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Your World Today
Saddam Hussein, Co-Defendants Unruly in Court; Northeast Digging Out After Record Snowfall; Released Video Appears to Show British Troops Beating Iraqi Boys; White House Holds Press Conference on Cheney Hunting Accident
Aired February 13, 2006 - 12:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
JIM CLANCY, CNN INTERNATIONAL ANCHOR: Outbursts, scuffles, justice Iraqi style. Defendant Saddam Hussein screams at the trial judge. A co-defendant fights with a guard.
HALA GORANI, CNN INTERNATIONAL ANCHOR: Another trial, a similar story. It's been four years since the war crimes trial of Slobodan Milosevic started. Lots of rhetoric, but little results.
CLANCY: And so much for that mild winter in the Northeastern U.S. The region has been dumped on, and it's digging out right now from mounds of white, wet misery.
Right now, it's 8:00 p.m. in Baghdad, high noon in Boston, Massachusetts.
I'm Jim Clancy.
GORANI: I'm Hala Gorani.
Welcome to our viewers throughout the world.
This CNN International and this is YOUR WORLD TODAY.
CLANCY: Thanks, everyone, for being with us.
The trial of Saddam Hussein resuming on Monday with the tantrums, the scuffles and lots of high drama. The deposed Iraqi leader shouted, slammed his fist and berated the chief judge. The other co- defendants were equally belligerent and defiant.
Aneesh Raman is in Baghdad. He has more on a stormy session.
Saddam Hussein didn't really want go to this one, but he went into the courtroom and he had a message, didn't he?
ANEESH RAMAN, CNN CORRESPONDENT: He did. Defiance, Jim, his message throughout.
He was forced into court today. For the first time, Saddam wearing not the traditional suit but donning a dishdasha, a traditional robe.
He entered, the first of the eight defendants, not from the usual area they bring them in. He wasn't struggling with the guards as he walked into the docks, but as he stood there, he began screaming at the chief judge, calling him an agent of America, calling him a criminal. And he also had some choice words for U.S. President George Bush.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
SADDAM HUSSEIN, FMR. IRAQI DICTATOR (through translator): Down with the traders, down with traders! Down with Bush! Long live the nation! Long live the nation!
(END VIDEO CLIP)
RAMAN: Now, Saddam's half-brother, Barzan Hassan al-Tikriti, the former head of intelligence here, he also defied the court, at one point sitting on the floor, his back to the judge. You see him there wearing not the traditional robe he's worn every time before, but instead what he says were his pajamas.
He sat on the ground, facing those of us in the media gallery, glaring at us for about an hour and a half. Then, as we saw the witnesses start to testify, he took his seat again.
The chief judge really trying to push ahead with this trial, to stop these diatribes from Saddam and the other co-defendants. We heard two witnesses today, the first time we've heard from former members of Saddam's regime, one his former chief of staff, the other an intelligence officer. No bombshells in terms of the testimony, but they did verify certain documents that the prosecution presented, including, Jim, an execution order they say was signed by Saddam Hussein -- Jim.
CLANCY: This is a new judge in this trial. He's from Halabja, a village that was decimated, allegedly, by chemical attacks by Saddam Hussein's regime. This judge is constantly under attack.
How's he holding up?
RAMAN: He's holding up pretty well. He has clearly from the start tried to bring order to this courtroom that suffered chaos under the previous chief judge, Rizgar Mohammed Amin. He was widely condemned in Iraq for being too lenient, for allowing Saddam to speak at will.
But that issue you raised, where he is from and what happened there, that is an issue the defense team has lodged an appeal over, the chief judge is biased and they want him removed. No word yet on when that appeal will be ruled by the court -- Jim.
CLANCY: Live in Baghdad, Aneesh Raman.
Aneesh, thank you.
GORANI: If it looks as if Saddam Hussein's trial may drag on for a while, consider this: the trial of former Yugoslavian president Slobodan Milosevic has now entered its fifth year. The proceedings have been delayed repeatedly because of Milosevic's ill health. The former leader is defending himself against charges of genocide, crimes against humanity, and war crimes in Kosovo, Bosnia and Croatia during the 1990's breakup of Yugoslavia. The trial has so far cost about $500 million.
CLANCY: Five hundred million?
GORANI: Half a billion.
CLANCY: That's pretty historic.
Our question in our inbox this day...
GORANI: We're asking you this: Is the Saddam Hussein trial, in your opinion, headed in the same direction as the Milosevic trial?
E-mail us your comments and your thoughts, YWT@CNN.com.
CLANCY: Don't forget to include your name and where you are watching us in your note to us.
GORANI: Now, let's move on.
The U.S. military says four American troops in Afghanistan have been killed by a roadside bomb. It says militants fired on the troops with guns and rocket-propelled grenades after the bomb exploded.
The incident happened in the troubled central province of Uruzgan. A total of 214 U.S. personnel have been killed in and around Afghanistan since U.S. troops invaded in late 2001 -- Jim.
CLANCY: Well, elsewhere in Iraq, British military police say they have arrested one person in connection with the video that apparently shows British soldiers beating and kicking Iraqi boys. All of this originated with a report in a tabloid newspaper called "News of the World." It released some of that video over the weekend.
We get more now from Emma Murphy.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
EMMA MURPHY, REPORTER, ITV NEWS (voice over): They are images that take the reputation of the British army in Iraq to a new low. Army investigators are seeking to identify the soldiers seen savagely beating and booting Iraqi civilians in a disturbing video filmed in the south of the country.
It's believed the soldiers are from the 20th Armored Brigade. At least three have already been identified and face arrest.
Video taken after a riot was apparently filmed by an off-duty soldier who's cackling commentary can be heard throughout.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Die.
MURPHY: Publication of the macabre home video has caused outrage across the Arab world, and security around British troops has now been stepped up.
MAJ. GEN. PATRICK CORDINGLY (RET.), BRITISH ARMY: I think there's a possibility there will be repercussions. I would like to say the Iraqis are pragmatic, but of course this has been stirred up by the media both within this country and also in Iraq itself, and following off from the Danish problem.
I think the British soldiers will go into high, high alert now. And let's hope nothing happens, but it's possible.
MURPHY: Defense Secretary John Reid was meeting former soldiers at Downing Street and avoided comment on the latest controversy.
Tony Blair, speaking in South Africa, has promised a full investigation.
TONY BLAIR, BRITISH PRIME MINISTER: We take seriously any allegations of mistreatment. And those will be investigated very fully, indeed.
MURPHY: While insisting such abuse should be kept in context, the Ministry of Defense has confirmed that one man has now been arrested in connection with the video.
Emma Murphy, ITV News.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
GORANI: Now, the snow has stopped, but the problems have not. The Northeastern U.S. is digging out after a record-breaking snowstorm over the weekend. The severe weather had a huge impact on travel in the weekend.
For an update, we turn to Allan Chernoff at New York's LaGuardia airport.
Allan, what's the situation now for travelers?
ALLAN CHERNOFF, CNN SR. CORRESPONDENT: Well, Hala, it is improving with each hour.
When we arrived here before dawn, LaGuardia airport looked like a shelter. People were sleeping on cots, on chairs. Even some people sleeping on their luggage.
Now things are beginning to return to normal, the normal sort of chaos that you often see at airports. Long lines, still plenty of delays, but at least the flights are finally taking off.
The first flight from American Airlines was at 8:00 local time this morning. That was the first flight American was able to get out of LaGuardia in a day and a half.
Why did it take so long? Well, here at LaGuardia, they got 25 inches of snow, really a tremendous amount of snow here. And it took a long time to clear it all up. In fact, the plows are still at work as I speak. They are just trying to get rid of all of that snow. More than 300 acres of tarmac here at LaGuardia, and that's relatively small for an airport here.
So, they're still at work trying to clean things up. And hopefully late this afternoon things will be entirely back to normal -- Hala.
GORANI: And that's the thing. What should travelers do? There's a big backlog of flights. I mean, who do they need to check with and how might this impact travel for the coming 24 hours?
CHERNOFF: Well, Hala, the best thing that people can do if they're trying to fly into New York is not to do so. I would suggest just waiting another day. Tomorrow things certainly will be a lot better than they are right now. But obviously, you do want to be checking with your carrier before going to the airport.
The delays still are fairly extensive but far, far improved from earlier today, and of course from yesterday.
GORANI: Allan Chernoff at LaGuardia airport.
Thanks very much.
CLANCY: All right. That's the view for New York City. Let's get a broader view, though.
GORANI: All right. How is this wintry weather affecting travel plans around the world for all those people hoping to fly into the U.S., but also all those hoping to fly out of that northeastern part of the United States?
CLANCY: Fritz Nivose at the International Weather Center -- Fritz.
(WEATHER REPORT)
GORANI: Coming up, more on that hunting accident involving U.S. Vice President Dick Cheney.
CLANCY: Also, what went wrong after Hurricane Katrina? We'll go live to Washington for the latest of a scathing new congressional report. Blame for everyone.
Stay with CNN.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
GORANI: You're with YOUR WORLD TODAY on CNN International.
A hospital in Texas says the man accidentally shot by U.S. Vice President Dick Cheney during a hunting trip is doing well.
Ed Lavandera is in Corpus Christi, Texas, with more.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
ED LAVANDERA, CNN CORRESPONDENT: What we understand, and this is coming from a witness that was with the hunting party on Saturday afternoon, and also a friend of the vice president's, that this hunting group had become separated. Mr. Cheney and someone else were off to one side, and Mr. Whittington and some others had -- were trying to rejoin that portion of the group and was coming up behind Mr. Cheney when Mr. Cheney locked on to some quail that were in the area and he turned and fired at the quail and did not see that Mr. Whittington, who was wearing a bright orange vest, was in the vicinity.
Mr. Whittington was peppered with the pellets from the shotgun blast on his face and on his neck and torso and was airlifted here to this hospital in Corpus Christi, which is about 30 mile ways from where the accident took place.
A person who was with the vice president, Katherine Armstrong, (ph) -- her family owns the ranch where the vice president and these other hunters were hunting over the weekend -- says that this kind of thing, even though it might sound a little strange to non-hunters, is a relatively common thing. And even though it's serious, that Mr. Whittington is doing well and will be OK.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
CLANCY: All right. That was Ed Lavandera reporting there from Texas.
Well, meantime, Lebanon marking a somber anniversary. It was one year ago on Valentine's Day that the former prime minister Rafik Hariri was killed in a massive truck bomb attack. The event shook the nation and forced the Syrian army station there for years to withdraw.
Brent Sadler has a look at the current politics and the memory of Rafik Hariri.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
BRENT SADLER, CNN SR. INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT (voice over): A risky return to Lebanon's political frontline. Young member of parliament Saad Hariri breaking six months of self-exile, fearing a plot to kill him, urging Lebanese to support a mass demonstration Tuesday, the first anniversary of the assassination of his father, Rafik Hariri, inheriting power and risk.
The long-serving prime minister was blown up by a massive truck bomb. A murder many Lebanese blame on neighboring Syria, implicated by a United Nations investigation as a prime suspect.
WALID JUMBLATT, DRUZE LEADER: (INAUDIBLE) somewhere or nowhere? This is a big issue. Can the investigation contain the Syrian regime, yes or no?
SADLER: Hariri's violent death set off a political earthquake here. A fiercely anti-Syrian, pro-independence movement called the Cedar Revolution swamped Beirut.
Decades of Syrian control came to an abrupt end, but the seismic changes brought renewed bloodshed, too, targeting prominent anti- Syrians.
SAAD HARIRI, LEADER, PARLIAMENTARY MAJORITY: I regret losing very good people, friends, brothers that were with us last year freeing Lebanon from the Syrian troops.
SADLER: But a glooming Beirut spring withered, says this leading Cedar revolutionary by miscalculation and bitter feuding among a once- united Syrian opposition.
JUMBLATT: We failed. It was a total missed opportunity, historical missed opportunity. And now we are paying the price.
SADLER (on camera): A price that seems to favor Syria, shrugging off U.S.-led Western pressure, promoting top Syrian officials already accused of lying to the U.N. murder probe.
(voice over): Embattled Syrian president Bashar al-Assad is back to the hilt by an increasingly defiant Iran, counting on the armed militant Lebanese group Hezbollah as a trump card.
JUMBLATT: They are just blackmailing the Arabs and the international community, telling them, either you want stability, we can guarantee stability, or chaos. If you want to disband the Syrian regime, we'll have chaos. That's it.
SADLER: Like Jumblatt, the Hariri camp is bunkered down with fortress-like security amid rising tension, still counting the days it takes to discover the truth.
Brent Sadler, CNN, Beirut.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
CLANCY: We're going to take a short break here on YOUR WORLD TODAY.
There's more to come, including a global financial market update.
GORANI: Now, earlier, stocks on Wall Street were in a slump. We'll see if things have picked up in the last hour.
Stay with us.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
DARYN KAGAN, CNN ANCHOR: I'm Daryn Kagan at CNN Center in Atlanta. More of YOUR WORLD TODAY in just a few minutes. First, though, let's check on stories making headlines here in the U.S.
A hearing to determine sentencing is under way this hour for convicted child killer Joseph Smith. A jury recommended the Florida man die for the kidnapping, rape and strangulation of an 11-year-old Sarasota girl.
Carlie Brucia's abduction was taped by a surveillance camera two years ago and played a key role in Smith's conviction last November. At the hearing we heard from the little girl's family.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
LORI JANE BRUCIA, CARLIE'S AUNT: Our family is forever broken. Our nightmares about what you've done to her, our hearts will never heal. Our family has been left with an overwhelming sadness and a void that pictures just can't fill.
Our Carlie, our hope for the future, for the better part of human beings that she possessed, innocence, is gone for ever.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
KAGAN: Smith's defense attorneys argued that his life should be spared because of his history of drug addiction.
In Washington this morning, several families that lost relatives in mining accidents told their stories on Capitol Hill. Fourteen deaths from two separate mining accidents in West Virginia last month prompted the forum. Families from the recent accidents testified, as did relatives who lost loved ones in an Alabama mining accident in 2001.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
WANDA BLEVINS, MINING ACCIDENT WIDOW: But there were several recommendations that was made, and had they been implemented and followed, gentlemen, you would not be dealing with Sago today. You would not be dealing with Sago today.
Nothing was taken into consideration after Brookwood. Nothing.
So, did my husband die in vain? I don't know. But he should have never died. My husband should have never died. My life should not be in turmoil right now.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
KAGAN: Today's event is being billed as an effort to ensure that the voices of miners and miners' families are heard.
Folks across the Northeast and Mid Atlantic region are still digging their way out of a wintry mess. It's from a fierce Nor'easter that dumped more than two feet of snow in some areas and piled on a record 27 inches in New York Central Park.
Planes are being de-iced, and hundreds of stranded passengers at airports in the region and across the country are being rebooked.
So, what does the weather look like today across the country? Jacqui Jeras has that for us.
Hi, Jacqui.
JACQUI JERAS, CNN METEOROLOGIST: Hi, Daryn.
(WEATHER REPORT)
KAGAN: Stay with CNN for continuing coverage of the storm's aftermath. We'll have the latest from the runways to the roadways. And you can visit a special section of our Web site for photos, forecasts and the latest news. The address is CNN.com/winter.
In suburban Chicago, two inmates are back in police custody today. The fugitives surrendered early this morning after holding up in an apartment with a woman and her children for several hours.
Authorities say no one was hurt. Police say Eric Bernard (ph) and Tyrone Everheart (ph) broke out with four other inmates from the Cook County jail late Saturday. The other escapees were captured within hours of their escape.
"LIVE FROM" with Kyra Phillips starts at the top of the hour.
Meanwhile, YOUR WORLD TODAY continues after a quick break.
I'm Daryn Kagan.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
GORANI: Now, we're going to take you live to the White House, where the press secretary, Scott McClellan, is providing his daily briefing and potentially addressing the matter of the vice president's shooting of a fellow quail hunter over the weekend in Texas.
Let's listen in.
SCOTT MCCLELLAN, WHITE HOUSE PRESS SECRETARY: ... we're working to address, like making sure we have a skilled and educated workforce for the 21st century, looking at rising health care costs and issues related to that, making sure that we continue to keep America open to free and fair trade, and looking at energy issues as well.
That's all I've got to begin with. So I'll be glad to go to your questions.
QUESTION: Scott, do you think that the shooting accident involving the vice president on Saturday should have been disclosed to the public on Saturday?
MCCLELLAN: Well, I think that the first priority was making sure that Harry Whittington, Mr. Whittington, was getting the medical care that he needed. And I think that's where everybody's attention should have been focused and was focused when the hunting accident took place.
And in terms of here in Washington, there was information that we were continuing to learn about throughout the course of that evening and into early Sunday morning. The initial report that we received was that there had been a hunting accident. We didn't know who all was involved, but a member of his party was involved in that hunting accident. And then additional details continued to come in overnight.
And it's important, always, to work to make sure you get information out like this as quickly as possible. But it's also important to make sure that the first priority is focused where it should be, and that is making sure that Mr. Whittington has the care that he needs.
And the vice president went to the hospital yesterday to visit him, the vice president was pleased to see that he was doing well and in good spirits. And the president is, as well.
QUESTION: He got immediate medical attention. Aside from medical attention, which I'm sure was swift, isn't there a public disclosure requirement that should have kicked in immediately?
MCCLELLAN: The Vice President's Office was working to make sure information got out. We learned additional information overnight, as I said throughout the night we were learning additional information here in Washington.
The vice president spoke with Mrs. Katharine Armstrong, and they agreed that she should make that information public. She was an eyewitness. She saw what occurred. And she called her local paper to provide those facts to the local paper. And the Vice President's Office was ready to comment on it at that point.
Now, keep in mind there's not a traveling press corps that was along with the vice president on this trip. And with that said, though, as I said, I think it's always important to get information out as quickly as possible. As you know, the way we have typically approached things, that I've typically approached things is -- I think of a similar incident when the president was in Gleneagles, Scotland, and he had a biking accident with a police officer there. And I quickly tried to get that information to the press through the pool reporter and provide that information to you all.
QUESTION: As the press secretary, are you satisfied with the way this was handled?
MCCLELLAN: I know that the Vice President's Office was working to pull together information and make sure that information got out. And the vice president felt that Mrs. Armstrong should be the first one to go out there and provide that information to the public, which she did.
MCCLELLAN: And she reached out early Sunday morning to do so.
QUESTION: Are you satisfied with the way...
MCCLELLAN: Well, I think you can always looks back at these issues and look at how to do a better job.
QUESTION: It's not really a hindsight issue here. I mean, the vice president made a decision about how the public should be notified that basically is at odds with the standard practice of how the president's own press operation in this White House notifies the public. Isn't that right?
MCCLELLAN: Well, again, this was handled by the Vice President's Office. The vice president thought that Mrs. Armstrong should be the first one to get that information out since she was an eyewitness.
QUESTION: Let's just be clear here.
The vice president of the United States accidentally shoots a man and he feels that it's appropriate for a ranch owner who witnessed this to tell the local Corpus Christi newspaper and not the White House Press corps at large or notify the public in a national way?
MCCLELLAN: Well, I think we all know that once it is made public, then it's going to be news and all of you are going to be seeking that information.
And the Vice President's Office was ready to provide additional information to reporters. There was no traveling White House Press Corps with the vice president as there is with the president in a situation like this.
So there's some different circumstances. And the other circumstance here was that someone was injured and needed medical care, and the vice president's team was making sure he was getting taken care of and that he got to the hospital and received additional treatment.
QUESTION: Excuse me. Let me just follow up.
I know you had a chance to speak to, I assume, the president and the vice president today. Did the vice president follow all of the appropriate safety procedures that are familiar to hunters in this case?
MCCLELLAN: I think if you got specifics about this, probably direct them to the Vice President's Office. I don't know all the specifics about it, but I think Mrs. Armstrong spoke publicly about how this incident occurred.
And if I recall, she pointed out that the protocol was not followed by Mr. Whittington, when it came to notifying the others that he was there.
And so, you know, unfortunately these type of hunting accidents happen from time to time. And all of us were most concerned about Mr. Whittington.
And as I said, the vice president was glad to see he was doing fine yesterday and that he's in good spirits. He is someone that many of us here know and have great respect for.
And we look forward to him getting out of the hospital soon.
QUESTION: Scott, there's a report coming out of a sheriff's deputy there who said that he was prevented from interviewing the vice president by the Secret Service.
Do you know anything about that? And is that appropriate?
MCCLELLAN: No, I don't know anything about that. You have got to direct that to the Secret Service.
My understanding was that Secret Service took the appropriate steps to inform law enforcement.
QUESTION: Scott, what was the input of the White House?
MCCLELLAN: But, again, check that with Secret Service.
QUESTION: What was your input once you learned of this? Did you just turn it over to the Vice President's Office? Did you know they were turning it over to a private citizen?
MCCLELLAN: Well, in terms of my involvement, first of all, Saturday night I found out that there was a hunting accident -- it was late Saturday night -- of a member in his party.
But I did not know who was involved in that hunting accident.
It wasn't until very early Sunday morning that I found out that the vice president was involved in this accident.
And of course, in a position like mine, I was urging that that information be made available as quickly as possible. And the Vice President's Office was working to get that information out.
QUESTION: So as of Saturday night, you didn't know, the White House did not know, that Vice President Cheney...
MCCLELLAN: No, there are details coming in throughout that night and into the morning. I mean, there's additional information coming in at 3:00 in the morning and 4:00 in the morning and even after that.
QUESTION: But again, Saturday night you did not know the vice president was involved?
QUESTION: You just thought something from his -- someone from his hunting party?
MCCLELLAN: I personally was informed by the Situation Room that there had been a hunting accident and that it was a member of the vice president's hunting party, but I didn't have additional information than that at this point.
Obviously, I asked questions about, "Is he OK and who was involved?", and they didn't have those facts at that point.
QUESTION: So Sunday morning you first learned that...
MCCLELLAN: Early Sunday morning, correct.
QUESTION: And then what was your reaction about letting the public know? Did the Vice President's Office tell you they would turn this over to Anne Armstrong and...
MCCLELLAN: Yes, I had additional discussions and I knew that the Vice President's Office was working to get information. I'm not going to get into all of the discussions that are had, but it was the Vice President's Office that took the lead on this.
QUESTION: But were you aware they were just going to allow a private citizen to inform a local paper of this and not beyond that? Did you not...
MCCLELLAN: I'm not going to get into all the discussions -- I'm not going to get the -- or suggestions that I make about specific matters like that. I can only tell you the way I've done it in the past for you all.
QUESTION: What time on Sunday did you learn that Vice President Dick Cheney was the shooter?
MCCLELLAN: It was early. I was woken up.
QUESTION: Give me a sense of time, at least some sort of sense...
MCCLELLAN: Probably in the 6:00 range or so. Usually I'm up at 5:00, but it was Sunday.
QUESTION: And who woke you up and told you?
MCCLELLAN: I'm sorry?
QUESTION: Who told you?
MCCLELLAN: I just had discussions with staff. I'll leave it at that.
QUESTION: Was it Cheney's gun? Is that his gun, that shotgun?
MCCLELLAN: I'm sorry?
QUESTION: Was it the vice president's gun?
MCCLELLAN: You'll have to talk to the Vice President's Office and check that fact.
QUESTION: You don't know.
MCCLELLAN: You can check with their office.
QUESTION: (OFF-MIKE) this morning that the president was informed Saturday night by Karl Rove and Andy Card.
MCCLELLAN: Yes, initially by Andy Card.
QUESTION: At that point, what was he informed of? Was he informed that the vice president had accidentally shot somebody? MCCLELLAN: No, I think, initially, again, Andy had the same report that I had or a very similar report to what I had. And so we didn't know who was involved.
But then there was additional information that was coming in later in the night, or later in the day and on into the morning.
QUESTION: (OFF-MIKE) vice president and find out that he was the shooter. How is that possible?
MCCLELLAN: I can only tell you what the facts are.
QUESTION: It doesn't make any sense, though. This happens at 5:30 on Saturday, and you're saying that until the morning, the president of the United States...
MCCLELLAN: No, I didn't say that. I said there's additional information coming in later that evening and into the morning hours of Sunday.
QUESTION: When did the president know that the vice president was the shooter? What time?
MCCLELLAN: Again, there's additional information coming in that night. And the details continued to come in throughout the morning -- into the Sunday morning time period.
QUESTION: The vice president did not call the president to tell him he was the shooter?
MCCLELLAN: Go ahead.
QUESTION: Katharine Armstrong talked to CNN Sunday evening. She said that she thought this was going to become a story so she was going to go to the local press.
She also told CNN that she did not believe the Vice President's Office was aware that she was going to go to the local press. How do you square that with your account?
MCCLELLAN: The vice president spoke with her directly. And they agreed that she would make it public.
QUESTION: So you're saying that she's lying? That her statement...
MCCLELLAN: No. You ought to check with her.
QUESTION: We did check with her. So you're saying that that's not correct.
MCCLELLAN: The vice president spoke directly with Mrs. Armstrong, and they agreed that she would make the information public. QUESTION: Scott, it's getting very confusing to try to figure out who knew what when, and why, once Mr. Whittington's immediate medical needs were being addressed, it sounds like everything just shut down. Was there no staff member with the vice president...
MCCLELLAN: Actually, as I pointed out, there was information that was coming in to people back here all the way at 3:00 in the morning and beyond. So additional information was coming to light from what occurred down in the Corpus Christi area of Texas.
QUESTION: Over the roughly 12 hours or so, none of that information -- it took 12 hours for someone to tell someone up here...
MCCLELLAN: Well, again, keep in mind two things.
One, the very first priority was making sure Mr. Whittington was getting the medical care and that's where all efforts were focused.
There wasn't a press corps traveling with the vice president. He didn't have his full entourage that he might have on other trips, official trips.
This was a weekend hunting trip. And then, secondary to that is gathering the facts. And so you want to get the facts together so you can provide that information to the public, and I think that's important to do. And so they gathered facts together and those facts were coming back to us throughout the evening and into the morning hours of Sunday.
QUESTION: Who was gathering the facts? Who was doing that?
MCCLELLAN: Well, I think there's information on the ground there, as well as information then being provided from the ground there being provided back here.
QUESTION: And who was doing the providing and who were they providing it to?
MCCLELLAN: Well, people with the Vice President's Office.
I think you can probably -- I would check with his office on more specifics.
QUESTION: So when did the president definitively know that the vice president had shot somebody?
MCCLELLAN: I'm sorry?
QUESTION: When did the president know that the vice president had shot somebody?
MCCLELLAN: He was learning additional details into that evening on Saturday.
(CROSSTALK)
QUESTION: ... vice president that pulled the trigger, when did that detail...
MCCLELLAN: We didn't know the full details.
But I think he was informed because Karl -- I think his deputy chief of staff had spoken with Mrs. Armstrong and provided him additional update in that evening. So there were more circumstances known Saturday evening so the president was getting more information about who was involved and that was late Saturday evening.
QUESTION: So he knew Saturday evening, Scott, definitively? Did the president know...
MCCLELLAN: Some additional information, yes, and that the vice president was involved, but didn't know the full facts of what had occurred.
(CROSSTALK)
QUESTION: He knew Saturday night? He knew Saturday night?
QUESTION: Straight chronological question so you don't have to yell...
MCCLELLAN: Sure.
QUESTION: If the deputy chief of staff had a conversation with the president late Saturday night, what time was that conversation? And did the information -- though developing at the time -- contain the fact that the vice president had actually been the shooter?
MCCLELLAN: And I don't know the specific time. I know that Andy Card talked to him initially, probably in the -- my sense is probably in the 7:00 to 8:00 range initially. And then it was later that evening when he found out additional information.
But we still didn't have all the details at that point. And additional details were coming in to Andy Card at even 3:00 in the morning and beyond.
QUESTION: So let me just...
MCCLELLAN: Let me finish this, because what we're trying to do from here -- you know, in the course of the night -- is get more information and find out exactly what occurred.
QUESTION: All right. So if I may, then -- the chief of staff at 7:00 o'clock to 8:00 o'clock tells the president that there was an incident. Later in the evening, the deputy chief of staff tells the president that the vice president was, in fact, the shooter.
MCCLELLAN: Yes. Correct. That's correct.
QUESTION: And the further details then unfolded throughout the course of the early morning...
MCCLELLAN: That's correct. Additional information was coming out.
QUESTION: Sunday morning at 6:00 o'clock, you were clear personally that the vice president had, in fact, been the shooter?
MCCLELLAN: That's correct. That's correct.
QUESTION: Thank you.
QUESTION: Hold on one second. Human beings are not normally this inefficient. Was the vice president immediately clear that he had accidentally shot his friend or not? Or did that information become available later?
You make it seem there's all this information that had to develop.
MCCLELLAN: No, I wouldn't suggest that at all. I'm sure that that was the case. Mrs. Armstrong was there and saw the incident.
(CROSSTALK)
QUESTION: ... what information had to trickle in?
MCCLELLAN: Well, again, what's important -- when it happened -- was to make sure that medical care was getting to Mr. Whittington. That's where all the attention was focused -- and making sure he was getting to the hospital.
(CROSSTALK)
QUESTION: Everybody agrees that's fine.
MCCLELLAN: That's correct.
QUESTION: And that didn't seem to me that that would take an inordinate amount of time. It certainly wouldn't take...
MCCLELLAN: This is happening Saturday evening.
QUESTION: So you've got a Situation Room here, you've got people who monitor stuff. It's impossible to find out -- I mean the vice president knew immediately: Oh, no, I've shot somebody accidentally. And it takes 22 hours to...
MCCLELLAN: You know what his first reaction was? His first reaction was: Go to Mr. Whittington and get his team in there to provide him medical care.
QUESTION: Why is it that it took so long for the president, for you, for anybody else to know that the vice president accidentally shot somebody?
MCCLELLAN: Well, early the next morning, Mrs. Armstrong reached out to the Corpus paper -- that's her local paper -- to provide them information.
QUESTION: Are you saying that you don't know within the White House? What took so long? MCCLELLAN: Listen again to what I said. The first priority is making sure Mr. Whittington is receiving medical care. Secondary to that is making sure you gets the facts together and then, as quickly as possible, provide that information to the public.
Now, the vice president agreed with Mrs. Armstrong that it was best that she provide that information publicly first because she was...
QUESTION: That's fine if you want to make it public that way...
MCCLELLAN: She was an eyewitness to what occurred and could provide the facts to the press. And the Vice President's Office was ready. They were on point to provide additional comment on the incident that took place.
QUESTION: Do you think it's appropriate for a private citizen...
MCCLELLAN: We've got three people from each news organization here today.
QUESTION: Look, the vice president has the Secret Service detail and has communications which are up-to-date, operating and in place.
How is it that the word of the shooting and the fact that the vice president was involved could have been confused or delayed given the fact that that was almost certain?
MCCLELLAN: Well, I think the initial information is coming from his team on the ground with them. And they're just providing an initial report. An accident has taken place; they might not know all the facts at that point.
QUESTION: They're right there. They're out there with him.
MCCLELLAN: The ones who are providing that information may have not been right there physically with him and saw exactly what happened. I don't know.
But I'm telling you...
(CROSSTALK) Hang on, can I finish? But I'm telling you the facts as they occurred and as I know them. And, if there's additional information you want, you can direct those questions to the Vice President's Office.
QUESTION: It also sounds as though your suggestions about how to handle this were disregarded by the Vice President's Office.
MCCLELLAN: Again, I'll keep those conversations private. Go ahead.
QUESTION: I just want to clarify one thing. Is it appropriate for a private citizen to be the person to disseminate the information that the vice president of the United States has shot someone? MCCLELLAN: That's one way to provide information to the public. The vice president's office worked with her. I should say the vice president spoke with her directly and agreed that she should make it public and that they would provide additional information.
QUESTION: But why should it be up to a private citizen to...
MCCLELLAN: It came out Sunday morning.
MCCLELLAN: I've told you the way that I've operated and the way I've provided information in similar circumstances.
QUESTION: The vice president always had a hunting license whenever he's gone hunting. There was an item in one of the wire stories this morning that he had a license prior to November, but other stories said he goes every year to Texas. I have a follow-up as well.
MCCLELLAN: Check with his office. I don't have those facts.
QUESTION: Do you know whether he's taken a hunting...
MCCLELLAN: It's my understanding he had the hunting license for this hunting trip.
QUESTION: What about other trips where he's taken...
MCCLELLAN: You can check with his office.
QUESTION: Has he taken a hunting safety course in Texas?
MCCLELLAN: Check with his office. I don't have those facts. I haven't checked into that.
QUESTION: Will the vice president be available soon to answer all questions himself about the incident?
MCCLELLAN: I think you ought to direct questions like that to his office. He has a press office you can direct questions to.
QUESTION: Scott...
MCCLELLAN: Keeping with the practice of at least two or three reporters from each news organization today.
QUESTION: You've repeatedly said that the Vice President's Office will share this information with us. Will you now ask them to share this information with us, because they're not?
MCCLELLAN: Share what information?
QUESTION: Details of what happened...
(CROSSTALK)
QUESTION: ... and more information. MCCLELLAN: Well, Mrs. Armstrong provided that information. She was the eyewitness to what took place.
QUESTION: Can we get someone from his office in here...
QUESTION: Why can't we get someone from his office?
(CROSSTALK)
MCCLELLAN: Well, talk to his office. I think they have provided response to questions.
QUESTION: Scott, is it proper for the vice president to offer his resignation or has he offered his resignation?
MCCLELLAN: That's an absurd question.
QUESTION: Can we get someone from the Vice President's Office in here to answer all of these questions that you're deferring?
MCCLELLAN: I think you can ask questions to his -- direct questions to his office.
QUESTION: I'm sure they're overwhelmed. It seems like it would be more efficient.
MCCLELLAN: Understood. But they're the ones who can provide additional information if there is any to provide.
QUESTION: Scott, you said Mrs. Armstrong was the eyewitness. There were other eyewitnesses. Can you tell us who they were?
MCCLELLAN: Well, the vice president's team was with him. You got to check that with the Vice President's Office. But the vice president's traveling team was with him, so you'd have your normal security detail, as well as military aid and others, and doctor.
QUESTION: Who was the third hunter?
MCCLELLAN: Check with his office. I don't know.
QUESTION: Scott, when you consider the chronology that you've tried to go through here and all of the various wrinkles of how long it took for the primary information that the vice president was the person who shot this fellow, to get through to the president himself, is there any notion here of reviewing your own communications apparatus? I mean, this is sort of reminiscent of the levee story, frankly.
MCCLELLAN: I'm sorry. I reject that. I disagree with that fully. I don't know what you're referring to there, but I'll reject the insinuation there.
QUESTION: Well, when you look at how long it took for the information in that case to get through and the information in this case to get through, are you looking at... MCCLELLAN: There are certain facts that you don't know necessarily immediately, that people are getting that information together in terms of exactly what happened. I mean, I don't think you immediately know all the facts and situations that you bring up and particularly in terms of a hurricane that was unprecedented in terms of the scope of the damage that occurred. I don't know how you can leap from here to that comparison.
QUESTION: Surely, they immediately knew that the vice president of the United States shot someone.
MCCLELLAN: You know what the immediate response was? To make sure he was getting the medical care.
(CROSSTALK)
MCCLELLAN: No, no. You may know that, but people that are listening need to hear that, too. The vice president went over to him and was making sure that his team was getting to him and taking care of him. That's what the first priority always ought to be.
I know that it's important to inform the media. And I have told you I believe it's important to get that information out as quickly as possible.
(CROSSTALK)
MCCLELLAN: I think he was informed, and I think he was informed in a relatively reasonable amount of time.
QUESTION: Scott, in Texas, is this the kind of accidental shooting...
MCCLELLAN: We can always look back and say, you know, here or there. The important thing is was the information was provided to the public and most importantly Mr. Whittington is being taken care of.
QUESTION: Under Texas law, is this kind of accidental shooting a possible criminal offense?
MCCLELLAN: I won't even speculate on that, but I think the sheriff's office or the local law enforcement office has already commented on that and said it was a hunting accident.
QUESTION: Would this be much more serious if the man had died? Would that change...
MCCLELLAN: Of course it would. It would have been terrible.
Personally, I don't know him very well, but I know Mr. Whittington and I have great respect for him from knowing who he is and what he's done. It would be horrible news.
Go ahead.
QUESTION: If the deputy staff told him sometime after 8:00, or told the president that it was Cheney who had pulled the trigger, who made the decision not to inform us and specifically not to inform you until that 6:00 hour the next morning?
MCCLELLAN: I don't think that's the way I would look at it. I think there's additional details that were coming in, and we were trying to learn...
(CROSSTALK)
MCCLELLAN: Well, we were trying to learn what the details were. I think it's important to have the facts together to be able to provide that information to the public. I also believe in a situation like this, it's important to provide as much information as public as quickly -- to the public as quickly as possible.
(CROSSTALK)
MCCLELLAN: Is this on this subject?
QUESTION: (OFF-MIKE)
MCCLELLAN: Well, let me stay on this subject.
QUESTION: Yes, but please don't leave before you get to the other subject, because we have...
MCCLELLAN: OK, let's wrap it up on this subject here.
QUESTION: Will the vice president and the president, for that matter, continue to go hunting? And is there some thought about maybe this is too dangerous an activity for such an important person to be...
MCCLELLAN: I haven't had any discussion with either of them about that. I don't know of any change.
All right, let's go to new subject.
QUESTION: Same subject.
MCCLELLAN: Go ahead.
QUESTION: Was there any consideration, to your knowledge, that the information should be delayed in order to avoid it becoming red meat on the Sunday talk shows?
MCCLELLAN: Not that I know of. In fact, she reached out to the local paper that morning. I don't know what time. But I was told she reached out that morning.
All right, let's go to new subject.
QUESTION: Much of the free world is concerned about nuclear weapons from North Korea and Iran. But, according to the London Sunday Times yesterday, Brazil is about to put on line a facility to make large quantities of enriched uranium, enough to power its present two plants and a third power plant, but also enough to make nuclear weapons and to export enriched uranium.
Is the administration aware of this, and is there... MCCLELLAN: I've not seen that specific article. I'll be glad to take a look into it. But our view is very clear, that all nations ought to adhere to the Non-Proliferation Treaty and all nations -- we believe all nations should be parties to the Non-Proliferation Treaty. I think we've expressed that view before.
Now, there are important energy needs that we need to work together to address. And the president outlined that in his global nuclear energy partnership that was in his budget. And he's going to be talking more about it next week when he focuses on the energy initiative.
GORANI: We're going to break away from this live media conference there. The White House Press Secretary Scott McClellan really getting a grilling from reporters on how the information that the vice president of the United States Dick Cheney accidentally shot a fellow hunter came out.
Now, this accident happened on Saturday. The information only came out on Sunday through a local newspaper when a ranch owner where the accident happened went to the local press. Reporters asking why that information came out against the rules of public disclosure and why the story was given to the local newspaper before and not through an official national announcement type of channel.
Scott McClellan answering there that information was being gathered throughout the night and that they were waiting for all of that information to be gathered in order for the news item that the vice president, Dick Cheney, had accidentally shot that fellow hunter for it to come out completely.
Now, reporters there combative sometime, some of them incredulous there, asking the questions over and over again as to why it took just so long for the information to emerge.
We're going to take a short break here on YOUR WORLD TODAY. We'll be right back. Stay with us.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
CLANCY: We're going to get to our in-box in just a minute.
Right now we're following a breaking story in Haiti. The Associated Press reporting there are fiery barricades in the streets. There are reports that a hotel where some of the election monitors were staying has been stormed. We're going to continue to follow those reports as they come in. We'll have more coming up but let's get to the in-box.
GORANI: Let's get to the in-box and we've been asking you about the Saddam Hussein trial. It's taking quite a while. It's costing a lot of money. And we've been asking you, if in the same way the Milosevic trial progressed, do you think the Hussein trial is headed in the same direction? "It appears as if Saddam has hijacked the trial. Saddam will not take his tribunal seriously. Neither he or Milosevic deserves a fair trial."
Nate from Wisconsin has this to say. "I believe Saddam's case will go the same way. Saddam is doing nothing to cooperate with the trial. Both men should not even have a trial."
That has to be our in-box for now. I'm Jim Clancy.
I'm Hala Gorani. The news continues.
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