Fifth Retired General Now Calls For Rumsfeld Resignation; Iran To Push Forward With Nuclear Program; Zacarias Moussaoui's Defense; Lawyers And Reporters Go Over CIA Leak Case Papers
HEIDI COLLINS, CNN ANCHOR: To our viewers, you're in THE SITUATION ROOM, where new pictures and information is arriving by. Standing by CNN reporters across the United States and around the world to bring you today's top stories. Happening now, the White House defends the Defense secretary. Is Donald Rumsfeld's future at the Pentagon secure? It's 4:00 p.m. here in Washington, where Rumsfeld is hearing yet another call for his resignation. Also this hour, Howard Dean hammers on questions about the president's credibility but the Democratic party chairman has critics of his own. I'll ask Dean about concerns over his leadership heading into the fall battle for Congress. And will Zacarias Moussaoui pay for the 9/11 attacks with his life? The al Qaeda conspirator takes the stand. We're keeping close watch on this emotional case in the life-and-death decision jurors will make. I'm Heidi Collins and you're in THE SITUATION ROOM. Hi, everybody. Wolf is off today. A short while ago, another shot over the bow of Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld -- a fifth retired general now is coming forward to call for Rumsfeld's resignation -- the second one who actually served on the ground in Iraq. Pentagon and the White House are pushing back hard. A top Marine general who helped lead U.S. forces early in the Iraq war went on CNN today to defend the Pentagon chief. And Rumsfeld's fate was the main topic at the White House briefing today. Our senior political correspondent, Candy Crowley, is standing by. But first we want to go to our White House correspondent, Suzanne Malveaux.</s>SUZANNE MALVEAUX, CNN WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT: Well, hi, Heidi. As a matter of fact, President Bush is heading to Camp David with his family for a quiet Easter weekend. But of course, that was the topic at the briefing today. Scott McClellan, the White House press secretary, saying that the president has full confidence in Secretary Rumsfeld, that the president is very much aware of these retired generals' calls for Rumsfeld to step down. There is no intention to talk to those individuals, but Scott McClellan did make a distinction between those who served with Rumsfeld now and those who of course are out of service from the Pentagon. He also quoted extensively from the chairman of Joints Chief of Staff, Peter Pace, saying he believes that there is strong support for the secretary.</s>SCOTT MCCLELLAN, WHITE HOUSE PRESS SECRETARY: The president believes Secretary Rumsfeld is doing a very fine job during a challenging period in our nation's history. The secretary has led the Department of Defense during two wars, wars that resulted in the liberation of 25 million people in Iraq.</s>MALVEAUX: And Heidi, McClellan of course, offered an explanation for the complaints, saying that we are at war, of course, and that this is a time of military transition. During that time it is expected to have disagreement and debate. It is something that they are very much aware of. Also, of course, a time of transition today was Andy Card -- the outgoing chief of staff's last day here at the White House. We saw President Bush and Andy Card for the final handshake, as well as a wave good-bye. It was early this morning -- 5:30 this morning that staff gathered in the Oval Office here at the White House to wish him well, to say good-bye to him. And of course, Josh Bolten will be taking over tomorrow. Heidi?</s>COLLINS: All right. Suzanne Malveaux from the White House today. Thanks, Suzanne. And the calls for Rumsfeld to step down are echoing loudly here in Washington, where the Iraq conflict is weighing on the battle for Congress this fall. Here now is our senior political correspondent, Candy Crowley. You know, Candy, we've heard from the former generals and the White House now. What is the sentiment toward Rumsfeld within the Republican ranks themselves?</s>CANDY CROWLEY, CNN SENIOR POLITICAL CORRESPONDENT: Well, first of all, we probably should note that Congress is off on recess. So, logistically, it's a little hard to kind of get any temperature of the entire body of Congress. But having said that, here's what we know: There have been Republicans all along who have been openly critical of Don Rumsfeld for two and three years -- more like two-and-a-half years. But since the war has started and it became clear weapons of mass destruction are not there, and that maybe some early tactical mistakes were made, we've had people like Senator McCain, Senator Chuck Hagel, Senator Lott -- have been openly critical of Rumsfeld. They've always stopped short of saying we would like him to quit or we'd like the president to fire him, because they say, look, that's the president's prerogative. Do the generals add to the mix? Certainly, if somebody wanted to come out, the generals give them some cover. But, again, Republicans are a little hesitant to kind of go at this in a public forum simply because they do believe it's the president's prerogative. However, when we talked to a number of staffers and some congressional members today, didn't find anybody that would shed any tears if Rumsfeld were to go. He has been highly controversial up there.</s>COLLINS: Politically though, Candy, would it help Republicans if Rumsfeld left his position?</s>CROWLEY: There was one source who said we need to -- Republicans -- we need to turn the page on Iraq. Obviously Iraq is coloring almost everything on down the line of issues. It's hurting Republicans as they look toward the fall and the elections. So one in a top leadership position said, look, we really need to turn the page. We can't do it while Don Rumsfeld is there. On the other hand, the face of this war really isn't Donald Rumsfeld -- it's George Bush. And what really will turn the page for George Bush and Republicans is, if something different, something positive happens on the ground. So it seems to me that while it would be a symbolic move, it would be tangential in terms of its effect on the elections.</s>COLLINS: All right. We are going to have more, Candy, with Barbara Starr coming to us from the Pentagon about Donald Rumsfeld a little bit later in the show, as well. Candy, thank you very much. Now to the nuclear stand-off with Iran. The United Nations top nuclear watchdog put new heat today on Iranian officials to back off from enriching uranium. But during the talks in Tehran, Mohammed ElBaradei only got a promise that Iran would be more cooperative with the International Atomic Energy Agency. Iran's president vowing again today that his country will push forward with its nuclear program. Iran declared Tuesday it had produced enriched uranium strong enough to run a nuclear power plant. A short while ago, though, Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice again warned Iran to end its nuclear defiance.</s>CONDOLEEZZA RICE, SECRETARY OF STATE: As to what might happen next, there is no doubt that Iran continues to defy the will of the international community. There is no doubt that Iran has continued salami-slicing tactics -- a little bit here and then a little bit more and then a little bit more -- despite the fact that the international community said very clearly, "Stop." Now, when the Security Council reconvenes, there will have to be some consequence for that action and that defiance.</s>COLLINS: Americans appear to be wary about President Bush's response to the Iran nuclear threat. A new poll shows a majority -- 54 percent -- say they don't trust Mr. Bush to make the right decision about whether to go to war in Iran. Just 39 percent of those surveyed in that "Los Angeles Times"/Bloomberg poll say they approve of the way Mr. Bush is doing his job overall. Based on that poll and five other recent surveys, the president has on average a job approval rating of 37 percent. And another stunning day at Zacarias Moussaoui's sentencing trial. The confessed al Qaeda terrorist took the stand again today, as his defense attorneys tried to convince jurors to spare him from the death penalty. CNN justice correspondent Kelli Arena has been following the story. She is in Alexandria, Virginia, now with the very latest. Hi, Kelli.</s>KELLI ARENA, CNN JUSTICE CORRESPONDENT: Hi there, Heidi. Moussaoui says he's got no regrets and no remorse over what happened on September 11. He actually made fun of some of the witnesses who went on the stand to talk about their losses, calling them pathetic. He said that he wished that September 11 would have also been September 12, and 13, and 14, and 15, and so on. He says he regretted that some of the survivors of the attack were actually still alive to talk about it. And he says that if he were put in prison, he would still be willing to kill Americans, in his words, "anytime, anywhere." He says that he has not been brainwashed by al Qaeda, that it was his choice 100 percent to join the terrorist organization. He says that when he was asked to participate in the suicide mission, that it was his pleasure. He was asked by his own defense attorneys why he hated Americans so much, and he said that largely it was because of the U.S. support of Israel. But he also said that, according to his interpretation of the Koran, that he believed that Muslims should be superior in the world and that Jews and Christians should be subservient to them, and that, because the United States is a super power, that it has to be hated because it should be a Muslim nation, an Islamic nation, that should be a superpower. He called Timothy McVeigh the greatest American that he knows. And he also chastised his defense attorneys for conducting what he says was a very bad defense and then went ahead and gave him ideas for what his strategy would have been to defend himself. And while he argued with attorneys and said that he was not crazy or delusional, he insisted that the president of the United States would release him, set him free, before his term was over. Moussaoui said that he had a dream about that and he believes 100 percent that that's going to happen, Heidi.</s>COLLINS: Wow! What a day in court today, that's for sure. Kelli Arena, thank you very much. We are going to have more on this story coming up in the next hour, as well. Meanwhile, Zain Verjee is on vacation, so Fredricka Whitfield is joining us now from the CNN Global Headquarters in Atlanta with a close look at other stories making news today. Hi there, Fred.</s>FREDRICKA WHITFIELD, CNN ANCHOR: A Pennsylvania man is being held without bail in the deaths of six family members. Police say 21- year-old Jesse Wise confessed to killing his grandmother, two aunts and three cousins last weekend. The youngest victim was just five years old, the oldest, 64. The bodies were found in the basement of the suspect's grandmother's house. Police say they died of multiple traumatic injuries. The motive is still unclear. There was more deadly violence in Iraq today. Iraqi police say a car bomb destroyed a major Shiite shrine in the city of Baquba, north of Baghdad last night. Hospital sources say several dozen people were killed, at least 40 people were injured -- Heidi.</s>COLLINS: All right, Fredricka Whitfield, thanks. We'll check in with you a little bit later on. Now, that to CIA leak case and questions about a Bush-Cheney connection. Lawyers and reporters still are going over court papers filed late yesterday by the defense team for former White House aide Lewis "Scooter" Libby. Here now, national correspondent Bob Franken -- Bob.</s>BOB FRANKEN, CNN NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Heidi, Scooter Libby's lawyers were making an effort in their filing to undo the impression that had been left last week by the special prosecutor that the president and vice president were involved directly into the campaign to discredit Joe Wilson, who is the administration critic, by exposing the identity of a CIA operative wife, Valerie Plame. It was in a footnote. It was buried on page 21 of the motion. It said, "we emphasize that consistent with his grand jury testimony, Mr. Libby does not contend that he was instructed to make any disclosures concerning Miss Wilson by President Bush, Vice President Cheney, or anyone else." Very, very interesting wording. There was nothing that constituted a direct denial. But, the filing went on as the lawyers try and convince the judge that they should have access to intelligence material, that they need it to prove that this was a much larger operation than simply the vice president's office. They say that they are going to plan to call witnesses like Karl Rove, the deputy White House chief of staff, himself facing the possibility of indictment. An interesting quote in the document also. The lawyers saying "there's a notion that it involves only Mr. Libby and the office of the vice president. That," it went on, "is a fairy tale." Well, this is a story where the ending is not known, but it's one that's going to go on for quite awhile -- Heidi.</s>COLLINS: I would imagine that to be the case. All right, Bob Franken. Thank you. Our Internet reporter Abbi Tatton is standing by now with more on the case against the vice president's former chief of staff -- Abbi.</s>ABBI TATTON, CNN INTERNET REPORTER: Heidi, this is the Libby defense lawyers trying to get more information from the government, complaining that they haven't been given enough documents at this point to effectively fight for their client. And in so doing, you get a little glimpse into the defense. First of all, they're saying they have only been given 14,000 pages so far of documents, about six boxes. And they want a lot more, certain documents pertaining to certain individuals. Amongst those named in this, Ambassador Joseph Wilson. They want reports and memoranda related to his trip to Niger, saying that they might call Wilson as a hostile witness. Ari Fleischer is mentioned as well. They want notes or e-mails from Fleischer's files and also Karl Rove in this latest finding. The defense says they do intend to call Rove as a witness. We've posted this all at CNN.com/situationreport -- Heidi.</s>COLLINS: All right, so people check it out. Abbi, thank you. Time now for "The Cafferty File." Our Jack Cafferty joining us from New York. Hi there, Jack.</s>JACK CAFFERTY, CNN ANCHOR: How you doing, Heidi? Bill Clinton, the former president, suggested sometimes boring is better. During a speech about coordinating aid to the developing world the former president who grabbed worldwide attention with the Monica Lewinsky scandal and subsequent impeachment, admitted that this was not the most exciting topic that he has been linked to.</s>WILLIAM CLINTON, FORMER PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: To me, it's something I want to keep working on and I like working on it because it's not a particularly sexy topic, but I've already had enough headlines to last me five lifetimes so I don't mind working on boring topics. I like boring. Boring is good. And it is very, very important.</s>CAFFERTY: Clinton has been working on things like global disaster relief and AIDS programs since leaving the White House. He poked fun at himself earlier in the week as well. He said he had, quote, "already made enough people mad in my life," unquote. He described himself as, quote, "the world's most famous sinner," unquote. The question is, when it comes to former president Bill Clinton, would you rather hear him talk about something boring or something sexy? E-mail us at caffertyfile@CNN.com, or go to CNN.com/caffertyfile -- Heidi.</s>COLLINS: Yes, and nobody said president Clinton isn't funny, either. He always makes it funny. All right, Jack, we'll check in a little bit later. Thank you. Coming up, Democratic Party chairman Howard Dean is making new demands of President Bush. We'll talk about Iraq, the president's credibility, and Dean's tactics in this Congressional election year. Plus Iran's nuclear defiance. It's hard-lined president is refusing to back down. Could this mean war? And if not, what should the White House do? Tough questions in our "Strategy Session." And the wild card in the New Orleans mayoral election. Hurricane evacuees. How many will go the extra mile to cast their ballots? You're in THE SITUATION ROOM.