we missed out on so much. >> it's something we've all been dreaming of forever. and the sexual assault case that made headlines everywhere. and dominique strauss-khan is free. >> this case was treated as a time when it was not. >> and more of my exclusive interview with jon huntsman, the only presidential candidate that can do this. [ speaking foreign language ] >> this is "piers morgan tonight." good evening. an extraordinary day of news around the world. in this country, an earthquake stuns millions up and down the east coast. and new york cell service, airports, and train travel disrupted. on the other side of the world, libya, rebels stormed gadhafi's compound. the question remains, who will rule the new libya? and my exclusive interview with the attorneys of dominique strauss-khan. they talk about my client and his family. and how he felt about what they call a nightmare. i start with wolf blitzer, covering the earthquake and the breaking news in libya. wolf. >> today's magnitude 5.8 quake hit about 88 miles southwest of washington, near the town of mineral, virginia. the second most powerful in virginia's history. i was here in washington, d.c. when the tremors struck this afternoon. the building started shaking a bit. most of the federal government closed immediately, they closed many of the monuments right here in the nation's capital. we were evacuated from our building here in washington near capitol hill. other areas felt the quake as well. if you go beyond washington, it was felt as far north as bath, maine, and as far south as the carolinas. in new york city, there were evacuations as well. very seriously, a power plant in virginia, the north anna plant, less than 20 miles from the epicenter of the quake, shut down after the first tremors out of an abundance of caution. we're told everything is okay over there some of the monday monuments closed down. the national parks service closed down lincoln memorial, jefferson memorial, and the old post office tower, and most of the federal office buildings closed, they did reopen in the afternoon, but a lot of workers went home early. some reports that the washington monument was leaning. it was found to be structurally sound. in new york at the news conference, the prosecutor in the dominique strauss-khan news conference, watch this. he sent reporters in the press conference running. the floor started shaking. people started getting nervous and cyrus vance, the prosecutor, ended the news conference quickly. he did note he was from seattle, so very familiar with earthquakes. the earthquake, a huge story. but the other big story, around the world tonight, of course, what's going on in libya history unfolding and we have breaking news right now of a defiant moammar gadhafi, vowing death or victory. he made that statement in a radio address to the libyan people just a little while ago. i want to go to sara sidner. where are you, what's going on? >> reporter: we are in green square, that the rebels are now calling martyr square. they are here, driving around the square. it is 3:05 in the morning. they are screaming god is great. they are screaming die, die, mr. moammar gadhafi. they are screaming libya is free. what we saw about a half an hour ago, a crowd of about 200 people, blowing off every single -- anything that would basically fire. they were shooting into the air here. this square looked very differently 48 hours ago when the rebels first made it into the city. they were really in fight mode. they were looking around for snipers, now a very different scene. people just celebrating. not fighting, not thinking about fighting. literally just celebrating here in the middle of town. wolf. >> do they have any instinct or any hints at all where gadhafi may be hiding out? do they think he's still in tripoli, someplace else in libya? do they believe he may have escaped the country? >> reporter: it depends on who you ask, wolf. the general consensus, they do believe he is somewhere underground. that loud bang was one of those anti aircraft machine guns that have blasted into the air. so it's just celebratory. but if you ask different people, they will say they believe -- that they believe he is underground somewhere. i know it's -- i know it's very difficult to hear me with all of these loud booms and bangs behind us. but rest assured, it is celebratory gunfire, but we have seen people here have a general concession, they believe that there are literally tunnels underground where he has some sort of a -- i can fell the ground shaking there, is so much gunfire. unfortunately, because of our camera, i have to say this was not going on five minutes ago. they see the camera light and people go nuts. but in talking about moammar gadhafi, obviously he's still alive. people think he is still alive. people think his family and some of his close allies are with him underground. they don't believe he's out of tripoli, but they don't really know where he is. there are checkpoints all over the city. we have had to stop at about 20 checkpoints on the way in here. security very tight in the city, but, wolf, nobody really knows where he is. in hearing his address, i'll fight to the death. no one knows where he will take that fight to or if he's even capable of doing that at this point. >> sara, how do you know when it's celebratory or the real thing? i got to tell you, a lot of viewers here in the united states and around the world are very nervous when they see you standing there and they hear all of those gunshots. >> reporter: yeah, them and my mother also, who is watching cnn's coverage. we get a general sense, because we can actually hear incoming fire, and a lot of times, what you will hear is outgoing fire and then suddenly, you'll literally hear bullets flying past you, when we get in a situation like that, we get out of dodge, but we know we've been in this square for about an hour now, and this has been the scene of massive, massive blasts, but we have direct eye contact where it's coming from. but it is celebratory tonight in green square. >> sara, you've done an amazing job for us. please be careful. we'll check back with you throughout the night into tomorrow. sara sidner, reporting for us from tripoli. what a story that is. history unfolding in libya right now. piers, back to you. >> thanks, wolf. prince al-senoussi, he is a member of the royal family, and he pledges to go back to rebuild the country. a remarkable day. what are your thoughts? >> my thoughts, i'm so grateful for this day. the end of tyranny, the end of brutal dictatorship, the beginning of a new universe, a new horizon for libya. and to come together as a nation to build, to live under rule of law. >> your family exiled in 1969. do you intend to go back yourself? >> absolutely. no question. i intend to go back and join my countrymen, sisters and brothers and our children to build our country, and give it -- and give it all i've got, you know, our talent, our experience, our knowledge, to put it to use for the benefit of our country. >> and your family's ensign has been waved by the rebels. must have been a very proud moment for you all. what would you like to say to the rebels, if you got the chance? >> they are -- you are freedom fighters. you have really earned the world respect. you have -- you have shown how brave and courageous you are, and you put an end to a -- to repression, to tyranny and you have demonstrated that you can -- you can overcome all of the hurdles and obstacles ahead of us. i am looking forward to joining them to build our country. >> what would you like to see happen to gadhafi? >> i would like him really to get caught and be put on trial. because a lot of libyans who suffered under gadhafi who he has killed, maimed, brutalized, they need to have closure. the only way is that it has to be done under the rule of law. >> has this been the best day of your life? >> it's the beginning. it's a new beginning, like i am born again. i look forward to seeing my loved ones that i haven't seen over the years who have been deprived. i have not seen, and look forward to join them. and i will never let go again, ever. this freedom that we have, that we have earned it today, and i must say to the international community for believing in libya, in libyan people. >> prince al-senussi, a great day for you, your family and your country. >> thank you. i appreciate it. >> no one has been able to look away from the dramatic pictures coming out of libya, including the white house. joining me is one of the president's team. an extraordinary day. history in the making. what has been your view from the white house? >> well, piers, it's really nice to be with you. thank you for the chance to be here. we've been watching developments with great interest. we've seen frankly over the course of the last three or four days, a tense of cohesion and coordination of the libyan elements. that's a good sign for the libyan people and for u.s. national security interests, so we watched with great interest and we're also obviously very pleased to see the developments unfolding as rapidly as they are. >> and it's very exciting and everyone is feeling very positive about this, but there is no sign of moammar gadhafi. any inkling where he may be? or how they may be getting him away? >> we hear all sorts of rumors. we try to focus on facts. the facts are such we know that he is not in charge of tripoli. he does seem to be struggling to have command and control of his armed forces, so all of the indications are that as far as the facts go, that this is trending dramatically away from him, and as the president said two nights ago, the tipping point has come and the future is in the hands of libya's people. >> obviously there, are concerns about who now takes over, who exactly these rebels are. how confident is the white house in the rebels and in the future plan for libya without gadhafi? >> we've been very gratified to hear the very sound statements from the tnc's leadership, the opposition group's leadership, including from one of their ministers, jalil is his name. the kind of inclusive government going forward. the fact that they see themselves as a transitional authority, not trying to take over control of the government as gadhafi did 42 years ago, if you can imagine that. >> playing devil's advocate, gadhafi wasn't always seen as the enemy by america or the west. how confident are you guys that in the short to mid term, the stability of the region will be stabilized and not, in fact, further endangered by instability of him actually going after so long? >> i think what we've seen, his ruthless ways did not bring stability, but a great deal of instability and obviously i don't need to remind you about the fact that prior to 9/11, he was the terrorist with more blood on his hands than any other terrorist, more american blood on his hands than any other terrorist. >> final question. when osama bin laden was killed and his body was dispatched into the ocean, what is the preferred exit plan for colonel gadhafi, if you're in a position to make a choice? would you like to see him brought back to america to face a trial? or would his death be a preferred option? >> the important thing here, piers, we're not in a position to decide that that's squarely in the hands of the tnc. we're going to keep pressing them to do the right thing. coordinate, share intelligence and information as we can with them. but ultimately, this will be their decision. >> thank you very much for your time. >> good to be with you. thank you. >> when we come back, libya without gadhafi. who will rule after four decades of dictatorship? and my exclusive with the attorneys who defended dominique strauss-khan for the sexual abuse headlines that made headlines everywhere and got sensationally dropped today. discover customersl are getting five percent cashback bonus at the pump... and at many of the places their summer plans take them. it pays to switch, it pays to discover. toi switched to a complete0, multivitamin with more. only one a day women's 50+ advantage has ginkgo for memory and concentration, plus support for bone and breast health. a great addition to my routine. 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[♪...] >> male announcer: now, for a limited time, your companion flies free, plus save up to 65%. call 1-800-sandals. conditions apply. there's this gun fire is becoming completely out of control with the gunfire, because people are just going off. so much ammunition they have taken from the gadhafi regime. they feel like they can waste it now. feel like he is completely -- >> extraordinary footage there of moammar gadhafi's compound falling to libyan rebels. how will a post-gadhafi libya take shape? we are joined by a republican candidate for governor of montana and an author. this situation moving very fast by the hour, remarkable pictures there of the compound being seized. obviously, he's not there. what will happen now? what is the understand game for gadhafi personally? >> i think we talked about this yesterday. he's not the kind of guy who after 40 years will just simply hand himself over for a trial. i think that he would much rather see this go down with his so-called martyrdom than with anything else. really for the rebels themselves, they have to get a hold of gadhafi and his sons as fast as possible. until they do so, they won't be able to put down the loyalists to the regime that still have a few pockets in tripoli under their control. >> you are in touch with the gadhafi family as recently as six weeks ago. what is your view and assessment of what exactly may be happening now? >> well, what the family wanted was some type of exit strategy and they didn't have that. because the international community really said we're going to put you on trial in the hague. we've confiscated all of your resources. there really wasn't any good exit strategy. >> the son that was on television last night, saif al-islam, very bombastic, absolutely determined to see this out. his father in his last statement said we're going nowhere. do you think this is all just bluff? >> saif as you know have been living in london for many years. he came back when the problem started in libya, and he is not indicated in any way that he wants to go down with the regime. at least my experience and the information i have suggests that he wanted to make a deal that he wanted to find some way to get out of libya, where the family could be assured that it would have security, safety, and perhaps access to some of its resources. >> the obvious thing for libya now is how much faith can be put in this transitional council? because there is a lot of faith going into it. a lot of money going into it. on the plus side, a lot of people were skeptical about libyan rebels and they've done an extraordinary job. because of that, can we have more confidence that the ntc will do a good job here? >> the leadership of the ntc, of course, are primarily former gadhafi loyalists. abdul jalil. we have the leaders that have put together a pretty good plan as to how to move forward, which includes getting a constitutional assembly together as fast as possible. writing a constitution, a pointing a provisional government. they want to have full elections in 20 months. that may seem a tall order, but it's not out of the realm of the possible. it's got the money necessary to sort of get back on track. the question is, can they create an equitable distribution of that money? particularly between tripoli and benghazi this is mostly a government based in benghazi and the people in tripoli don't have the best view of people in benghazi, they think of them as country bumpkins. >> it will be fascinating to see how they square that off. thank you, both, very much. coming up next, the men who defended dominique strauss-khan. my exclusive interview with his attorneys. hey, the new guy is loaded with protein! really? 25 grams of protein. what do we have? all four of us, together? 24. he's low fat, too, and has 5 grams of sugars. i'll believe it when i--- [ both ] oooooh... what's shakin'? 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[ male announcer ] we are insurance. ♪ we are farmers ♪ bum, ba-da-bum, bum, bum, bum ♪ this was not a forcible encounter. you can engage in inappropriate behavior, perhaps, but that is much different than a crime. and in this case was treated as a crime when it was not. >> that was dominique strauss-khan's attorney, right after a new york judge sensationally dropped the case against the imf chief. strauss-khan said these past two and a half months have been a nightmare for me and my family. i want to thank all of the family and friends in france and the in the united states who have believed in my innocence. i want to welcome benjamin brafman, and cocounsel, william w. taylor. mr. brafman, i'll start with you. a great day for and you your team and mr. strauss-khan. were you confident this day would come? >> yes. i didn't think would come so quickly. i think both mr. taylor and i believed from the very beginning that dominique strauss-khan was innocent and if pushed to a trial he would be acquitted, but to have the case dismissed after indictment on motion of the district attorney's office, i don't think we expected that. but we certainly appreciate that decision and believe it was the right thing to do. >> obviously, the sexual assault charges were dropped. does your client, for example, concede that he behaved inappropriately, if not in any criminal way, but inappropriately? >> i think what we said from the beginning, there was an act in that room that was consensual, not forcible and we'll leave it at that. i don't think it's appropriate to discuss exactly what happen. and i don't think there's any point to it. >> mr. taylor, obviously a huge up roar in france when your client was pretty well humiliated. went through this infamous perp walk which happens in new york courts. dragged the off an air france flight. what is your thoughts about how the american justice system treats people before they are convicted? >> it's difficult to celebrate entirely on a day like today, when it wasn't three months ago when he was in rikers island in an orange jumpsuit. and we were at that point, persuaded that he was not guilty, we urged the d.a. not to take a heavy position on bail and not to force themselves into a rush to judgment in