This is a rush transcript of "Special Report With Brit Hume" from May 8, 2007.
BRIT HUME, FOX NEWS ANCHOR: Next on SPECIAL REPORT, authorities bust up a terror plot and arrest six Muslims, three of them illegal immigrants. Supposedly planning an attack on Fort Di x in New Jersey. Wait until you hear how they caught them.
The Pentagon and the White House fire back at Democratic criticism that the war in Iraq has left Kansas without needed equipment for tornado relief.
Has Rudy Giuliani talked himself into a corner on the issue of abortion?
Plus, there is a fight over what Democrats want to put in an intelligence funding bill. All that right here, right now.
Welcome to Washington. I'm Brit Hume.
A dramatic plot to kill scores of American soldiers at Fort Dix in New Jersey was outlined today by federal agents who br oke up the alleged conspiracy and arrested six suspects. Authorities say there is no direct evidence linking the suspects to al Qaeda, but the men, all converted Muslims in their 20s, allegedly claimed they were ready to kill and die for their faith. National correspondent Catherine Herridge has the story.
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CATHERINE HERRIDGE, FOX NEWS NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): In black SUVS, the six suspects, all foreign born, were brought to the federal courthouse in Camden, New Jersey to face the charges against them, which included plotting to kill, quote, as many soldiers as possible at Fort Dix, New Jersey.
CHRISTOPHER CHRISTIE, U.S. ATTORNEY: The philosophy that supports and encourages Jihad around the world against Americans came to live here in New Jersey.
HERRIDGE: In their court appearance, the men were identified as Mohamed Shanur (ph), Sirdar Tatar (ph), Agron Abdullahu (ph) and three brothers, Dryten (ph), Alver (ph) and Shane Duka (ph). They are described by federal law enforcement as recent converts to Islam from the former Yugoslavia, Jordan and Turkey.
They held various jobs as taxi drivers, convenience store clerks. One suspect even delivered pizza to Fort Dix, one of the alleged targets. Others did roughing work. Three were here illegally. The arrests began at this home in Cherry Hill, New Jersey Monday night, when two of the suspects tried to buy AK-47s and M-16s from a source working for the FBI.
CHRISTIE: They were at the point now were they wanted to obtain the automatic weapons that would be the final piece in their plan. The final weaponry they thought they needed to create carnage at Fort Dix.
HERRIDGE: In addition to Fort Dix, one of the main mobilization sites on the east coast for U.S. reservists heading to Iraq and Afghanistan, other potential targets included Fort Monmouth, New Jersey, Dover Air Force Base in Delaware, and the U.S. Coast Guard Building in Philadelphia.
One suspect allegedly said "my intent is to hit a heavy concentration of soldiers. This is exactly what we're looking for. You hit four, five or six humvees and light the whole place up and retreat completely without any losses."
According to law-enforcement sources, on several occasions the men slipped up and made their intentions know, allowing the FBI to track them and infiltrate the alleged cell with two confidential witnesses. The group first came to the attention of law enforcement in January of 2006 when one suspect tried to duplicate a video of jihadist training, which may be similar to this, onto a DVD. The store clerk was alarmed and tipped off the police.
CHRISTIE: We were able to do what American law-enforcement is supposed to do in the post 9/11 era and that is to be one step ahead of those who are attempting to cause harm to innocent American citizens.
HERRIDGE (on camera): While law-enforcement sources tell Fox they do not believe there is a connection between the New Jersey cell and international terrorists, it is clear that the group got its inspiration from al Qaeda propaganda on the Internet.
In Washington, Catherine Herridge, Fox News.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
HUME: The Democratic governor of Kansas and the Democratic majority leader in the Senate have both asserted that the response to last weekends tornado in Greenburg, Kansas would have been better if key resources were not stretched thin by the war in Iraq. But do their claims hold up under close examination? National security correspondent Jennifer Griffin has been looking into that.
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JENNIFER GRIFFIN, FOX NEWS NATIONAL SECURITY CORRESPONDENT (voice-
over): Strong words after the storm, words that appear to support the arguments of those opposed to the war in Iraq, that the war is stretching the country's National Guard to the point where it cannot respond to the nation's natural disasters. After one of the most powerful tornadoes in a decade struck Greensburg, Kansas, Democratic Governor Kathleen Sebelius said the war in Iraq had left her National Guard without enough equipment to respond to the devastation.
GOV. KATHLEEN SEBELIUS (D), KANSAS: About 50 percent of our trucks are gone. Our front loaders are gone. We are missing humvees that move people in and out and we cannot borrow them from other states because their equipment is gone.
GRIFFIN: The White House was quick to counter, saying 88 percent of Kansas's National Guardsmen are available to help with the cleanup and only 566 of their guardsman are deployed to Iraq right now. The Pentagon, citing National Guard statistics, said today the Kansas guard is not facing any equipment shortage that would harm its rescue efforts. It currently has 352 humvees, 72 dump trucks and more than 320 other trucks.
White House Spokesman Tony Snow said Homeland Security Chief Fran Townsend called Governor Sebelius and asked if she needed more help from FEMA or neighboring National Guard units.
TONY SNOW, WHITE HOUSE SPOKESMAN: And Fran again said, is there anything you need to respond effectively to this disaster? The governor said, no, we could not have asked for a faster response.
GRIFFIN: A view echoed today by the head of the rescue effort in Kansas.
DAVE STERBENZ, INCIDENT MANAGER: We have all the staff that we need and can manage at this time. If we had more people right now, it would just start being a cluster.
GRIFFIN: Kansas Senator Sam Brownback added —
SEN. SAM BROWNBACK (R), KANSAS: I asked specifically yesterday, the Kansas adjutant general, the head of the Kansas National Guard, do you have enough equipment on the ground to take care of Greensburg? And he said, yes, we have enough equipment.
GRIFFIN: Following Brownback on the Senate floor came Democratic leader Harry Reid, a staunch opponent of the war, who appeared to ignore reports that the Kansas National Guard had what it needed.
SEN. HARRY REID (D-NV), SENATE MAJORITY LEADER: The toll of the war in Iraq crippled the ability of the National Guard to do the dangerous and heroic jobs they're charged with doing. And the inability of the Kansas National Guard to rescue and recover more quickly.
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GRIFFIN: And prior to Reid's remarks on the Senate floor, Governor Sebelius was already backing away from her earlier accusations. Her spokesman said what the governor meant Tuesday was if there were another national disaster in Kansas, the National Guard would be stretched. Brit?
HUME: Jennifer, thank you. A U.S. commander in Afghanistan says America has apologized and paid 2,000 dollars to each of the families of 19 people who were wrongly killed by U.S. Marines in March. Colonel John Nicholson says the killings were a terrible mistake and an investigation is underway into how the Marines responded after they were ambushed. A minivan, rigged with explosives, crashed into a Marine convoy on March 4th. Witnesses says the American fired on civilians and pedestrians as they sped away from the attack.
Later on SPECIAL REPORT, are endangered fish endangering California farmland? But, coming up after a break, a closer look at where a couple of Republican presidential candidates stand on abortion, an issue becoming sticky. Stay with us.
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HUME: For a party with a long tradition of opposing abortion, the GOP finds itself in the unusual position heading into the 2008 presidential race of having a candidate who leads in the polls, Rudy Giuliani, and one of the other top contenders, Mitt Romney, with apparently a lot of explaining ahead them about where they stand on this issue. While another major player, John McCain, puts them to the test. Chief political correspondent Carl Cameron reports.
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CARL CAMERON, FOX NEWS CHIEF POLITICAL CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Second in the polls and pro-life throughout his career, John McCain has turned to abortion politics, hoping for a GOP boost against front runner Rudy Giuliani, who is pro-choice. McCain says it will be tough for an abortion backer to win in a conservative party officially opposed to the practice.
SEN. JOHN MCCAIN (R), ARIZONA: I think it is one of the fundamental principles of a conservative, to have a respect and commitment to the dignity of human life, both born and unborn.
CAMERON: Giuliani says he backs legal abortion, though he personally opposes and, quote, hates it. But he and ex wife Donna Hannover donated six times in the 1990s to the nation's largest abortion provider, Planned Parenthood. Today on Laura Ingraham's radio show he dismissed the suggestion of hypocrisy.
RUDY GIULIANI (R), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: Because Planned Parenthood makes information available. It is consistent with my position. I disagree with it. I think is wrong. I think there should be a choice. If there is going to be a choice, there are organizations that are going to give people information about that choice.
CAMERON: It is complicated. At last week's debate, Giuliani said it would be OK if legal abortion is overturned by the Supreme Court, but OK if it is not. Faced with pro-life criticism for his abortion views, Giuliani makes no apologies, though he always says he prefers adoption. As New York mayor, he took steps to increase adoption in the 1990's. And as a private citizen made donations to adoption related organizations as well.
The adoption issue dogs Mitt Romney too. He backed abortion rights just two years ago, but now says he is pro-life. And he complained to Alan Colmes that the scrutiny amounts to a double standard.
MITT ROMNEY (R), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: Had I been pro-life and then changed to pro-choice, no one would ask the question. If you go the other direction, as I have, and as Ronald Reagan did, and Henry Hyde, and George Herbert Walker Bush, it's like the media cannot get enough of it. Why did you change?
ALAN COLMES, FOX NEWS ANCHOR: People think it's because it's an election year conversion.
ROMNEY: But no one ever asks that if they go the other way.
CAMERON: Romney says he became pro life only after lengthy soul searching. No other candidates in either party have changed their abortion views as recently as Romney, so that may explain some of the scrutiny he's objecting too. What could take months to resolve is how abortion will actually impact the Republican race. It is a pro life party and the front runner is pro choice.
In Washington, Carl Cameron, Fox News.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
HUME: A couple of new polls to tell you about tonight. A new "USA Today"/Gallup Poll finds Hillary Clinton strengthening her lead over Barack Obama and the rest of the Democrats. Thirty eight percent of Democrats and Democratic leading independents say they are most likely to support Clinton, against 23 percent for Obama, with Al Gore and John Edwards down in the teens.
Among Republicans, Rudy Giuliani draws 34 percent, while 20 percent support John McCain. Fred Thompson, still undeclared, gets 13 percent. And a new Marist poll gives Senator Clinton a lead over Republican Rudy Giuliani 48 percent to 43 percent. John Edwards also leads Giuliani by six points. And Barack Obama runs neck and neck against the Republican front runner.
What does global warming have to do with espionage and intelligence? House Democratic leaders say it is all a matter of national security. But not everyone in the House feels the same way. Republicans say a bill to U.S. intelligence finance studies into the ramifications of climate change would spread valuable resources too thin. Congressional correspondent Major Garrett reports.
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MAJOR GARRETT, FOX NEWS CONGRESSIONAL CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): As if America's top spies do not have enough to do, House Speaker Nancy Pelosi today endorsed ordering them to monitor global warming.
REP. NANCY PELOSI (D-CA), HOUSE SPEAKER: I commend the intelligence community for including this in the intelligence authorization bill. For a long time now, those of us who have served on that committee have talked about global warming and environmental issues affecting our national security.
GARRETT: The bill requires all U.S. spy agencies to produce a long term study on global warming and its implications for national defense. In closed door proceedings last week, Democrats rejected GOP efforts to kill this global warming surveillance.
REP. PETE HOEKSTRA (R), MICHIGAN: The intelligence community, their job is to steal secrets. Their job is to find bin Laden, to anticipate and understand what is going on in Iran and North Korea from a nuclear weapons standpoint. They do not study climate change.
GARRETT: This is environmental deja vu all over again for America's spy. After the Cold War, Vice President Al Gore pushed for satellite surveillance of clouds, glaciers, deserts and rain forests to detect global climate changes. That ended after 9/11. Republicans say spies are busy enough pursing al Qaeda cells, sifting clues of Iranian involvement in Iraq's sectarian violence and monitoring Iranian and North Korean nuclear weapons development.
HOEKSTRA: The only reason you may want to task intelligence resources at this effort is if you believe the Chinese have built a huge furnace somewhere within their borders that is the cause of global warming that we have not detected at this point.
GARRETT: Pelosi said this new emphasis on global warming would not undercut existing surveillance efforts.
PELOSI: They are not in any way taking any money from what they know we need in our country, the best possible intelligence.
GARRETT: The global warming spat illustrates a larger issue, partisan clashes over intelligence spending. The GOP also tried to kill the long troubled National Drug Intelligence Center, a 40 million dollar, 400 employees clearing house for drug information based in the district of Pennsylvania Democrat John Murtha. That move got Kansas Republican Todd Tiahrt in hot water with Murtha.
Last week on the House floor, Murtha, seen here approaching from the right, confronted Teahart and, according to witnesses, berated him for voting to close a program in Murtha's district. Those familiar with the conversation said Murtha, who oversees military spending, threatened to cut off funds for defense projects in Teahart's district.
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GARRETT: Publicly, Teahart calls it all a big misunderstanding, but those close to the situation say Teahart was repentant and shaken after Murtha's outburst. And since Teahart is the only Republican on both the Intelligence Committee and Murtha's defense spending subcommittee, if he's so inclined, he'll have ample opportunity, Brit, to make amends.
HUME: Major, give us the latest on the long fight over funding the war. What's happening on that front?
GARRETT: Today, Brit, the House Appropriations Committee Chairman, David Obey from Wisconsin, presented a plan to House Democrats where he would provide money and Democrats would provide money, this emergency war funding bill, 100 billion dollars for on-going operations in Iraq and Afghanistan, but only for two months. The funding would expire in July, if there has not been sufficient progress on the ground in Iraq. Republicans were critical of this and afterward, there was a meeting in the office of John Murtha. The Iraqi national security adviser left that meeting, was briefed on this, talked to Fox and said any efforts to curtail funds for ongoing military operations in Iraq would be a bad idea. Let's take a quick listen.
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MOWAFFAK AL RUBAIE, IRAQI NATL SECURITY ADVISER: If you pull out the support from the mission in Iraq, then we will not be able to run the last mile of this marathon we started four years ago.
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GARRETT: Even so, Democrats look like they're going to press ahead with this. There could be a House vote as early as Friday, Brit, but Senate Democrats don't like this idea at all. There are supposed some more negotiations between House and Senate Democrats and the Bush White House tomorrow. Right now this seems to be the idea that has the most momentum on Capital Hill. Brit?
HUME: OK, Major, thank you. A Senate panel, meanwhile, approved today a plan to increase fuel efficiency standards to 35 MPG by the year 2020. The Senate Commerce, Science and Transportation Committee passed the measure on a voice vote. The plan, which goes to the full Senate next month, would raise the national fuel economy average by about 40 percent and then increase standards by an additional four percent per year from 2020 through 2030.
In the meantime, House Democratic leaders blamed high gasoline prices on the Bush administration for what they called years of policies that favored big oil over consumers. They promised legislation to address that issue by this summer.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
PELOSI: We will make this Fourth of July energy independence day, with a package that will do the following things, provide economic incentives to develop and use cleaner alternative fuels, help our nation's farmers fuel our energy independence. We will send our energy dollars to the Midwest and not to the Middle East. Encourage an energy innovation economy that will create new jobs and help small businesses and enhance technology driven efficiency.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
HUME: Later in this program, Queen Elizabeth makes the rounds and makes some more new friends among admiring Americans. And next up, are American taxpayers footing the bill to educate Mexican kids? We will explain next.
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HUME: In El Paso, Texas it seems you do not have to be an illegal immigrant to impose a burden on U.S. taxpayers. Some American citizens are up in arms about school children crossing the border from Mexico to attend El Paso's public schools. As it turns out, some of those students have a right to be there, but the status of others is less clear. Correspondent Chris Gutierrez reports.
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CHRIS GUTIERREZ, FOX NEWS CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): An estimated 1,200 children walk across the international bridge into El Paso from Mexico every morning just to get an American education. In fact, so many students an express lane was installed so they could bypass long lines. But officials at the border say the students must still provide the proper identification.
ISABEL MULLENS, US CUSTOMS AND BORDER PROTECTION: Any person coming in, regardless of the age, is subject to inspection.
GUTIERREZ: Some of these students are American citizens, whose families live in Mexico, where they say the schools aren't as good. Some of these students go to private schools in the U.S. But others go to public schools that are funded by taxpayers who live in the U.S.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: It upsets me that all this money has been spent, they spent a lot of money in this school, and half the kids live across.
GUTIERREZ: School officials dispute those numbers, but Congressman Ted Post says that students who cross the border for a better education, combined with undocumented children living in the U.S., cost taxpayers in Texas just over one billion dollars a year.
REP. JUDGE TED POE (R), TEXAS: They get that free lunch, free breakfast, after-school care. The costs continue to pile up.
GUTIERREZ (on camera): Students start crossing the border as early as 6:30 in the morning. And we watched as they returned after school was let out. Still, here in El Paso, the school district said that does not prove that the students actually live in Mexico.
LUIS VILLALOBOS, EL PASO INDEP SCHOOL DISTRICT: Our concern is not the route they take to our schools, but when they walk into our schools that they have qualified by state law and district policy for free and public education in the state of Texas.
GUTIERREZ: By law, schools cannot ask about a student's legal status, so all that is required is a parent or legal guardian prove residency in the school district. A water or utility bill is usually sufficient.
KATHLEEN STAUDT, UNIV OF TEXAS AT EL PASO: I would say to the American tax payer that the number of undocumented students in our community is probably very tiny. It's minute.
GUTIERREZ: Not so, says this father, who doesn't want to pay to educate his cross border neighbors.
In El Paso, Chris Gutierrez, Fox News.
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HUME: And out in California, it appears to be a case of the fish versus the farmers. Water being pumped out of the Sacramento delta to irrigate the fields that help to feed the nation is home to some endangered fish. Those fish do not fare so well in the turbines that draw the water. Correspondent William La Jeunesse explains.
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WILLIAM LA JEUNESSE, FOX NEWS CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Some of the country's most productive farmland and 18 million southern Californians could end up high and dry unless the state water board can find a way around a judge's ruling ordering it to stop killing a protected fish.
(on camera): Billions of gallons of water are pumped from Northern to Southern California through this canal each day. Unless the state obtains a permit or permission to kill countless protected salmon and smelt, the judge has threatened to turn off the tap, setting up an unprecedented showdown between fish and people and who has the strongest claim on this resource.
(voice-over): Last year, environmentalist sued to protect the delta smelt, a tiny fish killed by the thousands as turbines pump water from north to south. Environmentalists count the judge's order a victory.
JOHN BEUTTLER, CA SPORTSFISHING PROTECTION ALLIANCE: If we can have everybody operate under the law and get a permits and offset their impacts, then we have a real chance to bring these species back.
LA JEUNESSE: But offsetting impact means coming up with a plan to replace every single fish killed in the pumps, what the state calls an impractical, if not impossible, job.
LESTER SNOW, CA WATER DEPARTMENT: We don't grow them. We do not have hatcheries' for Delta Smelt. So it is more on the production of Delta Smelt and reducing the take.
LA JEUNESSE: Californians were facing a June deadline to save the fish or turn off the tap. But Monday, another judge gave the state until next April to find a way around the endangered species protection. If it can't farmers in America's most productive fields will be the first to loose their water.
BEUTTLER: I find it stunningly arrogant that the state doesn't have the permits. It's a question of the state following its own laws.
SNOW: it is a broken system. We are managing it the best we can to supply the economy of the state as well as the environment.
LA JEUNESSE: Some environmentalists worry this showdown could set a damaging president, as it seems unlikely a protected fish will win out over the crucial farms and millions of citizens that depend on this water coming south.
In Los Angeles, William La Jeunesse, Fox News.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
HUME: We have to take a break here to give our sponsors a moment and update the other headlines. When we come back, wait until you hear how Democratic presidential candidate John Edwards explains his work for a hedge fund. That's next on the Grape Vine.
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Read the "Political Grapevine."
The lawyer representing World Bank president, Paul Wolfowitz says his client is not being given enough time to respond to findings of an ad hoc committee at the bank. That panel reportedly has concluded that Wolfowitz acted improperly two years ago when he took steps to address a potential conflict of interest involving his companion, a long-time World Bank employee. Correspondent James Rosen brings us up to speed — James.
JAMES ROSEN, FOX NEWS CORRESPONDENT: Brit, although no criminal wrongdoing has been alleged in this case, Wolfowitz has retained one of the capitol's leading defense attorneys, Bob Bennett. No doubt familiar to our viewers from his days representing President Clinton in the Monica Lewinski affair. Now, in addition to challenging the substance of the ethics charges against Wolfowitz, Bennett is also finding fault with the process itself.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
(voice-over): Wolfowitz wasn't talking when he left his house this morning, a practice he's followed strictly save for an expression of contrition and periodic vows to fight on.
PAUL WOLFOWITZ, WORLD BANK PRESIDENT: We need to follow due process, but in the meantime, we need to stay focused on the very, very important work of the bank. And we are doing that.
ROSEN: At the outset, Wolfowitz offered to sever professional contact with the World Bank employee, Shaha Riza. The bank's ethics committee said that wasn't good enough and urged him to devise a better solution. He then an arranged for Riza to be transferred to the State Department with a salary structure that seemed a bit too lucrative in the eyes of the World Bank Staff Association, a group that represent roughly half of the bank's 10,000 employees and has long been critical of Wolfowitz's approach to reform issues.
ROBERT BENNETT, WOLFOWITZ ATTORNEY: Well, I do think there is an organized smear effort to get him.
ROSEN: Today, Bob Bennett disclosed that the ad hoc committee that the board investigating the case, which has reportedly found Wolfowitz violated bank rules, but urged no disciplinary action be taken against him, unloaded 600 pages of documents on him Sunday night and gave them only 48-
hours instead of the usual five days to respond.
In a statement sent to FOX NEWS, Bennett complained about leaks in the case and added. "The appearance that people are prejudging the outcome of the process weakens bank governance and disrespects both the board of directors and the process."
In midday briefings, Bush administration spokesman sought to dispel the sense among reporters leading from morning briefings that President Bush is ready to cast Wolfowitz aside.
SEAN MCCORMACK, STATE DEPT SPOKESMAN: My comments weren't intended to signal any weakening of our support for Bank President Wolfowitz. The president has said that he firmly supports Mr. Wolfowitz continuing as president of the World Bank.
TONY SNOW, WHITE HOUSE SPOKESMAN: I've used exactly the same formulation. The president supports him.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
ROSEN: The bank board is set to meet this week to consider the report of this ad hoc committee and Wolfowitz's response to it. Bob Bennett said more time would give everyone a chance to review the evidence, Brit, "with cooler heads."
HUME: James, thank you.
By some accounts, Queen Elizabeth of Britain enjoys an 80 percent approval rating among Americans, that is far ahead of any American leaders. She certainly lost no points today as she continued her visit to Washington and its environs. White House correspondent Wendell Goler reports the Queen explored the technology of the future and shared memories of a common past.
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WENDELL GOLER, FOX WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): On the 62nd anniversary of Victory in Europe Day, Queen Elizabeth visited this country's 3-year-old memorial to the war and placed a wreath to honor the 450,000 British and more than 400,000 Americans who gave their lives.
With a National Park Service guide, the 81-year-old monarch circle the granite monument, trailed by her husband, Prince Phillip, and former President George Bush, who fought in the Pacific.
As she greeted other veterans of the war, she may have remembered her own contribution to the effort, convincing her father, King George, to let her training as a mechanic and driver in the Auxiliary Territorial Service. It was a day of contrast that also saw her chat with three astronauts aboard the Space Station during a visit to Goddard Space Center.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
FYODOR YURCHIKHIN, INTL SPACE STATION CMDR: It's very great to see that you are interested in this program.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
GOLER: The Queen's guide was Michael Foale, the British-born astronaut and a regular visitor to the station.
QUEEN ELIZBETH II: So, what sort of length of time (INAUDIBLE).
MICHAEL FOALE, ASTRONAUT: Six months is typical for us.
GOLER: Goddard is the home of the Hubble telescope which given us a view of the distant past. As the Queen planted a tree in the Rocket Garden, the royal family's own history was all around her.
Goddard's in Maryland, named after the wife of King Charles I, the county, Prince George's, after Queen Ann's husband, George. Elizabeth is a direct descendant of both monarchs.
Later, First Lady Laura Bush joined the Queen and Washington's Children's Hospital to raise the spirits of young cancer patients. The day of service and sightseeing followed the most formal evening of the Bush administration, a white tie dinner that saw the president in tails and the Queen in a diamond tiara, a wedding gift to Queen Mary and from her to the current Queen.
With entertainment by Maestro Itzhak Perlman, the 134 guests included the Kentucky Derby winning jockey Calvin Borel and Henry Kissinger and his wife. It was a night to celebrate the special relationship between the United States and the United Kingdom.
QUEEN ELIZABETH: Administrations in your country and governments in mine may come and go, but talk we will, listen we have to, disagree from time to time we may, but united we must all remain.
(on camera): Tonight's reciprocal party hosted by the Queen and Prince Philip is only black tie, apparently can't get the president in tails two nights in a row, and it's literally the last event on the Queen's schedule.
The Bush family heads back to the White House, the royal family will head to Andrews Air Force Base and a redeye flight back to Buckingham Palace.
At the White House, Wendell Goler, FOX NEWS.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
HUME: Next on SPECIAL REPORT, it seems as though Republican Rudy Giuliani's position on abortion needs some, well clarification maybe. The FOX all-stars will have a go at that next.
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RUDY GIULIANI (R), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: It would be OK to repeal and would be OK if its construction is judged and viewed as president and I think a judge has to make that...
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Would it be OK if they didn't repeal it?
GIULIANI: I think the court can make that decision and then the country can deal with it. We're a federalist system of government, the states can make their own decisions.
No, for some people it is inconsistent, for me it's my position and I believe it strongly. And if fact, I think a lot of people come to the conclusion and I come to.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
HUME: And that position is that it is OK if Roe vs. Wade, the decision legalizing abortion, making it right, indeed, a constitutional right, is upheld. It's also OK if it is reversed.
Mayor Giuliani also has said that he hates abortion and always has, but he and his former wife gave money to Planned Parenthood, they — foremost abortion dispenser back during the 1990s. So, has Mayor Giuliani, whose position on abortion has been known for a long time and who seemed on effected by it, now in a situation where he's painted himself into some difficulty.
Some thoughts on this now from Fred Barnes, executive editor of the Weekly Standard; Mara Liasson, national political correspondent of National Public Radio; and Mort Kondracke, the executive editor of Roll Call — FOX NEWS contributors all.
How about it?
FRED BARNES, WEEKLY STANDARD: He's in trouble. Look, his problem is that's made this a big issue by being unclear in the first place. You know, one of the things, if you're a candidate, you have to decide in the beginning, is what's my message, what am I going to say? Obviously, this was going to be an issue because his was the unconventional position, the pro-choice position, that's the minority position in the Republican Party.
So, what he needed to do was say look, OK, I'm for abortion being legal, I'm for Roe v. Wade being upheld, I'm for these limitations, whether it's parental consent or whatever...and I'm against partial birth abortion, and leave it at that. But be clear. Even today — was it today that interview with Laura Ingram on the radio, he was all mixed up on how many adoptions had occurred even though he encouraged these when he was mayor of New York, How many of those occurred, his numbers were challenged by Laura and then he sort of backed off when he said there was an increase every year. Planned Parenthood, Brit, which you mentioned, he well, he just wanted — he supported them because they got information out. Well, they do, but they mainly do abortions.
MARA LIASSON, NATIONAL PUBLIC RADIO: Look, I think Rudy Giuliani started out with a position that people thought was defensible, he was pro-
choice, personally, but for "strict constructionist judges," which people understood and with some reason to kind of code for people who would uphold brokers, it turns out that's not the case and what he's really saying is...
HUME: You mean my reverse...
LIASSON: I meant in reverse. And...
HUME: Basically that the judges he appoints they do one or the other and either one's OK with him.
LIASSON: Now look, what he's say —- now that position you — is defensible. I don't, it just depends upon the Republican Party and what he's saying is: I'm agnostic on this.
It's extremely to an important to me, let the judges deal with this, this not important to me, but it's extremely important to a large part of the Republican primary voters and, you know, I think this is one of the reasons why his numbers are dropping.
MORT KONDRACKE, ROLL CALL: Look, the Gallup Poll shows that there are about 35 percent of Republicans who are pro-choice — identify themselves as pro-choice. So, it's an uphill climb for him from the beginning.
HUME: And he's about 33-35 percent support, which is more than anybody else.
KONDRACKE: Yeah, well, you know, I think he had a defensible position, personally opposed to abortion, but believes it should be a woman's choice. However, he has any sense, Roe v. Wade doesn't make any difference whether it's overturned or not. Well, if it's overturned, then in some states, almost certainly, women will be deprived of the right to have an abortion. It'll become illegal. Now, how can he be in favor of a woman's choice? He's going to be the president and the United States of America, he wants to be, just of some state or some city or something and he's got to say what the law of the land ought to be, and this is a very important issue and he ought to be clear about it, as Fred says, and he's not.
BARNES: ...important issue and he needs to be clear to have it stop being an issue for him.
HUME: As he got himself so, sort of, tangled up in this now with the — and now you got the information about the money to — the contribution issue to Planned Parenthood, that it would be difficult to disentangle at this stage?
(CROSSTALK)
LIASSON: I think it would be hard.
BARNES: Let me comment on what you said about he's trying to say it's an important issue to him. But it is an important issue. He said, look, I hate abortion. It's horrendous, I recommend against it. Yet there is a powerful liberty interest that women have, he says. So, this is obviously and issue he's thought about and he does care a lot. He can't dismiss it as something I don't care much about, it's not important....
HUME: Well, I think Mara maybe it's certainly true that he wishes the issue weren't so important among Republicans.
LIASSON: Yeah. This is something — there are a lot of Republicans who wish that social issues didn't have the prominent place that they do in the Republican Party, and I think he's one of them. He would rather talk about terrorism.
HUME: So, is John McCain the big gainer from this particular — but he's had a pretty consistent position.
KONDRACKE: We yeah, any pro-life candidate is advantaged in the Republican Party and I always thought that this would cause Giuliani trouble and here it is. Now, the next — now we're going to move onto gay rights, which is another thing. I mean, he's pro civil unions, which the party tends not to be. He's against the gay marriage, but you know, his record is one of being pro-gay and that's problematic in the Republican Party, too.
HUME: Everybody agree with that?
LIASSON: I think it's problematic in the Republican Party. I mean look, the whole question about the improbable rise of Rudy Giuliani has been, well the Republican Party is willing to overlook all of his kind of apostate views on socialism because he was the hero of 9/11, and we're going to find out the answer.
HUME: When we come back with our panel, the all—stars opn Paul Wolfowitz and the goings on at the World Bank. Stay tuned.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
MCCORMACK: The president has said we firmly support Mr. Wolfowitz continuing as president of the World Bank. We understand that there are internal processes underway within the bank.
QUESTION: Does the administration have the same confidence it has two weeks ago?
SNOW: Yes, it still has confidence.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
HUME: Well, that's the latest from the State Department White House on how Paul Wolfowitz, president of the World Bank, stands, at least, with this administration with the president; however, a panel at the World Bank has found that he was guilty of a conflict of interest in his handling of the personnel matters surrounding a woman who was his companion before he got there and whose personnel matters he tried to recuse himself from being involved in when he got there only to be told by the bank's ethics committee that he really couldn't do that and that he would have to address the conflict of interest, which he tried to do, and then when he did it, the next thing you know he's up on charges, as they say. Where does this matter now stand? What is the outcome of this? Is he being railroaded? What's going on — Mort.
KONDRACKE: Well, first, I've known Paul Wolfowitz for more than 20 years and he's an idealist, he's a small "d" Democrat, he cares deeply about the plight of the poor around the world and has been trying to do something about it including trying to stop their governments from stealing the money that the World Bank has been giving them and the World Bank only lends money, by the way, to governments — and they routinely steal it and he was trying to deal with corruption.
The World Bank is a corrupt institution. It's bureaucrats make exorbitant salaries, tax-free, they travel around the world, business class or first class, they — it takes eight years to process a loan. They have refused to give any money to Iraq. They give money to Iran. I mean it's deeply political. And the bureaucrats and the Europeans and others on the board hated Wolfowitz from the beginning because they thought he was one of the authors of the Iraq war and they've been trying to figure out how to resist him and they've created what amounts to a corruption trap for him and he, unfortunately fell into it and now he may lose his job.
HUME: Can he survive this, Mara, do you think?
LIASSON: I think it's going to be very difficult. You know, the problem is this kind of a thing does create a self-fulfilling prophecy. I mean, if the whole bank staff is against you, and it's very hard for — it does compromise your credibility because credibility is about appearances. But, I do think a lot of this is very confusing to an outside observer...
HUME: Well, it dose seem that he try to avoid the very problem he's having.
LIASSON: But it's probable that there is a Larry Summers effect, too. We hear that a lot of bank employees reacted against the high-handedness of his aides who came in, he had a very close circle of aides. He didn't reach out to people. So, it's a management style problem, too. Also, you have this...
(CROSSTALK)
...these op-ed pieces written by African diplomats saying that we want him to stay and they're the very countries that the World Bank is supposed to help. So, it's very confusing.
BARNES: It's going to be hard to stay and the question is whether he wants to stay in a situation where it would be very difficult to deal with all these high-paid bureaucrats there, and the European governments that don't want him there. To me, Paul Wolfowitz is the perfect person for that job for exactly the reasons that Mort mentioned, someone — a conservative with a real feeling for poverty around the world and how to deal with it, he wanted to deal with it in a different way, to have the money, not just worry about how much money you were shoving out the door, but what was actually happening to that money? Was it leading to serious development, particularly in African countries, there, or was it just being siphoned off by governments to do with whatever they want in Swiss bank accounts and so on. He wanted some accountability. Look, this is a stale, corrupt, bureaucracy at the World Bank that didn't want him there, doesn't want him there and they may get their wish. But, I think that decision has to be made by Paul Wolfowitz.
KONDRACKE: Now the bank is trying to extort the United States government into getting rid of Wolfowitz. If the New York Times is to be believed they're offering a deal. You get to keep the World Bank presidency. I mean, apparently the Bush administration is standing up to that and is not playing the game. But they may lose.
(CROSSTALK)
LIASSON: Nominate Donald Rumsfeld...
HUME: They ought to threaten to send Mort over there. All right, that's it for the panel, but stay tuned to find out why the Queen of England always seems to wear those gloves. That's next.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
HUME: Finally tonight, some people claim Queen Elizabeth wears gloves during these state visits so she won't pick up germs from all the people she has to shakes hands, but it seems there's more to it than that.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
JAY LENO, TONIGHT SHOW: Here she is eating American food. Can we go in close, Ellen?
You see, she's...
(LAUGHTER)
(END VIDEO CLIP)
HUME: Can't blame her for that. And that's SPECIAL REPORT for this time, please tune us in next time and in the meantime, more news is on the way — fair, balanced and unafraid.
Watch "Special Report With Brit Hume" weeknights at 6 p.m. EST.
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