syria is, quote, clearly behind the deadly confrontations taking place between israeli troops and palestinian protesters along the golan heights. today syrian police have vowed to keep the demonstrators at bay, but it could be too little, too late. according to the syrians, 23 people were killed on sunday with more than 350 wounded. itn's john ray has the latest from tel aviv. john? >> well, it's been calmer today. at one point syrian police stopped a couple dozen protesters. what a contrast to yesterday when many hundreds slipped past the checkpoints. i think that is bound to fuel israeli claim that is this whole thing was a syrian plot to divert attention from the bloody upheavals taking place in syria. the over great controversy has beenver israel's decision to open fire very early on the protesters. israel's military say they issued warnings in arabic, they fired warning shots and when they did shoot at people, they shot to wound rather than to kill. but it is certainly the case that they didn't use tear gas to disburse the crowds until late in the day. if they had used it earlier, perhaps there would have been less blood spilled. as far as the palestinians are concerned, they believe what happened yesterday is the beginning of an arab spring right here. what we haven't seen yet are any big mass protests by palestinians and israeli arabs inside israel's borders. martin? >> itn's john ray, thank you. the defense department is confirming that five u.s. service members were killed today in central iraq. the most serious attack on american forces in more than two years. five rockets hit the camp victory base on the edge of baghdad. elsewhere in the country at least 21 people were killed in sectarian bomb attacks. nbc news chief pentagon correspondent jim miklaszewski joins us live from the pentagon. good afternoon, jim. given that the u.s. army has planned for withdrawal from iraq at the end of this year, are we to attach any significance to the timing of this attack? >> well, there's no question that it could be connected to the recent spike in iraqi on iraqi violence and retribution attacks after seven or eight long years of war. but the end of the year deadline is looming for all american service members to be withdrawn from iraq. so clearly this attack today on those service members, the largest single attack since the end of formal combat operations there last august, is intended to send a message to the american government, if not the american people, if you're thinking about keeping your troops here, forget about it. >> does this also beg the question of how iraqi forces themselves will cope once the american troops have left? >> well, there's no question about that. and u.s. officials have told nbc news that the iraqis are this close to putting in a request to the u.s. to keep some american forces inside iraq after the end of this year to assist them in their defenses because the iraqi security forces aren't entirely up to that task yet. >> at the same time the president's national security team is reportedly considering a much steeper drawdown of troops from afghanistan, but is this supported or opposed by the defense department? because we've all heard secretary bob gates talk about gradual withdrawal. >> well, not only secretary of state -- of defense gates on his last trip there to afghanistan this week, but also the top military commander there, general david petraeus has said just a couple weeks ago that the progress made so far there against the taliban in afghanistan is still fragile and reversible, and those words are the catch words for do not withdraw large numbers of forces. both we're told general petraeus and secretary gates publicly have said do not withdraw combat forces, save those until the very end. so any idea that that pace would be quickened beginning in july is not very likely actually, and it would be for only domestic political and economic considerations only, about you we heard secretary of state hillary clinton say today that the withdrawal would still be based on conditions on the ground, and the united states still has an agreement with nato nations not to entirely withdraw until the end of the 2014. so people will be looking at the pace and the scope of that withdrawal, but i still don't believe that we're going to see significant numbers of american forces withdrawn at the front end of that overall withdrawal, martin. >> nbc news chief pentagon correspondent jim miklaszewski thanks so much. we have breaking news congressman anthony wiener is about to address allegations about his activities online. he's set to speak within the hour. there's new fire in this scandal after andrew breitbart, a conservative commentator, now claims to be in possession of new and allegedly compromising photographs of congressman wiener that he apparently sent to a woman. let's bring in mara she ski vo camp pa. >> big government.com has posted three photos today. two of them clearly are representative weeb iener. the third is a shirtless photo. you do not see all of the person's face but big government is claiming this is representative wiener and this is a photo he sent to a woman he had been exchanging online messages with. breitbart told me this woman has reached out to him and told him she had been engaged in a consensual online sexual relationship with wiener. because of this relationship she was in possession of a series of to he toes and online conversations which she passed along to breitbart and he has started posting some of them. the most incriminating one he posted is of a shirtless man. we have not been able to independently confirm it is or is not representative wiener, but breitbart claims they were able to trace this photo to representative wiener's e-mail account and this confirms and corroborates the woman's story. so at this time that's the new information that we have on this. we have not been able to independently verify that these photos are representative wiener. we reached out to his office for comment but we have not heard back from him. breitbart is saying it's not just these photos that he's posted today, that he is in possession of other much more graphic photos including one he, quote, says leaves nothing to the imagination but that he is not going to be releasing those. >> mara, thanks so much. and we'll be hearing from anthony wiener at about 4:00 today here in new york. fallen imf chief dominique strauss-kahn was back in court today entering a not guilty plea to sex crime charges. the embattled former head of the international monetary fund was med by a crowd of hotel maids all chanting "shame on you." >> shame on you! shame on you! shame on you! >> strauss-kahn is facing charges he sexual assaulted a maid at an upscale new york hotel last month. nbc's jeff rossen was at the courthouse for the proceedings and he joins us live from the newsroom. jeff, i understand the chanting was so loud you could actually hear them in the courtroom and i think that was something like 13 floors up. >> reporter: and there were about 100 to 150 of these hotel house keepers there, and i asked a couple of them why did you come out today? i mean, a lot of them took off work. there were people there from the hilton, the hyatt, all the big chains in the city and they said, twofold, a, they want to support their colleague, the alleged victim here, the hotel maid from the sofitel, but also they said many of them don't feel safe. they said we have one of these jobs where we walk into a room, we, a, don't know whether somebody is in that room and even when they are, they could be a criminal, they could be a rapist, they could be anybody, and so they want better protection from their employers and, you know, what's been batted around a lot, that a couple of them brought up today was maybe a panic button where they could hit it if something like this is happening. >> did strauss-kahn appear to be shaken or disturbed by the chants? i can't imagine he was happy to see over 100 maids. >> i saw him dart his eyes over to see what was going on. there was no change of emotion. he was arm in arm with his wife who has been with him this entire time. it's a lot of her money actually that's being used to represent the townhouse, the $50,000 a month townhouse they're living in right now while he's under house arrest. he looked off to the side for a moment. again, this is after pleading not guilty in court today officially to those charges. >> do we know anything more, jeff, about the stance that the accuser is going to take this this case? >> reporter: yeah, and look, there's been a lot of talk about the defense trying to say this was a consensual situation, a consensual sexual encounter. from the defense team, there's been attempts to smear the alleged victim here. in court today the hotel maid's attorney said she is standing by her story, that any claim this was consensual is in his words ridiculous, and that she does plan on testifying at the trial whenever that is. >> correspondent jeff rossen, as ever, thank you very much for joining us. next, i double dare you. come on. does howard dean really think sarah palin can beat president obama? two times stronger. get dual-action listerine® whitening rinse. building whiter, stronger teeth. until the combination of three good probiotics in phillips' colon health defended against the bad gas, diarrhea and constipation. ...and? it helped balance her colon. oh, now that's the best part. i love your work. 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[ male announcer ] with xerox, you're ready for real business. it was a comment that raised 1,000 eyebrows but sarah palin is standing by her statement that paul revere warned the british on his famous midnight ride. palin defended her comment to fox news even though most american school children learn that paul revere rode to warn samuel adams and john hancock that the british were coming to arrest them. >> i didn't mess up about paul revere. he did warn the british, and in a shout out, got ya type of question that was asked of me, i answered candidly and i know my american history. >> of course you did. joining me now sheri jacobus. good afternoon to you, cheri. >> good afternoon. >> how damaging is this latest gaffe for miss palin? >> it's not helpful. when she made the gaffe, i don't think it was all that serious. she was -- it looked like she was putting some food items on a tray and thinking out loud but it shows the peril in sort of answering questions off the cuff if you're really a serious candidate for president. i think you need to show a little more respect, have some well thought out responses. what i thought was damaging was her response. i think technically there is some truth in it. i don't think that she should be wasting her time responding to these things or saying it was a gotcha question. i think that she could have just said, look, it was an off the cuff remark. it was technically true and then let it go. unfortunately, sarah palin cannot afford to make mistakes. it might not be fair. no political candidate can really afford it. i think it is a little tougher for women and i think she has to be pretty much pristine on this. so i hope she does recognize that and even if it is unfair, it's best for her if she's a little bit more -- if she has her responses a little bit better thought out. >> are you suggesting that she's not allowed to make the odd mista mistake? surely, this is a very forgiving nation if she just admitted to the error. it was the fact she persisted with what is a falsification. >> and i think that was probably not the best response. she should have said i was getting my lunch and i kind of threw that out there but that's not our traditional history. she could have just let it go at that. i do -- i don't like to see her having to defend herself on these things. i think you have to control the agenda and highlight those things about what your agenda is that you want to talk about on any given day or any given week and this sort of repeatedly keeps getting away from her. i hope because she does have many good political gifts and something to offer, i hope she can pull it together so these types of things don't happen should she continue on and actually throw her hat in the ring. >> she did apologize on sunday for stealing mitt romney's thunder as he announced his presidential run in new hampshire. let's take a listen to her apology on that. >> i apologize if i stepped on any of that pr that mitt romney needed or wanted that day. i do sincerely apologize. we didn't mean to step on anybody's toes. >> that was a somewhat coquettish apology but how much is her publicity stealing indecision is frustration for those who have staked their claim very seriously in this race? >> well, at this point, you know, she can still do this. any candidate can. nobody can really force her. there will come a time i think when voters, republican voters, primary voters will start demanding she and anybody else who is seriously think being it throw their hat in the ring. i don't think we're quite there yet. in terms of her stepping, big footing on mitt romney's day, that was completely avoidable. it should not have been done. that's one of those things that her team needs to really be on the ball a little bit more and they could have very easily pulled out and postponed things. it's unfortunate that she was in this position where she had to apologize when it was something that was so easily avoided. so, again, it's little things like that, if she's serious about this, they need to run a little bit of a tighter ship and anticipate some of these things on the easy things so they can be better prepared to handle the big things. >> absolutely. despite these errors, former democratic party chairman howard dean says sarah palin can win the nomination. let's listen to what she said on msnbc to alex witt. >> do i think it's possible that sarah palin could win? absolutely. she represents an extreme fringe of the republican party, but extreme fringes have a huge amount of influence in the primary. >> now, aren't these comments, to be fair, cheri, directed more at complacent democrats given that sarah palin's lucrative bus ride would have to cease if she decided to make a serious run for the white house? >> sure. howard dean wants to make sure that democrats get energized and come out to vote because last november they didn't. they didn't like their slate enough to come out to make it happen and that's why republicans did so well. but, yes, sarah palin can absolutely beat barack obama, so could mitt romney, tim pawlenty, and a another of republicans, and that's because of the obama record which is abysmal on jobs and the economy and his out of control spending has people quite terrified. so i think there's any number of republicans that could beat barack obama. however, they do have to run good campaigns as always and howard dean knows as well as anyone how you can run a very good campaign and still have the rug pulled out from under you. it happened to him when john kerry came in with all that money from his wife that she inherited and howard dean had run a beautiful campaign at the grassroots level and used the internet. so politics can be a funny game. so he knows that, yeah, anybody can win and anybody can have it all taken away from them very, very quickly. that's the game. >> cheri jacobus, republican strategist, thanks for joining us. >> thank you. next, wildfires burn 200,000 acres and firefighters just can't get ahead of them. the latest just ahead. my cream is what makes stouffer's fettuccini alfredo so delicious. i think you'll find it's the vegetables. deliciously rich. flavorful! [ female announcer ] together at last. introducing new stouffer's farmers' harvest with sides of lightly sauteed farm-picked vegetables. find more ways to get to the table at letsfixdinner.com. with sides of lightly sauteed [ man ]rm-picked vegetables. ♪ trouble ♪ trouble, trouble trouble, trouble ♪ ♪ trouble been doggin' my soul ♪ since the day i was born ♪ worry ♪ oh, worry, worry worry, worry ♪ [ announcer ] when it comes to things you care about, leave nothing to chance. travelers. take the scary out of life. a vacation on a budget with expedia. make it work. booking a flight by itself is an uh-oh. see if we can "stitch" together a better deal. that's a hint, antoine. ooh! see what anandra did? booking your flight and hotel at the same time gets you prices hotels and airlines won't let expedia show separately. book it. major wow factor! where you book matters. expedia. today crews are struggling against one of the worst wildfires in arizona's history. they're preparing to hold a 30-mile line against the advancing blaze. let's get ride to nbc's george lewis on the scene for us in springerville, arizona. george? >> reporter: martin, we're here in eastern arizona, scene of the largest fire known as the wallow fire. it's approaching the 200,000 acre mark as we speak and it is the third largest fire in arizona history. they have about 1,300 people here on the fire lines, a dozen helicopters dropping water, but so far it's been an uphill battle for the firefighters because of a number of factors. first of all, high temperatures and high winds. the winds expected to gust to 50 miles an hour this afternoon. and the forecast for the next couple days looks like more of the same. so it's going to be a very difficult situation for firefighters. add on to that a third factor, there's a lot of dry fuel on the ground. we've had drought conditions here in the west for a number of years, so the trees and the brush are extremely dry. you add the wind and the temperature to that and you've got perfect conditions for a conflagration. and arizona is now experiencing that, particularly the mountain communities along highway 180. that's along the arizona/new mexico border. a number of these towns were ordered evacuated. main concern for firefighters is in a lot of places there's only one way in and one way out. if the fire jumps those roads, people could get trapped. so they want those people out of that area so the firefighters can get in and do their thing. a number of communities have watched the flames creep ever slower, more steadily toward houses there. a number of homes threatened. the communities here are not all that populated, but they want to make sure that everyone who lives in those communities is out of the way. in one place they're actually telling people to tie white towels or t-shirts to the door to signify to authorities that the people have left those houses as this mass exodus goes on. martin, back to you. >> nbc's george lewis, thank you very much. coming up, casey anthony, john edwards, and dsk, three major cases being played out in open court. out the ripples of the day. it might be off a dock or on a boat. upstream or in the middle of nowhere. wherever it may be, casting a line in the clear, fresh waters of michigan lets us leave anything weighing us down back on shore. our perfect spot is calling. our perfect spot is pure michigan. your trip begins at michigan.org. tell me about castrol gtx with trishield. it helps stop particles from building up as deposits. how? first it attracts particles. like a mermaid's song to a lonely sailor? right. then it captures them. like a venus flytrap. like a black hole. like a black hole in a venus flytrap. then it disperses them, like a t-shirt cannon. like a snowblower. like polyisobuta mides. okay, like a snowblower. sounds powerful. stops small particles. from becoming big problems. do you always&? yes. right. help stop deposits before they start with castrol gtx. it's more than just oil. it's liquid engineering. it's another busy day in american courts with two former american hopefuls and an accused child killer are battling for freedom. is there enough evidence for any of these cases to stick? i'm joined by criminal defense attorney and legal analyst jamie floyd. jamie, let's begin with john edwards. he's being accused of siphoning campaign funds to support his mistress. but what does the prosecution have to prove to be successful on that case? >> they have to prove he obtained and used the campaign funds to hide the mistress and child, but it's a very difficult case to prove and here is why. they're not relying on case law, they're not relying on statutes, federal or state, but it would be federal because we're talking about campaign finance laws. they were relying, martin, on an be a secure federal advisory opinion, an fec advisory opinion. they're essentially trying to make new law on the back of john edwards and i don't think it's going to work. look, you can't convict someone for being a bad husband, a cad, an idiot, or a disgrace to the democratic party, all of which i'm happy to say here, i'll say it on national television he was. he won't be convicted on this proof in this case under this law. >> you don't believe so? >> no, i don't. i don't think -- look, people don't like john edwards. the jury won't like john edwards but that's not proof that he broke a law, any law that currenly exists on the books. >> now, he apparently and reportedly turned down a plea deal of sop kind. >> yes. >> saying he couldn't possibly leave his children alone. but is it likely that a judge would take that into consideration? >> a judge won't be taking anything into consideration unless we get to a sentencing. children do come into the mix if we ever get there, but i think the prosecution will be back to the table with a better deal for john edwards that won't include jail time and ultimately there will be a plea. >> there been some complaint that the federal government is overreaching itself on this. >> i think they're trying to, as i said, make some new law. i don't think this is the right case in which to do it. >> let's turn to the casey anthony case briefly. you know she's accused of murdering her 2-year-old. forensic experts testifying today that hair found in the car's trunk belonged to the deceased child. >> yes. >> that must be damaging for the defense. >> well, you know, hair in itself in the trunk of the car would not be all that damaging because you'd say, well, this is my car, my daughter's hair would possibly be found in it. what's so terribly damaging here is that the expert testified that it's hair of a composed child. now, they're using what the defense will say is junk science, and forensics we think of as science but it's not always science, and i think the defense will have a pretty good go of it on cross-examination. >> but the defense position all along has been that the child died as a result of drowning. >> right. and as a result they're able to undercut a good deal of the prosecution's case. they're now saying, look, we acknowledge that the baby died, we acknowledge that she knew the baby died, and we even acknowledge this horrific cover-up. all of this is moot, they say, to the jury. a lot of this evidence, in the jury goes with it, goes to reasonable doubt as to a first-degree death penalty murder. >> but where is the evidence to support the claim that the child died by drowning. >> that comes in the defense's case-in-chi case-in-chief. the defense has mounted an affirmative case. we're not there yet, that's weeks away. >> we've not heard anything up until this point. >> well, i think there must be something or they wouldn't have made such a strong case in opening statement. we'll see it when it's time for casey anthony and her supporters to take the stand. >> okay. and the third case i wanted to talk to you about is the case of dominick strauss-kahn. he entered the courtroom to jeers and abuse outside. if the maid in question chooses to testify, what will the power of that be and what power will that play in terms of the case? >> well, these cases are always he said/she said cases. anytime off sexual assault allegation it comes down to the two people, the only two people in the room, so it's all about her testimony. she's got to testify. of course, technically they could make a case without her, but in this case it's all about her testimony and the prosecution now has to go about shoring up her testimony because it is going to be a brutal cross-examination for the alleged victim in this case. >> jamie floyd, thank you so much for traversing all three of those cases. before dominique strauss-kahn became a household name here in the u.s., his history with women had earned him the nickname in france of the hot robeabbit. today nearly 100 women crammed the entrance to scold the former head of the imf over the alleged sexual assault of a hotel maid. shame on you, they shouted, as strauss-kahn walked hand in hand with his wife into court. still, strauss-kahn's attorney insists there are as many, if not more, who actually support him. >> we would first thank the literally hundreds, if not thousands of people who have written and offered words of encouragement and support since this case began. they also extend their prayers that there not be a rush to judgment in this case and that mr. strauss-kahn have his opportunity for a fair day in court. >> today's process may reflect some important differences in the way the french and americans feel about what is sexually acceptable behavior. a new book venture into that subject. i'm joined by elaine scidlino. thanks very much for joining us. did it surprise you to see the image of women protesting dsk outside court today? >> it didn't surprise me because this is a question of power and equality, not necessarily a question of morality, and you saw the same scenes being played out on parisian streets in recent days where women went out there and screamed we are all chamber maids. so there so is something universal about the solidarity of women who feel they need to be empowered. >> particularly these types of women who are often times immigrants, on low wages, coming here to further their lives in some way only to find themselves allegedly assaulted by a very powerful man. >> in france it's even more general than that because women of all classes, of all races, of all levels of wealth live in an atmosphere in which from time to time they have to deal with issues of sexual harassment, innocent flirtation in everyday life and in the case of what has been alleged with dominique strauss-kahn, potentially a crime. >> are you saying then in france this kind of level of harassment is more acceptable than it would be in this country? >> i'm saying that we're in an extraordinary moment in france now. it's something i call france's anita hill moment and i think there will be a before dominique strauss-ka and an after dominique strauss-kahn. people are starting to ask themselves what is happening here in france? it's a defining moment in the battle of the sexes in france. women in the national assembly, for example, who for years have put up with all sorts of sexual harassment. a lot of wip don't wear skirts in the office because they will be subjected to terribly sexist remarks. wom women, they are -- there are terribly dirty jokes in offices that would not be acceptable in any kind of american office. >> finally, if i can ask you, what's his wife's reaction to all of this because there she was in court today, walking with him, robustly by him. she's issued a statement saying she doesn't believe a single word of anything that's been alleged. >> dominique strauss-kahn's wife, it's his third wife, is one of the most professional powerful women, and a rich woman in france. she's like diane sawyer, a cerebral woman, who gave up her on camera career when we went into government in the late 1970s -- late 1990s, excuse me. we can't get inside her head, but for years she has stood by her man and she's even said, you know, in an interview in 2006 that i write about in the book -- >> i read that. >> yeah, when asked does it bother you that he's such a seducer, and she said, no, i'm proud of it. >> we'll see how she feels at the end of these court proceedings. elaine, thank you so much for joining us. >> thank you. coming up, the head of planned parenthood joins us as they fight back against the latest gop plan to cut off funds. ♪ there's another way to minimize litter box odor: purina tidy cats. our premium litters now work harder to help neutralize odors in multiple cat homes. purina tidy cats. keep your home smelling like home. i have copd. if you have it, you know how hard it can be to breathe and what that feels like. copd includes chronic bronchitis and emphysema. spiriva helps control my copd symptoms... by keeping my airways open a full 24 hours. plus, it 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day. right now a secondary levee is being built to protect an iowa town. the main levee in the town of hamburg had been breached but it appears to have been stabilized. neighborhoods in seven states are on alert. we are still awaiting congressman anthony wiener. he is going to address new accusations about lurid online activity. congressman wiener is holding a press conference in just about 20 minutes here in new york and we will keep you posted. martin, we'll be back right after this break. ways to enhane its quality and performance, and making their factories more environmentally friendly. producing products that save on fuel and emissions, and some that can be reused again. ♪ and promoting eco-friendly and safety driving campaigns. ♪ one team. one planet. bridgestone. yeah. well we're the two active ingredients in zegerid otc. i'm omeprazole. and i'm sodium bicarbonate. just one pill a day ... gives you 24-hour relief. & one mission. two ingredients heartburn solved. i'm amanda drury with your market wrap. the markets are now down for the fourth straight day. the s&p is off by 11 points, 36 point drop for the dow and the nasdaq is off by 23. ford is down sizing its small car engines. they will soon off a three cylinder engine supported by ecoboost technology. ford says the engine will match the performance of a four cylinder but with better fuel efficiency. that's it from cnbc for now. we are first in business worldwide. the latest in the planned parenthood fight goes before a federal judge in indiana today. lawyers for planned parenthood are seeking an injunction against the state over a new law that bars the organization from receiving federal funds there. governor mitch daniels signed the bill last month even though it could leave thousands of women without health care and the legal showdown could cost indiana an estimated $4.3 billion. cecile richards is the president of planned parenthood. good afternoon, cecile. >> hello. >> did governor daniels decide to do this because even though the organization spends 97% of its funds on female reproductive health issues, he felt that 3%, the 3% on abortions was just too much? >> i really can't speculate as to why governor daniels signed this bill. i think the real problem is the state legislature in indiana is basically putting their own politics ahead of women's health care. planned parenthood has 28 health centers in the stit of indiana, many in rural parts of the state where women need access to the basic preventative care. it's affordable, high quality, and more than 90,000 women in the state of indiana turn to planned parenthood each year for care. >> isn't it right that planned parenthood already doesn't receive any federal funding for abortion services? >> that's exactly right, martin. in fact, no organization, no hospital -- we operate just like hospitals in this country. federal funding through the hyde amendment haven't paid for abortion services for many years. and 97% of our services, as you mentioned earlier, are for basic preventative care, those are the services being cut out by the state of indiana. and i think that's the concern of not only planned parenthood but the federal government. last week the department of hale and human services said to the state, this is illegal for you to say that women can't go to the doctor and health care provider of their choice, and so that's why we're in court today. >> do you think that governor mitch daniels simply didn't expect the government to say that if indiana doesn't play by federal rules, that it won't receive any federal funds? >> well, again, i don't know what he was thinking. his own department of health warned the legislature, said you can't tell women that they can't go to the doctor or the health center that they're used to going to. and again 90,000 women in indiana go to planned parenthood each year. i'm not sure what his motivation was, but i think what clearly the federal government is saying is it's important, particularly in this day and time when women are -- need affordable health care access, that they need to be able to go to planned parenthood for their preventative care. >> finally and briefly, do you think this is in effect a war o women? is that your view? is it an antagonistic approach to women's health issues? >> well, i think it's a very insensitive attack on women's health care access and the women who write to me every day from indiana and across the country said, look, i need affordable care. i need a pap smear, i need a breast exam, and i need birth control. planned parenthood provides it to me affordably. why is the government trying to tell me why i can go for the health care i need? >> cecile richards, thanks so much for joining us. >> thanks for having me. do you remember the case of clark rockefeller, a german born con artist who claimed to be the 13th baronet? his real name is christian gerhartsreiter and des pits a series of successful scams he's serving him3xjc in a boston jair kidnapping his daughter during an acrimonious divorce. mark seal is the author of "the man in the rockefeller suit." and i'm delighted to say he joins us now. good afternoon, mark. >> good afternoon. >> what is it about these imposters who seem capable of persuading the world's greatest art dealers, even down to their own spouses, of an entirely different identity? >> well, i think they tell you what you want to hear, and this man was extremely smart. i mean, he was a stockbroker on wall street. he said he was a baronet. he was a hollywood producer he said. he had a great art collection. so he had all the trappings of wealth and success. also he had a great gift of gab and people wanted to believe him. >> but, mark, you've got a storied career as an investigative journalist. you don't simultaneously claim to be a journalist, to be a marvelous chef, to own a series of hotels. you have never done that. how is it that these people are possible to conflate 16, 17 different professions and everyone believes them? >> they they ever do it at once. they move from one step to the other and in this man's case, each one had more grandiosity, increasingly wild claims. he was going to be appointed to the federal reserve board. he was worth exactly worth exa million. just one wild claim after another. >> so what's the purpose? what's the point of the deception? is he seeking money? >> in the begin, possibly yes, he was. but later on i think what he stole from people was their trust. he wanted them to believe and they believed in him. i think he got a kick out of saying, you know, i am this. i am that. i'm going to be appointed to this. it is beneath a rockefeller to ask for money. i'm helping third world countries with their debt. i think that's what he got off on. >> i read the book. in to you talk about the chief of staff at the whitney museum. a prestigious organization if there ever was one. he talked about his art history. he talked about art in his collection. but did no one bother to scrutinize what he was saying? >> i think people looked at the art and it looked real. where he got it, people don't know to this day. he admitted to authorities it was all fakes. but it looked real. he lived in a nice apartment. he add an intelligent smart up and coming wife. he had all of the trap willings of success. he was a members of the clubs. he was a rockefeller. >> deoffer any explanation when he was arrested? >> well, he did not. he was in character until the end. the police tried to get some explanation of why he did it, what he did. he gave vague answers. i think he is in character as this day of clark rockefeller. >> he is in jail for kidnapping. but there are suggestions that when he is released he may be charged with murder. >> he was charged on march 15 with a decade-old missing person's case in california where he lived in a guest dwelling. i get into this strongly in the book. it is quite a mysterious and unusual case. he is expected to be extradited to face charges in this case. >> this is the son of a land lady. >> son of a land lady who went missing after he and his wife went on a mysterious government job allegedly arranged by the man who was then living as christopher chichester. >> what we are talking about, is man capable of lying about all kinds of things, to some extent immaterial. claiming to own vast amounts of art when he doesn't. but he did also capable of murder? >> who knows. this case is unrelenting and keeps on going. now another chapter is opening. every time i thought the story was gone, some else would come forward. some other wrinkle. some other person. some outlandishly wild story. >> i'm sorry to go back to this, but what is inside the mind of an individual who wishes to debort himself in so many different characters, so many different opportunities. >> in his kidnapping trial in boston, his attorneys talked to psychiatrists who said he was insane. the prosecution said he was sane and the jury found him guilty. sea clever man. >> the book is entitled "the man in the rockefeller suit". thank you. anthony weiner will hold a news conference. there were scandalous pictures said to be of the congressman. keep it here. too much on your plate? no matter when you get around to booking, hotels.com will have a great last minute deal waiting for you. like at the hotels.com 48 hour sale. this tuesday and wednesday only. hotels.com. be smart. book smart. an accident doesn't have to slow you down. introducing better car replacement. if your car is totaled, we give you the money for a car one model year newer. liberty mutual auto insurance. >> time now to clear the air. i've been wondering, if those comments about sarah palin draping herself in the flag, not to take on the serious burden of public office but purely and simply to make money, may have caused a little irritation. >> i have to get your reaction to it. >> what a goof. who does he work for? no, i know who he works for. as a matter of fact, whom he works for, they are advertising for their cable news network. what a joke. he has no clue, i guess, what the laws are and what my freedom as an american is. and that's to get to showcase and the symbol of our freedom, our american flag, which i love. >> we all know that mrs. palin employs any journalist not employed by fox news is a goof. as she loves to say member of the main stream media. she complains about journalist like katie couric, who asks her what she reads and where she traveled across the united states. even when asked about paul revere's ride to lexington, and in massachusetts, not new hampshire, she got it wrong and accused the journalist of gotcha journalism. we from main stream media can't win and maybe that's the point. we who are not on the pay roefl fox are goofy enough to ask whether she is a serious candidate for the presidency. they are silly enough to wonder if they understands policies an issues she would be forced to confront and crazy enough to question her qualifications for holding the highest elected office in the land. but she only talks to people who are paid by her same employer. to them, well, there's obviously no doubt. >> i thought she was a performance today, the first time i ever saw her and thought this woman is a serious candidate for president and serious possibility to be president. >> goof, joke, i've been called worse. thanks very much for watching. we're following breaking news with congressman anthony weaner who who is about to speak. dylan ratigan is here to pick uup dylan? >> thank you, martin. we vring a conversation. at least i wasn't saying anything too profane. our show starts right now. >> good afternoon to you. my name is dylan ratigan. nice to see you. happy monday from new york. we start with breaking news this afternoon as congressman anthony weiner will face the cameras. no pun intended. a live look at new york sheraton hotel. this is not a press conference. he will address the gathered media. there is talk that seven-term democrat could step down.

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