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CNN Live Today

FBI to Face Congressional Questions on Phoenix Memo

Aired May 21, 2002 - 12:01   ET

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

THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
BILL HEMMER, CNN ANCHOR: First, though, this hour, we're going to start in Washington. The FBI focusing on damage control as one of its own prepares to answer tough questions on Capitol Hill today, related to the now-famous -- or infamous Phoenix memo.

To the White House and Kelly Wallace tracking this for us -- Kelly, Good afternoon. Here we go.

KELLY WALLACE, CNN WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT: Good afternoon to you, Bill.

Well the latest development is we have learned that FBI Director Robert Mueller and Attorney General John Ashcroft were both made aware of the general suspicions being raised by this FBI agent out of Phoenix in the days after the September 11th attacks. As our viewers know, this agent concerned that some Middle Eastern men could be taking flight classes in the United States and could be linked to Osama bin Laden.

So a question being raised today: Why wasn't that information communicated to the White House? The White House saying it's only been made aware of this so-called Phoenix memo until very recently. Well to answer that, a spokesperson for the Justice Department is saying that the attorney general was really only briefed on the content and the specifics of that memo just a month ago.

And, Bill, I can tell you that officials over at Justice and even advisers to President Bush are really downplaying the significance here, because they are saying that immediately after the September 11th attacks there was a focus on flight schools in the United States. That if it became very apparent that individuals were flying planes and then crashing them into buildings, as we all saw.

And so there was a lot of attention on flight schools in the United States and whether any other potential terrorists could have received training at those schools. And officials here, Bill, are also saying the focus should be on how that memo was handled prior to September 11th and what more could be done to help this administration connect the information flow to prevent a future terrorist attack. And on that front, we have some lawmakers, including House Democratic Leader Richard Gephardt, calling for a independent commission, an outside review panel to look into what information the administration had and how it handled it. The House democratic leader saying that the developments coming out today on how the FBI and the attorney general knew at least generally about these suspicions in the days after the attacks, but did not communicate that to the White House, he is saying that this development makes it all the more reason to have an independent review panel.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

REP. RICHARD GEPHARDT (D), MINORITY LEADER: I don't know the answer right now, frankly. And I didn't on Sunday, as to exactly what information should be given to the Congress and what should not. That is the reason for this suggestion today and that's the reason I think we need a commission, in addition to the work that's going on in the intelligence committees, to get answers to these questions as quickly as possible. I think that we need to move on both of these fronts. I think that information that was available needs to be put out.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

WALLACE: Now the administration, for its part, is really resisting any independent commission. It believes this investigation should be handled behind closed doors by the House and Senate Intelligence Committees. That is a message, Bill, Attorney General John Ashcroft will be conveying. He is going to be up on the Hill meeting with the intelligence committees, looking into again what the administration knew before September 11th and how it handled that information -- Bill.

HEMMER: Thank you, Kelly. Kelly Wallace at the White House.

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