New Cain Accuser; American Airlines Files For Bankruptcy; New Allegations Emerge in Syracuse Child Sex Abuse Scandal
CAROL COSTELLO, CNN ANCHOR: I'm Carol Costello. Herman Cain denying an Atlanta woman's claim they were lovers on and off for 13 years. But could the latest sexual allegations derail Cain's presidential hopes?</s>CHRISTINE ROMANS, CNN ANCHOR: American Airlines in bankruptcy. I'm Christine Romans. The parent company of American Airlines filed for Chapter 11 protection. What it means for you if you're scheduled to fly -- on this AMERICAN MORNING.</s>COSTELLO: Hi, Paul Callan. He's going to join us in just a second. Good morning to you. It's Tuesday, November 29th. Ali has the day off.</s>ROMANS: That's right. Let's begin with some breaking news this morning for you. The parent company of American Airlines AMR has filed for bankruptcy protection. It's important to note if you are flying on American, American Airlines or American Eagle, still honoring all of its tickets, reservations, still happening like normal. There will be normal flight schedules. AMR is the only major airline to not file for bankruptcy protection over the last decade. That means it's paying more for everything from labor to financing than all of its competitors. The airlines also says its fuel expenses have jumped 40 percent from last year while other airlines have been making money on all those baggage fees and returned to profitability. American Airlines has not. Right now, U.S. markets are expected to open higher. But Dow, NASDAQ, S&P; 500 are all up, until Europe is able to get a better handle on its debt crisis, we're going to expect some big swings and a lot of uncertainty in the markets. And, of course, AMR, we'll watch to see what the reaction is in all the other airline stocks this morning.</s>COSTELLO: Also breaking right now, the man accused in the Norway massacre that killed 77 people in July has been found legally insane. That means Andres Behring Breivik will not serve time in prison. Psychiatrists say the 32-year-old was suffering from psychosis when he carried out the bombing and shooting attacks. He'll under go indefinite psychiatric care.</s>ROMANS: Meantime, the prime suspect in the case of the missing American woman in Aruba, he may soon be a free man. Gary Giordano is expected to be released back to the U.S. tonight after spending more than 100 days in jail. The judge threw out a request from the prosecution to keep Giordano detained without charges for another 30 days. Robyn Gardner went missing in August.</s>COSTELLO: Another he said/she said for Herman Cain. The Republican presidential candidate denies having a long-term extramarital affair with Atlanta businesswoman Ginger White. He says she was just a friend, but White claims the affair lasted 13 years, ending just before Cain launched his campaign. CNN's David Mattingly live in Atlanta with details on Cain's new accuser. David, what have you turned up?</s>DAVID MATTINGLY, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, Carol, this woman, this latest accuser has said that she is a former businesswoman. Her name is Ginger White. She is a single mother of two. And she claims that she had an on again/off again affair with Cain that lasted almost 14 years. It did not end, she says, until about eight months ago, shortly before Cain announced his candidacy.</s>GINGER WHITE, ALLEGES AFFAIR WITH HERMAN CAIN: It was pretty simple. It was uncomplicated and I was aware that he was married and I was also aware that I was involved in a very inappropriate situation, relationship.</s>MATTINGLY: It was broken by WAGA here in Atlanta last night. But even before that report hit the air, Herman Cain was trying to get out in front of it. He was on CNN telling Wolf Blitzer he knew the woman and described her as a friend and said the relationship was not sexual.</s>HERMAN CAIN (R), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: It is someone who is supposed to be a friend, but, obviously, they didn't see it as a friendship.</s>WOLF BLITZER, CNN ANCHOR: When you say friend, was it -- I mean, I'm asking, these are awkward questions, but I'll ask you the questions you're going to be asked. Was this an affair?</s>CAIN: No, it was not.</s>BLITZER: There was no sex?</s>CAIN: No.</s>BLITZER: None?</s>CAIN: No.</s>MATTINGLY: Ginger White, however, says that the two met when Cain was the head of the National Restaurant Association. She says he flew her to different cities to meet him and gave her gifts and the physical relationship they had didn't stop until about eight months ago. After the story aired, Cain's campaign released a statement implying that White is a detractor who is alleging events that didn't happen. Well, here's what happened when I showed that statement to her attorney.</s>MATTINGLY: Detractors are trying, once again, to derail the Cain train. Would you describe your client as a detractor?</s>EDWARD BUCKLEY, GINGER WHITE'S ATTORNEY: No, actually, I wouldn't describe her as a detractor. What she said is that, she said for herself that she had an improper relationship so she's not a detractor of his at all. No.</s>MATTINGLY: Well, the Cain campaign describes this as more accusations of past events that never happened.</s>BUCKLEY: No. I mean, I think that people out there will just have to decide whether they believe, in fact, Mr. Cain is telling the truth or they believe that Ginger White is telling the truth. But, I believe that Ginger is telling the truth.</s>MATTINGLY: Does she have anything to gain by coming forward?</s>BUCKLEY: I don't think so. I think she has everything to lose, candidly.</s>MATTINGLY: And is she asking for anything?</s>BUCKLEY: No, she is not. Nothing.</s>MATTINGLY: Now, Herman Cain's own lawyer put out a statement saying this appears to be an accusation of private alleged consensual conduct between adults. But notice that the wording here does not confirm that there was any kind of relationship like that. But he goes on to say no individual should be questioned about his or her private sex life. White and her attorney are now bracing for attacks on her credibility. She's had legal problems in the past with a former business partner and some recent financial problems that were serious enough that she's had difficulty paying her rent. But her attorney says that was not the reason she came forward. That, she said, was solely because reporters were already seeking her out and that she needed, she felt, to be the one telling her own story.</s>COSTELLO: David Mattingly reporting live from Atlanta, thank you. With this latest allegation, some political experts have suggested the so-called Cain train may be near the end of the line. CNN's Wolf Blitzer asked Cain about collateral damage to his campaign.</s>BLITZER: Are you worried this could further hurt you in this Republican race for the White House?</s>CAIN: I'm more worried that this is going to hurt my wife and my family because it's going to be proved that it was probably something else that was baseless. And the court of public opinion does not consider that when they want to pass their judgment. I can take the lumps. I expected this kind of stuff when I made the decision to run for the president of the United States of America. But the thing that I'm worried about is the impact it's going to have on my wife and my family because they should not be subjected to false accusations that cannot be proved.</s>BLITZER: Have you spoken to your wife about this?</s>CAIN: Yes, I am. Yes, I have spoken to my wife.</s>BLITZER: How did they react?</s>CAIN: My wife's reaction was very similar to mine: "Here we go, again."</s>COSTELLO: Cain has seen his poll numbers plunge as he's dealt with allegations of sexual harassment.</s>ROMANS: The wife of former Syracuse basketball Coach Bernie Fine plans to make a statement today. Laurie Fine will reportedly challenge the validity of a taped conversation she reportedly had with one of her husband's accusers -- a conversation that suggests that she knew about Bernie Fine's alleged abuse. She's expected to say that the recording was doctored and taken out of context.</s>COSTELLO: And former Penn State football coach Jerry Sandusky launching his own investigation. Sandusky's lawyer said he's hired a personal investigator to prove he did not abuse any boys. The long time coach is charged with 40 counts related to alleged sexual abuse of eight young boys over a 14-year stretch.</s>ROMANS: Two people following these cases with us, CNN legal contributor Paul Callan. Good morning, Paul.</s>PAUL CALLAN, CNN LEGAL CONTRIBUTOR: Good morning, Christine.</s>ROMANS: Let's talk about Bernie Fine first. He faces now three accusers. The youngest accuser is 23 years old, I think. Two investigations now, one in Pittsburgh. How likely is it that these investigations can move forward here? Carol has been -- we've been talking about the statute of limitations on some of these.</s>CALLAN: Well, I'm kind of amazed by the avalanche of sex scandals going on in the news. I mean, it's really hard to, you know, keep them in line and keep track of them.</s>COSTELLO: That's sad commentary.</s>CALLAN: Yes, it's very sad commentary. But let's talk about Syracuse for a second. There are statute of limitations and problems. But there are ways to get around that in many situations because if you are abused as a child, usually, you don't have to report it until you become an adult in many jurisdictions and the feds are now getting involved in the investigation. And I think that will be a solution to the statute of limitations problem. There may be allegations of civil rights violations. There may be allegations of other aspects going on, once federal investigators get involved. And that may solve the problem.</s>COSTELLO: Let's talk about the phone call. Supposedly one of Fine's alleged victims taped a phone call -- Laurie Fine was on the other end of the phone. She is Bernie Fine's wife, the accused in this case. It seems as if Laurie Fine kind of like gave credence to this young man's story. So, let's listen to a bit of this phone call first.</s>LAURIE FINE: I know everything that went on, you know. I know everything that went on with him. Bernie has issues, maybe that he's not aware of, but he has issues. And you trusted somebody you shouldn't have trusted.</s>BOBBY DAVIS:  YES. FINE: Bernie is also in denial. I think that he did the things he did, but somehow through his own mental telepathy has erased them out of his mind.</s>COSTELLO: So, this phone conversation was supposedly taped in, what, 2002/2003. Laurie Fine is expected to release a statement later today saying that this was doctored. In listening to this, and I know you dealt with a lot of these kinds of cases, does that sound doctored to you?</s>CALLAN: No, it doesn't. It's a -- and I will tell you, I actually had cases where there were doctored tapes and sometimes, they're choppy and you kind of suspect something immediately. That's a pretty smooth flowing conversation. And everything seems to fit in context. And, obviously, it's very, very damming to both her and her husband because she's, obviously, aware, involved, maybe even aiding and abetting, I supposed, some might argue.</s>COSTELLO: But she doesn't come right out and say, oh, my husband is a pedophile.</s>CALLAN: No, she doesn't, but she does indicate he's got problems and you should be aware of them.</s>ROMANS: Issues.</s>CALLAN: Issues, yes.</s>ROMANS: You trusted the wrong guy. You trusted the wrong guy.</s>CALLAN: Exactly. You know, and that suggests to me, if he's got that little snippet of tape, what else is lingering out there? Why are federal investigators looking at computers? You know, what is going to be found through a forensic investigation here?</s>COSTELLO: Why did he turn that tape over to the university or Syracuse authorities?</s>ROMANS: He did turn it over -- he did turn it over to a newspaper.</s>COSTELLO: And a local newspaper.</s>CALLAN: Well, I don't know at what point in time he turned it over. It wasn't turned over, I think, back in 2002 or 2003. Of course, he may have viewed --</s>COSTELLO: 2005, it was.</s>CALLAN: Well, he may have viewed it as not relevant to the pedophilia allegation that was being made against the coach. He is thinking, well, I'm just talking to his wife. I'm not talking to him. So, maybe he thought not an important piece of evidence. But now it's breaking in the press, he realizes it is important. We'll find out subsequently, there will be an explanation. And by the way, you'll hire a forensic -- they'll hire a forensic expert who will examine this. And if it's a forgery or fraud, I think we'll find that out as well.</s>ROMANS: Speaking of hiring, I want to switch to Jerry Sandusky in that Penn State story. So, we're also hearing that Jerry Sandusky hired a private investigator to prove his innocence.</s>CALLAN: Yes.</s>ROMANS: Is that his team saying that don't think they're going to give the favorable outcome from the actual people who are investigating it?</s>CALLAN: Well, you know, Christine, I was chuckling when I read that because doing criminal defense work as I do, we always hire private investigators. Every single case you have, you hire one. But they're so desperate for a positive news story they say, we hired a private investigator to investigate his innocence. So, what's the next story? We hired a typist to type up the motion papers?</s>ROMANS: Well, the victims families get very upset when they hear something like this, because they feel like it means that he's proclaiming his innocence and he's going to go and start trying to --</s>CALLAN: Dig into their past.</s>ROMANS: Right, dig into some of these.</s>CALLAN: By the way, that's exactly what's going on to go on. I mean, in these private investigations, you look at the witnesses against your client. You find out that they have a prior record, have they told the truth in the past. You look for things that you can use against them in court. I mean, it's a nasty business drawing a case. So, I'm not at all surprised that they hired a private investigator. But I don't think it's a big deal. I think it's absolutely normal in a criminal investigation.</s>ROMANS: He's still proclaiming his innocence so vociferously? Sandusky?</s>CALLAN: Well, no. I mean, what's his alternative? To plead guilty. The surprising thing, though, does go back to that press conference that he and the lawyer had in which, you know, he explained that he likes to horse around in showers with little boys. I mean, to me, in the end, that's going to be the thing that will be the most damming piece of evidence in the entire case.</s>ROMANS: Really?</s>CALLAN: Lawyers will wonder, why in the world would you say that publicly? It's put him in such a difficult position in terms of defending the case.</s>COSTELLO: Paul Callan, thanks for coming in, we appreciate it. Still ahead, remember last month's $254 million power ball jackpot? It's been claimed by three men and their identities has us all talking this morning. The stunning twist is coming up.</s>ROMANS: And Kate Middleton got the fairy tale, but her younger sister, Pippa is writing the book. The world's most famous maid of honor signs a book deal for big bucks. Details, ahead.</s>COSTSELLO: And it doesn't happen often in November, but snow is falling across the Deep South. Snow in Mississippi. It's crazy. Jacqui Jeras is tracking it. It's 13 minutes past the hour.