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Hearings on Capitol Hill Looking at U.S. Intelligence Situation

Aired June 04, 2002 - 10:36   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.
DARYN KAGAN, CNN ANCHOR: For more on the hearings that we've been talking about, these hearings taking place on Capitol Hill, looking at the U.S. intelligence situation, we're joined now by our senior political analyst Bill Schneider. He's with us today from one of his home bases there in Washington D.C.

Bill, good morning.

WILLIAM SCHNEIDER, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Good morning, Daryn.

KAGAN: Probably a lot of Americans interested in the fact that these hearings will take place today. But you know, what good is it because it will take be place behind closed door?

SCHNEIDER: That's a lot of feeling, that we don't know exactly what they are going to uncover. They've only been investigating for a few months, which is a very short time in Washington time, and in fact, the staff director of the committee just took her job a few days ago. So there's a big question, what's going to be found out in all of this?

KAGAN: Kate Snow was telling us earlier that they have the funding to hold these hearing, and this investigation to go on for months and months.

SCHNEIDER: It's very likely to. For the moment, these are closed hearings. Most of the interesting action for our viewers and to the public is going to be the Senate judiciary committee hearings on Thursday, which are going to have public hearings, including the FBI director Mueller, and a very important figure Colleen Rowley, who wrote a 13-page letter complaining about the FBI's, in her view, mishandling of the investigation of Zacharias Moussaoui, the man who was arrested in Minnesota, and who is believed to be -- who is the only one charged with involvement in the 9/11 terrorist attacks. He's believed to be the 20th hijacker.

KAGAN: Yes, this agent, this woman has become a fascinating character as this has unfolded, painted as just a very faithful servant of the FBI, a long-time agent, and just finally felt that she has had to speak up, and has asked whistle-blower protection, is afraid that there will be some repercussions for her speaking out.

SCHNEIDER: That's right, and various senators have said they are going to give her protection. Whistle-blowers often don't fare well in the government bureaucracy structure in Washington. The FBI director at first said, she won't be fired.

KAGAN: Well, that's good news, if you are paying the mortgage, you know.

SCHNEIDER: Yes, she won't be fired, but will she be penalized in some other way? As I say, whistle-blowers don't do well in Washington. She's likely to come out of this something of a star. We'll see how she does in her testimony. But there are going to be a lot of people watching her. She's been a very forthright critic of the FBI, it's culture, it's mishandling of the Maoussaoui investigation. Why did FBI headquarters in Washington not give them permission to look into laptop computer, his use of Internet. Why did it hinder that investigation, which may have led them -- allowed them to put the dots together, connect the dots, as they say, to look more carefully at the what was to become the terrorist attack.

KAGAN: Hey, Bill, one more question about these closed-door hearings that take place today, being run by two interesting guys out of Florida, Bob Grant and Porter Goss. They come from different sides of the aisle, but they are friends, and they work well together. And because of that, there are those outside of their click in their community that think that maybe these are not the two people who should be leading this look into the intelligence community. Maybe they are too close, and won't be critical enough of what they are going to see.

SCHNEIDER: That's what we are hearing. Porter Goss himself is a former CIA operative. He worked for the CIA for a period of time. He's the House Republican who is co-chairing this joint investigation committee, very close to George Tenet, prevailed on President Bush to keep George Tenet on as director of the CIA. Tenet was originally appointed by Bill Clinton. And there is some feeling, particularly among Democrats, because they may be too close to the intelligence community. Why are they having these closed-door hearings?

Well, there is one voice there that has been very outspoken and forthright in it's criticism of the failures, the obvious and shocking failures in the intelligence community. And that's been the ranking minority member on the Senate Intelligence Committee, Richard Shelby. I think he's the one who can keep their feet to the fire inside that committee room and demand that they find out exactly what happened and not try` tow protect anybody.

KAGAN: Well, we'll be left behind closed doors, but it will be interesting to see what leaks out from those hearings.

Bill Schneider in Washington, thanks for your insight. Always appreciate it.

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