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American Morning

Attorney General Ashcroft Announcing Program to Encourage Non- Citizens to Inform on Terrorists

Aired November 29, 2001 - 07:20   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.
PAULA ZAHN, CNN ANCHOR: Critics from both parties have attacked Attorney General John Ashcroft for some of the steps he's taken to combat terrorism. But a new CNN poll out today says he has the support of a majority of Americans. Asked if the administration has gone too far in restricting civil liberties in order to fight terrorism, only 10 percent say yes. Twenty-six percent say the rules don't go far enough and 60 percent say they are about right.

This hour Attorney General John Ashcroft is announcing a program to encourage non-citizens to inform on terrorists. Attorney General Ashcroft joins us now from Washington. Welcome back. Good to see you, sir.

JOHN ASHCROFT, ATTORNEY GENERAL: Delighted to be with you, Paula.

ZAHN: Thank you.

So let's talk a little bit about this cooperators program that you're announcing this morning, which as I understand will provide a three year visa for immigrants who are willing to come forward and provide critical information on potential terrorists out there. Realistically, what kind of information do you expect these people to yield?

ASHCROFT: Well, you know, sometimes information doesn't appear on its own to be very important. But when it's fit into the puzzle, it turns out to be the piece that unifies and brings rationality to the rest of the puzzle. We think all individuals, whether they're American citizens or non-citizens in this country, have a reason to want to help us stop the threat to innocent American lives, to prevent terrorist activity.

And we're saying to those individuals who might be interested in a long-term commitment to America, be a part of the responsible cooperators program, which is a way of saying if you have information which is reliable information and useful to us in preventing terrorism and apprehending those who are involved in terrorist activities, bring it to the FBI or if you're overseas to an embassy, and you could, as a result of that information, be provided a visa, which will allow you to be in the United States and allow you, if necessary, to work in the United States, and provide a basis for your some day becoming a citizen. We want the kind of responsible people who would help us in the war against terrorism.

ZAHN: But Mr. Ashcroft, as you know, there's a great deal of focus on the dozen or so people, or the 600 folks in custody that have been arrested and reports today say it is just about 12 people who've given you any information that is in any way linked to Osama bin Laden. Do you consider that a successful ratio? Is that a successful investigation?

ASHCROFT: Well, we believe that our success is in some measure a result of the fact that the American people understand, like we do, that we have to be alert, we have to prevent additional terrorist crimes. We've issued warnings to law enforcement. We've elevated security, whether it's around airports or critical infrastructure. Our ability to disrupt and to detain and to arrest those who are associated with those we know to have been involved in terrorism, all of these things have allowed us to make sure at least for the past nearly 80 days now that we haven't had additional terrorist attacks.

We want to continue with that. That's why we're inviting these individuals to cooperate responsibly to help us.

I was at a mosque...

ZAHN: But are you satisfied with those numbers, sir?

ASHCROFT: Well, we're very pleased that we've been able to avoid additional attacks and we believe that every person that we are holding -- as a matter of fact, we know every person we're holding is a person with whom we have -- for whom we have a charge. We've charged them. They have access to their families by telephone. They have access to their attorneys. They are individuals that are important to our effort to curtail the risk of additional terrorist attacks and we think that this is part of a program which has been successful.

I was at a mosque the other day to...

ZAHN: So, wait, are you telling me to...

ASHCROFT: Go ahead.

ZAHN: Yes, are you telling me that of those 12 people who have any sort of relationship to Osama bin Laden...

ASHCROFT: I'm really not...

ZAHN: They gave you information to stop a potential attack?

ASHCROFT: Very frankly, I'm not confirming any number. I'm indicating that among the people that we have, we obviously feel like we have individuals related to terrorism and I don't want to say that we think it's as small as the number you've cited or try and give a number on that. I'm not going to do that. I'm not going to do anything that I think would provide information to the al Qaeda network or to Osama bin Laden about the people that we unnecessarily have about their relationship to him.

We know that we have in custody al Qaeda membership. We know that when we continue to work hard to make sure that those associated with terrorists and those who are violators of the law are not only questioned and arrested, but they're detained, that we reduce the potential that we have additional attacks. And this is something that everybody is interested in doing, all responsible citizens.

I visited a mosque just recently during the Ramadan period of time and Muslim Americans were asking about additional ways they could help. And the responsible cooperators program that rewards additional help, the delivery of useful and reliable information with assistance with visas that could eventually lead to citizenship, this is a way to ask other individuals to be helpful, to provide a basis for their inclusion in our operation to forestall and prevent losing additional American lives. We don't want to lose additional American lives. We want to prevent terrorism.

ZAHN: You certainly have been a lightning rod for criticism, as you know, from both sides now. You had Patrick Leahy giving you a pretty, a firm, your people a firm question and answer session yesterday, as well as Arlen Specter, a Republican. And I know you feel -- onto the issue of military tribunals -- that you have the constitutional authority and that there is a historical precedent for these military tribunals. But what do you make of Mr. Specter when he says the administration has yet to show where the president gets the authority for this executive order?

ASHCROFT: Well, there are very clear Supreme Court cases that reinforce and affirm the authority of the president of the United States to use military commissions for the trying of war criminals. This president, those cases came up following the Second World War, two cases that are very clear in that respect. This president hasn't gone nearly as far as President Roosevelt did in the Second World War. President Bush has been restrained here, indicated that such tribunals or commissions would not be used in regard to American citizens, but only to war criminals and there are reasons for it -- and war criminals who are aliens.

Having in open court an exhumation of information, including intelligence information, could be very valuable to the enemy. Having a notorious trial of a terrorist would make the location of the trial a terrorist target itself. We're not interested in helping or assisting the other side. We are at war. And when America has been attacked in the past, virtually in every instance where there's been an attack against America, we've had commissions that process war criminals, not people who are processing, not commissions to process the normal criminal activity in the United States, and that's not proposed here.

So this president should have the ability to protect American lives with such commissions and I believe he'll use that ability very judiciously and wisely in the interests of preventing the loss of American life, preventing terrorism and making sure that individuals who have assaulted the United States are brought to justice fairly. ZAHN: And we've got to leave it there this morning. As you know, those same senators will be taking you on in the Senate Judiciary Committee hearings next week. We'd love to have you come back and update us on what they are asking of you maybe this time next week.

ASHCROFT: I look forward to it. Thank you.

ZAHN: Attorney General John Ashcroft, thanks for your time this morning.

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