Jury Begins Deliberations in Casey Anthony Trial
JOE JOHNS, GUEST HOST: Happening now: We're standing by for any word of a verdict in the Casey Anthony trial. The sensational case of a mother charged with murdering her two-year old daughter, now is in the hands of a jury. Plus, Republicans on parade. Most of the GOP presidential candidates are spending this holiday with voters in key battleground states. This hour, their stops, and their missteps. And a fugitive on murder charges here in the U.S. alerts police that he's in Mexico and taunt themselves by saying, catch me if you can. Wolf Blitzer is off today. I'm Joe Johns. You're in THE SITUATION ROOM. Jurors have been deliberating for about five hours now in one of the most sensational and most watched murder trials in recent years. 25-year-old Casey Anthony is waiting to find out whether she'll be convicted of killing her two-year-old daughter Caylee. Prosecutors closed by arguing that Anthony killed Caylee in 2008, because the toddler was getting in if the way of her love life and partying. Anthony has pleaded not guilty to all seven counts against her and denies hurting her daughter. The defense argues the child drowned in the family swimming pool. Our senior legal analyst Jeffrey Toobin joins us now on the phone. And, Jeff, simple question is, looking at the elements as you see them, do you think the prosecution here has proven a case of first degree murder?</s>JEFFREY TOOBIN, CNN LEGAL ANALYST: You know, Joe, based on my -- what I've seen of the evidence, I think first degree murder is a long shot verdict here. There are so many open questions. There is no time of death, there's no cause of death, and there is just circumstantial evidence, powerful circumstantial evidence that Casey Anthony killed her daughter. But I think first degree murder, which is premeditated, which is intentional murder, that's a long shot verdict.</s>JOHNS: And so there are obviously a variety of other charges here, including aggravated manslaughter of a child. Do you see that as perhaps more in the mix for a jury to look at?</s>TOOBIN: I think that is a far more likely verdict. Casey Anthony's behavior was so bizarre. And she told so many lies and behaved so oddly following the death of her daughter I would not be at all surprised to see a conviction in this case for any of those lesser charges, like aggravated manslaughter, but I certainly don't see the evidence for first degree murder.</s>JOHNS: Right after the closing arguments today many of our viewers actually watched and saw the judge instructing the jury on a variety of these counts. Let's listen to a little bit of what the judge had to say before giving the evidence to the jury-oh, I'm sorry, we do not have that. The simple version here, though, is there are a variety of different charges. He instructed the jury in 100 different ways. They have been sequestered for a long time. Do you see this thing going on for three or four or five days? Or what is the general principle that you apply to a jury being out a long time, versus out a short time if there is one?</s>TOOBIN: There's a rough rule of thumb, among trail lawyers, that says one day of deliberation for each week of trial. So we argue for two weeks of deliberation here. That rule is very much honored in the breach a lot. People remember the O.J. Simpson case that was a three- month trial, and took one day of deliberation. Strange things happen in trial so I wouldn't be all surprised to see any length of deliberation in this case. Though one day would certainly be very, very unlikely. I expect the jury will deliberate at least into next week, given the complexity and length of the trial.</s>JOHNS: Certainly has been a long and complex trial. And it has certainly gathered the attention of people all over the country, if not the world. Thanks so much, Jeffery Toobin for checking in with us. Stay close to your phone because we might have to talk again soon. President Obama hosts a Fourth of July celebration at the White House in the next hour with U.S. military heroes and their family, as special guests. It is a brief break from the high-stakes political fight over raising the legal limit and national debt. Emphasize brief. The clock is ticking and the administration is exploring all of its options. Let's bring in our White House Correspondent Dan Lothian. Dan, good evening.</s>DAN LOTHIAN, CNN WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT: Good evening. Well, you know that August 2 deadline is quickly approaching and the White House continues to warn of the dire consequences if the debt ceiling is not raised. One option now being floated involves the 14th Amendment.</s>LOTHIAN: At a Q&A; session in May, hosted by "POLITICO" Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner whipped out a copy of the 14th Amendment to warn lawmakers against threatening a default in debt ceiling talks.</s>TIMOTHY GEITHNER, SECRETARY OF THE TREASURY: The validity of the public debt in the United States authorized by law including debts incurred for the payments of pension and bounties for services in suppressing insurrection rebellion-this is the important thing-shall not be questioned.</s>LOTHIAN: Now some Democrats seem to be taking a closer look at those four words, Geithner emphasized in Section</s>IV. GEITHNER: Shall not be questioned.</s>LOTHIAN: As a possible solution in breaking the debt ceiling impasse. The thinking is that President Obama may be able to ignore the ceiling because it is unconstitutional. But Steve Vladic, a constitutional law professor at American University says it's not so black and white.</s>STEVE VLADIC, LAW PROFESSOR, AMERICAN UNIV.: I think we're not really talking about the clear legal argument so much as we are talking about what's possible. I think there's at least some textual support for that argument in Section IV. But this is a provision even though it's been around for 135 years, it's barely been interpreted. It's never really been the subject of Supreme Court decisions. So I think all we have is speculation and guesses.</s>LOTHIAN: Despite intense talks led by Vice President Biden and more than $1 trillion in budget cuts identified, Republicans and Democrats remain at sharp odds over deeper spending cuts and tax hikes for the wealthy. With the clock ticking, a long-term solution becomes more difficult. So back to Section IV of the 14th Amendment, while legal scholars debate it and some Democrats entertain it, Republican Senator John Cornyn dismissed it on "FOX News Sunday."</s>SEN. JOHN CORNYN, (R) TEXAS: That's crazy talk. It is not acceptable for Congress and the president not to do their job and say somehow the president has the authority to basically do this by himself. We ought to sit down and work together.</s>LOTHIAN: Senator Cornyn suggested that Republicans might be willing to embrace a mini debt ceiling deal. This is something we heard from former President Bill Clinton over the weekend, extending for, perhaps, six months, even eight months. But also, Cornyn warning that this would only delay the, quote, "moment of truth," Joe.</s>JOHNS: So, Dan, just to be clear here. Has the administration sent any signals at all it might tangibly use this weapon? Or is it just a trial balloon in your view?</s>LOTHIAN: This is just something that has been floated about, mainly by Democrats. The White House has not specifically said that this is a tool that they would employ, if it comes down to that. They really hope that Republicans and Democrats can hammer this out by that August 2 deadline. That's what they're pushing for right now, Joe.</s>JOHNS: Dan Lothian at the White House. Thanks so much for that, Dan. Now a closer look at the soaring national debt and what could go wrong, if the limit, if all that red ink isn't raised a month from now. Here is CNN's Christine Romans.</s>CHRISTINE ROMANS, CNN FINANCIAL CORRESPONDENT: Congress is giving up its July Fourth holiday recess to get back to work tomorrow on the nation's budget deficit. If the debt ceiling isn't raised by August 2, the U.S. Treasury won't be able to pay all of its bills. We've been here before, but never quite so close to default. Take a look at this. Since we've been accumulating a big national debt, Congress has raised the debt ceiling just 78 times, since 1960 alone. Since the nation's debt reached the $1 trillion mark in the early 1980s, government borrowing, look at this. Look at how government borrowing has skyrocketed, climbing really at an exponential rate. Right now, the debt ceiling is $14.2 trillion. That is a lot of money, but how is that in relationship to how big the economy is. It's about 95 percent of the size of the whole economy. We're fast approaching rates not seen since way back in World War II and the Great Depression, when the size of the debt limit and the national debt was actually bigger than our GDP. This is what economists called a debt crisis. The bottom line, America runs by borrowing money. Right now, for every dollar the American government spends 38 cents of that is borrowed money. If the debt ceiling is not raised in time, the U.S. could default on some of those payments. That's the last thing we need, recovering from a recession. Christine Romans, CNN, New York.</s>JOHNS: It's a busy holiday for Republican presidential candidates. We'll look at how they are competing for one another for voters' attention today. And former IMF chief Dominique Strauss-Kahn may face new sexual assault charges even as the sex case against him in New York could be falling apart.