Rove & CIA Leak; Terror Probe
FREDRICKA WHITFIELD, CNN ANCHOR: It's Friday, July 15. The plot thickens and the heat rises around Karl Rove. New details this morning about the White House official's alleged connection to the leak of a CIA agent's name. Also, launch break. Will Discovery be shooting for the stars this weekend or staying grounded? And the search for clues in London's deadly terror attacks lead investigators here to the United States.</s>ANNOUNCER: From the CNN Center in Atlanta, this is DAYBREAK with Fredricka Whitfield.</s>WHITFIELD: Good morning, everyone. I'm Fredricka Whitfield, in today for Carol Costello. We'll have more on those stories in a moment. But first, ahead, a secret thousand of married couples -- married couples' surprises that might surprise you. And a look inside Iraq like you've probably never seen before. See how violence isn't crushing hope. But first, "Now in the News." New information on Karl Rove's alleged role in the CIA leak controversy. The Associated Press says Rove learned the agent's identity from a journalist. CNN has learned that the bombings may have been a continuation of a plot that British police foiled last year. In that case, eight British Muslims were arrested and a half ton of explosive material confiscated. Hurricane Emily is now churning through the Caribbean as a Category 4 storm. Emily was upgraded from a Category 3 when sustained winds reached 131 miles per hour. The storm is being blamed for one death in Grenada. And Chad, good morning to you.</s>CHAD MYERS, CNN METEOROLOGIST: Good morning, Fred.</s>WHITFIELD: All right. Thanks so much, Chad.</s>MYERS: You're welcome.</s>WHITFIELD: We begin this hour with the controversy swirling around Karl Rove. The White House still isn't budging on top adviser Rove's involvement, if any, in the leak of a CIA agent's identity. Rove reportedly told a grand jury that he learned the identity of a CIA operative from columnist Robert Novak, not the other way around. A federal criminal investigation into who leaked Valerie Plame's CIA identity has ensnared Bush aides and reporters in a two-year legal battle. Plame's husband, former Ambassador Joe Wilson, discussed the White House motivation with CNN's Aaron Brown.</s>JOSEPH WILSON, FMR. U.S. AMBASSADOR: It's not enough just to apologize and move on. They then decided that they had to discredit me and my wife. And the reason that they did so is because they had to preserve the cover-up of the web of lies that underpinned the decision to go to war. And now that cover-up is coming unraveled, and they're back at it again.</s>WHITFIELD: The White House still is not answering questions about Rove's possible role. Correspondent Dana Bash reports.</s>DANA BASH, CNN WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): The president usually takes his walk alone. Not today. A message here in pictures he has not yet sent with words. He's standing by Karl Rove. But what Democrats see is a chance to chip away at a political asset Rove spent years building: the president as someone you can trust.</s>HOWARD DEAN, CHAIRMAN, DNC: Who do you value more, Mr. President, the security of the American people or your political cronies? Will you keep your word, Mr. President?</s>BASH: Over and over, Democrats hearken back to a Bush promise to fire anyone involved in outing the covert identity of Valerie Plame, even though the jury is still out on whether that's what Rove really did. Bush opponents want to make the Rove debate about credibility because they already see it eroding. In a poll taken just before the latest developments, only 41 percent of Americans give Mr. Bush a good rating for being honest and straightforward. His lowest on this question since becoming president. Privately, even some Bush loyalists fear the White House is now engulfed in a familiar dilemma.</s>SCOTT MCCLELLAN, WHITE HOUSE PRESS SECRETARY: I don't want to get into commenting on things in the context of an ongoing investigation. An ongoing investigation. An ongoing investigation. I don't want to jeopardize anything in that investigation.</s>BASH: Letting a legal, not a political strategy, guide the White House message. Another Bush problem, GOP strategists admit, the Democrats' attack is simple, keep your word, fire Karl Rove. Easy to fit on protests signs organized by MoveOn.org outside the White House. On the other hand, the Rove lines of defense, like he was talking off the record and he actually didn't use the covert agent's name, are much harder to explain.</s>DAVID GERGEN, FMR. WHITE HOUSE ADVISER: It's not likes a sex scandal, which is, you know, instantly understandable. This one is complex.</s>BASH: Trying to keep the story alive, Senate Democrats offer legislation aimed direct at Rove to take away security clearance for anyone who has disclosed classified information. (on camera): Republicans dismiss all that as nothing more than a partisan stunt, but Democrats insist it's a legitimate policy issue. And beyond that, they say any time Bush allies have to defend somebody so indispensable to the president, it proves its power as a political issue. Dana Bash, CNN, the White House.</s>WHITFIELD: Chief Justice William Rehnquist wants to put an end to retirement rumors. Rehnquist released a statement saying he has no plans to step down from the court. He made his plans public just hours after being released from a Virginia hospital. The chief justice had been there for two days with a fever. In his statement, the chief justice said, "I want to put to rest the speculation and unfounded rumors of my imminent retirement. I am not about to announce my retirement. I will continue to perform my duties as chief justice as long as my health permits." We'll have much more on Rehnquist's decision later in DAYBREAK. National Correspondent Bob Franken will join us live to examine what it means for the Bush administration and the future of the court. Outgoing justice Sandra Day O'Connor is being urged to reconsider her departure. Four female senators sent O'Connor a letter asking her to return to the court as chief justice. That came before Chief Justice Rehnquist announced plans to stay. The senators say they're trying to avoid a messy confirmation fight over O'Connor's replacement. The FBI has joined the London bombing investigation. They're helping British anti-terror police search for an Egyptian-born chemist who also studied in the United States. For more on the investigation, we're joined by CNN's Richard Quest in London. Good morning to you, Richard.</s>RICHARD QUEST, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Good morning to you, Fredricka. The investigation continues at a fair, old pace. And there have been some interesting developments, not least of which, of course, the search for this biochemist, el Nashar, who is believed to have perhaps been in some shape or form by the authorities, or at least they certainly want to talk to him about what involvement he may have had. The chemist is a biochemist from northern England. But also, we've had pictures released from the police of one of what they say were one of the bombers, the one who exploded the bomb on the number 30 bus, about a quarter of a mile from where I am. Here's Hasib Hussain. And the chilling part about this picture is the ordinariness of it. It was released from the CCTV, the closed-circuit television pictures that the police have now been looking at. Some 5,000 tapes have been sequestered by the police, and this is one of the shots that they've taken. It is Hussain coming through Luton railway station. And the backpack on his back, exactly the sort of backpack you see here in London being warn by any one of 10,000 tourists, only this time, of course, it carried a 10-pound bomb. One other piece of information. The police are now saying that they believe they know who three of the bombers were that took place Thursday, but they're also seeking a fourth man, a Jamaican-born man. And they say that he could be integral to their investigation. So lots of -- lots of tentacles of this investigation now moving out. Now, one thing that is becoming clear, Fredricka -- and this has been very interesting on both sides of the Atlantic -- it is the role being played by closed-circuit television and those films and those tapes that are now being closely watched and monitored. I want to show you something. Let's go this way, first of all. Just over to my shoulder over here there are at least three closed-circuit television cameras monitoring what's happening on what is basically a very small, insignificant road here in London. If you come back the other way, and we move across towards King's Cross Station itself, you've got, Fredricka, at least another one, two, three, four, five, right across the McDonald's, six, seven. So in this one corner of London alone, I am being monitored by at least 11 closed-circuit television cameras. Now, put that into the context of a city the size of London. Well, you're talking about thousands of cameras, thousands of tapes, but, the police say, they are integral to their investigation.</s>WHITFIELD: Thank you so much, Richard. But at the same time, it's so confusing as to why the many cameras wouldn't be a deterrent for at least an incident like this.</s>QUEST: Now that's the interesting question. You see, everybody says that closed-circuit television is not a deterrent. Witness the fact the bombings took place. If they were a deterrent -- if they were a deterrent, it wouldn't have happened. What the police say is, no, not necessarily. They may be a deterrent. But more importantly, if the event happens, then, of course, they have the ability to speed up the investigation. Of course there are huge civil liberties questions raised by these -- by these cameras.</s>WHITFIELD: Yes. All right. Richard Quest in London. Thanks so much. Still to come on DAYBREAK, you know those walk-up fares at the airline counter? Well, at Delta it might be easier just to keep on walking to wherever you need to go. At 17 after the hour, a major fare increase. Also, a view of Iraq like you've probably never seen before. A vision of hope of happiness at 19 after. And later, out to launch. The countdown continues, but is blastoff way off? That's at 35 after. But first, here's a look at what else is making news this Friday morning.