so were congressional staffers from both parties that played a role in legislation that affected countrywide. these vips got favorable mortgage rates and points. one was a chairman of the house oversight committee, the very same committee investigating countrywide. he also denies any wrongdoing. according to the house report, documents and testimony obtained by the committee show the vip loan program was a tool used by 1 treewide to build good will with lawmakers and other individuals positioned to benefit the company. the report went on to say that the effort, well, it worked. there's a lot to talk b joining me is jason jaf it is, republican from utah. i think people would be surprised to hear that people got a deal. in your opinion did anyone here commit a crime? >> well, there was no quid pro

quo. we could not tie anybody's vote directly to getting this benefit as the report points out but it skirts awfully close. you're given a benefit to some your friends and neighbors or somebody off the street wouldn't get because they were members of congress or working for members of congress. >> what i found amazing in your report is that according to the report, these sweetheart deals basically came about because so many congressional staffers were actually complaining to the countrywide lobbyists about their own personal loans, so the lobbyists would spend the first 30 minutes of meetings dealing with people's personal complaints. that just seems outrageous to me. >> it does. particularly when you're on the committees that are charged with tightening up the rules and regulations. we were dealing with all these bad loans and whatnot. and these people, they were complaining about them but then -- so they took this program, internal program and called it friends of angelo and decided to go ahead and start helping these people. and it's just wrong. it didn't smell right, didn't look right because it wasn't

right. >> it would be as if i went to interview the head of countrywide and spent the first 30 minutes of the interview before the cameras are rolling complaining about my personal mortgage to the guy and then get directed to some program. i would be fired for that. >> look, they were put -- a little bait was put out in front of these people and a number of them bit on both sides of the aisle. key, important people bit at this stuff. some claim they didn't really understand what they were doing but that doesn't seem like much of a defense to me. >> a lot of the members of congress claimed they never knew they were part of any preferential program. are they lying? do you have any paragraph throo did in fact know they were? >> could not directly tie that. this investigation lasted some three years. again, people on both sides of the aisle. but this was something you couldn't just pick up the phone or go down to your local countrywide representative and get, you could only get it by dealing with the friends of angelo. and it seems obvious to me.

but -- >> yeah, the senate budget committee chairman, kent conrad said to politico that the senate ethics committee concluded he didn't receive any sweetheart deal on any transaction. your report, though, alleges that he did. that he saved something like $20,000 through two preferred loans. so did the ethics committee get it wrong in the senate? >> well, the ethics committee in general is fairly impotent. usually the voters have to deal with this and make these types of decisions. what we could not directly tie was, hey, you got this sweetheart deal in exchange directly for this particular vote or for changing a piece of legislation. we could never tie these two together but you can see what the consequences were. the taxpayers ended up footing all of these bills and at the same time some of the key people on finance and banking and the key staffers, one term was this person has the pen in hand. they were a staffer actually helping to write this legislation. you can understand why when this lobbyist said to the committee this is why this person was

targeted, you can see that there was -- there was an attempt here to influence. >> the report now concludes that congress should consider making it illegal for company to offer discounts or other preferential treatment to members of congress or their staff. i think most people would say that seems like common sense. do you expect that will actually happen, though? >> well, as you said, it's very difficult to legislate common sense. look, it is already inappropriate and illegal for a member of congress to accept something that they wouldn't otherwise be able to get. so i don't understand why the ethics committee thinks that there's nothing here in the house. i think there's still some outstanding issues. but it was wrong, it doesn't look right, it doesn't smell right because it wasn't right, anderson. i'm glad that we did this report and hopefully it sheds more light on the issue. >> i'm glad you did too. as you point out, it's folks on both sides of the aisle here, republicans and democrats involved. congressman, i appreciate your time. thank you. >> thanks. we mentioned at the top that all lawmakers named in the house

report deny any wrongdoing. former senator dodd said this report recycles old allegations that republicans and democrats on the senate ethics committee investigated for 14 months before concluding senator dodd did nothing wrong. the senate ethics committee found the rates and terms senator dodd received were widely advertised and available to other borrowers. when questions were first raised about his loans, senator dodd was clear in saying he became a countrywide customer back in 1999, something noted on the first page of the senate ethics committee's report. senator conrad also denies that he received preferential rates. in all we heard from six of the seven lawmakers named in the house report. you can find their statements at ac360.com. follow me on twitte twitter @andersoncooper. i'm tweeting in the hour ahead. a lot more happening tonight also, including mitt romney's latest newest position on health care reform. he's now in line with his own party, but big-name supporters have some doubts about his campaign. that's next. citracal maximum pl.

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keeping them hahns tonight on the campaign trail on mitt romney's latest attempt to paint president obama's health care law as bad and his own massachusetts plan as good. since the supreme court ruled last week governor romney and members of his campaign have

seemingly tied themselves in verbal knots over it. ironically the supreme court offered him a way out upholding the mandate that the penalty for not buying insurance is a tax. most republicans took that and ran with it. take a look. >> this law is a tax. >> obama care is the biggest tax increase in american history. >> the government could decide that we're going to tax you if you don't eat broccoli on tuesday. >> in fact the affordable care act is a tax. it is the largest tax in america's history. >> the middle class tax increase. >> the largest tax increases on the middle class in history. >> obama care raises taxes on the ameran people. >> it's actually nowhere near the biggest tax increase in history. but all the same, according to the court, it is a tax. so there was a minor political tremor when romney's campaign chief bucked the party line and said this. >> the governor does not believe the mandate is a tax. that's what you're saying? >> the governor believes that

what we put in place in massachusetts was a penalty and he disagrees with the court's ruling that the mandate was a tax. but again -- >> so he agrees with the president -- he agrees with the president that it is not -- and he believes that you shouldn't call the tax penalty a tax, you should call it a penalty or a fee or a fine? >> that's correct. >> now, that is totally consistent with then governor romney's thinking back in 2006. but as we pointed out, it's totally out of step with his own party right now and he got blasted for it. so tuesday he changed his position. >> thank you. >> mitt -- >> the supreme court is the final word, right? they said it was a tax, didn't they? so it's a tax, of course. that's what they say it is. >> so if romney is saying it's a tax, that motion raises the inevitable question which cbs news's jan crawford asked. >> does that mean that the mandate in the state of massachusetts under your health care law also is a tax?

and that you raised taxes as governor? >> actually the chief justice in his opinion made it very clear that at the state level, states have the power to put in place mandates. they don't need to require them to be called taxes in order for them to be constitutional. and as a result, massachusetts mandate was a mandate, it was a penalty, it was described that way by the legislature and by me. >> so mitt romney yesterday denying that the penalties in massachusetts amounted to a tax, just as he did back in 2006. what's interesting is that that's not how he described them when he was running for president back in 2008. >> tax penalties in massachusetts. >> if people can afford to buy it, either buy the insurance or pay your own way. don't be free riders. >> so he seemed to agree then that they were tax penalties in 2008. he says they were fees in 2006 and a straight-up mandate today. as we mentioned, all the differing are versions are skaugz some conter nation among

romney supporters, including rupert murdoch and jack welch. they're calling for a romney campaign shake up. murdoch tweeting mitt romney last week, tough o chicago pros will be hard to beat unless he drops old friends from team and hires some real pros. doubtful. the following lead, if mitt romney loses his run for the white house, a turning point will have been his decision monday to absolve president obama of raising taxes on the middle class. let's talk about it now with red state.com's eric erickson. he's with us so is rick santorum and alice stewart. also senior political analyst ron brownstein. so, eric, where does this clarification get romney exactly? it certainly doesn't help him with the folks who are worried he's a flip-flopper, does it? >> no, that's the problem. i think the romney campaign doesn't want to be seen as a flip-flopper, but sometimes you can be so careful you trip over your feet. that's what's happening here. he just needs to go on and say it's a tax. it didn't work well for him in

the primary campaign to say, well, it was massachusetts and states could do something the federal government can't do. he might as well just go on and say, yeah, it's a tax. the individual mandate is a tax. anderson, i do have to take one issue. when you said it wasn't the largest tax increase in history. remember the cbo window only looks at ten years. if you move the cbo window to when the individual mandate starts and goes into complete effect, it is the biggest tax increase in history. >> alice, one of your former bosses, rick santorum, who lost the gop to mitt romney, said romney would not be able to make the argument against obama care because of his similar plan in massachusetts. is senator santorum right? is that what's going on here? >> no. there was a tremendous difference between what's instituted in massachusetts. they have the power to do that in the states and governor romney made it very clear -- >> so it was not a tax in massachusetts? >> it was a mandate. he made it very clear in his interview with jan crawford. he said he agrees with the dissent. the supreme court has ruled. the majority ruled that it is a

tax. like it or not, it's a tax. now, the real question should go to president obama. he's the one that's come full triangle on this when he was thinking -- just a second. >> wait, are you saying he flip-flopped, though? because it seemed like earlier in the week he wasn't -- at least according to his spokesperson he wasn't thinking it was a tax. >> what governor romney said clearly is that he agrees with the dissent but like it or not the supreme court has ruled. that's the final rule. but it will come down to the voters in november as to the court of public opinion. as i said, it's very important also to look at where president obama has stood on this. while seeking passage, he promised the american people repeatedly this was not a tax. yet he sends his attorney to the supreme court arguing that it was a tax. now he's saying it is not a tax. so he's the one that's come full triangle on this issue. >> it's one thing when it's coming from democrats. the fact it's coming from conservatives and extremely prom negligent conservatives, how much trouble does this spell for romney.

>> it's kind of a week that has your head spinning. i think it underscores what rick santorum argued that it's very difficult for romney to draw contrast with obama on this one pick issue. earnly what they did in massachusetts, it would pass a dna paternity test for how the dna was structured at the federal level. the penalty for not buying health insurance in massachusetts is double what it is at the national level. in fact most people choose to buy health insurance in massachusetts. only 44,000 are subject to the mandate. what justice roberts said a tax is not the mandate per se, it's the fine on people who choose not to buy health insurance under the mandate with help from the government. the best estimate is that would only apply to four million people so it's hard to see how this would be the largest tax increase in history if we're only talking about four million people who might choose not to buy the health insurance and pay

the tax instead. >> eric, is the danger -- does it matter at this point if people say romney is a flip-flopper on this? you're saying it's more important that he -- that he basically embrace this idea that it's a tax? >> just -- just say it's a tax. listen to this conversation. in massachusetts it's a mandate. in the federal government it's a tax. in the federal level we've been talking about an individual mandate. but an individual mandate at the federal government is a tax. is it a leprechaun or little person. what's the difference? it's the same thing. it's a tax. admit that in massachusetts they did it and say barack obama has done a bigger tax and say he's going to get rid of it. this compounds the problem with conservatives who don't trust him. >> eric, hasn't he been saying all along he didn't raise taxes in massachusetts -- >> that's the problem. >> there you go. >> anderson, it's important -- he has said that it's a tax. >> he said chief justice roberts said it's a tax. >> governor romney says like it or not, the supreme court has ruled. it's the law of the land, it is a tax.

>> but earlier in the week he didn't seem to believe that, at least according to his spokesman. >> as i said, what governor romney clearly stated is he has agreed with the dissent, which is exactly what fuehrstrom said. but that will be decided in november as to overturning this law. but it's also important to point out too what governor romney wants to do, he wants to completely do away with this. he wants to institute free market policies on health care. he wants to take the government out between the patient and their doctors and he wants to make sure that people have more freedom and choice in their health care and that's what he'll do on day one. >> ron. >> yeah, i was going to say -- >> yeah, i think this does create a challenge for president obama. they have focused mostly on somewhat peripheral issues like letting your kids stay on your insurance until they're 26. i understand that's important for people who it affects. the central idea is they need to

explain what the logic behind the mandate, why mitt romney adopted it in massachusetts. why arnold schwarzenegger tried to do knit california. the argument that the only way to do the insurance reforms that are popular is to bring more people into the risk pool by requiring those who don't have vns and can afford it to buy it with substantial government help. >> but ron, it's also important to note that governor romney made it clear his plan was the massachusetts plan. it wasn't a one size fits all plan. it fit massachusetts. it's not something that should go across all 50 states. >> the logic is the same, alice. the underlying logic is the same. the exact argument that romney has made, we can play the tape of him many times talking about free riders and the need to bring people into the system, to broaden the risk pool which allows you to do the insurance reforms that are popular in the public, that is a case obama has never tried to make. he's focused on things easier to defend and that has been a failure. at various points they have had almost half the country saying this is good for the country

overall. they have never gotten a majority saying this is good for me and my family. as long as that's true, it will be more a negative than a positive in the election. >> eric, is it going to boil down, governor romney, whatever his position may have been and is now, the fact is he wants to eliminate this program, this is what he is saying. is that a winning issue for him? how much of a winning issue do you think that is? >> yeah, look, even in cnn's latest poll, a majority of americans, 51% in c. this n's poll and the average is a 10% gap want the individual mandate repealed, want obama care in its entirety repealed so he's got a winning issue if he focuses on that and tells people he's going to repeal the whole thing. but saying it's a mandate in massachusetts and a tax at the federal level, people in des moines or toledo, don't understood the nuance between the federalism between what a state can do and the national government can do. they might as well bite the bullet and say it's a tax but it's going away under mitt romney. >> appreciate you all being on,

thank you very much. colorado's massive wildfire forced them from their homes. so what happens now to all those pets that have been left behind? that's next on the program. one is for a clean, wedomestic energy future that puts us in control. our abundant natural gas is already saving us money, producing cleaner electricity, putting us to work here in america and supporting wind and solar. though all energy development comes with some risk, we're committed to safely and responsibly producing natural gas. it's not a dream. america's natural gas... putting us in control of our energy future, now.

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the most destructive fire in colorado's history is now nearly contained. the waldo canyon fire spread so fast it forced thousands of families to flee their homes. the pictures just unbelievable. the flames destroyed close to 350 homes. for those who live there, now is the time to start all over. others returning to their

neighborhoods to try to pick up the pieces and resume life as best as they can or at least figure out a new kind of normal. the future is far less certain for pets lost in the struggle. car gary tuchman has the story. >> reporter: at the intersection of animal afternoon and bark avenue, they just hang out and wait. the pets temporarily left behind when the colorado wildfire spread rapidly. >> we knew right away that evacuees were going to start coming to us. >> reporter: jan smith is the president and ceo of the humane society of the pikes peak region in colorado springs. >> in total we cared for 439 animals. >> reporter: most of the pets have now been back to their families with the evacuation orders lifted. but some still remain. dogs, like 9-year-old hunter. saechbd-year-o and 7-year-old phoebe. cats like 5-year-old pippen and 2-month-old marilyn, given that

name despite she is really a he. and what a variety of wildfire visitors there are. meet scooby, a 5-year-old female turtle. snowflake, the parakeet, sitting quietly by scooby. there was also an unnamed but very large rabbit, and an unnamed and very camera shy guinea pig. and last but certainly not least, there's bingo the goat. most of these animals aren't abandoned or lost, they just remain until their owner can say get back to their old homes, or their new homes. there's great relief here that most of these pets have gone back to their families, but also the realization that if the fires flare up again, these cages could be full again. veterinarians are taking care of the remaining pets. they say the animals are going through stress just like their owners. >> all this is very new to these animals. they don't know the people around them, they're surrounded by other animals. it's an extremely situation for them. >> reporter: indeed, among the

stressed, these three hens. not at all happy to see their camera its, but they're about to have a happy reunion. cindy cabrera had to evacuate her ranch when the fire came, but now she's coming back. >> how are you doing, baby? >> reporter: going back with her chickens. >> and they got a lot of good loving while you were away. >> i'm sure they did. without question. >> reporter: it's a day of a lot of smiles. for people who haven't had a lot to smile about. gary tuchman, cnn, colorado springs, colorado. >> nice to see them reunited. randi kaye joins us now with a 360 bulletin. >> reporter: wikileaks says it's releasing millions of e-mails exposing inner workings of the syrian government. the whistleblower website claims the messages dating back to 2006 came from politicians, government ministries and companies working with them. one e-mail shows an italian company trying togd around u.s. sanctions on syria. the judge in the trayvon martin case setting bond for

george zimmerman at $1 million. this comes after he revoked zimmerman's original bond for failing to disclose more than $150,000 raised from supporters. the captain of the wrecked costa concordia cruise ship can now leave his home but is far from free. a judge released the captain from house arrest, but says he can't leave his town near naples. at least 30 people died when the ship struck rocks and turned on its side last january. and gone in a flash. a glitch causing san diego's entire fireworks show to launch at the same time. organizers promised a choreographed 20-minute show. instead, anderson, it lasted just 15 seconds. >> i've seen this video a couple of times today. i feel so bad for the folks who were probably lined up watching that. >> no kidding, right? you always wait for the finale and you got it all at once. >> it was an amazing display in new york last night. more tonight, does tom cruise's scientology faith have anything to do with the breakup

of his marriage? we'll take a look at his role in the church of scientology, next. why not try someplace different every morning? get two times the points on dining in restaurants with chase sapphire preferred.

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a lot of news websites are buzzing over katie holmes' decision to file for divorce from tom cruise after five and a half years of marriage. there's been a lot of coverage about whether her husband's affiliation with the church of scientology played a role in the

actress's decision to end her marriage. they have a daughter together, 6-year-old suri. tom foreman takes a look at tom cruise's role in the church of scientology. >> reporter: when it ms. comes scientology, tom cruise may be the famous defender tearing into matt lauer over the church's repudiation of psychiatry. >> do you know aterol? do you know ritalin? do you know that ritalin is a street drug? do you understand that? >> the difference is this was not against her will, though. >> i'm asking you a question. >> i understand there's abuse of all of these things. >> no, you see he's the problem. you don't know the history of psychiatry. i do. >> reporter: although cruise joined scientology in the 1980s, over the past decade his public identification with the group has been much more pronounced. he's explained his beliefs on talk shows, in the press. and scientology meetings featuring cruise with his "mission impossible" theme playing in the background and

the star giving a military salute to a scientology leader have appeared in videos like this one posted by radaronline. >> i think it's a privilege to call yourself a scientologist and it's something you have to earn because scientology does. he or she has the ability to create new and better realities and improve conditions. >> reporter: many of cruise's statements underscore a central lesson of the faith, this its followers can accomplish great things. again, radar online. >> when you drive past an accident, it's not like anyone else. if you drive past, you know you have to do something about it, because you know you're the only one that can really help. i won't his tight put ethics on someone else because i put it ruthlessly on myself. >> reporter: such talk echos teachings laid out in the 1950s by the faith's founder, science fiction writer l. ron hubbard. he created an outline for conduct and advancement. for example, through counseling sessions, referred to as audits,

followers are supposed to be led toward positive thinking and achieving their goals, no matter how ambitious. listen again to that radar online video as cruise talks about world leaders. >> they want help. and they are depending on people who know and who can be effective and do it, and that's us. >> reporter: that was 2004. by 2005, cruise was expressing even more enthusiasm over actress katie holmes. mo most notably by jumping around on oprah's sofa. so what happened? holmes, who was raised catholic, is believed to have converted to scientology as her relationship with cruise grew. but in the wake of their split, there are reports that she is concerned over their daughter, suri, being raised in the faith. but for now neither is addressing those reports. holmes' attorney called the divorce a private matter and said her primary concern is her

daughter's best interests. cruise's attorney did not respond to cnn inquiries but told "the los angeles times" he hoped the divorce would not be contentious. cruise has spoken dismiss i'vely of what scientologists call sps, suppressive persons, people who try to impede the mission of scientology. again, radar online. >> they said, so, have you met an sp? [ laughing ] and, you know, i thought what a beautiful thing, because maybe one day it will be like that, you know what i'm saying? maybe one day it will be that -- wow, sps, like they'll just read about those in the history books. >> reporter: whether any of this plays into the split with holmes is yet unknown, but when cruise and his second wife, actress nicole kidman, divorced, similar speculation appeared. kidman, who was also raised catholic, never seemed to fully embrace scientology. after the breakup, she was

described as enjoying a homecoming in the catholic church. as for cruise, one last time, listen to radar online. >> and i do it the way i do everything. there's nothing part of the way for me. it's just -- >> reporter: there is no sign he has any intention of backing away from his controversial faith. tom foreman, cnn, washington. why katie left tom, that's the cover story of the july 16th issue of "people" magazine. it looks at what role scientology may have played in the split. joining me now is the executive editor. so what role according to your sources did scientology play in this some. >> well, it's interesting. i think a lot of the reports out there have really played up the role of the church of scientology. and that may not be the whole story. certainly katie holmes came from a catholic upbringing. she was not a scientologist

before she married tom cruise. she did embrace the church of scientology. that was part of their life. that seems to have changed. we do really know how important or not important it is in their dispute, but it certainlies a factor and people are obviously curious about that. >> she's moved back to new york city. or has moved to new york city, has an apartment now. she's trying to establish residency? basically there's now going to be a battle over where this divorce proceeding should take place? >> that's the way it seems to be. katie and tom have homes all over the place. they're very wealthy people. they have been all over the world. they have spent a lot of their time in los angeles. they do have an apartment here and she has rented another apartment. so the speculation, of course, is does this mean that she is, you know, making an obvious case for the fact that she's a new york resident or that she lives here. she clearly seems to want to be here and that seems to be, you know, the thrust of some of the disagreement.

>> is she seeking full custody? >> it seems so. it seems that she is at this point saying that she would like to raise their daughter, suri, and she will be the primary parent there. >> and was he -- according to your reporting, was he aware of this? did he know this was coming? >> according to everyone that we've talked to close to tom cruise, this was quite a surprise. now, there are two people in every marriage, and people close to katie holmes said that she is -- she's been unhappy. this has been something that's been very much on her mind. but she did not give any indication to him that he understood as recently as a couple of weeks ago when i spoke to tom cruise, he was ecstatic about seeing her over his 50th birthday, very excited about that. had plans with her, had planned to spend his birthday in iceland with her and suri and then some time in new york. and then, you know, they were all to fly back to los angeles together. now, obviously that didn't happen. so from his perspective, it was a shocking surprise. >> according to your reporting, though, she had been planning this for a while?

>> she seems to have put wheels in motion for some time. she has been thinking about this. this was a deliberate course of action. she consulted people who she trusted, her father was certainly part of her planning. but it was not necessarily apparent to him. >> she switched out cell phones. >> that is what we've heard, that she made some moves to kind of clean the slate. >> is it known how much her dad is involved? because is he a divorce attorney or family attorney? >> yes, he is an attorney. he is a divorce attorney from toledo. he's a very good attorney. they are a very close family. it is clear that she has leaned on him during these past few days, but it is also clear that she's a strong person who knows her own mind. she's the one who has decided to take this action. so i think it's very important to say if there's any misconception about katie holmes, it's that she's some kind of passive person who was sort of swept along in this big hollywood marriage. she clearly knows what she wants and made some very decisive

moves on her own, with help from family, of course. but she's her own person. >> j.d., thanks. >> thanks so much. a bizarre death is caught on tape. we'll show you more of the video taken in the courtroom. the question is did the man who was just convicted of arson commit suicide by swallowing something? you can see for yourself. details ahead. ttd#: 1-800-345-2550 in times like these, it can be tough to know which ttd#: 1-800-345-2550 way the wind is blowing. ttd#: 1-800-345-2550 at charles schwab, we're ready with objective insights about ttd#: 1-800-345-2550 the present market and economic conditions. ttd#: 1-800-345-2550 and can help turn those insights into ttd#: 1-800-345-2550 a plan of action that's right for you. ttd#: 1-800-345-2550 so don't let the current situation take you off course. ttd#: 1-800-345-2550 talk to chuck. ttd#: 1-800-345-2550 this is new york state. we built the first railway, the first trade route to the west, the greatest empires. then, some said, we lost our edge. well today, there's a new new york state.

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welcome back. the ridiculist is coming up. first let's check with randi. >> reporter: aroundson, the london olympics three weeks away. security has been stepped up. a scare aboard a bus prompted police to shut down a highway for a while. it turned out to be a false alarm. but earlier in the day, six people were taken into custody in london on terrorism charges. mortgage rates have fallen yet again to new lows. freddie mac reports that the rate for a 30-year fixed loan is 3.62%. a florida lifeguard who was fired for saving a drowning man has been offered his job back. tomas lopez was terminated because he saved the swimmer outside his coverage zone. he's not accepting receipt hire offer. and mermaids don't exist? well, don't tell that to these gals swimming in a mermaid show at a georgia aquarium. sorry, ladies, the national oceanic and atmospheric administration says there's just no evidence mermaids ever existed.

anderson. >> was that ever in doubt? >> i guess apparently it was. >> they need to make a statement on that? >> the official ruling. >> good. glad we put that to rest. tonight we've got a golden retriever who's thrilled with seeing a fish tank for the first time. the dog is pretty thrilled at the discovery. look at this. his owner was watching the fish and turtle for a trend. the owner says they will not leave him alone at the tank. do not stress out about a possible twist in the footd chan but just enjoy the cuteness. >> that's adorable. serious stuff ahead. this is not a scene in the movie. a verdict is being read. moments later the defendant is dying. we'll show you the tape. it seems like he poisoned himself. we've got the back story on who this guy was and sort of how his life ended up like this. details ahead. the postal service is critical to our economy,

delivering mail, medicine and packages. yet the house is considering a bill to close thousands of offices, slash service and layoff over 100,000 workers. the postal service is recording financial losses, but not for reasons you might think. the problem ? a burden no other agency or company bears. a 2006 law that drains $5 billion a year from post office revenue while the postal service is forced to overpay billions more into federal accounts. house bill 2309 is not the answer. mid grade dark roast forest fresh full tank brain freeze cake donettes rolling hot dogs bag of ice anti-freeze wash and dry diesel self-serve fix a flat jumper cables 5% cashback signup for 5% cashback at gas stations through september. it pays to discover. according to ford, the works fuel saver package could terally pay for itself. jim twitchel is this true? yes it's true. how is this possible? proper tire inflation, by using proper grades of oil, your car runs more efficiently, saves gas. you could be doing this right now? yes i could, mike.

i'm slowing you down? yes you are. my bad. the works fuel saver package. just $29.95 or less after rebate. only at your ford dealer. so, to sum up, you take care of that, you take care of these, you save a bunch of this. that works. welcome back. in crime and punishment tonight, an investigation is under way in arizona to determine if a man succeeded in committing suicide inside a courtroom. moments before he collapsed and died, this man, michael marin, was convicted of torching his multimillion dollar home in phoenix. the scene inside the courtroom was captured on videotape. as you're about to see, it looks like he slips something into his mouth. the question is did he poison himself? toxicology tests will answer that question, but we wanted to find out how a man like marin,

who at one time was successful, wealthy, how he ended up in this situation. here's ed lavandera. >> reporter: these were the final minutes of michael marin's story and life. >> do find the defendant, michael james marin, guilty of arson of an occupied structure. >> reporter: how he got here is a tragic and bizarre tale. but before we tell the story, remember this moment. after being found guilty of arson and now facing up to 21 years in prison, marin covers his face and appears to swallow something. we'll come back to this scene. michael marin graduated from yale law school, had a lucrative career working around the world for wall street investment banks, making several million dollars. he collected picasso artwork, drove a rolls royce and flew his own plane. >> he was an engaging character. >> reporter: paul reuben profiled michael marin back in 2008 for the phoenix new times newspaper, spent hours talking to the eccentric millionaire. >> he's the smartest guy in the room. he's the -- he's the smoothest

talker in the room. he gets all the girls. he's -- you know, he's that guy. and he just ran into the brick wall that happens to these characters eventually. >> reporter: the brick wall was this 10,000 square foot home in the biltmore estates, an exclusive phoenix, arizona, enclave. marin bought the house in 2008 when the real estate market was collapsing. it came with an interest-only mortgage payment of $17,250 a month. but michael marin had long left wall street and had not worked in several years. and he was quickly running out of money. that's when prosecutors say he concocted a scheme to raffle off the house and in the process make a million dollars for himself. the raffle was an oddly creative way to unload the biltmore house. raffle tickets would sell for $25. the proceeds would benefit the child crisis center. to generate publicity for the raffle, investigators say marin scaled mt. everest, doing

interviews from the mountain with a local television station. it all played into the marin mystique. >> we've done our final altitude climb up to 25,000 feet. >> reporter: but joe says it was all a sinister ploy. epps is the sinister accountant that unraveled marin's personal finances for prosecutors. >> what happened was he paid $2,550,000 for the house and set up with a couple of friends of his a bogus second mortgage designed to increase the value of the house by $950,000 for a second mortgage that really didn't exist. >> you think this raffle was just a scam to make $1 million basically? >> yes. and at the same time be able to look like a very generous person who didn't make anything off of it. >> reporter: in april, 2009, the arizona attorney general ruled the raffle was illegal. the plan fizzled. at this point marin was six months away from having to make a balloon payment of roughly $2

million to lenders or risk a major jump in his monthly interest payments. marin's financial world was collapsing around him. >> i don't think that he really thought this thing threw, he and his pals. and it ended up where he had to do something that was pretty wacky, which was burn down his house. >> reporter: in the early morning hours of july 5th, 2009, fire engulfed marin's biltmore home. he called for help from his upstairs bedroom. >> what's your emergency? >> my house is on fire. >> are you going to be able to get out? >> i've got one of those ladders. >> you have a ladder where? >> i'd rather work on that than talk to you, so let me get the hell out of here. >> reporter: marin emerged from the burning home wearing scuba gear that just happened to be ready to go in his bedroom. jeff peabody is the phoenix fire department investigator who handled marin's case. >> every fireman is going to say you're not going to believe this guy. he came off of a ladder out of his master bedroom wearing a

scuba tank, a mask and a snoerkel. yeah, you're right, i find that odd. >> i realize that i actually had some air left in that tank and that's what enabled me to get back to the window and deploy that ladder. if i hadn't had those two things, we wouldn't be talking. >> reporter: peabody says he found four spots in the house where fires were intentionally set and a long line of phone books that was supposed to help the fire spread, which brings us back to that phoenix courtroom. a jury convicted marin of arson. he's facing between 7 and 21 years in prison. after he appears to swallow something after the verdict is read, notice as he reaches down and appears to get something from his bag. he then wipes his face, swallows something and appears to swallow again. about eight minutes later, marin starts convulsing and collapses. even though it's not been determined what killed michael marin, it's believed he swallowed some type of poison. his attorney said the convicted

arsonist showed no signs of going to commit suicide. >> it was a gigantic shock. i think it's fair to say that we certainly had no inkling this was going to happen. i'm not aware that anybody did. >> reporter: ironically it's jeff peabody, the fire investigator who built the arson case against michael marin, who tries to help him. but peabody says there was no way to save him and that his final moments played out in a dramatic fashion, just as michael marin had lived his life. >> if he's going to do something, then this would be the time that he would do it. sort of like escaping from his house in scuba gear. this was going to be his closure. >> a grand finale? >> a grand finale exit, yeah. >> reporter: ed lavandera, cnn, phoenix, arizona. >> such a bizarre, disturbing story. we're going to take a short break. the ridiculist is next.

time for the ridiculist. tonight we're adding whoever writes new york mayor michael bloomberg's, well, i can't say the word on television. as you know, i love me a good gerard depardue. remember he was speaking before the nathanest famous hot dog eating contest. while he was fine with all the buns, the mayor didn't quite relish all the puns. >> one of their dogged pursuers will finally catch up, cut the mustard and be pronounced winner. who wrote this? >> who wrote this bleep indeed. one could assume he knew the microphone was hot when he dropped his s-bomb. i'm geuessing he knew everyone

would hear him. regardless, the mayor is in solid bipartisan company when it comes to salty language. >> this is a big [ bleep ] deal. >> major league [ bleep ]. >> yeah, big time. classic moments of americana. back to mayor bloomberg. the problem appeared to be that he didn't like what was written for him. take comfort, mr. mayor, you are not the only one. >> the potential for a few flurries over -- who the hell wrote this script? as the afternoon goes on. >> prince charles doing the weather. it's not just princes or politicians who occasionally go off script. sometimes those of us in tv news have a little slip-up. >> i'm so pale. >> you're on air. >> today snow is crippling much of the washington lowlands. >> why does she talk like that. i'm so pale. anyway, i can watch that clip all night. fortunately, once you get to my level of broadcast journalism, you don't have those problems any more.

>> so here at this point in show we're usually doing much different -- much different -- much more different. what? oh, hey, sorry. didn't realize we were on the air. >> yeah, i didn't know i was on the air. big deal. i mean it happens. as for mayor bloomberg, his hot dog speech might have been a little overcooked, but the contest on coney island did not disappoint. 28-year-old joey chestnut won the title, eating 68 hot dogs in ten minutes. i don't know when this became a sport, but apparently people now think it is. 20,000 calories and more than 48,000 milligrams of sodium. if joey chestnut can eat that many hot dogs, i think mayor bloomberg can get away with dropping a few more s-bombs on the ridiculist. we'll see you in one hour from now. another edition at 10:00 p.m. eastern. "piers morgan tonight" starts right now. tonight my exclusive with conan o'brien. a rare interview with a late night legend. >> there's nothing more comical

than the sight of me without my clothes on. >> his comedy, his life, his loves. now conan tells all. >> is any of this going to get in the papers, you think? this won't get out? >> conan o'brien as you've never seen him before. >> we often go to the spa together. >> not now. >> all right. it was your idea. >> conan o'brien and he doesn't hold back. >> that's the dumbest thing anyone has ever said to me, piers, and i mean that in the nightest way. and the question i just had to skrks how many times has he been properly in love. >> i'm just going to give you the answers that are going to make it all okay. don't screw with this, okay? >> this is "piers morgan tonight." cona o'brien is very tall, he's very talented, he's very irish and perhaps the funniest man with red hair on the entire plan planet. he's also an ordained minister.