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Royal Baby's Name Revealed; Anthony Weiner Under Fire; Trayvon's Father Defends His Memory; Family Pulls out of Press Conference to Thank Zimmerman; Virginia Governor Returns $120K in Loans from Donor; Obama Halts Shipment of F-16's to Egypt

Aired July 24, 2013 - 18:00   ET

THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.

WOLF BLITZER, CNN HOST: Happening now, what's in a name? Royal watchers get another crucial bit of news about the new baby.

Plus Trayvon Martin's dad tells Congress he won't let his son's name be demonized. We're going to hear that and get reaction from George Zimmerman's lawyer this hour, Mark O'Mara. He'll join us live.

And the backlash of Anthony Weiner, now embroiled in chapter two of his sexting scandal. The New York mayoral candidate is speaking out once again today.

I'm Wolf Blitzer. We want to welcome our viewers in the United States and around the world. You're in THE SITUATION ROOM.

A day after Britain's royal baby made his public debut, we now know the name of the boy who would be king. He is Prince George Alexander Louis of Cambridge. Today, little George has been on the move and he's been getting to know his extended family, including Queen Elizabeth.

Prince William and Duchess Catherine left Kensington Palace around lunchtime today with their new son in tow. They reportedly went to Kate's parents home in Bucklebury.

And CNN royal correspondent Max Foster.

Walk us through the process. How did they come up with this name, Max?

MAX FOSTER, CNN ROYAL CORRESPONDENT: They are not explaining why, so we're having to try to work it out ourselves.

One of Prince Charles' middle names is George. The queen's father was George, so they're the George connotations. But it's a very regal name. If he goes on to become King George, he will be King George VII. There have been many other kings of that name.

The other names have also lots of royal connections. I wonder if they have gone through William's side of the family's tree and then Kate sort of looked at them and thought which ones do I like? George is very popular in the schools at the moment as well, so this is a name that works regally but also works out there in the wider world as well. BLITZER: Is it a coincidence or something happened the name came out shortly after the queen herself met this baby for the first time?

FOSTER: Well, we're not getting much information on that either. I think so.

Yesterday William said he was working on a name and that is a bit confusing. We wonder maybe they haven't decided. I actually think they had opted for a name, but they didn't want to confirm it before they put it to the queen. This is a name that will go down in history. This is a future heir. She's the head of state. She runs the monarchy. It will be polite to ask her, but also there's a personal relationship here.

William is very close to the queen. In terms of his public work, he entirely looks up to her and defers to her and takes all his advice to her. If he is making a decision that affects the monarch, he would certainly speak to her first, so when she visited today my first thought was we would get the name afterwards. It took a bit of a delay, as has happened on this story throughout, but we did get the name eventually and it was George.

BLITZER: There's no guarantee, is there, that even though the baby's first name is George, he will be called George growing up, right?

FOSTER: No.

Well, if you think of Harry, he was christened Henry. They used his nickname. Prince Harry, we him as. Also there are other royals who have used middle names so they could decide to call him Louis, for example, then he would grow up being known as Prince Louis. When he becomes monarch, he doesn't have to be King George either, because it's quite common for monarchs to choose their own names when they become king, for example, so the last King George was actually christened Albert.

That's the next thing. I'm sure that's what the betting companies are going to be looking to next. What is he actually going to be known as? I have to say George was the most popular bet on a name for a boy and the bookies have lost a lot of money. One of them has lost nearly $500,000, would you believe?

BLITZER: Wow.

All right, Max Foster, good information. Thanks very much.

Let's bring in our CNN royal commentator Victoria Arbiter and our royal historian Kate Williams.

Why do you think they picked George, Kate?

KATE WILLIAMS, CNN ROYAL HISTORIAN: It's a name as Max is saying that's just full of history.

There's the queen's father who she adored came to the throne as George VI, the queen's grandmother, who she was his favorite pet. He didn't much like his children, but he adored his little granddaughter. And this entire dynasty of which Elizabeth and William and Kate and now little Prince George are part of, they were all started off by King George in 1714 when he came over from Germany to govern England when there was no heir.

The first of them all was a George. Then we have had really since 1714 bumper Georges in history. It is nonstop George. In fact, the entire 18th century was one long Georgian period. And it is the patron saint of England. It's a name steeped in history, very appealing name, very simple, easy to pronounce across the world, and I think it's ideal for what this international figure, this exciting young man, this future king, he's got one foot in the future and one foot in the past. It's just perfect for him.

BLITZER: And the name Louis, Victoria, the name Louis, it's also one of William's middle names, if you will. Do you think they named -- they picked Louis in part to name him after William a little bit?

VICTORIA ARBITER, CNN CONTRIBUTOR: I think there's a little bit more to it than that.

Louis is one of William's names and he was named for Prince Charles' -- who he called his honorary godfather. Earl Mountbatten was Prince Philip's uncle. And he was a much adored member of the family. I think it's a nice way to be honoring Prince Philip's side of the family. Also, Prince Philip had a grandfather called Louis Alexander.

Again, there's a long family tradition with this name. They have been very clever how they have honored family members. There aren't obvious choices like Charles and Philip that a lot of people were expecting. We're seeing Louis. We're seeing Alexander, which actually there have been three kings of Scotland who went by that name, but Alexandra, the female form, is the queen's middle name.

Princess Alexandra is William's godmother. There are a lot of references here. They have been very clever to honor this child while letting it have its own identity.

BLITZER: I knew, Kate, there was some speculation Spencer could have been a name because of William's mom, Diana. Apparently there's no reference, no connection of Diana in any of these names today, right?

WILLIAMS: Good point, Wolf. Yes.

(CROSSTALK)

ARBITER: Sorry, Kate. No, go ahead, Kate.

WILLIAMS: Sorry, sorry, sorry.

Good point, Wolf.

What is so interesting here is this is a Windsor name. There's not much Middleton in there and there's certainly not much Spencer. Yes, we have had an Earl Spencer who was George. But really this isn't that kind of George. It's a Windsor George we have got here. I think many people were hoping for some more reference to Diana here. But what William is saying here is that this little boy is going to be a king and the king coming from the Windsor line. Yes, perhaps if it was a girl, we would have a bit more honoring of Diana, not perhaps for a little boy. It's perhaps rather difficult to do. Spencer just isn't a popular boy's name here and it isn't seen as very traditional.

BLITZER: Victoria, if they do have a daughter one of these days, would it be appropriate for them to name that daughter Diana?

ARBITER: That's certainly the sentimental favorite, but I don't believe it will ever happen.

There will be a lot more freedom with second and third children perhaps if they have a fourth child, because they won't necessarily unless some terrible situation happens be the monarch. But I think Diana would be -- it would be a terrible cross to bear for a child, as much as it would be respecting Diana's memory.

There are so many references tied to her. And I think William is keen to honor her privately. He gave Kate Diana's engagement ring. That keeps her very present. He honors her in private ways. If we saw any reference to Diana, I think the name they would use would be Frances, which is Diana's name. Frances is also Michael Middleton's middle name. That way, they would be honoring both sides of both families.

BLITZER: Kate, you want to weigh on that?

WILLIAMS: Yes, I think that's true.

I think what we're going to see, if we see a child named Diana, it will be a middle name. There was much talk if it was going to be a little girl we might have Alexandra, Elizabeth, Diana. Certainly, the first name Diana has got all the associations of Princess Diana herself, who was the woman who did so much to change the monarchy, to revolutionize, to modernize it, to bring a breath of fresh air.

That's what William wants to do. He wants to modernize the monarchy. He's really taking her example of getting down there with the people, with the crowds. That's exactly, as Victoria was saying, exactly how he honors her every day.

BLITZER: Were you surprised, Victoria, how quickly? Two days. That is pretty quick in these royal standards. It just came up in two days for them to make the announcement?

ARBITER: It was quick when you think it took seven days for William's name, a month for Charles.

Harry's name was released the day he came out of hospital, but I'm not surprised on the timing here, Wolf. William, when he was giving his little press conference so to speak at the hospital yesterday, he said he hoped the photographers could all go back to their regular lives while he and Kate were allowed to take care of their baby. I think he knew the furor and the frenzy would not die down until the name had been released. It was the last remaining detail that we needed. I think it's come out. Strategically, if you are reading between the lines, it's you have everything you need, you have the photographs, you have had an interview, you have the baby's name, now it's time to leave us alone.

BLITZER: Let them have a little privacy, as they deserve it. There's no doubt about that.

All right, Kate Williams, Victoria Arbiter, guys, thanks very much for joining us.

(CROSSTALK)

ARBITER: Thank you very much.

BLITZER: Still ahead, a family helped by George Zimmerman cancels a planned news conference. I will ask Zimmerman's lawyer Mark O'Mara what happened. He's standing by live.

And Anthony Weiner responds to new calls for him to get out of the New York mayoral contest. We're following the very harsh reaction to the latest revelations in his so-called sexting scandal.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

BLITZER: This hour, Anthony Weiner is trying to conduct business as usual out there on the campaign trail despite his second go-around with scandal. The New York mayoral candidate now admitting to sending sexually explicit online messages more than a year after he resigned from Congress.

Yesterday, Weiner and his wife pleaded with voters to forgive him, but there are growing calls for him to get out of the mayoral race.

Our chief congressional correspondent, Dana Bash, is joining us now from Manhattan in New York.

Dana, Weiner spoke out today. I know he's going to be speaking out a little bit later. What did he have to say?

DANA BASH, CNN CHEIF CONGRESSIONAL CORRESPONDENT: I should tell you, Wolf, he's now at the first event of the day, the first public event of the day.

He arrived here to a gaggle of reporters, including myself, sort of pushed through the crush to get in. There was an odd moment where there was a man dressed, looked like the Lone Ranger. It turns out he says he is the real Carlos Danger, who, of course, that's the name that Anthony Weiner apparently used on the Internet for these sexually explicit exchanges.

But he's waiting to testify before the housing authority again. Business as usual as he makes clear he's not going anywhere.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

BASH (voice-over): Anthony Weiner says his fate is in voters' hands. Translation, he's staying in the mayor's race.

ANTHONY WEINER (D), NEW YORK MAYORAL CANDIDATE: That's for citizens to decide. Everyone has to decide. Look, I know there are people who may well never conceive of voting for me because of the things that are in my past. I get that. And even for those people, I want them to hear about my ideas.

BASH: A new e-mail to supporters, subject line, "Worth Fighting For," tries to appeal to New York sensibilities, saying "New Yorkers don't quit and I will never quit on you."

But we also admits he fumbled his play for political comeback by not disclosing that he sent sexual pictures and texts to a woman a year after resigning from Congress for the same thing: "I regret not saying explicitly when these exchanges happened, but the bottom line is that news today is about my past life."

Tell that to two prominent newspapers New Yorkers woke up to, editorials calling for Weiner to leave the race. "The New York Times" said, "Mr. Weiner should take his marital troubles and personal compulsions out of the public eye."

"The Daily News" was even harsher. "Weiner's dishonest, impulse- driven psyche is once more stripped as naked as the images of his texted private parts. He's not fit to lead America's premier city."

WEINER: I have got an amazing wife and child upstairs. I have a comfortable life. This is not about me.

BASH: Weiner insists there's a disconnect between chatter in the media and what voters tell him.

WEINER: But when people talk to me on the street, they don't want to talk about something in my past. They want to talk about their future.

BASH: Some New Yorkers we talked on the street did say that.

(on camera): Do you think that Anthony Weiner at this point still would make a good mayor?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I think Anthony Weiner has enough experience to enhance New York City. There obviously were some issues that he had to overcome, but in general, I don't believe that one issue, even though it was major, should impact his mayor run.

BASH (voice-over): Others, not so much.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I think it's kind of creepy, so I don't think I would want that as my mayor.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

BASH: So far, besides his opponents in this mayor's race, no one, at least a prominent Democrat, has called for him to get out of the race. It's not surprising, Wolf, because nobody in the prominent Democratic world wanted him to get in, in the first place. That's why I talked to people close to Anthony Weiner and his wife. They say the real pressure point, the only one that would really matter for him to get out would be wife, Huma, and so far it looks like she's doing just the opposite.

BLITZER: She wants him to stay in the race and he says he will. Dana, thanks very much.

Let's get some analysis now with our chief political analyst, Gloria Borger. She has got a terrific piece that she's written for CNN.com. I recommend it to our viewers, Gloria.

But let me read a line or two from what you wrote. You wrote: "Is running for mayor a required part of couples therapy? This should be a private matter. But once Weiner threw his hat in the ring asking for redemption, it became a lot less private."

BLITZER: Is there any way for Weiner to get back and have a normal, regular campaign?

GLORIA BORGER, CNN SENIOR POLITICAL ANALYST: I think it's going to be very difficult, if not impossible.

He said in that interview this morning, this is not about me, but, of course, the campaign has now become all about him. It's going to be difficult for him to break through and talk about the issues he says he cares about, about New York, because there are going to be I believe more and more stories coming out in the future.

It's just hard for candidate to get way from this, particularly since he had to send this message out to his supporters as Dana pointed out, admitting that he effectively did not mention the most salient point, which was that he was still sexting a year after he resigned the Congress. It becomes an issue of his judgment, his temperament, and whether you can trust him.

BLITZER: Gloria's got a lot more at CNN.com, an excellent column.

Gloria, thanks very much.

We have got some breaking news that we're following here in THE SITUATION ROOM, a death toll climbing in a major disastrous train disaster. We're learning new details of the accident that has already killed dozens of people. We will hear from an American eyewitness. Stand by.

And lawmakers give Trayvon Martin's father a very warm and emotional welcome up on Capitol Hill.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

ANNOUNCER: This is CNN breaking news.

BLITZER: We're following the breaking news, a train disaster in northwest Spain.

Reuters citing a Spanish regional government official as saying at least 35 people, maybe more, were killed and dozens injured. At least one car broke in two and another was on fire. The high-speed train had 218 patterns aboard. We don't know yet how fast it was going when the accident happened. No word yet on the cause of it.

Officials say it doesn't appear to be terrorism.

Joining us on the phone now is Ivette Cabrera, a Florida woman vacationing in Spain. Her family, they witnessed the disaster.

Ivette, what was going on? What did you see?

IVETTE CABRERA, EYEWITNESS: Well, we were driving from Coruna and we were heading back to Santiago de Compostela when we noticed the traffic stopping.

When we looked to the right, we saw the fire and then we saw the train wreck. There were trains. The train had broken in half. There were some that were on the top, some pieces on the bottom. They canceled all events that they had for today.

BLITZER: And did you see bodies being carried off the train?

CABRERA: No. The police hadn't gone there yet.

(CROSSTALK)

BLITZER: Excuse me for interrupting. But you were there as soon as that train got off the tracks?

CABRERA: Yes.

BLITZER: And what was it like? Just give us a little flavor. I assume there was a lot of panic. People were screaming. How close were you and your family to the actual train?

CABRERA: We were actually on the highway, so we were looking downward. People were in shock. They couldn't believe that that had happened.

BLITZER: And you took some of these pictures that we're showing to our viewers. You submitted these pictures to CNN iReport, right?

CABRERA: Yes, we did. We uploaded some pictures and we sent them. We sent them out because it was quite shocking and we had never seen anything like that before. We had just been on the train last week.

BLITZER: Where are you now, Ivette?

CABRERA: In Santiago de Compostela.

BLITZER: And how far is that from the site of this crash?

CABRERA: We're about 10 minutes off. BLITZER: Ten minutes away, so I assume a lot people are deeply, deeply distraught, very upset about what happened.

CABRERA: Oh, yes. A lot of people are going to the hospital to donate blood because it was very traumatic. They canceled all the events that they had for today.

BLITZER: Well, good luck to you.

(CROSSTALK)

CABRERA: I'm sorry.

BLITZER: Finish your thought.

CABRERA: Because tomorrow's a big celebration here. They have parties all over the city and it's a holiday. And the celebrations were supposed to start tonight with fireworks, but they canceled them.

BLITZER: I'm sure they did. What a sad, sad situation.

We will stay in close touch. Ivette Cabrera vacationing with her family in Spain and witnessing this horrible, horrible train crash, thank you, Ivette.

We will get you more information and update you on what we learn. Stand by for that.

Also coming up, a standing ovation for Trayvon Martin's father here in Washington here on Capitol Hill.

And a family helped at the scene of an accident by George Zimmerman cancels their news conference. I'm going to speak with Zimmerman's lawyer Mark O'Mara. He's standing by live.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

BLITZER: Happening now: a new move by Trayvon Martin's dad to defend his son's memory. Stand by for his appeal today to Congress.

We will get reaction from George Zimmerman's lawyer Mark O'Mara, and I will ask him why accident victims helped by George Zimmerman have decided not to speak out.

And a new U.S. response to that deadly unrest in Egypt, a delivery of U.S. fighter jets now on hold. I will ask about the country's new foreign minister about the strain on relations with the United States right now.

I'm Wolf Blitzer. You're in THE SITUATION ROOM.

A powerful moment today for Trayvon Martin's father. He appeared at a congressional hearing here in Washington and got a standing ovation. Tracy Martin came to the nation's capital to defend his son's memory after George Zimmerman's acquittal and to keep the conversation going about race in America. Let's bring in our crime and justice correspondent, Joe Johns.

Joe, how did it go?

JOE JOHNS, CNN CRIME AND JUSTICE CORRESPONDENT: Well, Wolf, the controversy keeps going. Tracy Martin was on the Hill to speak at a hearing of the Congressional Black Caucus. He talked about the Zimmerman trial, about stand your ground laws, African-American men, and about his son.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

JOHNS (voice-over): The father of Trayvon Martin on Capitol Hill with the Congressional Black Caucus showing how the simmering issues of race and the law that came up in the George Zimmerman case are just as politically explosive, perhaps more so, since the jury acquitted Zimmerman of his murder.

TRACY MARTIN, FATHER OF TRAYVON MARTIN: To have his name slandered and demonized, I think -- as a father, I think it's real important that my message to the world is that we won't let this verdict sum up who Trayvon was.

JOHNS: CNN political analyst Cornell Belcher met with Tracy Martin just before his appearance on the Hill. He says the jury's decision acquitting George Zimmerman could be a crucial moment in the debate over stand-your-ground laws. But on a personal level for the Martin family, it's a time to let the public know who their son was.

CORNELL BELCHER, CNN POLITICAL ANALYST: They also wanted to find their son. I mean, one of the things I think that's been problematic from the case is that, you know, the defense defines George Zimmerman in a way that was -- that was helpful to his defense, but they -- I don't think they feel as though their son has been well defined and sort of who he -- who he was.

JOHNS: The back and forth over the Martin case went to new heights after President Obama himself weighed in with a deeply personal speech.

BARACK OBAMA, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: When Trayvon Martin was first shot, I said that this could have been my son. Another way of saying that is Trayvon Martin could have been me 35 years ago.

JOHNS: All eyes are on the attorney general, Eric Holder. The Obama constituency wants to know whether the Justice Department will take any future steps in the case. Holder has been highly critical of stand-your-ground laws.

ERIC HOLDER, ATTORNEY GENERAL: By allowing and perhaps encouraging violent situations to escalate in public, such laws undermine public safety. The list of resulting tragedies is long, and unfortunately, has victimized too many who are innocent. It is our collective obligation. We must stand our ground.

JOHNS: The Martin family has started a foundation to honor Trayvon's memory and to push for changes.

MARTIN: We're here today to see what we can do to stop this from happening to your child.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

JOHNS: Members of the Congressional Black Caucus said they're hoping for DOJ to bring some type of civil rights charges in the Zimmerman case, but stand-your-ground laws are created by the state, so there are limitations on what the federal government can do.

Tomorrow the attorney general is expected to speak in Philadelphia before a meeting of the Urban League.

BLITZER: National Urban League. We'll see what he has to say in Philadelphia. Joe, thanks very much.

We were expecting to hear today from a family that escaped an SUV accident in Florida with the help from George Zimmerman, but the news conference was abruptly canceled.

Zimmerman emerged from hiding last week just days after his acquittal. He turned up at the accident site and helped a family out of their overturned vehicle.

We're joined now by Zimmerman's defense attorney, Mark O'Mara.

Mark, thanks very much for coming in.

MARK O'MARA, DEFENSE ATTORNEY FOR GEORGE ZIMMERMAN: Certainly.

BLITZER: Before we get to the cancellation of the news conference, do you have an immediate reaction to what Trayvon Martin's dad said here in Washington today?

O'MARA: Look, I don't think it's my place to define who Trayvon Martin was. We were very careful during the pretrial matters and also in trial to not impugn Trayvon Martin's integrity or his memory. We did have to bring in enough information to show what happened that night between he and my client.

But quite honestly, if the foundation of the family wants to remember Trayvon Martin in a certain way, that's -- they're entitled to it, and they should. My only concern was trying to define who George Zimmerman was and the fact that he reacted to violence that he had to react to that night only as a last resort.

BLITZER: Let's talk about the news conference today. All of a sudden it was canceled. The family that George Zimmerman helped didn't want to go forward at the news conference. I know you were involved in getting that together. What happened?

O'MARA: Well, unfortunately, you know, an event happened last week where George just did what, quite honestly, George does and any good Samaritan. He saw a situation. He helped out. He was actually right there helping, pulling out the two kids and their family from an overturned SUV that was smoking, maybe on fire.

And he actually was leaving the scene when law enforcement came up, fire department came up, recognized who he was, and just talked to him for a few minutes.

The frustration I have is the family who really wanted to thank George for doing what he did publicly, in talking to other people, family members and friends realized that, in any way connecting yourself with George Zimmerman is right now very toxic. So they wanted to thank him publicly. They thought that they could not for the possibility of blowback against them.

BLITZER: You know out there in the social media world, out there on Twitter, a lot of people are saying, well, maybe there was no such accident to begin with; this was all made up. And I know you want to respond to that.

O'MARA: Absolutely. Law enforcement was the first people on scene, and they noticed George Zimmerman. And there was a report documenting that he was there.

The public information officer of the Seminole County Sheriff's Office put out two press releases, both documenting that George Zimmerman was there. And the fire department identified and recognized him, as did the family members, who identified him, as did an African-American male who also stopped and recognized George and said he's praying for him.

So the idea that this was made up is just -- the same people who refuse to accept the jury's verdict just want to be angry, just want to hate George Zimmerman, are still going to. Even if we had a videotape of the accident, they would still say it was made up. So we can't really respond to people who just don't want to listen to the truth.

BLITZER: How concerned is George Zimmerman for his own safety?

O'MARA: He's still very concerned. He had hoped that everybody who listened to that trial would -- sorry -- would listen to the trial, would listen to the evidence that was published nationwide and worldwide and would realize what happened that night and the reason why he acted the way he did, why he acted the way he did.

The frustration is, is that even though the facts came out the way they did, there is a percentage of people who simply refuse to accept it and want to maintain their anger. So he's afraid that that anger may still fall upon him, even though he was acquitted and even though he was exonerated for acting in self-defense.

BLITZER: I assume you've spoken with your client. Is he still getting threats?

O'MARA: Yes, he is. They are. And quite honestly since the verdict of acquittal, they've gotten -- there's been an upswing in them, because people are very frustrated. For some reason, as I said before, people are connecting the acquittal to a loss of civil rights. And I truly believe it's the opposite. Civil rights won in this case, because a fair trial was held, and justice was meted out appropriately. This does not affect the way racial relations should occur in this country. And my fear is that we've separated more than we've come together.

BLITZER: Are you surprised by this national reaction to the verdict?

O'MARA: I am. I really think that those people who have an open mind listened to it and understood what happened. People who have decided not to have an open mind and keep a closed mind, to act in a prejudiced way, if you will, have lost an opportunity to see what really did happen that night. Because this growth that came from out of this verdict, there's growth that can come out of the conversation we could be having, the way young black males are treated in the system, for example.

But if we polarized ourselves and everyone walked to opposite ends of the spectrum and refuse to talk, then an opportunity that this case has presented may well be lost and I'm very worried about that.

BLITZER: Has George Zimmerman -- has he expressed any concerns to you about what's been going on directly?

O'MARA: Absolutely. He also believed -- of course, he knows that he acted properly that night and in self-defense. And he was hoping that an opportunity to get this case tried before a jury, which is why we didn't go with a pretrial hearing, which may have led to a dismissal. But actually have a full trial and heard and decided upon by his jury, would actually then be believed by the nation. And he's sort of surprised and a bit chagrinned that there's more anger now, rather than more resolution and listening to a fair verdict.

BLITZER: We know he has a license to carry a concealed weapon. Is he still carrying a concealed weapon?

O'MARA: I think it's more important now than before February 26 of 2012 that he have an ability to protect himself because of the extraordinary amount of anger that's out there, so, yes, he's protecting himself.

BLITZER: Did the authorities give him back the actual gun that he used to shoot Trayvon Martin?

O'MARA: No. That gun will never be used by anyone again. That needs to be destroyed and just be done with. Right now, it's in the hands of the Department of Justice. They're doing, I guess, a second investigation concerning civil rights violations. They completed one last year and didn't find anything.

But, no, that gun will never be used again by Mr. Zimmerman or anybody else.

BLITZER: What's next for George Zimmerman? Is he going to stay in Florida, stay in that area? Is he going to move someplace else, try to change his identity? What's next?

O'MARA: Well, unfortunately, he'll still have to live in hiding, because there is such animosity against him still. I don't think he can walk down the streets safe ever again. Not in the next few years.

Unfortunately, like you say, a new identity, changing his view, changing his looks, moving somewhere where he's not known as well. It's a shame that, in a country that prides ourselves on our criminal justice system and how fair we treat criminal defendants and a jury system that works, that he has to walk in hiding, but that seems to be the way it is.

BLITZER: Mark O'Mara is the attorney for George Zimmerman. Mark, thanks very much for joining us.

O'MARA: Thanks, Wolf. Great to talk to you.

BLITZER: Up next: why Virginia's governor is now apologizing for embarrassing his state.

And President Obama delays military aid to Egypt. I'll speak about it. I have an exclusive interview with Egypt's new foreign minister. Stand by.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

BLITZER: The governor of Virginia is apologizing for embarrassing his state by accepting controversial gifts and money from a wealthy political donor.

Republican Bob McDonnell announced he's paying back more than $120,000 in loans from the donor. McDonnell now under scrutiny and the subject of state and federal investigations. He denies he broke any laws.

Our chief national correspondent, John King, is over at the Magic Wall. He's got more on what's going on. What is going on?

JOHN KING, CNN CHIEF NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Well, Wolf, let's break down what the governor calls an embarrassment, what others call a scandal. This is Bob McDonnell's last year as governor of Virginia. He was once considered a rising star, a potential national figure.

But let's look now what he's dealing with. About $275,000 in gifts, loans, and political contributions from a businessman named Johnny Williams. He owns a medical -- a diet supplement company called Star Scientific.

Now the governor, as you noted, announced he's paying back $120,000 in loans. But here's why this seems so unseemly. When you take a closer look at all of this, about $108,000 in travel by the governor's political committees, his campaign organizations, money from Johnny Williams to pay for that travel. A hundred and twenty thousand dollars in loans to McDonnell and his family, and $46,500 in personal travel and personal gifts, again, to the chief executive of the state and his family. Let's break it down. About 40 percent of that money went into the campaign organization, political. A lot of that was the travel money. But 9 percent went to the governor's daughters. Johnny Williams gave $10,000 engagement gift to one McDonnell daughter, a $15,000 catering present to another one of the daughters. So that's an embarrassment for the family.

About a quarter of the money went to Maureen McDonnell, the governor's wife. But look at this: A $15,000 loan, again, since repaid. She said she liked his watch, a Rolex, and the businessman went and bought one for her that she gave to her husband, more than $6,000 for that. And a $15,000 high-end New York shopping trip that again, this contributor, this donor, this friend of the governor gave to the governor's wife. That's been quite controversial.

And another 25,000 -- 25 percent of that money, excuse me, went to a real-estate business the governor partly owns.

So again, the governor insists he broke no laws. He insists, even though this is unseemly, that it embarrasses the state, that it's in full compliance with financial disclosure laws in the state of Virginia. But certainly, it has overshadowed his last year in office and ended any talk of Bob McDonnell as a future national Republican player.

BLITZER: Very embarrassing indeed. All right, John. Thank you.

Let's bring in our political reporter, Peter Hamby. He's been reporting extensively on the story.

Explain why this has become all of a sudden such a big deal.

PETER HAMBY, CNN POLITICAL CORRESPONDENT: Well, first of all, Wolf, this is a state, Virginia, with no history of high-level ethical misdeeds. This is a polite state politically, a genteel state. This is Mr. Jefferson's commonwealth. You just don't see this happen in Virginia.

But secondly, for close watchers in politics, the fall from grace aspects of this is really startling for people like us because this guy, as John said, was viewed as a rising star. He was never vetted for vice president, but people thought he could play a high role in a future administration, perhaps. Squeaky clean, married to a former Redskins cheerleader, and a canny politician.

But secondly and importantly, there's a governor's race in Virginia this year. It's the only competitive race in the country between Republican Ken Cuccinelli and Democrat Terry McAuliffe. Ken Cuccinelli, the Republican, has ties to the same donor. He's not being accused of the same level of wrongdoing, but it takes ethics off the table for him in this race, Wolf. So that's an important aspect, too.

BLITZER: We're watching closely. Peter, thanks very much.

Up next, a delivery of U.S. fighter jets to Egypt now on hold. The president making that decision. I'll speak exclusively with Egypt's new foreign minister in Cairo.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

BLITZER: A very significant development. President Obama is delaying delivery of four F-16 fighter jets to Egypt. The decision comes amid the deadly upheaval following the military ouster of the president, Mohamed Morsy.

The planes are part of a $1.3 billion U.S. arms sales package to Egypt. I spoke about that and more in an exclusive interview with the new Egyptian foreign minister.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

BLITZER (voice-over): Nabil Fahmy spent years in Washington as Egypt's ambassador and has spoken with Secretary of State John Kerry on the phone in recent days. He knows U.S. financial assistance to Egypt is on the line.

(on camera): Have you received a commitment from Kerry and from the Obama administration that the United States will continue to provide Egypt with roughly $1.3 billion a year in military aid and another 200 million or so in economic aid?

NABIL FAHMY, EGYPTIAN FOREIGN MINISTER: We haven't actually discussed that in that fashion. We discussed relations as a whole and the effect of what's happening in Egypt on the region.

BLITZER: Has the Obama administration attached any conditions to continuing this financial assistance?

FAHMY: As I said, we did not discuss the assistance in that form. I think it's being addressed on Congress at this point in time.

BLITZER (voice-over): Fahmy knows there's a serious strain in U.S./Egyptian relations but is working to try to fix that.

FAHMY: We intend to do our best to achieve a democratic system because that serves Egypt, most of all, and it pleases others and is something that is fine and that we are happy to do. We are doing this because Egypt needs a democratic system, an inclusive one, a transparent one, an accountable one. And that's our goal over the next nine months.

BLITZER (on camera): You say nine months. Is that when you hope that new elections will take place?

FAHMY: No. The road map laid out by the political forces after the 30th of June indicated that we will start revising the constitution and adopt one within four months. And we actually started last week with the first committee.

Within weeks after that we will have the parliamentary elections, and once we finish that, we will call for elections for president. The whole process should not extend beyond nine months.

BLITZER (voice-over): I asked him about the fate of the ousted Egyptian president, Mohamed Morsi.

FAHMY: He's in a secure facility. I don't know exactly the venue, but it is a secure facility and he is being treated respectfully.

BLITZER (on camera): Is he under arrest?

FAHMY: No. As far as I understand as of the interview, no formal criminal charges have been made against him.

BLITZER: His children say they have not heard from him, they don't know where he is, and they're worried about him. What is your message to his supporters, his family and others who may be worried about Mohamed Morsi? Say what you will about him, he was a democratically- elected president of the Egypt.

FAHMY: He was elected democratically, though he did not govern democratically.

BLITZER (voice-over): The new government is moving away from several major policies of the former Muslim Brotherhood-led government. Unlike Morsi and the Obama administration, the new government no longer demands that Syrian president Bashar al-Assad step down.

(on camera): Is your policy, the same policy of the Obama administration, that Bashar al-Assad must go?

FAHMY: The Syrians have to reach a compromise, and ultimately, that obviously will require a new system. Who stays, who goes is up to the Syrians.

BLITZER (voice-over): Fahmy says Egypt will continue to honor its 1979 peace treaty with Israel.

FAHMY: Any question of treating any way at all since the revolution. So the answer is obviously yes.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

BLITZER: And don't know yet when he will start meeting, though, with the Israelis. My exclusive interview with Mohamed -- with Nabil Fahmy, I should say.

Still ahead, Jeanne Moos.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

BLITZER: So for comedians it's the story that keeps on giving. Here's CNN's Jeanne Moos.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

JEANNE MOOS, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): The press is on Weiner watch.

ANTHONY WEINER, NEW YORK CITY MAYORAL CANDIDATE: I've said to you and others... MOOS: Grilling Weiner even in the middle of the street. The only ones enjoying this more than the media? The comedians.

JAY LENO, HOST, NBC'S "THE TONIGHT SHOW": Anthony Weiner, the peter tweeter, is at it again.

MOOS: The latest sexting was revealed by...

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: The gossip Web site called The Dirty.

RACHEL MADDOW, MSNBC ANCHOR: The Dirty.

MOOS (on camera): Now, Weiner's most damaging online chats are way too steamy for us to repeat.

(voice-over) But some of the tamer exchanges had commentators in stitches at the Blaze TV as they performed a dramatic reading with Will Cane as Weiner.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: You are a walking fantasy.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I don't want to be a fantasy. I want to take care of your every need.

MOOS: The man running for New York city mayor inspired glee with a screen name he allegedly used for sexting.

DAVID LETTERMAN, HOST, CBS'S "LATE SHOW WITH DAVID LETTERMAN": The mayor (ph) is Carlos Danger.

LENO: This is Weiner's way of getting more Latino support.

MOOS: Letterman did the "Top Ten Other Anthony Weiner Pseudonyms."

LETTERMAN: Carlos Dangler, The Notorious Not-So-B.I.G., and Mahmoud Ahmadinejunk. There you go.

MOOS: A blog called Animal New York created a Carlos Danger for Mayor commercial, featuring one of the latest photos purporting to show Weiner in all of his glory.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I'm Carlos Danger, and I approve this message.

MOOS (on camera): And then there was the mystery man who kept popping up at Weiner's press conference.

WEINER: What happened today.

MOOS: He quickly became known as "the cubicle guy." Politico put Cubicle Guy's prairie dog popups to music. Some compared him to Wilson the fence peeper from "Home Improvement." To others Cubicle guy brought back memories of the "Kilroy was here" doodle.

Turns out Cubicle Guy was Jeff McKinney, a WOR Radio reporter who told WCCO...

JEFF MCKINNEY, WOR RADIO REPORTER (via phone): Cubicle Guy had no idea that he was Cubicle Guy.

MOOS: He said he had nowhere else to stand. As one online poster put it, "He works in radio. He forgets that people can see him."

Anthony Weiner's alleged alias, Carlos Danger, has itself popped up on this "Danger: Carlos is Around" T-shirt.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: You are a walking fantasy.

MOOS: Just don't fantasize while walking, a word of caution...

WEINER: Careful, guys.

MOOS: ... by Carlos Danger.

Jeanne Moos, CNN, New York.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

BLITZER: Got to love Jeanne Moos. She always does those excellent reports.

Remember: you can always follow us, what's going on behind the scenes here in THE SITUATION ROOM on Twitter. Go ahead and tweet me, @WolfBlitzer. You can tweet the show, @CNNSitRoom.

Tomorrow a very, very special interview here in THE SITUATION ROOM: the former commander of U.S. military's Central Command, retired U.S. Marine Corps General James Mattis. We had an exchange, a very lengthy exchange. You're going to want to see this tomorrow on THE SITUATION ROOM. I'll be back in an hour, filling in for Anderson Cooper on "AC 360."

"ERIN BURNETT OUTFRONT" starts now.