[Paula Zahn, Cnn Anchor:] Good evening. Thanks so much for joining us tonight. I'm Paula Zahn. Tonight, one of the very last e-mails Nicholas Berg sent from Iraq.
[Zahn:] Could the U.S. government have prevented the capture and beheading of Nicholas Berg?
[George W. Bush, President Of The United States:] There is no justification for the brutal execution of Nicholas Berg.
[Zahn:] Tonight, one of Berg's friends helps piece together what happened. We had been told the worst was yet to come. Senator Jay Rockefeller joins me to describe what is in the new photographs and videos of Americans abusing Iraqi prisoners. Also tonight, a Tennessee couple's battle to keep a Chinese baby who has been in their custody for nearly five years. The girl's birth parents now want her back. We're going to tell you what a judge decided just this evening and get one of the families' reactions. Plus, one of Michael Jackson's former attorneys joins me to survey some of the major criminal trials that are just around the corner. First, though, some of the headlines you need to know right now. A new statement from the FBI says before Nicholas Berg was captured and beheaded, the Coalition Provisional Authority offered to give him safe passage out of Iraq. The FBI says he refused. The statement was issued after Berg's family publicly blamed U.S. government actions for contributing to his death. An FBI official tells CNN the agency will investigate Berg's death. U.S. troops tonight battled insurgents around the Iraqi cities of Karbala and Najaf. However, efforts continue to negotiate a peace between coalition and military forces loyal to Muslim cleric Muqtada al-Sadr. Convicted sex offender Alfonso Rodriguez Jr. has been charged with kidnapping University of North Dakota student Dru Sjodin, leading to her death. If convicted, he could be sentenced to death. The abuse of Iraqi prisoners is still "In Focus" tonight. Military officials in Baghdad announced plans to court-martial two military police sergeants facing charges in the Abu Ghraib prison scandal. Sergeant Javal Davis and Staff Sergeant Ivan "Chip" Frederick each face five counts. Specialist Jeremy Sivits already faces a military trial next week. Also today, U.S. lawmakers got their first look at the still secret pictures of Iraqi prisoners being abused. Afterward, many described the images as appalling, reprehensible and obscene. Let's go Capitol Hill and congressional correspondent Joe Johns.
[Joe Johns, Cnn Capitol Hill Correspondent:] Military personnel brought the photo and video file to the Capitol for members of the House and Senate to view in separate rooms.
[Sen. Bill Frist , Majority Leader:] Very, very appalling.
[Unidentified Male:] They were bad. They're all bad.
[Johns:] Members said they saw one man beating his head against a wall repeatedly, videos of hooded men masturbating and Iraqi women forced to bare their breasts. One senator said he saw no evidence of rape and murder.
[Unidentified Male:] I did not see a video of either a rape of a male prisoner or a female prisoner.
[Johns:] Democrats said the abuse was the work of more than a few rogue soldiers.
[Unidentified Male:] Now, you can't tell me that all of this was going on with seven or eight Army privates. And so the question is, where did that failure of the command-and-control occur?
[Johns:] Senior Republicans warned against making the pictures public.
[Sen. John Warner , Virginia:] Err on the side of caution. I think at this time it would not be wise to publish them.
[Johns:] Chairman Warner said that would endanger criminal cases and violate the Federal Privacy Act. House Democratic Leader Nancy Pelosi agreed, citing the Geneva Convention's ban against publicly humiliating prisoners of war.
[Rep. Nancy Pelosi , Minority Leader:] The rights of these prisoners have to be protected.
[Johns:] And many lawmakers said the beheading of an American hostage put the photos into a different perspective.
[Rep. Tom Delay , Majority Leader:] We should not forget that our enemies are incredibly more evil than what is depicted in these pictures.
[Johns:] Congressional aides estimated that more than half the members of the Senate saw the pictures. The crowd at the viewing in the House was described as standing room only. But some members of Congress expressed no interest at all in seeing the pictures, describing them as more of what has already been released. Joe Johns, CNN, Capitol Hill.
[Zahn:] And later on, we'll get to more reaction to the photos from Senate Intelligence Committee member Jay Rockefeller of West Virginia. Right now, though, we turn to the tragic story of Nicholas Berg. Tonight, his body is on its way back to his hometown of West Chester, Pennsylvania. People there remember him as a smart and very funny but serious guy about helping others less fortunate than himself. Nader Neshewat was a friend and colleague of Nicholas Berg. He spoke with the Berg family just today. He joins us now from Washington. Good of you to join us, sir. Welcome.
[Nader Neshewat, Friend Of Nicholas Berg:] Thank you very much. It is a tragic occasion, but I'm glad to be with you.
[Zahn:] Tell us what Nick Berg's family wants you to share with America.
[Neshewat:] Well, I think you don't have to know Nick and you don't have to have seen him before. This has been a very tragic and sad occasion, an action that is not done by human beings. It is a barbaric action. And one of the reasons I'm here is to tell the rest of the U.S. of A. and the world that the Middle East is not all like that. This is only a few that makes it bad for the rest, just like the prison scandal.
[Zahn:] I know that you had the opportunity to talk with Nick Berg's mother today. What are you comfortable sharing with us about that conversation?
[Neshewat:] Well, she reminded me that I was the guy from Jordan who told him not to go, discouraged him from going. And honestly that left my mind, but I did. We met on the 13th of March at the Crystal Mall here, the Crystal City Mall, for a few minutes. And we had coffee together. He showed me all his pictures that he brought back from Iraq. And I told him that, look, Nick, you got the data, you got the information that you need to get a contract. Why don't you just pursue it from here? Now things are not looking good. And he says, well, look, I love the country. I want to help them. Look how what they did to the country. Look at the looters, what they did. They're breaking the cable from the top of it and they just sell it to make a few dollars a few dinars, Iraqi dinars. So he was very energetic, motivated. He wants to help the people of Iraq. He wanted to restore all the AM and FM antennas that has been broken down and coming down if it is not being fixed. And he had some contacts. For a 26-year-old man, he had a lot of connections. He went around by himself on his own in a country that nobody dares to do that.
[Zahn:] He sounds like he was an incredibly unselfish human being. Take us back in time a little bit to April 9, which was the day that Nick called his family from Iraq saying that he was trying to find safe passage out of the country. That happened to be the same day that you got an e-mail from him, which was the last contact anybody had with him. I understand you wanted to share that with our audience tonight. And feel free to read it if you would like to.
[Neshewat:] Nick did not mention anything about being held in prison for any time. But what he did say that I would not encourage you to come to Iraq in the near future. Things are not good. Doesn't look good. And the roads are closed to Jordan. He loved Jordan. And he wanted he used the road between Baghdad and Amman very repeatedly. And he loved to travel in escort bus and jet bus. And he loved the Jordan for another reason. He saw so many minarets there in Jordan. And he, being of a Jewish descent, he loved that. He wanted the first time he goes to the Middle East, it was around Christmas on his first trip, and when he sent me an e-mail that time, on 25 December, and he was celebrating Christmas and he's talking to me from Jordan where Christ was born.
[Zahn:] Do you want to read part of the e-mail tonight?
[Neshewat:] Well, you have it in front of you. And if you could read it, I would appreciate that.
[Zahn:] OK, I'm going to try to grab a copy of that. But you mentioned something that I think has created a bit of a controversy among people watching the story. You mentioned that he is of Jewish descent. Are you of the belief that Nicholas Berg was targeted because he was Jewish?
[Neshewat:] You know, if I was that's the first the first thought I had in my mind. But those killers or murderers, they did not mention that. And I thought they would take advantage of that and say it to to say, we got an American and a Jew at the same time. And because that they are, you know, very hostile towards Israel and the United States because of the occupation in Iraq. And they consider Israel's occupation in Palestine on the same level. I did not see that. But I know that he was arrested by the Iraqi police and that could be that could be because of his Jewish nationality religion.
[Zahn:] Nader, how bitter are you about what happened to your good friend?
[Neshewat:] Well, I am very sad. And I couldn't sleep last night. I don't know if they will be caught in the future. I hope they will. But, you know, this is a bad time for everybody. And I just my heart bleeds. I feel the pain of his parents. I have a 26-year-old daughter and she'll be 26 on 1 June. And if I lost her, I don't know what I'll do.
[Zahn:] Well, we know how difficult it was for you to share your memories of Nicholas with us tonight.
[Neshewat:] Yes, the e-mail on 9 April, by the way, he sent it to me and he's asking me to provide him with input on how is things here, how is the weather, and when am I coming to Iraq, and even he telling me how much is the Iraqi dinar value, because I was asking him to bring some back so I can give it to friends and or keep it, you know, until it goes good in value. But, you know, his e-mail was so so sincere and warm. I didn't realize this is the last e-mail he is sending out. I didn't.
[Zahn:] That is so sad.
[Neshewat:] And until I got an e-mail from his parents sending it to all his friends. Michael and Suzanne send it to us, asking us for contact for if we know anything about Nick. And I went and the same day, I sent e-mails to all my friends in Iraq and Baghdad, who I had commended him to them and to ask them if they knew or heard of Nick. And nothing came back from them.
[Zahn:] Well, we are sorry that you have to join us under such sad circumstances. Nader Neshewat, thank you for sharing some of those memories with us tonight.
[Neshewat:] You're welcome, Paula.
[Zahn:] We appreciate it. Coming up, what do Iraqis have to say about the murder of Nicholas Berg? We're going to go to the streets of Baghdad for reaction that is emotional and sometimes shocking. Also ahead, with the president having such a tough time, why isn't the Kerry campaign gaining in the polls? And it is a summer bonanza for celebrity trials. We're going to get an expert view of what to expect in these high-profile cases from a former member of Michael Jackson's defense team.