English subtitles for clip: File:12-14-16- White House Press Briefing.webm

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Mr. Earnest: Good
afternoon, everybody.

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Nice to see you.

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I do not have any comments
at the top, so we can go

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straight to your questions.

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Josh, do you want to start?

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The Press: Sure.

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Thanks, Josh.

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I wanted to start with the
collapse of the ceasefire in

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Aleppo that was intended to
allow these final civilians

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and fighters to evacuate.

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It seems like this deal was
essentially brokered by the

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Turks and the Russians
without a whole lot of

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direct U.S. involvement.

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So I'm wondering at this
point whether -- if you

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could tell us what kind
of engagement the U.S.

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is involved in in trying
to ameliorate the violence

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there or secure the
evacuation of the people who

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are still trapped there.

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Mr. Earnest: Josh, for
years, the United States has

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played a leading role in
trying to facilitate a

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diplomatic solution to
the situation in Syria,

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including the
situation in Aleppo.

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And our goal all along has
been to reduce the violence

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and create space for
sustained humanitarian

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assistance to be provided,
particularly to those

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communities that have been
under siege by the Syrian

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military, aided and abetted
by the Russians and

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the Iranians.

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So the United States
continues to play that

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leading role even today.

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And I know that there were
discussions at the U.N.

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Security Council, and the
United States continues to

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push for a diplomatic
agreement.

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We certainly encourage other
countries to be involved as

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well, and we've made clear
that our efforts to reach a

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bilateral agreement with the
Russians, which is something

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that we tried for many weeks
earlier this year, is not

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something that we could
achieve because the Russians

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couldn't hold up their
end of the bargain.

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And I know they've got all
kinds of explanations for

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why that may be the case.

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Most of them are rooted
in the fact that they are

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either unable or unwilling
to control their

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client government.

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The Press: But as far as
right now, hour by hour

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there's pummeling of Aleppo,
even when there's supposed

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to be this ceasefire.

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I mean, is there any new
push or specific engagement

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by the U.S. to try to restore
the ceasefire?

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Mr. Earnest: There is
continued engagement, and

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there has been for years,
and it continues to this moment.

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And we continue to be
deeply concerned about the

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situation in Aleppo.

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We are seeing the same
reports that you are -- that

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innocent people are being
slaughtered in the streets

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at the hands of the Assad
regime, aided and abetted by

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the Russians and
the Iranians.

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And it raises deep concerns,
and it's a deeply

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tragic situation.

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And these atrocities
have to come to an end.

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And we're working diligently
through a variety of

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diplomatic channels to
bring about that end state.

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The Press: There seems to be
some disagreement now, even

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within the intelligence
community, about whether the

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evidence that's been turned
up supports an assessment

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that Russia was actually
trying to influence the

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election in a way to
help Donald Trump.

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Can you tell us -- I know
you have limitations about

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what you can talk about --
but whether the President

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has been informed by his
Director of National

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Intelligence that they do
not concur or embrace what

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the CIA has
concluded about that?

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Mr. Earnest: When it comes
to CIA conclusions or

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intelligence community
conclusions, I'm going to

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refer you to the
intelligence community.

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And there's a variety
of reasons for that.

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The first is that we work
hard to make sure that we

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are insulating the
intelligence community from

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the suggestion that they
are subject to

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political influence.

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It's important that the
President be in a position

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to get good information.

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And when I say good
information, I mean timely,

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accurate information about
situations all around the world.

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And I certainly don't want
to do anything or say

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anything from here that
could cast doubt about the

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integrity of the information
that's being provided to the

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President of the
United States.

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So when they have an
assessment to offer, I'll

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let them offer up
that assessment.

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What they have said, and
what they've said before the

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election, is that Russia was
engaged in malicious cyber

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activity in an attempt to
erode confidence in our

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system of government.

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And that's deeply troubling
and very serious.

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And that's why the President
ordered the Department of

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Homeland Security to
work with elections

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administrators across the
country to protect those

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systems and to bolster
their ability to withstand

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intrusions from Russia so we
could ensure the accurate

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counting of ballots, and we
could ensure that everybody

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who was eligible to cast
a ballot could do so.

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And the intelligence
community has reported that

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on Election Day they did not
see the kind of increase in

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malicious Russian cyber
activity that would call

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into question the casting
or counting of ballots.

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That certainly is good news.

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But there is rampant
evidence of other tactics

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that were used by the
Russians to erode public

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confidence in our democracy.

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And that's deeply troubling,
and that's why the President

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has ordered a review, and
the intelligence community

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is working on that review,
and the President's

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expectation is that review
will be delivered before the

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President leaves office,
before January 20th.

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And we're certainly going to
endeavor to release as much

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information as possible from
the review to the public as

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we can, knowing that there
will be some things that we

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can't release because we
need to protect the ability

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of the intelligence
community to collect

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this information.

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The Press: Given that the
mixed signals about this is

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sort of fueling a
politicization of the

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intelligence work, certainly
with the President-elect,

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and given that you've said
that this review that's

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taking place is basically
the primary distinguishing

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factor between that and the
assessments that had already

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been done, is that it's
looking back into previous

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elections and sort of doing
this holistic thing -- has

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the President indicated
that he would like the

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intelligence community to
perhaps release additional

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information or maybe clear
what exactly they think

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happened sooner than later,
perhaps sooner than that

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culmination of that review,
which doesn't seem like it

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will happen until perhaps as
the President is headed out

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the door?

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Mr. Earnest: I don't
have a timeframe.

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The President certainly
believes that as much

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information can -- the
President believes that the

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intelligence community
should release as much

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information as they can to
the public about this issue,

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given how serious it is,
given that we're talking

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about the integrity of
a national election.

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So the President certainly
does support that just

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on principle.

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But I don't have an updated
timeframe to share in terms

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of what the intelligence
community may or may not be

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able to do.

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The Press: And then just
quickly, Reince Priebus has

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been out today talking about
mixing it up a bit here at

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the White House as far
as how the press corps

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interacts with the White
House, and possibly doing

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away with assigned seating
here in the

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Brady Press Briefing Room.

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And so I just wanted to
clarify for everyone, could

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you tell us whether your
office has any say or

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control over the seating
assignments here in the

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briefing room?

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Mr. Earnest: We do not.

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This is -- I believe this
was -- it certainly predates

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President Obama's presence
in the White House.

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The White House Press Corps
has worked among yourselves

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to organize the seating
arrangements in this room,

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and I certainly would
recommend to the incoming

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administration that they
collect and familiarize

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themselves with some basic
facts as they consider what

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sort of policies to
implement moving forward.

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Roberta.

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The Press: A senior Chinese
official warned today in

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China Daily that the Chinese
government is ready to

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penalize a U.S.

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automaker for price fixing,
and I'm wondering what

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notice the U.S. government has been given about

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this and what concerns the White House has, if any, about this.

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Mr. Earnest: Roberta,
I've seen those reports.

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I don't have a lot of other
information that I can share.

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We're still trying to
collect additional

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information about those
specific reports.

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I think what I can say
definitely is that the Obama

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administration has a strong
track record of making sure

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that we are protecting the
rights and interests of U.S.

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businesses around the
world, including in China.

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And as we learn more
information about this

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particular situation, the
United States government

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will continue to be
protective of our interests

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in that circumstance and in
other circumstances around

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the world.

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The Press: Do you see
this as a response to the

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President-elect's sort of
tough rhetoric on

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Chinese policy?

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Mr. Earnest: Unclear.

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I can't speak to why China
may or may not have made

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this decision.

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Again, I think it's unclear
exactly what the decision is.

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And until we can figure out
what exactly that decision

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is, it makes it hard to
consider exactly what their

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motive may have been.

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The Press: Okay.

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And taking a step back just
from the decision, whatever

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it may be, I guess how
concerned in general is this

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White House, this
administration, that there

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could be economic
repercussions for U.S.

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companies because of the
stepped-up rhetoric against

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Chinese policies?

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Mr. Earnest: Well, I think
this goes to an argument

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that I have put forward when
I was previously asked about

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this issue.

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The longstanding U.S.

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commitment to a one-China
policy, this is a policy

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that's governed by a piece
of legislation and three

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different communiqués that
were signed into law by

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Democratic -- or were
signed -- by Democratic and

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Republican Presidents.

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This is a policy that has
been observed for 40 years

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or so.

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And China considers their
relationship with Taiwan to

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be a highly sensitive issue,
and signaling potential

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changes in that policy is
going to have widespread

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ramifications for the United
States, both as it relates

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to our economy and as it
relates to our

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national security.

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So certainly the incoming
administration has an

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opportunity to consider what
sort of policy they believe

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is in the best interest
of the United States.

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I think the suggestion that
all Americans would have is

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that they consider those
kinds of choices very

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carefully before acting.

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And in this case, the
President-elect indicated in

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an interview over the
weekend that he took the

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call based on an
hour or two's notice.

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And I think this is one
illustration of how

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important the role of the
presidency is and how

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important discipline and
careful consideration of

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one's words and actions is
when you're President of the

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United States and
responsible for advancing

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our interests
around the globe.

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So I'll leave it there.

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Michelle.

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The Press: We heard the
retired NATO commander talk

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about the situation in
Syria, and though he had

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served under Obama, he said
that Obama would probably

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look back on that situation
with deep sorrow and some shame.

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What do you think of
those words that he said?

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Mr. Earnest: I didn't
see those comments.

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I can tell you that,
under President Obama's

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leadership, the United
States has been at the front

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of the effort to find a
diplomatic solution to the

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situation in Syria.

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The United States has
provided more humanitarian

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00:11:55,214 --> 00:11:58,584
assistance through bilateral
channels than any other

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00:11:58,584 --> 00:12:00,486
country in the world.

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00:12:00,486 --> 00:12:03,422
We have provided $6
billion in relief.

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And the United States has
mobilized the international

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00:12:06,992 --> 00:12:09,762
community to respond to the
threat that is posed by

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ISIL, which essentially is
a consequence of the chaos

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00:12:13,132 --> 00:12:14,099
inside of Syria.

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So President Obama has been
making smart, strategic

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00:12:18,671 --> 00:12:22,141
decisions that protect
carefully U.S.

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00:12:22,141 --> 00:12:25,877
interests in the region
and around the world.

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That said, I think every
American and every human

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00:12:32,251 --> 00:12:37,890
being is deeply troubled by
the violence and innocent

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00:12:37,890 --> 00:12:39,725
loss of life that we
see inside of Syria.

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It's heartbreaking.

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It's tragic when you see a
government commit atrocities

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00:12:46,899 --> 00:12:52,104
against its own people using
the military might of the state.

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That is a failed government.

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That is a failed state.

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And President Obama has been
leading the international

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00:13:00,679 --> 00:13:03,348
effort to address it,
both by trying to find a

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00:13:03,349 --> 00:13:06,285
diplomatic solution to the
chaos, but also dealing

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00:13:06,285 --> 00:13:09,454
militarily and otherwise
with the extremist threat

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00:13:09,455 --> 00:13:11,991
that is propagated by
that kind of chaos.

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The Press: I don't think
anyone disputes the efforts.

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But for a very long time
now, those efforts have failed.

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00:13:18,297 --> 00:13:20,199
So is there no
other alternative?

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00:13:20,199 --> 00:13:21,699
Mr. Earnest: Well,
let's be clear.

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00:13:21,700 --> 00:13:23,969
You got a briefing for
a long time from the

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00:13:23,969 --> 00:13:27,206
President's Special Envoy to
the Counter-ISIL Coalition

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00:13:27,206 --> 00:13:29,942
that documented the success
that we've had in rolling

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00:13:29,942 --> 00:13:34,313
back ISIL and reducing their
capacity to harm the United

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00:13:34,313 --> 00:13:36,048
States or our interests,
either in the region or

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around the world.

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00:13:36,715 --> 00:13:42,121
So I would vigorously
dispute that

284
00:13:42,121 --> 00:13:44,622
characterization of our
efforts against ISIL.

285
00:13:44,623 --> 00:13:46,425
With regard to making the
kind of progress that we'd

286
00:13:46,425 --> 00:13:48,359
like to see toward a
diplomatic solution inside

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00:13:48,360 --> 00:13:51,197
of Syria, we haven't seen as
much progress as we would like.

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And there are innocent
Syrian men, women and

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00:13:57,269 --> 00:13:59,972
children that have
died as a result of it.

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00:13:59,972 --> 00:14:03,976
And ultimately, that cause
is the willingness of the

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00:14:03,976 --> 00:14:06,679
Assad regime to use the
military might of the state

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00:14:06,679 --> 00:14:09,915
against his own people,
and the willingness of the

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00:14:09,915 --> 00:14:12,651
Russians to intervene on his
behalf to prop him up, even

294
00:14:12,651 --> 00:14:16,421
though they themselves claim
that they're concerned about

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00:14:16,422 --> 00:14:18,757
that chaos fueling extremism
that could have consequences

296
00:14:18,757 --> 00:14:20,559
back in their home country.

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00:14:20,559 --> 00:14:22,795
They should be
concerned about that.

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00:14:22,795 --> 00:14:27,466
And for years, the Russians
have failed to reconcile a

299
00:14:27,466 --> 00:14:29,468
basic contradiction
in their strategy.

300
00:14:29,468 --> 00:14:31,770
They say, on the one hand,
that they're interested in

301
00:14:31,770 --> 00:14:33,973
trying to fight extremism
and bring the violence to an

302
00:14:33,973 --> 00:14:38,010
end in Syria, even at the
same time that they prop up

303
00:14:38,010 --> 00:14:41,413
the failed government
there that exacerbates the

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00:14:41,413 --> 00:14:44,216
violence and makes the
diplomatic solution even

305
00:14:44,216 --> 00:14:46,085
harder to reach.

306
00:14:46,085 --> 00:14:48,020
There's one good example
of this -- there are some

307
00:14:48,020 --> 00:14:51,390
reports -- reports I can't
confirm, I have to start out

308
00:14:51,390 --> 00:14:55,894
by saying -- but I think are
illustrative of what Russia

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00:14:55,894 --> 00:14:57,830
has done.

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00:14:57,830 --> 00:15:02,301
Russia, nine months ago,
touted publically their

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00:15:02,301 --> 00:15:07,172
success in taking back the
Syrian community of Palmyra

312
00:15:07,172 --> 00:15:08,974
from ISIL terrorists.

313
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Well, we have learned that
ISIL has retaken that city

314
00:15:12,444 --> 00:15:14,613
from the Syrians
and the Russians.

315
00:15:14,613 --> 00:15:18,250
In doing so, they didn't
just succeed in driving out

316
00:15:18,250 --> 00:15:21,153
the Syrian government and
the Russians; ISIL now has

317
00:15:21,153 --> 00:15:26,158
their hands on a significant
anti-aircraft missile system.

318
00:15:29,161 --> 00:15:31,530
This is according to reports
so I can't confirm it.

319
00:15:31,530 --> 00:15:36,168
But it does illustrate,
if true, the grave danger

320
00:15:36,168 --> 00:15:41,140
associated with Russia's
failed strategy.

321
00:15:41,140 --> 00:15:45,210
Their strategy, if they're
actually interested in

322
00:15:45,210 --> 00:15:50,949
fighting terrorists, should
not involve an anti-aircraft

323
00:15:50,949 --> 00:15:53,584
missile system because ISIL
doesn't have an air force.

324
00:15:55,688 --> 00:16:01,393
So what that anti-aircraft
missile system was doing in

325
00:16:01,393 --> 00:16:03,696
Palmyra is something that
only the Syrians and the

326
00:16:03,696 --> 00:16:07,533
Russians can explain, but it
does underscore the grave

327
00:16:07,533 --> 00:16:12,371
risk that Russia is taking
by dedicating their

328
00:16:12,371 --> 00:16:15,607
resources to attacking
innocent civilians in Aleppo

329
00:16:15,607 --> 00:16:17,943
and propping up the Assad
regime, and taking their eye

330
00:16:17,943 --> 00:16:21,680
off the ball when
it comes to ISIL.

331
00:16:21,680 --> 00:16:24,650
In this case, their
miscalculation was so grave

332
00:16:24,650 --> 00:16:27,252
that it's not just a matter
of them ignoring the

333
00:16:27,252 --> 00:16:28,654
ISIL threat.

334
00:16:28,654 --> 00:16:31,824
The ISIL threat today --
again, if these reports are

335
00:16:31,824 --> 00:16:37,963
true -- is worse because of
the failed strategy of the

336
00:16:37,963 --> 00:16:40,199
Syrians and the Russians.

337
00:16:40,199 --> 00:16:43,502
And that's something that
only they can account for.

338
00:16:43,502 --> 00:16:46,238
The Press: When we use words
in here repeatedly like

339
00:16:46,238 --> 00:16:48,340
"atrocities" -- I mean,
you just said today that

340
00:16:48,340 --> 00:16:53,011
innocent people are being
slaughtered in the streets

341
00:16:53,011 --> 00:16:55,781
-- it just seems like you're
saying that -- have we

342
00:16:55,781 --> 00:16:58,751
gotten to a point now that
there really aren't any red

343
00:16:58,751 --> 00:16:59,818
lines anymore?

344
00:16:59,818 --> 00:17:02,755
Like, it's as if it's gotten
to a point so many people

345
00:17:02,755 --> 00:17:05,257
have been killed, and now
because of social media and

346
00:17:05,257 --> 00:17:08,560
other means, Americans are
watching this happen, and

347
00:17:08,560 --> 00:17:12,697
many people thinking
humanity as a whole should

348
00:17:12,698 --> 00:17:13,999
be better than this.

349
00:17:13,999 --> 00:17:18,837
So at what point do nations
say, okay, something needs

350
00:17:18,837 --> 00:17:20,038
to be done now?

351
00:17:20,038 --> 00:17:23,008
Mr. Earnest: Well, I think
the Assad regime has

352
00:17:23,008 --> 00:17:29,448
demonstrated that they've
crossed all the lines in

353
00:17:29,448 --> 00:17:31,683
pursuit of their goals.

354
00:17:31,683 --> 00:17:37,022
And those goals apparently
include depraved tactics

355
00:17:37,022 --> 00:17:39,091
like trying to starve
innocent civilians into

356
00:17:39,091 --> 00:17:45,764
submission, bombing
hospitals and playgrounds,

357
00:17:45,764 --> 00:17:46,899
targeting them.

358
00:17:46,899 --> 00:17:53,705
These tactics are depraved.

359
00:17:53,705 --> 00:17:59,410
They do cross just about
every line that I can think of.

360
00:17:59,411 --> 00:18:01,447
And, frankly, they cross
lines I hadn't previously

361
00:18:01,447 --> 00:18:02,447
thought of.

362
00:18:02,448 --> 00:18:06,885
The idea that you would
target a playground and bomb

363
00:18:06,885 --> 00:18:11,423
kids, hoping that you would
then convince people to give

364
00:18:11,423 --> 00:18:16,595
up because you had killed
their kids -- what kind of a

365
00:18:16,595 --> 00:18:20,332
sick mind comes up with
a strategy like that?

366
00:18:20,332 --> 00:18:22,634
And what kind of civilized
country is going to support

367
00:18:22,634 --> 00:18:24,236
those tactics?

368
00:18:24,236 --> 00:18:25,571
But that's what
Russia has done.

369
00:18:25,571 --> 00:18:28,005
The Press: So for the
families that we actually

370
00:18:28,006 --> 00:18:33,278
hear begging for
international help, what do

371
00:18:33,278 --> 00:18:35,247
you say to those
families today?

372
00:18:35,247 --> 00:18:38,984
Mr. Earnest: The United
States is playing a leading

373
00:18:38,984 --> 00:18:41,520
role in providing
financial assistance.

374
00:18:41,520 --> 00:18:44,456
The United States is playing
a leading role in trying to

375
00:18:44,456 --> 00:18:47,726
negotiate a kind of
cessation of hostilities

376
00:18:47,726 --> 00:18:49,795
what would allow for the
provision of

377
00:18:49,795 --> 00:18:50,896
humanitarian assistance.

378
00:18:50,896 --> 00:18:53,165
The United States is playing
a leading role in trying to

379
00:18:53,165 --> 00:18:55,868
facilitate a conversation
about resolving the

380
00:18:55,868 --> 00:18:58,003
political situation inside
of Syria so we can bring the

381
00:18:58,003 --> 00:19:00,672
violence to an end, and we
can put new leadership in

382
00:19:00,672 --> 00:19:03,709
Syria that actually reflects
the will of the Syrian people.

383
00:19:03,709 --> 00:19:06,211
And in that chaos, that's
what the United States is doing.

384
00:19:06,211 --> 00:19:09,815
What we're also doing is
engaging militarily to

385
00:19:09,815 --> 00:19:12,084
protect the international
community and the American

386
00:19:12,084 --> 00:19:14,186
people from the threat
that is posed by ISIL.

387
00:19:14,186 --> 00:19:17,489
And we've made a lot of
important progress against it.

388
00:19:17,489 --> 00:19:19,491
But we have not accomplished
our goal so far.

389
00:19:21,360 --> 00:19:22,060
Dave.

390
00:19:22,060 --> 00:19:23,495
The Press: Thanks, Josh.

391
00:19:23,495 --> 00:19:25,531
Has the President spoken
with Labor Secretary Perez

392
00:19:25,531 --> 00:19:27,265
about the DNC chairmanship?

393
00:19:27,266 --> 00:19:30,435
Mr. Earnest: Dave, I've seen
some of the reports about

394
00:19:30,435 --> 00:19:35,974
Mr. Perez's interest
in that position.

395
00:19:35,974 --> 00:19:37,042
I can't confirm them.

396
00:19:37,042 --> 00:19:39,845
And I don't have any
additional conversations

397
00:19:39,845 --> 00:19:41,847
between the President and
his Labor Secretary to tell

398
00:19:41,847 --> 00:19:43,916
you about at this point.

399
00:19:43,916 --> 00:19:45,918
What I can tell you is
something that I've said

400
00:19:45,918 --> 00:19:48,719
before which is that
Democrats across the country

401
00:19:48,720 --> 00:19:51,256
have an important decision
to make about who will

402
00:19:51,256 --> 00:19:55,227
assume the role of leading
the national Democratic Party.

403
00:19:55,227 --> 00:19:59,665
And I would expect there
will be a vigorous campaign.

404
00:19:59,665 --> 00:20:00,999
I know that there are
already three or four

405
00:20:00,999 --> 00:20:03,235
candidates that
are in the race.

406
00:20:03,235 --> 00:20:06,138
But I don't know if Mr.
Perez intends to be one

407
00:20:06,138 --> 00:20:06,804
of them.

408
00:20:06,805 --> 00:20:08,941
The Press: The President
over the years has obviously

409
00:20:08,941 --> 00:20:11,577
valued Secretary Perez's
leadership in

410
00:20:11,577 --> 00:20:12,444
the administration.

411
00:20:12,444 --> 00:20:14,479
Does he think he'd be good
at the DNC chairmanship?

412
00:20:14,479 --> 00:20:17,583
Mr. Earnest: Well, it's
certainly true that

413
00:20:17,583 --> 00:20:20,719
President Obama thinks very
highly of Secretary Perez.

414
00:20:20,719 --> 00:20:24,456
He is somebody who has
served at the Department of

415
00:20:24,456 --> 00:20:25,957
Labor for three
or four years now.

416
00:20:25,958 --> 00:20:29,528
And he has been instrumental
in advancing some of the

417
00:20:29,528 --> 00:20:32,297
executive actions that
President Obama has prioritized.

418
00:20:32,297 --> 00:20:33,865
At the Department of Labor,
they've worked to implement

419
00:20:33,865 --> 00:20:35,934
the overtime rule to ensure
that the hardest-working

420
00:20:35,934 --> 00:20:39,303
Americans are getting paid
fairly and even getting a raise.

421
00:20:41,473 --> 00:20:43,341
Under Secretary Perez's
leadership, the Department

422
00:20:43,342 --> 00:20:46,244
of Labor has implemented the
conflict of interest rule

423
00:20:46,244 --> 00:20:53,118
that prevents large
financial institutions from

424
00:20:53,118 --> 00:20:55,854
not acting in the best
interest of their clients,

425
00:20:55,854 --> 00:21:00,726
and we know that some of
those practices cost working

426
00:21:00,726 --> 00:21:03,428
people billions of
dollars every year.

427
00:21:03,428 --> 00:21:05,330
We're trying to bring that
to an end, and we've made

428
00:21:05,330 --> 00:21:07,633
progress in doing so because
of the leadership and

429
00:21:07,633 --> 00:21:10,335
effectiveness of
Secretary Perez.

430
00:21:10,335 --> 00:21:12,604
He's somebody who hasn't
just effectively led that

431
00:21:12,604 --> 00:21:15,841
department, he also is
somebody who is a forceful

432
00:21:15,841 --> 00:21:19,710
and persuasive advocate for
the values that animate the

433
00:21:19,711 --> 00:21:21,046
policies that he
has implemented.

434
00:21:21,046 --> 00:21:23,615
So he's a very
effective guy.

435
00:21:23,615 --> 00:21:24,850
The President thinks
highly of him.

436
00:21:24,850 --> 00:21:30,322
But as I've said before, I
don't anticipate a situation

437
00:21:30,322 --> 00:21:35,293
in which the President
forcefully endorses a

438
00:21:35,293 --> 00:21:38,562
candidate in the DNC chair's
race simply because the

439
00:21:38,563 --> 00:21:43,568
President's view is there
are rules and regulations

440
00:21:46,405 --> 00:21:52,978
that sort of lay out how the
DNC chair should be elected

441
00:21:52,978 --> 00:21:54,746
when there's not a Democrat
in the White House.

442
00:21:54,746 --> 00:21:57,215
And the President believes
that that process, which

443
00:21:57,215 --> 00:21:59,016
involves Democrats all
across the country at a

444
00:21:59,017 --> 00:22:03,555
variety of levels, engaging
in that debate is healthy

445
00:22:03,555 --> 00:22:05,057
for the party over
the longer term.

446
00:22:05,057 --> 00:22:06,658
The Press: Do you have any
knowledge whether the Vice

447
00:22:06,658 --> 00:22:08,325
President's office might
have been encouraging him to

448
00:22:08,326 --> 00:22:09,428
get involved?

449
00:22:09,428 --> 00:22:11,596
Mr. Earnest: I can't speak
to any conversations that

450
00:22:11,596 --> 00:22:14,566
Secretary Perez may have had
with Vice President Biden,

451
00:22:14,566 --> 00:22:15,934
but you can check
with his office.

452
00:22:15,934 --> 00:22:16,601
The Press: One other issue.

453
00:22:16,601 --> 00:22:19,104
Governor Brown from
California yesterday wrote

454
00:22:19,104 --> 00:22:22,874
to the President asking for
him to ban all new offshore

455
00:22:22,874 --> 00:22:24,276
drilling in the state.

456
00:22:24,276 --> 00:22:27,846
And there are reports also
that the administration

457
00:22:27,846 --> 00:22:30,449
might be ready to ban
offshore drilling in the

458
00:22:30,449 --> 00:22:33,185
future in the Atlantic.

459
00:22:33,185 --> 00:22:36,120
Can you let us in on
plans for either ocean?

460
00:22:36,121 --> 00:22:38,690
Mr. Earnest: I haven't seen
the letter, but let me see

461
00:22:38,690 --> 00:22:41,393
if we can get you a
substantive response to

462
00:22:41,393 --> 00:22:42,160
your question.

463
00:22:42,160 --> 00:22:43,195
Kevin.

464
00:22:43,195 --> 00:22:43,729
The Press: Thanks, Josh.

465
00:22:43,729 --> 00:22:46,531
I want to ask you about
comments coming up today by

466
00:22:46,531 --> 00:22:48,433
Secretary Jewel.

467
00:22:48,433 --> 00:22:50,869
This is according to
reporting out of Reuters, my

468
00:22:50,869 --> 00:22:52,070
colleagues down
the row here.

469
00:22:52,070 --> 00:22:55,273
"Scientists must confront
climate change deniers and

470
00:22:55,273 --> 00:22:59,678
speak up if President-elect
Donald Trump tries to

471
00:22:59,678 --> 00:23:02,748
sideline climate research."
Is that the President's

472
00:23:02,748 --> 00:23:05,650
position that scientists
should speak up if they

473
00:23:05,650 --> 00:23:07,252
disagree with the
President-elect?

474
00:23:07,252 --> 00:23:09,588
Mr. Earnest: Well, I think
the President's view is that

475
00:23:09,588 --> 00:23:12,591
policymaking should be
guided by science and that

476
00:23:12,591 --> 00:23:14,793
policymakers should be
listening to scientists,

477
00:23:14,793 --> 00:23:16,828
both inside the government
and outside the government.

478
00:23:16,828 --> 00:23:19,364
That's the President's view
and that's certainly the way

479
00:23:19,364 --> 00:23:20,932
that he has chosen to run
his administration over the

480
00:23:20,932 --> 00:23:22,134
last eight years.

481
00:23:22,134 --> 00:23:24,469
If the incoming
administration determines

482
00:23:24,469 --> 00:23:27,472
that they want to base their
policy on something other

483
00:23:27,472 --> 00:23:29,908
than science, it looks like
they're going to get at

484
00:23:29,908 --> 00:23:31,709
least four years to try
that out and we'll have an

485
00:23:31,710 --> 00:23:34,412
opportunity to
see how it works.

486
00:23:34,412 --> 00:23:36,414
The Press: Do you believe
that it's appropriate for

487
00:23:36,414 --> 00:23:39,851
Secretary Jewel to sort of
weigh in in this respect

488
00:23:39,851 --> 00:23:42,954
before she's actually heard
from the President-elect

489
00:23:42,954 --> 00:23:44,022
officially on the job?

490
00:23:44,022 --> 00:23:46,792
She seems to be making
the suggestion that his

491
00:23:46,792 --> 00:23:50,995
administration will somehow
ignore that which the

492
00:23:50,996 --> 00:23:53,832
scientists -- whether it be
the EPA or the Interior --

493
00:23:53,832 --> 00:23:54,599
have already established.

494
00:23:54,599 --> 00:23:56,902
Mr. Earnest: Well, listen, I
think based on some of the

495
00:23:56,902 --> 00:23:58,436
comments that we've seen
from the people that the

496
00:23:58,436 --> 00:24:02,006
incoming administration or
the President-elect has

497
00:24:02,007 --> 00:24:06,211
chosen to serve in important
positions like the EPA and

498
00:24:06,211 --> 00:24:10,816
the Department of Energy,
I think the concerns that

499
00:24:10,816 --> 00:24:12,851
people across the country
and around the globe have

500
00:24:12,851 --> 00:24:16,988
expressed about the incoming
administration's commitment

501
00:24:16,988 --> 00:24:20,759
to focusing and continuing
the fight on climate change

502
00:24:20,759 --> 00:24:23,395
I think are legitimate
questions at this point.

503
00:24:23,395 --> 00:24:25,330
The Press: What can you tell
me about the "Investing in a

504
00:24:25,330 --> 00:24:28,934
Safer, Strong Baltimore: A
Model for the President's

505
00:24:28,934 --> 00:24:30,601
Approach to Working
with Cities" report?

506
00:24:30,602 --> 00:24:33,705
Mr. Earnest: Let me take
a look at the report.

507
00:24:33,705 --> 00:24:35,573
I don't know that I've seen
it, but we can certainly

508
00:24:35,574 --> 00:24:36,174
take a look into it.

509
00:24:36,174 --> 00:24:37,309
The Press: Okay.

510
00:24:37,309 --> 00:24:40,178
Last, I want to get the very
latest on the Gitmo numbers.

511
00:24:40,178 --> 00:24:43,548
I typically ask you about
this time -- is there a plan

512
00:24:43,548 --> 00:24:44,883
to transfer more?

513
00:24:44,883 --> 00:24:48,186
What's the latest tally
and/or is the President

514
00:24:48,186 --> 00:24:52,657
expected to make another
round of transfers between

515
00:24:52,657 --> 00:24:54,926
now and when he
leaves office?

516
00:24:54,926 --> 00:24:56,293
And should we expect him to
also comment on this as we

517
00:24:56,294 --> 00:24:58,463
hear from him
later in the week?

518
00:24:58,463 --> 00:25:00,831
Mr. Earnest: Well, I
wouldn't rule out additional

519
00:25:00,832 --> 00:25:03,301
transfers between
now and January 20th.

520
00:25:03,301 --> 00:25:06,303
There is a process that is
in place that was instituted

521
00:25:06,304 --> 00:25:11,209
by this administration where
the case files of individual

522
00:25:11,209 --> 00:25:13,511
detainees are considered
by six different national

523
00:25:13,511 --> 00:25:15,013
security agencies.

524
00:25:15,013 --> 00:25:19,083
And based on the view of
those agencies, individuals

525
00:25:19,084 --> 00:25:23,521
can be cleared for transfer
under certain security

526
00:25:23,521 --> 00:25:27,225
restrictions that would
limit their ability to

527
00:25:27,225 --> 00:25:30,061
menace the United States or
our interests around the world.

528
00:25:30,061 --> 00:25:32,062
Once those individuals are
cleared for transfer, then

529
00:25:32,063 --> 00:25:36,468
the State Department does
the delicate work of asking

530
00:25:36,468 --> 00:25:39,204
countries around the world
to assume the responsibility

531
00:25:39,204 --> 00:25:41,139
of taking on these detainees
and imposing the

532
00:25:41,139 --> 00:25:43,908
security restrictions.

533
00:25:43,909 --> 00:25:46,077
And that work is continuing.

534
00:25:46,077 --> 00:25:51,049
I don't have any transfers
to preview, but every time a

535
00:25:51,049 --> 00:25:54,319
detainee is transferred, we
make a public announcement

536
00:25:54,319 --> 00:25:54,953
about it.

537
00:25:54,953 --> 00:25:58,256
And that will also be true
between now and January 20th.

538
00:25:58,256 --> 00:26:01,760
The Press: Is it also true
that the United States pays

539
00:26:01,760 --> 00:26:05,163
these countries to receive
these detainees,

540
00:26:05,163 --> 00:26:06,431
these transferees?

541
00:26:06,431 --> 00:26:10,135
And what's that number
like, and who tracks that?

542
00:26:10,135 --> 00:26:12,304
Mr. Earnest: Well, what I
can tell you is that the

543
00:26:12,304 --> 00:26:14,205
United States works closely
with these other countries

544
00:26:14,205 --> 00:26:17,609
to ensure that there are
security restrictions in place.

545
00:26:17,609 --> 00:26:20,512
I can't speak to all of the
negotiations that go into

546
00:26:20,512 --> 00:26:23,848
it, but certainly in some
cases, we're talking about

547
00:26:23,848 --> 00:26:27,118
countries that benefit from
the assistance of the United

548
00:26:27,118 --> 00:26:30,187
States and making sure that
those security restrictions

549
00:26:30,188 --> 00:26:35,026
are effectively implemented.

550
00:26:35,026 --> 00:26:38,263
And that's consistent
with the mandate of these

551
00:26:38,263 --> 00:26:41,632
agencies that review the
case files to ensure that

552
00:26:41,633 --> 00:26:44,035
restrictions are put in
place to prevent these

553
00:26:44,035 --> 00:26:47,706
individuals from posing an
undue risk to the United

554
00:26:47,706 --> 00:26:48,372
States of America.

555
00:26:48,373 --> 00:26:51,276
The Press: Last, I'd like to
get your sort of expanded

556
00:26:51,276 --> 00:26:53,378
comments on something Ben
Rhodes talked about, and

557
00:26:53,378 --> 00:26:56,581
that is the continued
relations between the United

558
00:26:56,581 --> 00:26:59,516
States and Cuba, and the
importance moving forward.

559
00:26:59,517 --> 00:27:00,986
What is the
President's message?

560
00:27:00,986 --> 00:27:02,754
And will he reach
out directly to the

561
00:27:02,754 --> 00:27:04,889
President-elect about the
importance of maintaining

562
00:27:04,889 --> 00:27:08,459
that relationship and some
of the pitfalls that come

563
00:27:08,460 --> 00:27:11,763
along with that, given their
lack of human rights and

564
00:27:11,763 --> 00:27:13,932
other concerns that many
people around this country have?

565
00:27:13,932 --> 00:27:14,432
Mr. Earnest: Yeah.

566
00:27:14,432 --> 00:27:17,068
Well, listen, Kevin, we've
got concerns about the human

567
00:27:17,068 --> 00:27:19,337
rights situation in a lot of
countries around the world,

568
00:27:19,337 --> 00:27:21,506
including some countries
like China and Russia that

569
00:27:21,506 --> 00:27:23,041
we've already spent a lot of
time talking about today.

570
00:27:23,041 --> 00:27:26,945
The question really is,
how do we shape those

571
00:27:26,945 --> 00:27:29,813
relationships so the United
States benefits from them?

572
00:27:29,814 --> 00:27:32,150
How can we shape those
relationships so that we can

573
00:27:32,150 --> 00:27:37,489
put pressure on those
countries to improve the

574
00:27:37,489 --> 00:27:39,758
human rights situation
inside their country while

575
00:27:39,758 --> 00:27:43,194
at the same time giving
the American people the

576
00:27:43,194 --> 00:27:46,331
opportunity and our country
the opportunity to benefit

577
00:27:46,331 --> 00:27:47,165
from those relationships?

578
00:27:47,165 --> 00:27:49,533
So when it comes to Cuba,
the United States had had a

579
00:27:49,534 --> 00:27:51,603
policy in place for more
than five decades that

580
00:27:51,603 --> 00:27:56,474
attempted to isolate Cuba in
an effort to pressure them

581
00:27:56,474 --> 00:27:59,644
to improve their respect
for human rights.

582
00:27:59,644 --> 00:28:00,678
That policy failed.

583
00:28:00,678 --> 00:28:02,580
That policy was in place for
more than 50 years and it

584
00:28:02,580 --> 00:28:04,215
didn't have the
desired outcome.

585
00:28:04,215 --> 00:28:07,217
So President Obama decided
to try something new.

586
00:28:07,218 --> 00:28:09,921
And in just two years since
the President decided to try

587
00:28:09,921 --> 00:28:12,023
a new approach that would
seek to normalize relations

588
00:28:12,023 --> 00:28:14,091
between our two countries,
we've made a lot of

589
00:28:14,092 --> 00:28:15,527
important progress.

590
00:28:15,527 --> 00:28:17,629
More than $6 billion in
trade has been initiated

591
00:28:17,629 --> 00:28:20,598
between Cuba and the United
States since then, which

592
00:28:20,598 --> 00:28:23,201
obviously has an important
economic benefit here in the

593
00:28:23,201 --> 00:28:24,202
United States.

594
00:28:24,202 --> 00:28:27,705
More Cuban Americans are
able to send more money and

595
00:28:27,705 --> 00:28:30,875
travel more frequently to
Cuba to visit their family

596
00:28:30,875 --> 00:28:33,211
members who remain
in that country.

597
00:28:33,211 --> 00:28:35,346
Other Americans who are
interested in visiting Cuba

598
00:28:35,346 --> 00:28:40,985
for cultural or educational
reasons can have the benefit

599
00:28:40,985 --> 00:28:43,987
of learning more about the
island and essentially

600
00:28:43,988 --> 00:28:46,891
deepening relations
between our two countries.

601
00:28:46,891 --> 00:28:49,127
Those Americans are also
allowed to bring back as

602
00:28:49,127 --> 00:28:52,496
much Cuban rum and Cuban
cigars as they'd like for

603
00:28:52,497 --> 00:28:54,199
their own personal use.

604
00:28:54,199 --> 00:28:55,700
So there are a variety of
benefits, you might say,

605
00:28:55,700 --> 00:28:58,069
that the American people can
enjoy as a result of this

606
00:28:58,069 --> 00:28:59,170
policy change.

607
00:28:59,170 --> 00:29:00,972
Just as importantly, the
Cuban people are

608
00:29:00,972 --> 00:29:02,240
benefitting too.

609
00:29:02,240 --> 00:29:05,276
And we're seeing the Cuban
economy -- particularly when

610
00:29:05,276 --> 00:29:07,812
it comes to entrepreneurs in
that country -- benefit from

611
00:29:07,812 --> 00:29:12,382
more interactions with
Americans who are traveling

612
00:29:12,383 --> 00:29:13,284
to their country.

613
00:29:13,284 --> 00:29:14,686
The Press: But would that
lead to a change in their

614
00:29:14,686 --> 00:29:16,154
human rights posture at all?

615
00:29:16,154 --> 00:29:18,523
I mean, because on the one
hand you said, listen, the

616
00:29:18,523 --> 00:29:21,993
old policy didn't work as
far as human rights

617
00:29:21,993 --> 00:29:23,293
were concerned.

618
00:29:23,294 --> 00:29:25,230
Now this new policy seems
to be working perhaps

619
00:29:25,230 --> 00:29:27,899
economically, certainly for
them, and I think, from a

620
00:29:27,899 --> 00:29:30,400
social perspective, perhaps
even for the American and

621
00:29:30,401 --> 00:29:31,536
Cuban relations.

622
00:29:31,536 --> 00:29:34,939
But is that changing the
paradigm on human rights?

623
00:29:34,939 --> 00:29:36,908
Mr. Earnest: Well, it
certainly is ramping up

624
00:29:36,908 --> 00:29:38,176
pressure on the
Cuban regime.

625
00:29:38,176 --> 00:29:40,712
And earlier this year, many
of you had the opportunity

626
00:29:40,712 --> 00:29:43,448
to travel to Cuba with the
President where the Cuban

627
00:29:43,448 --> 00:29:46,317
President was asked directly
and put in the international

628
00:29:46,317 --> 00:29:50,255
spotlight around a question
about whether or not his

629
00:29:50,255 --> 00:29:52,023
government takes
political prisoners.

630
00:29:52,023 --> 00:29:54,292
That's increasing pressure
on the Cuban government in a

631
00:29:54,292 --> 00:29:56,461
way that, frankly, they're
not used to seeing.

632
00:29:56,461 --> 00:29:59,130
That was a rather
remarkable, extraordinary

633
00:29:59,130 --> 00:30:01,833
event, those of you
who saw it may recall.

634
00:30:01,833 --> 00:30:03,601
There were two different
times in which an aide came

635
00:30:03,601 --> 00:30:06,471
onstage to whisper in the
ear of the Cuban President

636
00:30:06,471 --> 00:30:09,274
about how best to answer
this question because they

637
00:30:09,274 --> 00:30:12,110
understood they were facing
more public pressure than

638
00:30:12,110 --> 00:30:16,680
ever before about their
respect for human rights;

639
00:30:16,681 --> 00:30:18,583
certainly more pressure than
they faced when they were

640
00:30:18,583 --> 00:30:21,186
under an embargo for
more than 50 years.

641
00:30:21,186 --> 00:30:25,322
And that pressure was only
existent -- only existed

642
00:30:25,323 --> 00:30:27,492
because of the President's
trip down there and his

643
00:30:27,492 --> 00:30:29,427
commitment to the
pursuit of this approach.

644
00:30:29,427 --> 00:30:31,462
I think the last thing is,
if we're actually interested

645
00:30:31,462 --> 00:30:34,599
in trying to protect and
advance the interests of the

646
00:30:34,599 --> 00:30:37,268
Cuban people, if we actually
care about their plight,

647
00:30:37,268 --> 00:30:39,204
then we might consider what
their view is of the policy.

648
00:30:39,204 --> 00:30:44,676
And all the public data that
I've seen is that, in some

649
00:30:44,676 --> 00:30:47,312
cases, more than 90 percent
of Cubans actually believe

650
00:30:47,312 --> 00:30:48,545
that this policy has
been good for them.

651
00:30:48,546 --> 00:30:51,983
So this is a policy that has
only been in place for two

652
00:30:51,983 --> 00:30:56,955
years, and the President is
hopeful that as this policy

653
00:30:56,955 --> 00:30:59,756
remains in place, we'll have
more benefits to show from it.

654
00:30:59,757 --> 00:31:02,493
But of course, the next
incoming President will have

655
00:31:02,493 --> 00:31:04,495
something to say about that.

656
00:31:04,495 --> 00:31:04,861
Margaret.

657
00:31:04,862 --> 00:31:06,798
Mr. Earnest: Josh, U.N.

658
00:31:06,798 --> 00:31:08,933
Ambassador Samantha Power
had some strong words, some

659
00:31:08,933 --> 00:31:11,769
strong rhetoric, about Syria
and Russia in particular,

660
00:31:11,769 --> 00:31:15,373
and I want to ask if you
agree with one particular

661
00:31:15,373 --> 00:31:16,307
thing she said.

662
00:31:16,307 --> 00:31:20,511
She said, "Aleppo is joining
Rwanda and Srebrenica as

663
00:31:20,511 --> 00:31:24,115
defining historical events
that embody evil." Is that

664
00:31:24,115 --> 00:31:27,151
how the White House views
what's happening right now

665
00:31:27,151 --> 00:31:31,122
in Aleppo -- comparing it
to those two genocidal

666
00:31:31,122 --> 00:31:32,457
mass atrocities?

667
00:31:32,457 --> 00:31:34,726
Mr. Earnest: Well, this
actually is an area of

668
00:31:34,726 --> 00:31:37,395
expertise for
Ambassador Power.

669
00:31:37,395 --> 00:31:40,231
She's written award-winning
books on this topic, so I

670
00:31:40,231 --> 00:31:45,503
certainly wouldn't be in a
position to disagree with her.

671
00:31:45,503 --> 00:31:48,339
The kinds of atrocities that
we've seen in Aleppo, as I

672
00:31:48,339 --> 00:31:53,211
mentioned earlier, seem to
cross every line, including

673
00:31:53,211 --> 00:31:55,713
some lines that I think
many of us had never even

674
00:31:55,713 --> 00:31:56,848
contemplated before.

675
00:31:56,848 --> 00:31:58,750
The willingness of the
Assad regime, backed by the

676
00:31:58,750 --> 00:32:00,618
Russians and the Iranians,
to engage in depraved

677
00:32:00,618 --> 00:32:05,223
tactics targeting innocent
civilians is beyond the pale.

678
00:32:05,223 --> 00:32:10,228
And it certainly does -- the
kind of chaos and violence

679
00:32:16,067 --> 00:32:19,604
and bloodshed and innocent
loss of life that we've seen

680
00:32:19,604 --> 00:32:24,275
in Aleppo certainly does,
tragically, distinguish it

681
00:32:24,275 --> 00:32:28,212
from so many other countries
in the world -- and so many

682
00:32:28,212 --> 00:32:29,714
other cities in the
world, I should say.

683
00:32:29,714 --> 00:32:33,518
The Press: But using those
two specific examples, they

684
00:32:33,518 --> 00:32:37,255
are very concrete examples
that are now widely

685
00:32:37,255 --> 00:32:42,160
recognized as genocidal acts
where the world community

686
00:32:42,160 --> 00:32:46,898
failed to prevent mass
atrocity, and American

687
00:32:46,898 --> 00:32:50,301
presidents have, in past,
then said, I regret not

688
00:32:50,301 --> 00:32:51,735
doing something then.

689
00:32:51,736 --> 00:32:54,539
So it's a powerful
comparison to make, and I'm

690
00:32:54,539 --> 00:32:56,140
just wondering, how does
President Obama think

691
00:32:56,140 --> 00:32:57,442
about this?

692
00:32:57,442 --> 00:33:00,111
I mean, is he sitting there
saying -- and putting it in

693
00:33:00,111 --> 00:33:01,979
the same category as
Srebrenica, and putting it

694
00:33:01,979 --> 00:33:04,349
in the same
category as Rwanda?

695
00:33:04,349 --> 00:33:06,184
And how does he feel?

696
00:33:06,184 --> 00:33:09,253
I mean, does he regret that
this is happening on his watch?

697
00:33:09,253 --> 00:33:12,056
Mr. Earnest: Well, listen,
as I mentioned in response

698
00:33:12,056 --> 00:33:14,759
to the earlier question,
President Obama is deeply

699
00:33:14,759 --> 00:33:16,828
troubled by the innocent
loss of life that we've seen

700
00:33:16,828 --> 00:33:19,030
in Aleppo and
all across Syria.

701
00:33:19,030 --> 00:33:20,331
There's no denying that.

702
00:33:20,331 --> 00:33:24,702
That's why the President has
played a leading role in the

703
00:33:24,702 --> 00:33:26,571
international community to
try to bring that violence

704
00:33:26,571 --> 00:33:27,405
to an end.

705
00:33:27,405 --> 00:33:30,274
That's why we've been deeply
engaged from the beginning

706
00:33:30,274 --> 00:33:33,010
in trying to find a way to
bring this violence to an

707
00:33:33,010 --> 00:33:36,881
end, to negotiate the kind
of political solution that's

708
00:33:36,881 --> 00:33:39,751
the only kind of solution
that can solve this problem.

709
00:33:39,751 --> 00:33:42,787
A military solution
cannot be imposed on this

710
00:33:42,787 --> 00:33:45,723
situation, unless of course
somebody is suggesting that

711
00:33:45,723 --> 00:33:47,792
somehow the United States of
America, on the orders of

712
00:33:47,792 --> 00:33:50,695
the Commander-in-Chief,
should deploy 100,000,

713
00:33:50,695 --> 00:33:53,197
150,000 -- 200,000 U.S.

714
00:33:53,197 --> 00:33:56,533
servicemen and women to
essentially occupy Syria.

715
00:33:56,534 --> 00:33:57,602
I don't know -- The Press:
Iran and Russia do believe

716
00:33:57,602 --> 00:34:02,473
there is a military solution
and they are seeing their

717
00:34:02,473 --> 00:34:04,575
version of a military
solution play out on the

718
00:34:04,575 --> 00:34:05,576
ground in Aleppo.

719
00:34:05,576 --> 00:34:07,512
Mr. Earnest: At the same
time that Bashar al-Assad

720
00:34:07,512 --> 00:34:09,045
does an interview today
saying that the violence is

721
00:34:09,045 --> 00:34:10,313
going to continue.

722
00:34:10,313 --> 00:34:10,547
The Press: Right.

723
00:34:10,547 --> 00:34:13,484
So not end the war, but
certainly advantage the side

724
00:34:13,484 --> 00:34:14,518
that you want to win.

725
00:34:14,518 --> 00:34:18,089
But putting that aside, just
talking about the atrocities

726
00:34:18,089 --> 00:34:21,025
-- not the rest of it
-- President Obama did

727
00:34:21,025 --> 00:34:22,093
something really
extraordinary when he came

728
00:34:22,092 --> 00:34:24,694
to office in saying that
atrocities prevention is a

729
00:34:24,695 --> 00:34:26,731
national security priority.

730
00:34:26,731 --> 00:34:28,599
He was the first
President to do that.

731
00:34:28,599 --> 00:34:32,370
You are now saying as an
administration these two

732
00:34:32,370 --> 00:34:36,306
prime examples of ethnic
cleansing, of genocidal acts

733
00:34:36,306 --> 00:34:38,141
are happening right now.

734
00:34:38,141 --> 00:34:41,145
And the action
stops at rhetoric.

735
00:34:41,145 --> 00:34:44,148
How does the President
process that?

736
00:34:44,148 --> 00:34:46,884
Mr. Earnest: Again, I
stridently disagree with the

737
00:34:46,884 --> 00:34:49,020
suggestion that the
action stops at rhetoric.

738
00:34:49,020 --> 00:34:49,687
There's no basis.

739
00:34:49,687 --> 00:34:54,725
The Press: But there were
actions taken elsewhere, right?

740
00:34:54,725 --> 00:34:57,094
And President Clinton came
out and said, I regret not

741
00:34:57,094 --> 00:34:58,062
doing something in Rwanda.

742
00:34:58,062 --> 00:34:59,197
Mr. Earnest: Margaret, my
point is --

743
00:34:59,197 --> 00:35:00,398
The Press: There weren't actions
taken in the Balkans.

744
00:35:00,398 --> 00:35:02,633
So it's not as -- Mr.
Earnest: When you say

745
00:35:02,633 --> 00:35:06,270
actions, you're using some
shorthand for military action.

746
00:35:06,270 --> 00:35:08,406
If that's the case, then we
should -- but you cut me off

747
00:35:08,406 --> 00:35:10,842
from trying to offer up why
that's not a wise solution.

748
00:35:10,842 --> 00:35:11,943
So there is --

749
00:35:11,943 --> 00:35:14,312
The Press: No one was advocating for invasion.

750
00:35:14,312 --> 00:35:16,714
I never said that, that that
was the example you were doing.

751
00:35:16,714 --> 00:35:18,982
Mr. Earnest: Okay, but
you're suggesting why isn't

752
00:35:18,983 --> 00:35:21,285
there any action on the part
of the Obama administration.

753
00:35:21,285 --> 00:35:24,254
And the case that I have
made repeatedly so often

754
00:35:24,255 --> 00:35:27,725
that you guys can repeat
this: President Obama has

755
00:35:27,725 --> 00:35:29,894
played a leading role in the
international community in

756
00:35:29,894 --> 00:35:32,029
trying to find a diplomatic
solution to this situation.

757
00:35:32,029 --> 00:35:33,164
You all have covered it.

758
00:35:33,164 --> 00:35:37,034
You all have traveled
frequently to locations

759
00:35:37,034 --> 00:35:39,270
throughout Europe where
Secretary Kerry has met

760
00:35:39,270 --> 00:35:41,639
repeatedly with the Russians
and other countries in the

761
00:35:41,639 --> 00:35:43,975
region to try to find a
solution to this situation.

762
00:35:43,975 --> 00:35:46,511
Those meetings occurred
because the United States is

763
00:35:46,511 --> 00:35:49,313
playing a leading role in
bringing people to the table

764
00:35:49,313 --> 00:35:50,948
to try to negotiate
this solution.

765
00:35:50,948 --> 00:35:53,250
The United States is the
largest donor of bilateral

766
00:35:53,251 --> 00:35:56,087
humanitarian assistance to
try to meet the needs of the

767
00:35:56,087 --> 00:35:57,488
people who are suffering.

768
00:35:57,488 --> 00:36:01,192
The United States is in a
position where we are taking

769
00:36:01,192 --> 00:36:04,395
military action to try to
prevent the chaos that

770
00:36:04,395 --> 00:36:07,832
President Assad is causing
in his country from fueling

771
00:36:07,832 --> 00:36:10,902
the kind of extremism that
could pose a threat to the

772
00:36:10,902 --> 00:36:12,837
United States and our allies
and our interests not just

773
00:36:12,837 --> 00:36:14,438
in the region, but
around the world.

774
00:36:14,438 --> 00:36:16,774
All of those things are
happening on President

775
00:36:16,774 --> 00:36:19,377
Obama's orders, as a result
of his leadership, and

776
00:36:19,377 --> 00:36:20,978
they're the kinds of
things that only a U.S.

777
00:36:20,978 --> 00:36:23,881
President can do given our
influence around the world.

778
00:36:23,881 --> 00:36:26,183
So that is what the
United States is doing.

779
00:36:26,183 --> 00:36:28,786
I readily acknowledge that
we are not seeing the

780
00:36:28,786 --> 00:36:31,822
results that we would like
to see in addressing the

781
00:36:31,822 --> 00:36:33,891
violence inside of Aleppo.

782
00:36:33,891 --> 00:36:36,193
But it's offensive to
suggest that somehow the

783
00:36:36,193 --> 00:36:39,564
United States government
and the world is not doing

784
00:36:39,564 --> 00:36:46,404
anything, particularly when
no one has put forward an

785
00:36:46,404 --> 00:36:50,041
alternative suggestion for
what we should now be doing.

786
00:36:50,041 --> 00:36:51,142
Ron.

787
00:36:51,142 --> 00:36:54,812
The Press: I think the
issue, Josh, is that people

788
00:36:54,812 --> 00:36:57,915
will acknowledge all that
the United States has been

789
00:36:57,915 --> 00:37:01,686
doing -- humanitarian
aid, so on and so forth,

790
00:37:01,686 --> 00:37:04,021
diplomacy -- but we are
still at a place where the

791
00:37:04,021 --> 00:37:07,258
awfulness is
still happening.

792
00:37:07,258 --> 00:37:07,857
Mr. Earnest: Yeah.

793
00:37:07,858 --> 00:37:09,093
And I -- The Press: And
that's why the question

794
00:37:09,093 --> 00:37:13,230
becomes, okay, so the U.S. has done all that -- now what?

795
00:37:13,230 --> 00:37:20,504
Which is why yesterday
Brett McGurk was saying the

796
00:37:20,504 --> 00:37:23,540
humanitarian, the civil
war part of Syria was only

797
00:37:23,541 --> 00:37:24,775
addressed briefly
in that meeting.

798
00:37:24,775 --> 00:37:25,543
Is that correct?

799
00:37:25,543 --> 00:37:30,982
It wasn't -- most of the
meeting was about the ISIS

800
00:37:30,982 --> 00:37:32,049
part of this,
ISIL part of it.

801
00:37:32,049 --> 00:37:33,084
Mr. Earnest: That's correct.

802
00:37:33,084 --> 00:37:36,120
The Press: And the Syrian
civil war atrocities part of

803
00:37:36,120 --> 00:37:37,654
it was just brief.

804
00:37:37,655 --> 00:37:41,559
And I guess the question
is -- the President just

805
00:37:41,559 --> 00:37:43,361
doesn't see anything
more that the U.S.

806
00:37:43,361 --> 00:37:47,964
can do now to stop what's
happening now despite all

807
00:37:47,965 --> 00:37:49,400
that you've done, all that
he's done over the past

808
00:37:49,400 --> 00:37:54,972
number of years?

809
00:37:54,972 --> 00:37:56,007
There's just nothing else?

810
00:37:56,007 --> 00:37:56,440
Mr. Earnest: Well, again, I --

811
00:37:56,440 --> 00:37:56,941
The Press: Again, I know -- I hear you.

812
00:37:56,941 --> 00:37:58,408
But again, there's nothing
new, nothing different,

813
00:37:58,409 --> 00:38:02,580
nothing that he thinks --
it's just a problem that

814
00:38:02,580 --> 00:38:04,848
can't be solved, or a
situation that can't

815
00:38:04,849 --> 00:38:05,683
be ameliorated?

816
00:38:05,683 --> 00:38:07,251
Mr. Earnest: I'm not aware
of anybody in the U.S.

817
00:38:07,251 --> 00:38:09,720
government who has given up
trying to continue to play

818
00:38:09,720 --> 00:38:11,988
the leading role in
finding a solution here.

819
00:38:11,989 --> 00:38:13,424
The diplomacy continues.

820
00:38:13,424 --> 00:38:15,559
And you can go talk to my
colleagues at the State

821
00:38:15,559 --> 00:38:17,895
Department about all of the
conversations and all of the

822
00:38:17,895 --> 00:38:21,565
work that is underway there.

823
00:38:21,565 --> 00:38:25,336
And the reason for that is
not just because Secretary

824
00:38:25,336 --> 00:38:27,071
Kerry finds those
conversations particularly

825
00:38:27,071 --> 00:38:29,406
enjoyable; I'm sure
that he doesn't.

826
00:38:29,407 --> 00:38:32,977
But they are the only path
to resolving the situation

827
00:38:32,977 --> 00:38:33,978
that exists.

828
00:38:33,978 --> 00:38:37,882
If there's another one, by
all means, please send it up

829
00:38:37,882 --> 00:38:41,519
and we'll make sure that it
gets a careful look, because

830
00:38:41,519 --> 00:38:45,356
even our harshest critics
cannot articulate some sort

831
00:38:45,356 --> 00:38:50,094
of alternative for what
is happening right now.

832
00:38:50,094 --> 00:38:52,730
And, again, if they think
that the most powerful thing

833
00:38:52,730 --> 00:38:54,532
that we should do is to
deploy the United States

834
00:38:54,532 --> 00:38:57,935
military and occupy the
country, they should do so.

835
00:38:57,935 --> 00:38:59,503
They should explain how
that's going to reduce

836
00:38:59,503 --> 00:39:00,638
the violence.

837
00:39:00,638 --> 00:39:02,440
That certainly is
not our experience.

838
00:39:02,440 --> 00:39:05,176
They should explain how that
is in the interest of U.S.

839
00:39:05,176 --> 00:39:07,645
taxpayers because that's
going to be expensive.

840
00:39:07,645 --> 00:39:10,147
They should explain to our
United States military why

841
00:39:10,147 --> 00:39:13,183
they should put themselves
at risk in that way.

842
00:39:13,184 --> 00:39:15,419
And they should explain how
that is part of a long-term

843
00:39:15,419 --> 00:39:17,054
strategy to protect our
interests in the region.

844
00:39:17,054 --> 00:39:19,423
Because what we have found
is when the United States

845
00:39:19,423 --> 00:39:21,792
engages in a ground war and
tries to occupy a country in

846
00:39:21,792 --> 00:39:24,361
the Middle East, there
are long-term negative

847
00:39:24,361 --> 00:39:26,964
consequences for doing that,
including the situation in

848
00:39:26,964 --> 00:39:27,565
Syria right now.

849
00:39:27,565 --> 00:39:28,833
The Press: And there's
nothing short of a

850
00:39:28,833 --> 00:39:30,267
full-scale invasion?

851
00:39:30,267 --> 00:39:34,238
That, I guess, is what most
people would just ask.

852
00:39:34,238 --> 00:39:36,774
I mean, we've heard --
we understand all that.

853
00:39:36,774 --> 00:39:41,278
And I also understand how
you feel that your critics

854
00:39:41,278 --> 00:39:42,879
always say that if you're
not doing something

855
00:39:42,880 --> 00:39:44,148
militarily, you're
not doing anything.

856
00:39:44,148 --> 00:39:45,716
And I get that.

857
00:39:45,716 --> 00:39:50,020
But just talking to people
-- there's nothing short of

858
00:39:50,020 --> 00:39:51,989
a full-scale invasion.

859
00:39:51,989 --> 00:39:53,624
And there was talk
of safe zones.

860
00:39:53,624 --> 00:39:57,227
And during the campaign,
Hillary Clinton, others,

861
00:39:57,228 --> 00:39:58,996
some of the allies in the
region -- the Turks at one

862
00:39:58,996 --> 00:40:00,965
point -- were
talking about that.

863
00:40:00,965 --> 00:40:05,136
I guess it's just hard for
people to see the slaughter

864
00:40:05,136 --> 00:40:08,672
continue and there's not
something else that can be

865
00:40:08,672 --> 00:40:12,810
done militarily that would,
in the short term at least,

866
00:40:12,810 --> 00:40:15,446
stop some of the bloodshed.

867
00:40:15,446 --> 00:40:20,718
Mr. Earnest: Let me try to
answer your question this way.

868
00:40:20,718 --> 00:40:24,488
I suspect if there actually
were a military solution to

869
00:40:24,488 --> 00:40:30,194
this problem, depending
on what it was, the

870
00:40:30,194 --> 00:40:32,763
Commander-in-Chief wouldn't
hesitate to implement it.

871
00:40:32,763 --> 00:40:33,931
But there's not.

872
00:40:33,931 --> 00:40:35,666
And this is not a new
position that is being

873
00:40:35,666 --> 00:40:37,268
articulated by the
Obama administration.

874
00:40:37,268 --> 00:40:43,007
This is a position that we
have had since the earliest

875
00:40:43,007 --> 00:40:45,810
days of the civil
war in Syria.

876
00:40:45,810 --> 00:40:47,812
There is not a military
solution that can be imposed

877
00:40:47,812 --> 00:40:49,580
by the United States.

878
00:40:49,580 --> 00:40:51,615
Diplomacy is the avenue.

879
00:40:51,615 --> 00:40:57,854
Diplomacy is the path toward
a long-term resolution that

880
00:40:57,855 --> 00:40:59,523
is in the interest
of the United States.

881
00:40:59,523 --> 00:41:00,591
And that's what
we're pursuing.

882
00:41:00,591 --> 00:41:01,926
And, in fact, that's
what we're leading.

883
00:41:01,926 --> 00:41:04,261
The Press: It's the
hesitancy that I think a lot

884
00:41:04,261 --> 00:41:07,832
of the critics point to --
this caution that is, yes,

885
00:41:07,832 --> 00:41:10,835
part of President Obama's
approach to this -- approach

886
00:41:10,835 --> 00:41:12,436
to many things.

887
00:41:12,436 --> 00:41:15,506
And we've heard him argue
how he has not hesitated in

888
00:41:15,506 --> 00:41:18,442
certain circumstances to
deploy the military to do

889
00:41:18,442 --> 00:41:21,979
things in different places.

890
00:41:21,979 --> 00:41:26,116
I guess this is a question
for him on Friday when he --

891
00:41:26,116 --> 00:41:28,686
because, again, given what's
happening, I guess we'd love

892
00:41:28,686 --> 00:41:32,022
to get a better sense of
how he processes this.

893
00:41:32,022 --> 00:41:35,759
And I understand it's a
tremendous responsibility,

894
00:41:35,759 --> 00:41:40,965
but how he processes the
criticism, the concern that

895
00:41:40,965 --> 00:41:45,069
the world has about this
situation at the same time

896
00:41:45,069 --> 00:41:49,573
that there's this criticism
of him for being too

897
00:41:49,573 --> 00:41:52,609
cautious, too -- dare I
say -- weak to do more.

898
00:41:52,610 --> 00:41:54,144
Mr. Earnest: Well, I don't
think you should use that

899
00:41:54,144 --> 00:41:56,346
word because people
certainly didn't think it

900
00:41:56,347 --> 00:41:57,882
was cautious when the
President of the United

901
00:41:57,882 --> 00:42:00,484
States ordered the Seal Team
Six into Pakistan to go and

902
00:42:00,484 --> 00:42:02,219
take Osama bin Laden
off the battlefield.

903
00:42:02,219 --> 00:42:04,154
I don't think people thought
it was cautious that the

904
00:42:04,154 --> 00:42:09,860
President has built an
international coalition of

905
00:42:09,860 --> 00:42:10,394
68 members to go and
take the fight to ISIL.

906
00:42:10,394 --> 00:42:12,129
And you just got a long
briefing yesterday, a timely

907
00:42:12,129 --> 00:42:15,232
one, that reveals the
progress that we've made in

908
00:42:15,232 --> 00:42:20,004
rolling back territory
from ISIL and taking their

909
00:42:20,004 --> 00:42:22,706
external plotters off the
battlefield and limiting

910
00:42:22,706 --> 00:42:25,309
their ability to organize
those kinds of operations

911
00:42:25,309 --> 00:42:27,711
and carry them out against
the United States and our

912
00:42:27,711 --> 00:42:28,611
allies around the world.

913
00:42:28,612 --> 00:42:33,384
So I think the President
has been judicious and

914
00:42:33,384 --> 00:42:35,853
strategic, but he's
also been bold.

915
00:42:35,853 --> 00:42:38,188
And the United States and
our national security has

916
00:42:38,188 --> 00:42:40,624
benefitted from it.

917
00:42:40,624 --> 00:42:41,292
Gardiner.

918
00:42:41,292 --> 00:42:44,295
The Press: Why did it
take until October 7th to

919
00:42:44,295 --> 00:42:46,964
attribute the hack to the
Russian government when the

920
00:42:46,964 --> 00:42:50,100
hack on the DNC was
confirmed in April, and from

921
00:42:50,100 --> 00:42:53,938
the first days investigators
knew it had Russian ties?

922
00:42:53,938 --> 00:42:56,006
That delay covered most of
the presidential election,

923
00:42:56,006 --> 00:42:58,308
causing months' worth of
debilitating coverage of the

924
00:42:58,309 --> 00:43:01,011
leaks that were not properly
informed by a formal

925
00:43:01,011 --> 00:43:03,346
government statement that
this was an act of

926
00:43:03,347 --> 00:43:05,082
foreign espionage.

927
00:43:05,082 --> 00:43:07,284
Wasn't that a mistake
to take so long?

928
00:43:07,284 --> 00:43:10,421
Mr. Earnest: Gardiner, this
is an assessment that was

929
00:43:10,421 --> 00:43:13,857
put forward by the
intelligence community, and

930
00:43:13,857 --> 00:43:16,894
the intelligence community
put forward this statement

931
00:43:16,894 --> 00:43:20,663
as soon as they were able to
confirm a couple of things.

932
00:43:20,664 --> 00:43:24,001
First, they had to confirm
across 17 different

933
00:43:24,001 --> 00:43:27,638
government agencies that
they had high confidence

934
00:43:27,638 --> 00:43:30,473
that this is exactly
what had transpired.

935
00:43:30,474 --> 00:43:32,543
Now, I recognize that there
was this independent,

936
00:43:32,543 --> 00:43:38,215
private analysis that had
been put forward, but the

937
00:43:38,215 --> 00:43:40,384
standards of the
intelligence community, for

938
00:43:40,384 --> 00:43:44,021
good reason, are very high.

939
00:43:44,021 --> 00:43:46,523
Second, the intelligence
community wanted to be as

940
00:43:46,523 --> 00:43:49,026
specific as possible in
putting forward that

941
00:43:49,026 --> 00:43:54,397
assessment so that people
could have confidence in

942
00:43:54,398 --> 00:43:55,466
the facts.

943
00:43:55,466 --> 00:43:59,737
In order to be specific, the
intelligence community also

944
00:43:59,737 --> 00:44:02,639
had to ensure they would not
be revealing the kinds of

945
00:44:02,639 --> 00:44:04,975
sources and methods that
give them the insight that

946
00:44:04,975 --> 00:44:07,277
they need to conduct
these investigations.

947
00:44:07,277 --> 00:44:12,583
So there was a determined
effort to both be as

948
00:44:12,583 --> 00:44:16,553
specific as possible while
also protecting the sources

949
00:44:16,553 --> 00:44:18,388
and methods that are used by
the intelligence community

950
00:44:18,389 --> 00:44:19,723
to conduct these
investigations.

951
00:44:19,723 --> 00:44:22,092
I think all in all,
Gardiner, this was a

952
00:44:22,092 --> 00:44:26,397
statement that was put out a
month before the election.

953
00:44:26,397 --> 00:44:31,402
So I would acknowledge that
there were reports of hacks

954
00:44:34,238 --> 00:44:39,576
and leaks before that, but
what also existed before

955
00:44:39,576 --> 00:44:44,481
that were private
assessments about how that

956
00:44:44,481 --> 00:44:46,550
material was obtained.

957
00:44:46,550 --> 00:44:51,722
And there's no denying that
those materials were

958
00:44:51,722 --> 00:44:54,358
stolen property.

959
00:44:54,358 --> 00:44:56,794
The suggestion -- there is
no denial on the part of the

960
00:44:56,794 --> 00:45:00,596
U.S. government that somehow the
DNC had not been hacked.

961
00:45:00,597 --> 00:45:03,634
So even as news
organizations were reporting

962
00:45:03,634 --> 00:45:05,969
on this information,
they were reporting on

963
00:45:05,969 --> 00:45:10,507
information that they know
had been stolen and leaked.

964
00:45:10,507 --> 00:45:12,276
Those are editorial
decisions that are made by

965
00:45:12,276 --> 00:45:15,446
independent news
organizations, but even the

966
00:45:15,446 --> 00:45:21,785
excellent report that was
included in your newspaper

967
00:45:21,785 --> 00:45:24,821
today about this incident
makes clear that news

968
00:45:24,822 --> 00:45:27,891
organizations in the United
States essentially became

969
00:45:27,891 --> 00:45:29,593
the arms of Russian
intelligence.

970
00:45:29,593 --> 00:45:31,995
The Press: But shouldn't
those news organizations

971
00:45:31,995 --> 00:45:33,297
have been told
months earlier?

972
00:45:33,297 --> 00:45:36,133
I mean, Josh, this is a new
battlefield, and you're

973
00:45:36,133 --> 00:45:37,301
telling me that the U.S.

974
00:45:37,301 --> 00:45:41,505
government cannot respond on
this battlefield for months,

975
00:45:41,505 --> 00:45:44,775
six months, until much of
the damage as a result of

976
00:45:44,775 --> 00:45:46,877
this attack has
already occurred?

977
00:45:46,877 --> 00:45:50,881
You're saying that it was
appropriate to wait between

978
00:45:50,881 --> 00:45:55,685
April and October to allow
the Russians to have their

979
00:45:55,686 --> 00:46:00,557
goals and aims achieved
largely, and it wasn't until

980
00:46:00,557 --> 00:46:02,825
pretty much the last minute
of the election that the

981
00:46:02,826 --> 00:46:05,863
U.S. government came out with
something that might have

982
00:46:05,863 --> 00:46:09,198
changed news organizations
decision-making about using

983
00:46:09,199 --> 00:46:10,400
this information?

984
00:46:10,400 --> 00:46:12,035
Why not do it before?

985
00:46:12,035 --> 00:46:16,240
And shouldn't you -- if you
are not capable because of

986
00:46:16,240 --> 00:46:18,942
this wide-ranging review,
shouldn't you change that

987
00:46:18,942 --> 00:46:20,043
review process?

988
00:46:20,043 --> 00:46:22,079
Mr. Earnest: I don't think
there's any evidence to

989
00:46:22,079 --> 00:46:23,213
indicate that editorial
decisions changed as a

990
00:46:23,213 --> 00:46:24,548
result of the statement.

991
00:46:24,548 --> 00:46:27,049
So I think we actually do
have an opportunity to

992
00:46:27,050 --> 00:46:29,586
evaluate that claim.

993
00:46:29,586 --> 00:46:32,522
So I think it actually is an
open question about whether

994
00:46:32,523 --> 00:46:34,424
it would have
made a difference.

995
00:46:34,424 --> 00:46:36,026
It didn't make a difference
when we put out the

996
00:46:36,026 --> 00:46:38,428
statement a month before the
election in the way that

997
00:46:38,428 --> 00:46:41,632
this was handled by
news organizations.

998
00:46:41,632 --> 00:46:42,966
But here's the other thing,
Gardiner, and I think this

999
00:46:42,966 --> 00:46:46,870
is important, as well, as
you consider the government

1000
00:46:46,870 --> 00:46:48,705
response, and in particular
the White House response to

1001
00:46:48,705 --> 00:46:51,008
this situation.

1002
00:46:51,008 --> 00:46:54,111
It would have been
inappropriate for White

1003
00:46:54,111 --> 00:46:55,946
House figures, including
the President of the United

1004
00:46:55,946 --> 00:47:02,386
States, to be rushing the
intelligence community to

1005
00:47:02,386 --> 00:47:07,024
expedite their analysis of
the situation because we

1006
00:47:07,024 --> 00:47:09,125
were concerned about the
negative impact it was

1007
00:47:09,126 --> 00:47:10,928
having on the President's
preferred candidate in the

1008
00:47:10,928 --> 00:47:12,930
presidential election.

1009
00:47:14,097 --> 00:47:15,666
That would have been all
the more damaging in an

1010
00:47:15,666 --> 00:47:18,235
environment in which you
have the Republican nominee,

1011
00:47:18,235 --> 00:47:22,873
without evidence, suggesting
that the election is rigged.

1012
00:47:25,576 --> 00:47:28,245
So what we were deeply
concerned about from the

1013
00:47:28,245 --> 00:47:31,848
beginning was making sure
that we were protecting the

1014
00:47:31,848 --> 00:47:34,484
integrity of the
intelligence community and

1015
00:47:34,484 --> 00:47:37,621
insulating the intelligence
community from the kind of

1016
00:47:37,621 --> 00:47:39,990
political pressure that was
obvious to everybody who was

1017
00:47:39,990 --> 00:47:41,991
reading the newspapers
or watching television.

1018
00:47:44,494 --> 00:47:47,898
It's important for our
intelligence community to be

1019
00:47:47,898 --> 00:47:50,867
shielded from that kind of
political interference or

1020
00:47:50,867 --> 00:47:52,769
political influence.

1021
00:47:52,769 --> 00:47:53,437
We need --

1022
00:47:53,437 --> 00:47:54,904
The Press: It's
just that he has -- that

1023
00:47:54,905 --> 00:47:57,574
he's sort of paralyzed and
can allow the Russians sort

1024
00:47:57,574 --> 00:48:02,079
of open-field running as
long as they attack in a way

1025
00:48:02,079 --> 00:48:04,715
that the President himself
feels awkward about

1026
00:48:04,715 --> 00:48:05,916
intervening -- right?

1027
00:48:05,916 --> 00:48:10,287
I mean, this was a Russian
effort on the most important

1028
00:48:10,287 --> 00:48:12,288
electoral process in
the United States.

1029
00:48:12,289 --> 00:48:14,791
And you're saying that
the President himself had

1030
00:48:14,791 --> 00:48:17,928
difficulty responding simply
because of the politics

1031
00:48:17,928 --> 00:48:18,895
of responding?

1032
00:48:18,895 --> 00:48:21,798
Mr. Earnest: No, I'm not
ascribing any difficulty here.

1033
00:48:21,798 --> 00:48:24,734
I'm merely stating the
facts, which is that the

1034
00:48:24,735 --> 00:48:27,404
President believed it
was important for the

1035
00:48:27,404 --> 00:48:31,141
intelligence community to
formulate in advance of the

1036
00:48:31,141 --> 00:48:36,146
election, if possible, the
most definitive analysis

1037
00:48:40,517 --> 00:48:42,118
that they could make public.

1038
00:48:42,119 --> 00:48:47,858
And that's what they did --
a month before the election.

1039
00:48:47,858 --> 00:48:49,693
Unfortunately, that didn't
seem to change the way that

1040
00:48:49,693 --> 00:48:53,230
this was considered or
reported on by the media.

1041
00:48:53,230 --> 00:48:56,933
So again, I think that's why
it's difficult to say that

1042
00:48:56,933 --> 00:48:59,469
maybe it would have been
treated differently if the

1043
00:48:59,469 --> 00:49:02,039
report had come out two
or three or four months

1044
00:49:02,039 --> 00:49:04,441
earlier, because it's not
clear that when the report

1045
00:49:04,441 --> 00:49:06,109
did come out that it had
much of an impact on the way

1046
00:49:06,109 --> 00:49:09,613
that it was -- in the way
that this material was

1047
00:49:09,613 --> 00:49:14,551
reported on.

1048
00:49:14,551 --> 00:49:19,556
I also think this all
underscores the risk of

1049
00:49:28,565 --> 00:49:31,702
politicizing the
intelligence community.

1050
00:49:31,702 --> 00:49:37,240
There is a reason that
when the review that the

1051
00:49:37,240 --> 00:49:42,245
President has ordered is
released in January will

1052
00:49:46,683 --> 00:49:49,453
have some integrity.

1053
00:49:49,453 --> 00:49:51,121
It will have that integrity
because the President has

1054
00:49:51,121 --> 00:49:53,457
gone to great lengths to
protect the intelligence

1055
00:49:53,457 --> 00:49:56,660
community from even the
appearance of being used as

1056
00:49:56,660 --> 00:49:58,962
a political weapon.

1057
00:49:58,962 --> 00:50:03,066
And that has long-term
consequences for the

1058
00:50:03,066 --> 00:50:06,502
decisions that future
presidents -- plural --

1059
00:50:06,503 --> 00:50:07,170
will make.

1060
00:50:07,170 --> 00:50:09,139
They need to be able to
count on the information

1061
00:50:09,139 --> 00:50:10,607
that they're getting from
the intelligence community

1062
00:50:10,607 --> 00:50:14,144
being right and not being
influenced by -- and by

1063
00:50:14,144 --> 00:50:16,779
"right" I mean timely and
accurate -- and not being

1064
00:50:16,780 --> 00:50:20,484
influenced by
partisan politics.

1065
00:50:20,484 --> 00:50:22,853
The Press: Is that the
reason for the very

1066
00:50:22,853 --> 00:50:26,289
differential response
between what the President

1067
00:50:26,289 --> 00:50:30,761
did after the North Korean
Sony hack, in which he very

1068
00:50:30,761 --> 00:50:34,431
forcefully and personally
came out and addressed that,

1069
00:50:34,431 --> 00:50:36,066
and this hack?

1070
00:50:36,066 --> 00:50:41,138
Which it's a strange thing
because this hack so clearly

1071
00:50:41,138 --> 00:50:45,642
had far graver consequences
and was so much more

1072
00:50:45,642 --> 00:50:49,578
important to the country
than the Sony hack, which he

1073
00:50:49,579 --> 00:50:53,784
very publicly and forcefully
came out and denounced.

1074
00:50:53,784 --> 00:50:58,188
So help me understand why
those two very different

1075
00:50:58,188 --> 00:51:02,426
responses by the President
personally, and why he

1076
00:51:02,426 --> 00:51:06,062
didn't respond to this one
in the forceful personal way

1077
00:51:06,062 --> 00:51:07,330
he did to the Sony one.

1078
00:51:07,330 --> 00:51:08,331
Was it because of politics?

1079
00:51:08,331 --> 00:51:10,700
Mr. Earnest: Well, I think
there are two things at

1080
00:51:10,700 --> 00:51:11,368
play here.

1081
00:51:11,368 --> 00:51:16,773
The first is that the North
Korea attack was, in many

1082
00:51:16,773 --> 00:51:17,741
ways, more crude.

1083
00:51:17,741 --> 00:51:22,746
And the President's
statement in December of

1084
00:51:25,048 --> 00:51:28,484
2014 was also based on an
intelligence assessment.

1085
00:51:28,485 --> 00:51:32,923
So the statements that
we have made as an

1086
00:51:32,923 --> 00:51:35,125
administration have been
driven by the facts and have

1087
00:51:35,125 --> 00:51:36,493
been driven by the
assessment of the

1088
00:51:36,493 --> 00:51:37,561
intelligence community.

1089
00:51:37,561 --> 00:51:43,200
And the intelligence
community assessment with

1090
00:51:43,200 --> 00:51:47,703
regard to the Sony hack
was arrived at sooner.

1091
00:51:47,704 --> 00:51:50,540
The Press: And
was more clear?

1092
00:51:50,540 --> 00:51:51,708
Or is that --

1093
00:51:51,708 --> 00:51:52,142
Mr. Earnest:
Well, you'd have to talk to

1094
00:51:52,142 --> 00:51:53,477
them, I think, about
how they reached

1095
00:51:53,477 --> 00:51:54,310
these conclusions.

1096
00:51:54,311 --> 00:51:58,381
But in both -- in all cases,
our administration is

1097
00:51:58,381 --> 00:52:01,151
commenting on this based on
the facts and based on the

1098
00:52:01,151 --> 00:52:05,788
impartial, unbiased
assessment of the United

1099
00:52:05,789 --> 00:52:07,424
States intelligence
community.

1100
00:52:07,424 --> 00:52:10,026
And the American people
benefit from having an

1101
00:52:10,026 --> 00:52:15,298
intelligence community that
isn't subject to partisan

1102
00:52:15,298 --> 00:52:18,602
politics, even in the midst
of the most hotly contested,

1103
00:52:18,602 --> 00:52:24,540
divisive election
in recent history.

1104
00:52:24,541 --> 00:52:26,009
But you raised a second
question, which is sort of

1105
00:52:26,009 --> 00:52:27,744
about the President's
personal involvement.

1106
00:52:27,744 --> 00:52:33,016
And the President did
believe, given that he had

1107
00:52:33,016 --> 00:52:37,120
endorsed a candidate in the
political -- given that the

1108
00:52:37,120 --> 00:52:38,989
President had endorsed
a candidate in the

1109
00:52:38,989 --> 00:52:42,726
presidential race, he
believed it was important

1110
00:52:42,726 --> 00:52:44,628
for the intelligence
community to make

1111
00:52:44,628 --> 00:52:45,295
this announcement.

1112
00:52:45,295 --> 00:52:48,932
And that's why you saw a
statement from -- a joint

1113
00:52:48,932 --> 00:52:51,000
statement from the IC and
from the Department of

1114
00:52:51,001 --> 00:52:55,171
Homeland Security.

1115
00:52:55,171 --> 00:52:59,009
Again, that was an effort to
ensure that this information

1116
00:52:59,009 --> 00:53:02,612
avoided even the appearance
of being politically motivated.

1117
00:53:02,612 --> 00:53:06,182
And the President had very
strong feelings about the

1118
00:53:06,182 --> 00:53:08,317
race and about the
candidates who are involved

1119
00:53:08,318 --> 00:53:10,186
in the race.

1120
00:53:10,186 --> 00:53:13,323
And the President did not --
those of you who traveled

1121
00:53:13,323 --> 00:53:15,091
with the President in the
last four or five weeks of

1122
00:53:15,091 --> 00:53:16,826
the campaign saw that the
President didn't pull any

1123
00:53:16,826 --> 00:53:19,930
punches in forcefully making
an argument in support of

1124
00:53:19,930 --> 00:53:21,064
his preferred candidate.

1125
00:53:21,064 --> 00:53:23,732
And he believed that that
political activity should be

1126
00:53:23,733 --> 00:53:26,570
separate from the
intelligence community's

1127
00:53:26,570 --> 00:53:32,709
analysis of Russian
malicious cyber activity.

1128
00:53:32,709 --> 00:53:36,745
Now, what's also true -- and
this goes to something that

1129
00:53:36,746 --> 00:53:40,550
we discussed in the briefing
on Monday -- there's ample

1130
00:53:40,550 --> 00:53:45,322
evidence that was known long
before the election and, in

1131
00:53:45,322 --> 00:53:53,496
most cases, long before
October about the Trump

1132
00:53:53,496 --> 00:53:56,399
campaign and Russia --
everything from the

1133
00:53:56,399 --> 00:54:02,471
Republican nominee himself
calling on Russia to hack

1134
00:54:02,472 --> 00:54:04,941
his opponent.

1135
00:54:04,941 --> 00:54:08,178
It might be an indication
that he was obviously aware

1136
00:54:08,178 --> 00:54:12,115
and concluded, based on
whatever facts or sources he

1137
00:54:12,115 --> 00:54:17,587
had available to him, that
Russia was involved, and

1138
00:54:17,587 --> 00:54:24,394
their involvement was having
a negative impact on his

1139
00:54:24,394 --> 00:54:25,395
opponent's campaign.

1140
00:54:25,395 --> 00:54:26,830
That's why he was
encouraging them to keep

1141
00:54:26,830 --> 00:54:27,497
doing it.

1142
00:54:27,497 --> 00:54:33,703
You had the Republican
nominee refer to the

1143
00:54:33,703 --> 00:54:36,473
President of Russia
as a strong leader.

1144
00:54:36,473 --> 00:54:39,676
The Republican nominee chose
a campaign chair that had

1145
00:54:39,676 --> 00:54:44,547
extensive, lucrative,
personal financial ties to

1146
00:54:44,547 --> 00:54:46,716
the Kremlin.

1147
00:54:46,716 --> 00:54:49,986
And it was obvious to those
who were covering the race

1148
00:54:49,986 --> 00:54:53,288
that the hack-and-leak
strategy that had been

1149
00:54:53,289 --> 00:54:58,061
operationalized was not
being equally applied to the

1150
00:54:58,061 --> 00:55:00,897
two parties and to
the two campaigns.

1151
00:55:00,897 --> 00:55:02,866
There was one side that was
bearing the brunt of that

1152
00:55:02,866 --> 00:55:05,669
strategy and another side
that was clearly benefitting

1153
00:55:05,669 --> 00:55:06,536
from it.

1154
00:55:06,536 --> 00:55:08,905
Now, I know there's a lot of
reporting that there may be

1155
00:55:08,905 --> 00:55:11,041
some disagreement in the
intelligence community about

1156
00:55:11,041 --> 00:55:13,777
whether or not that
was the intent.

1157
00:55:13,777 --> 00:55:16,079
That's a question that they
should ask and a question

1158
00:55:16,079 --> 00:55:18,448
that they may attempt to
answer, but there certainly

1159
00:55:18,448 --> 00:55:20,450
was no doubt
about the effect.

1160
00:55:23,987 --> 00:55:27,023
And, again, it didn't
require a security clearance

1161
00:55:27,023 --> 00:55:31,695
or a consensus,
high-confidence intelligence

1162
00:55:31,695 --> 00:55:35,198
assessment to understand.

1163
00:55:35,198 --> 00:55:38,368
And in spite of all that,
that didn't change the way

1164
00:55:38,368 --> 00:55:41,471
in which this information
was reported on, either.

1165
00:55:41,471 --> 00:55:45,508
The Press: Josh, we've
talked before here about

1166
00:55:45,508 --> 00:55:47,977
this administration's
retaliation or potential

1167
00:55:47,977 --> 00:55:49,812
retaliation for
these efforts.

1168
00:55:49,813 --> 00:55:54,484
And we quoted a lot of
experts in our story saying

1169
00:55:54,484 --> 00:55:58,054
that basically you're making
a mistake; that you didn't

1170
00:55:58,054 --> 00:56:00,657
-- you haven't apparently
retaliated against this

1171
00:56:00,657 --> 00:56:03,626
attack and you continue
to sort of say that any

1172
00:56:03,626 --> 00:56:06,062
retaliation could be secret.

1173
00:56:06,062 --> 00:56:08,498
They are saying that, first
of all, you should have

1174
00:56:08,498 --> 00:56:12,001
retaliated long before now
and probably before the

1175
00:56:12,001 --> 00:56:14,237
election, and that it
shouldn't be a secret

1176
00:56:14,237 --> 00:56:17,574
retaliation -- it should be
very clear that the United

1177
00:56:17,574 --> 00:56:20,343
States is retaliating
against this to discourage

1178
00:56:20,343 --> 00:56:22,111
this continued behavior.

1179
00:56:22,112 --> 00:56:25,181
So help me -- if you
don't mind, defend the

1180
00:56:25,181 --> 00:56:28,551
administration's
decision-making on both not

1181
00:56:28,551 --> 00:56:32,355
apparently retaliating so
far, not retaliating before

1182
00:56:32,355 --> 00:56:35,859
the election as a means of
discouraging this continued

1183
00:56:35,859 --> 00:56:39,028
behavior, and not
guaranteeing that this

1184
00:56:39,028 --> 00:56:42,198
retaliation would becoming
public, which, again,

1185
00:56:42,198 --> 00:56:44,968
according to these experts,
would help discourage this

1186
00:56:44,968 --> 00:56:47,236
behavior then and
in the future.

1187
00:56:47,237 --> 00:56:49,139
Mr. Earnest: Gardiner, what
we have indicated is the

1188
00:56:49,139 --> 00:56:52,075
President believes that
based on what we know about

1189
00:56:52,075 --> 00:56:55,278
what Russia did, that it
merits a proportional response.

1190
00:56:55,278 --> 00:57:00,283
From here, I'm not in a
position to confirm whether

1191
00:57:00,283 --> 00:57:02,886
or not that response has
been initiated or not.

1192
00:57:06,756 --> 00:57:10,393
I'm also not in a position
to confirm that we won't

1193
00:57:10,393 --> 00:57:15,431
ever in the future discuss
what that response is or

1194
00:57:15,431 --> 00:57:17,066
what that response may be.

1195
00:57:17,066 --> 00:57:21,171
There may eventually be a
point at which we do discuss

1196
00:57:21,171 --> 00:57:23,973
what the response is,
will be, or has been.

1197
00:57:23,973 --> 00:57:25,441
Just trying to cover all
my verb tenses there.

1198
00:57:25,441 --> 00:57:26,109
(laughter)

1199
00:57:26,109 --> 00:57:31,413
But here's a couple of other
things that are important

1200
00:57:31,414 --> 00:57:33,416
to consider.

1201
00:57:36,052 --> 00:57:39,989
Given the interconnected
nature of our society and

1202
00:57:39,989 --> 00:57:42,959
our economy, the United
States is in the unique

1203
00:57:42,959 --> 00:57:47,964
position vis-à-vis the rest
of the world because we rely

1204
00:57:51,601 --> 00:57:54,003
on 21st century
communications technology

1205
00:57:57,740 --> 00:58:01,176
for just about everything
in a way that lots of other

1206
00:58:01,177 --> 00:58:04,848
societies and economies
and countries don't. So --

1207
00:58:04,848 --> 00:58:06,249
The Press: Are we
particularly vulnerable?

1208
00:58:06,249 --> 00:58:07,049
Mr. Earnest: We are --
the United States is

1209
00:58:07,050 --> 00:58:08,585
particularly vulnerable.

1210
00:58:08,585 --> 00:58:11,855
Now, that is counterbalanced
by the fact that the United

1211
00:58:11,855 --> 00:58:16,426
States is also more powerful
when it comes to our cyber

1212
00:58:16,426 --> 00:58:18,428
capabilities than any other
country in the world.

1213
00:58:21,798 --> 00:58:24,600
That's compounded -- the
complexity of that situation

1214
00:58:24,601 --> 00:58:30,540
is compounded by the fact
that so much of this is new.

1215
00:58:30,540 --> 00:58:33,576
When we're talking about
international conflicts on

1216
00:58:33,576 --> 00:58:37,647
the battlefield or in the
open seas, there are decades

1217
00:58:37,647 --> 00:58:40,549
and, in some cases, even
centuries-long traditions

1218
00:58:40,550 --> 00:58:43,953
and norms and treaties and
understandings that have

1219
00:58:43,953 --> 00:58:46,089
been negotiated
and observed.

1220
00:58:46,089 --> 00:58:51,094
And it sets up a framework
for countries being able to

1221
00:58:53,997 --> 00:58:57,966
avoid disagreements about
what's appropriate behavior.

1222
00:58:57,967 --> 00:59:00,303
And when those disagreements
do arise, there is a

1223
00:59:00,303 --> 00:59:06,209
codified system for
resolving them.

1224
00:59:06,209 --> 00:59:09,479
None of that exists
in cyberspace.

1225
00:59:09,479 --> 00:59:11,881
And, in fact, the President
has made this one of his top

1226
00:59:11,881 --> 00:59:16,953
policy priorities is to
begin to initiate a process

1227
00:59:16,953 --> 00:59:19,923
in our discussions at the
G20, in our discussions at

1228
00:59:19,923 --> 00:59:23,026
the G7, and in our bilateral
relations with other

1229
00:59:23,026 --> 00:59:24,426
countries that have
significant cyber

1230
00:59:24,427 --> 00:59:27,430
capabilities to start to
establish those rules of

1231
00:59:27,430 --> 00:59:28,364
the road.

1232
00:59:28,364 --> 00:59:30,600
And if you go back and
look at some of the G20

1233
00:59:30,600 --> 00:59:33,303
communiqués, you can see
that there is a specific --

1234
00:59:33,303 --> 00:59:34,671
I know that's something
you've probably already

1235
00:59:34,671 --> 00:59:38,975
done, Gardiner, knowing how
conscientious you are about

1236
00:59:38,975 --> 00:59:41,743
covering these issues.

1237
00:59:41,744 --> 00:59:45,248
So just to refresh your
memory about how specific

1238
00:59:45,248 --> 00:59:47,717
some of those efforts were
in the context of the

1239
00:59:47,717 --> 00:59:49,452
world's 20 largest
economies, you'll also

1240
00:59:49,452 --> 00:59:52,455
recall -- and this got more
attention, understandably so

1241
00:59:52,455 --> 00:59:55,658
-- when President Xi of
China came to the White

1242
00:59:55,658 --> 01:00:02,065
House for a state visit last
fall, the fall of 2015, it

1243
01:00:02,065 --> 01:00:04,867
was notable that he stood in
the Rose Garden of the White

1244
01:00:04,867 --> 01:00:10,039
House next to the United
States President indicating

1245
01:00:10,039 --> 01:00:15,044
his country's commitment to
a norm in cyberspace that

1246
01:00:17,313 --> 01:00:22,652
countries should not support
cyber-enabled theft for

1247
01:00:22,652 --> 01:00:24,387
commercial gain.

1248
01:00:24,387 --> 01:00:29,459
And that is a norm that
the United States had been

1249
01:00:29,459 --> 01:00:32,694
previously concerned China
was not willing to observe.

1250
01:00:34,998 --> 01:00:38,267
I can't offer an updated
assessment on how well they

1251
01:00:38,267 --> 01:00:41,270
are observing that norm
that the Chinese

1252
01:00:41,270 --> 01:00:42,505
President stated.

1253
01:00:42,505 --> 01:00:44,841
But it certainly addressed
many of the concerns that

1254
01:00:44,841 --> 01:00:46,308
had been justifiably
raised by U.S.

1255
01:00:46,309 --> 01:00:50,079
companies about how
China was hacking their

1256
01:00:50,079 --> 01:00:54,450
businesses, and then using
proprietary technology and

1257
01:00:54,450 --> 01:00:57,252
information to
disadvantage U.S.

1258
01:00:57,253 --> 01:01:00,390
businesses and to give
Chinese businesses a leg up.

1259
01:01:00,390 --> 01:01:05,028
So establishing those norms
in cyberspace is a priority.

1260
01:01:05,028 --> 01:01:09,899
I just described an
economic situation that has

1261
01:01:09,899 --> 01:01:11,433
significant economic
consequences for the

1262
01:01:11,434 --> 01:01:14,771
country, but this also
applies in the national

1263
01:01:14,771 --> 01:01:17,206
security and homeland
security realm, as well.

1264
01:01:19,609 --> 01:01:22,444
So I think that would
explain a lot of this.

1265
01:01:22,445 --> 01:01:25,148
Look, I guess there's one
other -- you asked a lot of

1266
01:01:25,148 --> 01:01:26,616
questions, so that's why
I'm giving a long answer.

1267
01:01:26,616 --> 01:01:27,583
The Press: I've got
one more, by the way.

1268
01:01:27,583 --> 01:01:29,952
Mr. Earnest: Which is -- I
welcome the opportunity to

1269
01:01:29,952 --> 01:01:31,521
have this discussion, so
I'm just trying to remember

1270
01:01:31,521 --> 01:01:32,255
everything I wanted to say.

1271
01:01:32,255 --> 01:01:34,257
There's one last thing that
I did want to say, which is

1272
01:01:38,061 --> 01:01:39,562
one of the highest
priorities that was

1273
01:01:39,562 --> 01:01:44,433
identified by the President
and his policy team in the

1274
01:01:44,434 --> 01:01:50,239
fall, given the threat
that was posed by Russian

1275
01:01:50,239 --> 01:01:55,244
malicious cyber activity,
was ensuring that the

1276
01:01:57,380 --> 01:01:59,415
elections infrastructure
of the United States

1277
01:01:59,415 --> 01:02:01,417
was protected.

1278
01:02:03,820 --> 01:02:05,688
Now, the thing that we
acknowledged from the very

1279
01:02:05,688 --> 01:02:09,358
first time that I was asked
about this is that there are

1280
01:02:09,358 --> 01:02:14,363
some built-in protections
based on how diffuse the

1281
01:02:18,768 --> 01:02:21,204
elections infrastructure
is in this country.

1282
01:02:21,204 --> 01:02:24,107
Cities, states, counties all
have a role in

1283
01:02:24,107 --> 01:02:25,174
administering elections.

1284
01:02:25,174 --> 01:02:27,710
They use different systems
for conducting those elections.

1285
01:02:27,710 --> 01:02:31,013
That means that there's not
one way to hack the entire

1286
01:02:31,013 --> 01:02:34,116
election system of
the United States.

1287
01:02:34,117 --> 01:02:37,820
That makes our elections
process complicated and

1288
01:02:37,820 --> 01:02:40,490
messy and difficult to
reform and improve.

1289
01:02:40,490 --> 01:02:41,823
It also makes it
harder to hack.

1290
01:02:41,824 --> 01:02:43,493
The Press: So hanging
chads are a good thing?

1291
01:02:43,493 --> 01:02:45,862
Mr. Earnest: Well, I don't
know if I'd go quite that

1292
01:02:45,862 --> 01:02:49,799
far, but relying on paper
ballots or hanging chads

1293
01:02:49,799 --> 01:02:52,235
makes it hard for somebody
who's sitting in a cubicle

1294
01:02:52,235 --> 01:02:55,605
in Moscow to have an impact
on the outcome, at least by

1295
01:02:55,605 --> 01:02:57,640
tampering with the ballots.

1296
01:02:57,640 --> 01:02:59,674
But the same goes to
voter registration rules.

1297
01:02:59,675 --> 01:03:01,911
Now, the concerning thing,
Gardiner, was that we had

1298
01:03:01,911 --> 01:03:08,751
detected some Russian
malicious cyber activity on

1299
01:03:08,751 --> 01:03:11,354
the systems of some
elections administrators

1300
01:03:11,354 --> 01:03:16,526
across the country, and
this is where politics gets

1301
01:03:16,526 --> 01:03:18,828
involved again.

1302
01:03:18,828 --> 01:03:22,632
In most states, the people
who are in charge of

1303
01:03:22,632 --> 01:03:27,270
administering elections are
themselves politicians.

1304
01:03:27,270 --> 01:03:29,605
They're not
impartial observers.

1305
01:03:29,605 --> 01:03:31,274
They have an impartial
mandate to ensure the

1306
01:03:31,274 --> 01:03:33,676
conduct of a free and fair
election, and the vast

1307
01:03:33,676 --> 01:03:36,279
majority of them do
that job and do it well.

1308
01:03:39,348 --> 01:03:44,987
But if there was a
perception that the

1309
01:03:44,987 --> 01:03:47,290
Democratic President of the
United States was raising

1310
01:03:47,290 --> 01:03:49,458
some of these concerns about
Russian malicious cyber

1311
01:03:49,458 --> 01:03:54,030
activity because he was
trying to protect the

1312
01:03:54,030 --> 01:03:56,499
Democratic candidate for
President, there is not

1313
01:03:56,499 --> 01:04:00,435
likely to be a lot of
cooperation between a

1314
01:04:00,436 --> 01:04:03,472
Republican elections
official and a

1315
01:04:03,472 --> 01:04:05,975
Democratic administration.

1316
01:04:05,975 --> 01:04:07,643
So this administration went
to great lengths -- we even

1317
01:04:07,643 --> 01:04:13,449
went to Capitol Hill -- to
try to convince Democratic

1318
01:04:13,449 --> 01:04:17,019
and Republican leaders on
Capitol Hill to signal their

1319
01:04:17,019 --> 01:04:19,589
commitment to setting aside
partisan politics and

1320
01:04:19,589 --> 01:04:22,924
focusing on the national
security of the country, and

1321
01:04:22,925 --> 01:04:26,596
issuing a joint public
statement about how

1322
01:04:26,596 --> 01:04:33,502
important it was for
election administrators in

1323
01:04:33,502 --> 01:04:35,171
both parties to work
with the Democratic

1324
01:04:35,171 --> 01:04:37,106
administration to protect
their systems from

1325
01:04:37,106 --> 01:04:39,108
Russian intrusion.

1326
01:04:41,544 --> 01:04:43,511
Democrats in Congress
readily agreed this was a

1327
01:04:43,512 --> 01:04:45,514
good idea.

1328
01:04:47,416 --> 01:04:50,386
Leader McConnell and Speaker
Ryan did not readily agree

1329
01:04:50,386 --> 01:04:51,053
to it.

1330
01:04:51,053 --> 01:04:52,488
I'm not going to get
into all of our private

1331
01:04:52,488 --> 01:04:55,491
conversations, but this was
an element of the story that

1332
01:04:55,491 --> 01:04:57,759
was published in your
newspaper today.

1333
01:04:57,760 --> 01:05:01,130
And it's true, we didn't
get the kind of prompt

1334
01:05:01,130 --> 01:05:02,565
cooperation we
would have liked.

1335
01:05:02,565 --> 01:05:05,401
Now, we eventually did get a
letter that the four leaders

1336
01:05:05,401 --> 01:05:11,207
of Congress did agree to
send to the organization

1337
01:05:11,207 --> 01:05:13,241
that represents elections
administrators across

1338
01:05:13,242 --> 01:05:14,677
the country.

1339
01:05:14,677 --> 01:05:20,683
And as a result, there were
not a lot of charges and

1340
01:05:20,683 --> 01:05:24,754
counter-charges that the
Democratic administration

1341
01:05:24,754 --> 01:05:25,421
was up to no good.

1342
01:05:25,421 --> 01:05:27,256
And, in fact, experts at
the Department of Homeland

1343
01:05:27,256 --> 01:05:30,926
Security worked with
elections administrators in

1344
01:05:30,926 --> 01:05:37,799
45, 46, 47 states to ensure
that their systems were

1345
01:05:37,800 --> 01:05:39,669
protected from
Russian intrusions.

1346
01:05:39,669 --> 01:05:42,038
And the good news is that
the intelligence community

1347
01:05:42,038 --> 01:05:44,907
was watching closely, and
they determined -- or at

1348
01:05:44,907 --> 01:05:49,278
least they did not observe
an increase in malicious

1349
01:05:49,278 --> 01:05:53,415
Russian cyber activity on
Election Day that interfered

1350
01:05:53,416 --> 01:05:56,085
with the casting or
counting of ballots.

1351
01:05:56,085 --> 01:06:00,156
And that obviously
is good news.

1352
01:06:00,156 --> 01:06:01,791
But that's not the
whole question.

1353
01:06:01,791 --> 01:06:03,492
The Press: One more.

1354
01:06:03,492 --> 01:06:04,393
Sorry to take so long.

1355
01:06:04,393 --> 01:06:06,362
The GSA has released a
letter stating that the

1356
01:06:06,362 --> 01:06:08,631
Trump organization will be
in violation of its lease on

1357
01:06:08,631 --> 01:06:11,701
the Trump hotel site here in
Washington the minute that

1358
01:06:11,701 --> 01:06:14,570
President-elect Trump takes
office if he doesn't fully

1359
01:06:14,570 --> 01:06:16,439
divest himself of his
holdings in the hotel, which

1360
01:06:16,439 --> 01:06:19,107
he has shown no sign
that he is doing.

1361
01:06:19,108 --> 01:06:21,010
Was that appropriate
for the GSA to do?

1362
01:06:21,010 --> 01:06:23,512
And what responsibility does
this administration have in

1363
01:06:23,512 --> 01:06:26,015
ensuring that the incoming
Trump administration abides

1364
01:06:26,015 --> 01:06:29,819
by conflict of interest laws
and the emoluments clause of

1365
01:06:29,819 --> 01:06:30,486
the Constitution?

1366
01:06:30,486 --> 01:06:34,290
Is this something you're
working on in the transition?

1367
01:06:34,290 --> 01:06:38,761
Mr. Earnest: Well, I'm not
aware that there's a robust

1368
01:06:38,761 --> 01:06:41,297
role for this administration
to play in this.

1369
01:06:41,297 --> 01:06:46,302
I'd refer you to the GSA to
explain the concerns that

1370
01:06:46,302 --> 01:06:49,972
they raised about the
contract that they have with

1371
01:06:49,972 --> 01:06:54,009
the Trump organization.

1372
01:06:54,009 --> 01:06:57,079
The relevant agency here is
going to be the Office of

1373
01:06:57,079 --> 01:06:58,581
Government Ethics.

1374
01:06:58,581 --> 01:07:00,683
This is a nonpartisan,
independent agency that is

1375
01:07:00,683 --> 01:07:06,655
charged with ensuring that
government officials --

1376
01:07:06,655 --> 01:07:10,159
federal government officials
are abiding by all of the

1377
01:07:10,159 --> 01:07:17,066
rules and restrictions that
apply to the ethical conduct

1378
01:07:17,066 --> 01:07:18,768
of people who are supposed
to be serving the

1379
01:07:18,768 --> 01:07:20,770
national interest.

1380
01:07:21,904 --> 01:07:24,607
So I think the proper role
here is going to be with the

1381
01:07:24,607 --> 01:07:27,543
Office of Government Ethics,
with inspectors general who

1382
01:07:27,543 --> 01:07:30,880
have independent oversight
responsibilities in the

1383
01:07:30,880 --> 01:07:32,681
executive branch.

1384
01:07:32,681 --> 01:07:34,216
There's also going to be a
critically important role

1385
01:07:34,216 --> 01:07:34,884
for Congress.

1386
01:07:34,884 --> 01:07:40,423
And the early indications, I
think, leave me cautiously

1387
01:07:40,423 --> 01:07:43,792
optimistic that Democrats
and Republicans are prepared

1388
01:07:46,295 --> 01:07:49,732
to play that oversight role
to ensure that those who are

1389
01:07:49,732 --> 01:07:53,969
entrusted with protecting
and advancing the public

1390
01:07:53,969 --> 01:07:58,174
interest are not compromised
by their own personal

1391
01:07:58,174 --> 01:08:00,942
financial considerations.

1392
01:08:00,943 --> 01:08:04,647
Obviously, President Obama
has gone to great lengths to

1393
01:08:04,647 --> 01:08:07,450
prevent even the appearance
of having a personal

1394
01:08:07,450 --> 01:08:08,216
financial conflict.

1395
01:08:08,217 --> 01:08:11,720
President Obama sold all his
stock and all of his outside

1396
01:08:11,720 --> 01:08:14,823
interests before entering
the Oval Office, and tied

1397
01:08:14,824 --> 01:08:17,091
all that money into
Treasury bonds.

1398
01:08:17,091 --> 01:08:20,196
Given the aggressive way in
which the Federal Reserve

1399
01:08:20,196 --> 01:08:23,631
was reducing the interest
rate, that was a very poor

1400
01:08:23,631 --> 01:08:28,236
investment decision, but it
was the right thing for

1401
01:08:28,237 --> 01:08:28,904
the country.

1402
01:08:28,904 --> 01:08:32,475
And that's kind
of the point.

1403
01:08:32,475 --> 01:08:33,309
John.

1404
01:08:33,309 --> 01:08:34,276
The Press: Thanks
a lot, Josh.

1405
01:08:34,276 --> 01:08:37,246
Russia has figured
prominently in a number of

1406
01:08:37,246 --> 01:08:39,715
questions that you've
received this week, whether

1407
01:08:39,715 --> 01:08:43,085
it's related to the
situation in Syria, or

1408
01:08:43,085 --> 01:08:46,422
whether it's related to the
alleged hack by Russia in an

1409
01:08:46,421 --> 01:08:51,459
effort to influence our
presidential election.

1410
01:08:51,460 --> 01:08:56,532
Does the President have any
plans to reach out, pick up

1411
01:08:56,532 --> 01:08:59,268
the phone, speak to his
counterpart from Russia,

1412
01:08:59,268 --> 01:09:01,937
Vladimir Putin, and talk
about some of the same

1413
01:09:01,937 --> 01:09:04,240
issues that we're talking
about all this week?

1414
01:09:04,240 --> 01:09:08,676
Mr. Earnest: I'm not aware
of any calls that are planned.

1415
01:09:08,676 --> 01:09:11,813
But obviously the President
has had a number of

1416
01:09:11,814 --> 01:09:15,217
occasions to see his
counterpart and to talk to

1417
01:09:15,216 --> 01:09:17,318
him about these issues.

1418
01:09:17,319 --> 01:09:22,291
Obviously, the President saw
President Putin for a brief

1419
01:09:22,291 --> 01:09:25,794
period in Lima, Peru, when
we were there for the APEC

1420
01:09:25,794 --> 01:09:28,130
Summit -- I guess it
was just last month.

1421
01:09:28,130 --> 01:09:30,132
It feels like
about a year ago.

1422
01:09:30,131 --> 01:09:34,135
President Obama also had an
opportunity to see President

1423
01:09:34,136 --> 01:09:38,941
Putin in China when we were
in China for the G20 meeting

1424
01:09:38,941 --> 01:09:41,777
in September, the meeting
of the world's 20

1425
01:09:41,777 --> 01:09:43,779
largest economies.

1426
01:09:43,779 --> 01:09:45,848
And over the course of his
time in office, President

1427
01:09:45,848 --> 01:09:49,118
Obama has had conversations
with President Putin on the

1428
01:09:49,118 --> 01:09:55,624
phone and in person to At
this point, I'm not sure

1429
01:09:55,624 --> 01:09:57,992
that there's a situation
that they've talked about

1430
01:09:57,993 --> 01:10:01,597
more than the
situation in Syria.

1431
01:10:01,597 --> 01:10:03,732
They've had multiple
opportunities to do that.

1432
01:10:03,732 --> 01:10:06,435
Obviously, there are even
many more conversations that

1433
01:10:06,435 --> 01:10:09,505
occurred between Secretary
Kerry and his Russian

1434
01:10:09,505 --> 01:10:12,074
counterpart, Foreign
Minister Lavrov.

1435
01:10:12,074 --> 01:10:14,143
So there's been deep
engagement with the Russians.

1436
01:10:17,246 --> 01:10:20,583
But I'm not aware of any
upcoming conversations

1437
01:10:20,583 --> 01:10:22,084
between President Obama
and President Putin.

1438
01:10:22,084 --> 01:10:23,885
But if one does occur,
we'll let you know.

1439
01:10:23,886 --> 01:10:27,056
The Press: A lot of
conversation has occurred

1440
01:10:27,056 --> 01:10:31,059
this week as it relates to
President-elect Trump's

1441
01:10:31,060 --> 01:10:34,763
decision to nominate Rex
Tillerson as his

1442
01:10:34,763 --> 01:10:36,865
Secretary of State.

1443
01:10:36,865 --> 01:10:40,769
And a knock on him from a
number of critics appears to

1444
01:10:40,769 --> 01:10:44,807
be his preexisting
relationship with Russia,

1445
01:10:44,807 --> 01:10:49,044
his preexisting relationship
with Vladimir Putin.

1446
01:10:49,044 --> 01:10:51,413
Do you see this as a knock,
or do you think it can be

1447
01:10:51,413 --> 01:10:54,516
helpful to have a
preexisting relationship

1448
01:10:54,516 --> 01:10:58,654
with someone who figures so
prominently in America's

1449
01:10:58,654 --> 01:10:59,455
foreign affairs?

1450
01:10:59,455 --> 01:11:02,091
Mr. Earnest: Well, look,
obviously, you have outlined

1451
01:11:02,091 --> 01:11:04,193
the case that the Trump
administration has made in

1452
01:11:04,193 --> 01:11:05,694
favor of the nomination.

1453
01:11:05,694 --> 01:11:08,397
There are others who have
raised concerns about the

1454
01:11:08,397 --> 01:11:12,801
wisdom of choosing someone
who has been awarded the

1455
01:11:12,801 --> 01:11:15,571
Order of Friendship by
Vladimir Putin to represent U.S.

1456
01:11:15,571 --> 01:11:21,210
interests around the globe,
considering the adversarial

1457
01:11:21,210 --> 01:11:24,580
nature of our relationship
with Russia on so many

1458
01:11:24,580 --> 01:11:25,247
important issues.

1459
01:11:25,247 --> 01:11:27,583
There are some areas where
we do effectively cooperate

1460
01:11:27,583 --> 01:11:30,318
with Russia already and have
done so to the benefit of

1461
01:11:30,319 --> 01:11:31,954
the American people.

1462
01:11:31,954 --> 01:11:35,324
But look, I'll let others
make the argument on both sides.

1463
01:11:35,324 --> 01:11:38,494
I think the argument that I
would make is simply: People

1464
01:11:38,494 --> 01:11:40,529
shouldn't be surprised.

1465
01:11:40,529 --> 01:11:43,832
The President-elect ran on a
platform of pursuing warmer

1466
01:11:43,832 --> 01:11:45,434
relations with Russia.

1467
01:11:45,434 --> 01:11:51,607
He indicated his frustration
and signaled a potential

1468
01:11:51,607 --> 01:11:54,843
lessening of our
commitment to NATO.

1469
01:11:54,843 --> 01:11:59,048
He referred to President
Putin as a strong leader.

1470
01:11:59,048 --> 01:12:00,816
So it shouldn't be
particularly surprising that

1471
01:12:00,816 --> 01:12:05,521
he chose someone who got the
Order of Friendship medal

1472
01:12:05,521 --> 01:12:07,389
from Vladimir Putin to be
his Secretary of State.

1473
01:12:07,389 --> 01:12:09,792
The Press: Would
that be a bad thing?

1474
01:12:09,792 --> 01:12:13,495
U.S. relations with Russia are
at perhaps the lowest level

1475
01:12:13,495 --> 01:12:16,365
they've been since the Cold
War, since maybe the

1476
01:12:16,365 --> 01:12:17,800
early 1960s.

1477
01:12:17,800 --> 01:12:20,836
Do you think that
relations between the U.S.

1478
01:12:20,836 --> 01:12:23,539
and Russia should remain at
the level where they are

1479
01:12:23,539 --> 01:12:25,907
right now, or do you
think there is room for

1480
01:12:25,908 --> 01:12:29,144
improvement with Russia,
vis-à-vis the United States?

1481
01:12:29,144 --> 01:12:31,280
Mr. Earnest: Yeah, I think
what the President would say

1482
01:12:31,280 --> 01:12:33,315
is that he would welcome
additional opportunities to

1483
01:12:33,315 --> 01:12:36,985
try to advance our interests
by working with Russia.

1484
01:12:36,985 --> 01:12:41,857
But that's going to require
not additional concessions

1485
01:12:41,857 --> 01:12:45,360
to Russia but a willingness
on the part of the Russians

1486
01:12:45,360 --> 01:12:49,630
to deal honestly with their
American interlocutors in

1487
01:12:49,631 --> 01:12:51,166
pursuit of their
stated goals.

1488
01:12:51,166 --> 01:12:53,202
So, for example, just to go
back because it's the most

1489
01:12:53,202 --> 01:12:57,072
pertinent one, Russia says
that they are committed to

1490
01:12:57,072 --> 01:12:58,474
working with the
international community,

1491
01:12:58,474 --> 01:13:00,943
including the United
States, to go after ISIL.

1492
01:13:00,943 --> 01:13:01,744
There's no
evidence for that.

1493
01:13:01,744 --> 01:13:03,978
And, in fact, what Russia
has done against ISIL has

1494
01:13:03,979 --> 01:13:08,784
been rolled back and ISIL's
capabilities have been

1495
01:13:08,784 --> 01:13:12,054
heightened and worsened
because of Russia's

1496
01:13:12,054 --> 01:13:13,255
poor decisions.

1497
01:13:13,255 --> 01:13:22,531
So in some ways, until
Russia signals a willingness

1498
01:13:22,531 --> 01:13:25,801
to pursue a different
approach in their

1499
01:13:25,801 --> 01:13:30,572
relationship with the United
States, I think we're going

1500
01:13:30,572 --> 01:13:32,141
to encounter some
choppy waters here.

1501
01:13:32,141 --> 01:13:36,277
I think what President Obama
has tried to do is to try to

1502
01:13:36,278 --> 01:13:40,115
prevent our disagreements in
some areas of Syria and in

1503
01:13:40,115 --> 01:13:43,018
Ukraine from allowing us to
make progress in some

1504
01:13:43,018 --> 01:13:44,419
other areas.

1505
01:13:44,419 --> 01:13:46,255
And whether that's our
cooperation on the space

1506
01:13:46,255 --> 01:13:49,291
program or the success that
the United States and Russia

1507
01:13:49,291 --> 01:13:52,895
had in eliminating the
declared chemical weapons

1508
01:13:52,895 --> 01:13:55,197
stockpile of the
Assad regime.

1509
01:13:55,197 --> 01:13:56,698
There are some areas
where we are able to work

1510
01:13:56,698 --> 01:13:58,033
effectively with the
Russians, and the American

1511
01:13:58,033 --> 01:13:59,902
people have
benefitted from it.

1512
01:13:59,902 --> 01:14:01,870
But if we want to see more
of that, I think we're going

1513
01:14:01,870 --> 01:14:04,907
to need to see a change in
behavior and a change in

1514
01:14:04,907 --> 01:14:07,209
strategy on the part
of the Russians.

1515
01:14:07,209 --> 01:14:08,277
Maggie.

1516
01:14:08,277 --> 01:14:09,311
The Press: Thanks, Josh.

1517
01:14:09,311 --> 01:14:11,547
Circling back to the Office
of Government Ethics, they

1518
01:14:11,547 --> 01:14:15,116
recently are urging Trump
to act as if he must follow

1519
01:14:15,117 --> 01:14:17,753
financial conflict of
interest laws, but as Trump

1520
01:14:17,753 --> 01:14:19,521
has pointed out, the
President is not legally

1521
01:14:19,521 --> 01:14:20,255
bound by these.

1522
01:14:20,255 --> 01:14:22,524
Do you think it's time to
update federal ethic laws to

1523
01:14:22,524 --> 01:14:24,693
make sure that the President
does have to follow these

1524
01:14:24,693 --> 01:14:29,798
laws, that it's a law?

1525
01:14:29,798 --> 01:14:32,901
Mr. Earnest: Look, I think
all I can say to you is what

1526
01:14:32,901 --> 01:14:35,137
President Obama has done,
and as I described earlier,

1527
01:14:35,137 --> 01:14:37,438
President Obama didn't just
follow the ethics rules as

1528
01:14:37,439 --> 01:14:40,042
if they applied to him -- he
went far above and beyond

1529
01:14:40,042 --> 01:14:42,277
them and made sure that
there was not even the

1530
01:14:42,277 --> 01:14:44,980
appearance of a conflict of
interest when it comes to

1531
01:14:44,980 --> 01:14:46,048
his personal finances.

1532
01:14:46,048 --> 01:14:49,585
And he did that in a way
that disadvantaged him

1533
01:14:49,585 --> 01:14:52,788
financially but was good
for the country because it

1534
01:14:52,788 --> 01:14:56,892
erased any doubt about
his true motivations.

1535
01:15:00,295 --> 01:15:03,765
So the President also
believed that that actually

1536
01:15:03,765 --> 01:15:06,535
benefitted his presidency
because he wasn't in a

1537
01:15:06,535 --> 01:15:10,806
position in which he was
sidetracked by allegations

1538
01:15:10,806 --> 01:15:14,643
of a personal
conflict of interest.

1539
01:15:14,643 --> 01:15:18,981
And he set a very high
standard for ethics that

1540
01:15:18,981 --> 01:15:21,049
people throughout his
administration have followed.

1541
01:15:21,049 --> 01:15:26,955
And it's why the President
is quite proud of the fact

1542
01:15:26,955 --> 01:15:28,824
that his administration has
not been plagued by the

1543
01:15:28,824 --> 01:15:32,561
kinds of major personal
scandals that have plagued

1544
01:15:32,561 --> 01:15:33,594
other presidencies.

1545
01:15:33,595 --> 01:15:37,266
The Press: So would you say
then that the argument of

1546
01:15:37,266 --> 01:15:40,134
selling a lot of real estate
would make Donald Trump lose

1547
01:15:40,135 --> 01:15:41,503
money is not a
valid argument?

1548
01:15:41,503 --> 01:15:44,606
Mr. Earnest: I think the
incoming administration and

1549
01:15:44,606 --> 01:15:45,941
the President-elect are
going to have to make their

1550
01:15:45,941 --> 01:15:47,776
own decisions about how
they handle the situation.

1551
01:15:47,776 --> 01:15:52,781
But if President-elect Trump
were to sustain a financial

1552
01:15:56,518 --> 01:16:01,924
loss in order to enter the
Oval Office, he would not be

1553
01:16:01,924 --> 01:16:02,624
the first one.

1554
01:16:02,624 --> 01:16:04,393
Toluse.

1555
01:16:04,393 --> 01:16:05,193
The Press: Thanks, Josh.

1556
01:16:05,193 --> 01:16:07,396
I wanted to go back to the
comment you made about how

1557
01:16:07,396 --> 01:16:10,831
people shouldn't be
surprised that Donald Trump

1558
01:16:10,832 --> 01:16:13,902
is selecting someone who has
close ties to Russia given

1559
01:16:13,902 --> 01:16:16,571
the fact that he said all of
these things on the campaign

1560
01:16:16,571 --> 01:16:19,341
trail that were seen
as friendly to Russia.

1561
01:16:19,341 --> 01:16:23,745
It kind of seems to stand in
contrast to this idea that

1562
01:16:23,745 --> 01:16:27,215
once Donald Trump leaves the
campaign trail and gets into

1563
01:16:27,215 --> 01:16:29,251
the office, he's going to be
woken up by the realities of

1564
01:16:29,251 --> 01:16:32,754
the office, and all of those
sort of incendiary things he

1565
01:16:32,754 --> 01:16:36,458
said on the campaign would
not be the actual policies

1566
01:16:36,458 --> 01:16:38,026
that he pursues.

1567
01:16:38,026 --> 01:16:39,827
And that seems to be the
message that the President

1568
01:16:39,828 --> 01:16:43,265
was giving when he went
overseas and spoke to NATO

1569
01:16:43,265 --> 01:16:44,466
partners and other partners.

1570
01:16:44,466 --> 01:16:46,335
So what's the message?

1571
01:16:46,335 --> 01:16:48,637
Is it that people shouldn't
be surprised and they should

1572
01:16:48,637 --> 01:16:51,206
brace for Trump to follow
through on all of this

1573
01:16:51,206 --> 01:16:52,774
rhetoric that he had
on the campaign trail?

1574
01:16:52,774 --> 01:16:55,777
Or is that -- the office
will change him and he'll

1575
01:16:55,777 --> 01:16:57,779
moderate on some
of those positions?

1576
01:16:57,779 --> 01:17:02,351
Mr. Earnest: Well, Toluse, I
think it's hard to assess,

1577
01:17:02,351 --> 01:17:08,123
because you have in the past
heard Mr. Tillerson say

1578
01:17:08,123 --> 01:17:12,227
positive things about the
Trans-Pacific Partnership

1579
01:17:12,227 --> 01:17:14,096
and the Paris
Climate Agreement.

1580
01:17:14,096 --> 01:17:23,605
So does that mean -- so I
guess -- I cite those two

1581
01:17:23,605 --> 01:17:27,241
examples to illustrate
that we'll have to see.

1582
01:17:27,242 --> 01:17:29,277
It's unclear.

1583
01:17:29,277 --> 01:17:31,079
I think what we might be
seeing now is that the

1584
01:17:31,079 --> 01:17:37,085
President-elect cares more
about his Secretary of

1585
01:17:37,085 --> 01:17:42,057
State's position on Russia
than he does about his

1586
01:17:42,057 --> 01:17:46,995
Secretary of State nominee's
position on trade and

1587
01:17:46,995 --> 01:17:48,997
climate change.

1588
01:17:50,365 --> 01:17:52,200
But again, when you go back
to the rhetoric of the Trump

1589
01:17:52,200 --> 01:17:57,205
campaign, it's not
particularly surprising that

1590
01:18:01,443 --> 01:18:04,980
the President-elect appears
to be prioritizing over a

1591
01:18:04,980 --> 01:18:07,182
bunch of other
important issues.

1592
01:18:09,217 --> 01:18:11,452
But what that actually means
for the kinds of policy they

1593
01:18:11,453 --> 01:18:15,057
will implement, that's
something that we'll all

1594
01:18:15,057 --> 01:18:15,724
have to wait and see.

1595
01:18:15,724 --> 01:18:18,193
The Press: I also wanted to
ask you about the -- give

1596
01:18:18,193 --> 01:18:20,495
you another chance to maybe
weigh in on the Energy

1597
01:18:20,495 --> 01:18:21,296
Secretary pick.

1598
01:18:21,296 --> 01:18:25,367
Obviously, President Obama
selected a Nobel Laureate

1599
01:18:25,367 --> 01:18:29,671
physicist in Ernie Moniz
who -- you know, highly

1600
01:18:29,671 --> 01:18:30,439
respected and --

1601
01:18:30,439 --> 01:18:31,907
Mr. Earnest: Merely a physicist at MIT.

1602
01:18:31,907 --> 01:18:32,874
(laughter)

1603
01:18:32,874 --> 01:18:33,642
The Press: Right.

1604
01:18:33,642 --> 01:18:36,812
So I'm wondering if, given
the fact that Moniz had such

1605
01:18:36,812 --> 01:18:39,815
an important role in
the Iran nuclear deal

1606
01:18:39,815 --> 01:18:43,518
negotiations, I'm wondering
if the President has any

1607
01:18:43,518 --> 01:18:46,321
thoughts about the former
Texas governor becoming the

1608
01:18:46,321 --> 01:18:48,824
next person for
this position.

1609
01:18:48,824 --> 01:18:51,492
Mr. Earnest: I'm really
tempted to, but --

1610
01:18:51,493 --> 01:18:52,360
(laughter)

1611
01:18:52,360 --> 01:18:54,429
The Press: Give in.

1612
01:18:54,429 --> 01:18:56,298
Mr. Earnest: -- maybe if you
want to come by and chat in

1613
01:18:56,298 --> 01:18:58,867
my office, I've got some
good zingers for you.

1614
01:18:58,867 --> 01:19:03,905
But I think I will try to
exercise some discipline and

1615
01:19:03,905 --> 01:19:07,476
refrain from commenting any
more than I already have,

1616
01:19:07,476 --> 01:19:08,110
admittedly, about --

1617
01:19:08,110 --> 01:19:10,112
The Press: You could just tweet it.

1618
01:19:10,112 --> 01:19:12,013
Mr. Earnest: If I can
remember them all, I'll

1619
01:19:12,013 --> 01:19:14,349
share them with you
after this briefing.

1620
01:19:14,349 --> 01:19:15,250
The Press: I'll
stay tuned for that.

1621
01:19:15,250 --> 01:19:18,520
One more on the
stock market.

1622
01:19:18,520 --> 01:19:22,991
Obviously, it's hitting
record highs on a regular

1623
01:19:22,991 --> 01:19:26,795
basis, almost at 20,000 in
the Dow, and Donald Trump

1624
01:19:26,795 --> 01:19:29,197
and his surrogates are
claiming credit for that.

1625
01:19:29,197 --> 01:19:30,932
Obviously, you all said
there's only one President

1626
01:19:30,932 --> 01:19:34,068
at a time, so I wondering
if you have any thoughts on

1627
01:19:34,069 --> 01:19:36,771
whether or not this rally
has anything to do with the

1628
01:19:36,771 --> 01:19:38,907
current President or
the President-elect.

1629
01:19:38,907 --> 01:19:42,978
Mr. Earnest: Well, I'll let
the significant number of

1630
01:19:42,978 --> 01:19:45,580
market analysts who follow
the market more closely than

1631
01:19:45,580 --> 01:19:48,216
I do comment on individual
market movements.

1632
01:19:48,216 --> 01:19:53,021
I'll just make the broader
observation that since the

1633
01:19:53,021 --> 01:19:55,389
depths of the Great
Recession that President

1634
01:19:55,390 --> 01:20:01,496
Obama inherited, the stock
market has more than tripled.

1635
01:20:01,496 --> 01:20:07,736
We'll see if the economic
policies that the incoming

1636
01:20:10,305 --> 01:20:16,044
President implements have
a similar positive effect.

1637
01:20:16,044 --> 01:20:19,848
He campaigned on vowing to
try things differently.

1638
01:20:19,848 --> 01:20:23,585
He campaigned on the idea
that we need a different

1639
01:20:23,585 --> 01:20:25,587
economic approach.

1640
01:20:25,587 --> 01:20:29,491
And we've laid out a number
of times -- and we're

1641
01:20:29,491 --> 01:20:31,092
getting late here, so I
won't do it again -- but

1642
01:20:31,092 --> 01:20:35,730
we've laid out a number of
times the benchmark that the

1643
01:20:35,730 --> 01:20:38,532
incoming administration
will have to live up to.

1644
01:20:38,533 --> 01:20:39,434
And we'll see if they do.

1645
01:20:39,434 --> 01:20:42,070
But an important of them
is the stock market.

1646
01:20:42,070 --> 01:20:48,309
And the stock market, since
was at its nadir in the

1647
01:20:48,310 --> 01:20:51,379
summer of 2009, has
more than tripled.

1648
01:20:51,379 --> 01:20:55,784
And we'll see if President
Trump's economic policies

1649
01:20:55,784 --> 01:20:58,920
have a similar positive
impact on the market in a

1650
01:20:58,920 --> 01:21:02,390
way that has a positive
impact on the savings and

1651
01:21:02,390 --> 01:21:05,760
retirement savings of
millions of American workers.

1652
01:21:05,760 --> 01:21:07,429
Taka, I'll give
you the last one.

1653
01:21:07,429 --> 01:21:10,131
The Press: Thank you, Josh.

1654
01:21:10,131 --> 01:21:14,035
President Putin will visit
Japan tomorrow to meet Prime

1655
01:21:14,035 --> 01:21:14,970
Minister Abe.

1656
01:21:14,970 --> 01:21:16,271
What do you expect
from the meeting?

1657
01:21:16,271 --> 01:21:21,675
They will meet in Japan
twice, in Tokyo and in Prime

1658
01:21:21,676 --> 01:21:23,278
Minister Abe's
old prefecture.

1659
01:21:23,278 --> 01:21:26,681
What do you think of Prime
Minister Abe's decision to

1660
01:21:26,681 --> 01:21:29,750
maintain warm relations
with President Putin?

1661
01:21:29,751 --> 01:21:32,087
Mr. Earnest: Well, listen,
you know, President Obama,

1662
01:21:32,087 --> 01:21:34,789
as I mentioned earlier,
has had a number of

1663
01:21:34,789 --> 01:21:37,726
conversations with President
Putin over the last year.

1664
01:21:41,730 --> 01:21:45,000
Obviously, Russia has faced
some significant diplomatic

1665
01:21:45,000 --> 01:21:46,534
isolation from the
international community,

1666
01:21:46,534 --> 01:21:51,873
including the G7, of
which Japan is a member.

1667
01:21:51,873 --> 01:21:54,675
We used to refer to that
meeting as the G8, back when

1668
01:21:54,676 --> 01:21:57,178
Russia was included
in that meeting.

1669
01:21:57,178 --> 01:22:00,081
They no longer are because
of their willingness to

1670
01:22:00,081 --> 01:22:03,785
violate the territorial
integrity of Ukraine.

1671
01:22:03,785 --> 01:22:06,955
So I can't speak to what may
be on the agenda or what

1672
01:22:06,955 --> 01:22:10,392
Prime Minister Abe intends
to discuss with President

1673
01:22:10,392 --> 01:22:15,030
Putin, but while we
have been able to work

1674
01:22:15,030 --> 01:22:16,865
effectively with the
international community to

1675
01:22:16,865 --> 01:22:21,036
isolate Russia -- and they
are facing more isolation

1676
01:22:21,036 --> 01:22:25,273
than they have in recent
years -- we also acknowledge

1677
01:22:25,273 --> 01:22:28,343
that the United States
benefits from our allies,

1678
01:22:28,343 --> 01:22:30,478
like Japan, having good
relations with other

1679
01:22:30,478 --> 01:22:31,813
countries around the world.

1680
01:22:31,813 --> 01:22:36,951
So, presumably, that will be
what Prime Minister Abe is

1681
01:22:36,951 --> 01:22:39,954
pursuing when he meets
with President Putin later

1682
01:22:39,954 --> 01:22:40,621
this week.

1683
01:22:40,622 --> 01:22:43,491
The Press: Are you concerned
that the meeting may send

1684
01:22:43,491 --> 01:22:47,262
the wrong message that the
G7 is not united, and may

1685
01:22:47,262 --> 01:22:49,030
put pressure on Russia?

1686
01:22:49,030 --> 01:22:52,367
Mr. Earnest: I have no doubt
that Japan and the other

1687
01:22:52,367 --> 01:22:55,570
members of the G7 remain
firmly united about the need

1688
01:22:55,570 --> 01:23:00,174
for Russia to observe the
basic territorial integrity

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01:23:00,175 --> 01:23:04,079
and sovereignty of the
nation of Ukraine.

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01:23:04,079 --> 01:23:09,084
Thanks, everybody,
we'll see you tomorrow.