like very much. We have -- I've asked the president for a summit. I authored a letter that every Democrat except Robert Byrd signed, and he wrote his own that said the same thing, saying please consult with us.
You know, when President Clinton consulted with Orrin Hatch and said what about this one, what about that one, Hatch said yes on this, no on that, it allowed him to have his two nominees sail through the court.
If the president starts consulting in a real and earnest, private way with us, that will auger well. If on the other hand, he you know, just sort of puts down the name of a nominee and says take it or leave it and that nominee is out of the mainstream, that will auger poorly not just for this nomination, but for future nominations and for the future of the country over the next several years.
So this is a seminal moment that is before us.
KING: Senator Charles Schumer of New York, a seminal moment as you describe it. I think those on both sides of this fight would agree with that statement. Sir, thank you for your time today.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
KING: Senator Sam Brownback, Republican of Kansas and member of the Judiciary Committee will join us in just a few minutes with a Republican perspective. Also ahead, clerking for Justice O'connor: unique insight into the woman who became the first female on the high court bench from one of her former clerks.
And later, actress Brooke Shields on the attack, firing back at Tom Cruise's recent comments about antidepressants.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK) KING: The retiring justice, Sandra Day O'Connor, has often been called the Supreme Court's critical swing vote, but Justice O'Connor herself rejects that characterization. This is how she explained it to CNN's Judy Woodruff in a 2003 interview.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
SANDRA DAY O'CONNOR, SUPREME COURT JUSTICE: We've had many close decisions through the years I've been here. I think the court was more closely divided in the first ten years in a way than it is today. And there have been many, many 5-4 decisions. So perhaps that's just been a factor of the times, as well.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
KING: Some who know O'Connor, though, have a different take, including a former clerk who spoke with our Brian Todd.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
BRIAN TODD, CNN CORRESPONDENT: The ones who can take us inside the chambers and give us an inside look at the people we frankly never learn much about. And we spoke to a law professor who has vivid memories of Sandra Day O'Connor, including a disarming first encounter.
(voice-over): Jane Stromseth was 31-years-old, fresh out of Yale Law school and a little nervous when she went to interview with Justice Sandra Day O'Connor for a clerkship. The jitters didn't last long.
JANE STROMSETH: She immediately put me at ease. She was warm. She has this amazing gaze. She'll look right through you and ask you very challenging questions.
TODD: But Stromseth stood her ground. And in July, 1988, began a one-year clerkship for O'Connor that would bring her to the epicenter of the American judiciary. More than once, Stromseth said she admired O'Connor's appreciation for differing opinions among her clerks and others. And how she encourage them to disagree in a civil manner.
She says her boss's reputation for being the so-called swing vote on the court was a heavy burden for the justice, but says O'Connor shouldered it with dignity, just as she did her battle with breast cancer which occurred during Stromseth's clerkship.
STROMSETH: Well, my own mother suffered from cancer. So I had a sense how difficult this was. And I think as a woman, I had a special understanding for the challenge that she was facing. But she was determined to carry on her duties.
TODD: And she carried them out with toughness and humor, like the time she poked fun at all the speculation about her health.
O'CONNOR: There was constant media coverage. How does she look? When is she going to step down and give the president another vacancy on the court? You know, she looks pale to me. I don't give her six months.
TODD: A toughness sometimes shown inside her chambers.
STROMSETH: I sometimes said that she demanded effortless perfection from her law clerks. She expected excellent work from her law clerks. And often, we were under enormous pressure, we didn't have a lot of time. And if we didn't quite make the grade, sometimes she would let us know.
TODD: But along with that says Stromseth, was a maternal and genuinely kind side to the justice who would have her law clerks over for Tex Mex lunches and took a strong interest in their children.
STROMSETH: She refers to the children of her clerks as her grand clerks. And I think really values how each individual can make an enormous contribution.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
TODD: Jane Stromseth went on to become an attorney at the State Department. And is now a professor of law at Georgetown University Law Center.
What she takes away from her experience with Sandra Day O'Connor is the impression of a strong woman, able to balance family and career, someone who truly appreciates that there are difficult and divisive issues in society, but that people must fine a dialogue to overcome that -- John.
KING: Brian Todd, thank you for those unique insights.
And war of words, Brooke Shields fires back at Tom Cruise's recent rant against antidepressants. Our Mary Snow has all the details.
Plus, musicians on a mission: final preparations being made for the Live 8 concerts around the world.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
KING: More now on the day's dramatic top story, the resignation of Supreme Court Justice Sandra Day O'Connor and the looming battle now over who will replace her. For that, some Republican perspective now from Senator Sam Brownback of Kansas, a member of the Judiciary Committee.
Senator, thank you for joining us. Democrats are saying what the president should do here is nominate somebody just like Justice O'connor, a moderate conservative in the middle, agree?
SEN. SAM BROWNBACK, (R) KANSAS: Well, I think the president should make the choice on this. In the system, the president nominates and then we examine in committee and then we vote up or down by a 51 vote margin on this. To me, the key, though on this, is to get somebody that will stand by the constitution and the enforcement of that document and what's in the text of the document. and that's the key part of it.
KING: Well, the interest groups on both sides have been firing off releases today. And from the left, if you'll accept that label, many groups saying that they believe that Roe v Wade could potentially hang in the balance, because Justice O'Connor was a key swing vote back in the Casey decision.
Do you believe that to be the case? If the president picks somebody more conservative than Sandra Day O'Connor, could Roe v Wade be overturned by the next Supreme Court and would you support that, sir?
BROWNBACK: Well, I think you could see it overturned, and even have a liberal justice that's appointed to do it. I held a hearing on this just last week quoting a number of liberal jurists who are saying this was poorly-decided law. And they are pro-choice. But they look at the document itself of the Constitution, they're saying that this issue of having a constitutional right to abortion is not within the document itself. And that's liberal jurists that are saying that.
So, I think you could get it from either side. And that's why I'm looking for somebody to go on the court that looks at the Constitution and enforces it as the document, not as trying to bring rights out of the air that are not in the document.
KING: Earlier in the program, we spoke to a Democratic colleague, Senator Chuck Schumer, a friend of yours, but not eye to eye on most issues. He said no litmus test, but then he said, of course, it's appropriate to ask the nominee, would you support or would you vote to reverse Roe v Wade. Is that an appropriate question?
BROWNBACK: I don't know that it is, because what's taking place too much in the courts today, is it's becoming a political body and not a legal body. The Supreme Court is supposed to be a court of limited jurisdiction as all the federal courts, and it's supposed to enforce the Constitution and the laws that are constitutional and the determination of those laws. It's not to be a political body that leans left, leans right. It's supposed to look at the document itself and enforce the document itself.
KING: As this confirmation battle plays out this summer and into the fall, looming of course, will be next year's congressional elections. With all this noise, you say the Supreme Court shouldn't be a political body, but this certainly will be a partisan, political battle. Will it not?
BROWNBACK: Well, there's going to be obviously a lot of politics that come into it, but it's because, very much because the court itself has gone into so many areas that have been in the past the jurisdiction of the legislative bodies that the court has stayed out of, on issues like life, like marriage, like private property rights and the distinction or the issue last week. The court has gotten more and more and more into those that have brought them more and more and more into a politicized position. That's just really not what it should be. It should be about the Constitution, not about some super legislative body.
KING: Let's step back if we can. Senator, you are considering a run for the White House. The man currently in the White House, as you so rightly note, this is his choice. He will make this choice at a time his standing when it comes to the war in Iraq is down, when his signature domestic initiative, Social Security, is treading water at best, perhaps in trouble. Assess the political moment, if you will, for a second-term president, who now, after four-and-a-half years, get the momentous choice of a Supreme Court justice?
BROWNBACK: Well, I think it's a key political moment for President Bush. But also, one of the things I really admire about President Bush is the opinion polls can go up, they can go down with him, but he has a set philosophy. He's articulated it, particularly on judges. During the campaign, he spoke often about appointing judges that will stand by the law, stand by the Constitution and not try to rewrite the document.
He spoke often about this to great applause, I might add. And I think you'll see him appoint somebody that stays within the text of the Constitution.
KING: Senator Sam Brownback of Kansas, the Republican, a key conservative voice on the battle looming just ahead. Sir, we appreciate your thought and insight on this day.
BROWNBACK: Good to join you.
KING: Thank you, sir. Have a great weekend.
BROWNBACK: Thanks.
KING: Shields versus Cruise. Actress Brooke Shields responds to what she calls Tom Cruise's ridiculous rant.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
KING: Nine concerts, nine cities, 150 of the world's best known musicians, and a global audience potentially in the billions. Final preparations under way for the Live 8 concerts tomorrow. The goal is to raise awareness about poverty in Africa, and influence G-8 leaders to take action, and come up with more money when they meet next week in Scotland.
Tomorrow's concerts will take place in London, Paris, Berlin, Rome, Philadelphia; Barrie, Ontario; Tokyo, Johannesburg and Moscow. And tomorrow night, CNN's Christiane Amanpour examines global poverty and the West's response. "Can We Save Them?" It's a prime-time special at 7:00 Eastern, only here on CNN.
In the same week "War of the Worlds" is storming box offices nationwide, a war of sorts is erupting between star Tom Cruise and actress Brooke Shields. CNN's Mary Snow is live in New York with the latest on this very public battle, pitting religion against science and actor against actor -- Mary.
MARY SNOW, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, John, the friction between the two stars was initially triggered by comments made by Tom Cruise over postpartum depression. Now, Brooke Shields has fired back, calling his remarks "a disservice to mothers everywhere."
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
SNOW (voice-over): As Tom Cruise touts his new movie, "War of the Worlds," an off-screen plot being dubbed "war of the words" is evolving, co-starring Brooke Shields. The actress has fired back at Cruise in a "New York Times" editorial, answering his criticism of her use of antidepressants following the birth of her daughter.
In it, she writes: "Let me take a wild guess and say that Mr. Cruise has never suffered from postpartum depression."
As Cruise has become more outspoken about his beliefs in the Church of Scientology and his disbelief in psychiatry, Cruise has singled out Shields and her book on postpartum depression.
Things heated up last week when Matt Lauer of NBC's "Today Show" interviewed Cruise.
TOM CRUISE, ACTOR: The thing that I'm saying about Brooke is that there's misinformation, OK? And she doesn't understand the history of psychiatry. She doesn't understand, in the same way that you don't understand it, Matt.
SNOW: Shields says it's Cruise who doesn't understand, explaining that postpartum depression is caused by hormonal shifts that occur after childbirth.
As for Cruise saying depression can be treated with vitamins and exercise, Shields dispels that, saying she felt overwhelmed after giving birth to her daughter Rowan in 2003. She says: "I wasn't thrilled to be taking drugs. In fact, I prematurely stopped taking them and had a relapse that almost led me to drive my car into a wall, with Rowan in the back seat."
Shields credits medication and therapy with saving her. She adds: "If any good can come of Mr. Cruise's ridiculous rant, let's hope that it gives much needed attention to a serious disease."
In trying to get Cruise's reaction to Shields' editorial, representatives for the actor were not immediately available.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
SNOW: The American Psychiatric Association says that postpartum depression is caused by a change in hormones and can be treated with either medication and therapy, or both. And it estimates that nearly one in every 10 new mothers experienced some form of postpartum depression -- John.
KING: Mary Snow, thank you. That's one fight the Supreme Court won't settle. Thank you, Mary.
Our regular Friday feature, "The Inside Edge" with Carlos Watson will return next week. And remember, you can always catch WOLF BLITZER REPORTS at this time, 5:00 p.m. Eastern. "LOU DOBBS TONIGHT" starts right now, and Lou is standing by.
LOU DOBBS, HOST, "LOU DOBBS TONIGHT": John, thank you.
END
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