KYRA PHILLIPS, CNN ANCHOR: And this news just in to</s>CNN: The speaker of the House has issued a statement coming out and condemning the federal activity and the seizure of Elian Gonzalez out of his Miami relatives' home. He's asking the Judiciary chair, Henry Hyde, to hold hearings. We're going to bring our CNN political analyst back in. And, Bill Schneider, give us some feedback on this. What's your take?</s>WILLIAM SCHNEIDER, CNN SENIOR POLITICAL ANALYST: My feeling is that the Congress had better handle this issue very carefully. I think it's entirely justifiable for Americans to hear a more complete explanation from the attorney general about how this raid was handled and also how the issue was handled from the outset: Why did it take so long? Does it set any precedents? What about the issue of law about a child trying to claim political asylum? What are the -- what have we learned from this case so that we can handle cases like this more sensitively in the future? That is all very useful and very valuable. But if Congress appears to be holding a witch hunt in order to score political points against President Clinton and the attorney general, then it could backfire very quickly.</s>PHILLIPS: So you feel some type of press conference needs to be held coming out with more details...</s>SCHNEIDER: Yes.</s>PHILLIPS: ... about the raid and everything involved.</s>SCHNEIDER: There were complicated issues of law, issues of law- enforcement practice in this case, issues about how we handle immigrants and children. There are many very complicated things here that do need explaining, particularly because Americans want to know, why did it happen this way, and will cases like this be handled this way in the future? Information is needed, explanations are needed, but victimization, but attacks and political points, that's what's not needed.</s>PHILLIPS: OK, CNN senior political analyst Bill Schneider, thank you for the insight on that new information. TO ORDER A VIDEO OF THIS TRANSCRIPT, PLEASE CALL 800-CNN-NEWS OR USE OUR SECURE ONLINE ORDER FORM LOCATED AT www.fdch.com
Congressional Hearings on Government Seizure of Elian Gonzalez Could 'Backfire' If Not Handled Carefully