democrats, mundy katowitz just under $900,000 four years ago, $24 million to date. this is big business. >> big, big business. super pacs $358 million, $5.8 billion spent. the there's a lot of money floating around. >> that's right. but a brand new partisan economy. we're going to be looking at some of the new aspects. >> john's got special reporting on that all week. anderson cooper starts now. erin, thanks. good evening, everyone, we begin tonight with breaking news on two fronts tonight. on libya, what american diplomats may have been told about the threat from muslim extremists. terrorists three days before the attack that killed four americans in benghazi. we're going to have that, but first, what could be a campaign blockbuster, when he didn't think cameras were rolling. the camera was rolling, and here's a portion of the video.

>> 47% of the people who will vote for the president no matter what. there are 47% with him who believe they are victims, who believe the government has the responsibility to care for them who believe they're entitled to health care, to food, to housing, you name it. that's an entitlement. and the government should give it to them and they will vote for this president no matter what. and the president starts off with 48, 49, starts off with a huge number. these are people who pay no income tax. >> we got these quotes from "mother jones" magazine. the romney campaign has not denied the substance of what's in the tapes. in the tape, you hear mitt romney saying my job is not to worry about those people. i'll never convince them. he also joked he'd have a better shot if his father, george romney, had been mexican. the question now, does the playing of this tape hurt or help his chances?

ari flescher, and on the phone cnn's jim acosta. paul, you say this is potentially devastating blow for the romney campaign. why? >> well, because the democrats are trying to push two narratives. and these are the two narratives on romney we're trying to push. first, that he doesn't care about the middle class. well, thanks for the help, mitt. in the latest cnn poll, by the way, before this gaffe, president obama had a 20-point lead over mitt romney in the question of who is more in touch with the concerns of the middle class. so it hurts there, hurts on the second front. there's a tax policy study that the democrats have been pushing, president clinton referred to it in his convention speech in charlotte. and it says in order to give big tax cuts for the rich, mitt romney's going to have to raise taxes on the middle class. well, when you're claiming to wealthy people that 47% of americans don't pay federal income tax, i think a lot of those people, retirees, working

class folks are going to listen to that and think, gee, i guess he does want to raise the taxes on the middle class in order to help the rich. this helps the democrats in two important ways. >> said that this tape could be potentially crippling. when you have a guy who wants to be president of all of the united states say 40% of the american people view themselves as victims and want handouts. what is that -- how bad is this. >> let's start with the 47% figure, which paul did not dispute. it was originally reported by the associated press. 40% of the country no longer pay any income taxes. >> do they view themselves as -- >> a lot of redistribution of income. well, that is a different question. i don't know the answer to that whether they consider themselves a victim or not. but what paul very cleverly did was define poverty upward. if we're a nation where 47% of the country is considered in poverty and should not pay any

taxes, income taxes, boy, are we in big trouble. middle class people should be paying income taxes. and that's why it's a difference. the best way to hurt programs that help people who need it and who are low income is for these programs to grow like humushroo so people start to say the system is rigged, we have so few people paying income taxes anymore, it's not fair to anybody and that's what undermines support for social programs that we do need in this country. so 47% is an accurate number and it's a very problematic number. because if you're not paying income taxes and getting benefits, you're getting government for free. >> do you not worry it sounds like mitt romney is dismissing 47% of the population as people he doesn't need to care about as people who want handouts, as people who view themselves as victims and are just sitting around? >> i think what mitt romney is saying, there's a better way. and the way is to more private sector initiatives and not government dependence. the democrats are offering

government dependence, which we know grows over time, tries to attract more people on to it, and that's why the social safety net has become a trap for too many. the other alternative is private sector growth to get the government to create an environment for private sector jobs to grow. the word victim, i would not use that word. he's right on the 47%. to say they're victims, you know, they think of themselves as victims, some might, some might not. many people are there, some people are there because of circumstances beyond their control. but the point remains that 47% of this country -- and that's a figure that was in the 30s when bush was president, it's grown dramatically since president obama came into office, do get government for free. that's a problem. >> paul? >> the last point is completely wrong. first of all, i salute ari, he's embracing this, it's not a gaffe. what mitt romney said is what republicans really believe. they're not getting government for free. they paid into the government. first off, roughly half of the people -- >> i didn't interrupt you. roughly half of the people who are in that class are retirees,

they've already paid in, and we don't as a general rule for middle income and below, we don't tax their social security benefits, nor do democrats believe we should. others are working folks who are trying to bring themselves up out of poverty. this is the distinction. republicans think that retirees and middle class people and working class people and poor people should pay more in income taxes. i'll point out that millions of those people who pay no federal income tax pay payroll taxes which can top out for them, get this, i checked this out, at 15.3%, which is a higher percentage of their income going to washington than mitt romney himself pays on the $20 million of the one year of tax returns he released. this is the divide here. president obama's campaigning saying i want to cut taxes for the middle class and raise them on the romney class. and now governor romney and ari and other republicans are being candid and i salute them for that. they want to cut taxes on the rich and raise them on retirees and working people and poor people and that's the issue we should take to the voters.

>> it's interesting. when then candidate obama was, you know, recorded talking to donors, talking about how there's people that are clinging to their gods and guns. that's something that congressman ryan is still using right now out on the campaign trail. do you see this tape, though -- even from a public relations standpoint when you're trying to get as many voters as possible, is this a wise thing to have been recorded saying? >> well, anderson, whether it was a wise thing to be recorded, or not, it doesn't change the economic facts and statistics before us about how this country has created a tax code for half the people in the country no longer pay. almost half, any income taxes at all. >> you're focusing on that one sentence -- >> because that's crucial. >> he's talking about victims -- his portrayal of 47% of the population as viewing themselves as victims. i think if i was one of those 47%, that might cause resentment. >> i already said to you i don't think that's a word i would have used. i already conceded that point. but back to the point that paul is making. you know, in obama care, they

define people who would be eligible to receive a government subsidy is people who make four times the poverty level for a family of four. that's in the $90,000 range. this is what happens if democrats keep creating these entitlements, these subsidies, providing them increasingly upward in the income scale in the case of obama care to the $90,000 range and trying to hook people on government programs. this is a crucial divide in the country. >> when he says it's not his job to worry about them, do you think he's saying that becau because -- >> did he say to worry about getting their vote? to worry about getting their vote or worry about them? >> i think he said to worry about them, but i assume he meant to get their vote because they're not going to vote for him. i don't have the words in front of me. >> i do think -- >> okay. to get their vote. >> i don't think he was saying he didn't care about those human beings, i think he was saying he doesn't think he can get their vote. >> let's play that part right here.

>> i mean that's what they sell every four years. and so my job is not to worry about those people. i'll never convince them that they should take personal responsibility and care for their lives. what i have to do is convince 5% to 10% in the center. the independents, that are thoughtful, that look at voting one way or the other depending upon some cases of emotion, whether they like the guy or not. >> he was talking clearly about their votes. but what he's saying is i'll never convince them, they should take personal responsibility. so he's saying 47% of the country don't take personal responsibility. >> and that's what's so insulting, that shows that contempt he has. that sentence, i'll never convince them. they should take personal responsibility and care for their lives. he's talking about people on social security. by the way, he's leading among people over the age of 65. he's really wrong as a national leader. if you're on social security or medicare or earned veteran benefits or the g.i. bill, or a special needs child that needs medicaid, he says you're not

taking personal responsibility. that is so offensive. and it does shine a light on the sort of arrogant elitism that clearly animates governor romney and his views toward fellow americans. >> i think that's an unfair lead to the conclusion. because he can also mean taking personal responsibility in the sense they don't have to pay any income taxes to support medicaid -- >> he's talking about them being dependent on government here, ari. that's what he means, medicare, medicaid, social security, veterans. >> not talking about the way people live their lives, necessarily. whether you know it or i know it, you'll take the worse interpretation of it and i'll take the better -- >> i just gave him the better interpretation in the previous sentence. >> if you don't pay any income taxes, you are taking no responsibility for the payments that go out from the government to support the income tax based programs such as medicaid and welfare and food stamps and alike. you don't have responsibility for the payments in to them. you're getting them for free. that's a crucial debate to have. because the more people that get dependent on government programs without paying, they do have a

permanent constituency in a big government. >> i want to just for fairness read the statement that the romney campaign has released in the wake of the videos. it says mitt romney wants to help all americans struggling in the obama economy. he is concerned about the growing number of people who are dependent on the federal government. the number of people who are on food stamps, nearly one in six americans in poverty. mitt romney's plan creates 12 million new jobs in four years, grows the economy and moves the americans off government dependency and into jobs. jim acosta, do they see this video as a problem? as a real problem? >> well, if they do, anderson, they're not saying that right now. i think the subject for the statement that you just read could be no apologies because mitt romney is not backing away from this statement he made in that fundraiser video. and as you see in the statement released by his campaign, he is basically saying that he believes the dependency on the federal government is a problem. the one thing you don't see in that statement, he doesn't really talk about that other video that's causing some

controversy that shows mitt romney saying he wishes he were elected -- that would help his political prospects. they said, they did not respond to my e-mail. at the same time, we should point out interesting to note that the romney campaign is saying that starting tomorrow, they're going to allow reporters to bring video cameras into some of these fundraisers at private homes, but places like hotels and that sort of thing. no word as to whether or not this is a reaction to what these tapes have shown. but for the last several months, ever since the primaries wrapped up, anderson, this has been a problem for mitt romney. he has these unscripted moments that throw him off message. >> jim acosta, appreciate it, guys, appreciate it, as well. let us know what you think on facebook. let us know on twitter right now. let me know what you think about these tapes. does it make a difference? does it change anything? up next, we have more breaking news tonight. exclusive reporting from inside libya, from benghazi about a

warning u.s. diplomats may have received just three days before those deadly attacks.

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more breaking news now. the attack in benghazi that killed four americans, including christopher stevens might have been -- excuse me, might not have been preventful, but it should have been foreseeable. our reporting seems to indicate that libyan officials believe that the threat was growing and they warned american diplomats about it. this is new video, the commotion where friendly libyans discovered a badly wounded ambassador stevens in a room inside. there are frames not showing of the ambassador still apparently breathing being taken from the scene to the hospital. clearly it was a tragedy, but was it a foreseeable and therefore possibly preventable one? so far the government's line is that the benghazi murders were probably spontaneous and not premeditated reaction to the

anti-muslim video on youtube. >> it's important to know there's an fbi investigation that has begun and will take some time to be completed. that will tell us with certaindy what transpired. but our current best assessment based on the information we have at present is, in fact, what this began as was a spontaneous, not a premeditated response to what had transpired in cairo. in cairo, as you know, a few hours earlier, there was a violent protest that was undertaken in reaction to this very offensive video that was disseminated. >> that was susan rice yesterday morning. now, many have a hard time believing that, including lindsey graham. his colleague, john mccain also believes the assault was pre-planned. >> why do you think they're calling it a spontaneous attack? >> i have no clue. the facts -- the facts are so clear that heavy weapons and

rocket propelled grenades, indirect fire and direct fire used could not be spontaneous. >> with that kind of pushback, the state department seems to be trying to soften ambassador rice's statement. listen. >> we've heard a number of different things from libya. i would simply say that what the comments that ambassador rice made accurately reflect our government's initial assessment. >> initial assessment. that was earlier today. this evening, we reached out again to the state department but we have yet to receive a reply. breaking news tonight, new reporting from libya that lays out precisely what americans there were told about potentially deadly threats and how they knew it. in a moment we'll talk to the former cia officer and fran townsend who was in libya, met with the ambassador and has fascinating information about what kind of security detail he had or lack thereof, which might indicate one of the reasons he was so vulnerable in benghazi.

but first, arwa damon broke the story. arwa, you've been talking to eyewitnesss on the ground there. i understand one eyewitness heard an extremist talking about hitting a second location. is that true? what does that tell you? >> reporter: first of all, we do know that a second location was attacked, that was supposed to be the safe house where embassy personnel were evacuated to. this other eyewitness, a young man, arrived on the scene saying he saw at least two dozen bearded men, part of a known extremist militia here, he said just on the outskirts, just outside the consulate compound. they briefly detained him because he said he did not share the same ideology. they heard him celebrating hit and talking about needing to get ready to go out and attack a second compound. all of this, of course, raising the question as to whether or not this was a pre-planned

assault as some members, senior members of the libyan government are claiming or whether or not it was quite simply a demonstration that turned violent. >> arwa, you're hearing that the u.s. should've known about this, that they were warned in advance? >> libyan officials are telling us that they were talking to the u.s., telling them, warning them about the growing extremist threat and flat out admitting that they could not control these extremist militias, actually asking the americans for help in doing that. and i spoke to some military officials who say that just three days before the attacks took place, they had a meeting with senior employees from the consulate itself where they were talking about this rising threat against western interests. and again, highlighting the point that they themselves could not control these militias, these gangs that roam with pretty much pure impunity. and the ambassador himself was aware of the growing security threat, as well, anderson.

>> and yet, his own security detail seemed very small, no? >> reporter: the front line of the compound, if you will, was libyan guards, but they don't have weapons, they only have walkee talkees. it most certainly is not the kind of security measures that one would imagine would be put in to place in a country where the u.s. is well aware in itself monitoring al qaeda affiliated extremist camps in the desert not too far from the city of benghazi itself. >> and let me be clear about it. you're saying that libyan officials had meetings with u.s. officials inside libya warning of potential threats? >> reporter: libyan officials in benghazi, military officials that are members of one of the more powerful brigades and battalions met with officials from the u.s. consulate in benghazi three days before the attack took place they're telling us.

this was a meeting that was supposed to be centering around business and the economy. but they are saying that they told the americans, wait, we can't even be talking about the economy, about bringing western companies in to libya, especially in to benghazi because this threat from extremist militias is growing. we at this point in time do not have the capabilities to be able to control them or to protect western interests. and they were asking as they have been for months, anderson, the americans for help in controlling these extremist elements because they know what the consequences are going to be if they become even more powerful than they already are. >> arwa damon, thanks. we've reached out to the state department for any kind of confirmation about what they may have been told or conversations they may have had with security officials three days prior to the attack. let's dig deeper now with two cnn contributors, former cia officer bob bair who has a long

history in the region. also fran townsend, also a member of the cia's external advisory committee and last month was in libya with her employer. what do you make of what arwa was reporting based on what she was told by libyan officials on the ground? >> i think it's completely plausible that the compound had been attacked in june. the british ambassador had been attacked, icrc had been attacked twice. it was clear there's a running threat in libya. and, you know, frankly, anderson, this compound was underprotected in that sort of situation. i've served in places like this. and, you know, there was watchtowers, sandbags, machine guns, and a safe room is really truly a safe room. and if this was just a residential compound, it was underprotected. >> fran, what do you make of it? it sounds like if they were warned three days before, that's pretty damning, no? >> it is, anderson.

and there's a couple of points to be made here. first of all, who did they speak to at the consulate? and what did those u.s. consulate employees do with that information? did they pass it on? did it get to the regional security officer who would have been in position to give additional resources and protection to both the compound and to the ambassador? second, anderson, as you recall, i was there in libya in tripoli august 28th and 29th. i had breakfast with ambassador stevens on august 28th and 29th and talked to him about my own observations about the increased presence of militias and the increased presence of the extremist presence in the east libya. i know that ambassador stevens was generally aware of those concerns, the extremist presence in the east of libya, but the real question now, based on a a arwa's report, was the information from the libyan officials in benghazi and their need for assistance passed on to ambassador stevens before he traveled there? >> fran, what was his security detail like? and i'm not sure you can comment

on that. but i remember when i was going in the early days of iraq, he had a huge security detail with him, blackwater folks. did the ambassador have that? >> anderson, it's funny you should ask me this, what was striking to me and i commented to him when he arrived. he arrived in an armored car and obviously with a driver. i didn't -- his security did not come in to the hotel with him to meet me. he had no visible security presence when he met me in tripoli. . he walked in, he was greeted by other libyans who clearly recognized him at the hotel and came up to him very warmly and thanked him for u.s. assistance. but he had no visible security presence with him when he walked in. >> bob baer, does that surprise you? >> absolutely. there's no way that man should have been without security, without western security. there is no libyan security to provide it and he should've had it. there were so many attacks, so many threats hanging over libya. frankly, there's no excuse for it.

>> people say, though, about him, he was a guy that liked to roll up his sleeves, out on the street and that's how he did effective work. >> you know, everybody wants -- he's good, he knows the middle east, he did the same thing at damascus, and that's what the state department should be doing. the problem is the middle east is changing so fast that that way of behaving -- not the way of carrying yourself out in public, you just no longer is safe. >> fran, to your point, we haven't gotten confirmation from the state department about any meeting that was held three days before or to what degree or to whom any warnings were made. it's very possible these are now libyan officials telling arwa damon, who are now covering their tracks or saying in retrospect or, you know, kind of making more out of whatever warnings they gave. >> absolutely, anderson. and this should all come out. both senators collins and liberman have called for the state department i.g. to conduct

an investigation, and we know the fbi is conducting an investigation. whether or not this is true, these individuals, these libyan officials who claim to have passed this information will be interviewed and ought to be name the individuals they passed the information to so they too can be interviewed. but to bob's point, we absolutely need to understand now what was the security arrangement? what was the people on the ground including the ambassador there understanding of the threat? and what was done about it in advance? >> if there was supposed to be a second hit on a safe house, does that to you indicate some sort of involvement of people who have inside the libyan government who have access to information? >> it certainly raises that question, anderson. who knew that these people were coming? where the second location was, that there was a convoy on the way there. it certainly sounds from what we know now as though the extremists set up on that location and simply waited for them to arrive and surprised them, ambushed them, if you

will. >> bob, is that second hit on that alleged safe house is that to you what's most troubling? >> it troubles me. those places aren't marked. there's a lot of foreigners living in benghazi, and how they knew it was a u.s. government affiliated safe house, they had to have some sort of inside intelligence. i don't see another way out of it. >> troubling. thanks. up next, supreme court secrets. the legendary justice who said the republican party is destroying the country. jeff toobin reveals never before heard details in his new book "the oath." and later, cnn's max foster talks to prince william about the controversy surrounding the photos taken of the duchess of cambridge kate middleton. they've been committed to putting clients first. helping generations through tough times. good times. never taking a bailout. there when you need them. helping millions of americans over the centuries. the strength of a global financial leader.

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as we've been reporting throughout the campaign season, the economy obviously is issue number one. the key element voters will weigh when deciding whether or not to give president obama four more years. what often gets lost in election year, chatter, though is the supreme court and how the vote in november is going to influence it, the court. in his new book "the oath,"

jeffrey toobin argues there's an ideological battle between the president and john roberts. this is his first tv interview he's given on the book and we're thrilled about that. congratulations on the book. >> thank you. i am thrilled to be here and thrilled to have it done. >> you're passionate. >> it's been incredible. >> thank you. >> this relationship between president obama and john roberts is really fascinating. it got off to that kind of odd start with the oath that was administered where he sort of botched it. and we're going to put up on the screen for the script of the oath of office that the justice was supposed to administer. >> this is such a weird story. i always wondered why did they mess it up? why did it happen? and what happened was john roberts prepared this document. this document has never been seen in public before. and this is a document where he sketched out exactly how he was going to do the oath with the spaces indicated. and you can see, i barack obama do solemnly swear. his assistant sent it to a

secretary in the joint inaugural committee, congress' committee. that secretary never opened it. >> hmm. >> never looked at it, never forwarded it to obama's office. so obama never saw this document before the inauguration day. so he didn't know how roberts was dividing the words. when you listen to it, as i have listened to it now 300 or 400 times, you see -- >> i barack obama do solemnly swear. >> that i will execute the office of -- >> see what happened there, was obama interrupted roberts. and roberts very uncharacteristically sort of panicked and got the words all wrong. but the reason was obama didn't have that document and didn't know. a lot of people thought at the time that roberts sort of blew it off, he didn't practice. he practiced so much that his wife said to him, you know, at this point the dog thinks he's president. it wasn't a lack of practice, it

was they were on different pages. >> it's interesting because you write in the book that he was a skilled and powerful advocate for the republican agenda, roberts, and yet it was roberts who came to obama's rescue on the health care? >> well, this was just an extraordinary thing. and cnn viewers who are smart people may well remember that i was quite wrong in my prediction of this. though, i don't want to pretend that i saw this coming. in retrospect as i was doing the reporting for the oath, i saw that roberts saw real peril to the future of the court if bush v. gore 2000, citizens united 2010, health care two years later. if those three cases all were five republicans overruling the work of democrats, roberts really feared for the future of the court as an independent respected entity. so in part because he was obviously persuaded by this strange argument that said this was part of the taxing power, but he also felt he was protecting the integrity of the

court as an independent, respected body to, you know, not be simply a partisan rubber stamp. >> there's also a fascinating story about sandra day o'connor saying, when justice was retiring, it's my party that's destroying the country. >> the last three justices to leave the court, john paul stevens, all republican appointees who left deeply alienated from that party. and that scene in the supreme court corridors, the justices, they respect each other's space a lot. they don't go into each other's offices a lot, but they have a lot of conversations in the corridors. >> it's like "60 minutes." >> it's a lot like "60 minutes." and o'connor went on and on to suter about how it was the republicans running up deficits and barry goldwater never cared who you slept with. and we didn't get involved in these foreign adventures, you

know, under good republican presidents. o'connor, stevens, and suter all left completely alienated from the modern republican party and they were replaced by modern republicans who are much more conservative. >> the book's "the oath" and congratulations. >> thanks. >> look forward to talking more about it down the road. thanks very much. there's a lot more we're following tonight. isha? >> anderson, a chicago judge declined to send teachers back to work today and end a six-day strike. instead, the hearing is scheduled for wednesday. union leaders say the mayor is using the courts to bully teachers into approving a tentative deal to end the strike. school officials say state law prohibits strikes over non-economic issues such as teacher evaluations. in new york, rallies and nearly 150 arrests as protesters gathered to mark the one-year anniversary of occupy wall street. most of the violations were for disorderly conduct. and anderson, washington national zoo welcomes a baby panda.

don't expect a name for months. zoo officials will follow chinese custom and give it a name after 100 days. i'm thinking hay. >> you're thinking what? >> hayes. >> my middle name. i like that, hayes sesay. >> i knew that would appeal to you. here at "360" we've followed the case of an american behind bars for two years in a notorious nicaraguan prison. he is finally a free man tonight and he is talking. he joins us here coming up. [ male announcer ] imagine facing the day

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crime and punishment tonight, the case of jason puracal. finally he's a free man. in a moment we're going to talk to him about his life, his freedom and life behind bars. we've been following his case closely here on the program in order to shed light on a terrible miscarriage of justice. a young american, native of washington state who lived with his wife and child in nicaragua. he was convicted and sent to

nicaragua's notorious prison. what mystified everybody about the case was there was no evidence to support the charges against him. puracal is now free. he won't soon forget the nightmares he lived through. >> reporter: it's one of the most dangerous prisons in the world, and an innocent american named jason puracal spent two years here, two years of a 22-year sentence for a crime he did not commit. >> if you could explain what this has been like for you. >> it's hard to find the words. very hard. >> puracal grew up in washington state. he wanted to be a veterinarian. after graduating for the university of washington, he joined the peace corps, hoping to work with exotic animals around the world. in 2002, he was stationed in nicaragua. after his two years in the peace corps, he met and fell in love with scarlet. he later married and moved to the popular beach town, they have a son named jabu.

puracal began working as a real estate agent and eventually began running the office. life was good. he was raising his s in a community he said he loved and finding success with his company. but everything changed on november 11th, 2010. on that afternoon, according to his family, nicaraguan police burst into his home and office, confiscated his files and took jason away. accused of using his real estate business as a money-laundering front for an international drug trafficking ring. he was arrested along with ten other suspected drug traffickers. his family thought it was all a big mistake. >> there's absolutely no evidence that jason committed any of the crimes with which he was charged. i am an attorney, and i've read through the entire case file. but more than that, i'm jason's sister. and i know my brother. i know that he's absolutely 100% innocent. >> puracal was hopeful that this would be resolved quickly. his lawyers say the nicaraguan

authorities weren't able to provide any evidence linking him to a drug trafficking ring. they say no drugs were found in his home or office, no evidence of money laundering. we first spoke to puracal back in june. he'd been in prison for more than 18 months and his health was deteriorating in the harsh conditions of the prison. do you have any idea why the authorities in nicaragua think you committed these crimes? i mean, why they focused on you? because from -- i don't see any evidence they actually presented. >> i don't know the reason that i'm here. that's been a mystery from the very beginning of what the motives behind the police and the prosecution have been. >> the day our interview aired, the nicaraguan authorities announced they would grant an appeal. >> is there anything you want people to know? >> i'm 100% innocent of the crimes i've been accused of and i can't wait to see my family again. and i thank everyone for all their support and effort. >> that appeal went nowhere. and he sat in prison for another two months before he was finally able to plead his case to the courts once again.

>> i have faith that the judicial system in nicaragua will let me go free and find the truth. >> last wednesday, nearly a month after the hearing ended, the nicaraguan court ordered puracal's immediate release. the charges were annulled. finally reuniting with his family as a free man. >> hello! hello! >> papa! >> two years of a living nightmare behind him. great to see that reunion. earlier tonight, i spoke exclusively to jason and his sister janis. >> were there days you thought you weren't going to get out? >> definitely. there were days where i was -- i

started losing hope and it was a very negative environment that prison. and, you know, i'd think of my son and my wife. and luckily the days that i was the furthest down, my sisters would come in and visit me. and they would bring me stacks of e-mails from not only friends and family, but all kinds of strangers. and those e-mails really lifted my spirits. >> we're receiving video of the reunion with your family. what was that moment like? i can't even imagine. >> it was -- it's overwhelming joy. it's the only way you can describe it. it's just such a relief to have my son in my arms. and everybody together and hugs and kisses all around. it's still very, very surreal. the whole experience has been very unbelievable.

>> janis, for you, what's it been like? a lot of folks say he wouldn't be out now if it wasn't for all of your effort. >> we had a team of incredible people that some of them knew jason and some of them didn't, and they fought loyally for him for two years. my world has been chaotic for these two years and we have exhausted every resource that we have. but to watch him yesterday with his son, i know i would go back and do it all again from the start. >> did you fear for your safety in the prison? >> definitely. i mean, there are gangs, there are killers in there. i was with rapists and murderers and actual drug dealers and it's a very violent place. there's a lot of tension between different groups in there. and not only the conditions but the other people around you.

>> how do you figure that out? how do you figure out a way to survive in prison? >> day by day, minute by minute, it's the fight for your life every second of the day. >> do you feel free? has it sunk in yet? >> i don't think it's really hit me yet. the first things i did when i got out was a hot shower. i took three hot showers in the first six hours. >> you hadn't had a hot shower in -- >> no, and i still felt dirty. >> what do you think about nicaragua now? having been through the experience, wrongly accused, sent to prison, seeing the justice system up close. and this is a country you really loved and dedicated your life to. >> i still do love nicaragua. i still believe in its potential. i still love the people there. there's wrongful convictions in every country around the world. including the united states. so i can't isolate it just nicaragua. >> a lot of people around the

world follow your case very closely. and you know, thought about you and prayed for you and wanted to try to help and were concerned about you. is there anything you want to say to everybody who is following you? >> i want to say thank you first and foremost to my sister janis and my family. i know without her, she put in thousands of hours as an attorney. and without her, i wouldn't be here. and you saved my life. >> thank you. >> and um -- and through the websites for jasonp.com, there's a whole network of people that, again, that i don't even know that have been supporting me and fighting for my freedom. and so i just want to say thank you to all those people. and i hope i can get to meet every one of them, including yourself, anderson, i must say that i owe you a thank you, as well. the coverage that you gave me,

international coverage definitely stepped up pressure. and so i thank you, as well. >> i'm glad you're home. >> thanks. well, a royal legal battle over topless photos of kate middleton. that's next. first a french magazine, now an italian magazine has published the photos. max foster spoke with kate and william today. what they have to say about the scandal next. those surprising little things she does

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caught up with william and kate today. max, you spoke with the duke and duchess today. what did they say? >> reporter: well, it's the impressi impression, really, of upset and anger. she feels humiliated by these pictures. and he feels angry. what you have is an situation where william is reminded of his youth. his mother, diana was absolutely hounded by the press, the paparazzi in particular right up until the moment she died and he's worried that's going to start happening to the duchess now, his wife, he fears, he's protective of her. he's trying to draw a line here. what is acceptable, what isn't acceptable. there was a bit of a debate around whether or not they could run these harry pictures, the naked pictures in las vegas. but for him, this is completely different. this is unacceptable, it's an invasion of privacy, and he's using whatever is in his power in terms of legal weapons against this magazine in france and in the french corps. >> an italian magazine now which is owned by the same publisher

of the french magazine that first put out the photos, they published 26 more pages of william and katherine pictures on vacation. i don't know how they were able to fill 26 pages. it seems gratuitous there. but the royal family filed criminal complaints with french prosecutors, not with the italians, why? >> well, what -- in france, there are strict privacy laws. they've got a better case of winning in france. that's one thing. but also the french magazine has been syndicating these pictures elsewhere. and the injunction that they're trying to achieve in france will close that down. they won't be able to resell anything. in fact, they want the court to have the original digital copies of the photographs. the magazine did sell some pictures to an irish newspaper which published them over the weekend. today the editor of the irish newspaper has been suspended. so there is some sort of progress in the battle against this. but the italian paper, they're not planning actually to hold any legal proceedings in italy at this point or in other countries, in fact. but they are considering it.

what they're really doing is making an example of the french newspaper and hoping that editors around the world will work their better judgment and not publish these pictures. >> max foster, appreciate it, max, thank you. we'll be right back.