Stewart Found Guilty; Same-Sex Marriage Debate Intensifies
Aired March 5, 2004 - 22:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
WOLF BLITZER, CNN ANCHOR: Good evening again. I'm Wolf Blitzer in for Aaron Brown. Someone once said there are important stories and there are good ones. Iraq's constitution is certainly an important story. So is the news today that the economy is creating fewer jobs than anticipated. Martha Stewart clearly is a good story, a great story even. It has everything except a slow speed car chase and it isn't too late for that. Celebrity captivates us and nothing captivates us like a celebrity on the ropes.On the other hand, Martha Stewart's celebrity stems from the fact that she runs a billion dollar business empire and one way or another her difficulties may leave a lot of people high and dry.She's now convicted of breaking the law. She's facing the possibility, a very real possibility of some serious prison time, so a great story, yes, but an important one as well.That starts off the program and the whip. CNN's Allan Chernoff starts us with a headline -- Allan.
ALLAN CHERNOFF, CNN FINANCIAL NEWS CORRESPONDENT: Wolf, Martha Stewart guilty four times over. A jury concludes that Martha Stewart was lying about her sale of ImClone stock and she now faces the likelihood of prison time.
BLITZER: All right, Allan, we'll be back to you.On to the Martha Stewart, the brand name, the business name and what the verdict means to that. CNN's Jason Carroll joins us with that, Jason the headline.
JASON CARROLL, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, Wolf, the verdict is definitely going to hurt the brand but there are consumers and some ad execs out there who still believe in the brand and the woman behind it -- Wolf.
BLITZER: All right, Jason.Many developments today in the fight over same-sex marriage. CNN's Adaora Udoji with a lot to do tonight, Adaora the headline.
ADAORA UDOJI, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Wolf, today the debate on same- sex marriage raged on from one end of the country to the other and nowhere was it more fierce than here in New York City -- Wolf.
BLITZER: Thanks, Adaora.Finally, the president and the economy and jobs, CNN's Dana Bash traveling with the president. She's in Crawford, Texas tonight.
DANA BASH, CNN WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT: Today's jobs report was bad news for Americans out of work but even worse news for a president running for reelection trying to convince the country the economy is getting better and that his policies are working -- Wolf.
BLITZER: Thanks, Dana, back to you and the rest shortly.Also coming up on this program we're following other stories. We'll go back to the Martha Stewart story with a special look at her before she became a household name.And in Segment 7 tonight, we'll meet a tenor named Caruso who is about to celebrate his 50th year on the Metropolitan Opera stage. It's our annual opera story from Beth Nissen, all that to come in the hour ahead.But we begin with Martha Stewart and something a colleague said this afternoon. "I wish" he said "I worked for Saturday Night Live," and you can almost imagine the sketches they're working on tonight.But there's plenty to do here as well starting with the moment in court when one of America's best known personalities and her broker learned the verdict. Again, here's CNN's Allan Chernoff.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
CHERNOFF (voice-over): Martha Stewart left court a convicted felon, found guilty of all four criminal charges. As Judge Miriam Cederbaum read the verdict, guilty four times, Stewart showed no emotion.
DAVID KELLEY, U.S. ATTORNEY: This is not a case about lying to the FBI and the SEC and suddenly they become victims. The victims in this case is the entire American public who relies on the integrity of our system to make sure that justice is done and that they can invest their money safely and securely.
CHERNOFF: The jury determined Stewart and stockbroker Peter Bacanovic covered up the true reason she sold ImClone stock. The broker passed a tip that ImClone's top executive, Sam Waksal, was trying to dump his shares.Juror Chappell Hartridge called the verdict a victory for the little guy. He said a key to the conviction was testimony from Stewart's assistant Ann Armstrong. She described how her boss altered the message from the broker that ImClone stock would begin trading downward.
CHAPPELL HARTRIDGE, JUROR: That was very strong because that was Martha's way of trying to cover this up about what message Peter left. That was very strong
.CHERNOFF: While the charges on which Stewart and Bacanovic were convicted carry a theoretical maximum of 20 years in prison, federal sentencing guidelines point to no more than three years and the judge has broad discretion to determine the actual punishment.
RICHARD STRASSBERG, ATTORNEY FOR PETER BACANOVIC: It's been a horrible ordeal for Peter but he is going to make it through and we will ultimately be vindicated in the end.
ROBERT MORVILLO, ATTORNEY FOR MARTHA STEWART: It was a difficult process for all of us. Like Rich Strassberg we are disappointed at the outcome.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
CHERNOFF: Both defense teams are planning to appeal. Stewart's attorney saying we lost the first round and now we have an opportunity to go to the next round -- Wolf.
BLITZER: Allan, was it a mistake for Martha Stewart not to take the stand?
CHERNOFF: Well the juror you just saw said it really wouldn't have mattered that the jury basically didn't buy her story and even her going to the stand testifying would not have helped. Morvillo, her attorney, also didn't want to expose Martha Stewart to cross- examination, which itself could have been very damaging to her.
BLITZER: Well, let's go one further step. They basically had one witness, the defense, a minimal case. Was that a mistake?
CHERNOFF: That's exactly how Robert Morvillo described it. He said we're putting up a minimal defense because we just don't believe the prosecution has proved its case but clearly he was very wrong there and it seems that perhaps he could have at least put on a little more of a case, at least maybe some witnesses to back up the integrity of Martha Stewart, something like that to give a little bit more of an argument to the jury. He really did not put on much of a case at all. Most of the time in court, in fact from the defense, came from Mr. Bacanovic's attorney and a lot of people thought his attorneys did not do a very good job.
BLITZER: All right. She's not going to be sentenced until mid- June. What happens step by step between now and then for Martha Stewart?
CHERNOFF: Martha Stewart actually does have to go back to Lower Manhattan on Monday. She's supposed to go to the probation office, get processed over there and then she'll have to return again for her sentencing on the 17th of June.
BLITZER: Allan Chernoff who has covered this trial for us, thank you Allan very much. CNN's Jeffrey Toobin, of course, is no stranger to celebrity justice and everything surrounding it. He's joining us once again from New York. Jeffrey, how surprised were you by this verdict?
JEFFREY TOOBIN, CNN LEGAL ANALYST: Well, I think I was shocked but not surprised and let me explain what I mean. It's shocking to see someone as well known, maybe one of the dozen best known women in America found guilty of anything and brought so low.But I really wasn't surprised. I sat there. I watched this trial. I saw the evidence come in. This was a very strong case against Martha Stewart and Peter Bacanovic, so the verdict itself didn't surprise me because the verdict -- the evidence demanded it.
BLITZER: One thing that surprised me when the judge threw out the major charge against her I immediately jumped to the conclusion, clearly wrong, that this was not necessarily going to be a conviction for her.
TOOBIN: Well, see what's important about that, Wolf, is that the securities fraud charge really was always the tail on this dog. It related to something very different from the rest of the charges. It suggested that Martha Stewart lied in order to pump up the value of her own stock. That really was never proved and I think Judge Cederbaum was right to get rid of that count. The rest of the counts all related to did Martha Stewart lie to investigators who were looking into this sale on December 27, 2001 and that was the heart of the government's case and that's what they proved so effectively that Martha did lie.
BLITZER: Realistically given the discretion that the judge has, Jeffrey, how much time in prison do you think she'll serve?
TOOBIN: I think she is likely to get a sentence of somewhere between 12 and 24 months. Under the federal system there's no such thing as parole, so whatever months she gets she will serve 85 percent of that time, so I think she is looking at roughly serving somewhere in the area of a year in prison.
BLITZER: Now her defense attorney says they're going to go ahead and appeal this verdict. What kind of case do they have for an appeal?
TOOBIN: I think their chances are about slim and none. As you pointed out, this is a judge who dismissed the securities fraud case, count. This is the judge who ruled against the government in several important ways in the course of this trial limiting the government's proof.I don't see Martha Stewart as having much of a prayer of getting this conviction overturned on appeal. Peter Bacanovic may be a little better because of some rulings that went against him.But I think given the fact that the jury found against both of these defendants, four out of four counts Martha Stewart, four out of five counts against Peter Bacanovic, no appeals court is going to be looking for an excuse to give her a new trial. I think the last word in this trial has pretty much been written.
BLITZER: And what's your sense given the fact that we're all smarter with hindsight the fact that she did not testify, even though she did some television interviews and newspaper interviews? You interviewed her after she was charged before she started this trial. The jury never heard her directly though.
TOOBIN: Well, when you've been convicted of four out of four counts against you it's hard to think that any result could have been worse but I do think that actually Robert Morvillo made the right decision keeping her off the stand.There were so many questions to answer. Listen to what the juror said. Remember he said about altering the document how devastating that evidence was. What was Martha Stewart going to do on the witness stand to explain that away? There was no good explanation and there were lots of other examples like that.Now she said nothing. She has at least a chance to come out of prison and say, look, I disagree with the verdict of the jury but I'm going to start over. I think having testified and found to have lied by a jury, I think to anything things would have been worse and they're pretty bad now so I think Robert Morvillo, in spite of this terrible result, did make the right decision in keeping her off the witness stand.
BLITZER: Jeffrey Toobin has been helping us understand this trial from day one. Thank you, Jeffrey, very much for that.
TOOBIN: OK, Wolf.
BLITZER: Martha Stewart, homemaking guru, is now a convicted felon, not an enviable spot for anyone but when your name and your image are the core of your multimillion dollar business, billion dollar business in fact, a day like today raises worries beyond the question of how much jail time you might serve.Here's CNN's Jason Carroll.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
CARROLL (voice-over): Martha in her better days, cooking things up in the kitchen and marketing domestic perfection in a way no one has done before. The question we asked superstar ad executives can she still do it with a conviction?
RON BERGER, CHIEF EXECUTIVE OFFICER, EURO RSCG MVBMS PARTNERS: I think it's going to be a very difficult and very long road, you know, for her to be able to ever come back to what, you know, what she stood because again she stood for something that this charge drives right at the heart of.
CARROLL: Ad exec Richard Kirshenbaum disagrees saying one reason some dislike Stewart is now gone.
RICHARD KIRSHENBAUM, KIRSHENBAUM BOND AND PARTNERS: I think in a certain sense now Martha is the underdog and I think that women don't perceive her as being as perfect as she was in the past and I actually think that there will be a groundswell of emotion, a movement towards embracing Martha and her brand.CARROLL: And what a brand. The Stewart name is on everything from bed sheets to gardening tools.
MARTHA STEWART: This is an amazing hand tool.
CARROLL: Stewart's company says: "We are deeply saddened by the news of Martha Stewart's conviction. We are confident that our assets are more than sufficient to continue MSO's development as a leading 'how to' brand building company."But how can you separate the name from the brand? One industry leader says keeping the name and the face might be a good thing.
JAMES TENNY: This is crisis management at this point. I think honesty, stepping forward, having a point of view and not receding from the public view is one of the most important things she can do.
CARROLL: Many consumers we spoke to say they still believe in the brand and the woman behind it.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I just think that she's getting scapegoated for something that everyone is doing.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I'd buy the products but I wouldn't buy the stock.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I'll still continue to support her and her products but, you know, I am kind of like cool on her character. I don't think she's the best person.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
CARROLL: The board of directors from Martha Stewart Living Omnimedia say they'll meet soon to carefully evaluate the implications of the verdict and to take actions as appropriate -- Wolf.
BLITZER: Jason, is there a sense based on what I'm hearing in your report that some people will feel sorry for Martha Stewart, they simply loved her and will now make a point of going out and buying these products, these magazines in order to express their solidarity, their support for her?
CARROLL: There is definitely a sense from some of the people out there who do feel sorry for Martha Stewart. They feel as though she's being used as some sort of a scapegoat. But you also heard from the young lady there who also said I would still buy her product but I still have a problem with her character, something about Martha Stewart. So, I think there are people on both sides of this but there is definitely people out there who feel an emotional connection now to Martha that maybe did not feel that way before.
BLITZER: All right. CNN's Jason Carroll reporting for us, thank you Jason very much.Lots of uncertainties ahead for Martha Stewart Omnimedia. Here to discuss some of them, Paul Argenti. He's a professor at Dartmouth University's Tuck School of Business. We're pleased to have him join us tonight. Thanks, professor, very much. What's going to happen to her business?
PAUL ARGENTI, DARTMOUTH BUSINESS PROFESSOR: Well, I think the business is in deep trouble. They have no other sources of brand equity besides Martha and basically today they have to try to find out a way to go beyond anything related to her and that's going to be difficult because she owns a significant portion of the stock and she's been a controlling interest in the company from day one.
BLITZER: So, what do they do in order to keep this company alive?
ARGENTI: Well, it's very difficult because in some sense what they have to do is act as if Martha no longer exists, which of course she very much does and will remain a celebrity prisoner for the next several months maybe years. And once they do that they're limited in terms of the things they can do depending upon which platform you're talking about.In terms of television there's really no recourse for them. In terms of the magazines it kind of depends. The food magazine can go on. Martha Stewart Living has to be completely rethought and, of course, all of her products are going to be difficult sells. I don't buy it that, you know, the brand is going to be somehow more powerful because she's been found a convicted felon. That's ridiculous.
BLITZER: But is there a core of constituents out there who simply love her and don't believe this conviction?
ARGENTI: Well, I think there are core constituents who love her but, as you've already seen, I mean the stock has continued to plummet and sales have continued to go down all year, so how believable is that when she wasn't even proven guilty yet. So, I think it's going to be very difficult for me to believe that suddenly they're all going to come out and buy her products because now she's going to jail. That's counterintuitive.
BLITZER: What about someone stepping in, someone close to Martha Stewart who could serve as that kind of leader? You know her daughter might come to mind. But isn't there anyone who could step in and take that corporate responsibility?
ARGENTI: Yes. You know I heard stories today about her daughter as a possibility. In fact, I can't think of anyone who really is as good as Martha both from the perspective of her taste and her ability to judge what the next trend is but more importantly to be a great leader and someone who can think of the ideas that she thought of for that company. There really is no one like that. Could there be a figure head, you know, kind of a George Mitchell equivalent for this company, perhaps, but I think the company is dead in the water and it's going to be a long time before they can bring this one back.
BLITZER: George Mitchell, of course, the former U.S. Senator brought in to run Disney at least or become the chairman of Disney during this period of turmoil for that corporation.So, if you were in charge hypothetically of this company, Martha Stewart, what would you do right now? What could you do to keep hope alive?
ARGENTI: Yes. The first thing I'd do is try to get as far away from her as possible in terms of image and they should have done that years ago. They didn't. But now they really have to do it and unfortunately it may be too little too late.The second thing they have to do is try to find someone who can replace her on the celebrity level and there are some people who come to mind, B. Smith or someone like that, but really the biggest problem they have is just trying to figure out which brands live beyond Martha and which ones really will not survive without her. That's the first determination they have to make.
BLITZER: And if you're a big retail chain that uses Martha Stewart's products what do you do right now?
ARGENTI: Well, I assume you're talking about K-Mart for instance as one of those chains. I think K-Mart has to think about whether they want to continue to use her name and associate themselves with her lack of credibility at this point and I can't imagine that a conservative company like K-Mart would do that from what I know of them.
BLITZER: So you think they're just going to walk away from this whole line?
ARGENTI: I think it's a lot easier to walk away from her name than the whole line. I mean people like the product, as you know, and there's nothing wrong with the product and, in fact, the sensibility and sort of the taste that she has will live on.I mean think of what happens after Coco Channel dies. I mean the product can continue, Versace, and I don't see any reason why her sensibility can't go on. But the problem is she really is genius and can identify things that other people just cannot. There's no way that will go on.
BLITZER: One final question professor. After she serves her time and we're all assuming now she is going to serve at least some time in prison, can she make a comeback?
ARGENTI: Certainly not a comeback of the kind that she had before. I mean for one thing she's not the young woman she was when I first met her and, you know, was in the catering business moving into books and television. So, it would be difficult for her to have a comeback and the celebrity status she had before.I think Martha is incredibly resilient and she'll be back doing something but it's going to be more like kind of like a Michael Milken return not a star return. That's going to be very difficult for her.
BLITZER: Professor Paul Argenti thanks very much for joining us.
ARGENTI: Thanks for having me.
BLITZER: Still ahead tonight on the program, more on the Martha Stewart case. We'll talk with Foster Wynans who knows more than a bit about the ins and outs of stock trades.And later in Segment 7, just a great story about making a career of starring in the background. Beth Nissen goes to the opera all ahead on NEWSNIGHT tonight from Washington.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
BLITZER: More now what may lie ahead for Martha Stewart. Will she get prison time? What could she expect if she does? Can she redeem herself or at least soften the blow between now and her sentencing date? Foster Wynans is the former "Wall Street Journal" writer who served time in prison for his role in an insider trading scandal. Foster, thanks very much for joining us tonight. First of all do you think she's going to jail?
FOSTER WYNANS, AUTHOR "TRADING SECRETS": Absolutely. There's no question in my mind that, as Jeffrey Toobin said, there really isn't any basis on which to appeal this case and, in fact, if I were her I wouldn't even bother.
BLITZER: Well, what can she expect if she goes to some sort of minimum security, minimal security prison?
WYNANS: Well, I think she can expect a certain amount of humiliation. I had this image today of her in olive drab pants and a tattered Army blouse sitting on the edge of the upper bunk because she'll be new and she won't get a lower bunk and it's kind of pathetic when you think about it.I think that she'll probably experience a certain amount of isolation. She's sort of an unusual inmate in that respect and a lot of people are going to be asking her for money.
BLITZER: For money because -- and what will they do? Will they threaten her? Is that what happens?
WYNANS: No. She's going to be in a minimum security prison. I served my time in Danbury Federal Prison Camp in Danbury, Connecticut. That's where she will probably go. It's kind of like a junior high school. It's actually very collegial. There are no locks. There are no fences. There are two or three guards for 200 inmates. They don't have guns.It's actually, you know, in a very crude sense it's a very comfortable place to be but, you know, she's a celebrity client. She's wealthy. Everybody knows she's wealthy. There are a lot of people who aren't like Martha Stewart who have been in and out of jail and they're used to sort of putting the touch on people. So, I think it's going to be a pretty difficult experience for her.
BLITZER: When she's there you say she's going -- she might be on a bunk bed on the upper part of a bunk bed. What about showers, bathrooms? What are the facilities like there?
WYNANS: It's real friendly. There are 75 people in a dorm room. There are all double bunks. Each one has a half wall around it. The showers are gang showers except possibly in a women's facility they might be individual. It's a very communal environment. It's a very small facility, Danbury.
BLITZER: So what happens? You wake up in the morning, I guess everybody gets up relatively early. They have jobs for all these women.
WYNANS: Right and my advice to Martha would be to get herself a mop. There are jobs in the kitchen. There are jobs. Some of these facilities have factories that produce things for the federal government. They don't do a very good job of it but they're there but she'll have some kind of a minor job that will occupy her for about six hours during the day. The worst times are the weekends. It's -- people ask me what's the worst thing about prison. It's just plain boring.
BLITZER: Well, she'll be able to have visitors. I assume there's books. She can watch television, music. You hear some talk of these country club prisons where they can play tennis. They can play golf. I don't know what it was like at Danbury.
WYNANS: No. There's no golf. There's no tennis. It's just -- it's just prison. You can walk away any time you want except you don't because the sentence you would get for getting caught for walking away is more than the sentence you've got.It's a very regimented routine. You get counted four times a day. You have to go to your bunk and stand by your bunk four times a day and be counted. It's -- it's just all about routine. Yes, you get visits, although a lot of inmates don't like visits because each time their loved ones leave it's almost like going back into prison.
BLITZER: What about the food?
WYNANS: It's healthy. There's plenty of it. It's warm when it's supposed to be warm. It's cold when it's supposed to be cold. It's good basic food.
BLITZER: What should she be thinking about doing to try to redeem herself down the road?
WYNANS: If I were advising Martha Stewart, I would say don't appeal your case. Immediately start doing some sort of community service, something meaningful and I don't mean giving money. I mean actually going and maybe working in a hospital ward for children with cancer or something like that and I also think that she should apologize. I think she has a lot to apologize for.
BLITZER: Foster Wynans you lived through that situation yourself. Thanks for sharing your thoughts with us.
WYNANS: You're welcome.
BLITZER: Coming up on the program tonight we'll check some of the day's other news including a last minute glitch in the signing of an interim constitution for Iraq.And some not so good news on jobs for President Bush. Around the world this is NEWSNIGHT.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
BLITZER: Some snags in the process of writing a temporary constitution for Iraq. What earlier this week seemed like an historic moment for the country has turned into another occasion to revisit the balance of power among Sunnis, Shiites and Kurds.Here's CNN's Jane Arraf.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
JANE ARRAF, CNN BAGHDAD BUREAU CHIEF (voice-over): Anticipating the arrival of governing council members, the band played and played. As hour stretched into hour, it became clear that the unanimous agreement earlier this week wasn't quite so unanimous anymore.
DAN SENOR, COALITION SPOKESMAN: There are some technical matters related to minority rights that a few members had concerns about and they raised it and they're having a serious discussion right now. I just -- I just came over there and they're sitting around a table having a very serious civil discussion about how to resolve this issue before the document is signed.
ARRAF: The problem according to governing council members last minute opposition to a clause that could theoretically allow the Kurds to veto a permanent constitution if a simple majority rejected it.Political sources said they raised objections after consulting with influential Shia cleric the Grand Ayatollah Ali al-Sistani.(on camera): The Governing Council isn't giving up on this. The pens are still here. The only thing missing is the Constitution, but it's all part of the messy process of democracy, says one U.S. official. (voice-over): At the end of the evening, the Cabinet ministers had left. The diplomats got tired of waiting. Among the only people left were a group of city council members waiting to see how it turned out. They, at least, didn't mind the wait.
SIHAM HATTAB, BAGHDAD COUNCIL MEMBER: They are discussing basic issues that are very important to all Iraqi people. It is -- in fact, it is the whole future of millions, of millions of Iraqis, so they have to be very careful, very considerate.
ARRAF: The Governing Council finally said it would give it a bit more time.
MOHSEN ABDUL HAMID, IRAQI GOVERNING COUNCIL: Since, in the new democratic Iraq, there are valuable opportunities to reach an agreement in a democratic climate, the Governing Council has decided to adjourn its sessions for two days to complete the members' dialogue on that issue.
ARRAF: The new target for the signing, Monday, to return from this detour on Iraq's road to democracy. Jane Arraf, CNN, Baghdad.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
BLITZER: On to politics in this country, now, which, in an election year, means the state of the economy, as well, of course, as that. The Labor Department released new job numbers today and they were not necessarily all that good; 21,000 jobs were created in February, 104,000 fewer than many economists had expected. Democrats, no surprise, pounced on the data.Here's CNN's Dana Bash.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
DANA BASH, CNN WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): The president's political team was hoping this would be the jobs report they've been waiting for. It wasn't. Only 21,000 new jobs created in February, and January's numbers revised downward ward to 97,000. Bush aides strain to put the best face on a small gain for an enormous political issue.
STEPHEN FRIEDMAN, DIRECTOR, NATIONAL ECONOMIC COUNCIL: There have been jobs created since the president's tax package. We're just not at all -- not remotely comfortable with the pace of it. BASH: Last month, the White House said 2. 6 million new jobs would be created in 2004, then backed away from the rosy prediction. The president's Democratic rival used the forecast to attack his economic policies and credibility.
SEN. JOHN KERRY (D-MA), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: He thought that he could stand up in front of that sign that says Mission Accomplished. And he thought none of you would notice what's really happening in America. But we do -- 21,000 jobs in one month, another broken promise.
GEORGE W. BUSH, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: This economy of ours is strengthening.
BASH: Mr. Bush's campaign message is one of optimism, insisting his tax cuts are making the economy stronger. Now that they have an opponent, the White House is on the counterattack, saying he'd make things worse.
DON EVANS, COMMERCE SECRETARY: John Kerry likes higher taxes. He's voted to raise taxes 350 times. He's already told the American people that he would raise taxes within the first 100 days. If you want to destroy jobs in this country, you raise taxes. BASH: President Bush is putting to stock market gains, housing starts and consumer confidence as evidence his tax cuts are working. But Democrats are hammering away at the two million jobs lost on his watch. The question is whether Mr. Bush can change the subject. Dana Bash, CNN, Crawford, Texas.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
BLITZER: A few more stories now on the business front, our "Moneyline Roundup" begins with another executive behaving badly, Dennis Kozlowski, former CEO of Tyco Industries, who is accused of looting the company of hundreds of millions of dollars. Today, the judge in his case threw out the most serious charge, enterprise corruption, which is normally reserved for organized crime figures. Mr. Kozlowski and a co-defendant still face numerous counts of grand larceny, conspiracy and stock fraud. McDonald's is reporting supersized growth, sales jumping 14 percent in February at restaurant that have been at least a year. It was the 10th straight monthly gain after years of trouble for the company. According to company watchers, one reason for the turnaround is new white-meat McNuggets. France is telling French men and women to, darn it, start acting like, more like French men and women. Drink up, says the government, which plans to reconsider a ban on television commercials for wine. French wine sales have been slipping lately. And back home, Wall Street ended the day just about where it began. For the seventh straight week, markets were flat. Still to come on NEWSNIGHT, the gay marriage story spreads even further, developments on both coasts, including the New York City's mayor support of the idea. This is NEWSNIGHT, tonight from Washington.
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BLITZER: The wedding march for gays and lesbians moved across the country today. Ceremonies continued in California, as judges began hearing arguments over whether the 3,600 weddings performed in San Francisco really count. Oregon also heard appeals from lawyers to invalidate nearly 800 marriage licenses issued in Portland. Meanwhile, lawmakers in Wisconsin and Kansas took steps to amend their state constitutions to ban any marriage between same-sex couples. Idaho lawmakers considered a similar plan, but it was rejected. Nowhere was the marriage tug of war more fevered than in New York City. CNN's Adaora Udoji has this report.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: We have to start putting together all that stuff. We have to write it off.
ADAORA UDOJI, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Daniel Hernandez (ph), a real estate developer, and Nevan Cohen (ph), an environmental planner, have been together six years.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: We built a home together and it's time for us to get married. We want to do that.
UDOJI: But the New York City clerk, citing state law, refused them and other gay couples a marriage license. So they're suing, using the same argument that persuaded Massachusetts' Supreme Court to legalize gay marriages. Backed by Lambda Legal, a gay and lesbian advocacy group, they argue, the clerk violated their constitutional equal protection rights.
KEVIN CATHCART, LAMBDA LEGAL DEFENSE FUND: Every day, terrible injustices occur throughout this state, as tens of thousands of same- sex couples are discriminated against because they cannot marry.
UDOJI: The suit presents a dilemma for Mayor Michael Bloomberg, who told reporters he supports same-sex marriage, but must uphold the law. All week, protesters have rallied against the law the attorney general reluctantly concluded prohibits same-sex marriage. The latest protest, a caravan of gay and lesbian couples applying for licenses on Long Island at times was tense.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: You're taking away my right that if David was in an emergency room about to die that I would not be able to go see him in his last moments.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I am not taking away your rights.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Well, someone is. And you're the messenger that's telling me I cannot have that right.
UDOJI: The first New York mayor to give that right after marrying 25 same-sex couples in the village of New Paltz was ordered by a judge to stop. Opponents across the country say activists are thwarting the law.
MATT DANIELS, ALLIANCE FOR MARRIAGE: Gays and lesbians have a right to live as they choose, but they don't have a right to redefine marriage for our entire society.
UDOJI: Daniel and Nevan believe, ultimately, the courts will decide the issue.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I am hopeful that this will prevail and we'll be able to get married.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I am really excited. I mean, it's -- the whole world is changing.
UDOJI: They, like so many hope so, but there are also many who hope they are wrong. Adaora Udoji, CNN, New York.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
BLITZER: Before we go to a break, a couple of other stories making news.The attorney general of the United States, John Ashcroft, has been hospitalized here in Washington for severe inflammation of the pancreas. He is expected to remain in the hospital's intensive care unit at least through the weekend. There's more fallout from the first wave of Bush-Cheney reelection ads. Today, some relatives of people killed in the 9/11 attacks demanded that President Bush pull the ads, which include of ground zero. The Bush campaign is defending its use of the images. Ahead on our program tonight, we'll have more on the Martha Stewart matter. We'll go back to that story. We'll take a look at her life before she became America's domestic diva.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
BLITZER: Martha Stewart built her image and her fortune on teachings other how-to. The fact that she was a self-made success added a certain degree of credibility. The homemaking guru's roots were indeed modest. Born and raised in working-class New Jersey towns, her transformation to a household name began with college. Here's CNN's Sharon Collins.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
SHARON COLLINS, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): In the 1960s, Martha Kostyra was deep into studies at Barnard, an elite college in New York City. Just 20 minutes away from her childhood home, it was a world away in sophistication. To help pay school bills, Martha applied and was chosen to appear in "Glamour" magazine's best-dressed college girls of 1961. It was a big break for the small-town girl and it got her noticed. She modeled for The Tareyton cigarettes, was a Breck girl, and made a Lifeboy soap commercial.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP, AD) NARRATOR: Now an you can odor-proof your body. (END VIDEO CLIP)
CHRISTOPHER BYRON, STEWART BIOGRAPHER: She didn't do her own voice on Lifeboy, though, because she had a Jersey accent. So they did a voice dub for her.
COLLINS: The much-photographed girl from Jersey was about to make a serious change in her life. She tells "Glamour" magazine, life pleases her, in particular a young man named Andy.Years later, when Martha published her "Weddings" book, she shared with the world a snapshot of her Andy, the man she married in 1961. Andrew Stewart was a law student and Martha was 19 years old. After marriage, Martha stepped off the model runway and onto the floor of the New York Exchange. It was the late '60s. The market was strong and Martha's father-in-law, a broker, encouraged her to try her luck. Stewart biographer Christopher Byron says Stewart was one of the first females on the floor.
BYRON: She was a stockbroker in a mini skirt and drop-dead blonde looks and did really well.
COLLINS: The next stop for the Stewarts, suburban Connecticut. They flapped down $34,000 for an old house in Westport, renovated it themselves and dubbed it "Turkey Hill Farm." From this meager beginning grew a domestic multimedia corporation.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
BLITZER: CNN's Sharon Collins reporting. And much more on this story to come, including a very special edition of CNN's "PEOPLE IN THE NEWS." You can catch it Saturday morning. That would be tomorrow morning, 11:00 a.m. Eastern. Next on NEWSNIGHT, segment seven goes to the opera and the man who's been hitting just the right notes now for some 50, yes, 50 years. Stay with us.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
BLITZER: Imagine for a moment going through life with the name Picasso or Sinatra or Ali, not a burden, perhaps, as long as you don't sing, paint or box. But what if you do? Could you measure up? Just as important, could you stand apart? Tomorrow night, at New York's Metropolitan Opera, a man who has been doing both celebrates 50 years on stage. And if you're a fan, you may have already guessed his name.If not, we'll let Beth Nissen tell you.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
BETH NISSEN, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Charles Anthony grew up in New Orleans thinking he'd be a doctor, but when he was 15, the local opera association came to his high school looking for boys to be in the soldiers' chorus of "Faust."
CHARLES ANTHONY, SINGER: And I was in solid geometry and I could not abide solid geometry. I was terrible in it. So I went down to the assembly hall.
NISSEN: He was too short for the soldiers' chorus, but the director did notice him.
ANTHONY: He said, you know, you have a good voice. You should study. I have a friend who is a voice teacher.
NISSEN: He abandoned premed, studied voice. At the age of 22, he entered national auditions for the Met and won a place in the company. There was just one problem, his name.
ANTHONY: I was Charles Anthony Caruso, like the great Caruso.
NISSEN: Enrico Caruso, one of the most famous tenors in history. Sir Rudolf Bing, then the Met's general manager, urged the young tenor not to use such an auspicious name.
ANTHONY: Who needed that? It was like being the second Babe Ruth, you know?
NISSEN: So, on March, 1954, 50 years ago this week, Charles Anthony made his Met debut as the simpleton in the opera "Boris Godunov." (on camera): Were you nervous?
ANTHONY: Very nervous. As a matter of fact, I've been nervous for every performance of my life.
NISSEN: So nervous, on debut night, that he blanked on his first musical entrance.
ANTHONY: The cue. I couldn't think of the first word. What's the first word? And at the last minute -- moon. (singing): Moon is shining. I said thank you, blessed mother. Thank you.
NISSEN: The critics didn't notice. A review in "The New York Times" said his debut performance was so vivid that he risked being stamped as a character singer for life. That preview was prescient. Charlie -- everyone from the maestro to the stagehands calls him Charlie -- quickly himself in comprimario roles. That's the opera term for sidekick.
ANTHONY: You evolve into a niche where you're useful to the opera company. And mine has been in supporting role category.
NISSEN: He's played the sergeant in "Barber Of Seville," the inn keeper in
(UNINTELLIGIBLE)
the henchman Spoletta in "Tosca," 110 different roles in 69 operas, more than 2,800 performances over 50 years. He's sung in Italian, French, German, English, and Russian. He's mastered dancing, swordplay, acting, comedic and dramatic.
JAMES LEVINE, ARTISTIC DIRECTOR, THE METROPOLITAN OPERA: It takes enormous artistry to sing many supporting roles. It's like that old Hollywood adage, there are no small parts. There are only small actors.
NISSEN: It isn't always easy forever walking in behind the lead singers, standing by for their showpiece arias.
ANTHONY: I'm listening to this beautiful tenor voice and I'm there doing Spoletta.
NISSEN: But a career of smaller roles has helped him keep his voice strong for five decades.
BILL MALLOY, HEAD OF WARDROBE DEPARTMENT, THE METROPOLITAN OPERA: Everybody has a bad patch, where they're singing starts to slip or whatever. Charlie really hasn't reached that yet because he's stayed within what his voice can do.
NISSEN: At age 74, Charlie is not yet ready to retire. He has already signed with the Met for next year, his 51st season. He insists there is no secret to his extraordinary success, except that it's important, he says, to love what you do and to give your all, and, of course, to do your part, whatever it is.
ANTHONY: I got some good advice from one of the stage hands. And he said, Charlie, he says, if they give you a broom, you sweep that stage better than anybody else ever swept it or tried to. I approach everything that I do to try to do my best, to do it as best as I can, maybe, possibly better than anybody else ever did it.
NISSEN: The opera term for that, bravo. Beth Nissen, CNN, New York. (END VIDEOTAPE)
BLITZER: Congratulations to Charlie. Up next, we'll update you on our top story -- that would be the Martha Stewart guilty conviction -- and preview Monday. Stay with us. (COMMERCIAL BREAK)
BLITZER: A quick recap of our top story, a bad day for Martha Stewart. A jury found her guilty on all four counts she faced in her obstruction of justice trial, meaning she will likely serve some time in prison. Stewart's former broker, Peter Bacanovic, was found guilty on four of the five charges he faced. Both say they will appeal their verdicts. And on Monday on NEWSNIGHT, we'll show you a new technique being developed that could improve breast cancer patients' chances of having a baby. Before we go, here's Soledad O'Brien with a look on what's coming up Monday on "AMERICAN MORNING."
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
SOLEDAD O'BRIEN, CNN ANCHOR: Thanks, Wolf.Monday on "AMERICAN MORNING," the best way to get even with the boss, take his or her job away. The Learning Channel's new reality show, "Now Who's Boss?" gives ordinary workers the chance to snatch away the reins of power, while the boss tries doing all the dirty work. We're going to talk to the first CEO to take the plunge, Jonathan Tisch of Loews Hotels. Find out just how he liked cleaning bathrooms. That's CNN Monday, 7:00 a.m. Eastern -- Wolf.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
BLITZER: All right, sound goods. We'll be watching Soledad and her partner, Bill Hemmer.That's NEWSNIGHT for tonight. Thanks very much for watching. I'm Wolf Blitzer in Washington. Please join me on Sunday on "LATE EDITION," the last word in Sunday night. That would be at noon Eastern. Among my guests, the chief U.S. administrator in Iraq, Paul Bremer, and Senator Ted Kennedy.Aaron returns on Monday. Good night from Washington.
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Aired March 5, 2004 - 22:00 ET
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WOLF BLITZER, CNN ANCHOR: Good evening again. I'm Wolf Blitzer in for Aaron Brown. Someone once said there are important stories and there are good ones. Iraq's constitution is certainly an important story. So is the news today that the economy is creating fewer jobs than anticipated. Martha Stewart clearly is a good story, a great story even. It has everything except a slow speed car chase and it isn't too late for that. Celebrity captivates us and nothing captivates us like a celebrity on the ropes.On the other hand, Martha Stewart's celebrity stems from the fact that she runs a billion dollar business empire and one way or another her difficulties may leave a lot of people high and dry.She's now convicted of breaking the law. She's facing the possibility, a very real possibility of some serious prison time, so a great story, yes, but an important one as well.That starts off the program and the whip. CNN's Allan Chernoff starts us with a headline -- Allan.
ALLAN CHERNOFF, CNN FINANCIAL NEWS CORRESPONDENT: Wolf, Martha Stewart guilty four times over. A jury concludes that Martha Stewart was lying about her sale of ImClone stock and she now faces the likelihood of prison time.
BLITZER: All right, Allan, we'll be back to you.On to the Martha Stewart, the brand name, the business name and what the verdict means to that. CNN's Jason Carroll joins us with that, Jason the headline.
JASON CARROLL, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, Wolf, the verdict is definitely going to hurt the brand but there are consumers and some ad execs out there who still believe in the brand and the woman behind it -- Wolf.
BLITZER: All right, Jason.Many developments today in the fight over same-sex marriage. CNN's Adaora Udoji with a lot to do tonight, Adaora the headline.
ADAORA UDOJI, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Wolf, today the debate on same- sex marriage raged on from one end of the country to the other and nowhere was it more fierce than here in New York City -- Wolf.
BLITZER: Thanks, Adaora.Finally, the president and the economy and jobs, CNN's Dana Bash traveling with the president. She's in Crawford, Texas tonight.
DANA BASH, CNN WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT: Today's jobs report was bad news for Americans out of work but even worse news for a president running for reelection trying to convince the country the economy is getting better and that his policies are working -- Wolf.
BLITZER: Thanks, Dana, back to you and the rest shortly.Also coming up on this program we're following other stories. We'll go back to the Martha Stewart story with a special look at her before she became a household name.And in Segment 7 tonight, we'll meet a tenor named Caruso who is about to celebrate his 50th year on the Metropolitan Opera stage. It's our annual opera story from Beth Nissen, all that to come in the hour ahead.But we begin with Martha Stewart and something a colleague said this afternoon. "I wish" he said "I worked for Saturday Night Live," and you can almost imagine the sketches they're working on tonight.But there's plenty to do here as well starting with the moment in court when one of America's best known personalities and her broker learned the verdict. Again, here's CNN's Allan Chernoff.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
CHERNOFF (voice-over): Martha Stewart left court a convicted felon, found guilty of all four criminal charges. As Judge Miriam Cederbaum read the verdict, guilty four times, Stewart showed no emotion.
DAVID KELLEY, U.S. ATTORNEY: This is not a case about lying to the FBI and the SEC and suddenly they become victims. The victims in this case is the entire American public who relies on the integrity of our system to make sure that justice is done and that they can invest their money safely and securely.
CHERNOFF: The jury determined Stewart and stockbroker Peter Bacanovic covered up the true reason she sold ImClone stock. The broker passed a tip that ImClone's top executive, Sam Waksal, was trying to dump his shares.Juror Chappell Hartridge called the verdict a victory for the little guy. He said a key to the conviction was testimony from Stewart's assistant Ann Armstrong. She described how her boss altered the message from the broker that ImClone stock would begin trading downward.
CHAPPELL HARTRIDGE, JUROR: That was very strong because that was Martha's way of trying to cover this up about what message Peter left. That was very strong
.CHERNOFF: While the charges on which Stewart and Bacanovic were convicted carry a theoretical maximum of 20 years in prison, federal sentencing guidelines point to no more than three years and the judge has broad discretion to determine the actual punishment.
RICHARD STRASSBERG, ATTORNEY FOR PETER BACANOVIC: It's been a horrible ordeal for Peter but he is going to make it through and we will ultimately be vindicated in the end.
ROBERT MORVILLO, ATTORNEY FOR MARTHA STEWART: It was a difficult process for all of us. Like Rich Strassberg we are disappointed at the outcome.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
CHERNOFF: Both defense teams are planning to appeal. Stewart's attorney saying we lost the first round and now we have an opportunity to go to the next round -- Wolf.
BLITZER: Allan, was it a mistake for Martha Stewart not to take the stand?
CHERNOFF: Well the juror you just saw said it really wouldn't have mattered that the jury basically didn't buy her story and even her going to the stand testifying would not have helped. Morvillo, her attorney, also didn't want to expose Martha Stewart to cross- examination, which itself could have been very damaging to her.
BLITZER: Well, let's go one further step. They basically had one witness, the defense, a minimal case. Was that a mistake?
CHERNOFF: That's exactly how Robert Morvillo described it. He said we're putting up a minimal defense because we just don't believe the prosecution has proved its case but clearly he was very wrong there and it seems that perhaps he could have at least put on a little more of a case, at least maybe some witnesses to back up the integrity of Martha Stewart, something like that to give a little bit more of an argument to the jury. He really did not put on much of a case at all. Most of the time in court, in fact from the defense, came from Mr. Bacanovic's attorney and a lot of people thought his attorneys did not do a very good job.
BLITZER: All right. She's not going to be sentenced until mid- June. What happens step by step between now and then for Martha Stewart?
CHERNOFF: Martha Stewart actually does have to go back to Lower Manhattan on Monday. She's supposed to go to the probation office, get processed over there and then she'll have to return again for her sentencing on the 17th of June.
BLITZER: Allan Chernoff who has covered this trial for us, thank you Allan very much. CNN's Jeffrey Toobin, of course, is no stranger to celebrity justice and everything surrounding it. He's joining us once again from New York. Jeffrey, how surprised were you by this verdict?
JEFFREY TOOBIN, CNN LEGAL ANALYST: Well, I think I was shocked but not surprised and let me explain what I mean. It's shocking to see someone as well known, maybe one of the dozen best known women in America found guilty of anything and brought so low.But I really wasn't surprised. I sat there. I watched this trial. I saw the evidence come in. This was a very strong case against Martha Stewart and Peter Bacanovic, so the verdict itself didn't surprise me because the verdict -- the evidence demanded it.
BLITZER: One thing that surprised me when the judge threw out the major charge against her I immediately jumped to the conclusion, clearly wrong, that this was not necessarily going to be a conviction for her.
TOOBIN: Well, see what's important about that, Wolf, is that the securities fraud charge really was always the tail on this dog. It related to something very different from the rest of the charges. It suggested that Martha Stewart lied in order to pump up the value of her own stock. That really was never proved and I think Judge Cederbaum was right to get rid of that count. The rest of the counts all related to did Martha Stewart lie to investigators who were looking into this sale on December 27, 2001 and that was the heart of the government's case and that's what they proved so effectively that Martha did lie.
BLITZER: Realistically given the discretion that the judge has, Jeffrey, how much time in prison do you think she'll serve?
TOOBIN: I think she is likely to get a sentence of somewhere between 12 and 24 months. Under the federal system there's no such thing as parole, so whatever months she gets she will serve 85 percent of that time, so I think she is looking at roughly serving somewhere in the area of a year in prison.
BLITZER: Now her defense attorney says they're going to go ahead and appeal this verdict. What kind of case do they have for an appeal?
TOOBIN: I think their chances are about slim and none. As you pointed out, this is a judge who dismissed the securities fraud case, count. This is the judge who ruled against the government in several important ways in the course of this trial limiting the government's proof.I don't see Martha Stewart as having much of a prayer of getting this conviction overturned on appeal. Peter Bacanovic may be a little better because of some rulings that went against him.But I think given the fact that the jury found against both of these defendants, four out of four counts Martha Stewart, four out of five counts against Peter Bacanovic, no appeals court is going to be looking for an excuse to give her a new trial. I think the last word in this trial has pretty much been written.
BLITZER: And what's your sense given the fact that we're all smarter with hindsight the fact that she did not testify, even though she did some television interviews and newspaper interviews? You interviewed her after she was charged before she started this trial. The jury never heard her directly though.
TOOBIN: Well, when you've been convicted of four out of four counts against you it's hard to think that any result could have been worse but I do think that actually Robert Morvillo made the right decision keeping her off the stand.There were so many questions to answer. Listen to what the juror said. Remember he said about altering the document how devastating that evidence was. What was Martha Stewart going to do on the witness stand to explain that away? There was no good explanation and there were lots of other examples like that.Now she said nothing. She has at least a chance to come out of prison and say, look, I disagree with the verdict of the jury but I'm going to start over. I think having testified and found to have lied by a jury, I think to anything things would have been worse and they're pretty bad now so I think Robert Morvillo, in spite of this terrible result, did make the right decision in keeping her off the witness stand.
BLITZER: Jeffrey Toobin has been helping us understand this trial from day one. Thank you, Jeffrey, very much for that.
TOOBIN: OK, Wolf.
BLITZER: Martha Stewart, homemaking guru, is now a convicted felon, not an enviable spot for anyone but when your name and your image are the core of your multimillion dollar business, billion dollar business in fact, a day like today raises worries beyond the question of how much jail time you might serve.Here's CNN's Jason Carroll.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
CARROLL (voice-over): Martha in her better days, cooking things up in the kitchen and marketing domestic perfection in a way no one has done before. The question we asked superstar ad executives can she still do it with a conviction?
RON BERGER, CHIEF EXECUTIVE OFFICER, EURO RSCG MVBMS PARTNERS: I think it's going to be a very difficult and very long road, you know, for her to be able to ever come back to what, you know, what she stood because again she stood for something that this charge drives right at the heart of.
CARROLL: Ad exec Richard Kirshenbaum disagrees saying one reason some dislike Stewart is now gone.
RICHARD KIRSHENBAUM, KIRSHENBAUM BOND AND PARTNERS: I think in a certain sense now Martha is the underdog and I think that women don't perceive her as being as perfect as she was in the past and I actually think that there will be a groundswell of emotion, a movement towards embracing Martha and her brand.CARROLL: And what a brand. The Stewart name is on everything from bed sheets to gardening tools.
MARTHA STEWART: This is an amazing hand tool.
CARROLL: Stewart's company says: "We are deeply saddened by the news of Martha Stewart's conviction. We are confident that our assets are more than sufficient to continue MSO's development as a leading 'how to' brand building company."But how can you separate the name from the brand? One industry leader says keeping the name and the face might be a good thing.
JAMES TENNY: This is crisis management at this point. I think honesty, stepping forward, having a point of view and not receding from the public view is one of the most important things she can do.
CARROLL: Many consumers we spoke to say they still believe in the brand and the woman behind it.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I just think that she's getting scapegoated for something that everyone is doing.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I'd buy the products but I wouldn't buy the stock.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I'll still continue to support her and her products but, you know, I am kind of like cool on her character. I don't think she's the best person.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
CARROLL: The board of directors from Martha Stewart Living Omnimedia say they'll meet soon to carefully evaluate the implications of the verdict and to take actions as appropriate -- Wolf.
BLITZER: Jason, is there a sense based on what I'm hearing in your report that some people will feel sorry for Martha Stewart, they simply loved her and will now make a point of going out and buying these products, these magazines in order to express their solidarity, their support for her?
CARROLL: There is definitely a sense from some of the people out there who do feel sorry for Martha Stewart. They feel as though she's being used as some sort of a scapegoat. But you also heard from the young lady there who also said I would still buy her product but I still have a problem with her character, something about Martha Stewart. So, I think there are people on both sides of this but there is definitely people out there who feel an emotional connection now to Martha that maybe did not feel that way before.
BLITZER: All right. CNN's Jason Carroll reporting for us, thank you Jason very much.Lots of uncertainties ahead for Martha Stewart Omnimedia. Here to discuss some of them, Paul Argenti. He's a professor at Dartmouth University's Tuck School of Business. We're pleased to have him join us tonight. Thanks, professor, very much. What's going to happen to her business?
PAUL ARGENTI, DARTMOUTH BUSINESS PROFESSOR: Well, I think the business is in deep trouble. They have no other sources of brand equity besides Martha and basically today they have to try to find out a way to go beyond anything related to her and that's going to be difficult because she owns a significant portion of the stock and she's been a controlling interest in the company from day one.
BLITZER: So, what do they do in order to keep this company alive?
ARGENTI: Well, it's very difficult because in some sense what they have to do is act as if Martha no longer exists, which of course she very much does and will remain a celebrity prisoner for the next several months maybe years. And once they do that they're limited in terms of the things they can do depending upon which platform you're talking about.In terms of television there's really no recourse for them. In terms of the magazines it kind of depends. The food magazine can go on. Martha Stewart Living has to be completely rethought and, of course, all of her products are going to be difficult sells. I don't buy it that, you know, the brand is going to be somehow more powerful because she's been found a convicted felon. That's ridiculous.
BLITZER: But is there a core of constituents out there who simply love her and don't believe this conviction?
ARGENTI: Well, I think there are core constituents who love her but, as you've already seen, I mean the stock has continued to plummet and sales have continued to go down all year, so how believable is that when she wasn't even proven guilty yet. So, I think it's going to be very difficult for me to believe that suddenly they're all going to come out and buy her products because now she's going to jail. That's counterintuitive.
BLITZER: What about someone stepping in, someone close to Martha Stewart who could serve as that kind of leader? You know her daughter might come to mind. But isn't there anyone who could step in and take that corporate responsibility?
ARGENTI: Yes. You know I heard stories today about her daughter as a possibility. In fact, I can't think of anyone who really is as good as Martha both from the perspective of her taste and her ability to judge what the next trend is but more importantly to be a great leader and someone who can think of the ideas that she thought of for that company. There really is no one like that. Could there be a figure head, you know, kind of a George Mitchell equivalent for this company, perhaps, but I think the company is dead in the water and it's going to be a long time before they can bring this one back.
BLITZER: George Mitchell, of course, the former U.S. Senator brought in to run Disney at least or become the chairman of Disney during this period of turmoil for that corporation.So, if you were in charge hypothetically of this company, Martha Stewart, what would you do right now? What could you do to keep hope alive?
ARGENTI: Yes. The first thing I'd do is try to get as far away from her as possible in terms of image and they should have done that years ago. They didn't. But now they really have to do it and unfortunately it may be too little too late.The second thing they have to do is try to find someone who can replace her on the celebrity level and there are some people who come to mind, B. Smith or someone like that, but really the biggest problem they have is just trying to figure out which brands live beyond Martha and which ones really will not survive without her. That's the first determination they have to make.
BLITZER: And if you're a big retail chain that uses Martha Stewart's products what do you do right now?
ARGENTI: Well, I assume you're talking about K-Mart for instance as one of those chains. I think K-Mart has to think about whether they want to continue to use her name and associate themselves with her lack of credibility at this point and I can't imagine that a conservative company like K-Mart would do that from what I know of them.
BLITZER: So you think they're just going to walk away from this whole line?
ARGENTI: I think it's a lot easier to walk away from her name than the whole line. I mean people like the product, as you know, and there's nothing wrong with the product and, in fact, the sensibility and sort of the taste that she has will live on.I mean think of what happens after Coco Channel dies. I mean the product can continue, Versace, and I don't see any reason why her sensibility can't go on. But the problem is she really is genius and can identify things that other people just cannot. There's no way that will go on.
BLITZER: One final question professor. After she serves her time and we're all assuming now she is going to serve at least some time in prison, can she make a comeback?
ARGENTI: Certainly not a comeback of the kind that she had before. I mean for one thing she's not the young woman she was when I first met her and, you know, was in the catering business moving into books and television. So, it would be difficult for her to have a comeback and the celebrity status she had before.I think Martha is incredibly resilient and she'll be back doing something but it's going to be more like kind of like a Michael Milken return not a star return. That's going to be very difficult for her.
BLITZER: Professor Paul Argenti thanks very much for joining us.
ARGENTI: Thanks for having me.
BLITZER: Still ahead tonight on the program, more on the Martha Stewart case. We'll talk with Foster Wynans who knows more than a bit about the ins and outs of stock trades.And later in Segment 7, just a great story about making a career of starring in the background. Beth Nissen goes to the opera all ahead on NEWSNIGHT tonight from Washington.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
BLITZER: More now what may lie ahead for Martha Stewart. Will she get prison time? What could she expect if she does? Can she redeem herself or at least soften the blow between now and her sentencing date? Foster Wynans is the former "Wall Street Journal" writer who served time in prison for his role in an insider trading scandal. Foster, thanks very much for joining us tonight. First of all do you think she's going to jail?
FOSTER WYNANS, AUTHOR "TRADING SECRETS": Absolutely. There's no question in my mind that, as Jeffrey Toobin said, there really isn't any basis on which to appeal this case and, in fact, if I were her I wouldn't even bother.
BLITZER: Well, what can she expect if she goes to some sort of minimum security, minimal security prison?
WYNANS: Well, I think she can expect a certain amount of humiliation. I had this image today of her in olive drab pants and a tattered Army blouse sitting on the edge of the upper bunk because she'll be new and she won't get a lower bunk and it's kind of pathetic when you think about it.I think that she'll probably experience a certain amount of isolation. She's sort of an unusual inmate in that respect and a lot of people are going to be asking her for money.
BLITZER: For money because -- and what will they do? Will they threaten her? Is that what happens?
WYNANS: No. She's going to be in a minimum security prison. I served my time in Danbury Federal Prison Camp in Danbury, Connecticut. That's where she will probably go. It's kind of like a junior high school. It's actually very collegial. There are no locks. There are no fences. There are two or three guards for 200 inmates. They don't have guns.It's actually, you know, in a very crude sense it's a very comfortable place to be but, you know, she's a celebrity client. She's wealthy. Everybody knows she's wealthy. There are a lot of people who aren't like Martha Stewart who have been in and out of jail and they're used to sort of putting the touch on people. So, I think it's going to be a pretty difficult experience for her.
BLITZER: When she's there you say she's going -- she might be on a bunk bed on the upper part of a bunk bed. What about showers, bathrooms? What are the facilities like there?
WYNANS: It's real friendly. There are 75 people in a dorm room. There are all double bunks. Each one has a half wall around it. The showers are gang showers except possibly in a women's facility they might be individual. It's a very communal environment. It's a very small facility, Danbury.
BLITZER: So what happens? You wake up in the morning, I guess everybody gets up relatively early. They have jobs for all these women.
WYNANS: Right and my advice to Martha would be to get herself a mop. There are jobs in the kitchen. There are jobs. Some of these facilities have factories that produce things for the federal government. They don't do a very good job of it but they're there but she'll have some kind of a minor job that will occupy her for about six hours during the day. The worst times are the weekends. It's -- people ask me what's the worst thing about prison. It's just plain boring.
BLITZER: Well, she'll be able to have visitors. I assume there's books. She can watch television, music. You hear some talk of these country club prisons where they can play tennis. They can play golf. I don't know what it was like at Danbury.
WYNANS: No. There's no golf. There's no tennis. It's just -- it's just prison. You can walk away any time you want except you don't because the sentence you would get for getting caught for walking away is more than the sentence you've got.It's a very regimented routine. You get counted four times a day. You have to go to your bunk and stand by your bunk four times a day and be counted. It's -- it's just all about routine. Yes, you get visits, although a lot of inmates don't like visits because each time their loved ones leave it's almost like going back into prison.
BLITZER: What about the food?
WYNANS: It's healthy. There's plenty of it. It's warm when it's supposed to be warm. It's cold when it's supposed to be cold. It's good basic food.
BLITZER: What should she be thinking about doing to try to redeem herself down the road?
WYNANS: If I were advising Martha Stewart, I would say don't appeal your case. Immediately start doing some sort of community service, something meaningful and I don't mean giving money. I mean actually going and maybe working in a hospital ward for children with cancer or something like that and I also think that she should apologize. I think she has a lot to apologize for.
BLITZER: Foster Wynans you lived through that situation yourself. Thanks for sharing your thoughts with us.
WYNANS: You're welcome.
BLITZER: Coming up on the program tonight we'll check some of the day's other news including a last minute glitch in the signing of an interim constitution for Iraq.And some not so good news on jobs for President Bush. Around the world this is NEWSNIGHT.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
BLITZER: Some snags in the process of writing a temporary constitution for Iraq. What earlier this week seemed like an historic moment for the country has turned into another occasion to revisit the balance of power among Sunnis, Shiites and Kurds.Here's CNN's Jane Arraf.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
JANE ARRAF, CNN BAGHDAD BUREAU CHIEF (voice-over): Anticipating the arrival of governing council members, the band played and played. As hour stretched into hour, it became clear that the unanimous agreement earlier this week wasn't quite so unanimous anymore.
DAN SENOR, COALITION SPOKESMAN: There are some technical matters related to minority rights that a few members had concerns about and they raised it and they're having a serious discussion right now. I just -- I just came over there and they're sitting around a table having a very serious civil discussion about how to resolve this issue before the document is signed.
ARRAF: The problem according to governing council members last minute opposition to a clause that could theoretically allow the Kurds to veto a permanent constitution if a simple majority rejected it.Political sources said they raised objections after consulting with influential Shia cleric the Grand Ayatollah Ali al-Sistani.(on camera): The Governing Council isn't giving up on this. The pens are still here. The only thing missing is the Constitution, but it's all part of the messy process of democracy, says one U.S. official. (voice-over): At the end of the evening, the Cabinet ministers had left. The diplomats got tired of waiting. Among the only people left were a group of city council members waiting to see how it turned out. They, at least, didn't mind the wait.
SIHAM HATTAB, BAGHDAD COUNCIL MEMBER: They are discussing basic issues that are very important to all Iraqi people. It is -- in fact, it is the whole future of millions, of millions of Iraqis, so they have to be very careful, very considerate.
ARRAF: The Governing Council finally said it would give it a bit more time.
MOHSEN ABDUL HAMID, IRAQI GOVERNING COUNCIL: Since, in the new democratic Iraq, there are valuable opportunities to reach an agreement in a democratic climate, the Governing Council has decided to adjourn its sessions for two days to complete the members' dialogue on that issue.
ARRAF: The new target for the signing, Monday, to return from this detour on Iraq's road to democracy. Jane Arraf, CNN, Baghdad.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
BLITZER: On to politics in this country, now, which, in an election year, means the state of the economy, as well, of course, as that. The Labor Department released new job numbers today and they were not necessarily all that good; 21,000 jobs were created in February, 104,000 fewer than many economists had expected. Democrats, no surprise, pounced on the data.Here's CNN's Dana Bash.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
DANA BASH, CNN WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): The president's political team was hoping this would be the jobs report they've been waiting for. It wasn't. Only 21,000 new jobs created in February, and January's numbers revised downward ward to 97,000. Bush aides strain to put the best face on a small gain for an enormous political issue.
STEPHEN FRIEDMAN, DIRECTOR, NATIONAL ECONOMIC COUNCIL: There have been jobs created since the president's tax package. We're just not at all -- not remotely comfortable with the pace of it. BASH: Last month, the White House said 2. 6 million new jobs would be created in 2004, then backed away from the rosy prediction. The president's Democratic rival used the forecast to attack his economic policies and credibility.
SEN. JOHN KERRY (D-MA), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: He thought that he could stand up in front of that sign that says Mission Accomplished. And he thought none of you would notice what's really happening in America. But we do -- 21,000 jobs in one month, another broken promise.
GEORGE W. BUSH, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: This economy of ours is strengthening.
BASH: Mr. Bush's campaign message is one of optimism, insisting his tax cuts are making the economy stronger. Now that they have an opponent, the White House is on the counterattack, saying he'd make things worse.
DON EVANS, COMMERCE SECRETARY: John Kerry likes higher taxes. He's voted to raise taxes 350 times. He's already told the American people that he would raise taxes within the first 100 days. If you want to destroy jobs in this country, you raise taxes. BASH: President Bush is putting to stock market gains, housing starts and consumer confidence as evidence his tax cuts are working. But Democrats are hammering away at the two million jobs lost on his watch. The question is whether Mr. Bush can change the subject. Dana Bash, CNN, Crawford, Texas.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
BLITZER: A few more stories now on the business front, our "Moneyline Roundup" begins with another executive behaving badly, Dennis Kozlowski, former CEO of Tyco Industries, who is accused of looting the company of hundreds of millions of dollars. Today, the judge in his case threw out the most serious charge, enterprise corruption, which is normally reserved for organized crime figures. Mr. Kozlowski and a co-defendant still face numerous counts of grand larceny, conspiracy and stock fraud. McDonald's is reporting supersized growth, sales jumping 14 percent in February at restaurant that have been at least a year. It was the 10th straight monthly gain after years of trouble for the company. According to company watchers, one reason for the turnaround is new white-meat McNuggets. France is telling French men and women to, darn it, start acting like, more like French men and women. Drink up, says the government, which plans to reconsider a ban on television commercials for wine. French wine sales have been slipping lately. And back home, Wall Street ended the day just about where it began. For the seventh straight week, markets were flat. Still to come on NEWSNIGHT, the gay marriage story spreads even further, developments on both coasts, including the New York City's mayor support of the idea. This is NEWSNIGHT, tonight from Washington.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
BLITZER: The wedding march for gays and lesbians moved across the country today. Ceremonies continued in California, as judges began hearing arguments over whether the 3,600 weddings performed in San Francisco really count. Oregon also heard appeals from lawyers to invalidate nearly 800 marriage licenses issued in Portland. Meanwhile, lawmakers in Wisconsin and Kansas took steps to amend their state constitutions to ban any marriage between same-sex couples. Idaho lawmakers considered a similar plan, but it was rejected. Nowhere was the marriage tug of war more fevered than in New York City. CNN's Adaora Udoji has this report.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: We have to start putting together all that stuff. We have to write it off.
ADAORA UDOJI, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Daniel Hernandez (ph), a real estate developer, and Nevan Cohen (ph), an environmental planner, have been together six years.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: We built a home together and it's time for us to get married. We want to do that.
UDOJI: But the New York City clerk, citing state law, refused them and other gay couples a marriage license. So they're suing, using the same argument that persuaded Massachusetts' Supreme Court to legalize gay marriages. Backed by Lambda Legal, a gay and lesbian advocacy group, they argue, the clerk violated their constitutional equal protection rights.
KEVIN CATHCART, LAMBDA LEGAL DEFENSE FUND: Every day, terrible injustices occur throughout this state, as tens of thousands of same- sex couples are discriminated against because they cannot marry.
UDOJI: The suit presents a dilemma for Mayor Michael Bloomberg, who told reporters he supports same-sex marriage, but must uphold the law. All week, protesters have rallied against the law the attorney general reluctantly concluded prohibits same-sex marriage. The latest protest, a caravan of gay and lesbian couples applying for licenses on Long Island at times was tense.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: You're taking away my right that if David was in an emergency room about to die that I would not be able to go see him in his last moments.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I am not taking away your rights.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Well, someone is. And you're the messenger that's telling me I cannot have that right.
UDOJI: The first New York mayor to give that right after marrying 25 same-sex couples in the village of New Paltz was ordered by a judge to stop. Opponents across the country say activists are thwarting the law.
MATT DANIELS, ALLIANCE FOR MARRIAGE: Gays and lesbians have a right to live as they choose, but they don't have a right to redefine marriage for our entire society.
UDOJI: Daniel and Nevan believe, ultimately, the courts will decide the issue.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I am hopeful that this will prevail and we'll be able to get married.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I am really excited. I mean, it's -- the whole world is changing.
UDOJI: They, like so many hope so, but there are also many who hope they are wrong. Adaora Udoji, CNN, New York.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
BLITZER: Before we go to a break, a couple of other stories making news.The attorney general of the United States, John Ashcroft, has been hospitalized here in Washington for severe inflammation of the pancreas. He is expected to remain in the hospital's intensive care unit at least through the weekend. There's more fallout from the first wave of Bush-Cheney reelection ads. Today, some relatives of people killed in the 9/11 attacks demanded that President Bush pull the ads, which include of ground zero. The Bush campaign is defending its use of the images. Ahead on our program tonight, we'll have more on the Martha Stewart matter. We'll go back to that story. We'll take a look at her life before she became America's domestic diva.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
BLITZER: Martha Stewart built her image and her fortune on teachings other how-to. The fact that she was a self-made success added a certain degree of credibility. The homemaking guru's roots were indeed modest. Born and raised in working-class New Jersey towns, her transformation to a household name began with college. Here's CNN's Sharon Collins.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
SHARON COLLINS, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): In the 1960s, Martha Kostyra was deep into studies at Barnard, an elite college in New York City. Just 20 minutes away from her childhood home, it was a world away in sophistication. To help pay school bills, Martha applied and was chosen to appear in "Glamour" magazine's best-dressed college girls of 1961. It was a big break for the small-town girl and it got her noticed. She modeled for The Tareyton cigarettes, was a Breck girl, and made a Lifeboy soap commercial.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP, AD) NARRATOR: Now an you can odor-proof your body. (END VIDEO CLIP)
CHRISTOPHER BYRON, STEWART BIOGRAPHER: She didn't do her own voice on Lifeboy, though, because she had a Jersey accent. So they did a voice dub for her.
COLLINS: The much-photographed girl from Jersey was about to make a serious change in her life. She tells "Glamour" magazine, life pleases her, in particular a young man named Andy.Years later, when Martha published her "Weddings" book, she shared with the world a snapshot of her Andy, the man she married in 1961. Andrew Stewart was a law student and Martha was 19 years old. After marriage, Martha stepped off the model runway and onto the floor of the New York Exchange. It was the late '60s. The market was strong and Martha's father-in-law, a broker, encouraged her to try her luck. Stewart biographer Christopher Byron says Stewart was one of the first females on the floor.
BYRON: She was a stockbroker in a mini skirt and drop-dead blonde looks and did really well.
COLLINS: The next stop for the Stewarts, suburban Connecticut. They flapped down $34,000 for an old house in Westport, renovated it themselves and dubbed it "Turkey Hill Farm." From this meager beginning grew a domestic multimedia corporation.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
BLITZER: CNN's Sharon Collins reporting. And much more on this story to come, including a very special edition of CNN's "PEOPLE IN THE NEWS." You can catch it Saturday morning. That would be tomorrow morning, 11:00 a.m. Eastern. Next on NEWSNIGHT, segment seven goes to the opera and the man who's been hitting just the right notes now for some 50, yes, 50 years. Stay with us.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
BLITZER: Imagine for a moment going through life with the name Picasso or Sinatra or Ali, not a burden, perhaps, as long as you don't sing, paint or box. But what if you do? Could you measure up? Just as important, could you stand apart? Tomorrow night, at New York's Metropolitan Opera, a man who has been doing both celebrates 50 years on stage. And if you're a fan, you may have already guessed his name.If not, we'll let Beth Nissen tell you.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
BETH NISSEN, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Charles Anthony grew up in New Orleans thinking he'd be a doctor, but when he was 15, the local opera association came to his high school looking for boys to be in the soldiers' chorus of "Faust."
CHARLES ANTHONY, SINGER: And I was in solid geometry and I could not abide solid geometry. I was terrible in it. So I went down to the assembly hall.
NISSEN: He was too short for the soldiers' chorus, but the director did notice him.
ANTHONY: He said, you know, you have a good voice. You should study. I have a friend who is a voice teacher.
NISSEN: He abandoned premed, studied voice. At the age of 22, he entered national auditions for the Met and won a place in the company. There was just one problem, his name.
ANTHONY: I was Charles Anthony Caruso, like the great Caruso.
NISSEN: Enrico Caruso, one of the most famous tenors in history. Sir Rudolf Bing, then the Met's general manager, urged the young tenor not to use such an auspicious name.
ANTHONY: Who needed that? It was like being the second Babe Ruth, you know?
NISSEN: So, on March, 1954, 50 years ago this week, Charles Anthony made his Met debut as the simpleton in the opera "Boris Godunov." (on camera): Were you nervous?
ANTHONY: Very nervous. As a matter of fact, I've been nervous for every performance of my life.
NISSEN: So nervous, on debut night, that he blanked on his first musical entrance.
ANTHONY: The cue. I couldn't think of the first word. What's the first word? And at the last minute -- moon. (singing): Moon is shining. I said thank you, blessed mother. Thank you.
NISSEN: The critics didn't notice. A review in "The New York Times" said his debut performance was so vivid that he risked being stamped as a character singer for life. That preview was prescient. Charlie -- everyone from the maestro to the stagehands calls him Charlie -- quickly himself in comprimario roles. That's the opera term for sidekick.
ANTHONY: You evolve into a niche where you're useful to the opera company. And mine has been in supporting role category.
NISSEN: He's played the sergeant in "Barber Of Seville," the inn keeper in
(UNINTELLIGIBLE)
the henchman Spoletta in "Tosca," 110 different roles in 69 operas, more than 2,800 performances over 50 years. He's sung in Italian, French, German, English, and Russian. He's mastered dancing, swordplay, acting, comedic and dramatic.
JAMES LEVINE, ARTISTIC DIRECTOR, THE METROPOLITAN OPERA: It takes enormous artistry to sing many supporting roles. It's like that old Hollywood adage, there are no small parts. There are only small actors.
NISSEN: It isn't always easy forever walking in behind the lead singers, standing by for their showpiece arias.
ANTHONY: I'm listening to this beautiful tenor voice and I'm there doing Spoletta.
NISSEN: But a career of smaller roles has helped him keep his voice strong for five decades.
BILL MALLOY, HEAD OF WARDROBE DEPARTMENT, THE METROPOLITAN OPERA: Everybody has a bad patch, where they're singing starts to slip or whatever. Charlie really hasn't reached that yet because he's stayed within what his voice can do.
NISSEN: At age 74, Charlie is not yet ready to retire. He has already signed with the Met for next year, his 51st season. He insists there is no secret to his extraordinary success, except that it's important, he says, to love what you do and to give your all, and, of course, to do your part, whatever it is.
ANTHONY: I got some good advice from one of the stage hands. And he said, Charlie, he says, if they give you a broom, you sweep that stage better than anybody else ever swept it or tried to. I approach everything that I do to try to do my best, to do it as best as I can, maybe, possibly better than anybody else ever did it.
NISSEN: The opera term for that, bravo. Beth Nissen, CNN, New York. (END VIDEOTAPE)
BLITZER: Congratulations to Charlie. Up next, we'll update you on our top story -- that would be the Martha Stewart guilty conviction -- and preview Monday. Stay with us. (COMMERCIAL BREAK)
BLITZER: A quick recap of our top story, a bad day for Martha Stewart. A jury found her guilty on all four counts she faced in her obstruction of justice trial, meaning she will likely serve some time in prison. Stewart's former broker, Peter Bacanovic, was found guilty on four of the five charges he faced. Both say they will appeal their verdicts. And on Monday on NEWSNIGHT, we'll show you a new technique being developed that could improve breast cancer patients' chances of having a baby. Before we go, here's Soledad O'Brien with a look on what's coming up Monday on "AMERICAN MORNING."
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
SOLEDAD O'BRIEN, CNN ANCHOR: Thanks, Wolf.Monday on "AMERICAN MORNING," the best way to get even with the boss, take his or her job away. The Learning Channel's new reality show, "Now Who's Boss?" gives ordinary workers the chance to snatch away the reins of power, while the boss tries doing all the dirty work. We're going to talk to the first CEO to take the plunge, Jonathan Tisch of Loews Hotels. Find out just how he liked cleaning bathrooms. That's CNN Monday, 7:00 a.m. Eastern -- Wolf.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
BLITZER: All right, sound goods. We'll be watching Soledad and her partner, Bill Hemmer.That's NEWSNIGHT for tonight. Thanks very much for watching. I'm Wolf Blitzer in Washington. Please join me on Sunday on "LATE EDITION," the last word in Sunday night. That would be at noon Eastern. Among my guests, the chief U.S. administrator in Iraq, Paul Bremer, and Senator Ted Kennedy.Aaron returns on Monday. Good night from Washington.
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