Senators Close To Compromise On Illegal Immigration
BLITZER: Zain Verjee has the day off. Carol Lin is joining us from the CNN global headquarters in Atlanta with a closer look at some other stories making news -- Carol.</s>CAROL LIN, CNN ANCHOR: That's right, Wolf. The U.S. State Department is condemning a car bombing in the Iraqi city of Najaf. At least 10 people were killed when the bomb exploded near a sacred Shiite shrine today. A city-wide curfew is now in effect. The State Department says it will do everything possible to bring those responsible to justice. Now back in February, an attack on a revered Shiite shrine in Samarra sparked widespread sectarian violence. Well the military forces say the main Iraqi suspect in last year's kidnapping of an Italian journalist, has been captured. They say Muhammad al-Ubaydi was detained on March 7th in Baghdad. The former intelligence official under Saddam Hussein's regime is linked to Abu Musab al-Zarqawi, who is believed to be the head of al Qaeda in Iraq. News of al-Ubaydi's capture was delayed until DNA tests could confirm his identity. Now the man who led New York City through the aftermath of 9/11 was on the stand at Zacarias Moussaoui's sentencing trial today. Former New York Mayor Rudy Giuliani testified that it felt like an earthquake when the first World Trade Center tower collapsed. Jurors also saw a videotape of people falling to their deaths from the towers. The jury will decide if Moussaoui should be executed or get life in prison, Wolf.</s>BLITZER: Carol, thank you very much -- Carol Lin reporting. Is the border battle about to end in a peace agreement? There's high-fiving and back slapping going on in Capitol Hill right now as U.S. senators say they are very close to a deal that would find a way for millions of illegal immigrants to become legal. Let's go live to our congressional correspondent Dana Bash, she has the latest. Dana?</s>DANA BASH, CNN CONGRESSIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Well Wolf, since that high-fiving and back slapping earlier today, senators have retreated behind closed doors once again, trying to figure out how to bring that compromise to the Senate floor for an actual vote. But one thing is for sure. After days of thinking they may never get an immigration overhaul through the Senate, now they think they just might.</s>BASH (voice-over): Senate leaders from both parties rush to the cameras to celebrate.</s>SEN. BILL FRIST (R-TN), MAJORITY LEADER: We had a huge breakthrough.</s>BASH: After a late night of intense behind the scenes talks, a compromise that would allow millions of undocumented workers to eventually become U.S. citizens. Democrats were cautious but they were standing with Republicans and that said it all.</s>SEN. HARRY REID (D-NV), MINORITY LEADER: And it's something that we can all take a swing at and drive in a run. What would that run be? It would be a run that would give the American people a victory.</s>BASH: On the most contentious issue, how to handle the estimated 11-to-12 million illegal immigrants, the legislation envisions three categories. Those in the United States more than five years could stay and get on a path to citizenship. Those illegally in the U.S. between two to five years would have to briefly leave the country through designated sites to get temporary work visas. They would then be eligible for green cards and eventually citizenship. Illegal immigrants in the United States less than two years could not stay legally. Republicans are so divided on the issue, language matters as much as the details. Note Senator Lindsey Graham's effort to sell the compromise to fellow Republicans, who won't support anything that rings of amnesty.</s>SEN. LINDSEY GRAHAM (R), SOUTH CAROLINA: I think we've reached a plea bargain with 11 million illegal aliens.</s>BASH: Still, some Republicans quickly rejected the plan.</s>SEN. JEFF SESSIONS (R), ALABAMA: I'm not impressed. That's not -- I'm not going to now line up and say, oh, great, we have got a compromise.</s>BASH: Now, Republicans, like Jeff Sessions, who are very unhappy with this compromise, as well as some Democrats, are now, Wolf, trying to talk to leaders from both parties to try to figure out how to offer amendments to this compromise. If this passes the Senate eventually, of course, as we have been talking about for days, the next big hurdle will be trying to come to some kind of compromise with the House of Representatives. The leaders there have opened the door to the idea of a guest-worker program, at least, the House speaker has. But, of course, many rank-and-file conservatives still are very much opposed to that idea -- Wolf.</s>BLITZER: Dana, thank you very much. In today's "Strategy Session," court documents in the CIA leak investigation show that President Bush may have authorized the leak of intelligence on Iraq. What is the political fallout from these new developments? Joining us now, our CNN political analyst Democratic strategist Donna Brazile, and Bill Bennett, the host of the radio program "Morning in America." Scooter Libby, in these latest documents, makes a pretty stunning disclosure, that the president and the vice president basically said, go ahead and leak information from this national intelligence estimate, leak it to the press, while it was still classified?</s>BILL BENNETT, CNN CONTRIBUTOR: They can declassify it. The president can declassify it. The vice president can declassify it. They declassified it. Ten day...</s>BLITZER: But -- but let me - let ...</s>BENNETT: Ten days later, it was public.</s>BLITZER: But, normally, before they do that, there's a committee that reviews classified information. It's highly unusual for the president and vice president simply to, on their own say, you know what, let's declassify this and leak it.</s>BENNETT: We don't know that the committee didn't get together. But the president is the chief executive officer, elected by the people. This was an authorized release of intelligence. There seems to be a lot more excitement in the press about an authorized release of intelligence than about the unauthorized release of intelligence or release of confidential documents by the press. This, to me, is not stunning. And I don't think it's interesting.</s>BLITZER: What do you think?</s>DONNA BRAZILE, CNN POLITICAL ANALYST: Well, I think it smells like a hypocrite, because, on one hand, the White House is adamantly opposed to leaks, and now we see that this was a selective leak. The White House has a huge credibility problem. The president has said from day one, if he knew anyone who did -- who gave out this information, he would personally see to it that they were fired or dismissed. Now, I think the White House has a huge credibility problem with this. And while they are stonewalling the press now, and not coming out and talking about this, they will have to tell the American people exactly what happened.</s>BLITZER: Let me -- let me weigh you in. But let me read to you...</s>BENNETT: Sure.</s>BLITZER: ... what Howard Dean said, the chairman of the Democratic Party. He said, "The fact that the president was willing to reveal classified information for political gain and put the interests of his political party ahead of America's security shows that he can no longer be trusted to keep America safe."</s>BENNETT: The president is not a clerk. The president is not a GS-13. The president is the president of the United States. The people who classify information are part of the executive branch. They work for the president. He has the authority to declassify. And he did. Again, I mean, I -- I'm not surprised at Governor Dean. I'm not surprised at the Democrats. But I don't know why there isn't more distress about the unauthorized disclosure of information. He's the authority of the executive branch. He can disclose whatever he wants to disclose.</s>BLITZER: Let's talk about Cynthia McKinney for a moment. She went out on -- on the floor today of the House of Representatives and uttered this. Listen to what she said.</s>MCKINNEY: I am sorry that this misunderstanding happened at all. And I regret its escalation. And I apologize.</s>BLITZER: She apologized. A lot of people think she should have done that right away, from the beginning.</s>BRAZILE: Well, you know, it appears that, on the first day, that, when the cops went over to talk to her, that she was ready to put this behind her. And then it escalated. Look, it took -- in my judgment, Cynthia McKinney should have put this behind her days ago. And now that it's behind her, members of the Black Caucus are ready to talk about Katrina aid. They're ready to talk about renewal of the voting rights. They really became very tired about this...</s>BLITZER: There are other issues. But is this a case, as she said here in THE SITUATION ROOM, of racial profiling? Here, she is a black woman, a member of Congress. She says she was inappropriately selected, if you will, and that she was manhandled by this police officer.</s>BRAZILE: Racial profiling is a major issue in this country, but I don't believe -- and I don't know the circumstances or the facts of this. But, as a former congressional staffer, I can tell you that those members of the police force, they are courteous. They go out of their way to try to identify members and staff and to protect the public as well.</s>BLITZER: You think this is over with, now that she has apologized?</s>BLITZER: Because there's a grand jury investigation.</s>BENNETT: I suspect it's over. She apologized. There's -- crying wolf -- and crying wolf -- not Wolf Blitzer, but crying wolf is a bad idea.</s>BENNETT: Crying wolf about race is one of the worst things you can do, because it's a serious matter. You don't take trivial incidents and call them racial.</s>BLITZER: It looks like they are working on a deal to allow...</s>BENNETT: Yes.</s>BLITZER: ... guest workers to remain in the United States, to make them legal residents of the United States. And it looks like Republicans, a lot of them, Senator Hagel, Senator Martinez of Florida, are joining with the president in saying, you know what, this is essential that the 10 or 12 million illegal immigrants right now get some sort of legal status and work their way, eventually -- at least most of them -- toward citizenship.</s>BENNETT: I don't think it will fly. I don't think we will have legislation. This is not something that makes the Republican base very happy. All I hear on my show -- I think it's across talk radio -- is the rule of law, whatever happened to this, the notion of the flags here, that you can't fly the American flag. The American people, a lot of them, are very upset about it. And they're not happy with John McCain and the others who are signing on to this bill.</s>BLITZER: What do you think, because there are a lot of, you know, Democrats, base Democrats, especially union workers, who are afraid for their own jobs? AFL-CIO not very happy about a guest- worker program.</s>BRAZILE: Well, what -- we don't have all of the details, but what we do know about this is that it's almost like a three-tier process, where, if you have been here for less than two years, you have to go home. If you have been here for a certain amount of time, you have to go home, and then you can come back. And, then, if you have been here for a long, long time, then you can stay. So, we don't have all of the details. But once the details are ironed out, then, the Democrats, I think, will decide whether or not they can embrace this approach.</s>BENNETT: Secure the border. Secure the border. That has got to be done.</s>BRAZILE: We all agree on that.</s>BLITZER: Everybody agrees on that.</s>BENNETT: I think, once that is done...</s>BRAZILE: We agree on that.</s>BENNETT: People want to see that before they see the other promises.</s>BRAZILE: Well, we both agree on that one.</s>BENNETT: OK.</s>BLITZER: All right. On a note of agreement, we will...</s>BENNETT: Two out of four.</s>BLITZER: ... end the "Strategy Session."</s>BLITZER: Thanks to both of you guys.</s>BRAZILE: Thank you.</s>BLITZER: Thank you very much.</s>BENNETT: Thank you.</s>BLITZER: And up next in THE SITUATION ROOM, President Bush may be the latest to authorize a high-level leak, but there's a long history of presidential disclosures. And only our Jeff Greenfield has the historic perspective to take a look back. He's standing by live. Are they the latest odd couple of American politics? That would be John McCain and Jerry Falwell. They are finding lots of common ground right now. What is going on? Stay with us.