English subtitles for clip: File:3-11-15- White House Press Briefing.webm

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Mr. Earnest: Good
afternoon, everybody.

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It's nice to see you today.

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Let me do a quick thing at the
top and then we'll get to your

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questions.

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Over the course of the day today
-- and this is a continuation of

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activity that has taken place
across the week -- the President

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and his team have worked hard
to amplify the middle-class

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economics theme that was laced
throughout the President's State

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of the Union address.

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And that seems in pretty stark
contrast to the priorities that

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we've seen from Republicans on
Capitol Hill over the last few

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weeks -- from Republican
senators getting together and

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writing a letter to the leader
of the Islamic Republic of Iran,

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or trying to play politics with
funding for the Department of

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Homeland Security, or even
engaging in an effort to

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convince governors across the
country to not cooperate with

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our efforts to fight
climate change.

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The President's priorities,
however, are quite clear and it

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is focused on an effort to
expand opportunity to the middle

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class.

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And that strategy has yielded
some benefits already.

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We've seen that in the latest
jobs report that was released

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the end of last week that over
the course of the last 12 months

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our economy has created more
than 200,000 jobs in each of

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those months.

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That's the first time that we've
had a streak like that in 37

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years.

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And that's an indication that
this strategy of focusing on the

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middle class is paying off.

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The point of all this is that
we're doing a lot of that today.

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This afternoon, the Vice
President will be giving remarks

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at the Hamilton Project
Policy Forum at the Brookings

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Institution on expanding
employment opportunities for the

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middle class.

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Also this afternoon, the
Director of the Office of

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Management and Budget, Shaun
Donovan, will be delivering a

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speech at the Economic Club
of Washington, D.C. He'll be

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discussing the President's
FY2016 budget proposals and talk

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about how we can strengthen
our middle class and support

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hardworking families -- while
ending the harmful cuts known as

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sequestration -- that actually
strengthen our economy and

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improve our fiscal outlook.

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I'd also commend to your
attention an op-ed that ran in

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the Wall Street Journal also
this morning from the Chairman

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of the Council of Economic
Advisers, Jason Furman.

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The headline of that op-ed was,
"The Ingredients for Getting the

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Middle Class Back on Track."

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So what you see here is a
pretty concerted effort by this

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administration to prioritize
our policies that will expand

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economic opportunity
for the middle class.

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And that stands in pretty stark
contrast to the priorities that

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are being displayed by our
Republican friends on Capitol

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Hill.

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So with that, Nedra, why
don't you get us started with

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questions today.

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The Press: Thanks, Josh.

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I'd like to jump to a few issues
in the news today and leave the

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follow-ups to my
colleagues here.

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Mr. Earnest: Okay.

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I'll try to keep up.

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(laughter)

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The Press: First,
the helicopter crash off the

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coast of Florida -- is there any
indication of what might have

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caused that?

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Mr. Earnest: Nedra, let me start
by saying that the thoughts and

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prayers of everybody here at
the White House are with the

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families of those who were
killed in this accident that

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occurred, apparently, overnight.

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I can tell you that this morning
the President placed telephone

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calls to Major General Joe
Osterman and Major General Glenn

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Curtis.

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General Osterman is the
Commander of Marine Special

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Operations.

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General Curtis is the Commander
of the Louisiana Army National

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Guard.

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In those telephone
conversations, the President

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expressed his condolences to the
families, fellow servicemembers,

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and communities of the seven
Marines and four Army National

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Guardsmen from Louisiana who
were involved in this tragic

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incident.

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The President reassured the
commanders of the nation's deep

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appreciation for the many
sacrifices that our men and

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women in uniform and their
families make to protect and

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defend our country.

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The President also expressed
confidence that there would be a

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detailed and thorough
investigation into this incident

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and what caused it.

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The Press: And how does
the President view the

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Iranian-backed militias that
seem to be taking back Tikrit

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today?

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General Dempsey was, in
testimony, expressing concern

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about whether Iran's involvement
could eventually further

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destabilize Iraq.

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Does the President
share that concern?

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Mr. Earnest: Well, first and
foremost, it's important to

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recognize that this
is an Iraqi operation.

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This is an operation that was
undertaken at the direction of

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Iraqi military leaders and
in consultation with Iraq's

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political leaders, including
the Prime Minister of Iraq,

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Mr. Abadi.

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As this military operation was
being organized, the Iraqi

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leadership, as they should, took
great care to ensure that this

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would be a
multi-sectarian effort.

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And we do see the involvement of
Iraqi security forces; we also

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see the involvement of some
Sunni forces that are located

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inside this province
of the country.

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That's an indication that there
is clear follow-through on Prime

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Minister Abadi's commitment
to unifying that country, his

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diverse country, to face down
this threat posed by ISIL.

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And a commitment to that unified
effort is something that we want

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to see not just in the political
leadership, but also in the

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execution of this
military operation.

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And Iran's involvement in this
military operation should not

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change that in any way.

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We have been clear, and Prime
Minister Abadi has been clear,

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that this military operation
should not and will not be used

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as an excuse for exacting
sectarian revenge.

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The Prime Minister has been
clear, and he's said publicly

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that the operation should
prevent the abuse of civilians

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at all costs, and needs to abide
by international norms, avoid

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fueling sectarian fears, and
avoid promoting the sectarian

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divides that have actually
weakened Iraq over the last

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several years.

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There's no doubt that this
Tikrit operation is a major

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front in the fight against ISIL,
and we are pleased to see that

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Iraqi forces have been
advancing, and we are aware of

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reports that ISIL fighters are
actually withdrawing from the

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area in the face of this
offensive from Iraqi security

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forces.

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We've also seen the pressure
that's being applied to ISIL

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forces in this area has caused
some ISIL forces to even desert

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their posts.

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And there are reports that
commanders, ISIL commanders are

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actually resorting to executing
their own troops to prevent them

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from deserting.

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This is an indication of the
significant pressure that's

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being applied.

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The other thing that I would
note -- and this is also a

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welcome development -- is that
we have seen the positive input

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of Grand Ayatollah Sistani --
this is a leading Shiite cleric

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in Iraq -- who has urged the
Shiite militia that's involved

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in this operation to act with
restraint as they advance.

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And again, he is also mindful
that this military operation

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should not be used as an excuse
to exact sectarian revenge.

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So I guess the point I'm trying
to make here is that we are

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pleased that this operation
seems to be advancing.

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That's a positive development.

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But we want to continue to make
clear that it's the priority of

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the United States and our
coalition partners -- that it

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needs to continue to be a
priority of Prime Minister Abadi

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and other leaders in Iraq to
ensure that this is an operation

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that advances their efforts to
unify that country to take on

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ISIL.

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The Press: On the Islamic State
AUMF, Senator Corker opened the

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hearing today by noting that not
a single Democrat in Congress

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has signed on to the
President's proposal.

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Is the President doing anything
to try to line up support, or

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does he really feel like this is
out of his hands now that he's

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made that proposal?

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Mr. Earnest: Well, Nedra,
you'll recall that before the

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administration even sent
language up to Capitol Hill that

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there were a substantial number
of conversations, including at

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the presidential level, with
Democrats and Republicans in the

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Congress about what language
they would like to see included

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in an Authorization to Use
Military Force against ISIL.

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We certainly welcome the
engagement that we've seen from

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Congress.

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The scheduling of this hearing
at the Senate Foreign Relations

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Committee is one example
of that engagement.

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This ultimately is a legislative
process that should be driven by

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members of Congress to
weigh in on this matter.

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The President believes that
having Congress participate in

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this by signaling their support
for the President's strategy to

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degrade and destroy ISIL would
be a positive development; that

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it would send a clear message
to the American people that the

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country is united, it would send
a clear message to our allies

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and coalition partners that the
United States is united behind

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this strategy, and, just as
importantly, it would send a

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clear message to ISIL and even
people who are contemplating

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joining ISIL that the United
States is determined and united

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behind a strategy to degrade
and ultimately destroy that

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organization.

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The Press: And finally, we've
heard now from Secretary Clinton

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on her emails, and I wonder if
you can update us on whether, in

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addition to her public
statements, she's given any

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explanation to the President
or spoken to him about it.

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Mr. Earnest: I'm not aware
of any conversations between

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President Obama and Secretary
Clinton in the last couple of

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weeks.

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Okay?

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Jeff.

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The Press: I'm going to follow
up on the last one that Nedra

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asked.

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Mr. Earnest: Okay.

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The Press: Is the President or
the White House concerned that

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Secretary Clinton deleted tens
of thousands of emails that she

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would have sent while she
was Secretary of State?

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Mr. Earnest: It's my
understanding, based on what

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Secretary Clinton has said, is
that she was describing personal

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emails, and that she went
through her personal email

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system to ensure that all of the
personal emails that related to

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her official role as the
Secretary of State were properly

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transferred to the custody of
the State Department, so that

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they could be properly
maintained and archived and

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actually used in response to
legitimate requests from the

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public and from Congress.

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And I understand that the State
Department has already taken

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steps to use that material
to respond to congressional

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inquiry.

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But, frankly, the Secretary's
handling of her own personal

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email and the maintenance of
her personal email inbox is

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something that I'm not going to
comment on and not particularly

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interested in.

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The Press: But, I mean, human
error could occur when deleting

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emails.

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Isn't there a possibility
that she may have even not

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deliberately deleted some emails
that would have been related to

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the administration, would have
been related to her government

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job?

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Mr. Earnest: Well, again, I'd
refer you to Secretary Clinton's

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team for the details on the
process that they undertook to

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review a substantial number of
emails, to send 55,000 of them

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to the State Department to
ensure that they could be

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properly catalogued and
maintained and archived, used in

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responses to legitimate
requests from the public.

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That's consistent with the
requirements of the Federal

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Records Act.

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The Press: So you're not
concerned about the deletion of

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other emails that -- Mr.
Earnest: Again, when you

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describe other emails you're
talking about emails related to

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her personal business -- at
least that's the way that she

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has described them.

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The Press: Deleted the ones that
she hasn't submitted to State,

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in any case.

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Mr. Earnest: Well, but again,
deleted emails that she said

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were personal in nature and not
related to her official work.

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And again, it was her
responsibility and the

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responsibility of her team to
make that determination and to

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conduct that review.

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Nobody has marshalled in the
evidence that I've seen at least

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to indicate that they have
fallen short of what they said

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they did.

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But if you have questions about
that process you should direct

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them to them.

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The Press: You've talked about
the President's emailing habits

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and his address.

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00:11:35,961 --> 00:11:39,665
Can you clarify, is the email
address that he uses a .

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00:11:39,665 --> 00:11:41,500
gov address?

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00:11:41,500 --> 00:11:42,835
Mr. Earnest: Jeff, I'm not going
to be in a position to talk

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00:11:42,835 --> 00:11:46,772
about the President's email
address, for a variety of

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00:11:46,772 --> 00:11:49,675
reasons, including and related
to the security of that email

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address.

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But what I will make clear, as
I've done on previous occasions

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00:11:53,479 --> 00:11:57,249
-- but you're raising a -- this
goes to an important point,

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which is the President does take
very seriously the requirements

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that he is under, based on
the Presidential Records Act.

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That's different from the
Federal Records Act that governs

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00:12:06,425 --> 00:12:09,462
the archiving of records of
other government employees.

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00:12:09,462 --> 00:12:12,264
At the White House, there is
a Presidential Records Act in

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00:12:12,264 --> 00:12:17,736
place that has different
requirements for the handling of

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records.

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And I can tell you that all of
the emails that the President

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sends are governed by that act
and are properly maintained in

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00:12:26,278 --> 00:12:28,280
accordance with the
Presidential Records Act.

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The Press: All right.

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And lastly, on Ukraine.

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What does the announcement this
morning about the non-lethal aid

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00:12:32,651 --> 00:12:36,755
to Ukraine mean about the
President's decision about

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00:12:36,755 --> 00:12:37,790
lethal aid?

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00:12:37,790 --> 00:12:43,863
Mr. Earnest: Well, let's
do the first part first.

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00:12:43,863 --> 00:12:46,999
There was an announcement from
the administration today that an

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00:12:46,999 --> 00:12:50,402
additional $75 million in
military assistance would be

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00:12:50,402 --> 00:12:54,106
provided to the Ukrainian
military by the United States.

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00:12:54,106 --> 00:12:56,509
This is a continuation of
military assistance that has

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already been provided by the
United States -- some $100

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00:12:58,511 --> 00:13:01,079
million or $120 million in
assistance has already been

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00:13:01,080 --> 00:13:04,617
provided to the Ukrainian
military and this is obviously a

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00:13:04,617 --> 00:13:06,584
substantial supplement.

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That assistance includes
a wide variety of things.

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It includes radios and secure
communications equipment.

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00:13:14,193 --> 00:13:19,765
It includes some unmanned aerial
vehicles that can assist in the

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defense and protection of
Ukrainian forces and will

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00:13:26,438 --> 00:13:28,574
significantly enhance
their communication and

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00:13:28,574 --> 00:13:31,276
command-and-control capability.

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00:13:31,277 --> 00:13:36,749
The assistance also includes
counter-mortar radars that

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00:13:36,749 --> 00:13:39,618
provide warning and protection
against mortar and artillery

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fire.

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And it also includes significant
medical equipment, including

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00:13:46,125 --> 00:13:50,396
first aid kits, medical supplies
and military ambulances.

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And I think this is reflective
of the partnership that exists

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between the United States and
Ukraine, and is consistent with

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00:13:56,869 --> 00:14:00,539
our commitment to supporting
Ukraine as they face this

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00:14:00,539 --> 00:14:06,011
destabilizing threat on
their eastern border.

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As it relates to the ongoing
questions about providing lethal

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00:14:12,651 --> 00:14:17,089
support to the Ukrainian
military, we've talked quite a

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00:14:17,089 --> 00:14:19,124
bit, and the President has --
more importantly, the President

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00:14:19,124 --> 00:14:23,395
has talked quite a bit about
the consequences of doing that.

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The President is continuing to
watch the efforts by both sides

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00:14:28,734 --> 00:14:32,905
to implement the agreements that
were reached in Minsk, both back

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00:14:32,905 --> 00:14:35,174
in September but
also last month.

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And we do continue to have
concerns about the commitment of

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00:14:39,411 --> 00:14:43,114
the Russians and Russian-backed
separatists to live up to the

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00:14:43,115 --> 00:14:47,052
commitments that they made in
Minsk; that there is still

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00:14:47,052 --> 00:14:51,223
evidence that Russian military
personnel are fighting alongside

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00:14:51,223 --> 00:14:52,925
Russian-backed separatists.

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00:14:52,925 --> 00:14:56,594
There continues to be evidence
that Russia is continuing to

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00:14:56,595 --> 00:15:00,699
transfer weapons and materiel
across the border into Ukraine

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00:15:00,699 --> 00:15:04,136
in support of separatists
in eastern Ukraine.

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00:15:04,136 --> 00:15:08,339
And there are continued reports
that Russian-backed separatists

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00:15:08,340 --> 00:15:13,145
are preventing OSCE monitors
from getting access to those

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00:15:13,145 --> 00:15:17,216
areas of the country that are
necessary to verify compliance

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00:15:17,216 --> 00:15:19,184
with the Minsk
Implementation Plan.

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So we do continue to have
concerns about the commitment of

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00:15:23,055 --> 00:15:25,757
Russia and the Russian-backed
separatists living up to that

315
00:15:25,758 --> 00:15:31,497
agreement, and that failure on
their part only puts Russia at

316
00:15:31,497 --> 00:15:34,733
greater risk of facing
additional costs.

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00:15:34,733 --> 00:15:38,804
And it does leave open this
question about providing

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00:15:38,804 --> 00:15:43,375
additional military assistance
to the Ukrainian military.

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00:15:43,375 --> 00:15:44,343
Mara.

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00:15:44,343 --> 00:15:47,579
The Press: Just to follow up
on that -- Mr. Earnest: Sure.

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00:15:47,579 --> 00:15:51,449
The Press: I understand that you
believe that no matter what kind

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00:15:51,450 --> 00:15:54,687
of assistance you give to the
Ukrainians, Russia, if it wanted

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00:15:54,687 --> 00:15:58,123
to, could take
over in two weeks.

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00:15:58,123 --> 00:16:01,760
Do you think that giving lethal
aid to the Ukrainian government

325
00:16:01,760 --> 00:16:04,930
would cause Russia to do
something that they're not doing

326
00:16:04,930 --> 00:16:05,930
now?

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00:16:05,931 --> 00:16:08,701
Mr. Earnest: Well, there are a
couple of consequences that we

328
00:16:08,701 --> 00:16:13,405
have talked about of providing
additional lethal military

329
00:16:13,405 --> 00:16:15,406
assistance to the
Ukrainian military.

330
00:16:15,407 --> 00:16:19,144
The first is that it's likely, I
think almost by definition, to

331
00:16:19,144 --> 00:16:20,646
lead to greater bloodshed.

332
00:16:20,646 --> 00:16:23,681
And the fact is our engagement
here and our support for these

333
00:16:23,682 --> 00:16:27,186
ongoing diplomatic negotiations
is that we're trying to avoid

334
00:16:27,186 --> 00:16:28,687
greater bloodshed.

335
00:16:28,687 --> 00:16:30,689
So that is one thing that
the President is mindful of.

336
00:16:30,689 --> 00:16:34,827
The second is that the President
is mindful of the fact that

337
00:16:34,827 --> 00:16:39,098
there is not a military solution
to this problem; that it is

338
00:16:39,098 --> 00:16:43,001
unreasonable to suggest that the
United States would be able to

339
00:16:43,001 --> 00:16:46,204
provide enough military support
to the Ukrainian military that

340
00:16:46,205 --> 00:16:49,041
they could overwhelm the
military operations that are

341
00:16:49,041 --> 00:16:51,043
currently being
backed by Russia.

342
00:16:51,043 --> 00:16:55,447
And I guess the third thing is
that it could result in some

343
00:16:55,447 --> 00:16:58,050
escalation, that if the
capability of the Ukrainian

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00:16:58,050 --> 00:17:01,686
military substantially escalates
that that could prompt an

345
00:17:01,687 --> 00:17:04,723
escalated response by the
Russians and the separatists

346
00:17:04,723 --> 00:17:05,758
that they back.

347
00:17:05,758 --> 00:17:11,396
And, again, that bloodshed is
something that we're trying to

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00:17:11,396 --> 00:17:12,830
avoid and deescalate.

349
00:17:12,830 --> 00:17:18,270
So the President is very mindful
of the potential risk that's

350
00:17:18,270 --> 00:17:23,575
associated with providing
additional lethal military

351
00:17:23,575 --> 00:17:24,676
assistance to the Ukrainians.

352
00:17:24,675 --> 00:17:26,779
The Press: Well, you talk about
raising the consequences for

353
00:17:26,779 --> 00:17:30,082
Russia if it doesn't abide by
its agreements, which you just

354
00:17:30,082 --> 00:17:31,116
said they're not.

355
00:17:31,116 --> 00:17:34,485
I guess, why not raise the
consequences for them or the

356
00:17:34,486 --> 00:17:41,059
cost for them by making them
take more casualties in their

357
00:17:41,059 --> 00:17:43,228
fight with Ukraine?

358
00:17:43,228 --> 00:17:45,831
I mean, that's what lethal
military aid would do.

359
00:17:45,831 --> 00:17:50,468
It would raise the price for
Russia to continue to use

360
00:17:50,469 --> 00:17:51,470
aggression.

361
00:17:51,470 --> 00:17:55,541
Mr. Earnest: Well, that is
certainly one potential outcome.

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00:17:55,541 --> 00:18:04,850
But, again, the goal here is to
get the Russians to abide by

363
00:18:04,850 --> 00:18:07,785
generally accepted international
norms when it comes to

364
00:18:07,786 --> 00:18:11,457
respecting the territorial
integrity of another sovereign

365
00:18:11,457 --> 00:18:12,458
country.

366
00:18:12,458 --> 00:18:18,630
And we are attempting to engage
in a diplomatic process that

367
00:18:18,630 --> 00:18:22,935
would bolster support for that
generally accepted international

368
00:18:22,935 --> 00:18:27,371
norm and deescalate the
situation in Ukraine.

369
00:18:27,372 --> 00:18:30,342
And more intense fighting
between the two sides would lead

370
00:18:30,342 --> 00:18:36,114
to the opposite; would lead to
greater escalation and more

371
00:18:36,114 --> 00:18:39,818
violence and bloodshed, and a
temptation on the part of the

372
00:18:39,818 --> 00:18:43,622
Russians to more forcefully
resupply Russian-backed

373
00:18:43,622 --> 00:18:44,723
separatists.

374
00:18:44,723 --> 00:18:48,827
So, again, those are the risks
associated with providing

375
00:18:48,827 --> 00:18:53,465
additional military -- lethal
military support to the

376
00:18:53,465 --> 00:18:54,699
Ukrainians.

377
00:18:54,700 --> 00:19:00,305
And these are risks that the
President has to weigh against a

378
00:19:00,305 --> 00:19:01,807
whole series of other factors.

379
00:19:01,807 --> 00:19:05,611
And I guess the other point that
I want to make here is that

380
00:19:05,611 --> 00:19:09,181
there are other costs that can
be imposed on Russia aside from

381
00:19:09,181 --> 00:19:19,091
just the military toll that
could be taken on their forces.

382
00:19:19,091 --> 00:19:21,360
Many of the costs that we've
imposed thus far have been

383
00:19:21,360 --> 00:19:24,996
economic in nature; that by
putting in place sectoral

384
00:19:24,997 --> 00:19:28,333
sanctions in close coordination
with our European partners has

385
00:19:28,333 --> 00:19:31,436
had a strong and negative
impact on the Russian economy.

386
00:19:31,436 --> 00:19:34,273
There are all sorts of metrics
that you can evaluate the

387
00:19:34,273 --> 00:19:38,976
devaluation of the Russian
currency, the evidence of

388
00:19:38,977 --> 00:19:41,914
substantial private capital
flight away from Russian

389
00:19:41,914 --> 00:19:46,652
markets, substantial downward
revisions of Russian economic

390
00:19:46,652 --> 00:19:48,186
growth projections.

391
00:19:48,186 --> 00:19:52,357
So there are a lot of ways that
costs can be imposed, and the

392
00:19:52,357 --> 00:19:56,128
costs that we have imposed thus
far have been substantial.

393
00:19:56,128 --> 00:20:01,332
But they have not yet resulted
in the kind of change in

394
00:20:01,333 --> 00:20:04,403
strategy that we'd like to see
the Russian government make.

395
00:20:04,403 --> 00:20:07,506
The Press: So is it fair to say
that the diplomatic process and

396
00:20:07,506 --> 00:20:10,576
these economic sanctions
have not succeeded yet?

397
00:20:10,576 --> 00:20:13,178
Mr. Earnest: They have not,
because we continue to see the

398
00:20:13,178 --> 00:20:18,817
Russians act in a destabilizing
fashion in Ukraine and continue

399
00:20:18,817 --> 00:20:22,387
to fall short of the commitments
that they clearly made in the

400
00:20:22,387 --> 00:20:25,791
context of their conversations
with the Ukrainians, the Germans

401
00:20:25,791 --> 00:20:26,792
and the French.

402
00:20:26,792 --> 00:20:31,228
So we do have continued concerns
about Russian behavior in

403
00:20:31,229 --> 00:20:32,598
eastern Ukraine.

404
00:20:32,598 --> 00:20:40,072
And it is why the potential of
increased costs only goes up.

405
00:20:40,072 --> 00:20:41,072
Major.

406
00:20:41,073 --> 00:20:44,576
The Press: Would you say, based
on what Secretary Clinton said

407
00:20:44,576 --> 00:20:47,512
yesterday, to the satisfaction
of the White House, this matter

408
00:20:47,512 --> 00:20:48,513
is closed?

409
00:20:48,513 --> 00:20:53,851
Mr. Earnest: Well, ultimately I
think it will be up to all of

410
00:20:53,852 --> 00:20:56,922
you to make your own
determinations about sort of how

411
00:20:56,922 --> 00:21:01,693
Secretary Clinton has
resolved this matter.

412
00:21:01,693 --> 00:21:04,930
As it relates to compliance
with the Federal Records Act,

413
00:21:04,930 --> 00:21:08,667
Secretary Clinton and her team
say that they have taken all of

414
00:21:08,667 --> 00:21:12,103
the personal emails that were
related to her official business

415
00:21:12,104 --> 00:21:14,139
as the Secretary of State and
provided them to the State

416
00:21:14,139 --> 00:21:16,841
Department so that they could
be properly archived and

417
00:21:16,842 --> 00:21:17,943
maintained.

418
00:21:17,943 --> 00:21:21,146
There's ongoing work there to
process those records and make

419
00:21:21,146 --> 00:21:23,514
sure that they're properly
stored, to make sure that they

420
00:21:23,515 --> 00:21:27,252
can be properly provided
to Congress in response to

421
00:21:27,252 --> 00:21:28,486
requests.

422
00:21:28,487 --> 00:21:30,489
I know that some of that work
has already been done because

423
00:21:30,489 --> 00:21:32,491
some of those records have
already been provided to

424
00:21:32,491 --> 00:21:33,492
Congress.

425
00:21:33,492 --> 00:21:35,927
There also is work underway at
the State Department to comply

426
00:21:35,927 --> 00:21:39,464
with Secretary Clinton's request
that those emails be made

427
00:21:39,464 --> 00:21:40,666
public.

428
00:21:40,666 --> 00:21:44,703
So there's ongoing
work on this matter.

429
00:21:44,703 --> 00:21:47,272
So I guess the fact that people
are still working on it might be

430
00:21:47,272 --> 00:21:51,877
an indication that
this is still going on.

431
00:21:51,877 --> 00:21:56,214
But this is work that we believe
is important -- The Press: Is

432
00:21:56,214 --> 00:21:58,216
the White House satisfied with
the answers that Secretary of

433
00:21:58,216 --> 00:21:59,216
State Clinton gave yesterday?

434
00:21:59,217 --> 00:22:02,320
And would it consider that
approach to emails a model for

435
00:22:02,320 --> 00:22:03,455
other Cabinet Secretaries?

436
00:22:03,455 --> 00:22:05,823
Mr. Earnest: Well, Major, I
think we've been really clear

437
00:22:05,824 --> 00:22:08,593
about the guidance that we have
offered to all agency employees,

438
00:22:08,593 --> 00:22:10,595
from Cabinet
Secretaries on down.

439
00:22:10,595 --> 00:22:14,599
And that guidance has been
clarified in recent years,

440
00:22:14,599 --> 00:22:17,269
particularly with the
President's signature on a piece

441
00:22:17,269 --> 00:22:19,438
of legislation at the end of
last year that provided more

442
00:22:19,438 --> 00:22:23,041
specific guidelines for how
personal email that relates to

443
00:22:23,041 --> 00:22:25,043
official business can be
properly archived and

444
00:22:25,043 --> 00:22:26,043
maintained.

445
00:22:26,044 --> 00:22:28,647
So those guidelines have been
made clear, and they've been

446
00:22:28,647 --> 00:22:32,783
further clarified over the last
couple of years as the President

447
00:22:32,784 --> 00:22:34,786
has taken steps to
do exactly that.

448
00:22:34,786 --> 00:22:36,788
The Press: So she
would not be a model?

449
00:22:36,788 --> 00:22:39,925
Mr. Earnest: Well, Major, I
think we've been very clear

450
00:22:39,925 --> 00:22:45,363
about what the guidance is, and
that was true last week and it's

451
00:22:45,363 --> 00:22:47,466
true this week, too.

452
00:22:47,466 --> 00:22:52,670
The Press: On Ukraine, can
we conclude, based on the

453
00:22:52,671 --> 00:22:56,842
announcement today, that after
repeated requests from the

454
00:22:56,842 --> 00:23:01,012
Ukrainians themselves, the
publication of a report by

455
00:23:01,012 --> 00:23:05,183
people this administration take
seriously on defense policy

456
00:23:05,183 --> 00:23:09,855
advocating lethal aid to the
Ukrainians, that that issue is

457
00:23:09,855 --> 00:23:12,424
essentially resolved in the
negative; this administration is

458
00:23:12,424 --> 00:23:16,762
never going to send lethal
arms to the Ukrainians?

459
00:23:16,762 --> 00:23:20,665
Because it seems, after several
months of them lobbying

460
00:23:20,665 --> 00:23:23,835
directly, other participants
of this administration take

461
00:23:23,835 --> 00:23:26,071
seriously and the think-tank
community here lobbying for

462
00:23:26,071 --> 00:23:29,206
that, and the administration
announcing today it will not do

463
00:23:29,207 --> 00:23:33,345
that -- it seems very difficult
to come up with a set of

464
00:23:33,345 --> 00:23:37,149
circumstances in which the
administration would come to a

465
00:23:37,149 --> 00:23:41,352
different conclusion than it had
repeatedly on this question and

466
00:23:41,353 --> 00:23:43,555
has again landed on today.

467
00:23:43,555 --> 00:23:46,558
This administration is not going
to send lethal arms to Ukraine,

468
00:23:46,558 --> 00:23:47,559
is it?

469
00:23:47,559 --> 00:23:49,761
Mr. Earnest: That's not
necessarily accurate.

470
00:23:49,761 --> 00:23:53,565
The fact is the administration
and the entire government

471
00:23:53,565 --> 00:23:56,868
continues to watch the situation
in eastern Ukraine and continues

472
00:23:56,868 --> 00:23:59,804
to monitor Russia's willingness
to live up to the commitments

473
00:23:59,805 --> 00:24:01,840
that they made in the context of
the Minsk Implementation Plan.

474
00:24:01,840 --> 00:24:06,110
The Press: I'm taking seriously
the answer you gave to Mara --

475
00:24:06,111 --> 00:24:07,112
and I do.

476
00:24:07,112 --> 00:24:09,748
What condition would change to
change what you just described?

477
00:24:09,748 --> 00:24:11,750
Russia will always be
more militarily powerful.

478
00:24:11,750 --> 00:24:14,619
The risk of escalation
will always be there.

479
00:24:14,619 --> 00:24:17,956
The threat that that would pose
to a diplomatic resolution will

480
00:24:17,956 --> 00:24:19,456
never go away.

481
00:24:19,457 --> 00:24:22,894
All the things you described in
your answer to Mara appear to be

482
00:24:22,894 --> 00:24:25,397
baked into this situation.

483
00:24:25,397 --> 00:24:27,399
None of them are
going to go away.

484
00:24:27,399 --> 00:24:29,633
And I'd be curious if you
believed they would go away

485
00:24:29,634 --> 00:24:32,270
under a circumstance other
than what we have now.

486
00:24:32,270 --> 00:24:35,407
So if all those things are going
to stay the same, if they're all

487
00:24:35,407 --> 00:24:39,311
risks that argue against
providing lethal aid, can't you

488
00:24:39,311 --> 00:24:40,978
just say this issue is settled?

489
00:24:40,979 --> 00:24:43,415
Mr. Earnest: I can't, because
the President, I think, in his

490
00:24:43,415 --> 00:24:46,051
own mind, is continuing to
evaluate the situation in

491
00:24:46,051 --> 00:24:49,354
eastern Ukraine and continuing
to assess the risk that's

492
00:24:49,354 --> 00:24:54,426
associated with providing
additional lethal assistance to

493
00:24:54,426 --> 00:24:57,729
the Ukrainian military -- that
this is a situation that we

494
00:24:57,729 --> 00:24:58,730
continue to monitor.

495
00:24:58,730 --> 00:25:03,435
And we've also been clear about
the fact that as the Russians

496
00:25:03,435 --> 00:25:06,972
continue to fail to live up to
commitments that they've made

497
00:25:06,972 --> 00:25:10,075
that the risk associated with
additional costs being imposed

498
00:25:10,075 --> 00:25:11,509
on them also goes up.

499
00:25:11,509 --> 00:25:13,712
So there are a number of risk
assessments that have to be

500
00:25:13,712 --> 00:25:14,813
evaluated.

501
00:25:14,813 --> 00:25:17,048
The Press: But when you describe
the risks, all on their side of

502
00:25:17,048 --> 00:25:19,651
the ledger, what other
conclusion could they come to

503
00:25:19,651 --> 00:25:21,686
that you're not
going to do this?

504
00:25:21,686 --> 00:25:23,521
Mr. Earnest: That we're not
going to -- The Press: Provide

505
00:25:23,521 --> 00:25:24,356
lethal aid.

506
00:25:24,356 --> 00:25:26,424
Mr. Earnest: The point is,
Major, that the costs to them do

507
00:25:26,424 --> 00:25:32,364
go up as they continue to -- as
these sanctions remain in place,

508
00:25:32,364 --> 00:25:35,467
that they have further bite
the longer they're in place.

509
00:25:35,467 --> 00:25:39,537
And that is part of the risk
assessment that the Russians

510
00:25:39,537 --> 00:25:40,605
themselves are doing.

511
00:25:40,605 --> 00:25:42,741
They themselves have to
evaluate, can our economy

512
00:25:42,741 --> 00:25:48,513
continue to take this hit as we
interfere in eastern Ukraine.

513
00:25:48,513 --> 00:25:50,881
So there is a risk assessment
that's being made on the other

514
00:25:50,882 --> 00:25:51,883
side, too.

515
00:25:51,883 --> 00:25:53,919
So I'm not going to prejudge
the outcome when we are in a

516
00:25:53,919 --> 00:25:56,955
situation where there are a
whole set of risks associated

517
00:25:56,955 --> 00:25:57,956
with a possible U.S.

518
00:25:57,956 --> 00:26:01,126
action, but there are also a
large number of risks associated

519
00:26:01,126 --> 00:26:04,429
with Russia continuing to move
down the path that they're on

520
00:26:04,429 --> 00:26:05,430
right now.

521
00:26:05,430 --> 00:26:07,432
The Press: One
last thing on Iran.

522
00:26:07,432 --> 00:26:09,501
Is the administration offended
by the timing of the Tom Cotton

523
00:26:09,501 --> 00:26:12,771
letter or its actual contents?

524
00:26:12,771 --> 00:26:14,873
Because in their defense,
Republicans say all we're saying

525
00:26:14,873 --> 00:26:17,375
in that letter is what
legislation that other Democrats

526
00:26:17,375 --> 00:26:22,047
have signed onto incorporates,
which is an idea that at some

527
00:26:22,047 --> 00:26:25,250
point, this should be brought
to the Congress for its review.

528
00:26:25,250 --> 00:26:27,752
Now, lots of Democrats
have signed onto that.

529
00:26:27,752 --> 00:26:29,955
They've peeled off in the
last week; I understand that.

530
00:26:29,955 --> 00:26:32,624
So is this a question of timing?

531
00:26:32,624 --> 00:26:37,429
Or do you have a genuine sense
of offense about the entire

532
00:26:37,429 --> 00:26:39,931
concept of Congress
reviewing a deal?

533
00:26:39,931 --> 00:26:41,900
Mr. Earnest: I think based on
the reaction that we've seen

534
00:26:41,900 --> 00:26:43,969
across the country, and based
on the reaction we've seen from

535
00:26:43,969 --> 00:26:46,538
Capitol Hill from both Democrats
and Republicans -- The Press:

536
00:26:46,538 --> 00:26:48,540
That's actually -- Mr. Earnest:
I know, but let me finish.

537
00:26:48,540 --> 00:26:50,542
Based on the reaction that we've
seen from editorial boards

538
00:26:50,542 --> 00:26:53,011
across the country, based on the
reaction that we've seen from

539
00:26:53,011 --> 00:26:55,347
members of Congress in both
parties in reaction to this

540
00:26:55,347 --> 00:26:58,616
letter, there are a long list of
reasons why this letter was the

541
00:26:58,616 --> 00:26:59,617
wrong thing to do.

542
00:26:59,617 --> 00:27:04,656
It does come at an inappropriate
time; that attempting to sandbag

543
00:27:04,656 --> 00:27:06,992
the President of the United
States in the midst of

544
00:27:06,992 --> 00:27:10,128
negotiations that he's engaged
in not just with Iran but with

545
00:27:10,128 --> 00:27:13,732
our international partners is
not just unprecedented but

546
00:27:13,732 --> 00:27:14,933
inappropriate.

547
00:27:14,933 --> 00:27:17,268
It does undermine the
President's ability not just to

548
00:27:17,268 --> 00:27:19,804
conduct foreign policy but to
advance our national security

549
00:27:19,804 --> 00:27:22,140
interests around the globe.

550
00:27:22,140 --> 00:27:23,274
That's the first thing.

551
00:27:23,274 --> 00:27:26,511
The other thing that I would
say, the other concern that we

552
00:27:26,511 --> 00:27:29,848
have -- and again, it's a long
list -- is that this is the

553
00:27:29,848 --> 00:27:32,484
wrong strategy; that the
strategy that's being advocated

554
00:27:32,484 --> 00:27:36,321
by Senate Republicans is to
essentially throw out the window

555
00:27:36,321 --> 00:27:39,424
the prospect of trying to
resolve the situation around the

556
00:27:39,424 --> 00:27:42,793
negotiating table, which means
that they are leaving only a

557
00:27:42,794 --> 00:27:43,895
military option on the table.

558
00:27:43,895 --> 00:27:48,466
And what I described earlier
this week as a rush to the

559
00:27:48,466 --> 00:27:50,702
military option is not
consistent with the best

560
00:27:50,702 --> 00:27:52,704
interests of American
foreign policy.

561
00:27:52,704 --> 00:27:54,973
It certainly is not the way to
inspire the confidence of our

562
00:27:54,973 --> 00:27:56,975
allies, both in the region
and around the world.

563
00:27:56,975 --> 00:28:02,280
And it is consistent with the
kind of decision-making that was

564
00:28:02,280 --> 00:28:04,282
made in the previous
administration that was so

565
00:28:04,282 --> 00:28:06,784
roundly condemned and criticized
by people all across the

566
00:28:06,785 --> 00:28:07,786
country.

567
00:28:07,786 --> 00:28:09,788
The Press: -- he says the
option is more sanctions.

568
00:28:09,788 --> 00:28:12,624
Mr. Earnest: And what I have
made clear, and what others have

569
00:28:12,624 --> 00:28:18,963
made clear, too, is that, A, a
deal has not even been produced.

570
00:28:18,963 --> 00:28:22,634
So you have critics of this
approach who are criticizing a

571
00:28:22,634 --> 00:28:25,336
deal that doesn't yet exist.

572
00:28:25,336 --> 00:28:27,539
The President himself was on
television on your network over

573
00:28:27,539 --> 00:28:32,310
the weekend indicating that the
likelihood of even achieving a

574
00:28:32,310 --> 00:28:35,580
deal was less than 50 percent.

575
00:28:35,580 --> 00:28:41,186
So that's the other part of the
timing of this that is suspect.

576
00:28:41,186 --> 00:28:43,353
The other thing that I'll point
out -- and again, this is

577
00:28:43,354 --> 00:28:45,590
something that has also
attracted a lot of criticism --

578
00:28:45,590 --> 00:28:49,060
the signatories to the
letter were 47 Republicans.

579
00:28:49,060 --> 00:28:50,895
This isn't a bipartisan letter.

580
00:28:50,895 --> 00:28:55,500
And I think that on its face is
an indication that this is an

581
00:28:55,500 --> 00:28:59,437
effort to inject partisan
politics into a very serious

582
00:28:59,437 --> 00:29:01,706
foreign policy matter, something
that the President has

583
00:29:01,706 --> 00:29:05,976
identified as one of the most
significant foreign policy

584
00:29:05,977 --> 00:29:08,012
challenges facing the
country right now.

585
00:29:08,012 --> 00:29:12,716
And I will say that that's also
why I was surprised to see that

586
00:29:12,717 --> 00:29:14,786
while there may be some
Republicans who suggest that the

587
00:29:14,786 --> 00:29:18,389
letter was something that was
sent on principle, that there

588
00:29:18,389 --> 00:29:21,493
are at least two anonymous
Republican aides on Capitol Hill

589
00:29:21,493 --> 00:29:25,964
who, separately, described
the letter as "cheeky."

590
00:29:25,964 --> 00:29:34,272
And another individual who was
described as a top Republican

591
00:29:34,272 --> 00:29:37,475
Senate aide indicated that
the President -- or that the

592
00:29:37,475 --> 00:29:41,478
administration "has no
sense of humor about this."

593
00:29:41,479 --> 00:29:44,782
They're right; I don't think
this is a particularly amusing

594
00:29:44,782 --> 00:29:45,783
matter.

595
00:29:45,783 --> 00:29:48,753
We're talking about the nuclear
weapons program of an adversary

596
00:29:48,753 --> 00:29:57,529
of the United States that on a
daily basis violently threatens

597
00:29:57,529 --> 00:29:59,898
our closest ally in the region.

598
00:29:59,898 --> 00:30:01,698
So it's not a laughing matter.

599
00:30:01,699 --> 00:30:04,702
And it's not one that this
administration takes lightly,

600
00:30:04,702 --> 00:30:07,739
despite the comments of some
of these Republican aides.

601
00:30:07,739 --> 00:30:08,740
Jon.

602
00:30:08,740 --> 00:30:12,110
The Press: Josh, did the White
House know that Hillary Clinton

603
00:30:12,110 --> 00:30:14,545
was deleting 30,000 emails that
she sent as Secretary of State?

604
00:30:14,546 --> 00:30:19,717
Mr. Earnest: Jon, I can tell
you that I was not aware of the

605
00:30:19,717 --> 00:30:22,987
personal email habits of the
Secretary when maintaining her

606
00:30:22,987 --> 00:30:24,088
personal email inbox.

607
00:30:24,088 --> 00:30:27,024
The Press: I'm not talking
about her habits while she was

608
00:30:27,025 --> 00:30:29,027
Secretary; I'm talking about
what she did just a few months

609
00:30:29,027 --> 00:30:33,498
ago, which was deleting 30,000
emails that she sent as

610
00:30:33,498 --> 00:30:36,634
Secretary of State without
anybody determining except for

611
00:30:36,634 --> 00:30:39,837
her and her team, and her and
her team alone, that those

612
00:30:39,837 --> 00:30:44,108
emails didn't need to be part of
the public record because they

613
00:30:44,108 --> 00:30:46,110
had determined they
were strictly personal.

614
00:30:46,110 --> 00:30:48,913
Mr. Earnest: Well, again, Jon,
this was a decision that was

615
00:30:48,913 --> 00:30:51,816
made by Secretary
Clinton and her team.

616
00:30:51,816 --> 00:30:54,953
And what we're talking about are
emails that she described as

617
00:30:54,953 --> 00:30:59,857
personal that relate to what she
described as a variety of her

618
00:30:59,857 --> 00:31:01,859
own personal arrangements,
whether it's her daughter's

619
00:31:01,859 --> 00:31:06,164
wedding or the personal
things of that nature.

620
00:31:06,164 --> 00:31:09,434
So, again, I'd refer you to
Secretary Clinton's team about

621
00:31:09,434 --> 00:31:12,036
the decision that they made on
that, but, again, we're talking

622
00:31:12,036 --> 00:31:16,207
about a decision that she has
made related to her own personal

623
00:31:16,207 --> 00:31:18,309
email, and that falls outside
the purview of the federal

624
00:31:18,309 --> 00:31:19,310
government.

625
00:31:19,310 --> 00:31:24,782
The Press: Can the White House
assure the public that Secretary

626
00:31:24,782 --> 00:31:28,753
Clinton deleted only personal
email and she didn't delete any

627
00:31:28,753 --> 00:31:31,022
email that would relate
to official business?

628
00:31:31,022 --> 00:31:36,694
Mr. Earnest: Jon, the White
House did not review Secretary

629
00:31:36,694 --> 00:31:37,695
Clinton's personal email.

630
00:31:37,695 --> 00:31:38,696
Her team did.

631
00:31:38,696 --> 00:31:40,697
And her team was the one who was
responsible for reviewing those

632
00:31:40,698 --> 00:31:42,667
emails and making sure that
the 55,000 or so of them that

633
00:31:42,667 --> 00:31:45,770
related to her official work
as the Secretary of State were

634
00:31:45,770 --> 00:31:47,772
turned over to the
State Department.

635
00:31:47,772 --> 00:31:49,774
And the White House does have
an interest in making sure that

636
00:31:49,774 --> 00:31:53,143
those personal emails that are
related to her official work are

637
00:31:53,144 --> 00:31:55,346
properly archived and
maintained, that the State

638
00:31:55,346 --> 00:31:58,383
Department is properly using
them to respond to legitimate

639
00:31:58,383 --> 00:31:59,384
congressional inquiries.

640
00:31:59,384 --> 00:32:01,386
And that is what the State
Department is doing.

641
00:32:01,386 --> 00:32:04,022
The Press: So you have no way
of knowing whether or not she

642
00:32:04,022 --> 00:32:08,091
deleted official -- emails
related to official business?

643
00:32:08,092 --> 00:32:12,297
Mr. Earnest: The federal
government did not review

644
00:32:12,297 --> 00:32:14,299
Secretary Clinton's
personal email.

645
00:32:14,299 --> 00:32:16,301
Secretary Clinton's
team did that.

646
00:32:16,301 --> 00:32:18,303
And so if you have questions
about the process that they went

647
00:32:18,303 --> 00:32:20,371
through to catalog that email
then you should direct them to

648
00:32:20,371 --> 00:32:21,372
them.

649
00:32:21,372 --> 00:32:24,776
The Press: I have questions
about whether or not the White

650
00:32:24,776 --> 00:32:26,778
House took any steps or has any
way of knowing whether or not

651
00:32:26,778 --> 00:32:28,780
official records were destroyed.

652
00:32:28,780 --> 00:32:31,349
And I guess the answer is no,
you have no way -- all you can

653
00:32:31,349 --> 00:32:33,451
do is all we can do, which
is take her word for it.

654
00:32:33,451 --> 00:32:34,452
Is that correct?

655
00:32:34,452 --> 00:32:36,454
Mr. Earnest: Well, Jon, it
is not the practice of this

656
00:32:36,454 --> 00:32:40,358
administration to review the
personal email of federal

657
00:32:40,358 --> 00:32:42,293
government employees.

658
00:32:42,293 --> 00:32:44,696
I don't know of any previous
administration that's done that

659
00:32:44,696 --> 00:32:45,663
either.

660
00:32:45,663 --> 00:32:47,665
The Press: Do you know of
another employee of this

661
00:32:47,665 --> 00:32:50,835
administration that has used
only personal email for official

662
00:32:50,835 --> 00:32:51,836
business?

663
00:32:51,836 --> 00:32:52,837
Anybody?

664
00:32:52,837 --> 00:32:55,273
Not even a Cabinet Secretary --
do you know of any employee of

665
00:32:55,273 --> 00:32:58,909
this administration that has had
the same email arrangement that

666
00:32:58,910 --> 00:32:59,911
Hillary Clinton had?

667
00:32:59,911 --> 00:33:02,613
I mean, is there a single
employee -- Mr. Earnest:

668
00:33:02,613 --> 00:33:04,615
Individual agencies are
responsible for maintaining

669
00:33:04,615 --> 00:33:05,717
their individual email system.

670
00:33:05,717 --> 00:33:08,586
The Press: But do you know of
anybody in this administration

671
00:33:08,586 --> 00:33:08,786
that operated the way she did?

672
00:33:08,786 --> 00:33:10,922
Mr. Earnest: Jon, it is a
responsibility of individual

673
00:33:10,922 --> 00:33:15,860
agencies to determine how their
email records will be maintained

674
00:33:15,860 --> 00:33:16,727
and archived.

675
00:33:16,728 --> 00:33:18,996
And so for questions about their
email habits, you can certainly

676
00:33:18,996 --> 00:33:21,366
consult with individual agencies
about the habits of their

677
00:33:21,366 --> 00:33:22,367
employees.

678
00:33:22,367 --> 00:33:24,802
The Press: Our friends at the
Associated Press are suing

679
00:33:24,802 --> 00:33:27,839
because they've had a number
of Freedom of Information Act

680
00:33:27,839 --> 00:33:30,942
requests that have gone to the
State Department that have been

681
00:33:30,942 --> 00:33:32,610
unanswered.

682
00:33:32,610 --> 00:33:36,347
This President, over and over
again, has said that he has the

683
00:33:36,347 --> 00:33:38,649
most transparent administration
in American history.

684
00:33:38,649 --> 00:33:42,186
Did the State Department live up
to that standard under Hillary

685
00:33:42,186 --> 00:33:46,691
Clinton of being the most
transparent in American history?

686
00:33:46,691 --> 00:33:48,693
Mr. Earnest: Well, Jon, I don't
have them in front of me, but I

687
00:33:48,693 --> 00:33:50,795
can get you the metrics about
the way that this administration

688
00:33:50,795 --> 00:33:53,965
has substantially improved the
Freedom of Information Act

689
00:33:53,965 --> 00:33:57,467
request process, both in terms
of the volume of process --

690
00:33:57,468 --> 00:34:01,672
volume of requests that are
processed, but also in terms of

691
00:34:01,672 --> 00:34:04,876
our track record of making
information publicly available

692
00:34:04,876 --> 00:34:06,043
that was previously withheld.

693
00:34:06,043 --> 00:34:08,980
The Press: I have some numbers
here, some metrics for you.

694
00:34:08,980 --> 00:34:12,650
From the State Department,
according, again, to our friends

695
00:34:12,650 --> 00:34:18,122
at the AP, the State Department
takes 450 days to turn over

696
00:34:18,121 --> 00:34:20,891
records that it considers
complex requests.

697
00:34:20,891 --> 00:34:25,596
That is 30 times longer than
what the Treasury Department

698
00:34:25,596 --> 00:34:28,833
takes, and seven times longer
than how long the CIA takes on

699
00:34:28,833 --> 00:34:29,967
similar requests.

700
00:34:29,967 --> 00:34:35,373
Does that live up to the
standards of transparency that

701
00:34:35,373 --> 00:34:38,543
this President has set out --
450 days to get an answer?

702
00:34:38,543 --> 00:34:41,612
Mr. Earnest: I'll get you some
additional metrics about the

703
00:34:41,612 --> 00:34:44,048
performance of this
administration when it comes to

704
00:34:44,047 --> 00:34:47,118
improving the process for making
requests under the Freedom of

705
00:34:47,118 --> 00:34:48,119
Information Act.

706
00:34:48,119 --> 00:34:49,120
The Press: Okay.

707
00:34:49,120 --> 00:34:51,121
But my question is more
specific than that.

708
00:34:51,121 --> 00:34:54,192
It's did the State Department
live up to this administration's

709
00:34:54,192 --> 00:34:56,894
-- to this President's
promise of transparency?

710
00:34:56,893 --> 00:34:58,895
Mr. Earnest: Well, for questions
about how the State Department

711
00:34:58,896 --> 00:35:01,732
processed their FOIA requests,
I'd refer you to them.

712
00:35:01,732 --> 00:35:04,000
And I'll see if there's some
additional metrics that we can

713
00:35:04,001 --> 00:35:05,069
provide you on that.

714
00:35:05,069 --> 00:35:07,572
The Press: But my question --
just to be specific, so they're

715
00:35:07,505 --> 00:35:08,272
Department did it.
0:35:07.572,1193:02:47.295
going to go back from -- my
question is not how the State

716
00:35:08,272 --> 00:35:10,607
My question is whether or not
the White House, the President,

717
00:35:10,608 --> 00:35:13,244
is satisfied with how the State
Department has done that.

718
00:35:13,244 --> 00:35:13,811
Mr. Earnest: Right.

719
00:35:13,811 --> 00:35:15,513
But at the root of your question
is how the State Department

720
00:35:15,513 --> 00:35:17,582
processed those requests,
and I'd refer you to them.

721
00:35:17,582 --> 00:35:19,150
The Press: Okay, but it was the
President's promise, it wasn't

722
00:35:19,150 --> 00:35:20,117
Hillary Clinton's promise.

723
00:35:20,117 --> 00:35:20,651
Mr. Earnest: Okay.

724
00:35:20,651 --> 00:35:21,419
Do you have anything else, Jon?

725
00:35:21,419 --> 00:35:22,319
The Press: No.

726
00:35:22,320 --> 00:35:22,787
Mr. Earnest: Okay.

727
00:35:22,787 --> 00:35:23,754
Alexis.

728
00:35:23,754 --> 00:35:25,589
The Press: I have a couple
questions to follow up on the

729
00:35:25,590 --> 00:35:27,225
email problem.

730
00:35:27,225 --> 00:35:30,528
As you know, it's been recorded
that the Attorney General has

731
00:35:30,528 --> 00:35:33,631
three aliases that
he uses for email.

732
00:35:33,631 --> 00:35:37,234
And we know that the former EPA
Administrator used aliases.

733
00:35:37,235 --> 00:35:40,137
We know that Secretary
Napolitano said she never used

734
00:35:40,137 --> 00:35:41,806
email.

735
00:35:41,806 --> 00:35:44,408
We know that Secretary Clinton
used her personal email.

736
00:35:44,408 --> 00:35:47,211
So my question is a White House
question, and that is, to keep

737
00:35:47,211 --> 00:35:51,816
up with this tangle, did the
White House, through the Chief

738
00:35:51,816 --> 00:35:55,051
of Staff or any other official
-- the Counsel's Office -- keep

739
00:35:55,052 --> 00:35:59,857
a menu of email addresses so
that the White House, the West

740
00:35:59,857 --> 00:36:02,660
Wing could communicate
with the Cabinet?

741
00:36:02,660 --> 00:36:04,928
Mr. Earnest: Well, I want
to clarify one part of your

742
00:36:04,929 --> 00:36:06,097
question.

743
00:36:06,097 --> 00:36:08,466
It's important for your
reporting to reflect the fact

744
00:36:08,466 --> 00:36:12,569
that each of those agencies have
confirmed that those aliases did

745
00:36:12,570 --> 00:36:15,873
not affect the ability of the
agency to respond to legitimate

746
00:36:15,873 --> 00:36:18,676
congressional requests or
legitimate requests under the

747
00:36:18,676 --> 00:36:19,677
Freedom of Information Act.

748
00:36:19,677 --> 00:36:21,979
Essentially the lawyers who are
responsible for responding to

749
00:36:21,979 --> 00:36:25,582
those requests were aware of
the proper email address of the

750
00:36:25,583 --> 00:36:28,185
Cabinet Secretary and could
ensure that those records were

751
00:36:28,185 --> 00:36:31,856
searched and produced consistent
with the requirements of the

752
00:36:31,856 --> 00:36:32,857
law.

753
00:36:32,857 --> 00:36:36,259
And I guess if you're asking,
does the White House know of the

754
00:36:36,260 --> 00:36:39,630
correct email address for every
Cabinet Secretary, the answer to

755
00:36:39,630 --> 00:36:40,665
that is yes.

756
00:36:40,665 --> 00:36:44,335
The Press: So the exception to
what you just said as way of an

757
00:36:44,335 --> 00:36:46,571
answer would be Secretary
Clinton, right?

758
00:36:46,571 --> 00:36:50,808
The exception to being able
to respond to FOIA requests,

759
00:36:50,808 --> 00:36:53,811
Freedom of Information requests,
for her was hampered at the

760
00:36:53,811 --> 00:36:56,847
State Department because they
did not have access to her

761
00:36:56,847 --> 00:36:57,848
material, correct?

762
00:36:57,848 --> 00:37:00,183
Mr. Earnest: Well, but that's
different, because you asked

763
00:37:00,184 --> 00:37:02,286
about aliases that existed
on government networks.

764
00:37:02,286 --> 00:37:03,487
The Press: I know.

765
00:37:03,487 --> 00:37:05,489
I'm asking a follow-up question.

766
00:37:05,489 --> 00:37:06,490
Mr. Earnest: Okay.

767
00:37:06,490 --> 00:37:09,993
But just for those who are --
there are some key facts that I

768
00:37:09,994 --> 00:37:11,996
feel obligated to repeat because
they're not included in your

769
00:37:11,996 --> 00:37:13,998
question, and that's fine, but
that's what I'm going to do.

770
00:37:13,998 --> 00:37:16,434
The Press: I'm in a
hair-split because you made a

771
00:37:16,434 --> 00:37:18,669
generalization and now
I want to be specific.

772
00:37:18,669 --> 00:37:21,305
So now we're getting
to Secretary Clinton.

773
00:37:21,305 --> 00:37:24,241
So the State Department could
not respond to Freedom of

774
00:37:24,241 --> 00:37:26,410
Information requests because
they did not possess her

775
00:37:26,410 --> 00:37:29,346
material, except for the ones
that would have been copied and

776
00:37:29,347 --> 00:37:32,049
that they could retrieve
from someone else who was a

777
00:37:32,049 --> 00:37:33,117
recipient, is that right?

778
00:37:33,117 --> 00:37:35,720
Mr. Earnest: Which Secretary
Clinton described as the vast

779
00:37:35,720 --> 00:37:37,888
majority of the emails that
she sent as the Secretary.

780
00:37:37,888 --> 00:37:41,459
The Press: So as we know,
because of the lawsuit that AP

781
00:37:41,459 --> 00:37:46,163
and others are contemplating and
AP just executed, and because of

782
00:37:46,163 --> 00:37:48,799
the pending request, we know
that the State Department

783
00:37:48,799 --> 00:37:51,869
responded to some of those
Freedom of Information requests

784
00:37:51,869 --> 00:37:55,406
by saying that they did not
have material responsive to the

785
00:37:55,406 --> 00:37:56,807
request.

786
00:37:56,807 --> 00:38:00,243
But they did not have the
material at all, right?

787
00:38:00,244 --> 00:38:02,513
In some cases, they did
not have the material.

788
00:38:02,513 --> 00:38:05,750
So my question to you is,
does the President -- is he

789
00:38:05,750 --> 00:38:09,820
requesting that the State
Department go back and expedite

790
00:38:09,820 --> 00:38:13,991
all those pending FOIA requests
where they got responses that

791
00:38:13,991 --> 00:38:16,460
they did not get material
because the material was not in

792
00:38:16,460 --> 00:38:18,829
their hands, it
was in her server?

793
00:38:18,829 --> 00:38:21,632
Mr. Earnest: What you're asking
is a legitimate question, but it

794
00:38:21,632 --> 00:38:23,634
has to be directed to
the State Department.

795
00:38:23,634 --> 00:38:26,070
Ultimately, the request of --
The Press: No, I asked about

796
00:38:26,070 --> 00:38:28,072
what the President is directing.

797
00:38:28,072 --> 00:38:29,073
Does the President want that?

798
00:38:29,073 --> 00:38:30,074
That's what Jon is asking you.

799
00:38:30,074 --> 00:38:31,075
Does the President want that?

800
00:38:31,075 --> 00:38:33,077
Mr. Earnest: And what I'm
saying, Alexis, is you're asking

801
00:38:33,077 --> 00:38:35,079
me a very detailed and
specific question, but not an

802
00:38:35,079 --> 00:38:38,649
illegitimate one, about the
State Department's efforts to

803
00:38:38,649 --> 00:38:40,284
fulfill FOIA requests.

804
00:38:40,284 --> 00:38:42,853
And so I'm not steeped in
the details of that process.

805
00:38:42,853 --> 00:38:44,922
I will look and see if I can
get some additional information

806
00:38:44,922 --> 00:38:45,923
about it.

807
00:38:45,923 --> 00:38:48,692
But ultimately you're more
likely to get a fruitful answer

808
00:38:48,693 --> 00:38:50,795
to this question is you contact
the agency that's responsible

809
00:38:50,795 --> 00:38:51,796
for handling it.

810
00:38:51,796 --> 00:38:52,962
The Press: Okay.

811
00:38:52,963 --> 00:38:55,166
And I have one other follow-up.

812
00:38:55,166 --> 00:38:59,970
In the summer -- or when the
State Department felt that it

813
00:38:59,970 --> 00:39:02,740
wanted to retrieve this
information, they executed

814
00:39:02,740 --> 00:39:07,310
letters to four previous
Secretaries of State, right, for

815
00:39:07,311 --> 00:39:10,281
personally possessed material.

816
00:39:10,281 --> 00:39:11,449
Mr. Earnest: That's my
understanding, yes.

817
00:39:11,449 --> 00:39:15,019
The Press: My question to you is
did anyone in the White House

818
00:39:15,019 --> 00:39:19,522
direct or instruct that those
letters be sent out as a way to

819
00:39:19,523 --> 00:39:23,160
retrieve that material, or was
anyone in the White House at

820
00:39:23,160 --> 00:39:26,062
that time consulted
about the problem?

821
00:39:26,063 --> 00:39:29,667
Mr. Earnest: I'm not aware of
all the conversations between

822
00:39:29,667 --> 00:39:31,669
the State Department
and the White House.

823
00:39:31,669 --> 00:39:34,105
I know that responding to FOIA
requests and ensuring that these

824
00:39:34,105 --> 00:39:37,308
records are properly maintained
is the responsibility of the

825
00:39:37,308 --> 00:39:39,877
agency and it's one that
the State Department takes

826
00:39:39,877 --> 00:39:40,878
seriously.

827
00:39:40,878 --> 00:39:42,880
And I think that's evidenced
by the fact that they sent the

828
00:39:42,880 --> 00:39:44,882
letters that you just described.

829
00:39:44,882 --> 00:39:46,884
I would not rule out that there
may have been a conversation

830
00:39:46,884 --> 00:39:49,453
between a lawyer or two about
the fact that those letters were

831
00:39:49,453 --> 00:39:50,454
being distributed.

832
00:39:50,454 --> 00:39:52,456
I'm not aware of any of those
specific conversations.

833
00:39:52,456 --> 00:39:56,327
And I'm confident that this
is a process that is run and

834
00:39:56,327 --> 00:39:58,596
maintained by State
Department lawyers.

835
00:39:58,596 --> 00:40:01,699
The Press: Can we get any
additional information about the

836
00:40:01,699 --> 00:40:04,602
communications that went back
and forth between the Department

837
00:40:04,602 --> 00:40:08,105
and the West Wing about
consulting with four previous

838
00:40:08,105 --> 00:40:09,206
Secretaries of State?

839
00:40:09,206 --> 00:40:11,041
That's not a normal thing.

840
00:40:11,041 --> 00:40:12,143
That's not common.

841
00:40:12,143 --> 00:40:15,146
Mr. Earnest: Well, you mean
sending letters to other

842
00:40:15,146 --> 00:40:17,148
Secretaries of State, or
conversations between State

843
00:40:17,148 --> 00:40:19,150
Department lawyers and
White House lawyers?

844
00:40:19,150 --> 00:40:21,385
The Press: For the Department to
say, we have this problem, we

845
00:40:21,385 --> 00:40:23,387
want to address this
problem this way.

846
00:40:23,387 --> 00:40:25,689
Usually there's conversation
that goes back and forth.

847
00:40:25,689 --> 00:40:27,124
You just said that's possible.

848
00:40:27,124 --> 00:40:29,125
Can we get more
information about that?

849
00:40:29,126 --> 00:40:31,996
Mr. Earnest: I'll see if I can
provide additional information

850
00:40:31,996 --> 00:40:32,997
on that.

851
00:40:32,997 --> 00:40:36,033
I'm not going to guarantee,
though, that I can provide a lot

852
00:40:36,033 --> 00:40:38,836
of insight into conversations
between attorneys on this matter

853
00:40:38,836 --> 00:40:40,136
or, frankly, any other.

854
00:40:40,137 --> 00:40:43,207
But I'll see what
I can do on that.

855
00:40:43,207 --> 00:40:44,208
Jordan.

856
00:40:44,208 --> 00:40:45,709
The Press: Thanks, Josh.

857
00:40:45,709 --> 00:40:49,413
On the ATF shelving its
armor-piercing ammo ban, I know

858
00:40:49,413 --> 00:40:52,116
last week you called this a
common-sense step that could

859
00:40:52,116 --> 00:40:53,117
protect law enforcement.

860
00:40:53,117 --> 00:40:56,187
There was a wave of pushback
from the gun rights groups.

861
00:40:56,187 --> 00:40:58,788
And I was wondering if
that's what changed the

862
00:40:58,789 --> 00:41:01,692
administration's thinking on
this and led to the decision to

863
00:41:01,692 --> 00:41:02,693
shelving?

864
00:41:02,693 --> 00:41:04,862
Mr. Earnest: Well, the decision
on this matter was made by the

865
00:41:04,862 --> 00:41:06,864
ATF, so I'd encourage
you to check with them.

866
00:41:06,864 --> 00:41:09,300
The Press: Well, does the
White House have a response to

867
00:41:09,300 --> 00:41:11,569
Democrats on the Hill who have
accused the administration of

868
00:41:11,569 --> 00:41:13,571
caving to pressure
from the gun lobby?

869
00:41:13,571 --> 00:41:16,040
Mr. Earnest: Well, again, the
President's commitment to

870
00:41:16,040 --> 00:41:20,244
putting in place common-sense
rules that will protect Second

871
00:41:20,244 --> 00:41:23,214
Amendment rights, but also
prevent those who shouldn't have

872
00:41:23,214 --> 00:41:26,317
firearms from getting
them, is as strong as ever.

873
00:41:26,317 --> 00:41:30,221
And the President is committed
to that effort, and I think the

874
00:41:30,221 --> 00:41:36,994
President's own personal
conviction on this matter has

875
00:41:36,994 --> 00:41:41,799
been pretty evident to those who
have watched his public comments

876
00:41:41,799 --> 00:41:43,133
on this matter.

877
00:41:43,133 --> 00:41:45,870
But as it relates to this
specific decision, I'd refer you

878
00:41:45,870 --> 00:41:49,673
to the ATF because it was their
decision that was made as it

879
00:41:49,673 --> 00:41:53,644
relates to implementing this
rule and considering whether or

880
00:41:53,644 --> 00:41:55,645
not that balance was
appropriately struck.

881
00:41:55,646 --> 00:41:56,614
Peter.

882
00:41:56,614 --> 00:41:58,749
The Press: Josh, does the
President and this White House

883
00:41:58,749 --> 00:42:01,417
trust Hillary Clinton when she
says that of those 30,000 --

884
00:42:01,418 --> 00:42:04,622
I'll put it even more simply --
does the President trust Hillary

885
00:42:04,622 --> 00:42:07,991
Clinton when she says that all
30,000 of those emails were

886
00:42:07,992 --> 00:42:09,593
personal, none work related?

887
00:42:09,593 --> 00:42:12,462
Mr. Earnest: Well, Peter, there
has not been any evidence that's

888
00:42:12,463 --> 00:42:14,465
been produced to raise
any doubts about that.

889
00:42:14,465 --> 00:42:18,969
The Press: But no one can
produce evidence because she

890
00:42:18,969 --> 00:42:20,004
deleted them.

891
00:42:20,004 --> 00:42:25,776
Mr. Earnest: Well, I guess the
point is, Peter, that it is the

892
00:42:25,776 --> 00:42:29,046
responsibility of a government
official, in this case Secretary

893
00:42:29,046 --> 00:42:33,616
Clinton, to ensure that all of
the personal email that related

894
00:42:33,617 --> 00:42:37,888
to her official government work
was properly maintained by the

895
00:42:37,888 --> 00:42:38,889
State Department.

896
00:42:38,889 --> 00:42:40,891
And that information has
been provided to the State

897
00:42:40,891 --> 00:42:42,893
Department, and the State
Department is doing what they

898
00:42:42,893 --> 00:42:45,095
should in terms of ensuring that
the information is properly

899
00:42:45,095 --> 00:42:49,366
categorized and maintained
and provided in response to

900
00:42:49,366 --> 00:42:51,735
legitimate requests from
either Congress or the public.

901
00:42:51,735 --> 00:42:53,737
The Press: So, very simply, does
the White House -- yes or no --

902
00:42:53,737 --> 00:42:55,839
does the White House trust that
Hillary Clinton did what your

903
00:42:55,839 --> 00:42:57,841
expectation is that
she should have done?

904
00:42:57,841 --> 00:42:59,843
Mr. Earnest: And, Peter, the
answer that I would say is that

905
00:42:59,843 --> 00:43:02,011
there is no evidence that's
been marshaled thus far to

906
00:43:02,012 --> 00:43:06,717
demonstrate that there should be
a lack of trust in that regard.

907
00:43:06,717 --> 00:43:10,921
The Press: Very simply, does
the White House consider emails

908
00:43:10,921 --> 00:43:14,491
about an employee's family
foundation to be personal?

909
00:43:14,491 --> 00:43:19,029
Mr. Earnest: Well, again, that
is a decision that Secretary

910
00:43:19,029 --> 00:43:20,831
Clinton and her team made as
they were reviewing the emails.

911
00:43:20,831 --> 00:43:21,665
The Press: For any employee.

912
00:43:21,665 --> 00:43:23,300
For any employee that may have
a family foundation or a family

913
00:43:23,300 --> 00:43:25,502
organization of any -- Mr.
Earnest: So any federal

914
00:43:25,502 --> 00:43:26,804
employee that might have one?

915
00:43:26,804 --> 00:43:27,338
The Press: There
are many others.

916
00:43:27,338 --> 00:43:29,373
(laughter)

917
00:43:29,373 --> 00:43:31,842
But the point, very
simply put though, is that -- I

918
00:43:31,842 --> 00:43:34,678
mean, do you consider a family
foundation that deals with other

919
00:43:34,678 --> 00:43:37,982
companies that have
conversations, interactions with

920
00:43:37,982 --> 00:43:40,084
employees of this
administration, is that

921
00:43:40,084 --> 00:43:41,719
work-related or
is that personal?

922
00:43:41,719 --> 00:43:44,021
Mr. Earnest: Again, you'll
have to consult with Secretary

923
00:43:44,021 --> 00:43:47,191
Clinton's team about her
personal emails and the content

924
00:43:47,191 --> 00:43:48,125
of them.

925
00:43:48,125 --> 00:43:50,294
The Press: Finally, I know you
don't want to speak specific to

926
00:43:50,294 --> 00:43:52,863
President Obama's emails as
President, but when he was the

927
00:43:52,863 --> 00:43:53,430
U.S.

928
00:43:53,430 --> 00:43:56,133
senator from Illinois did the
President use a senate.gov

929
00:43:56,133 --> 00:43:57,301
address?

930
00:43:57,301 --> 00:43:58,035
Mr. Earnest: That's
a good question.

931
00:43:58,035 --> 00:43:59,370
I don't know whether
or not he has.

932
00:43:59,370 --> 00:44:01,605
But I know that this is a
question that's been asked of

933
00:44:01,605 --> 00:44:03,807
many members of Congress,
including some who are making

934
00:44:03,807 --> 00:44:07,211
their views known rather
pointedly on this topic.

935
00:44:07,211 --> 00:44:10,314
I mean, I did observe that the
Chairman of the House Oversight

936
00:44:10,314 --> 00:44:12,582
Committee, one of the committees
that's responsible for

937
00:44:12,583 --> 00:44:15,519
monitoring this process, has on
his official business card a

938
00:44:15,519 --> 00:44:17,287
Gmail.com email address.

939
00:44:17,287 --> 00:44:21,058
So while there are pointed and
legitimate questions that have

940
00:44:21,058 --> 00:44:23,727
been asked of Secretary Clinton,
I think many of those pointed

941
00:44:23,727 --> 00:44:25,828
and legitimate questions should
be asked of those who are making

942
00:44:25,829 --> 00:44:27,898
the most direct
accusations in this regard.

943
00:44:27,898 --> 00:44:29,900
The Press: If you can just ask
of your boss so we can have the

944
00:44:29,900 --> 00:44:31,902
record set of what he
used when he was the U.S.

945
00:44:31,902 --> 00:44:32,903
senator.

946
00:44:32,903 --> 00:44:33,904
Mr. Earnest: Okay.

947
00:44:33,904 --> 00:44:35,906
I'll see if I can
follow up on that.

948
00:44:35,906 --> 00:44:36,907
Kevin.

949
00:44:36,907 --> 00:44:37,908
The Press: Josh, thanks.

950
00:44:37,908 --> 00:44:41,178
Forty-seven GOP senators signing
that letter sent to the Iranian

951
00:44:41,178 --> 00:44:44,548
leadership -- does the White
House consider that a violation

952
00:44:44,548 --> 00:44:45,549
of the Logan Act?

953
00:44:45,549 --> 00:44:47,884
Mr. Earnest: Well, Kevin, I know
that this is something that a

954
00:44:47,885 --> 00:44:52,056
lot of commentators have
speculated on, including some

955
00:44:52,056 --> 00:44:57,027
with a lot more legal
knowledge than I do.

956
00:44:57,027 --> 00:45:00,464
For a determination like that,
I'd refer you to the Department

957
00:45:00,464 --> 00:45:01,732
of Justice.

958
00:45:01,732 --> 00:45:04,168
It ultimately would be their
responsibility to make that kind

959
00:45:04,168 --> 00:45:05,903
of determination.

960
00:45:05,903 --> 00:45:08,571
But, again, I know that there's
been a lot of speculation about

961
00:45:08,572 --> 00:45:11,175
this, but I'm not aware of any
conversations about the Logan

962
00:45:11,175 --> 00:45:14,411
Act and its relation to this
specific matter that have taken

963
00:45:14,411 --> 00:45:16,180
place here at the White House.

964
00:45:16,180 --> 00:45:20,250
The Press: Secretary Kerry today
said that any deal would not be

965
00:45:20,250 --> 00:45:24,088
legally binding -- an executive
agreement technically would not

966
00:45:24,088 --> 00:45:26,023
be legally binding.

967
00:45:26,023 --> 00:45:28,659
Is that the proper read from
the White House's perspective?

968
00:45:28,659 --> 00:45:32,096
And if so, to the American
people who would say, well, then

969
00:45:32,096 --> 00:45:34,098
what are we doing,
what should you say?

970
00:45:34,098 --> 00:45:36,767
Mr. Earnest: Well, what I would
say is that the President will

971
00:45:36,767 --> 00:45:39,736
be expecting Iran to make very
specific commitments and very

972
00:45:39,736 --> 00:45:42,272
serious commitments as it
relates to limiting their

973
00:45:42,272 --> 00:45:45,909
nuclear program to only peaceful
purposes, to coming into

974
00:45:45,909 --> 00:45:48,479
compliance with generally
accepted international standards

975
00:45:48,479 --> 00:45:52,816
for a peaceful nuclear program,
and submitting to a historically

976
00:45:52,816 --> 00:45:55,819
stringent set of inspections to
verify their compliance with the

977
00:45:55,819 --> 00:45:56,854
agreement.

978
00:45:56,854 --> 00:46:02,960
So we're making very specific
commitments that Iran will have

979
00:46:02,960 --> 00:46:06,063
to make in the context
of these conversations.

980
00:46:06,063 --> 00:46:08,966
The Press: Well then is it fair
to say that some GOP lawmakers,

981
00:46:08,966 --> 00:46:13,237
and maybe even Benjamin
Netanyahu were right, that any

982
00:46:13,237 --> 00:46:16,406
deal could just sort of just go
away as soon as the President

983
00:46:16,406 --> 00:46:17,407
leaves office?

984
00:46:17,407 --> 00:46:18,675
Mr. Earnest: No.

985
00:46:18,675 --> 00:46:22,613
The administration has made
clear that the whole purpose of

986
00:46:22,613 --> 00:46:27,151
these inspections is to ensure
that Iran is living up to the

987
00:46:27,151 --> 00:46:29,553
commitments that they make in a
deal, a deal that at this point

988
00:46:29,553 --> 00:46:30,554
has not yet been struck.

989
00:46:30,554 --> 00:46:31,555
The Press: Right.

990
00:46:31,555 --> 00:46:35,024
Mr. Earnest: But the whole
purpose of these historically

991
00:46:35,025 --> 00:46:38,295
intrusive inspections is to
verify Iran's compliance with

992
00:46:38,295 --> 00:46:39,296
the deal.

993
00:46:39,296 --> 00:46:46,470
And if these inspections --
if Iran doesn't coordinate or

994
00:46:46,470 --> 00:46:50,506
cooperate with the inspections,
then the President and the

995
00:46:50,507 --> 00:46:53,143
international community would
have the opportunity to take a

996
00:46:53,143 --> 00:46:54,545
whole range of steps.

997
00:46:54,545 --> 00:46:58,782
If the inspections unearth
evidence that Iran is not living

998
00:46:58,782 --> 00:47:02,119
up to the agreement, then the
President and the broader

999
00:47:02,119 --> 00:47:04,955
international community will
have a whole series of tools

1000
00:47:04,955 --> 00:47:13,197
available to them for pressuring
Iran, or taking steps to get

1001
00:47:13,197 --> 00:47:14,298
Iran's compliance.

1002
00:47:14,298 --> 00:47:17,834
And that's what's important
about all of this, is that even

1003
00:47:17,834 --> 00:47:20,002
if a deal is reached -- and
again, the President has said

1004
00:47:20,003 --> 00:47:23,273
that it's less than 50/50 that
a deal would be reached -- that

1005
00:47:23,273 --> 00:47:26,810
even if a deal is reached and
we do determine that over the

1006
00:47:26,810 --> 00:47:30,614
course of a number of years that
Iran doesn't live up to any

1007
00:47:30,614 --> 00:47:33,016
terms of the agreement, then
we'll be back in the situation

1008
00:47:33,016 --> 00:47:35,619
that we are right now, which
is that we'll still have tools

1009
00:47:35,619 --> 00:47:37,854
available in terms of additional
sanctions that could be applied

1010
00:47:37,854 --> 00:47:40,756
on Iran, and we'll still have a
military option at the table if

1011
00:47:40,757 --> 00:47:42,192
it should come to that.

1012
00:47:42,192 --> 00:47:44,261
The point that the President
has made is that any sort of

1013
00:47:44,261 --> 00:47:47,564
diplomatic opening that we have
to pursue to try to resolve our

1014
00:47:47,564 --> 00:47:50,667
concerns is one that's worth
pursuing because it actually

1015
00:47:50,667 --> 00:47:52,669
will be more effective
than the military option.

1016
00:47:52,669 --> 00:47:54,937
The military option is
essentially the one of last

1017
00:47:54,938 --> 00:47:55,939
resort.

1018
00:47:55,939 --> 00:48:01,011
And the other two benefits of a
deal that are worth noting here

1019
00:48:01,011 --> 00:48:05,015
is, currently, the assessment
of some experts is that Iran is

1020
00:48:05,015 --> 00:48:09,118
only -- that Iran's breakout
period is only two or three

1021
00:48:09,119 --> 00:48:11,421
months away from getting
a nuclear weapon.

1022
00:48:11,421 --> 00:48:14,357
Now, I call it a breakout period
because right now they're not

1023
00:48:14,358 --> 00:48:17,094
advancing toward a nuclear
weapon, but if they decided to

1024
00:48:17,094 --> 00:48:19,396
make the decision to go and
pursue a nuclear weapon, they

1025
00:48:19,396 --> 00:48:21,898
could get one in
two to three months.

1026
00:48:21,898 --> 00:48:25,302
In the context of any agreement,
we would ensure that that

1027
00:48:25,302 --> 00:48:27,738
breakout period was
significantly lengthened, that

1028
00:48:27,738 --> 00:48:30,774
it would be lengthened
to about a year.

1029
00:48:30,774 --> 00:48:35,379
The other thing that we would
do is by putting in place this

1030
00:48:35,379 --> 00:48:38,181
historically stringent set of
inspections, we would have a lot

1031
00:48:38,181 --> 00:48:42,119
of access and transparency
to Iran's nuclear program.

1032
00:48:42,119 --> 00:48:45,956
And that would put us in a much
better position to deal with any

1033
00:48:45,956 --> 00:48:49,326
effort that Iran made to break
out of the agreement and to

1034
00:48:49,326 --> 00:48:50,327
develop a nuclear weapon.

1035
00:48:50,327 --> 00:48:52,829
We'd have more insight into
their nuclear program, and we

1036
00:48:52,829 --> 00:48:55,766
would actually put them
farther away from their goal.

1037
00:48:55,766 --> 00:48:59,536
So the benefit here is that by
reaching an agreement, if one

1038
00:48:59,536 --> 00:49:02,673
can be reached, is we can put
Iran farther away from obtaining

1039
00:49:02,673 --> 00:49:04,674
a nuclear weapon, we can give
the international community

1040
00:49:04,675 --> 00:49:07,477
greater insight into their
nuclear program, and yet we'll

1041
00:49:07,477 --> 00:49:09,712
still have all of the tools
on the table, including the

1042
00:49:09,713 --> 00:49:12,816
military option, available to
use to ensure that Iran lives up

1043
00:49:12,816 --> 00:49:13,817
to their commitments.

1044
00:49:13,817 --> 00:49:18,655
The Press: Lastly, Secretary
Clinton, is she the only one to

1045
00:49:18,655 --> 00:49:21,258
your knowledge, to the White
House's knowledge, that actually

1046
00:49:21,258 --> 00:49:24,227
had a server among Cabinet
members during this

1047
00:49:24,227 --> 00:49:25,228
administration?

1048
00:49:25,228 --> 00:49:28,865
Mr. Earnest: Well, Kevin, what I
have said is that the individual

1049
00:49:28,865 --> 00:49:31,368
agencies are responsible for
maintaining their email systems

1050
00:49:31,368 --> 00:49:33,370
and for maintaining
those records.

1051
00:49:33,370 --> 00:49:36,106
I think a lot of you in this
room have made calls to agencies

1052
00:49:36,106 --> 00:49:38,575
to inquire about those
agencies' email systems.

1053
00:49:38,575 --> 00:49:42,446
So for questions like that,
about how individual Cabinet

1054
00:49:42,446 --> 00:49:45,348
members handle their email, I'd
encourage you to contact the

1055
00:49:45,349 --> 00:49:47,384
agencies that they lead.

1056
00:49:47,384 --> 00:49:48,385
Byron.

1057
00:49:48,385 --> 00:49:49,386
The Press: Thank, Josh.

1058
00:49:49,386 --> 00:49:51,988
Acknowledging that State
Department IT rules are

1059
00:49:51,988 --> 00:49:55,292
different, could you walk us
through what the rules and

1060
00:49:55,292 --> 00:49:58,495
policies are for White House
staffers getting email on their

1061
00:49:58,495 --> 00:49:59,496
personal device?

1062
00:49:59,496 --> 00:50:03,066
Are they allowed to access their
personal emails through their

1063
00:50:03,066 --> 00:50:04,134
government-owned smartphones?

1064
00:50:04,134 --> 00:50:08,038
Mr. Earnest: Byron, I can tell
you that here at the White House

1065
00:50:08,038 --> 00:50:10,907
-- again, thank you for noting
that it's different than

1066
00:50:10,907 --> 00:50:13,443
individual agencies who are
responsible for setting their

1067
00:50:13,443 --> 00:50:15,045
own rules in this regard.

1068
00:50:15,045 --> 00:50:20,751
But here at the White House,
we are not allowed to use

1069
00:50:20,751 --> 00:50:25,589
government BlackBerries or
government smartphones to access

1070
00:50:25,589 --> 00:50:27,891
our personal email.

1071
00:50:27,891 --> 00:50:32,329
I will tell you that at the
beginning of the administration

1072
00:50:32,329 --> 00:50:36,900
we were also not allowed to use
our personal smartphones to

1073
00:50:36,900 --> 00:50:39,202
access government email.

1074
00:50:39,202 --> 00:50:41,805
Since the beginning of the
administration, though, however

1075
00:50:41,805 --> 00:50:45,375
-- I believe it was in January
of 2012 -- there is software

1076
00:50:45,375 --> 00:50:48,879
that has been developed and
is used by some White House

1077
00:50:48,879 --> 00:50:53,750
staffers to, again, gain access
to their official government

1078
00:50:53,750 --> 00:50:57,020
email through their
personal smartphone.

1079
00:50:57,020 --> 00:51:00,991
And there is a way that they can
use that software to keep their

1080
00:51:00,991 --> 00:51:04,361
personal email wholly separate
from their work email.

1081
00:51:04,361 --> 00:51:06,930
But that is the system that we
have in place here at the White

1082
00:51:06,930 --> 00:51:07,931
House.

1083
00:51:07,931 --> 00:51:10,467
But, again, each agency
handles this differently.

1084
00:51:10,467 --> 00:51:15,138
The Press: Given that the White
House has made cybersecurity

1085
00:51:15,138 --> 00:51:19,241
such a priority and an issue of
concern recently, yet seem to

1086
00:51:19,242 --> 00:51:22,913
have a Secretary of State that
was running her own email server

1087
00:51:22,913 --> 00:51:28,018
at her own home with sort of
unknown security, and this is

1088
00:51:28,018 --> 00:51:31,788
permitted but discouraged under
the guidance from what you said,

1089
00:51:31,788 --> 00:51:33,790
does there need to be
different guidance?

1090
00:51:33,790 --> 00:51:36,026
Do their need to be stronger
rules for dealing with

1091
00:51:36,026 --> 00:51:39,395
situations like this with
high-ranking Cabinet and

1092
00:51:39,396 --> 00:51:40,497
government officials?

1093
00:51:40,497 --> 00:51:43,533
Mr. Earnest: Well, Byron, a
couple things I would say about

1094
00:51:43,533 --> 00:51:44,534
this.

1095
00:51:44,534 --> 00:51:48,738
The first is that we have seen
over the years, since Secretary

1096
00:51:48,738 --> 00:51:51,607
Clinton took office as a
Secretary of State, that the

1097
00:51:51,608 --> 00:51:56,313
guidelines for managing email
have been updated and clarified

1098
00:51:56,313 --> 00:51:58,381
across the administration.

1099
00:51:58,381 --> 00:52:00,383
The President has signed
a couple of presidential

1100
00:52:00,383 --> 00:52:05,388
memorandums -- memoranda with
language clarifying exactly how

1101
00:52:05,388 --> 00:52:07,390
these records should
be maintained.

1102
00:52:07,390 --> 00:52:09,426
And you'll recall that the end
of last year, the President

1103
00:52:09,426 --> 00:52:13,230
signed into law a piece of
legislation that offered clearer

1104
00:52:13,230 --> 00:52:17,167
guidance for agency employees
about how they should ensure

1105
00:52:17,167 --> 00:52:20,737
that government records created
on their personal email can be

1106
00:52:20,737 --> 00:52:22,806
properly archived
and maintained.

1107
00:52:22,806 --> 00:52:25,876
So I guess the point is that
those guidelines have been

1108
00:52:25,876 --> 00:52:29,212
clarified since Secretary
Clinton first took office.

1109
00:52:29,212 --> 00:52:32,916
And what has not changed,
however, is this

1110
00:52:32,916 --> 00:52:36,319
administration's commitment to
ensuring that everybody in the

1111
00:52:36,319 --> 00:52:38,855
Obama administration lives up to
the terms of the Federal Records

1112
00:52:38,855 --> 00:52:39,856
Act.

1113
00:52:39,856 --> 00:52:42,259
And by providing all of her
personal emails that relate to

1114
00:52:42,259 --> 00:52:44,661
the conduct of official
business, Secretary Clinton has

1115
00:52:44,661 --> 00:52:45,662
done that.

1116
00:52:45,662 --> 00:52:47,663
The Press: The White House has
directed a lot of questions

1117
00:52:47,664 --> 00:52:52,235
about IT rules at the agencies
back to the agencies, so it

1118
00:52:52,235 --> 00:52:55,305
seems there's not a whole lot
the White House knows about the

1119
00:52:55,305 --> 00:52:57,874
internal IT practices
of those agencies.

1120
00:52:57,874 --> 00:53:00,477
Can the White House still
maintain the claim that it's the

1121
00:53:00,477 --> 00:53:03,413
most transparent administration
in history, sort of given the

1122
00:53:03,413 --> 00:53:06,283
questions that have come up
about different agencies'

1123
00:53:06,283 --> 00:53:07,284
practices and rules?

1124
00:53:07,284 --> 00:53:08,285
Mr. Earnest: Yes.

1125
00:53:08,285 --> 00:53:12,422
And the reason for that is that
there are a large number of ways

1126
00:53:12,422 --> 00:53:16,860
in which reporters and the
public have access to the

1127
00:53:16,860 --> 00:53:18,862
administration -- to the
decisions that are made at the

1128
00:53:18,862 --> 00:53:19,863
administration.

1129
00:53:19,863 --> 00:53:24,167
And everything from releasing
WAVES records -- which is

1130
00:53:24,167 --> 00:53:26,803
something that the previous
administration had fought

1131
00:53:26,803 --> 00:53:29,806
tooth-and-nail in the court
system, that gives you insight

1132
00:53:29,806 --> 00:53:34,044
into the people that come to the
White House complex for meetings

1133
00:53:34,044 --> 00:53:38,348
-- to trying to make the process
of making a FOIA request more

1134
00:53:38,348 --> 00:53:41,651
efficient, those are just
two examples of how the

1135
00:53:41,651 --> 00:53:45,455
administration has worked to
make the federal government and

1136
00:53:45,455 --> 00:53:48,258
the Obama administration
much more transparent.

1137
00:53:48,258 --> 00:53:49,692
The Press: And one last one.

1138
00:53:49,693 --> 00:53:53,196
Did the President email with
any other Cabinet members at a

1139
00:53:53,196 --> 00:53:57,200
private email or a
personal email address?

1140
00:53:57,200 --> 00:54:01,171
Mr. Earnest: I haven't reviewed
all of the President's email,

1141
00:54:01,171 --> 00:54:05,241
but the thing that I can assure
you of is that every email that

1142
00:54:05,241 --> 00:54:07,577
the President has sent as
President of the United States,

1143
00:54:07,577 --> 00:54:10,814
related to his official work
as the President of the United

1144
00:54:10,814 --> 00:54:15,151
States, has been properly
maintained, consistent with the

1145
00:54:15,151 --> 00:54:17,386
President Records Act.

1146
00:54:17,387 --> 00:54:18,888
Laura.

1147
00:54:18,888 --> 00:54:21,357
The Press: Will the President
meet Raul Castro in Panama, when

1148
00:54:21,358 --> 00:54:23,693
he is going to go to Panama?

1149
00:54:23,693 --> 00:54:24,628
Mr. Earnest: I'm sorry,
say that one more time.

1150
00:54:24,628 --> 00:54:27,297
The Press: Will the President
meet Raul Castro when he is

1151
00:54:27,297 --> 00:54:29,799
going to go to Panama in April?

1152
00:54:29,799 --> 00:54:32,902
Mr. Earnest: I don't yet know
the President's itinerary for

1153
00:54:32,902 --> 00:54:34,404
the Summit of the Americas.

1154
00:54:34,404 --> 00:54:35,805
I don't know of any meeting like
that that's planned at this

1155
00:54:35,805 --> 00:54:37,007
point.

1156
00:54:37,007 --> 00:54:39,743
The Press: And on ISIS, do you
have a reaction to the latest

1157
00:54:39,743 --> 00:54:44,080
video involving the killing of a
hostage and probably two French

1158
00:54:44,080 --> 00:54:49,019
citizens, among them a kid who
is 12 years old killing this

1159
00:54:49,019 --> 00:54:51,388
hostage?

1160
00:54:51,388 --> 00:54:53,990
Mr. Earnest: Laura, I have seen
reports about the video; I

1161
00:54:53,990 --> 00:54:56,225
haven't seen the video itself.

1162
00:54:56,226 --> 00:55:00,830
But I can tell you that this is
an abhorrent and unjustifiable

1163
00:55:00,830 --> 00:55:01,898
action.

1164
00:55:01,898 --> 00:55:05,969
The apparent compelling of
a child to execute another

1165
00:55:05,969 --> 00:55:09,172
individual is but further
testament of ISIL's disregard

1166
00:55:09,172 --> 00:55:11,374
for all human decency.

1167
00:55:11,374 --> 00:55:15,011
I would note that ISIL chose to
broadcast the video at this time

1168
00:55:15,011 --> 00:55:18,048
that we're also hearing more and
more reports of internal dissent

1169
00:55:18,048 --> 00:55:19,049
within its ranks.

1170
00:55:19,049 --> 00:55:23,653
We're hearing more reports of
individuals being executed for

1171
00:55:23,653 --> 00:55:26,589
fleeing the front and
attempting to defect.

1172
00:55:26,589 --> 00:55:31,127
We're hearing foreign fighters
return and tell harrowing tales

1173
00:55:31,127 --> 00:55:34,029
of the time that
they've spent with ISIL.

1174
00:55:34,030 --> 00:55:38,868
This is indicative of the
broader pressure that ISIL is

1175
00:55:38,868 --> 00:55:43,673
under right now, and that is
part of the strategy that this

1176
00:55:43,673 --> 00:55:48,310
administration has engaged in
with our coalition partners.

1177
00:55:48,311 --> 00:55:52,315
And whether it's the success
that the coalition had in

1178
00:55:52,315 --> 00:55:55,819
supporting Kurdish fighters
as they took back Kobani, an

1179
00:55:55,819 --> 00:56:00,390
operation that resulted in
about 1,000 ISIL fighters being

1180
00:56:00,390 --> 00:56:04,294
killed, we understand that those
Kurdish fighters are continuing

1181
00:56:04,294 --> 00:56:07,864
to advance across the
countryside in Syria against

1182
00:56:07,864 --> 00:56:09,299
ISIL.

1183
00:56:09,299 --> 00:56:13,536
There are ongoing operations by
Iraqi security forces in places

1184
00:56:13,536 --> 00:56:16,606
like Tikrit, which we mentioned
earlier, but also in Fallujah

1185
00:56:16,606 --> 00:56:17,707
and Kirkuk.

1186
00:56:17,707 --> 00:56:22,045
The latter two are locations
where Iraqi security forces are

1187
00:56:22,045 --> 00:56:26,082
being supported by coalition
military airpower.

1188
00:56:26,082 --> 00:56:31,488
U.S. officials now estimate that ISIL

1189
00:56:31,488 --> 00:56:33,490
has been rolled back by up to 25

1190
00:56:33,490 --> 00:56:36,625
percent of the territory that
they previously maintained; that

1191
00:56:36,626 --> 00:56:39,729
in at least 25 percent of those
areas that were previously

1192
00:56:39,729 --> 00:56:43,933
occupied by ISIL, ISIL forces no
longer have freedom of movement

1193
00:56:43,933 --> 00:56:45,168
in those areas.

1194
00:56:45,168 --> 00:56:47,804
And these aren't just broad
swaths of the desert that we're

1195
00:56:47,804 --> 00:56:51,307
talking about; we're talking
about populated areas where ISIL

1196
00:56:51,307 --> 00:56:55,011
had previously
essentially ruled.

1197
00:56:55,011 --> 00:56:58,348
This is an indication that the
"degrade" component of the

1198
00:56:58,348 --> 00:57:01,151
President's strategy is working.

1199
00:57:01,151 --> 00:57:04,788
And that has led to increased
dissension within the ranks.

1200
00:57:04,788 --> 00:57:10,093
It has led to ISIL commanders
resorting to executing their own

1201
00:57:10,093 --> 00:57:14,830
fighters to prevent them from
deserting their positions.

1202
00:57:14,831 --> 00:57:19,002
And we are hearing more and more
stories about individuals who

1203
00:57:19,002 --> 00:57:22,772
return from their fight with
ISIL to tell harrowing stories

1204
00:57:22,772 --> 00:57:23,807
of that experience.

1205
00:57:23,807 --> 00:57:28,778
And that is an indication that
we're continuing to apply

1206
00:57:28,778 --> 00:57:33,316
pressure to ISIL in a way that
actually is succeeding in

1207
00:57:33,316 --> 00:57:36,419
degrading their ability to wreak
havoc in that region of the

1208
00:57:36,419 --> 00:57:37,420
world.

1209
00:57:37,420 --> 00:57:40,623
The Press: And this morning,
Secretary Kerry said that ISIS

1210
00:57:40,623 --> 00:57:45,295
is al Qaeda -- they
just changed the name.

1211
00:57:45,295 --> 00:57:47,297
Do you agree with
this statement?

1212
00:57:47,297 --> 00:57:51,668
Mr. Earnest: Well, back over
the summer when we were talking

1213
00:57:51,668 --> 00:57:56,773
about why the 2001 AUMF would
apply to the military operations

1214
00:57:56,773 --> 00:58:04,314
underway against ISIL, we noted
that ISIL's roots extend back

1215
00:58:04,314 --> 00:58:10,752
into al Qaeda, that they share
the same ambitions of al Qaeda.

1216
00:58:10,753 --> 00:58:14,424
ISIL obviously deploys many of
the same tactics that we've seen

1217
00:58:14,424 --> 00:58:16,226
from al Qaeda.

1218
00:58:16,226 --> 00:58:24,701
And we have also seen that ISIL
has tried to coordinate and even

1219
00:58:24,701 --> 00:58:28,771
win over the allegiance of
some al Qaeda-backed groups.

1220
00:58:28,771 --> 00:58:34,611
We saw this latest communication
from ISIL talking about how

1221
00:58:34,611 --> 00:58:38,214
al-Shabaab should align
themselves with ISIL.

1222
00:58:38,214 --> 00:58:41,384
So that is an indication that
we're talking about groups that

1223
00:58:41,384 --> 00:58:48,124
do have not just an historical
affinity that dates back a

1224
00:58:48,124 --> 00:58:52,495
number of years but that their
ambitions and that their tactics

1225
00:58:52,495 --> 00:58:54,397
are very similar.

1226
00:58:54,397 --> 00:58:55,398
Michelle.

1227
00:58:55,398 --> 00:58:59,736
The Press: If the Iran issue is
so important and so significant

1228
00:58:59,736 --> 00:59:03,772
to national security and the
future, as you've described, why

1229
00:59:03,773 --> 00:59:08,077
not engage in these negotiations
on a level that would lead to a

1230
00:59:08,077 --> 00:59:11,714
treaty or something that is
legally binding and that would

1231
00:59:11,714 --> 00:59:13,549
require a vote in Congress?

1232
00:59:13,549 --> 00:59:14,884
Why not that level?

1233
00:59:14,884 --> 00:59:17,086
Mr. Earnest: Well, I'll say a
couple of things about that,

1234
00:59:17,086 --> 00:59:18,087
Michelle.

1235
00:59:18,087 --> 00:59:23,192
The first is, the negotiations
that are underway seek very

1236
00:59:23,192 --> 00:59:26,896
serious and firm commitments
from the Iranians and would

1237
00:59:26,896 --> 00:59:32,268
build in precautions in the
form of historically intrusive

1238
00:59:32,268 --> 00:59:34,637
inspections to ensure that
Iran is living up to their

1239
00:59:34,637 --> 00:59:35,638
commitments.

1240
00:59:35,638 --> 00:59:37,707
And to be clear, these are
commitments that Iran would not

1241
00:59:37,707 --> 00:59:40,076
be making just to the United
States, but commitments that

1242
00:59:40,076 --> 00:59:44,480
they would be making to our
allies, like France and Germany

1243
00:59:44,480 --> 00:59:48,017
and the UK, but also to our
partners in these negotiations

1244
00:59:48,017 --> 00:59:50,118
in Russia and China.

1245
00:59:50,119 --> 00:59:54,557
This is the international
community that is unified as we

1246
00:59:54,557 --> 00:59:58,093
confront Iran over its nuclear
program and seek specific

1247
00:59:58,094 --> 01:00:03,299
commitments from Iran to verify
that their nuclear program is

1248
01:00:03,299 --> 01:00:05,835
solely for peaceful purposes.

1249
01:00:05,835 --> 01:00:08,504
This would be a
forceful commitment.

1250
01:00:08,504 --> 01:00:13,977
It's consistent with other
arrangements that the United

1251
01:00:13,977 --> 01:00:17,513
States has used to advance our
national security interests

1252
01:00:17,513 --> 01:00:19,915
around the globe.

1253
01:00:19,916 --> 01:00:24,687
An agreement that's similarly
structured allows the United

1254
01:00:24,687 --> 01:00:27,123
States to work with the broader
international community to

1255
01:00:27,123 --> 01:00:30,760
interdict weapons shipments --
illicit weapons shipments on the

1256
01:00:30,760 --> 01:00:32,028
high seas.

1257
01:00:32,028 --> 01:00:35,765
There are commitments with the
same amount of weight that are

1258
01:00:35,765 --> 01:00:38,801
struck between the United States
and our allies, like Korea and

1259
01:00:38,801 --> 01:00:42,605
Japan, when it comes to basing
agreements about keeping U.S.

1260
01:00:42,605 --> 01:00:45,575
troops on their soil.

1261
01:00:45,575 --> 01:00:50,413
These are agreements that are
forceful because they relate to

1262
01:00:50,413 --> 01:00:53,916
the ability of our men and women
in uniform to do their jobs and

1263
01:00:53,916 --> 01:00:55,685
to do them safely.

1264
01:00:55,685 --> 01:01:00,256
So this is an impactful,
forceful commitment, and it's

1265
01:01:00,256 --> 01:01:02,258
consistent with the way that the
President of the United States

1266
01:01:02,258 --> 01:01:10,433
has advanced the interests of
this country for generations now

1267
01:01:10,433 --> 01:01:13,302
and it is appropriate
to this matter as well.

1268
01:01:13,302 --> 01:01:16,672
The Press: So if that's enough
and that would take care of it,

1269
01:01:16,672 --> 01:01:19,275
in your view, so that Congress
doesn't need to vote on it --

1270
01:01:19,275 --> 01:01:23,346
Mr. Earnest: Well, this is the
one part of my answer that I

1271
01:01:23,346 --> 01:01:26,816
want to follow up on, which is
that the administration, despite

1272
01:01:26,816 --> 01:01:31,587
the claims that are made by some
in Congress, does acknowledge

1273
01:01:31,587 --> 01:01:35,258
that Congress at some point
will, by law, have to vote to

1274
01:01:35,258 --> 01:01:39,529
remove the statutory sanctions
that Congress put in place

1275
01:01:39,529 --> 01:01:40,863
against Iran.

1276
01:01:40,863 --> 01:01:45,100
The real difference of opinion
that we have with Congress is

1277
01:01:45,101 --> 01:01:47,670
that the President does not
believe that those statutory

1278
01:01:47,670 --> 01:01:51,707
sanctions should be removed
unless or until Iran has

1279
01:01:51,707 --> 01:01:54,777
demonstrated over the course of
a number of years that they're

1280
01:01:54,777 --> 01:01:57,313
actually living up to the
commitments that they've made

1281
01:01:57,313 --> 01:02:00,249
with the United States and
the international community.

1282
01:02:00,249 --> 01:02:03,718
The Congress is suggesting that
they should take a vote on these

1283
01:02:03,719 --> 01:02:06,122
sanctions far earlier in the
process, and the President

1284
01:02:06,122 --> 01:02:07,123
doesn't think that that's wise.

1285
01:02:07,123 --> 01:02:09,292
The President thinks, frankly,
that we should be tougher on

1286
01:02:09,292 --> 01:02:10,293
Iran than that.

1287
01:02:10,293 --> 01:02:11,294
The Press: Okay.

1288
01:02:11,294 --> 01:02:14,897
And we've heard from -- many
in Congress have said that the

1289
01:02:14,897 --> 01:02:17,600
administration hasn't included
them at all in its --

1290
01:02:17,600 --> 01:02:20,203
Mr. Earnest: That
is just not true.

1291
01:02:20,203 --> 01:02:22,772
There are a large number of
conversations that have taken

1292
01:02:22,772 --> 01:02:25,875
place between senior
administration officials and

1293
01:02:25,875 --> 01:02:30,213
members of Congress in both
parties to keep them continually

1294
01:02:30,213 --> 01:02:33,216
updated on the
Iran negotiations.

1295
01:02:33,216 --> 01:02:35,518
And this is something that the
President and his team takes

1296
01:02:35,518 --> 01:02:37,420
very seriously.

1297
01:02:37,420 --> 01:02:40,857
The President understands that
Congress needs to be a partner,

1298
01:02:40,857 --> 01:02:44,460
and that is why we have gone
to great lengths, even in a

1299
01:02:44,460 --> 01:02:47,296
classified setting on a number
of occasions, to keep them

1300
01:02:47,296 --> 01:02:50,933
updated on the details of our
ongoing negotiations with our

1301
01:02:50,933 --> 01:02:52,301
international partners
and the Iranians.

1302
01:02:52,301 --> 01:02:52,735
The Press: Okay.

1303
01:02:52,735 --> 01:02:55,238
And you also were pretty
descriptive in what the

1304
01:02:55,238 --> 01:02:57,906
administration thinks of
that letter that was sent.

1305
01:02:57,907 --> 01:03:02,245
Is there any indication that it
has had an impact or a change on

1306
01:03:02,245 --> 01:03:06,382
Iran's view of the negotiations
or their commitment going in as

1307
01:03:06,382 --> 01:03:07,783
they continue?

1308
01:03:07,783 --> 01:03:09,919
Mr. Earnest: Well, I know it's
had an impact on at least the

1309
01:03:09,919 --> 01:03:12,955
signers of the -- at least one
of the signers of the letter.

1310
01:03:12,955 --> 01:03:15,124
I saw that Senator McCain just
last night said that it was

1311
01:03:15,124 --> 01:03:18,327
maybe not the most effective
thing that they could do.

1312
01:03:18,327 --> 01:03:20,663
So it certainly has had an
impact at least on some of the

1313
01:03:20,663 --> 01:03:23,232
individuals who have signed
the letter, the reaction.

1314
01:03:23,232 --> 01:03:25,701
We've also seen a number of
other Republican senators, who

1315
01:03:25,701 --> 01:03:28,871
had the wisdom not to sign the
letter, say things that --

1316
01:03:28,871 --> 01:03:30,873
indicate that they didn't
think it was appropriate.

1317
01:03:30,873 --> 01:03:33,209
Both Senator Flake and
Senator Collins said that.

1318
01:03:33,209 --> 01:03:35,444
We saw Senator Corker say that
he did not think that the letter

1319
01:03:35,444 --> 01:03:38,281
was something that was going
to help get us to an outcome.

1320
01:03:38,281 --> 01:03:40,283
So we've seen a lot of
Republican criticism of this

1321
01:03:40,283 --> 01:03:41,284
letter.

1322
01:03:41,284 --> 01:03:43,653
We've also seen -- and we can
get this around -- a large

1323
01:03:43,653 --> 01:03:46,555
number of editorials from
newspapers across the country

1324
01:03:46,556 --> 01:03:47,557
condemning this letter.

1325
01:03:47,557 --> 01:03:50,392
What's interesting about that is
some of these editorial boards

1326
01:03:50,393 --> 01:03:53,429
have previously been skeptical
of the administration's approach

1327
01:03:53,429 --> 01:03:54,430
to Iran.

1328
01:03:54,430 --> 01:03:57,700
So the point is, it's not just
allies of the administration

1329
01:03:57,700 --> 01:04:01,404
that are being critical of this
letter and those who signed it;

1330
01:04:01,404 --> 01:04:05,708
it's even Republicans in
Congress and even some editorial

1331
01:04:05,708 --> 01:04:08,110
boards that have not previously
been on our side when it comes

1332
01:04:08,110 --> 01:04:09,445
to these talks.

1333
01:04:09,445 --> 01:04:13,316
But to take your question on
more directly, our view of the

1334
01:04:13,316 --> 01:04:18,053
most direct impact that this
letter has had has been on our

1335
01:04:18,054 --> 01:04:21,924
allies around the globe; that
for years, our allies have dealt

1336
01:04:21,924 --> 01:04:24,527
with the United States of
America knowing that when it

1337
01:04:24,527 --> 01:04:27,196
comes to advancing America's
national security interests

1338
01:04:27,196 --> 01:04:29,332
around the globe, that that's
the responsibility of the

1339
01:04:29,332 --> 01:04:31,366
President of the United States.

1340
01:04:31,367 --> 01:04:36,272
And right now, that confidence
on the part of our allies in the

1341
01:04:36,272 --> 01:04:42,378
United States of America has
been undermined by the partisan

1342
01:04:42,378 --> 01:04:45,014
tactics of Republicans
in the Senate.

1343
01:04:45,014 --> 01:04:48,317
And that is unfortunate,
particularly when you're talking

1344
01:04:48,317 --> 01:04:50,953
about the generations of
credibility that the United

1345
01:04:50,953 --> 01:04:55,324
States brings to the negotiating
table any time the President of

1346
01:04:55,324 --> 01:04:58,461
the United States, regardless of
who he is or has been, is there

1347
01:04:58,461 --> 01:04:59,662
to represent the United States.

1348
01:04:59,662 --> 01:05:02,131
That people understand -- that
countries around the world

1349
01:05:02,131 --> 01:05:04,133
understand and, most
importantly, our allies

1350
01:05:04,133 --> 01:05:06,935
understand that when they make
commitments with the executive

1351
01:05:06,936 --> 01:05:08,904
branch of the United States of
America, that they're making

1352
01:05:08,904 --> 01:05:11,140
commitments that the country
is going to live up to.

1353
01:05:11,140 --> 01:05:15,077
And to have that undermined as
a part of a partisan tactic by

1354
01:05:15,077 --> 01:05:18,347
Republicans is damaging.

1355
01:05:18,347 --> 01:05:19,348
Mara, go ahead.

1356
01:05:19,348 --> 01:05:22,785
The Press: Just, is it the White
House belief that if this deal

1357
01:05:22,785 --> 01:05:26,522
doesn't happen, the sanctions
regime -- which up until now has

1358
01:05:26,522 --> 01:05:31,994
had cooperation from all sorts
of people who usually aren't

1359
01:05:31,994 --> 01:05:33,996
cooperative, like Russia and
China -- would fall apart, or in

1360
01:05:33,996 --> 01:05:36,499
the Republicans' view and
Netanyahu's view, the sanctions

1361
01:05:36,499 --> 01:05:38,701
could just be ratcheted up
if this deal doesn't work?

1362
01:05:38,701 --> 01:05:41,837
Mr. Earnest: Well, this is a
good question and here is why:

1363
01:05:41,837 --> 01:05:47,877
If the negotiations do not yield
an agreement, the international

1364
01:05:47,877 --> 01:05:50,846
community will step back and
evaluate why that agreement was

1365
01:05:50,846 --> 01:05:52,081
not reached.

1366
01:05:52,081 --> 01:05:54,450
The fact of the matter is
the United States and our

1367
01:05:54,450 --> 01:05:57,687
international partners have, as
the President described it, made

1368
01:05:57,687 --> 01:06:01,257
a very reasonable suggestion to
the Iranians, which is, if it's

1369
01:06:01,257 --> 01:06:04,694
true that your nuclear program
only exists for peaceful

1370
01:06:04,694 --> 01:06:08,264
purposes, then all we're asking
you to do is to comply with

1371
01:06:08,264 --> 01:06:10,700
generally accepted international
standards for that peaceful

1372
01:06:10,700 --> 01:06:14,403
nuclear program, and submit
to a set of very intrusive

1373
01:06:14,403 --> 01:06:17,205
inspections to allow the
international community to

1374
01:06:17,206 --> 01:06:18,741
verify that.

1375
01:06:18,741 --> 01:06:22,578
That should be a reasonable
thing if, in fact, it is true

1376
01:06:22,578 --> 01:06:25,548
that Iran is only interested
in a peaceful nuclear program.

1377
01:06:25,548 --> 01:06:30,752
If Iran rebuffs that deal, the
international community will

1378
01:06:30,753 --> 01:06:33,956
recognize that the reason that
the talks did not succeed is

1379
01:06:33,956 --> 01:06:36,525
because Iran was
being so unreasonable.

1380
01:06:36,525 --> 01:06:41,130
And that means that they will
support the international

1381
01:06:41,130 --> 01:06:44,100
community, led by the United
States of America, in placing

1382
01:06:44,100 --> 01:06:47,169
additional pressure on Iran
to get them to come to the

1383
01:06:47,169 --> 01:06:50,406
negotiating table and actually
engage in constructive

1384
01:06:50,406 --> 01:06:51,407
negotiations.

1385
01:06:51,407 --> 01:06:56,846
And that is why you've heard the
President say to our partners in

1386
01:06:56,846 --> 01:06:59,181
Congress who have said that they
want additional sanctions right

1387
01:06:59,181 --> 01:07:02,151
now -- the President has said,
well, let's see if we can get an

1388
01:07:02,151 --> 01:07:03,685
agreement by the end of March.

1389
01:07:03,686 --> 01:07:07,123
If we can't, the international
community will ascribe that

1390
01:07:07,123 --> 01:07:10,292
blame to the Iranians, and will
work with the United States of

1391
01:07:10,292 --> 01:07:13,529
America to put additional
pressure on Iran in the form of

1392
01:07:13,529 --> 01:07:14,530
additional sanctions.

1393
01:07:14,530 --> 01:07:17,700
And that's something that the
President has said that he will

1394
01:07:17,700 --> 01:07:18,701
seek.

1395
01:07:18,701 --> 01:07:21,570
The concern that exists now
-- and this is another way,

1396
01:07:21,570 --> 01:07:24,774
Michelle, to answer your
question -- now this letter from

1397
01:07:24,774 --> 01:07:28,477
47 Republican senators accusing
the President of not negotiating

1398
01:07:28,477 --> 01:07:31,413
in good faith with the Iranian
leadership, now you might have

1399
01:07:31,414 --> 01:07:34,617
an excuse for some of our allies
or some of our partners like

1400
01:07:34,617 --> 01:07:37,620
Russia and China to say, well,
the Iranians were a little

1401
01:07:37,620 --> 01:07:40,923
unreasonable, but we saw 47
Republican senators in the

1402
01:07:40,923 --> 01:07:43,792
United States of America stand
up and throw sand in the gears

1403
01:07:43,793 --> 01:07:46,962
of the diplomatic process, maybe
the United States isn't after

1404
01:07:46,962 --> 01:07:51,000
all acting in as good a faith as
they should to try to reach this

1405
01:07:51,000 --> 01:07:52,001
agreement.

1406
01:07:52,001 --> 01:07:55,004
And that is another risk that's
associated with this letter;

1407
01:07:55,004 --> 01:07:58,774
that the United States, because
of the actions of these 47

1408
01:07:58,774 --> 01:08:02,511
Republican senators, does call
into question the willingness of

1409
01:08:02,511 --> 01:08:05,247
this country to
negotiate in good faith.

1410
01:08:05,247 --> 01:08:09,185
And that would have a very
detrimental impact on the

1411
01:08:09,185 --> 01:08:11,487
success that we've enjoyed
so far in building a genuine

1412
01:08:11,487 --> 01:08:14,223
international coalition to
confront the Iranians over their

1413
01:08:14,223 --> 01:08:15,291
nuclear program.

1414
01:08:15,291 --> 01:08:17,860
So that has consequences not
just for our alliances around

1415
01:08:17,859 --> 01:08:20,328
the globe, but it actually
does have consequences for our

1416
01:08:20,328 --> 01:08:23,432
ability to resolve one of the
most significant foreign policy

1417
01:08:23,432 --> 01:08:25,634
threats to the United
States of America.

1418
01:08:25,634 --> 01:08:27,636
Angela, I'll give
you the last one.

1419
01:08:27,636 --> 01:08:28,637
The Press: Thanks, Josh.

1420
01:08:28,636 --> 01:08:30,639
I want to touch on one
other topic here -- trade.

1421
01:08:30,639 --> 01:08:35,478
With the TPP talks ongoing now
in Hawaii, the AFL-CIO came out

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01:08:35,478 --> 01:08:38,913
today and said that they're
going to suspend their PAC

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01:08:38,913 --> 01:08:42,017
donations in favor of using
that money to fight the

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01:08:42,017 --> 01:08:43,018
administration's trade efforts.

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01:08:43,018 --> 01:08:46,488
Will that make it harder for the
White House to find Democratic

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01:08:46,488 --> 01:08:48,857
support on the Hill
for a fast track?

1427
01:08:48,858 --> 01:08:52,127
Mr. Earnest: Angela, I had not
seen that announcement from the

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01:08:52,127 --> 01:08:55,698
AFL, but I will tell you that
it's not inconsistent with the

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01:08:55,698 --> 01:08:58,968
view that we've articulated on
a number of occasions, which is

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01:08:58,968 --> 01:09:01,871
that we understand that there
are some groups that have

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01:09:01,871 --> 01:09:04,540
traditionally been aligned with
the Democratic Party that are

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01:09:04,540 --> 01:09:07,542
very skeptical of any
sort of trade deal.

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01:09:07,542 --> 01:09:11,346
But the fact is the President
has made a firm commitment to

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01:09:11,346 --> 01:09:16,151
both Democrats and Republicans
that any sort of trade agreement

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01:09:16,151 --> 01:09:20,022
that he signs on to will be
one that he firmly believes is

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01:09:20,022 --> 01:09:22,524
clearly in the best interest of
American businesses and American

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01:09:22,524 --> 01:09:23,959
middle-class families.

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01:09:23,959 --> 01:09:26,428
And that is not going to change.

1439
01:09:26,428 --> 01:09:31,099
And there may be some who are
so skeptical of any sort of an

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01:09:31,100 --> 01:09:33,135
agreement that they're not
willing to look at the details

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01:09:33,135 --> 01:09:37,840
and will be instinctively and
reflexively opposed to these

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01:09:37,840 --> 01:09:39,441
kinds of agreements.

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01:09:39,441 --> 01:09:43,778
The President is doing his best
to persuade as many Democrats as

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01:09:43,779 --> 01:09:47,516
he can, and some Republicans, to
evaluate the agreement once it's

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01:09:47,515 --> 01:09:50,219
been produced, and to take a
look at the details and evaluate

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01:09:50,219 --> 01:09:53,822
for themselves what impact this
would have on the country.

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01:09:53,822 --> 01:09:56,692
And we're confident that if
people do this, it doesn't mean

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01:09:56,692 --> 01:09:58,694
there's going to be unanimous
support for the agreement; there

1449
01:09:58,694 --> 01:10:00,796
may be some people who arrive
at a different conclusion.

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01:10:00,796 --> 01:10:02,998
The President, however, will be
confident of the benefits that

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01:10:02,998 --> 01:10:05,000
it has for
middle-class families.

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01:10:05,000 --> 01:10:08,037
And the President is confident
that a majority of the United

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01:10:08,037 --> 01:10:10,039
States Congress will support it.

1454
01:10:10,039 --> 01:10:12,708
But that's what we're going to
have to prevail upon people to

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01:10:12,708 --> 01:10:15,443
do, which is to take a good,
close look at the agreement once

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01:10:15,444 --> 01:10:17,580
it's been produced.

1457
01:10:17,580 --> 01:10:19,114
Thanks, everybody.