Rove Under Fire: E-mail Connection to Firings; Coroner: U.S. 'Friendly Fire' That Killed British Soldier in Iraq Unlawful, Criminal
SOLEDAD O'BRIEN, CNN ANCHOR: Bitter blast. A late winter punch for the mid Atlantic and the Northeast happening right now. Guess what? Your Friday flight might be in jeopardy.</s>MILES O'BRIEN, CNN ANCHOR: Judgment day. A coroners verdict any minute now on a U.S. war plane's friendly fire that killed a British soldier.</s>S. O'BRIEN: And burning bridge. A trail trestle goes up in dramatic flames. Take a look at that. Leaving rail traffic at a standstill. We're live this morning from Washington, from London, from Tehran and from New York on this AMERICAN MORNING. Welcome, everybody. It is Friday, March 16th. I'm Soledad O'Brien.</s>M. O'BRIEN: And I'm Miles O'Brien. We're glad you're with us.</s>S. O'BRIEN: Let's begin with the weather, shall we? It's a big reminder today it is not spring just yet. A blast of winter is hitting us from the mid Atlantic to the New England area right now. A winter storm warning, in fact, in effect for New York City. Storm watches up for New England. We could see eight to 10 inches of snow. Some flights have already been canceled. And you certainly can count on significant delays and even closures at some major airports. A very busy morning for Chad. He's at the CNN Weather Center this morning. We also have Alina Cho. She's at LaGuardia Airport in New York. Let's begin with Alina before we get to Chad. Alina, how's it looking so far?</s>ALINA CHO, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, Soledad, if you are heading to Orlando, Raleigh Durham, Dallas, Ft. Lauderdale, Chicago, Denver or Washington, D.C., on American Airlines out of LaGuardia Airport, you may be able to go back to bed because some of those flights have already been canceled. Check with the airport and check ahead. Now delays and cancellations also at Newark and JFK Airports. Those are by destination, so you will want to call ahead. And keep in mind, this will affect travelers all over the country. Now let's talk a bit about JetBlue. You'll recall they had what amounted to an operational meltdown last month during that infamous Valentine's Day storm. Well today the airline has protectively canceled 230 flights, most of them out of the hub at JFK. Meanwhile, travelers here at LaGuardia are already experiencing problems.</s>UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: He goes, I'm going to put you on standby for an earlier flight. And I said, why not my 7:00 flight? And he goes, because you're going to go standby on earlier. And I said why? And he said, because it's been canceled. So, you know, there was no indication whatsoever beforehand that the flight had been canceled. It showed on time.</s>CHO: You a little worried?</s>UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Yes. Hell, yes, I'm worried. I want to go home.</s>UNIDENTIFIED MALE: We woke up this morning, looked out of the window, saw the snow coming down and was wondering if our flight would be canceled or not. But, so far, so good.</s>CHO: You got lucky.</s>UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I think we got lucky.</s>CHO: Well, you're beating the weather.</s>UNIDENTIFIED MALE: We're going to beat the weather. It's a good time to get out of New York City.</s>CHO: Well, I don't know about that, but one pilot we spoke to just a moment ago said he does not think it will be as bad this time around as it was during the Valentine's Say storm. He was here then, as well. He said that he expects most of the delays to be on the tarmac because of de-icing problems. All three of the major airports in the New York area do have their de-icing equipment ready in case this storm gets really big. But, Soledad, as you well know, what a difference a day makes. Yesterday it was almost 70 degrees in New York City. Today, a 30 degree drop. And that, of course, is having a big effect here on travel. Soledad.</s>S. O'BRIEN: Yes, just for the record, I liked yesterday better, Alina.</s>CHO: Me, too.</s>S. O'BRIEN: Alina Cho for us. Thanks, Alina. Miles.</s>M. O'BRIEN: Just when we thought it was safe to put the winter coats in moth balls, alas, if you don't like the weather this time of year, just wait a minute. Severe weather expert Chad Myers is watching it all from the Weather Center. You know, Chad, we hear about this freezing rain at the airports. That's about the worst thing a pilot can hear.</s>M. O'BRIEN: All right, take a look at the right-hand corner of your screen. Need to glance there. There's a radar loop to the Northeast. Over there. And airport delays will be in there. We call it our blizmo, that's gizmo meets blizzard, blizmo. And Chad will be here every 15 minutes with the latest forecast for you, of course. Soledad.</s>S.  O'BRIEN: Well, we know her name. Now we're going to get to see and hear from Valerie Plame. In just a few hours, she is testifying before a House committee that's looking into ways to protect the secret identities of CIA agents. AMERICAN MORNING's Bob Franken is on Capitol Hill for us this morning. Good morning to you, Bob. What do you expect to hear from Valerie Plame today?</s>BOB FRANKEN, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, first of all, this could otherwise be titled Democrats sticking it to the Bush administration by hearing from Valerie Plame. Valerie Plame is the former CIA operative whose husband had criticized the Bush administration. And as a result, many people say, her identity was made known, her cover was blown and that that has resulted in a whole long list of things. In any case, she has kept her silence. She is scheduled to testify today. For the first time really speaking out. Now, the Republicans might try and make this a closed hearing. And if they're successful, using their parliamentary maneuvers, it would just be rescheduled. But in the meantime, we're expecting to hear from Valerie Plame. We should point out that her testimony is going to be limited. She cannot really still talk about her role at the CIA. But one of the big issues, and there will be lawyers arguing an opposite point, is that the law was not really broken when her identity was disclosed. The law that was at hand was called the Intelligence Identities Protection Act and it specifies that you cannot reveal the identity of covert agents, which mean those serving overseas or after five years. Nevertheless, all of this is going to come up and it's going to be an interesting day, Soledad, if she testifies.</s>S. O'BRIEN: Scooter Libby has been found guilty in this case, as you well know. So after the testimony today, assuming it happens, what happens with this case, Bob?</s>FRANKEN: Really, nothing. Scooter Libby was not convicted for any of the offenses under this act, real or imagined. He was convicted of lying during the investigation to investigators, and that is why he is now facing possible jail time, unless there's a successful appeal or, of course, a pardon.</s>S. O'BRIEN: Which could happen. All right, Bob Franken for us this morning. Thank you, Bob.</s>M. O'BRIEN: Also in Washington today, they will be following the e-mail trail inside the White House decision to fire U.S. attorneys. The traffic makes it clear the president's top political advisor, Karl Rove, was immeshed (ph) in the debate over how many prosecutors should be pink slipped. CNN's Christina Park is in Washington. She joins us this morning. Good morning, Christina.</s>CHRISTINA PARK, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Good morning, Miles. You're exactly right. Democrats on Capitol Hill have a case of you've got mail or perhaps you've got proof. New e-mails put presidential adviser Karl Rove right into the thick of things, along with Attorney General Alberto Gonzales. And that's something the White House has been fighting hard to prevent.</s>PARK, (voice over): Previous statements from the White House put the blame of former presidential counsel Harriet Miers alone, but now it appears Karl Rove was involved as well. A January 9, 2005 e-mail between a White House aide and the aide of the attorney general discuss the idea of replacing all 93 U.S. attorneys in the president's second term and notes the Gonzales aide talked to his boss about it a couple of weeks ago. Congressional Democrats want Rove to testify about it.</s>SEN. CHARLES SCHUMER, (D) NEW YORK: If the White House prevents Karl Rove from testifying, it will be thumbing its nose at the American people and at the rule of law.</s>PARK: The Bush administration defends the firing of the eight prosecutors.</s>ALBERTO GONZALES, ATTORNEY GENERAL: What I know is that there began a process of evaluating strong performers, not as strong performers and weak performers.</s>KARL ROVE, PRESIDENTIAL ADVISOR: Every president's entitled to do it. President Clinton was entitled to come in and, if we wanted to, as he did, ask for the immediate resignation or removal from office of all 93 U.S. attorneys.</s>PARK: But some others remain skeptical.</s>UNIDENTIFIED MALE: In 2005 and 2006 was not a case where they were examining holdovers from a Democratic administration. These were Republican loyalists who had been appointed, confirmed by the Senate with the support of their Republican senators or members of the Congress who were Republicans. And that's what makes these removals somewhat suspicious.</s>PARK: And now the showdown centers on who will testify, Miles. A Senator Judiciary Committee is still holding off on approving the issuing of subpoenas to top White House officials, hoping they'll do so voluntarily. Back to you.</s>M. O'BRIEN: Christina Park in Washington, thank you. Soledad.</s>S. O'BRIEN: Happening this morning. The Pentagon getting a briefing on Iraq security operations at 9:30 a.m. Eastern Time. Defense Secretary Robert Gates is ordering 3,000 additional troops to Iraq. More than 31,000 troops now are part of the buildup. Nearly 10,000 more than the president initially said were need. And take a look at these pictures. This is a massive fire. It's happening at a railroad trestle burning through the night near Sacramento. AmTrak and freight traffic obviously effected this morning. Now flames and smoke could be seen as far away as 50 miles. No trains were actually involved. No injuries were reported. And so far there's no word on just how this fire got started. A very sad ending to a story we've been telling you about for the last couple of days. The body of six-year-old Christopher Barrios has been found. He'd been missing nearly for a week from his home in southern Georgia. Police found his body in a trash bag near a road about three miles from his home and now police say they have four suspects in custody.</s>M. O'BRIEN: The widow of a British soldier killed in Iraq in a friendly fire attack is pleading with President Bush to help the investigation. The results from a coroner's inquest due any minute now. Lance Corporal Matty Hull was killed four years ago in Iraq after his unit mistakenly drew fire from U.S. war planes. Cockpit video you see there captures the horrifying moment when the pilots realize they have aimed at the wrong target. CNN's Paula Hancocks, live for us in London, has been following this story. Paula.</s>PAULA HANCOCKS, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Good morning, Miles. Well, it has been four years this month since Lance Corporal Matty Hull was killed in that friendly fire incident. And Susan Hull, the widow, and Matty Hull's family has been struggling for all that time to try and find out the truth. But they say, along with the lawyers, that they have been obstructed all along the way.</s>HANCOCKS, (voice over): This attack happened four years ago in Iraq. The pilots of an A-10 U.S. tank buster aircraft fired on a British convoy, thinking it want an enemy target. Lance Corporal Matty Hull was killed. A British inquest into his death is ongoing, but the coroner says lack of cooperation from U.S. authorities is making his job more difficult. Hull's widow made a personal plea on Thursday.</s>SUSAN HULL, MATTY HULL'S WIDOW: In November 2003, I met President Bush. He asked me if there was anything he could help with and assured me that he would do all he could to help. President Bush, this is the last day you can help us. We ask that you give the coroner just one single page.</s>HANCOCKS: That single page contains evidence from Manila Hotel (ph), the code name for the U.S. ground control advising the two pilots at the time of the incident. The evidence was given in a U.S. investigation in 2003, but 11 lines of it were blacked out by U.S. authorities. A U.S. inquiry cleared the two pilots of any wrongdoing, saying they "followed the procedures and processes for engaging targets." But a British board of inquiry found the rules of engagement have not been followed, saying "there are examples of non- standard procedures and lack of situational awareness." As well as recording a verdict on the death of 25-year-old Hull, the coroner may also make recommendations on how such a tragedy could be averted in the future.</s>HANCOCKS: Now here at Oxford Coroners Court, we are expecting that verdict within an hour or so. Miles.</s>M. O'BRIEN: Paula, I'm curious here. The U.S., the Pentagon, does not dispute that there was a friendly fire incident. They say the pilots acted properly with the best knowledge they knew at the time. What will the coroner possibly say there that is not already sort of in the realm of fact?</s>HANCOCKS: Well, the main options the coroner has at this point is whether or not he's going to record an open verdict or a verdict of unlawful killing. Now this isn't actually legally binding in the sense that the U.K. will be able to press charges against these two U.S. pilots. But if he does record a verdict of unlawful killing, it would be incredibly embarrassing for both governments. The U.K. and the U.S. governments are standing side-by-side in Iraq. The allies are fighting together side-by-side. But then when something like this happens, and it could record a verdict of unlawful killing, that could be pressure on the U.S. government to either start a new investigation or there could be pressure coming from the U.K. government that, obviously, if they're fighting side-by-side, they want to find out the truth. Now what we've been hearing from the family and the coroner himself, who has been rather annoyed at certain points, is that there has been information being withheld from the U.S. government itself. U.S. officials are not giving all the evidence that they have from the pilots and also from the ground controllers during their own Pentagon investigation. So this is what could be embarrassing for both sides. Miles.</s>M. O'BRIEN: Paula Hancocks in London, thanks. Soledad.</s>S. O'BRIEN: A David and Goliath battle is brew. Bolivian President Evo Morales leading the charge to force Coca-Cola to lose the Coca part of its name. Morales and coca growers say the coca plant belongs to the culture heritage of Bolivia. They're also trying to rehabilitate the coca plant's image because, of course, it's the base ingredient for cocaine. Well, the people of Coca-Cola says, not so fast.</s>M. O'BRIEN: It kind of gets a bad rap because of that, doesn't it?</s>S. O'BRIEN: Yes. But the people at Coca-Cola say, that's kind of an important brand for us.</s>M. O'BRIEN: Yes.</s>S. O'BRIEN: They claim it's the most recognized brand in the world. They even say it's protected under Bolivian law. I don't think that was ever going to work.</s>M. O'BRIEN: No. No. You know since . . .</s>S. O'BRIEN: Just go with Cola, not Coca-Cola?</s>M. O'BRIEN: Coca-Cola used to have cocaine in it. It's original recipe.</s>S. O'BRIEN: Well, not for a long, long, long, long, long, long, long, long time.</s>M. O'BRIEN: It's been a while, yes. It's been a little while. Don't rush out to the store, kids. All right. A big winter storm in the Northeast. Chad Myers all over it like white on snow. And if you plan to fly today to or from the Northeast, forget about it if you can because it's a mess. We're going to plow through the delays and cancellations. Plus, God help them. A California congressman comes out of the religious closet and announces he is an atheist. Will voters bless him out of office? You're watching AMERICAN MORNING. And we swear it's the most news in the morning right here on CNN.