Al Gore to Testify on Capitol Hill About Global Warming
TONY HARRIS, CNN ANCHOR: And good morning, everyone. You are in the CNN NEWSROOM. I'm Tony Harris.</s>HEIDI COLLINS, CNN ANCHOR: And I'm Heidi Collins. For the next three hours, watch events come in to the NEWSROOM live on Wednesday, March 21st. Here's what's on the rundown. Capitol collision. Congress set to authorize subpoenas as early as today for top White House aides. President Bush refusing to let them testify under oath about fired prosecutors.</s>HARRIS: He's become something of a Hollywood celebrity. Al Gore taking his global warming campaign to the Capitol at this hour.</s>COLLINS: Chinese food, a wok on the wild side? A consumer group warning -- stir fry more than meets the eye. Salt surplus in the</s>NEWSROOM. HARRIS: And at the top this hour, offer made, offer rejected, showdown set. Next hour, a House committee debates whether to authorize subpoenas for top Bush aides. Democrats rejecting the president's proposal they speak privately and not under oath about the firing of federal prosecutors. That sets the stage for a constitutional challenge, one that ultimately may be refereed by the Supreme Court. Here is CNN Congressional Correspondent Dana Bash.</s>DANA BASH, CNN CONGRESSIONAL CORRESPONDENT (voice over): White House counsel Fred Fielding would not comment as he left a closed-door Capitol Hill meeting trying to navigate the crushing scene. But Democrats did.</s>REP. JOHN CONYERS (D), CHAIRMAN, JUDICIARY COMMITTEE: We are disappointed. And I think -- I think that may be an understatement.</s>BASH: "Clever, but incomplete, at best" is how one top Democrat described the White House offer to make Karl Rove and other Bush aides available for a private interview, but not public testimony.</s>SEN. CHARLES SCHUMER (D), NEW YORK: It's sort of giving us the opportunity to talk to them, but not giving us the opportunity to get to the bottom of what really happened here.</s>BASH: Democrats say their biggest problems with the White House proposal are that Bush aides would not be under oath and there would be no transcript of their answers about why federal prosecutors were fired.</s>SCHUMER: And with no transcript, with no oath, with private conversations that can be contradicted, recollections can fail, you're not going to get very far.</s>BASH: The demand for Rove, former White House counsel Harriet Miers and their deputies to testify came from Democrats and Republicans. One senior GOP lawmaker came out of the meeting and said he thought the White House laid out a fair deal.</s>REP. CHRIS CANNON (R), UTAH: I'm a very zealous guardian of the prerogatives of Congress, but I expect the president to be a zealous guardian of the executive branch, as well. And I think it's a great offer.</s>BASH: And later, a Bush ally slammed Democrats for rejecting the president's offer so fast.</s>SEN. JOHN CORNYN (R), TEXAS: And I just think that we shouldn't be under any illusion that this is about politics, it's not about a search for the truth. And, frankly, I think that this Congress and the Senate deserves better than that.</s>HARRIS: Congressional Correspondent Dana Bash joins us now. Dana, good morning to you.</s>BASH: Good morning.</s>HARRIS: So, Dana, what now? Where are we?</s>BASH: Well, here's where we are. In about an hour, Tony, the House Judiciary Committee is going to meet and pretty much defy the president point blank. They are going to vote to authorize the chairman of that committee to issue subpoenas if he thinks that's necessary, essentially giving them what we've been talking about for the past couple of days, an insurance policy of sorts if these negotiations completely collapse. That's going to happen in about an hour in the House. The Senate is going to do the same exact thing tomorrow -- Tony.</s>HARRIS: OK, Dana. Publicly, Democrats are saying no deal, public testimony on the record with a transcript, under lights on CNN live. But in the back room there somewhere, is there some wiggle room?</s>BASH: You know, they did expect -- the Democrats, at least, expected that they would get some kind of compromise offer from the White House. So, they do expect to issue some kind of counter offer. Essentially, Tony, what they say the biggest problem that they have with this is there's not going to be a transcript of these interviews. And essentially what that means is they say that they can't really conduct a thorough investigation because they won't know whether or not Karl Rove, Harriet Miers, others are being truthful, whether or not they're giving complete testimony, whether they're perhaps contradicting others, because they will be relying on each other's notes from these interviews. That's their biggest problem. That's likely what they're going to be pushing back the hardest on. And also the issue of having them under oath. They say that even if they're perhaps not under oath, if they have a transcript, they will at least know if they're truthful, because there is law essentially that makes it so that even if somebody is not actually under oath with their right hand in the air, they still can't lie to Congress.</s>HARRIS: And theoretically, if you have a transcript, it would give the White House aides an opportunity to clarify statements that might be a little hazy or confused. I mean, that's a possibility as well, isn't it?</s>BASH: That's exactly the argument the Democrats are making, that that is why that they want -- that's probably their biggest problem with this, is that they need to have a transcript of this meeting, whether it's in public or private. That might be the next bid, if you will, from the Democrat's side. We'll listen.</s>HARRIS: There you go. Congressional Correspondent Dana Bash for us this morning. Dana, thank you.</s>BASH: Thank you.</s>COLLINS: Now let's get the view from the White House this morning. CNN's Ed Henry is standing by. Ed, the president seems to be drawing a line in the sand, if you will. Why is that?</s>ED HENRY, CNN WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT: Well, part of it is executive privilege, that principle. Obviously, the president is not a Johnny-come-lately to that. He's asserted this early and often throughout his presidency, feeling that it should be a muscular executive branch. But let's face it, there's also politics here. He's under a lot of pressure from his conservative flank. They feel like this president, this White House, has not been standing up to this resurgent, more aggressive Democratic Congress. They want to see him pushing back more. And you saw the president do that yesterday. You know, we've noticed here in recent months the president hasn't quite had that swagger he had early in his presidency. He didn't necessarily have the swagger back, but he was more defiant in his tone, basically telling the Democrats, as you heard from Dana, no deal on these subpoenas, no deal on coming forward on testimony under oath and in public, and basically saying this is a fight over principle. Take a listen.</s>BUSH: And if you haul somebody up in front of Congress and put them in oath and, you know, all the</s>HENRY: Now, he was also defiant in once again giving confidence to his attorney general, saying he's behind Alberto Gonzales despite all these published reports saying he's going to push him out, there are already other candidates out there, a plan B for the White House. He once again stood squarely behind Alberto Gonzales -- Heidi.</s>COLLINS: That's right. And he also did say yesterday when we listened to him, Ed, "We will not go along with a partisan fishing expedition." Is he trying to protect someone, or is it really about executive privilege, as we've been talking about?</s>HENRY: I think it's a combination. As I said, he's asserted this privilege before, so it's -- he has a track record on this, if you will. Number two, it is also about protecting loyal aides. In the final years of this administration, it's interesting, the shrinking number of loyal Texans in his inner circle. A lot of them have left. Gonzales and Rove are two of the last ones from his days as governor. He's going to protect them at all costs. But finally, beyond principle and loyalty, it's politics, bottom line. And this president realizes if that he doesn't stand up and stop the Democrats here, the floodgates will open. They'll be subpoenaing Karl Rove on any number of issues -- the CIA leak case. They'll try to dredge up, go after on the Iraq war. It will be a whole litany of issues, investigations, and they feel like if they don't bar the door here, you know, it's, look out, there's going to be one subpoena after another. So that's why he's launching this fight -- Heidi.</s>COLLINS: Did you say it's about politics? Is that what I heard you say, Ed?</s>HENRY: I think it might be part of it. I'm not sure. But...</s>COLLINS: All right, Ed. We'll check in with you a little bit later on. Thanks so much.</s>HENRY: Thanks. Sure.</s>HARRIS: Across Iraq, no letup in the violence. More lives lost in bombings and mortar attacks. In all, at least 20 people, including suspected insurgents, have been killed. In Baghdad, a police officer and two civilians were killed in two separate roadside bombs. And more gruesome discoveries. Police say nearly three dozen bodies have been found across the city. The death toll for suspected insurgents also on the rise. The military says more than a dozen were killed today in raids in Anbar Province and north of Baghdad.</s>COLLINS: Another night on the edge. U.S. soldiers carrying cargo to forward operating bases in Iraq. CNN's John King goes along for the ride.</s>JOHN KING, CNN CHIEF NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Every pothole, trash pile and lump of grass a potentially deadly enemy.</s>UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Go ahead, 33. This is</s>KING: Specialist Terrence Dixon searches the roadside with a spotlight. His position is the most vulnerable -- exposed some even with the upgraded armor. But if he has to be out here, in the gunner's turret is where Dixon wants to be.</s>SPEC. TERRENCE DIXON, U.S. ARMY: It feels like you can defend yourself if you're the actual person bringing the hammer down.</s>KING: Mine clearing trucks check the roads regularly, as do unmanned surveillance drones. The driver is the last line of defense against an enemy that could be anywhere.</s>UNIDENTIFIED MALE: The way it is now in Iraq, though, everything is really out of the ordinary because, I mean, there's trash all over the place and there's holes all over the place.</s>UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I'm going to pull over and let him go around.</s>KING: Forward Operating Base Gabe is tonight's destination and the halfway point of another night on the edge. (on camera): This base, just on the edge of Baquba, is populated mostly by Georgian troops, but also a small contingent of U.S. Marines. Because of its very limited facilities, it's taking nearly three hours to unload the water trucks, but we're almost ready now to head back. (voice-over): Quick swerves on the way home are shaped by Heywood's (ph) memory of the trip out.</s>UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Damn, what the hell is that? It looks like a stack of grass or something. When the road is clear like this and then all of a sudden you see something that wasn't there when you came through. Not all the time is it an IED, but it keep you alert, though.</s>KING: A narrow bridge then lights on the horizon mean camp is close. Up to 100 major supply convoys a week in Iraq. Five or six have IED incidents on a slow week. Fifteen or more a week is more the norm. So everyone counts their blessings and everyone counts their days.</s>UNIDENTIFIED MALE: If they say go to Iraq then I ain't got no choice but to go and just do my time over here and then hopefully make it back. Six months to go. Six months to go.</s>KING: John King, CNN, Balad, Iraq.</s>COLLINS: On the ground in Baghdad. What's the situation now that a new security plan is in place? We'll hear from an Iraqi journalist. He's here in the U.S. now, but his thoughts are never far from home. His story coming up in the</s>NEWSROOM. HARRIS: Global warning. A former vice president-turned-climate- crusader takes his message to Capitol Hill. Al Gore testifies before a House panel at the bottom of the hour. He is pushing for government action to fight global warming. Senior political analyst Bill Schneider joins us to talk about Gore's environmental campaign. Bill, good to see you.</s>WILLIAM SCHNEIDER, CNN SR. POLITICAL ANALYST: Good morning.</s>HARRIS: I've heard this morning that the former vice president might get a green reception on -- ha, ha, ha. But what kind of reception are we expecting this morning?</s>SCHNEIDER: Well, you're going to get a lot of praise for the former vice president from Democrats and a lot of skeptical questions from Republicans who want to ask him some very tough questions. He rarely appears before a tough audience of critics on global warming. His lectures are usually delivered to friendly audiences, and of course last month he got his Academy Award -- or at least his producers did -- for the film starring Al Gore, "An Inconvenient Truth," which became an unexpected hit. And the Hollywood audience was very friendly. A lot of people want to know, is there any chance whatever that he could run for president. But in Congress, there are Republicans, some of whom are very skeptical of what they call alarmism on the issue of global warming, and they are going to be holding Al Gore's feet to the fire when he faces their questions today.</s>HARRIS: Hey, Bill, let me get back to that point you were alluding to just a moment ago, this idea of Vice President Gore running for president. He says he's not going to run. Do we believe him?</s>SCHNEIDER: He says he has no plans to run. These statements are very carefully parsed. He says he has no plans to run. He hasn't entirely shut the door. He hasn't made the Shermanesque statement that, you know, "If nominated, I will not run. If elected, I will not serve." He hasn't said that quite. So, there's still, you know, a little burning ember of hope among his fans and supporters in the Democratic Party, including some Democrats who are worried that they have a real chance to capture the presidency, and they worry about the electability of some of their top candidates. And they say, you know, Al Gore got more votes than George Bush in 2000. He's the most experienced, he's the one who ought to run in 2000. In that way, Democrats believe they might clinch the White House. And he has a real issue now. Global warming a real cause that he's been working on devotedly for the last eight years.</s>HARRIS: So, we will follow that reception and his comments on Capitol Hill this morning. Bill Schneider for us this morning. Bill, thank you.</s>SCHNEIDER: Sure.</s>COLLINS: A rookie rescuer is first to sniff out the location of a missing Boy scout. Michael Auberry and a canine hero, lost and found in the</s>NEWSROOM. HARRIS: Chopper down, hostile land. The rescue is no mission for the meek.</s>UNIDENTIFIED MALE: If it were easy, everybody would be doing it. The potential for disaster there is phenomenal.</s>HARRIS: Combat search and rescue urban style -- in the</s>NEWSROOM. COLLINS: It looks like the real thing. Police say a third- grader packed a toy pistol for protection at the bus stop. That's ahead in the</s>NEWSROOM. HARRIS: Step away from the buffet, put down the chopsticks. A new report on Chinese food could leave a bitter taste in your mouth. Our Dr. Sanjay Gupta is live with the fast food facts ahead in the NEWSROOM.