he was controversial. a bit on the edge. especially when i asked him about his murder of his wife, bonny lee bakley. >> i mean, i was worth $25 million. i could have hired somebody to kill her when she was in tibet or some place. she drove all over the country. she was out selling, doing her -- i could have hired somebody to follow her for ten months and make her disappear so nobody would ever find he for christ's sake. i would go out to dinner to kill her? what the [ bleep ]'s the matter with you! >> i didn't say you killed her. >> you didn't say i didn't. you said it's all very interesting. >> well, it was all indeed very interesting. joining me now, more on our big stories. tom mesereau. robert blake's attorney till he quit citing irreconcilable differences. you watched the interview. >> i did. >> you know robert blake. you represented him. you get him out on bail. what was your reaction to the interview? >> i had many reactions. robert's been through a lot of ups and downs. the period where i knew him was a very difficult, very dark gloomy period. he spent 11 months in l.a. county jail. the worst jail in america. he always professed his innocence. from the time i first met him, till the time i last talked to him. he has always said, i'm innocent. the more i looked at the evidence, the evidence vindicated robert blake. they had a gun they could not tie to him. it was not his gun. they looked at dna. they looked at fingerprints. they found oil on the gun. they tried to trace the oil to oil under his hood in his car. they couldn't do that. then they did a search internationally to try to figure out where this gun had come from. what hands it went through. they couldn't tie it to robert. he didn't have gunshot residue on him sufficient with someone who fired a gun. they went into his house. they being the police. there are so many ways he was mistreated. i don't blame him for being very, very upset with the whole thing. >> did you believe him? >> absolutely i believed him. it wasn't just robert saying he was innocent. look at the evidence. the witnesses against him were laughable. they told inconsistent stories. they had questionable motives. the police went to the crime scene. one of the first calls they made was to bring a book author to chronicle the whole thing. the next day they searched his house. they brought the book author with him. they couldn't trace any bullets to robert blake. i don't blame him for being upset. >> given the extraordinary background of his wife, bonny, he was her tenth husband. she had this extraordinary con artist background. clearly mixed with very undesirable types. what did you think, by the end, was the most likely story for how she died? >> i think she burned men all across america. not just burned men, burned their families. she was a national con artist. she went state to state. befriended elderly men. she had them put her on their will. she burned a million people. i mean, it was almost scandalous. and i am absolutely convinced that somebody or their family, whom she burned, went after her and shot her. >> i thought it was interesting he said very clearly, look, once i got together with her, once i married her, people began to know where we were living. i was a famous actor. it wasn't hard to find out where we were. we were eating locally. it was quite compelling, that part of it. amid all the crazy aspect of what he was saying. underneath it all, i kept asking myself, if he's an innocent man, if he didn't do this, if he didn't kill his wife, he's been the subject of a grotesque miscarriage of justice. >> he was vindicated by a jury in a criminal case. found liable in a civil case. i don't know what happened in that courtroom. i wasn't there. it hurt his reputation. >> let's watch another clip from last night. him talking about the police. >> about those rotten bastard cops that ripped my guts out and left me beside the road to die. i get to those son of [ bleep ] later but don't think you're going to get off the hook. i didn't die. you didn't get your book deals, your mothers. i wrote a book about you. so you'll have to go out and rip some other celebrity till he's dead, then write a book about him. i'm sorry. i'm back. >> do you think the police behaved inappropriately? >> yes, i do. i think they investigated the case for a long period of time. they claim that they pursue this investigation for over a year because they had rushed to judgment against o.j. simpson. they claim they had all their ducks in a row. they claim they had an ironclad case. they were leaking stories to the media because i would look at police reports and look at the way phrases were done in the police reports. i'd see the exact same phrase in "the national enquirer." clearly, they were building up for a high-profile case. i don't blame robert blake for being mad as hell at these people for what they did to him. >> he was particularly exercised >> well, i'll tell you. i think i was born -- the truth is, i think i'm sort of a mutation or sub species. i think if i was born 10,000 years a i would have taken two three people, gone off, start another tribe. >> amazing reaction to this interview. i couldn't think of a better person to talk to about it. a lot of people said to me he's obviously crazy. others saying maybe he was acting. others saying, if he didn't do it, you can understand why he's like he is. lots of different opinions here about this. when you dealt with him, did you question his sanity at all? >> no, i didn't. i mean, he was troubled. he was hurt. he'd been through 11 months in los angeles county jail. much of it in isolation. terrible food. terrible conditions. you can't sleep. you can't get the medication you need. he was at an advanced age. he was wrongfully accused. i never questioned his insanity. robert is complex. he's intelligent. he's emotional. he's interesting. he's different. >> was he acting at all last night? some people said to me, look, don't let him pull the wool over your eyes. he's a great actor. to try to put himself back into the public domain. >> i don't think he was acting. i think he was being himself. people are always going to attribute, you know, suspicious motives, questionable, you know, characteristics, to people like robert blake who have been charged with serious crimes. he even said at one point he may have overreacted to some of your questions. >> i ended up the interview -- i wouldn't say feeling sorry for him but certainly feel ago lot of empathy for him. he had an awful childhood. awful upbringing. i kept in the back of my mind thinking, if he's innocent, as a court of law found him to never mind the civil case, which are always fraught with other complications. he was feeling suicidal at the time that happened and so on. if he's an innocent man this is one of the most outrageous things that have happened to a famous person in this town. >> he gets arrested. he gets thrown in jail for 11 months. then he waits for a year and a half, two years, for a criminal trial. no sooner does he win that, he has to go into a civil trial. so this is a horrible, horrible experience. as i said before, he was at advanced age. i'm sure it affected him terribly. it hurt his reputation. it hurt his career. he clearly wanted to act again. i don't blame him. >> how do you feel? at the made it very clear. the one thing he'd like to do is have another chance to make a movie. >> i hope he gets it. why not? clearly very gifted. part of his gifts was that he was different. maybe not always the easiest person to get along with. that's true of a lot of people. particularly successful talented people. i hope he gets the break. >> tom mesereau, thank you very much indeed. if you missed any part of my interview with robert blake, you can see the whole thing again tomorrow night at 9:00 p.m. eastern. coming up, why one prominent critic says joe paterno was to blame. the most powerful men at >>what? >>sorry. he wants you to know about priceline's new express deals. it's a faster way to get a great hotel deal without bidding. pick one with a pool, a gym, a great guest rating. >>and sa big. >>thanks negotiator. wherever you are. ya, no. he's over here. >>in the refrigerator? that's a good thing, but it doesn't cover everything. only about 80% of your part b medical expenses. the rest is up to you. so consider an aarp medicare supplement insurance plan, insured by unitedhealthcare insurance company. like all standardized medicare supplement plans, they pick up some of what medicare doesn't pay. and save you up to thousands of dollars in out-of-pocket costs. call today to request a free decision guide to help you better understand what medicare is all about. and which aarp medicare supplement plan works best for you. with these types of plans, you'll be able to visit any doctor or hospital that accepts medicare patients... plus, there are no networks, and you'll never need a referral to see a specialist. there's a range of plans to choose from, too. and they all travel with you. anywhere in the country. join the millions who have already enrolled in the only medicare supplement insurance plans endorsed by aarp, an organization serving the needs of people 50 and over for generations... and provided by unitedhealthcare insurance company, which has over 30 years of experience behind it. call today. remember, medicare supplement insurance helps cover some of what medicare doesn't pay -- expenses that could really add up. these kinds of plans could save you up to thousands in out-of-pocket costs... you'll be able choose any doctor who accepts medicare patients. and you never need referrals. so don't wait. with all the good years ahead, look for the experience and commitment to go the distance with you. call now to request your free decision guide. this easy-to-understand guide will answer some of your questions, and help you find the aarp medicare supplement plan that's right for you. the most powerful men at penn state failed to take any steps for 14 years to protect the children who sandusky victimized. mr. spanier, shultz, paterno and curley, never demonstrated, through actionor words, any concern for the safety and well-being of sandusky's victims. until after sandusky's arrest. >> former fbi director louis freeh who blasted penn state. join meg now for our other big story. two people pretty fired up. sports columnist at "daily beast." and lisa bloom, legal analyst. let me start with you, buzz. incredibly damning report by louis freeh. this line stood out for me. sobering finding is the total disregard for the safety and welfare of sandusky's child victims. it doesn't get worse than that, does it? >> no, it can't get any worse. except when i think it can't get any worse, it does get worse. complete blanket condemnation of penn state's conduct. based not on anonymous sources. based on evidence. based on e-mails. what is so hideous -- and this report reinforces it -- they did bend over backwards, mr. paterno and mr. spanier and mr. shultz and mr. curley. they bent over backwards not only to cover up the sexual abuse of jerry sandusky but to take care of jerry sandusky. to make sure he was insured for in retirement. to give him a pension payment. unprecedented in penn state history. to give him keys to all the buildings. to give him his own office. they didn't give a damn ever about any of those kids. >> in relation to joe paterno, buzz, i have always been disquieted by the kind of hero worship he's been attracting since this case first came to the public attention. clearly, he's now dead. and he can't say anything about this report. but it is so damning about joe paterno. i just think you can't call him a legend anymore. this is a man who harbored serious child abuse. he allowed a load more kids to get abused, didn't he? >> as the report says, once again, through documentation, through e-mails, he did know about the first alleged incident of sexual abuse involving jerry sandusky in 1998. he lied about that. he knew much more in terms of trying to cover it up. he lied about that. the man is not a legend. i'm sorry he's dead. in my mind, not only does he have no legacy left, he was a bad man. >> yeah, i'm afraid i agree with you. lisa, what happened to the other three senior people involved here? graham spanier, former psu president. shultz. curley. they've all been strung out by this report. they are culpable of knowing about, harboring and allowing, therefore, automatically, to continue serious child abuse. what should happen to them? >> first of all, they should be civilly liable. children were raped because of their failure to stop it. it's not a sex scandal. it's child rape. in addition, they're called criminally with failing to report child abuse and with perjury. i think that's right as well. i'd like to see child endangerment charges brought against them. this report is crystal clear that these men at the top -- by the way, all the way down to the bottom, two, including three janitors, knew that children were being raped by this man at penn state. and they willfully closed their eyes to it. i mean, can you imagine? and you read the report. i've read most of it today. all 200-plus pages. for one person to say, my god, what about the children? what about this little boy that mcqueary saw? let's find him. let's make sure he's okay. you will never find that in this entire report. not one of the 400-plus witnesses. of the 3 million pieces of evidence. alludes to any concern for these little boys. >> buzz, you've called for the team at penn state to be banned from competition. in a posthumously published op-ed piece released this week by joe paterno. he said regardless of anyone's opinion of my actions or the actions of a handful of administrative officials in this matter, the fact is nothing alleged is an indictment of football. what do you say to that? >> i think it's ridiculous. i think it's ridiculous. this was all about the culture of football at penn state and protect the culture of penn state. lisa is right. this report is crystal clear that these men at the top -- by the way, all the way down to the bottom, two, including three janitors, knew that children were being raped by this man at penn state. and they willfully closed their eyes to it. i mean, can you imagine? and you read the report. i've read most of it today. all 200-plus pages. for one person to say, my god, what about the children? what about this little boy that mcqueary saw? let's find him. let's make sure he's okay. you will never find that in this entire report. not one of the 400-plus witnesses. of the 3 million pieces of evidence. alludes to any concern for these little boys. >> buzz, you've called for the team at penn state to be banned from competition. in a posthumously published op-ed piece released this week by joe paterno. he said regardless of anyone's opinion of my actions or the actions of a handful of administrative officials in this matter, the fact is nothing alleged is an indictment of football. what do you say to that? >> i think it's ridiculous. i think it's ridiculous. this was all about the culture of football at penn state and protect the culture of penn state. lisa is right. one should be excused. the janitors i felt put it honestly when they said, yes, we should have done something. joe paterno. it was like the president of the united states. he was the god of penn state. he controlled penn state. were terrified of him. had we said anything, we would have been fired. and it was all about joe paterno. about his ego. about that football program. make no mistake. the board of trustees could have done something today despite all this empty ridiculous stupid over and over groaning rhetoric. they could have said, we on our own are banning football for a year. to start ridding our school of a football culture. they did nothing. >> yeah. utterly shameful. let's turn to the robert blake case. you covered the original trial of robert blake. >> i did. >> you've heard what his lawyer at the time said, tom. what do you think? >> i have great respect for tom mesereau. i think there's no question that the civil jury got it right when they said he was legally responsible for his wife's death. the criminal trial was largely about bashing the victim and bonny of course wasn't around to defend herself. she'd done a lot of things wrong in this life. none of that justified her being killed. the trial was filled with evidence of people who said robert blake approached them and asked them to kill his wife. it was filled with testimony from her sister for example, that said, if anything happened to me, robert blake did it. the criminal jury said they didn't see it beyond a reasonable doubt. the civil jury said yes, beyond a preponderance of evidence. you could see his anger, by the way, with you, piers. how easily he was triggered to anger. i mean, imagine how he was with the woman that he didn't love. >> i agree, he w unbelievably defensive. he was putting words into my mouth. clearly, that's what's been going through his mind. the only question is, is it going through his mind because he's guilty or innocent. lisa bloom, thank you. thank you, buzz, as well. much appreciated. very sad day at penn state and everyone connected with it. you'd be targeting stocks to trade. well, that's what trade architect's heat maps do. they make you a trading assassin. trade architect. td ameritrade's empowering web-based trading platform. trade commission-free for 60 days, and we'll throw in up to $600 when you open an account. and now those network newscasts anchored through history by honest to god newsman with names like murrow and brinkley and cronkite and rather and russert. now they have to compete with the likes of me. a cable anchor who's in the exact same business as the producers of "jersey shore." >> jeff daniels. hbo's "newsroom." with me tonight is the real thing. dan rather, one of the most famous tv anchorman in history. also with access tv's "dan rather reports." congratulations. two emmy nominations for "dan rather reports." >> thank you, it's always an honor to be nominated for an emmy. >> the news of the day before we get to "newsroom." that is this penn state report. it really is deeply scandalous, isn't it? what do you make of it all, now that we know the lurid detail? >> well, it's heartbreaking to say the least. and outrageous. someone said on your program i think earlier this evening, it doesn't state it in full just to call it a scandal. this was a case of child rape and child molestation. you know, i have such respect for penn state. i worry about the students there. but we have to have our focus on the children. that's what was missing. nobody at the top, and for that matter, practically nobody at the bottom, chose any indication in the documentation that's out now of caring about the children. they have to be the focus. the victims are the people who have to be the focus. it's heartrending and extreme. this report today was sulfurous. let's use the word, those who have been lying about what happened, what really happened there. >> yeah, i completely agree. really quite disgraceful. you get a name check at the top there from will mcelvoi, this tv anchorman. you i think are in the "loving it" camp. >> absolutely, "the newsroom," which is on hbo, is terrific. for a lot of reasons. for those who haven't watched it, it's a story of the battle for the soul of a big-time big network anchorman, the soul of his newscast, and on a broader scale, the soul of news itself. it is marvelously well acted. i think what happened in the reviews -- the very first segment, first episode, there's now been three episodes, including the one last sunday, got off to a somewhat preachy start. i didn't find it that way but i can fully understand why some people did. this is so well acted. piers, you know how hard it is