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American Morning

Interview with John Ashcroft

Aired August 06, 2002 - 07:07   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: From Washington now, where the White House is responding to a string of well-publicized kidnappings. Later this morning, the president will announce plans for a September summit on missing, exploited and runaway children.

A few moments ago, I talked with the attorney general, John Ashcroft, about the plan.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

(on camera): It has been a long and tragic list already this summer: Samantha Runnion, the case of Elizabeth Smart, Danielle Van Dam. How much have these cases in a very high-profile sense influenced your decision to hold this summit?

JOHN ASHCROFT, ATTORNEY GENERAL: Well, first of all, the White House conference will be the first ever conference on missing and exploited and runaway children, and that's something for which we ought to commend the president. He has been focused on this for quite some time. His budget submission, which began last year for the next year's budget, included a substantial increase in the amount of resources for this problem.

So this is a matter that has been in the president's focus, and appropriately so, for some time now. It is a problem that's a very serious problem, although in fact the numbers have been going down in recent years in terms of missing persons generally.

HEMMER: In addition to the summit in September, though, a guidebook will be released today. I'm curious to know this: Some of these cases, front yard abductions, bedroom abductions, what can a summit or a guidebook do to help parents stop incidents like those?

ASHCROFT: Well, I think it is very important that parents do everything they can. Some things relate to the security of the home, and some things relate to your children. Having current or recent color photographs of your children, having a sample of the child's DNA, for example, so a tooth that comes from a child when they go from the baby teeth to adult teeth, that's a permanent repository of DNA for identification. Things like that can be very important.

Obviously, when you're talking about your home, it's very important that your home be secure, because your child may be at risk. HEMMER: Yes, well, listen, you are certainly giving it a lot of attention, and because of that, I'm curious to know this: What is your sense, what is your gauge from the parents across the country about the concerns they have? You mentioned the numbers are going down, but nonetheless, there have been some high-profile incidents that have taken on a lot of attention.

ASHCROFT: Well, the high-profile and the participation of the news industry, and this is a very constructive thing, because when parents know that there are problems, they can do things to address them.

And the two young women who were abducted in Lancaster, California, a program called the Amber program, which is something that's being undertaken in 14 different states and something we encourage here at the federal level, which is a team effort between media and law enforcement and the citizens, puts out information quickly, helps the citizenry be part of an alert system that can identify and perhaps bring children home unharmed who might otherwise be harmed. That certainly seemed to be the case in California.

So the fact that there is publicity to this, the fact that there is an awareness is something that can help us address this problem constructively, and the president wants to do that, and that's why he's convening this conference.

HEMMER: I take it from your answer, then, the Amber Plan in your estimation is being looked at on a national scale. Do you see it as going that way?

ASHCROFT: I believe more and more states will do this. We want to encourage that. We want to be a part constructively. And when anybody learns that a child is missing, they should call their local authorities. The local authorities can help us be involved in providing the right kind of publicity, which will then make every citizen a participant in the rescue effort, as they were in the Lancaster, California case.

HEMMER: Let's change topics quickly here. A report yesterday, the FBI is missing about 400 computers, some computers apparently with top-secret information on them, about 800 firearms missing as well. There has not been a review until last year of the entire inventory of the FBI in about 10 years' time. What is the federal government doing? What is the Justice Department doing? What are they doing at the FBI right now to make sure these items, indeed, stay in the right hands?

ASHCROFT: Well, a very important item, we discovered this a year ago, and a year ago this July, I asked that this report be undertaken, that is a strict accounting to find out just how serious the problem was, that the inspector general of the department, Glenn Fine, has undertaken with his staff, a very thorough effort.

We do now know exactly the scope of the problem. We have issued regulations and guidelines, particularly at the FBI. The new director, Bob Mueller ,who came on line about three months after this problem was discovered more than a year ago, has already put in place things which we believe will help this, help control this. And we will do a better job. It's totally unacceptable -- totally unacceptable to have laptop computers and firearms not given the right respect and not cared for appropriately, and corrections have been undertaken, and they will continue to be made.

HEMMER: At a minimum, though, does it not make sense to do inventory once a year?

ASHCROFT: Absolutely. We are -- part of the remedial effort should be not just learning how to find out what's missing, but having a regular program of requiring accountability in this area, and those are the kinds of things recommended by the inspector general and being implemented at the FBI.

HEMMER: The attorney general, John Ashcroft -- thank you for your time this morning, sir.

ASHCROFT: Thank you.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

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