Return to Transcripts main page

CNN Live Today

White House Up in Arms Over Intercepted Communications That Made Way Into Media

Aired June 21, 2002 - 13:05   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.
FREDRICKA WHITFIELD, CNN ANCHOR; The White House is still up in arms over those intercepted communications from last September 10th that made their way into the media, first broken here on CNN this week.

CNN's John King joins us now with the fallout from the White House. Hi there, John.

JOHN KING, CNN WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT: Hello, to you, Fredricka. Of course, we have known for weeks that these conversations were intercepted, warning of a potential attack on September 11th. But as CNN, as you noted first reported earlier this week, we have now reported the specific words used by the alleged terrorist warning of that attack, and that is what has the president white hot we are told.

Why is that? The White House says that if the terrorist see that they themselves, that their particular quotes, what they said in the conversations, are in the hands of U.S. intelligence officials were intercepted they will stop using the telephone or whatever mode of communication they were using when they made that conversation.

The White House says an example, a few years ago it leaked out that U.S. intelligence sources had picked up the signal of Osama bin Laden's satellite phone. Once those stories were carried in the news media, the White House says, Osama bin Laden never used that phone again.

So the president says these leaks are undermining national security, could prevent the government from detecting future plots. He had the vice president call Capitol Hill and complain to the two chairman of the intelligence committees on Capitol Hill. Those chairman later said they want the FBI and the Justice Department to help investigate. The Justice Department will do that. It is rare for the leakers to get caught in Washington, but if person who leaked this information, highly classified information, is caught, they could face federal charges -- Fredricka.

WHITFIELD: John, the White Houses has admonished those on the Hill that are responsible for some leaks, but oftentimes, a lot of this information is also coming from other intelligence officials. So what power can the White House really have in keeping these leaks from taking place? KING: In this case, the public line from the White House is that they are not trying to accuse the committees. They just suspect the committees, because of the attributes in the reporting. But the White House has in the past, and we know the president has in the past, been furious with people within the administration for leaking as wall.

This president made clear to agency chiefs as recently as a week ago. He CIA and the FBI on notice. We are told there was finger pointing between the two agencies over who was to blame or more to blame for not sharing intelligence before September 11th. Mr. Bush has made clear to government department heads, that he does not tolerate leaking in this latest case. They do believe here at the White House that the leak came from somebody involved in that congressional investigation.

WHITFIELD: All right, thanks very much, John King from the White House.

TO ORDER A VIDEO OF THIS TRANSCRIPT, PLEASE CALL 800-CNN-NEWS OR USE OUR SECURE ONLINE ORDER FORM LOCATED AT www.fdch.com