Mega-Mysteries on the Casey Anthony Trial
A.J. HAMMER, HOST: Big news breaking tonight on SHOWBIZ TONIGHT - showbiz mega-mysteries in the Casey Anthony trial. Startling revelations today that Casey could be melting down. Tonight, is Casey about to cop a plea deal? Does she need to take the stand? And could there be riots if she is acquitted? Explosive Bristol bombshell. Bristol Palin`s remarkable revelations today about sex with her ex, Levi Johnston, and why she says Levi stole her virginity.</s>BRISTOL PALIN, DAUGHTER OF FMR. GOV. SARAH PALIN: I`m not accusing Levi of date rape and I should have never gotten myself into a situation like that.</s>UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Are you happy with the personal area of your life?</s>HAMMER: Is this the one for Jen? TV`s most provocative entertainment news show breaks news right now.</s>UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Based upon the reports the court has reviewed, the court will find that the defendant is competent to continue to proceed.</s>HAMMER: So that settled that, the judge ruling today that Casey is competent to stand trial and it was seen live right here on HLN bringing the trial to you live every day. But tonight there are other mega-mysteries lurking out there, so let`s me get to our HLN all stars. Right now, Jane Velez-Mitchell is covering the trial in Orlando. Jane, of course, seen every night here on HLN at 7:00 p.m. Eastern on "ISSUES WITH JANE VELEZ-MITCHELL." With me tonight in New York, Sunny Hostin from "In Session." Sunny is seen throughout the day, every day right here on HLN`s coverage of the Casey Anthony murder trial with her remarkable analysis. All right. Moving to the developments here, I`ve got to tell you we were just floored today when we heard that Casey Anthony was being evaluated on whether or not she was competent to stand trial. That leads to our first big showbiz mega-mystery tonight, is Casey melting down? Jane, what is going on here?</s>JANE VELEZ-MITCHELL, HOST, "ISSUES WITH JANE VELEZ-MITCHELL": Well, I think it`s a very good possibility that she is having some sort of meltdown. Imagine the pressure she is under - the entire world watching, her brother taking the stand on Friday and weeping and she wept as well. And then the prospect of her dad being called up to the stand by her own attorneys and possibly grilled about allegedly molesting her. That would be too much for anybody to take. The other possibilities are, she`s pretending to have a meltdown or did pretend to have a meltdown. Or maybe there`s some big battle in the defense team over whether or not she should testify. Those are the three main possibilities we`ve been debating.</s>HAMMER: Yes. And I have to say I agree with you. Regardless of the truth here, there has to be an immense amount of pressure that few of us could actually understand. And in the end, we know that the judge ruled Casey Anthony is in fact competent to stand trial. Let`s watch how he broke that news this morning as seen live right here on HLN.</s>UNIDENTIFIED MALE: The court ordered that the defendant to be examined by three psychologists to determine her competency to proceed. Based upon the reports that the court has reviewed, the court will find that the defendant is competent to continue to proceed.</s>HAMMER: All right. Sunny, so you heard what he said there. Three psychologists examined Casey over the weekend. Do you think that perhaps she is starting to crack under the pressure?</s>SUNNY HOSTIN, LEGAL CONTRIBUTOR, "IN SESSION": I think it`s possible. I think everyone`s theory is that it`s time for her to testify because, remember, in opening statements, they came out with these allegations that George Anthony has been molesting Casey Anthony and that Caylee drowned an accidental death. I think then that the defense attorneys may be rethinking that strategy because the only person that can put that evidence on in my view is Casey Anthony. This happened over the weekend, this alleged meltdown. And the legal standard is whether or not she understands the legal proceedings against her or whether or not she can aid in her own defense. And so I wonder if the competency issue is related to that. Can she aid her attorneys in her own defense? Can she get on the witness stand and tell the same story that they told in opening statements? That I really think is the issue behind this.</s>HAMMER: And of course, you said alleged meltdown, because to Jane`s point, who knows?</s>HOSTIN: She could be malingering. I mean, a lot of people are saying that. She`s a consummate professional liar. They`ve admitted to that, but they said she lies because of the sexual abuse. So who knows if it was factual, being three - not two, not one, but three psychologists found that she was completely competent to stand trial.</s>HAMMER: Yes. And now that she`s been declared competent to stand trial, everybody is wondering whether she will be convicted or acquitted, of course, now that this thing is going to go on. But here`s another possibility leading to our next showbiz mega- mystery tonight, could Casey cop a plea deal? Jane, give me a reality check on that.</s>VELEZ-MITCHELL: Well, hypothetically, it`s always possible. We`ve seen, in some cases, plea deals come down even while the jurors are deliberating. But she was offered a plea deal right before jury selection started. She turned it down. So I don`t know if the judge is going to be tickled to have that development this late in the game. One thing I can say with certainty about this crazy case - anything can happen.</s>HAMMER: Yes. We`ve been seeing that each and every day. And let`s say that Casey doesn`t cop a plea deal. Let`s say she beats the rap. That leads to our next showbiz mega-mystery tonight - what happens if Casey is acquitted? Now, Sunny, the "New York Times" actually quoted someone as saying there could be riots if she`s acquitted. Do you actually see it going that far?</s>HOSTIN: I have to agree. And remember, people standing in line all night to get a golden ticket, one of the 50 seats to get in and all the fights that broke out? I can imagine that something like that could certainly happen if she`s acquitted. My Facebook page blows up every time I say anything like, "Wow, the defense did pretty well today." I get hate mail. I get people saying, "What are talking -"</s>HAMMER: So if you`re getting it -</s>HOSTIN: So if I`m getting it - if she gets acquitted it, I think is very possible that there`s going to be such outrage.</s>HAMMER: Well, Casey`s defense team did call a chemistry professor to the stand today to slam the prosecution`s claim that Casey stuffed her daughter`s body in the trunk of her car. Casey`s own mother said in her 911 call to the police that she smelled death in Casey`s car. Watch what happened today.</s>UNIDENTIFIED MALE: It`s my expert opinion that there`s currently no instrumental method that`s been scientifically validated to the level that it could be used to identify the presence or absence of human remains based on the chemical residues that are present.</s>HAMMER: We know that the defense went after this professor`s testimony today. But let`s face it, there is no hard proof that Casey killed her daughter. Emotions running really high in this case. People, as Sunny was just saying, are lining up every day, even fighting over tickets to get a seat in that courtroom. Jane, in your mind, what happens if Casey is acquitted?</s>VELEZ-MITCHELL: Well, I think there would be tremendous anger, but I don`t know if I would go so far as to say that there`s going to be riots because I`ve been talking to the people, mostly women lined up to go into this trial. They`re very decent people. These are mothers, not the type to riot generally. But I do think there will be tremendous anger and frustration. There could be some protests. There could be some calls for - I don`t know - something on Facebook. But I don`t see these women that I`ve been seeing every single day lining up here going into a full-fledged riot mode.</s>HOSTIN: Let`s hope not.</s>HAMMER: Let`s hope not for sure. Let me get to another showbiz mega- mystery in this truly dramatic case that has captured the world`s attention. Does Casey need to take the stand? Now, Sunny, you mentioned a moment ago, because, really, the thinking on that can change day it day in this case.</s>HOSTIN: Yes.</s>HAMMER: So as it sits right now, are you actually leaning towards the idea that if they want to have any kind of success here, she needs to take the stand?</s>HOSTIN: I am and I said it from the very beginning, I think Jose Baez, the defense attorney in this case, put her on the witness stand with his opening statement. He said that Casey Anthony was sexually abused since she was eight years old by her father, George Anthony. He also said she isn`t a murderer because her daughter died accidentally by drowning. Who else is a witness to that? Only Casey Anthony. She has to get on the witness to prove that theory. If she doesn`t get on the witness stand and there is no evidence of this after he basically promised this to the jury, that spells big trouble.</s>HAMMER: Wow. It would be certainly riveting and a huge moment in this trial. Jane Velez-Mitchell, Sunny Hostin, I thank you both. Make sure you stay with HLN for continuing coverage of the latest developments in the Casey Anthony murder trial right here on HLN. We have to move on now to big Jennifer Aniston romance revelations today. Jen opening up for the very first time on TV about her new man, Justin Thoreau. I`ve got to wonder could this actually be the one for Jen? There`s absolutely no love between Bristol Palin and her former man, Levi Johnston. Why is she telling the world today that he stole her virginity?</s>B. PALIN: I`m not accusing Levi of date rape or rape at all. But I am just looking back with the adult eyes that I have now and just thinking that was a foolish decision.</s>HAMMER: It`s Bristol`s bombshells tonight. Levi is not going to like this. Should Bristol really be spilling the beans on Levi though? And SHOWBIZ breaks news about J-Lo and her future on "American Idol." Is Jennifer Lopez coming back? This is SHOWBIZ TONIGHT on HLN news and views. Time now for the "SHOWBIZ News Ticker" - more stories from the SHOWBIZ TONIGHT newsroom making news tonight.</s>TEXT: Chris Brown wins four BET awards including best R & B artist and video of the year. Stars speak out about Chris Brown getting past his troubles.</s>NE-YO, R & B SINGER: I mean, he`s not perfect, you know. Nobody`s perfect.