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Flake Slams Trump; DACA Discussions; Possible Government Shutdown; White House Press Briefing. Aired 1-1:30p ET

Aired January 17, 2018 - 13:00   ET

THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.

WOLF BLITZER, CNN HOST: Let's go to our Chief White House Correspondent Jim Acosta. He's joining us from inside the briefing room right now.

Jim, so, what's the White House position on efforts right now to avoid a government shutdown?

JIM ACOSTA, CNN CHIEF WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT: Well, Wolf, it's interesting, because up until yesterday, the White House press secretary, Sarah Sanders, was telling reporters that this White House wanted a clean spending bill to keep the government open.

But now, we see the House Republicans attaching some strings to that. They're talking about giving the Democrats or throwing them a bone, essentially, by funding the CHIP program, the Children's Health Insurance Program, for the next six years.

Along with, in exchange for that, some cuts to some Obamacare taxes that conservatives don't like.

So, House Republicans, as you said, Wolf, are going it alone, crafting their own alternative. And I suspect Sarah Sanders, when she comes out into this briefing room here in a few moments, we suspect in a few moments, she'll be asked about that.

What is not in that Republican plan, Wolf, and we should note, it would just keep the government running until February 16th or so, is a fix for DACA, the Deferred Action Program for those Dreamer kids and young adults who are still in the country. But wondering what's going to happen to them come March first -- 5th I should say, when that program terminates.

And so, that is also going to be an issue in this briefing room, I suspect, because Democrats have been saying, hey, we don't want to sign onto another continuing resolution. We want to sign onto a spending plan that includes a DACA fix.

It just seems that there are too many trains coming into the station at once. And what we may end up seeing, over the next 48 hours, Wolf, is the House, the Senate and this White House putting together some sort of proposal that throws another token in the -- in the toll booth to keep the government running for another couple weeks.

That all, of course, remains to be seen. But, as of this point, the White House has said repeatedly, they don't want a government shutdown.

Now, we should point out one of the interesting things that's developed this morning is that the White House chief of staff, John Kelly, who, as we know, is a retired general and so on. He has been doing something that you typically see from nonmilitary-style chiefs of staff that we've seen in the past, going up to Capitol Hill and talking to lawmakers.

It's a -- it's a situation that we don't really typically see John Kelly in. But he was doing that earlier this morning, talking to lawmakers about some sort of fix for DACA.

And he was explaining to reporters that the president is still holding firm in his insistence that there be some sort of wall or barrier along the U.S.-Mexico border in exchange for these protections for the Dreamers that are being sought by Democrats.

And so, a lot of moving parts, Wolf. A lot of chainsaws that they're juggling over here at the White House.

And I suspect we'll get some answers, maybe not always the answer, but maybe a few answers, when Sarah Sanders comes into the briefing room hopefully within a few moments -- Wolf.

BLITZER: Lots of other questions likely to be asked as well. Lots of sensitive issues going on here in Washington right now, Jim.

ACOSTA: That's right. And keep in mind, yesterday, Dr. Ronny Jackson, the White House doctor for President Trump, was in here giving a long briefing yesterday.

And as we've been noting, over the last almost 24 hours, since Dr. Jackson concluded that briefing, there have been some questions raised by our own Sanjay Gupta, our Chief Medical Correspondent. About the president's health and whether or not he does, in fact, have heart issues that weren't really fully explored and exposed during that briefing yesterday.

And I imagine, Wolf, there'll be some other questions about that.

And I think the other looming question that's really, perhaps, hanging over this briefing today, Wolf. I strongly suspect that somebody here in the briefing room will ask about that very tough speech from Senator Jeff Flake that we heard earlier this morning.

It is not every day where you hear a member of the president's own party compare the president of the United States to Joseph Stalin. But that is what Senator Jeff flake did earlier this morning, saying that rhetoric that the president has used, like referring to the press as the enemy of the people and so on, is just not American.

And my guess is -- and we've seen this from the RNC so far, they've fired back at Jeff Flake pretty hard earlier this morning. My guess is, Wolf, is that the White House is going to do the same here in the next several minutes. And so, you'll want to hold on to your hats for that as well. But Jeff Flake is not in -- remember, Senator John McCain has an op-ed in "The Washington Post" right now that is also raising similar concerns about the president's very, very tough rhetoric aimed at the media over these last several months. Really over the last year, since he was sworn into office -- Wolf.

BLITZER: Yes. So far, the president has not tweeted about Senator Flake's comments which were extremely, extremely pointed against him. But I anticipate that will happen probably sooner rather than later.

Jim, stand by.

ACOSTA: That's right.

BLITZER: We're going to get back to you. We're waiting for Sarah Sanders to show up, and we'll have live coverage of that briefing. Lots of sensitive questions, no doubt, will be asked. We'll see what the answers are.

Can House Republicans, in the meantime, round up enough votes to keep the federal government from shutting down? The House speaker, Paul Ryan, was asked that question earlier today.

He wouldn't say if they have the votes necessary, but he blamed Democrats for the threat of a shutdown.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

[13:05:02] REP. PAUL RYAN (R), WISCONSIN, SPEAKER OF THE HOUSE: We've been very clear, we want to see a DACA solution. But a DACA solution has got to be a balanced solution. A DACA solution has to be a solution that also not just treats the symptom, which DACA is, but the root cause of the problem in the first place.

I -- look, I feel that it makes no sense for Democrats to try and bring us to a shutdown, to try and cut off CHIP funding for the states that are running out of money, like Minnesota and Washington and Kentucky and other states.

So, I think cool heads hopefully will prevail on this thing.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BLITZER: Democrats are hoping to back Republican leaders into a corner by making it clear that a shutdown is, in fact, possible. But a deal on DACA on the so-called Dreamers could prevent it for now. Most are taking a wait-and-see approach.

While we await the White House briefing, let's bring in our analysts. Our CNN Political Analyst David Gregory is with us. Our CNN Political Correspondent Sara Murray is with us. And our Chief Political Analyst Gloria Borger is here as well.

So, Gloria, the speaker says a shutdown makes no sense, but it's clearly still very possible. GLORIA BORGER, CNN CHIEF POLITICAL ANALYST: Well, yes, and he's, of

course, blaming the Democrats.

What he's done is he's proposed a measure that he's not sure will clear the House. But what it does is it dangles, you know, funding for the Children's Health Insurance Program in front of Democrats for six years. And they're hoping that they can get some Democratic support on that.

But even in the House, there are conservatives who don't want to vote for a short-term spending measure. And Democrats are saying, look, we want -- we want to resolve this issue on Dreamers, as part of this, once and for all.

And so, even if the House does pass it, what do -- what do Senate Democrats do? And what do Senate Republicans do?

So, this is just his first foray to try and get it out of his chamber if he possibly can. And that's really unclear.

BLITZER: What if they give a commitment, Sara, that, yes, we'll extends it for a month. Until February 16th, the government will keep operating. Another temporary spending bill known as a C.R, a Congressional Resolution.

But they promised the Dreamers that issue will be included by February 16th. They'll resolve it.

As you know, there's an early March deadline for the -- for the Dreamers to be allowed to stay; 700,000 or 800,000 depending on your count.

SARA MURRAY, CNN POLITICAL CORRESPONDENT: Well, I think we, kind of, already did that, right, and blew that deadline once.

I mean, if you're a Dreamer trying to sit here and plan your fate, I don't think this fills you with a lot of confidence in any of the parties who are governing right now. Certainly not in the White House, where they've said that, you know, the Dreamers don't have to worry.

But the president is the one who pulled the pin out of DACA in the first place. So, you know, I don't know that anyone wins any awards for political courage by kicking this can down the road.

A month from now, it might give them a little bit more time to hash out a solution. But I think what we've seen from the president in that closed-door meeting with Republicans and Democrats is there's certainly not a lot of goodwill on either side when it comes to negotiating right now.

BLITZER: What they did do, the Republicans, in this temporary spending bill, they've given the Democrats, and a whole bunch of Republicans who like it as well, a six-year extension of the Children's Health Insurance Program, known as CHIP. That's something that the Democrats want and a bunch of Republicans want it as well. So, that's included in this temporary C.R.

DAVID GREGORY, CNN POLITICAL ANALYST: Right, and it's not just a month-to-month kind of payment. It pays it over six years, which they're now under the impression will save money over time. So, it's --

BLITZER: We're talking about 9 million American kids.

GREGORY: Yes. So, it's certainly significant.

And Paul Ryan, you know, with the aw, shucks. I just -- I wish they wouldn't call for this shutdown.

This is Washington. This is a gamesmanship of Washington.

I think we've been so overheated, in this past week, over the president's comments behind closed door, and the breakdown of the negotiations over immigration, that we've lost sight of the fact that -- I still think it's possible to get a deal on immigration.

And if you look at the short history of it, it's really hard. It's been really hard since 911. George Bush almost did it.

And when he tried to do it again, later in the administration, conservative Republicans undermined him.

I think Trump has the potential to do it. And I have no idea, from one day to the next, where his head's going to be, where his heart's going to be. But I think he wants a deal on DACA.

I think Democrats would be smart to stay at the table on this, go up until March and see if they can -- if they can pull a deal on immigration out of this.

BORGER: Well, you know, don't forget, this was a president who said, I want a deal. I want comprehensive immigration reform. Lindsey Graham and Dick Durbin were on their way to the White House to give it to them when they, kind of, got ambushed --

GREGORY: Right.

BORGER: -- the other day.

And Graham is, I think, trying to get back to the president and figure out where they -- you know, where they are on this.

But the question is whether the president, when he said I'll take the heat and I want to do it, really meant it.

GREGORY: Yes. And who knows. Who knows what he means. He talked about a bill with love.

BLITZER: Because, Sara, he was at one place -- at that earlier meeting that a lot of us watched. It was 55 minutes on television.

MURRAY: Yes.

BLITZER: We saw it. He was one place there. He wants a deal, a bill of love. He's ready to take the heat.

[13:10:02] But a couple days later, all of a sudden, Lindsey Graham, Dick Durbin, they thought they had a compromise, a bipartisan compromise. Not happening.

MURRAY: But he also said, you know, I'm going to let you guys hash it out. You guys hash out an agreement. Bring it to me and I'll sign it. I'll make it happen. He said he would take the heat on that, like you said.

And that certainly isn't the case. And I think that you are seeing a president who, on the one hand, he is a dealmaker. He does want to get something done and have some kind of accomplishment he can point to.

But he's constantly perpetually concerned about how, what he is going to do, is going to play with his base of supporters. And I think that's why you saw some of those immigration hardliners trotting into the Oval Office to meet with him and to warn him. That is something that this president is perpetually fearful of.

BLITZER: You know, I want to bring up what Senator Flake did today. Senator Jeff Flake, he's a Republican from Arizona. He's not seeking re-election. He went on the Senate floor and delivered a blistering attack on the president of the United States, also a Republican, because of what the president has said about the news media here in the United States.

Listen.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

SEN. JEFF FLAKE (R), ARIZONA: No longer can we compound attacks -- the attacks on truth with our silent acquiescence. No longer can we turn a blind eye or a deaf ear to those assaults on our institutions.

And Mr. President, an American president; who cannot take criticism; who must constantly deflect and distort and distract; who must find someone else to blame; is charting a very dangerous path. And a Congress that fails to act as a check on the president adds to that danger.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BLITZER: You know, Gloria, it was a very, very powerful speech.

BORGER: It was a -- it was a powerful speech. It was something, obviously, that he has given, now that he is not running for re- election, I might remind you.

But I do think that he is trying to, kind of, gin up some kind of sense, among Republicans, that it their obligation as members of the president's party, to fight him when he does things, like call the press the enemy of the people.

And we saw John McCain's op-ed today --

BLITZER: In "The New York Times."

BORGER: -- in "The New York Times" where he echoed -- where he echoed that sentiment and talked about the importance of a -- of a free press in this country.

I think it will fall on deaf ears in the White House, to be quite honest with you. But it is extraordinary to have a speech like this given by a member of the president's own party on the floor of the United States Senate.

BLITZER: Because almost every day, since he's taken office and when it was during the transition also as a candidate, and you covered him all that time, Sara, he speaks about fake news.

MURRAY: That's right, he does speak about fake news. This is a very thin-skinned president. He was a very thin-skinned candidate. They like to call it punching back in the White House.

But, look, part of being president of the United States means that people aren't knocking down your door to praise you for all the great things you've done.

You catch a lot of flak when things are going wrong, and you don't get a lot of thanks when things are going right. And I think that that's something that most presidents, historically, have come to realize when they get into office and understand the weight of the office.

That's not true of this president. And his number one, sort of, foe, his favorite punching bag, has, of course, been the news media.

GREGORY: But his is -- he's so hypocritical on this. I think that's obvious. Except it's not obvious.

The truth is, you talk to a lot of people. They don't like the press. They don't like the media. They don't like what they consider to be obsessive coverage. They don't like the tonnage of the coverage. They don't like what they consider to be hatred for Trump in the media.

And we have a fractured media environment. We know that. When you start talking about Joseph Stalin or Adolph Hitler or the Nazis, these are people who shut down a free press apparatus completely. They dismantled it. And they had agents of propaganda to put out misinformation.

This is a president who actually loves the media. He loves it like human beings like oxygen. And he can't quit the media. And he does interviews all the time. And he banters with the press. Because if there's no media attention, there is no Donald Trump. It gave rise to him, in many ways, going back to his tabloid wars.

So, it's different. He has crossed the line by beating up on the media and saying that it's actually fake news. It is an attack on the truth. It's wrong. But it also strikes a chord with a -- with a lot of people.

But his own hypocrisy is what people need to take a step back and look at. And say, whatever problems you've got with the press, let's look at how much he likes the press, how much he deals with them and how this is, you know, a cynical game, on his part, to try to discredit criticism against him.

BORGER: Well, he wants to be loved. I mean, you know, bottom line is this is a president who wants to be loved. And when he was in the entertainment business, he wanted to get ratings. The same way that they show -- that ratings show approval. And he's not getting that from the people he has to deal with every single day which is -- you know, which is us in the media. As -- try as hard as he might.

So, that's why the labels are fake news and you're lying and you're -- and --

GREGORY: And can I just connect that, Wolf, --

GLORIA: Yes.

GREGORY: -- to something what I think is bigger, too, going back to immigration. I do think he wants to achieve big things. Really, what he cares about is being a jobs' president which is why he focuses so much on the market. There's, like, the vulgarity of the administration.

[13:15:05] And then, there is, you know, the financial markets and the economy. He'd much rather, you know, kind of be a CNBC president in that regard, focused on that. And that's why I think ultimately he does want to come around to do big deals that he can take credit for, but the nativist (ph) part of his base, the demagogic (ph) part of his base, requires that he pulls off the guy who is toughest, meanest and secure the country better.

BORGER: But he wants to win overall --

GREGORY: Right.

BORGER: Whatever it is.

BLITZER: Everybody stand by. A very important point, by the way, that Senator Flake made. Others have made it as well. It's not just one pillar of the democracy, the news media, but it's the law enforcement community that he's undermined, FBI, the intelligence community that he's undermined, the CIA, the deep state he says that's out there to get him, buried inside the federal bureaucracy. He's gone after many aspects of American democratic traditions.

Everybody stand by.

We're awaiting the start of the press briefing over at the White House. We'll have live coverage of that.

Meanwhile -- there's some live pictures coming in from the Briefing Room.

The president's fired chief strategist cutting a deal with Special Counsel Robert Mueller in the Russia investigation. You're going to hear what has just happened and what this means for the White House.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[13:16:29] SANDERS: Let me start by previewing some of the president's plans for the rest of the week.

Tomorrow, he will travel to H&K Equipment Company near Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. H&K began as a small family business a half century ago. 2017 was the best year in company history, which they credit to the president's pro-jobs, pro-worker, pro-growth economic agenda.

SANDERS: Thanks to the passage of the Trump tax cuts, H&K will now be able to expense 100 percent of the investments they make in new equipment in the same year they buy it. According to H&K, this means their investments back into the company will be 50 percent higher than this last year. That means millions of dollars will be invested in growing their business, rather than propping up the bloated government in Washington.

When they buy more trucks and equipment for their rental fleet, they hire more technicians to service them, buy more service vehicles to transport those techs from customer site to customer site, and buy more parts from their suppliers to keep the rental fleet running. All of this economic activity spurred by the tax bill will result in more jobs, higher wages and a brighter future.

The president looks forward to spending time with some of the workers who are reaping the benefits of the tax cuts and reforms. And we know this is just the beginning.

On Friday, we're excited to announce that the president will become the first sitting president to address the March for Life from the White House live, via satellite. This will take place from the Rose Garden. The president is committed to protecting the life of the unborn, and he is excited to be part of this historic event.

Now, we have a guest here with us today from the Department of Justice. Ed O'Callaghan is here to discuss the Section 11 report which was released yesterday by the Department of Justice and the Department of Homeland Security. I won't steal Mr. O'Callaghan's thunder, but this report highlights the urgent need for Congress to adopt the immigration reforms identified in the administration's priorities.

I'll bring him up now so he can make a statement, answer a couple of questions. And as usual, I know you will all be on your best behavior and ask him questions on this topic only. And then I will be happy to come back up and answer other questions on news of the day.

Ed?

O'CALLAGHAN: Good afternoon. My name is Ed O'Callaghan, and I am the principal deputy assistant attorney general in the Justice Department's National Security Division.

In my capacity as principal deputy, I assist the acting assistant attorney general in the supervision of the 350 dedicated investigators and prosecutors who carry out the department's highest priority: protecting the United States from threats to our national security.

O'CALLAGHAN: I have been with the National Security Division since November of last year.

Previously, from 1999 to 2008, I was an assistant United States attorney in the Southern District of New York. From 2005 to 2008, I was co-chief of the Terrorism and National Security Unit in the Southern District of New York. And some of the cases I worked on, of course, during that time included the investigation into the 9/11 attacks that occurred while I was the assistant United States attorney in the Organized Crime and Terrorism Unit of the Southern District of New York.

I appreciate the opportunity to speak with you today about yesterday's release of the Department of Justice and Department of Homeland Security's Section 11 report.

The report, titled after Section 11 of President Trump's Executive Order 13780, Protecting the Nation from Terrorist Entry into the United States, was a collaborative effort between the DOJ and DHS to respond to EO13780's directive to provide information to the American people regarding the number of foreign nationals charged with or convicted of terrorism-related offenses, or removed from the United States based on terrorism-related or other national security reasons.

The Justice Department's National Security Division maintains a list of individuals convicted of international terrorism-related charges in U.S. federal courts between September 11th, 2001, and December 31st of 2016. As indicated in the report, as of December 31st of 2016, there are 549 individuals on that list of convictions of terrorism -- international terrorism-related offenses.

A subsequent DHS analysis of those 549 individuals convicted of international terrorism-related offenses determined that approximately 73 percent, or 402, of these 549 individuals were foreign-born.

A further breakdown of the U.S. citizenship status of these individuals at the time of their respective convictions shows that 254 were not United States citizens; 148 were foreign-born, naturalized and received U.S. citizenship; and 147 were citizens -- U.S. citizens by birth.

I'll point out that one of the cases that's highlighted in the Section 11 report refers to a defendant who we convicted in the Southern District of New York named Uzair Paracha.

Mr. Paracha came into the United States I believe in 1980 as a family member of a legal, permanent resident. Mr. Paracha was ultimately convicted of providing material support to Al Qaida. It's the case that I supervised when I was chief of the Terrorism Unit in the Southern District of New York. The evidence in that trial showed that Mr. Paracha attempted to assist other individuals who were affiliated with Al Qaida, to try to enter the United States based on false statements in immigration documents.

And in fact, Paracha assisted and took on the persona of one of the individuals who he's -- he was attempting to try to get back into the United States to commit terrorist acts here.

The individual statements provided by that individual demonstrated that he was attempting to come back into the United States to commit attacks on gas stations in New York, my hometown. And by the fact that we were able to prosecute Paracha and stop that attempt to engage in additional terrorist attacks here in the United States.

Additional items included in the report demonstrate that the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement provided information that shows that there have been approximately 1,716 removals of aliens since September 11th, 2001, because of national security concerns, a designation that is determined by ICE within the Department of Homeland Security.

O'CALLAGHAN: Obviously there are certain times where, although there are national security concerns about foreign-born individuals who are in the United States, a federal prosecution for one reason or another is -- is not the suitable way to go about dealing with the threat posed by that individual, so the immigration authorities have other tools at their disposal, one of them being the removal tool, which is cited by ICE in the Section 11 report.

It is the case that the threats to our national security are not showing any signs of relenting. In fiscal year 2017 alone, DHS encountered 2,554 individuals on terrorist watch lists, formally known as the FBI's Terrorist Screening Database. Those individuals were, of course, attempting to get into the United States.

Additional important statistics provided by DHS and documented in the report include the fact that between October 1st, 2011, and September 30th, 2017, a total of 355,345 non-citizen offenders were administratively arrested after previously being convicted of an aggravated felony, or two or more crimes, each punishable by more than one year -- a regular felony.

During that same time period, according to DHS, 372,098 non-citizen offenders were removed from the United States after conviction of an aggravated felony, or two or more felonies.

And between fiscal year 2010 and fiscal year 2017, Customs and Border Protection, CBP, identified and prevented the boarding of 73,261 foreign travelers on flights destined for the United States who may have presented an immigration or security risk.

In a statement yesterday about the report, Attorney General Sessions indicated that there are currently thousands of terrorism-related investigations into thousands of people in the United States, including hundreds of people who came here as refugees. In addition, citing surveys previously commissioned by DOJ components, the report noted that there are an estimated 23 to 27 honor killings every year in the United States, and that there are an estimated approximately half a million women and girls in the United States at risk of undergoing the abhorrent practice of female genital mutilation.

In October of last year, the Trump administration laid out a series of immigration policy objectives to ensure safe and lawful admission to the United States, defend the safety and security of our country, and to protect American workers and taxpayers. There are three pillars to this immigration policy: border security, immigration enforcement, and a merit-based immigration system.

From the cases I have worked on, I know that foreign terrorist organizations, transnational criminal organizations and other individuals and entities that wish to harm the United States undoubtedly seek to exploit weaknesses in our immigration system when it benefits them in accomplishing their unlawful schemes.

President Trump's immigration policy is designed to serve the interests of national security.

Enhanced vetting and screening, and continuing screening promote the discovery of information that would help immigration and law enforcement authorities identify foreigners who may pose national security threats to the American people.

Rather than basing admission decisions on programs that lack accountability, like diversity visa lotteries and extended family chain migration, adopting a merit-based system rewards skills and qualities that include, but are not limited to, education, English language proficiency or fluency, and/or job skills.

As a prosecutor tasked with protecting our nation's security, I know some of our cases have involved exploitation of vulnerabilities in our current immigration system. The attorney general is committed to restoring law and order in our immigration system so that we can address and work to eliminate the vulnerabilities that can be exploited by those seeking to undermine our public safety.

Those are my brief remarks. I'm happy to take some questions.

Sir, in the middle?

QUESTION: Thank you.

Do you find it alarming that more than 25 percent of people convicted of terror -- international terrorism-related charges were natural-born U.S. citizens? And what is the administration doing to address that issue?

O'CALLAGHAN: So, the Department of Justice's enforcement of the international terrorism laws are focused on the conduct of -- that is found to be committed by individuals, no matter, you know, where they're born. The statistics that you have, for the first time compiled in this way, in response to the executive order and the directives therein, demonstrate that the international terrorism offenses that we have prosecuted in the National Security Division and achieve convictions on -- that there's 73 percent of foreign-born.

We're going to prosecute anyone that we can make cases against that are posing threats to the national security of the United States. The statistics that are brought before you in the Section 11 report respond directly to the directive in the executive order about international terrorism offenses. And those are the statistics that my division, the National Security Division, keep.

Sir, middle chair (ph)?

(CROSSTALK)

QUESTION: Thank you.

QUESTION: Thank you, sir.

(CROSSTALK)

QUESTION: Yeah. My question is--

O'CALLAGHAN: OK.

QUESTION: -- yeah, thank you.

O'CALLAGHAN: You're next.

QUESTION: Yeah -- very simply, this: Has there been any change in the administration's stated policy about using Guantanamo in dealing with international terrorists at all?

O'CALLAGHAN: I'm not aware of any change in the administration's stated use of the -- Guantanamo.

The administration is committed to enforcing our terrorism laws and any law that we can against anyone who will present harm or threat to the United States.

There are considerations as to how any potential case may be addressed so that any threat that is posed by any individual is -- is neutralized. I -- the administration and Attorney General Sessions are committed to consider all options as to how we can neutralize any threats posed by anyone that may fall into a terrorism category.

QUESTION: So, Guantanamo is still going to be around for a while, and there's no plans to close it at all?

O'CALLAGHAN: I'm not aware of any administration plans with respect to Guantanamo. I can tell you it's still around.

Sir?

QUESTION: Thank you. I'm hoping you can explain some of your logic here a little further.