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American Morning

Interview with Senator Jay Rockefeller

Aired November 06, 2003 - 08:34   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.


SOLEDAD O'BRIEN, CNN ANCHOR: The memo came from the office of Senator Jay Rockefeller of West Virginia and he says, quote, "It was likely taken from a waste basket or through unauthorized computer access."
Senator Rockefeller is the ranking Democrat on the Intelligence Committee. He is at the Capitol and he joins us this morning for a little bit more. But before we get to him though let's first play a sound bite of exactly what the Chairman of the committee said in response to this memo.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

SEN. PAT ROBERTS (R), KANSAS: We have learned of an effort to develop a plan to discredit the committee's work, undermine its conclusions no matter what those conclusions may be. Our goal is to discover the facts, not to target any individuals or to serve any agenda.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

O'BRIEN: Senator Pat Roberts called it a slap in the face as well. And we've got Senator Rockefeller joining us this morning.

Senator Rockefeller, good morning. Nice to see you.

SEN. JAY ROCKEFELLER (D), WEST VIRGINIA: Thank you, Soledad.

O'BRIEN: You have called this whole debate a grain of sand. As I mentioned, Senator Roberts doesn't sound like he thinks it's a grain of sand at all. Do you think that this memo in some way has undermined the work of the committee?

ROCKEFELLER: No, I don't. And the first thing that Pat Roberts and I have already agreed to do is to make sure that the committee comes back together again. And that we, you know we're talking about intelligence; there's nothing in a sense that's more sacred that should be less violated than the sanctity of the world of intelligence. It's dangerous; soldiers are over there.

But I've got to say this, this is not about a memo which was a private memo that nobody saw except for me and the staff people that wrote it for me to see. What this really is about in my judgment is that the committee is not undertaking a full investigation or taking half of an investigation, only pre-war intelligence about WMD, weapons of mass destruction.

O'BRIEN: Some...

ROCKEFELLER: We're not looking at the use of intelligence which is what involves the entire executive branch and I don't think the Republicans want to go there. And that's the plain truth of it; I think it's as simple as that.

O'BRIEN: Some people would say what this sounds like it's about is actually the Democrat's strategy to basically use sensitive classified information against President Bush and the administration in the election in 2004.

ROCKEFELLER: I mean, that's a natural thing to say but if you're serious about intelligence you don't think like that. I have absolutely no intention of even approaching anything like that. This memo was private.

O'BRIEN: So...

ROCKEFELLER: Soledad, you have people who write you memos. Your staff write you memos -- you should have done this, you should have done that, we're looking at this or that option -- that's all it was. But the underpinnings are more serious if we're only allowed to look at half of the investigation and the American people deserve 100 percent of the investigation.

O'BRIEN: As you mentioned, the memo came from your staff. It got into the hands of Sean Hannity. Do you want a further investigation to see if it was stolen or how actually it got out of your offices?

ROCKEFELLER: I'm not going to worry about that right now because I'm much more interested in getting the committee back together again which I don't will be hard. Pat Roberts, the chairman, and I have already talked about that; we want to do that. But I will say this, I mean last year I fired somebody from my own staff for speaking to somebody outside the committee about a committee matter. That is against the law in the Senate Intelligence Committee.

So I mean it's a very serious matter if somebody comes in, takes out of a trash basket or wherever it came from -- I don't know where or how it happened or whoever did it -- it's very serious when that's leaked directly to the press. A private, internal memo only to me, none of the members -- either Republican or Democrat have seen it -- so yes, I do take that seriously. But I take much more seriously putting the committee into the harmony in which it belongs.

O'BRIEN: And as you keep saying, it's an internal memo seen by nobody except your staff and your staffers, a draft, I think you've said earlier in some interviews. In anyway, do you support what the memo proposes? For example at one point it says, "Let's pull the majority along with us on the issues of inappropriate and questionable conduct and then launch our independent investigation. I know you say you won't disavow the memo, do you support what it proposes even as a draft? ROCKEFELLER: I don't disavow or support or anything of that sort. It was a draft of some options that are available to us. I mean the minority after all does have a right to be protected and we have to explore those options if the other side refuses to look at the activities of the White House or the executive branch of government. You know then we have to explore our options. But we're not there yet. I want the committee to work as one. I believe in the committee. I believe in Chairman Roberts and I believe in his integrity.

O'BRIEN: I wanted to turn the corner and ask you another question about these reports that Iraq was making, some last minute overtures to avoid war before the war, considering of course your role in the Intelligence Committee? And also, do you think that if a meeting had taken place it would have made any difference?

ROCKEFELLER: I don't know whether it would have made any difference to me. There was obviously a meeting. I don't know the answer to that, Soledad, but I do know that in January of 1998, Richard Perl(ph) who was the contact person there and Don Rumsfeld and Paul Wolfowitz and you know a lot of the people who are actually running the war wrote President Clinton and said in 1998, the time for diplomacy is long since past. We need to get into Iraq in a military way and do a regime change.

Now if that was being said three years before we went in there, did Richard Perl(ph), who signed this letter, really want to negotiate a settlement. Whether it would have been possible, I don't know. But see, that's part of the problem, was there a predetermination on the part of the administration to get into this war. I don't know that there was but we need to find out.

O'BRIEN: Senator Jay Rockefeller of West Virginia. Nice to see you, Senator. Thanks for talking with us this morning.

ROCKEFELLER: Thanks, Soledad.

O'BRIEN: Appreciate it.

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







Aired November 6, 2003 - 08:34   ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
SOLEDAD O'BRIEN, CNN ANCHOR: The memo came from the office of Senator Jay Rockefeller of West Virginia and he says, quote, "It was likely taken from a waste basket or through unauthorized computer access."
Senator Rockefeller is the ranking Democrat on the Intelligence Committee. He is at the Capitol and he joins us this morning for a little bit more. But before we get to him though let's first play a sound bite of exactly what the Chairman of the committee said in response to this memo.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

SEN. PAT ROBERTS (R), KANSAS: We have learned of an effort to develop a plan to discredit the committee's work, undermine its conclusions no matter what those conclusions may be. Our goal is to discover the facts, not to target any individuals or to serve any agenda.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

O'BRIEN: Senator Pat Roberts called it a slap in the face as well. And we've got Senator Rockefeller joining us this morning.

Senator Rockefeller, good morning. Nice to see you.

SEN. JAY ROCKEFELLER (D), WEST VIRGINIA: Thank you, Soledad.

O'BRIEN: You have called this whole debate a grain of sand. As I mentioned, Senator Roberts doesn't sound like he thinks it's a grain of sand at all. Do you think that this memo in some way has undermined the work of the committee?

ROCKEFELLER: No, I don't. And the first thing that Pat Roberts and I have already agreed to do is to make sure that the committee comes back together again. And that we, you know we're talking about intelligence; there's nothing in a sense that's more sacred that should be less violated than the sanctity of the world of intelligence. It's dangerous; soldiers are over there.

But I've got to say this, this is not about a memo which was a private memo that nobody saw except for me and the staff people that wrote it for me to see. What this really is about in my judgment is that the committee is not undertaking a full investigation or taking half of an investigation, only pre-war intelligence about WMD, weapons of mass destruction.

O'BRIEN: Some...

ROCKEFELLER: We're not looking at the use of intelligence which is what involves the entire executive branch and I don't think the Republicans want to go there. And that's the plain truth of it; I think it's as simple as that.

O'BRIEN: Some people would say what this sounds like it's about is actually the Democrat's strategy to basically use sensitive classified information against President Bush and the administration in the election in 2004.

ROCKEFELLER: I mean, that's a natural thing to say but if you're serious about intelligence you don't think like that. I have absolutely no intention of even approaching anything like that. This memo was private.

O'BRIEN: So...

ROCKEFELLER: Soledad, you have people who write you memos. Your staff write you memos -- you should have done this, you should have done that, we're looking at this or that option -- that's all it was. But the underpinnings are more serious if we're only allowed to look at half of the investigation and the American people deserve 100 percent of the investigation.

O'BRIEN: As you mentioned, the memo came from your staff. It got into the hands of Sean Hannity. Do you want a further investigation to see if it was stolen or how actually it got out of your offices?

ROCKEFELLER: I'm not going to worry about that right now because I'm much more interested in getting the committee back together again which I don't will be hard. Pat Roberts, the chairman, and I have already talked about that; we want to do that. But I will say this, I mean last year I fired somebody from my own staff for speaking to somebody outside the committee about a committee matter. That is against the law in the Senate Intelligence Committee.

So I mean it's a very serious matter if somebody comes in, takes out of a trash basket or wherever it came from -- I don't know where or how it happened or whoever did it -- it's very serious when that's leaked directly to the press. A private, internal memo only to me, none of the members -- either Republican or Democrat have seen it -- so yes, I do take that seriously. But I take much more seriously putting the committee into the harmony in which it belongs.

O'BRIEN: And as you keep saying, it's an internal memo seen by nobody except your staff and your staffers, a draft, I think you've said earlier in some interviews. In anyway, do you support what the memo proposes? For example at one point it says, "Let's pull the majority along with us on the issues of inappropriate and questionable conduct and then launch our independent investigation. I know you say you won't disavow the memo, do you support what it proposes even as a draft? ROCKEFELLER: I don't disavow or support or anything of that sort. It was a draft of some options that are available to us. I mean the minority after all does have a right to be protected and we have to explore those options if the other side refuses to look at the activities of the White House or the executive branch of government. You know then we have to explore our options. But we're not there yet. I want the committee to work as one. I believe in the committee. I believe in Chairman Roberts and I believe in his integrity.

O'BRIEN: I wanted to turn the corner and ask you another question about these reports that Iraq was making, some last minute overtures to avoid war before the war, considering of course your role in the Intelligence Committee? And also, do you think that if a meeting had taken place it would have made any difference?

ROCKEFELLER: I don't know whether it would have made any difference to me. There was obviously a meeting. I don't know the answer to that, Soledad, but I do know that in January of 1998, Richard Perl(ph) who was the contact person there and Don Rumsfeld and Paul Wolfowitz and you know a lot of the people who are actually running the war wrote President Clinton and said in 1998, the time for diplomacy is long since past. We need to get into Iraq in a military way and do a regime change.

Now if that was being said three years before we went in there, did Richard Perl(ph), who signed this letter, really want to negotiate a settlement. Whether it would have been possible, I don't know. But see, that's part of the problem, was there a predetermination on the part of the administration to get into this war. I don't know that there was but we need to find out.

O'BRIEN: Senator Jay Rockefeller of West Virginia. Nice to see you, Senator. Thanks for talking with us this morning.

ROCKEFELLER: Thanks, Soledad.

O'BRIEN: Appreciate it.

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