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1 00:00:03,269 --> 00:00:04,270 Mr. Earnest: Good afternoon, everybody. 2 00:00:04,270 --> 00:00:06,205 Nice to see you. 3 00:00:06,206 --> 00:00:08,341 I do not have any comments at the top, so we can go 4 00:00:08,341 --> 00:00:09,843 straight to your questions. 5 00:00:09,843 --> 00:00:10,343 Josh, do you want to start? 6 00:00:10,343 --> 00:00:10,910 The Press: Sure. 7 00:00:10,910 --> 00:00:11,578 Thanks, Josh. 8 00:00:11,578 --> 00:00:13,747 I wanted to start with the collapse of the ceasefire in 9 00:00:13,747 --> 00:00:18,852 Aleppo that was intended to allow these final civilians 10 00:00:18,852 --> 00:00:20,687 and fighters to evacuate. 11 00:00:20,687 --> 00:00:23,923 It seems like this deal was essentially brokered by the 12 00:00:23,923 --> 00:00:27,327 Turks and the Russians without a whole lot of 13 00:00:27,327 --> 00:00:28,395 direct U.S. involvement. 14 00:00:28,395 --> 00:00:30,930 So I'm wondering at this point whether -- if you 15 00:00:30,930 --> 00:00:33,299 could tell us what kind of engagement the U.S. 16 00:00:33,299 --> 00:00:36,503 is involved in in trying to ameliorate the violence 17 00:00:36,503 --> 00:00:40,840 there or secure the evacuation of the people who 18 00:00:40,840 --> 00:00:41,875 are still trapped there. 19 00:00:41,875 --> 00:00:44,644 Mr. Earnest: Josh, for years, the United States has 20 00:00:44,644 --> 00:00:47,446 played a leading role in trying to facilitate a 21 00:00:47,447 --> 00:00:49,616 diplomatic solution to the situation in Syria, 22 00:00:49,616 --> 00:00:51,518 including the situation in Aleppo. 23 00:00:51,518 --> 00:00:54,921 And our goal all along has been to reduce the violence 24 00:00:54,921 --> 00:00:59,626 and create space for sustained humanitarian 25 00:00:59,626 --> 00:01:02,262 assistance to be provided, particularly to those 26 00:01:02,262 --> 00:01:07,133 communities that have been under siege by the Syrian 27 00:01:07,133 --> 00:01:11,104 military, aided and abetted by the Russians and 28 00:01:11,104 --> 00:01:11,771 the Iranians. 29 00:01:11,771 --> 00:01:14,374 So the United States continues to play that 30 00:01:14,374 --> 00:01:16,576 leading role even today. 31 00:01:16,576 --> 00:01:18,610 And I know that there were discussions at the U.N. 32 00:01:18,611 --> 00:01:22,315 Security Council, and the United States continues to 33 00:01:22,315 --> 00:01:25,884 push for a diplomatic agreement. 34 00:01:25,885 --> 00:01:28,054 We certainly encourage other countries to be involved as 35 00:01:28,054 --> 00:01:33,226 well, and we've made clear that our efforts to reach a 36 00:01:33,226 --> 00:01:37,230 bilateral agreement with the Russians, which is something 37 00:01:37,230 --> 00:01:41,734 that we tried for many weeks earlier this year, is not 38 00:01:41,734 --> 00:01:43,902 something that we could achieve because the Russians 39 00:01:43,903 --> 00:01:45,672 couldn't hold up their end of the bargain. 40 00:01:45,672 --> 00:01:49,709 And I know they've got all kinds of explanations for 41 00:01:49,709 --> 00:01:51,244 why that may be the case. 42 00:01:51,244 --> 00:01:52,879 Most of them are rooted in the fact that they are 43 00:01:52,879 --> 00:01:58,551 either unable or unwilling to control their 44 00:01:58,551 --> 00:01:59,385 client government. 45 00:01:59,385 --> 00:02:02,388 The Press: But as far as right now, hour by hour 46 00:02:02,388 --> 00:02:04,824 there's pummeling of Aleppo, even when there's supposed 47 00:02:04,824 --> 00:02:05,758 to be this ceasefire. 48 00:02:05,758 --> 00:02:09,863 I mean, is there any new push or specific engagement 49 00:02:09,863 --> 00:02:12,131 by the U.S. to try to restore the ceasefire? 50 00:02:12,131 --> 00:02:14,334 Mr. Earnest: There is continued engagement, and 51 00:02:14,334 --> 00:02:18,905 there has been for years, and it continues to this moment. 52 00:02:18,905 --> 00:02:21,274 And we continue to be deeply concerned about the 53 00:02:21,274 --> 00:02:22,509 situation in Aleppo. 54 00:02:22,509 --> 00:02:25,577 We are seeing the same reports that you are -- that 55 00:02:25,578 --> 00:02:27,280 innocent people are being slaughtered in the streets 56 00:02:27,280 --> 00:02:30,617 at the hands of the Assad regime, aided and abetted by 57 00:02:30,617 --> 00:02:32,185 the Russians and the Iranians. 58 00:02:32,185 --> 00:02:37,023 And it raises deep concerns, and it's a deeply 59 00:02:37,023 --> 00:02:38,291 tragic situation. 60 00:02:38,291 --> 00:02:42,161 And these atrocities have to come to an end. 61 00:02:42,161 --> 00:02:44,230 And we're working diligently through a variety of 62 00:02:44,230 --> 00:02:47,534 diplomatic channels to bring about that end state. 63 00:02:47,534 --> 00:02:51,504 The Press: There seems to be some disagreement now, even 64 00:02:51,504 --> 00:02:53,940 within the intelligence community, about whether the 65 00:02:53,940 --> 00:02:58,044 evidence that's been turned up supports an assessment 66 00:02:58,044 --> 00:03:01,381 that Russia was actually trying to influence the 67 00:03:01,381 --> 00:03:03,082 election in a way to help Donald Trump. 68 00:03:03,082 --> 00:03:05,785 Can you tell us -- I know you have limitations about 69 00:03:05,785 --> 00:03:08,288 what you can talk about -- but whether the President 70 00:03:08,288 --> 00:03:10,823 has been informed by his Director of National 71 00:03:10,823 --> 00:03:17,363 Intelligence that they do not concur or embrace what 72 00:03:17,363 --> 00:03:18,965 the CIA has concluded about that? 73 00:03:18,965 --> 00:03:22,268 Mr. Earnest: When it comes to CIA conclusions or 74 00:03:22,268 --> 00:03:24,504 intelligence community conclusions, I'm going to 75 00:03:24,504 --> 00:03:26,005 refer you to the intelligence community. 76 00:03:26,005 --> 00:03:28,207 And there's a variety of reasons for that. 77 00:03:28,207 --> 00:03:33,245 The first is that we work hard to make sure that we 78 00:03:33,246 --> 00:03:36,182 are insulating the intelligence community from 79 00:03:36,182 --> 00:03:40,219 the suggestion that they are subject to 80 00:03:40,219 --> 00:03:42,689 political influence. 81 00:03:42,689 --> 00:03:46,025 It's important that the President be in a position 82 00:03:46,025 --> 00:03:49,796 to get good information. 83 00:03:49,796 --> 00:03:53,366 And when I say good information, I mean timely, 84 00:03:53,366 --> 00:04:00,106 accurate information about situations all around the world. 85 00:04:00,106 --> 00:04:03,676 And I certainly don't want to do anything or say 86 00:04:03,676 --> 00:04:08,013 anything from here that could cast doubt about the 87 00:04:08,014 --> 00:04:09,949 integrity of the information that's being provided to the 88 00:04:09,949 --> 00:04:12,318 President of the United States. 89 00:04:12,318 --> 00:04:14,387 So when they have an assessment to offer, I'll 90 00:04:14,387 --> 00:04:17,123 let them offer up that assessment. 91 00:04:17,123 --> 00:04:20,026 What they have said, and what they've said before the 92 00:04:20,026 --> 00:04:25,264 election, is that Russia was engaged in malicious cyber 93 00:04:25,264 --> 00:04:31,070 activity in an attempt to erode confidence in our 94 00:04:31,070 --> 00:04:32,939 system of government. 95 00:04:32,939 --> 00:04:39,679 And that's deeply troubling and very serious. 96 00:04:39,679 --> 00:04:42,448 And that's why the President ordered the Department of 97 00:04:42,448 --> 00:04:45,885 Homeland Security to work with elections 98 00:04:45,885 --> 00:04:48,955 administrators across the country to protect those 99 00:04:48,955 --> 00:04:53,393 systems and to bolster their ability to withstand 100 00:04:53,393 --> 00:04:56,895 intrusions from Russia so we could ensure the accurate 101 00:04:56,896 --> 00:04:59,632 counting of ballots, and we could ensure that everybody 102 00:04:59,632 --> 00:05:01,634 who was eligible to cast a ballot could do so. 103 00:05:04,003 --> 00:05:06,506 And the intelligence community has reported that 104 00:05:06,506 --> 00:05:10,075 on Election Day they did not see the kind of increase in 105 00:05:10,076 --> 00:05:13,046 malicious Russian cyber activity that would call 106 00:05:13,046 --> 00:05:16,649 into question the casting or counting of ballots. 107 00:05:16,649 --> 00:05:17,784 That certainly is good news. 108 00:05:17,784 --> 00:05:20,986 But there is rampant evidence of other tactics 109 00:05:20,987 --> 00:05:22,955 that were used by the Russians to erode public 110 00:05:22,955 --> 00:05:24,190 confidence in our democracy. 111 00:05:24,190 --> 00:05:26,659 And that's deeply troubling, and that's why the President 112 00:05:26,659 --> 00:05:29,328 has ordered a review, and the intelligence community 113 00:05:29,328 --> 00:05:32,330 is working on that review, and the President's 114 00:05:32,331 --> 00:05:34,467 expectation is that review will be delivered before the 115 00:05:34,467 --> 00:05:36,936 President leaves office, before January 20th. 116 00:05:36,936 --> 00:05:39,005 And we're certainly going to endeavor to release as much 117 00:05:39,005 --> 00:05:41,941 information as possible from the review to the public as 118 00:05:41,941 --> 00:05:43,643 we can, knowing that there will be some things that we 119 00:05:43,643 --> 00:05:46,412 can't release because we need to protect the ability 120 00:05:46,412 --> 00:05:47,780 of the intelligence community to collect 121 00:05:47,780 --> 00:05:48,448 this information. 122 00:05:48,448 --> 00:05:51,383 The Press: Given that the mixed signals about this is 123 00:05:51,384 --> 00:05:53,686 sort of fueling a politicization of the 124 00:05:53,686 --> 00:05:57,423 intelligence work, certainly with the President-elect, 125 00:05:57,423 --> 00:06:02,695 and given that you've said that this review that's 126 00:06:02,695 --> 00:06:04,063 taking place is basically the primary distinguishing 127 00:06:04,063 --> 00:06:06,199 factor between that and the assessments that had already 128 00:06:06,199 --> 00:06:08,401 been done, is that it's looking back into previous 129 00:06:08,401 --> 00:06:11,804 elections and sort of doing this holistic thing -- has 130 00:06:11,804 --> 00:06:13,940 the President indicated that he would like the 131 00:06:13,940 --> 00:06:18,211 intelligence community to perhaps release additional 132 00:06:18,211 --> 00:06:20,813 information or maybe clear what exactly they think 133 00:06:20,813 --> 00:06:23,783 happened sooner than later, perhaps sooner than that 134 00:06:23,783 --> 00:06:25,952 culmination of that review, which doesn't seem like it 135 00:06:25,952 --> 00:06:29,088 will happen until perhaps as the President is headed out 136 00:06:29,088 --> 00:06:29,756 the door? 137 00:06:29,756 --> 00:06:31,090 Mr. Earnest: I don't have a timeframe. 138 00:06:31,090 --> 00:06:33,926 The President certainly believes that as much 139 00:06:33,926 --> 00:06:38,464 information can -- the President believes that the 140 00:06:38,464 --> 00:06:41,234 intelligence community should release as much 141 00:06:41,234 --> 00:06:45,104 information as they can to the public about this issue, 142 00:06:45,104 --> 00:06:49,709 given how serious it is, given that we're talking 143 00:06:49,709 --> 00:06:55,248 about the integrity of a national election. 144 00:06:55,248 --> 00:06:58,417 So the President certainly does support that just 145 00:06:58,417 --> 00:06:59,551 on principle. 146 00:06:59,552 --> 00:07:02,622 But I don't have an updated timeframe to share in terms 147 00:07:02,622 --> 00:07:05,525 of what the intelligence community may or may not be 148 00:07:05,525 --> 00:07:06,191 able to do. 149 00:07:06,192 --> 00:07:08,261 The Press: And then just quickly, Reince Priebus has 150 00:07:08,261 --> 00:07:11,364 been out today talking about mixing it up a bit here at 151 00:07:11,364 --> 00:07:12,931 the White House as far as how the press corps 152 00:07:12,932 --> 00:07:16,602 interacts with the White House, and possibly doing 153 00:07:16,602 --> 00:07:18,703 away with assigned seating here in the 154 00:07:18,704 --> 00:07:19,739 Brady Press Briefing Room. 155 00:07:19,739 --> 00:07:21,607 And so I just wanted to clarify for everyone, could 156 00:07:21,607 --> 00:07:23,876 you tell us whether your office has any say or 157 00:07:23,876 --> 00:07:26,344 control over the seating assignments here in the 158 00:07:26,345 --> 00:07:27,013 briefing room? 159 00:07:27,013 --> 00:07:29,482 Mr. Earnest: We do not. 160 00:07:29,482 --> 00:07:34,120 This is -- I believe this was -- it certainly predates 161 00:07:34,120 --> 00:07:37,390 President Obama's presence in the White House. 162 00:07:37,390 --> 00:07:42,161 The White House Press Corps has worked among yourselves 163 00:07:42,161 --> 00:07:45,198 to organize the seating arrangements in this room, 164 00:07:45,198 --> 00:07:47,567 and I certainly would recommend to the incoming 165 00:07:47,567 --> 00:07:50,603 administration that they collect and familiarize 166 00:07:50,603 --> 00:07:54,574 themselves with some basic facts as they consider what 167 00:07:54,574 --> 00:07:56,409 sort of policies to implement moving forward. 168 00:07:56,409 --> 00:07:57,944 Roberta. 169 00:07:57,944 --> 00:08:01,314 The Press: A senior Chinese official warned today in 170 00:08:01,314 --> 00:08:04,183 China Daily that the Chinese government is ready to 171 00:08:04,183 --> 00:08:06,118 penalize a U.S. 172 00:08:06,118 --> 00:08:09,789 automaker for price fixing, and I'm wondering what 173 00:08:09,789 --> 00:08:12,325 notice the U.S. government has been given about 174 00:08:12,325 --> 00:08:16,662 this and what concerns the White House has, if any, about this. 175 00:08:16,662 --> 00:08:19,232 Mr. Earnest: Roberta, I've seen those reports. 176 00:08:19,232 --> 00:08:22,702 I don't have a lot of other information that I can share. 177 00:08:22,702 --> 00:08:24,637 We're still trying to collect additional 178 00:08:24,637 --> 00:08:28,007 information about those specific reports. 179 00:08:28,007 --> 00:08:30,276 I think what I can say definitely is that the Obama 180 00:08:30,276 --> 00:08:33,946 administration has a strong track record of making sure 181 00:08:33,946 --> 00:08:37,183 that we are protecting the rights and interests of U.S. 182 00:08:37,183 --> 00:08:41,621 businesses around the world, including in China. 183 00:08:41,621 --> 00:08:43,289 And as we learn more information about this 184 00:08:43,289 --> 00:08:45,758 particular situation, the United States government 185 00:08:45,758 --> 00:08:49,362 will continue to be protective of our interests 186 00:08:49,362 --> 00:08:51,930 in that circumstance and in other circumstances around 187 00:08:51,931 --> 00:08:52,531 the world. 188 00:08:52,531 --> 00:08:54,733 The Press: Do you see this as a response to the 189 00:08:54,734 --> 00:08:58,404 President-elect's sort of tough rhetoric on 190 00:08:58,404 --> 00:08:59,739 Chinese policy? 191 00:08:59,739 --> 00:09:01,340 Mr. Earnest: Unclear. 192 00:09:01,340 --> 00:09:05,645 I can't speak to why China may or may not have made 193 00:09:05,645 --> 00:09:06,746 this decision. 194 00:09:06,746 --> 00:09:09,281 Again, I think it's unclear exactly what the decision is. 195 00:09:09,282 --> 00:09:14,153 And until we can figure out what exactly that decision 196 00:09:14,153 --> 00:09:18,024 is, it makes it hard to consider exactly what their 197 00:09:18,024 --> 00:09:18,624 motive may have been. 198 00:09:18,624 --> 00:09:19,492 The Press: Okay. 199 00:09:19,492 --> 00:09:21,794 And taking a step back just from the decision, whatever 200 00:09:21,794 --> 00:09:26,032 it may be, I guess how concerned in general is this 201 00:09:26,032 --> 00:09:27,900 White House, this administration, that there 202 00:09:27,900 --> 00:09:29,201 could be economic repercussions for U.S. 203 00:09:29,201 --> 00:09:31,470 companies because of the stepped-up rhetoric against 204 00:09:31,470 --> 00:09:32,705 Chinese policies? 205 00:09:32,705 --> 00:09:35,441 Mr. Earnest: Well, I think this goes to an argument 206 00:09:35,441 --> 00:09:38,210 that I have put forward when I was previously asked about 207 00:09:38,210 --> 00:09:39,478 this issue. 208 00:09:39,478 --> 00:09:41,546 The longstanding U.S. 209 00:09:41,547 --> 00:09:46,018 commitment to a one-China policy, this is a policy 210 00:09:46,018 --> 00:09:48,988 that's governed by a piece of legislation and three 211 00:09:48,988 --> 00:09:50,823 different communiqués that were signed into law by 212 00:09:50,823 --> 00:09:53,826 Democratic -- or were signed -- by Democratic and 213 00:09:53,826 --> 00:09:55,594 Republican Presidents. 214 00:09:55,594 --> 00:09:58,464 This is a policy that has been observed for 40 years 215 00:09:58,464 --> 00:09:59,365 or so. 216 00:09:59,365 --> 00:10:04,370 And China considers their relationship with Taiwan to 217 00:10:07,073 --> 00:10:12,845 be a highly sensitive issue, and signaling potential 218 00:10:12,845 --> 00:10:19,785 changes in that policy is going to have widespread 219 00:10:19,785 --> 00:10:22,855 ramifications for the United States, both as it relates 220 00:10:22,855 --> 00:10:24,190 to our economy and as it relates to our 221 00:10:24,190 --> 00:10:25,324 national security. 222 00:10:25,324 --> 00:10:27,293 So certainly the incoming administration has an 223 00:10:27,293 --> 00:10:29,662 opportunity to consider what sort of policy they believe 224 00:10:29,662 --> 00:10:31,664 is in the best interest of the United States. 225 00:10:33,132 --> 00:10:37,036 I think the suggestion that all Americans would have is 226 00:10:37,036 --> 00:10:38,970 that they consider those kinds of choices very 227 00:10:38,971 --> 00:10:41,607 carefully before acting. 228 00:10:41,607 --> 00:10:46,512 And in this case, the President-elect indicated in 229 00:10:46,512 --> 00:10:49,882 an interview over the weekend that he took the 230 00:10:49,882 --> 00:10:51,550 call based on an hour or two's notice. 231 00:10:51,550 --> 00:10:56,555 And I think this is one illustration of how 232 00:11:04,630 --> 00:11:07,333 important the role of the presidency is and how 233 00:11:07,333 --> 00:11:12,704 important discipline and careful consideration of 234 00:11:12,705 --> 00:11:18,177 one's words and actions is when you're President of the 235 00:11:18,177 --> 00:11:19,345 United States and responsible for advancing 236 00:11:19,345 --> 00:11:20,012 our interests around the globe. 237 00:11:20,012 --> 00:11:24,215 So I'll leave it there. 238 00:11:24,216 --> 00:11:25,851 Michelle. 239 00:11:25,851 --> 00:11:28,454 The Press: We heard the retired NATO commander talk 240 00:11:28,454 --> 00:11:32,157 about the situation in Syria, and though he had 241 00:11:32,158 --> 00:11:36,228 served under Obama, he said that Obama would probably 242 00:11:36,228 --> 00:11:40,632 look back on that situation with deep sorrow and some shame. 243 00:11:40,633 --> 00:11:42,201 What do you think of those words that he said? 244 00:11:42,201 --> 00:11:43,836 Mr. Earnest: I didn't see those comments. 245 00:11:43,836 --> 00:11:46,205 I can tell you that, under President Obama's 246 00:11:46,205 --> 00:11:48,674 leadership, the United States has been at the front 247 00:11:48,674 --> 00:11:50,810 of the effort to find a diplomatic solution to the 248 00:11:50,810 --> 00:11:52,411 situation in Syria. 249 00:11:52,411 --> 00:11:55,214 The United States has provided more humanitarian 250 00:11:55,214 --> 00:11:58,584 assistance through bilateral channels than any other 251 00:11:58,584 --> 00:12:00,486 country in the world. 252 00:12:00,486 --> 00:12:03,422 We have provided $6 billion in relief. 253 00:12:03,422 --> 00:12:06,992 And the United States has mobilized the international 254 00:12:06,992 --> 00:12:09,762 community to respond to the threat that is posed by 255 00:12:09,762 --> 00:12:13,132 ISIL, which essentially is a consequence of the chaos 256 00:12:13,132 --> 00:12:14,099 inside of Syria. 257 00:12:14,100 --> 00:12:18,671 So President Obama has been making smart, strategic 258 00:12:18,671 --> 00:12:22,141 decisions that protect carefully U.S. 259 00:12:22,141 --> 00:12:25,877 interests in the region and around the world. 260 00:12:25,878 --> 00:12:32,251 That said, I think every American and every human 261 00:12:32,251 --> 00:12:37,890 being is deeply troubled by the violence and innocent 262 00:12:37,890 --> 00:12:39,725 loss of life that we see inside of Syria. 263 00:12:39,725 --> 00:12:40,659 It's heartbreaking. 264 00:12:40,659 --> 00:12:46,899 It's tragic when you see a government commit atrocities 265 00:12:46,899 --> 00:12:52,104 against its own people using the military might of the state. 266 00:12:52,104 --> 00:12:54,106 That is a failed government. 267 00:12:54,106 --> 00:12:55,374 That is a failed state. 268 00:12:55,374 --> 00:13:00,679 And President Obama has been leading the international 269 00:13:00,679 --> 00:13:03,348 effort to address it, both by trying to find a 270 00:13:03,349 --> 00:13:06,285 diplomatic solution to the chaos, but also dealing 271 00:13:06,285 --> 00:13:09,454 militarily and otherwise with the extremist threat 272 00:13:09,455 --> 00:13:11,991 that is propagated by that kind of chaos. 273 00:13:11,991 --> 00:13:14,627 The Press: I don't think anyone disputes the efforts. 274 00:13:14,627 --> 00:13:18,296 But for a very long time now, those efforts have failed. 275 00:13:18,297 --> 00:13:20,199 So is there no other alternative? 276 00:13:20,199 --> 00:13:21,699 Mr. Earnest: Well, let's be clear. 277 00:13:21,700 --> 00:13:23,969 You got a briefing for a long time from the 278 00:13:23,969 --> 00:13:27,206 President's Special Envoy to the Counter-ISIL Coalition 279 00:13:27,206 --> 00:13:29,942 that documented the success that we've had in rolling 280 00:13:29,942 --> 00:13:34,313 back ISIL and reducing their capacity to harm the United 281 00:13:34,313 --> 00:13:36,048 States or our interests, either in the region or 282 00:13:36,048 --> 00:13:36,715 around the world. 283 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 287 00:13:48,360 --> 00:13:51,197 of Syria, we haven't seen as much progress as we would like. 288 00:13:51,197 --> 00:13:57,269 And there are innocent Syrian men, women and 289 00:13:57,269 --> 00:13:59,972 children that have died as a result of it. 290 00:13:59,972 --> 00:14:03,976 And ultimately, that cause is the willingness of the 291 00:14:03,976 --> 00:14:06,679 Assad regime to use the military might of the state 292 00:14:06,679 --> 00:14:09,915 against his own people, and the willingness of the 293 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 295 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. 297 00:14:20,559 --> 00:14:22,795 They should be concerned about that. 298 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 304 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 309 00:14:55,894 --> 00:14:57,830 has done. 310 00:14:57,830 --> 00:15:02,301 Russia, nine months ago, touted publically their 311 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 00:15:08,974 --> 00:15:12,444 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 1689 01:23:00,175 --> 01:23:04,079 and sovereignty of the nation of Ukraine. 1690 01:23:04,079 --> 01:23:09,084 Thanks, everybody, we'll see you tomorrow.