11/01/2007 The Big Story with John Gibson

http://www.acandyrose.com/2007-11-01-BigStoryJohnGibson.htm

http://www6.lexisnexis.com/publisher/EndUser?Action=UserDisplayFullDocument&orgId=574&topicId=25131&docId=l:695025285&start=29

Fox News Network

SHOW: THE BIG STORY WITH JOHN GIBSON 5:00 PM EST

November 1, 2007 Thursday

110101cb.263

2211 words

Missing Illinois Cop's Wife; Hillary Clinton under Fire over Illegal Immigrant Drivers Licenses Controversy

John Gibson; Heather Nauert; Jaime Colby; Geraldo Rivera, Newt Gingrich; Craig Wall

HEATHER NAUERT, CO-HOST: Breaking new developments tonight in the search for an Illinois cop's missing wife. Right now, police at the home of Drew and Stacy Peterson and they're looking for clues into her disappearance. Not only are they coming the home for evidence, but just a few minutes ago Drew an Stacy's cars were towed away.

Hello everybody, you're watching THE BIG STORY, I'm Heather Nauert.

JOHN GIBSON, CO-HOST: And I'm John Gibson. Right now, all eyes are on Drew Peterson. His wife was last heard from on Sunday night. According to new reports, he told police his wife called him that night and told him her car was at the airport. He says he went to pick up the car and drove it back to their house. Drew Peterson also says he thinks his wife left him for another man. But, he thinks she is alive and safe.

With us now live on the scene from Bolingbrook, Illinois, in the middle of it all, FOX's Jaime Colby and reporter Craig Wall with the FOX affiliate, WFLD.

Jamie, if we can go to you first. Describe all the action, today. Very dramatic stuff, towed away the cars, executed search warrant, children taken away. Tell us what happened.

JAIME COLBY, FOX NEWS CORRESPONDENT: No doubt, today was the day for developments. John, we've been out here for a couple of days. Today we were the only crew, it happened Greta and Mark Furman were here with us.

We were in front of the house behind me when all of a sudden a line of about 20 police cars pulled up, Illinois state cops. They had some warrants, search warrants. They went into the house. The crime scene team is still in their hours later. The three cars in from of the house are gone, towed away.

The children, as you said, emotionally carried off, one of the little girls screaming "Mommy, mommy" as she was taken to a neighbor who's caring for them, someone who knows them well. They're in good shape.

But here's the incredible scene, John, in the house next door, right now, are Stacy Peterson's family. Here sister is there, Craig's talked to her. He'll tell you about that.

The family of his third wife, the one who died in 2004 in that bathtub, they're there, they came to pick up one of the children and while they're in there talking, in walks Drew Peterson. Sergeant Drew Peterson, who had gone to the back of this house, who had been taken by police for questioning is now back. He isn't in his house, he is next door. The house is being searched. The dogs have left, the cars have left, but they're still looking -- John.

GIBSON: Jaime, the missing wife's hubby cop is apparently targeted, although they've said he's not a suspect. Why the sudden search warrants? What the -- Craig, what is the -- what was this urgency, today, that they swooped down on the houses?

CRAIG WALL, WFLD REPORTER: John, I wish we could give you that clue. They're being very tight-lipped about what the search warrants are for, but the search warrant was for not only the house, but the two vehicles. Obviously, looking for evidence of any sign of some kind of foul play that might have happened to Stacy that might explain why she is no longer in contact with anyone, why she disappeared, because the family, as you know, does not believe she would just take off. She loved her two kids, she even, you know, cared for the other two kids that -- you know, from the previous marriage. So, you know, they don't believe she took off, so obviously they believe there's some kind of crime or some kind of evidence here that might help them solve the mystery in Stacy's disappearance.

GIBSON: You were in there talking to the family. What'd they tell you?

WALL: I talked to Cassandra Cales, Stacy's sister, the person closest to her. She says they're just very worried but they are glad, at this point, to see all this activity here because now they know police are doing something.

I talked to Stacy's father, yesterday. He said they had hired a private investigator and in his words, they were ahead of the state police and the Bolingbrook police because every time they'd be living someplace the cops would be showing up.

So, the family's doing their job to try to figure out what happened to Stacy, now police are obviously on the scene doing their job. Cassandra Cales telling me that her Stacy told her, her husband, Drew, very controlling, would not let her have any friends or associate with anybody else unless he was around. So, there's a lot of concern on their part, you know, what happened and why is she gone.

COLBY: Yeah, they mentioned, John, just so you know, that there were going to get a divorce. He told me, Drew, in the conversations I had with him, inside the house, that he believed his wife left him that his marriage was over. He was very clear forthcoming even though the Illinois state police wasn't. You can understand they don't want to compromise their investigation...

GIBSON: Jaime Colby and Craig Bowl (sic), if you guys will just stand by, we're going to come back to you a little bit later. I'm sure we might have new developments, but hold on just a second -- Heather.

NAUERT: Now, we're going to bring in FOX's own Geraldo Rivera.

Geraldo, the police didn't spend that much time formally questioning him, today. What do you thing that that is all about?

GERALDO RIVERA, AT LARGE: Well, I think the big news, though, Heather, is the search warrants. They wouldn't have gotten those search warrants if there wasn't probable cause to believe a serious crime was committed. They have strong suspicion that a crime was committed. They don't go in a 20 car convoy and seal a house and seize two vehicles on a whim. They know something or they think they know something. I thing that I'd be checking to see if this Drew Peterson is related to Scott Peterson.

This is a guy whose previous wife was found drowned in her bathtub. She left a note when she got the order of protection in 2004 about Drew Peterson: "He wants me dead and if he has to he will burn the house down to shut me up."

Now, this is a person who's extremely troubled. He's, by all accounts, a manically jealous person over his much younger wife. I believe she really wanted to get rid of him and I would be of the opinion that he is the most unlikely person in the northern hemisphere if he is innocent in this case.

NAUERT: Apparently, Stacy told relatives that she was afraid of him and that she was afraid that she might disappear.

RIVERA: This guy is hinky (ph), too. He's also a cop who has a, you know, a colored, checkered past. He had allegations of dealing with drug kingpins in his area, the Chicago suburb, just west of Chicago. This is a person who's got a lot of baggage and I think he's got some real anger issues. And I want to know, you know, why he went to the airport to get his wife's car and it's his video.

GIBSON: The hubby cop's on the hot seat, you know, the neighbors have said this, his present wife, her mother left when she was 15. What of his wife just split?

RIVERA: Well, like I said, John, it could be extremely unlucky, but you know, when was the last time you heard of a 40-year-old woman drowning in a bathtub who wasn't drunk? I mean, you know, babies drown in bathtubs, wives don't drown in bathtubs, especially when their husbands are being accused of being, you know, physically abusive.

GIBSON: Geraldo Rivera. Geraldo, thank you very much.

Greta van Susteren will be live on the scene of the search for the missing mom, Stacy Peterson, that's tonight, ON THE RECORD at 10:00 Eastern right here on FOX, don't miss a moment.

NAUERT: In "Big Politics," tonight, it's hard to believe that it's November 1 and that the 2008 presidential election is just a year away. Ninety-six days from now, many of you will head to the polls to pick the candidates you want to see duke it out for the Oval Office. Super Tuesday is around the corner.

GIBSON: One of the issues that may affect your vote, then, is the hot-button issue of illegal immigration. Democratic frontrunner, Hillary Clinton, is coming under fire, right now, for her stance on giving legal drivers' licenses to people who are in this country illegally. The governor of her home state of New York plans to create a three tiered system of licenses that would create two forms of more secure identification and a third form available to illegal aliens. Hillary's take on this controversial plan is not exactly clear.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

GOV HILLARY CLINTON (D), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: What is the governor supposed to do? He is dealing with a serious problem. We have failed and George Bush has failed. Do I think this is the best thing for any governor to do? No. But, do I understand the sense of real desperation, trying to get a handle on this? Remember, in New York, we want to know who's New York. We want people to come out of the shadows. He's making an honest effort to do it. We should have passed immigration reform.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

NAUERT: Former House speaker and FOX NEWS contributor, Newt Gingrich is with us. He is also the author of a new book call "Contract with Earth."

Mr. Speaker, Hillary Clinton recently told the New Hampshire newspaper that she supported Governor Spitzer's plan. Last night she was a lot more squishy on the issue. How long can she get away without taking a firm stance on such a controversial issue?

NEWT GINGRICH, FMR HOUSE SPEAKER: Well, if the firm stance is going to take is that she's in favor of giving people who are here illegally a driver's license, then thereby making them potentially eligible to vote in New York, I suspect she's better off not to be firm.

The average American regards the idea that you can be here breaking the law and a governor is now going to give you a driver's license, as though you're OK, as exactly the wrong direction. I think it's a sign that some of the senators didn't get the message this summer when the amnesty bill was stopped by the American people.

The American people are trying to send some simple signals: Control the border; go after employers, now don't go after people who are here working illegally, just go after the employers; create a guest card program that's run by the federal government by outsourcing it to American Express or Visa or MasterCard; insist that everybody learn English, make English the official language. I mean, the country's over here with a pretty clear 85 percent position.

Senator Clinton's over here with some very, very liberal governors doing some things that I think are pretty unacceptable.

NAUERT: She doesn't want to offend the far left.

GINGRICH: I don't know what her reasoning is. The fact is this is that this is a huge problem, she is going to make it worse, Governor Spitzer's going to make it absurdly unmanageable, and it relates directly to voting.

Georgia had adapted a law that you have to have a photo I.D. to vote, because they realize how many people were potentially voting illegally. New York doesn't have the kind of rule and the initial thought was that Governor Spitzer actually was trying to make it easy for people who are here illegally to vote in American elections, which I think is a very, very dangerous problem.

GIBSON: Now, she took -- today, she -- or belatedly, she said: OK, I'm actually supporting Spitzer's plan. But, the original problem during the debate was she didn't appear to even say where she was and that is this Hillary's immigration waffle. Does that mean she's toast?

GINGRICH: No, no, this is a long campaign. But it certainly -- first of all, I think that the Democrats need to understand if she continues to move to the left, if she is for illegal immigrants getting drivers' licenses, which is a 15 percent base in this country, if she is for Charlie Rangel's trillion dollar tax increase, which is a 10 percent base in this country, I mean, they are taking an election they should win easily and they are turning it back into a referendum on how dumb you think the American people are. And I think that they're going to lose that referendum at the rate they're going.

GIBSON: She has such a -- what seems like an insurmountable lead, I mean, quickly, do you think that she lost some of that?

GINGRICH: She lost -- she -- what she lost was the sense of inevitability. As of today, there is a real race for the Democratic nomination. It is at least a three-way race and it'll be very interesting to see how it evolves now, because now for the very first time she looks vulnerable.

GIBSON: We all know about the Contract with America. What's the Contract with Earth?

GINGRICH: Contract with Earth is a book that Terry Maple and I have written that outlines a green conservatism were you science and technology and markets and incentives and entrepreneurs to actually solve problems rather than regulators and trial lawyers and litigators...

GIBSON: It's an anti-Al Gore book?

GINGRICH: It is the alternative. It's the way to actually get it fixed as opposed to simply worry about it.

GIBSON: All right. Look for it on Amazon and in bookstores. Former speaker, Newt Gingrich. Always good to see you. Thanks.

GINGRICH: Great to be here.

NAUERT: Thank you.

And call him "bad dog." Bounty hunter Duane "Dog" Chapman is caught red-handed dropping the "N" bomb in a racist rant and it's all caught on tape. You'll hear the shocking tirade. That's coming up next on THE BIG STORY. If it's big, it's now.

November 2, 2007