Coming up Wednesday
Political fallout from NSA surveillance – Barbara Starr reports
The White House is pushing back this morning against harsh criticism of the secret surveillance effort recently reported by British newspaper, the Guardian, and The Washington Post. The administration is insisting there's been oversight of the program, and that it's prevented terror attacks.
CNN Chief Political Correspondent and host of “State of the Union” Candy Crowley weighs in on the scope of the fallout. This administration is “getting hit from the left and then from the right, although not conservatives, but more the independents,” she says, “the libertarians who think this is too much of an intrusion on civil liberties.”
Rep. Royce: 'Enough was not done to monitor the activities' of Tamerlan Tsarnaev
Rep. Ed Royce (R-CA) on a hearing investigating new information linking Boston bombing suspects to extremism in Chechnya.
Rep. Chaffetz: There may be 'bigger issue' behind Tsarnaev radicalization claim
On "Starting Point" this morning, Rep. Jason Chaffetz (R-UT) on the ongoing investigation into possible intelligence failures in the vetting of Boston marathon bombing suspect Tamerlan Tsarnaev in 2011. He also explains why he thinks there may be a 'bigger issue' behind the radicalization claims of Dzhokhar Tsarnaev.
Rep. Ruppersberger: Intelligence community always has concerns about 'lone wolf' operations
Rep. C.A. Dutch Ruppersberger (D-MD) on why 'lone wolves' are the biggest concern for intelligence investigators.
CNN EXCLUSIVE: Director of National Intelligence to crack down on classified intel leaks
Director of National Intelligence James Clapper is rolling out new measures Monday aimed at ending what recently has been a spate of leaks regarding classified programs and operations.
Among Clapper's recommendations, to be instituted across the 16 intelligence agencies, are an enhanced counterintelligence polygraph test for employees who have access to classified information, and the establishment of a task force of intelligence community inspectors general that will have the ability to conduct independent investigations across agencies in coordination with the Office of the National Counterintelligence Executive.
CNN's Suzanne Kelly details the rollout on "Starting Point with Soledad O'Brien" this morning.
Newsweek/Daily Beast's Dan Klaidman reacts to Rep. Forbes on Holder and Axelrod fight in his book, says serous journalism not a handout
Newsweek/Daily Beast's Dan Klaidman reacts to Rep. Randy Forbes (R-VA) on Holder and Axelrod fight detailed in his book.
In this second clip, Klaidman and the Starting Point team discuss the history of intelligence leaks in the U.S., and how much power the government has to control a free press.
Intel leak latest: Rep. Rogers says it's '100 times worse than Valerie Plame'; Rep. Ruppersberger says it's worst he's seen
Where is the "cascade" of classified information leaks coming from and can it be stopped? There's a bipartisan effort underway in Washington from four top Republicans and Democrats in light of three glaring examples of leaks in the past month.
Last week, The New York Times reported President Obama ordered cyber-attacks against Iran's nuclear facilities, and that the president personally oversees a "kill list" for expanded drone attacks. In May, we found out a U.S. double agent helped foil an airline bomb plot out of Yemen.
The Obama Administration is being accused of leaking the secrets for political points, but the White House flatly denies that.
After meeting with Director of National Intelligence James Clapper, Senate Intelligence Committee vice chair Sen. Saxby Chambliss (R-Ga.) remained ambiguous about whether he thinks the leaks were politically motivated.
This morning on "Starting Point with Soledad O'Brien," Intelligence Committee Chairman Rep. Mike Rogers (R-Mich.) and a ranking member of that committee Rep. C.A. Dutch Ruppersberger (D-Md.) talk to Soledad about the severity of the leaks and possible ways that Congress could go about investigating it.
Senator Bob Casey (D-PA) says McCain's charge that White House intentionally leaked classified intel 'very serious'
The FBI is now investigating whether the White House leaked classified intelligence information to try to score some political points. It's a claim that has the White House firing back hard.
Press Secretary Jay Carney says "Any suggestion that this administration has authorized intentional leaks of classified information for political gain is grossly irresponsible."
Senator John McCain (R-Ariz.) jumped into the conversation as well, saying he would 'expect nothing else' from the White House. "The fact is that portrayal of the President in these stories is obviously nothing short of heroic," McCain says. "I don't think there's any doubt, according to Mr. Sanger, that dozens of administration officials who were involved in this."
Senator Bob Casey (D-Penn.), member of the Foreign Relations Committee and chairman of the Joint Economic Committee, talks with Soledad on "Starting Point" this morning and says the leaks should not be considered 'political football.'
When asked to respond to McCain's comment, Casey says "that's a very serious charge that's been made against the administration. I think that the proposal that Senator Carl Levin has made, chairman of the armed services committee, to have a hearing in closed fashion makes the most sense. Any time you make a charge like that, it's very serious. We have to make sure that we're resolving this in the right way."
Casey also responds to whether the Wisconsin recall election results could affect the presidential race in 2012, and previews what he hopes to hear from Fed chairman Ben Bernanke in a hearing before the Joint Economic Committee today.
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