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CNN Live Today

White House Concerned by Intelligence Leaks

Aired June 21, 2002 - 10:04   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.
CAROL COSTELLO, CNN ANCHOR: Security is very much on the minds of the White House today. A small plane violating restricted airspace has exposed weaknesses of present procedures, and there is deep concern over a leak of warnings received by intelligence agencies on September 10.

CNN Senior White House Correspondent John King has all the particulars for you -- good morning.

JOHN KING, CNN SENIOR WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT: Good morning to you, Carol.

When it comes to the plane incident, the White House saying the President was never in danger, but it does want to go back and look at just how the government responded.

Question number one for the government, especially the Pentagon, is why it took so long to get F-16 jets up into the air. The small plane crossed into Washington airspace the other night, crossed into restricted Washington airspace, and the White House was put on alert because the FAA could not establish any radio communication with the pilot. Jets were scrambled, but it was not until after the plane had passed out of the restricted airspace over Washington that they were able to intercept that jet. It later landed in Richmond, Virginia.

Everyone now believes it was an accident. No charges planned against the pilot, but the Pentagon studying the response time of the military jets. Some questions asked here at the White House about security here. The West Wing was evacuated, the White House grounds were evacuated. But the president and the first lady in the White House residence were not even told until the following morning.

The White House says there's nothing inappropriate there. Ari Fleischer, the press secretary, telling reporters yesterday, the threat never rose to the level at which the president or the first lady needed to be alerted or taken to safety.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

ARI FLEISCHER, WHITE HOUSE PRESS SECRETARY: Suffice it to say there are multiple levels of protection for the President that are somewhat redundant, that are overlapping. And I'm not going to be able to discuss each and every one of those. But, again, the Secret Service is extraordinarily good at what they do. The President has full confidence in them. And they think last night's events bore that out.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

KING: Now, we are told the White House is going back to look at all this. The Secret Service will go back and look at all this, but they do believe the Service acted appropriately here on the White House grounds. They say the President's personal detail was put on alert. The President was not told, but his detail was put on alert, and there is a bunker here at the White House that the president and the first lady could have been taken to. They say, though, the plane was never a direct threat on the White House. So, they didn't think that was necessary -- Carol.

COSTELLO: Let's talk about the intelligence -- intelligence leaks. How concerned is the White House about them? And how extensive is their investigation into them?

KING: Well, the President, we are told was furious when he heard the direct quotes from telephone conversations intercepted by the National Security Agency on September 10, released to the public through sources. The White House believes those sources come from Capitol Hill, congressional investigators continuing.

What the White House says is that that could directly expose U.S. intelligence sources, because when the direct quotes from those phone conversations warning of a potential attack on the United States are released, the person who spoke those words would know that his or her phone call was intercepted, and would know to stop using that telephone, or stop communicating through the means which they did communicate.

So the White House -- the president had the vice president call Congress, the chairmen of the Intelligence Committees to complain. Those committees now say they want an investigation, and they want the FBI's help in doing so. The Justice Department will insist in that -- will assist in that investigation, and it is possible, although it rarely happens in these cases, if the culprit is found, that culprit could face federal criminal charges.

COSTELLO: Well, wait and see what happens. John King reporting live for us from the White House this morning. Thank you.

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