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Curated research library of TV news clips regarding the NSA, its oversight and privacy issues, 2009-2014

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Primary curation & research: Robin Chin, Internet Archive TV News Researcher; using Internet Archive TV News service.

Speakers

Chuck Todd
NBC News Chief White House Correspondent
MSNBCW 09/24/2013
This NSA issue has really been a complicated mess politically, not just for the president domestically and we've seen it, frankly for both parties the establishment has been beaten up by its populist wings but around the world, diplomatically this has complicated things. Chuck Todd, thank you so much.
Chuck Todd
NBC News Chief White House Correspondent
MSNBCW 08/01/2014
Todd: At least two democratic Senators, Mark Udall and Mark Heinrich are calling for the resignation of John Brennan. This is after the CIA inspector general found that agency officials improperly found their way into the senate computers during an investigation into the agency's interrogation techniques post-9/11.
John Brennan
Director of the CIA
MSNBCW 08/01/2014
Todd: According to unclassified summaries of the report that's going to come out next week, five agency employees, including two attorneys, improperly accessed or caused access to computers of the majority of the senate select committee on intelligence in March. Of course CIA Director John Brennan had vehemently denied that charge when it was first made a few months ago. Brennan: The facts will come out, but let me assure you that CIA in no way was spying on the SSCI or the Senate. Todd: Well, that was March. Now the CIA admits, yes, it was spying on the senate. And in a statement, quote, “The Director subsequently informed the SSCI Chairman and the Vice Chairman of the findings and apologized to them of such actions by CIA officers as described in the OIG report. But senators on both sides of the aisle on Thursday expressed outrage with the agency, calling on CIA leadership to repair trust with Congress, including Oregon democratic Senator Ron Wyden who demanded an apology from the CIA Director himself.
Ron Wyden
U.S. Senator (D-Oregon), Member of Select Committee on Intelligence
MSNBCW 12/14/2014
Todd: Do you think there should be criminal prosecutions? Wyden: The justice department has been clear with respect to that that there are not going to be. I hope they'll review the new facts. But Todd: You want them to change their mind? Wyden: I want them to review the new facts. But what I'm especially troubled by is John Brennan, on Thursday, really opened the door to the possibility of torture being used again. And that's why it's so important that our report come out. And what I intend to do with my colleagues right when we come back is I intend to introduce legislation to make it clear, for example, that if torture is used in the future, there would be a basis to prosecute.
Ron Wyden
U.S. Senator (D-Oregon), Member of Select Committee on Intelligence
MSNBCW 12/14/2014
Wyden: Director Brennan particularly on Thursday said some important things and also left out some things that were important. For example, he indicated that he would no longer be using the terms with respect to torture that the information would be otherwise unavailable. That's a real vindication of the committee because we showed that we were able to find Bin Laden, find KSM without torture. So that was good. What I was troubled also about was that he undercut the Panetta review. The Panetta review really agreed with what the committee found. Todd: But I go back, Director Brennan, you're comfortable with him running the CIA? Wyden: Not at this point. Todd: You think the president should fire him? Wyden: I want to give him the chance to end this culture of denial, to deal with the misrepresentations, if he doesn't do that, we're going to have to get somebody who will.
Dick Cheney
Former Vice President
MSNBCW 12/14/2014
Cheney: We were very careful to stop short of torture. The senate has seen fit to label the report torture, but we worked hard to stay short of that definition. Todd: What is that definition? Cheney: The definition is the one that was provided by the office of legal counsel. We went specifically to them because we did not want to cross that line into where we were violating some international agreement that we had signed up to. They specifically authorized and okayed, for example, exactly what we did. All of the techniques that were authorized by the President were, in effect, blessed by the Justice Department opinion that we could go forward with those without, in fact, committing torture.
Dick Cheney
Former Vice President
MSNBCW 12/14/2014
Todd: (Majid Khan) was subjected to involuntary rectal feeding and hydration. It included two bottles of Ensure. Later in the day his lunch tray consisting of hummus, pasta with sauce, nuts and raisins was pureed and rectally infused. Does that meet the definition of torture? Cheney: That does not meet the definition of what was used in the program. Todd: I understand, but does that meet the definition of torture in your mind? Cheney: In my mind, I've told you what meets the definition of torture. It's what 19 guys armed with airline tickets and box cutters did to 3,000 Americans on 9/11. What was done here apparently certainly was not one of the techniques that was approved. I believe it was done for medical reasons. Todd: Well, there is no -- the medical community has said there is no – Cheney: If you look, for example, at Jose Rodriguez's book, and he was the guy running the program, he's got a very clear description of how, in fact, the program operated. With respect to that, I think the agency has answered it in its response to the committee report.
Dick Cheney
Former Vice President
MSNBCW 12/14/2014
Todd: With Abu Zubaydah over a 20-day period, aggressive interrogation, spent a total of 266 hours, 11 days, two hours in a large coffin-size confinement box, 29 hours in a small confinement box, width of 21 inches, says depth of 2.5 feet, height of 2.5 feet. that's on page 42, is that going to meet the standard and definition of torture? Cheney: I think that was, in fact, one of the approved techniques. In terms of torture, I guess what I do, I was struck, for example, by the statements by Bud Day and Leo Thorsness and Admiral Denton, these are three folks who were captured by the North Vietnamese, held for years, subject to extreme torture and all of whom said that waterboarding was not torture. Now, you can look for various definitions. We did what was, in fact, required to make certain that going forward we were not violating the law.
Dick Cheney
Former Vice President
MSNBCW 12/14/2014
Cheney: I'm more concerned with bad guys who got out and released than I am with a few that in fact, were innocent. Todd: 25% of the detainees, though. 25% turned out not to have, turned out to be innocent. Cheney: Where are you going to draw the line, Chuck? How are you going to know? Todd: I'm asking you. You're okay with that margin for error? Cheney: I have no problem as long as we achieve our objective. And our objective is to get the guys who did 9/11 and it is to avoid another attack against the United States. I was prepared and we did, we got the authorization from the president and authorization from the justice department to go forward with the program. It worked. It worked now for 13 years. We've avoided another mass casualty attack against the United States. We did capture Bin Laden. We did capture an awful lot of the senior guys of al Qaeda who were responsible for that attack on 9/11. I'd do it again in a minute.
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