State Department spokesperson Tammy Bruce holds a press briefing after Trump Cabinet members leaked war plans against the Houthis in a group chat that accidentally included the editor-in-chief of The Atlantic, Jeffrey Goldberg.
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NewsTranscript
00:00Thank you, everyone.
00:04How are you?
00:05I looked up at a couple of my briefings and noticed that I looked a bit too much like
00:09Pete Bogdman, so I got a haircut.
00:14It's funny when you look and you're so busy and you look around and thought, oh, this
00:19has got to be a little bit better.
00:20So that's what I've done.
00:22All right.
00:23Thank you very much for joining us.
00:24Another full room, and I appreciate that very much.
00:28Lots going on, obviously.
00:29Let's start, though, with an announcement that many of you know already.
00:33Secretary of State Marco Rubio will travel to Jamaica, Guyana, and Suriname March 26th
00:40through 27th to advance President Trump's foreign policy priorities in the Caribbean.
00:46While in Jamaica, the secretary will hold bilateral engagements with heads of state
00:50from Barbados, Trinidad and Tobago, and Haiti.
00:55Secretary Rubio's engagements with our valued Caribbean partners will promote regional cooperation,
01:02which we're working on, of course, to end illegal immigration, counter transnational
01:06organized crime, strengthen regional actions to address Haiti's political and security
01:12challenges, and strengthen the United States economic partnership with Caribbean countries.
01:19And that's my announcement.
01:21We're going to be doing that starting on Wednesday.
01:23A number of you are going to be joining us in what, for the Americans and people around
01:27the world watching, we have reporters who are stationed here at the State Department,
01:33and their coverage, their beat is the State Department, and they even travel with us.
01:38And that's always fun.
01:40So I'm looking forward to that once again.
01:42And we will start, dare I say, with Matt Lee.
01:46Okay.
01:47With the Associated Press.
01:48Thank you very much, Tammy.
01:49And thanks for the trip announcement.
01:51Yes.
01:52So over the course of the last day or so, embassies and consulates around the world
01:58appeared in what looks like it's a concerted social messaging campaign, have been posting
02:04tweets and Facebook accounts, some of which are somewhat aggressive and warning people
02:13not to come to the United States if they are planning to protest or cause riots or
02:24break the laws.
02:26My question is this.
02:28Because it has always been an offense to not truthfully answer questions on a visa application
02:38form which include your past and what your intents are, what you plan to do in the U.S.,
02:42it has always been an offense that you could be – have your visa revoked or deported
02:47if you're found to be lying on this.
02:50I'm curious why it is that there is this coordinated effort to get this message out
02:59now, in some cases using this kind of aggressive language like you lie to us, you're out,
03:06that kind of thing.
03:08Well, I think that it's clear that it's a conversation that has not been happening
03:12for a while.
03:14Certain issues are in the news right now.
03:16It's an important – there's a lot of new things that the world is hearing from
03:20a new administration, the Trump administration, which is in office because of its commitment
03:25to make America great again, certainly safe again, secure again, more prosperous.
03:30The Secretary of State, obviously, as you've heard quite often, has remarked on that.
03:35And part of that is what Americans see and what has been happening over the last several
03:39years when it comes to certain violence, certain attitudes, a rise in anti-Semitism, and of
03:45course in some public cases, which I won't be speaking on.
03:49But for citizens of other countries who want to come to America, I think it's reasonable
03:55– their own countries, there's certainly some countries which are reminding their citizens
04:00that if you're going to be going to the United States – or really, the argument
04:05could be to any other country – is follow the law, behave yourselves, be a good visitor,
04:13and you'll be fine.
04:15But I think the nature of any kind of warning or reminder, as it should be, as you noted,
04:21is appropriate considering the nature of the things we've been reminding people about,
04:25which is a visa is not an entitlement, a visa and a green card are not birthrights, these
04:32are privileges, you're granted them because of what you present to the United States in
04:38trying to get it.
04:39Consular officers also talk with people and they ask you questions about why you want
04:44to come.
04:45Every sovereign nation in the world has an interest in controlling who comes in, knowing
04:51who's coming into their country, what their intentions are.
04:54We've learned this over the last several decades about the importance of security at
05:00points of entry.
05:01The world knows it and so do we, and it is a good reminder, and we look forward to people
05:07taking it seriously.
05:08All right.
05:09Yes.
05:10Andrea Mitchell.
05:11Thank you very much, Tammy.
05:12I know the Administration has always been concerned about operational security for military
05:18actions and others, things that are classified.
05:23There has been an unprecedented, to my experience, breach of operational security by a public
05:31dissemination on signal of plans for the Houthi attacks and discussions about those
05:38plans that included in – has been confirmed by the National Security Council.
05:45These included the editor-in-chief of The Atlantic, Jeffrey Goldberg, on this signal
05:50chat over a course of several days.
05:54And we should note that Mr. Goldberg did not publicize any of the classified members,
06:00CIA people who were on this chat, nor any of the classified information on the ultimate
06:07day, two hours before the attacks took place.
06:11He thought he was being punked, that it was some sort of a trap, but eventually notified
06:18the White House about this.
06:21And the White House has confirmed that it's authentic.
06:24Secretary Rubio was part of all of these conversations.
06:26First of all, why was the cabinet secretaries in the National Security Cabinet discussing
06:33a potential military operation on signal, which is a public app, and why didn't they
06:41notice a phone number that was not part of their group?
06:47And how concerned is the Secretary about the implications of this?
06:50Well, I have two very short things to say to you.
06:55First is that we will not comment on the Secretary's deliberative conversations, and secondly,
07:03that you should contact the White House.
07:05But in this regard, this was a very extensive series of conversations involving a very important
07:15military action, and the Secretary of State is the leader of foreign policy.
07:22Shouldn't he have an opinion about this?
07:24Well, from this podium, I'm not going to comment, and never would I comment in any framework,
07:30the Secretary's deliberative conversations in any regard.
07:34All right.
07:35All right.
07:36Are you concerned about the breach of security?
07:38I'm not.
07:39I've said it twice, and I appreciate your persistence.
07:42That's why you're who you are, but I won't be commenting on that particular framework.
07:47All right, Daphne.
07:48Go ahead.
07:49Can I move to Russia, Ukraine?
07:51I wish you wouldn't, but yes, of course.
07:54Trump said today that territory was being discussed, so I just wanted to follow up on
07:58some comments that Whitkoff made over the weekend about Crimea, Donbass, and regions
08:03annexed by Russia.
08:04He said that the question is, will the world acknowledge that those are Russian territories?
08:10Is it the Administration's view that Russia has a legitimate claim to these regions?
08:15What I can tell you, first of all, of course, is for – I'm not going to speculate, and
08:20once again, there's – because of the approach of this Administration, there are a lot of
08:24diplomatic talks going on, there's a lot of summits happening, there's a lot of conversations
08:29happening, the supermajority of which I cannot comment onto you about those kinds of discussions
08:37or the commentary from which they may or may not have been gleaned from.
08:42What we do know, and I would refer back to the nature of what we're trying to do here
08:49and what we've said is first and foremost in our mind, there's one thing in front
08:54of us that everyone is doing, and that is to secure the peace of that region, of those
09:00two countries, which – more even than the region, the entire world.
09:03And that's the singular thing that is being worked on right now in Saudi Arabia.
09:09It is the singular thing that the President has been focused on.
09:12It is what the Secretary has been working on pretty much from day one, which is – what's
09:19it – what are we in?
09:20The ninth week at this point.
09:22And dramatic changes have already occurred.
09:24Fabulous changes have occurred because of the focus, and there's really no other way
09:30to do it.
09:31You've got to have a dynamic that you're going to convince people that they can embrace
09:36and agree to.
09:37And the only way to do that is to stay with a framework that doesn't change, doesn't
09:44morph, where there's not distractions that you let away from the focus on what it is
09:49we're trying to accomplish.
09:51So that's what we're dealing with in this regard.
09:53And I think just a reminder that until there is a ceasefire, a full ceasefire, that's
10:00when, as the President has noted and certainly the Secretary, that until there's a ceasefire,
10:06that's when we can then discuss the differences and what proceeds after that when it comes
10:12to an enduring peace.
10:13Yes.
10:14All right.
10:15Thanks, Tammy.
10:16Can I switch to the Middle East, or did you want to stay on Russia?
10:17Well, we're – do we have any more Ukraine, Russia?
10:19Yes, sir.
10:20Go ahead.
10:21Thank you, Tammy.
10:22Just a follow-up on the question my colleague asked.
10:23I understand you don't want to comment on these comments, some of them reflecting Russian
10:27viewpoint.
10:28I mean, the U.S. do appreciate this administration's effort to solve the problem, but they don't
10:32trust you.
10:33So when they hear what we heard in the interview, how do you build that trust in the Ukrainian
10:39side?
10:40Well, again, I think that this is why I urge people to look at the nature of what we're
10:46accomplishing here and what the end result is.
10:49This is – it's not a TV show.
10:52This is people working to get to an end result that everyone agrees with.
10:57There's no one in the world who wants any of this to continue.
11:00There's the people involved, the innocent people on the ground, the world itself.
11:07We know all of this affects each one of us.
11:10Multiple countries are involved in one fashion or another, and this is about getting to an
11:16end point that the world has agreed upon and that all of us agree upon, and we can talk
11:23about other interviews or what someone might say, but the fact is – even when the Secretary's
11:30been asked about whether he trusts Putin, the fact is – and I'll just go back to
11:34his point when asked about that – this isn't about trust or who you're dealing with and
11:42whether or not you like them or you don't or what that dynamic is.
11:46The question is, what do you end with?
11:49Is it something that makes the difference and what everyone wants?
11:52Is it what we all agree on and what is going to get us to that north star of making sure
11:58that the slaughter stops?
12:00There's – again, we still deal with every day, even with this work.
12:05People that were alive yesterday are not alive today.
12:08People that are alive today are not going to be alive tomorrow.
12:11And the focus has to remain in that framework, and the only thing that brings us to that
12:16point are the conversations that are happening, the technical discussions now happening in
12:21Saudi Arabia, conversations between presidents, and maneuverings and negotiations and diplomatic
12:30conversations that get us to a point of peace.
12:33That is the only thing, when we think about the next day, that matters, and that takes
12:38us to that point.
12:39All right.
12:40Go ahead.
12:41Go ahead.
12:42Go ahead.
12:43Go ahead.
12:44Go ahead.
12:45Go ahead.
12:46Go ahead.
12:47Go ahead.
12:48Go ahead.
12:49Go ahead.
12:50Go ahead.
12:51Go ahead.
12:54We have repeatedly spoken about allocations, spending, hospitals – over 90 people got
12:55injured, 17 of them are children.
12:57Any reaction to that please.
13:00You know, all of us decry the impact.
13:02This is why we do the work we do on civilians, and it is why we continue to work for the
13:08ceasefire, and what the negotiations in Saudi are right now is to get that commitment and
13:12to get that done.
13:14So that's why we're doing what we do, because of the results like that, that in any war
13:19breaking, and we want to stop and reverse.
13:22So that's the point of why we're doing what we're doing right now.
13:24Yes.
13:25QUESTION.
13:27Following up on this story that happened last week about the termination of a grant to the
13:33Yale Initiative, research initiative in trying to track down Ukrainian children that have
13:38been taken by Russia, you mentioned last week in this room that the data exists.
13:44It's not been deleted.
13:45MS.
13:46NULAND.
13:47Correct.
13:48Correct.
13:50So there was a statement from the Department saying that the Department does not hold the
13:52data for the conflict exhibitory.
13:54The data resides on a platform owned by MITRE as part of the program, and we were referred
14:00to MITRE.
14:02In terms of, like, evidence of where these children have gone and when you're dealing
14:06with courts of law, is this data something that even if it's sitting somewhere on someone
14:13else's server like MITRE, is it overseen or controlled by the U.S.
14:17Government in terms of making sure that it's not being tampered with?
14:21And is there a concern that with that particular initiative, the grant to that initiative terminated,
14:29is there a concern that a delay – that there's a delay in the work that these researchers
14:33were doing in terms of, like, more of a search and rescue of these particular 30,000 children
14:38now being hindered?
14:39Well, as you noted, and I will confirm again, is that the data exists.
14:44What I will say to your question is that we know it is secure.
14:49And that is all I'll discuss about the nature of where it sits and where it is it's secure.
14:56I will also mention something I'd mentioned to you actually earlier, which is that this
15:02data and this kind of a program – the grant has been stopped, of course, but it doesn't
15:09mean just because something has changed, as this has, that it disappears or stops or
15:16becomes something that we can't use.
15:20So I would just remind you that there's a variety of dynamics that are occurring when
15:25it comes to the world knowing about those missing children, the nature of – I know
15:30the President and President Trump's concern about those missing children.
15:33The world is concerned.
15:35And the fact, to say the least, Ukraine has been advocating for this.
15:39They've been passionate about saving their nation and certainly getting those children
15:45back from Russia.
15:48And I think that this is – when we think about now the nature of the negotiations or
15:52certainly the conversations, that is part of those conversations, and it's something
15:57that we all hope will be resolved sooner than later.
16:01Yes, sir.
16:02QUESTION.
16:03Are we ready to move on to the Middle East, or do you want to –
16:04I think we should.
16:05Sure, let's do it.
16:06So two topics for you.
16:07I'll squeeze them in back-to-back.
16:08Mahmoud Khalil, there was a DOJ brief filing with the court regarding his case, and one
16:14of the assertions in there was that he had failed to mention part of his resume, part
16:18of his history.
16:19And one of the things that DOJ brought up was his work with UNRWA.
16:23So I know you can't comment on a particular visa case – I'm not going to ask you,
16:26I know the drill – but in a larger perspective, does the State Department now look upon work
16:32with UNRWA as a potential negative when applying for a green card or other visa?
16:37That's question one.
16:38Question two.
16:39On Friday, Dorothy Shea, who heads up on an interim basis the U.S. mission to the UN,
16:46called Security Council Resolution 2334 a mistake.
16:50It's been, for the most part, the defining policy around settlements for a while now,
16:54other than the first Trump admin.
16:57The spokesman for the mission told me there's been no change in policy.
17:00Her statement doesn't reflect a change in policy.
17:02But obviously, she calls it a mistake, and it means something.
17:07What is the position right now of the Trump admin and the State Department on Israeli
17:11settlements beyond the Green Line?
17:13Are we going back to the Pompeo doctrine?
17:15Is it going to be used as leverage to expand the Abraham Accords, which Vice President
17:19Vance brought up today?
17:21What is the position?
17:22I'm not speculating.
17:23I've just got to get my speculation book out.
17:25You know, I can't – I'm not going to speculate.
17:27I'm not going to guess what's in the minds of diplomats, and diplomats are involved,
17:31including, you know, an ambassador and her statements.
17:34I'm not going to speculate on any of that, what they mean or what other leaders are going
17:40to do or not do.
17:42And I appreciate – we all have questions about certain things.
17:46What I can say – well, now I have to say what I can say about what I can't say regarding
17:50your first question, is that you mentioned, of course, that there are court filings and
17:55you mentioned the detail of what you say is in a court filing.
17:58I'm not going to expand on that either.
18:00So we – what I can say in general is what the Secretary has said, what the President
18:07has said, what I have said on numerous occasions and brought up here just a little bit ago
18:14as well when it comes to the nature of messaging regarding visas and what the United States
18:20expects and I think what every nation expects when someone is knocking on the door saying,
18:27can we come in?
18:29America's answer to that has usually been a resounding yes, please do, using the regular
18:35legal system to do it.
18:37But the reason that system works is because there is order to it and we have expectations
18:43to what it is you say to us.
18:45And if you have an order and expectations and they're never enforced or it doesn't
18:51matter and other people see that, it means that none of the laws mean anything, the regulations
18:56don't mean anything and there's – you're not even really a nation, you're a nation
19:03effectively without borders and controls and no nation operates in that fashion.
19:09So it's not – again, certainly not commenting on any particular filing or any particular
19:14case.
19:15If you lie in your efforts to come to the United States to get a visa for any reason
19:22or for a green card, maybe there haven't been repercussions or we haven't done things
19:28properly in the past.
19:30A lot of things have changed with the election of Donald Trump.
19:33As the American people have said, what has happened in the past is now unacceptable.
19:38We see the impact on people's lives, everybody's lives, and we now – it's not anything new.
19:46We want to have the order back.
19:49We want to have the rules, the expectations, the values back to how we make our decisions.
19:55So it is an important message, it's a normal message, it's a reasonable message, and
20:01it's important, and especially for those when there's certainly a court argument
20:06or if you have lied, if you've misrepresented what you were going to do here, there has
20:11to be a response to that for a nation to be able to be taken seriously by its own people
20:17who rely on it to keep them safe.
20:19All right.
20:20Yes, sir.
20:21Yes.
20:22Hi.
20:23Changing subject.
20:24I'm sorry.
20:25Clearly – hold on now.
20:26So keep that in mind.
20:27So now – Nadia, where were you going?
20:30Hold on.
20:31All of you, you're right here in front of me.
20:33I'm willing to stay here as long as I need to.
20:35Yes, ma'am.
20:36Nadia.
20:38I have two questions, but I want to follow up on the application form, just to be clear.
20:41So you're saying that Mahmoud Khalil has lied on the application because –
20:45Oh, I never – I never commented on his case.
20:47I never said that he did at all.
20:49I'm saying that if anyone – coming here, when you're filing, if you're trying to
20:54get a visa or anything else, I never spoke about him and what he did or did not do.
21:01Fair enough.
21:02Fair enough.
21:03I'll take this one back.
21:04Yes.
21:05Fair enough.
21:06But what – my question to you is, for example, the evidence was taken against him that he
21:08was a member of UNRWA.
21:09Nadia, I have to tell you, I'm not going to remark at all on a particular case.
21:13It's not going to happen.
21:15Let me try again, different way.
21:16Do you think that –
21:17Last chance.
21:18Last chance.
21:19Three strikes there.
21:20Do you believe that if somebody is a member of UNRWA, of the UN organization, and they
21:24did not disclose that if they apply for a visa for somebody who is coming, since UNRWA
21:29is not a terrorist organization, are they denied a visa?
21:33This is related to a core filing regarding a specific case, including also we don't
21:38talk about visas and the specific dynamic there.
21:41I'm not going to speculate or confirm or not confirm any dynamic that belongs to consular
21:48officers, to laws, to court filings that occur, or to visa process for individuals.
21:57I'm not going to do that.
21:59And so I'm sorry.
22:00I would love to be able to answer your question, but I can't.
22:03Yes.
22:04Go ahead.
22:05Yes.
22:06On the Middle East, has Israel briefed the United States on its plans for a renewed ground
22:09operation, and is this something that the U.S. supports, a massive ground operation
22:13into Gaza?
22:14Again, if there was a conversation about that, it is not something that I'm going to share
22:19the details with anybody anywhere.
22:22It's not personal.
22:23Does the U.S. support a ground operation?
22:24I'm not going to comment or speculate or anything in that regard when it comes to something
22:30as serious as negotiations in an area where there's a conflict that we are working every
22:37day to stop, and we have been the lead in the ceasefire aspects, we've been the lead
22:44in bridges to the next steps, and we are dealing with a terrorist organization that cannot
22:51remain at all in that region because of what they do.
22:55They then continue the suffering, and there is just – it's the simplest thing in the
23:00world.
23:01Hamas could release the hostages, which they still have, and the bodies of those that they've
23:10killed, and they could lay down their arms, and the suffering would end.
23:15All of this would end.
23:16And the questions come back, understandably, to the State Department, to Marco Rubio, to
23:22envoys, to people trying to get it to stop about a one thing or why haven't you done
23:27this, or would you do this.
23:29It is – Hamas has – it's one step it could take, and the carnage could end.
23:36And it's – I appreciate what you're asking, but I have certain limits in what I can express
23:42when it comes to the way decisions get made.
23:45But what we do know is that decisions have been getting made that have stopped the fighting,
23:50that have given us the first glimmer of hope in ages, and we're going to continue that
23:55kind of work because we do care and we are determined to get peace, and we're the closest
24:01we've been in most areas than we've been in ages.
24:05And that needs to continue.
24:06Yes, sir.
24:07In the back.
24:08QUESTION.
24:09Can I follow up on that?
24:10MS.
24:11NULAND.
24:12Not at this moment.
24:13Yes, sir.
24:14In the back.
24:15QUESTION.
24:16I have a question on Ukraine and the European – if I can go back a little bit.
24:17My question – my first question is on which level the European Union will be involved
24:23in the talk, in Saudi Arabia, if they will be involved?
24:27And the second one, if you can give us some more glimpse of the talk, what can you – like,
24:33something that you can share with us, like related to the ceasefire, the Black Sea, or
24:39the part of – are we talking about part of Ukraine that's going to be given to Russia
24:46or other – left to Kiev?
24:49Can you give us a little more?
24:50MS.
24:51NULAND.
24:52We – I'd already mentioned before in being asked about comments on issues after a ceasefire.
24:59There is one thing we're working on, and that's a ceasefire.
25:01I have nothing to say about what comes after a ceasefire, which has to be manifested in
25:07full.
25:08And we are close to that.
25:09This is what's fascinating.
25:10We've never been closer, a breath away, from a full ceasefire.
25:15And then full stop, then a discussion about an enduring peace.
25:20It's doable.
25:21Humanity has done it in the past.
25:23We can do it again, but it's never – this is the time where there has to be new ideas,
25:27where this dynamic has to stop.
25:29What I can tell you in general – you mentioned the Black Sea – is we do have negotiating
25:33teams, of course.
25:34They're meeting in Saudi Arabia to discuss broadening the ceasefire to the Black Sea
25:39on the way to the full ceasefire, which is always the prize – that's the prize right
25:45now, there's no other prize – to fully restore peaceful commercial activity.
25:49The Black Sea, of course, is key to that.
25:52We are continuing contact with both Russia and Ukraine.
25:56We're committing – we're committed to continuing our work to bridge that gap.
26:02As the Secretary said repeatedly, both sides will have to make compromises as we are working
26:07in this ceasefire range.
26:10President Zelensky has agreed on a partial ceasefire against energy infrastructure and
26:15has reiterated his willingness to adopt a full ceasefire.
26:20And there's certainly the aspect of possibility of – well, these situations, these technical
26:28negotiations are going on now that we hope to see where the parties have landed.
26:34And our work is about coming to an agreement about how we're going to make this happen.
26:38But the Black Sea is now directly discussed, and let's hope we have some success here.
26:44Yes, sir.
26:45And is the gentleman here in the – and you are, sir?
26:49Shia Britansi, Al Jazeera English.
26:51Terrific.
26:52How do you do?
26:53All right.
26:54Nice to meet you.
26:55Reuters reports that the U.S. and Hamas have accepted a ceasefire – a ceasefire, I'm
27:02told – a ceasefire proposal from Egypt, but Israel has yet to respond.
27:07Is that your understanding?
27:09I don't have an understanding about what might be negotiations or – nor am I going
27:15to speculate or guess.
27:17We – of course, the things we do know is that the Egyptians care about this situation.
27:22There is the Arab plan.
27:23We know that has been discussed.
27:25We know how the Arab plan has not met the requirements of the Trump administration in
27:31a couple of instances and when it comes to certainly Gazans and their safety in this
27:35process.
27:36So no, I don't have a comment on that.
27:39The Israelis have killed two more journalists, Hossam Shabbat of Al Jazeera Mubasher, Mohammad
27:44Mansoor of Palestine Today.
27:46That brings the number to 208.
27:49Each one was individually targeted.
27:51The IDF says they used extensive intelligence gathering and precise munitions.
27:56Shabbat killed in his car, Mansoor in his house.
27:59The Committee to Protect Journalists has once again noted that the deliberate targeted killing
28:03of journalists is a war crime.
28:06Do you have any comment?
28:08I would say that every single thing that's happening is a result of Hamas and its choices
28:15to drag that region down into a level of suffering that has been excruciating and has caused
28:21innumerable deaths.
28:22And of course, their reaction on October 7th when there was a ceasefire and people were
28:28living in some relative peace, they decided to break that with an atrocity that was just
28:35certainly the most Jews killed in a single framework than during the Holocaust.
28:41And we also, I can tell you, we stand by Israel and its needs as it defends itself through
28:48this period of time, as we also work with them, so that they don't need to defend themselves
28:53from the barbarity of an entity that has destroyed lives for generations and continues to.
28:59So for everyone who has, for everyone, so many people who do so many jobs and who've
29:05lived different lives, and the children and the babies who didn't have a chance to seek
29:11their fortunes or their life dreams because of the barbarity of certain people who think
29:18that murder is the only way to move through life.
29:22And I will tell, I'm certainly, you know, I'm not going to stand here and declare what's
29:27a war crime and what isn't.
29:28But what we do know is a crime, is the mass slaughter of any individuals, certainly the
29:35targeting of people simply because of who they are.
29:38That Jew hatred is a signal regarding the barbarity and the nature of who it is you're
29:44dealing with.
29:45The world knows that if you don't stop it and don't confront it as it bears its ugly
29:50face, it will not stop.
29:53And that is part of what this world now has decided, that when we say never again, we
29:58mean never again.
29:59All right, behind Nadia here.
30:00Yes, sir.
30:01Go ahead.
30:02Yeah, thank you.
30:03Q Thank you so much, Tammy.
30:04A question on the Iranian-backed groups in Iraq and the Popular Mobilization Forces,
30:09PMF.
30:10The Iraqi parliament remained at look over a law regarding the Iranian-backed groups
30:15with political division.
30:16AMBASSADOR HALEY And now, I'm sorry, when you look down, it's
30:19interesting.
30:20I know we – you all have microphones in front of you.
30:21I can't hear you.
30:22So can you just repeat that again so I can answer you properly?
30:26Q Yeah.
30:27My question is about the Iranian-backed groups in Iraq and the PMF.
30:32The Iraqi parliament remains at look over a law regarding the Iranian-backed groups
30:36with political division.
30:38And the Washington Institute here in D.C. arguing that the law is less about union reform,
30:43but it's more about securing their role and their political and financial advantage
30:48for the Iranian-backed groups in Iraq.
30:50But my question is that, how this administration assess the role of the Iranian-backed groups
30:55in Iraq?
30:56And the second question, there were reports circulating that this administration, including
31:01State Department, has requested the Iraqi Government to dissolve the militia groups
31:07and the PMF.
31:08Have you made such a request?
31:09AMBASSADOR HALEY I can tell you a few things here.
31:11First, to strengthen Iraq's sovereignty, the Government of Iraq must ensure it has
31:16command and control of all security forces within its borders, to include the PMF.
31:22These forces must respond to Iraq's commander-in-chief and not to Iran.
31:27We are also concerned that these Iran-aligned groups within the PMF, including designated
31:33foreign terrorist organizations, engage in violent and destabilizing activities in Iraq.
31:40We continue to urge the Iraqi Government to rein in these groups and hold them accountable
31:45for breaking Iraqi law.
31:47The President has no higher priority than the safety of U.S. personnel, and he has made
31:53it clear that the United States will defend itself, its personnel, and its interests.
31:59So I hope that answers your question.
32:00Yes.
32:01Said, please.
32:02You've been – yes, of course.
32:03QUESTION Thank you.
32:04Thank you, Tammy.
32:05Very quickly, I have a couple of questions.
32:06One on Gaza.
32:07AMBASSADOR HALEY I'm not surprised.
32:08QUESTION One on – thank you.
32:09One on Gaza and one on the West Bank.
32:12On Gaza, I want to ask you about the humanitarian situation.
32:16It's been determined that over 97 percent of Gaza's underground water is unfit for
32:21human consumption, and it's being held – are there – I mean, aside from possibly talks
32:27for a ceasefire, another ceasefire, and so on, are there any talks that you're aware
32:30of to get the humanitarian aid going, especially the water, going?
32:35And second, I want to ask you on the West Bank, but I'll wait until you answer.
32:38AMBASSADOR HALEY Well, I mean, this is why we want – and we're very disturbed when
32:42Hamas did not perform to make sure that the ceasefire could continue, that they did not
32:47do what they said they would do.
32:49So we know, of course, when it comes to the groundwater, of course, this is – it's
32:54a crisis.
32:55It's exacerbated by the fact that you have a terrorist group that just doesn't care.
33:01When you think about the nature – we're concerned about groundwater.
33:05We know, wherever you are and whoever you are, about what makes life possible, and yet
33:11you are dealing with an entity controlling and had controlled that area that not only
33:17is not caring about the nature of a quality of life, they don't care about life at all.
33:23Their reason for being is to use human beings as human shields and to murder and to rape,
33:33to just create a kind of suffering that is unimaginable for civilized human beings.
33:40So of course we care about this.
33:43This is why this administration has been determined and has been focused on changing that environment
33:48so it doesn't repeat for every generation.
33:50There's a certain point where all of us in this room will be gone from this planet,
33:55and your children or the people you know and your grandchildren will be sitting in these
34:00chairs.
34:01If we can, as our generations, can try to please – there'll always be problems.
34:06But with what we've learned over the last several centuries, certainly the last century
34:11and the beginning of this one, is that it cannot continue so that they can have other
34:16conversations and maybe even better ones.
34:20But that has got to be what we focus on, and I think that it's – I don't want to
34:25just say it's not a given.
34:27But every time I see you, Said, you ask me questions and I answer you in a similar way.
34:33And I believe – I like you.
34:36You've gotten to know me a tiny bit – is that I am serious when I say these things
34:40to you and say them to you from my experience working in this building with the people who've
34:46devoted their lives to dealing with these issues.
34:50People – I've mentioned the career people before, the bureaus that are in this building
34:54that work on the issues in the regions, certainly the people who are voted in by the American
34:59people.
35:00And it is every day – maybe – I don't know what happened before in the last 50 years
35:06that makes it still an issue now.
35:09We are serious, beyond serious, that it's going to end.
35:13So I'm going to leave from there, because I do – through the rest of the day and through
35:19this briefing, I end up answering, I think, many of your questions, and we're going
35:22to continue on.
35:23All right.
35:24Now, you were waiting patiently.
35:25Thank you, sir.
35:27Thanks, Tammy.
35:28Since this is my first briefing with you, Leon Bruneau, AFP.
35:31Excellent.
35:32Thank you, sir.
35:33Appreciate it.
35:34I have two unrelated questions.
35:35No.
35:36No way.
35:37Unrelated.
35:38All right.
35:39Unrelated, yeah.
35:40The first is I'd like to go back to an issue which I think is important, which is U.S.
35:44aid and humanitarian aid in general.
35:47I know you've been asked about this, and you've said that the administration wanted
35:53to go after waste and fraud and what have you.
35:55When they did.
35:56Yeah.
35:57Yes.
35:58There's been many, many dire warnings today from UN AIDS agency, last week from the UNICEF,
36:07the children agency, also last week from the UNHCR, the refugee agency.
36:12Basically, the bottom line is, okay, you cut funding, you did this, you did that, but it's
36:18having and will have a major impact because it's disrupted many, many programs, especially
36:23from the UN and all that.
36:25So, and by dismantling USAID, who are experienced in delivering aid, and there were thousands
36:33of people doing it, who is actually doing now the control, coordination, and distribution
36:41of whatever aid is left at State Department?
36:45Are you equipped for that?
36:47And second, I mean, related to this is, I mean, what is your general comment as to these
36:53very dire warnings from very serious people about the millions of children or people who
36:58are going to suffer?
36:59Yes.
37:00And then unrelated question after.
37:01All right.
37:02And thank God, because I was going to want to answer this one certainly first.
37:05And you haven't been here because we have been talking about this a lot.
37:09So I'm going to say something that everyone has heard in one fashion or another, which
37:13is a reminder that just because a structure has changed or stopped, does not mean that
37:20the nature of our work in that issue has stopped.
37:23That because a certain building might be named something else, or a certain program
37:26has ended, or that a certain department is over or made smaller, does not mean that that's
37:32the reflection of our commitment to foreign aid or to helping the world.
37:37That is pretty much what America's done from the start.
37:40And we continue to do, because it matters.
37:42But it will only work when we understand whether or not it is working to accomplish the thing
37:48that the people running it say it would accomplish.
37:51If the money that is spent is actually – again, according to Samantha Power, on her way out
37:56as the lead of USAID last year, said 7 to 10 percent of the money afforded to programs
38:03through her entity only gets to the people that need it, making a person wonder – and
38:09this is a new debate – of where does the other 90 percent go.
38:13So it is the height of irresponsibility to give people hope with spending billions of
38:19dollars, and it's not even reaching the people that you've told that it is supposed
38:24to go to.
38:25It's – they don't see it.
38:27And you don't see the world getting better, do you?
38:30You see different things going on, but our expense of foreign aid increases, and you'd
38:35think if the foreign aid process was to work, the need for foreign aid would decrease.
38:41But it doesn't.
38:42It gets bigger and bigger and bigger.
38:43The Secretary has called it a foreign aid industrial complex, I think.
38:48There is so much money that what has happened now is in fact a reform of this framework
38:55to make sure that if we're going to spend, as we have and will likely do in some fashion,
39:01billions of dollars to help the world, damn it, those billions of dollars better help
39:07the world.
39:08That is the basic standard.
39:11So there is disruption.
39:12We understand that.
39:14But it doesn't mean everything has come to a halt.
39:17It doesn't mean it ever did or that it will in the future.
39:20Our commitment to foreign aid remains.
39:23And just because how it used to look, what it was before is gone, it means that it's
39:29going to just look differently and it will be more efficient.
39:34And the waste, abuse, and fraud, which in the beginning of your question you said in
39:39a little bit of a snarky manner – I sometimes am snarky as well – that that was like what
39:44was said is that we wanted to deal with.
39:47Why else – I can say this for this administration, I think, for this State Department – why
39:52else are we here?
39:54For us, it's to fix this thing.
39:57It's to make it really work.
40:00It's to make it work for people and to fulfill the promise of what we're supposed to be
40:06able to do and not just have the facade because of a building or because of giant grants and
40:12money.
40:13So it is – it's disruptive.
40:17Again, it's – foreign aid is not going to stop, not by any means.
40:21And the form in which it takes and what we expect for it to align with what's important
40:27to the United States – it is the taxpayer dollars – what's important to us has made
40:33us the best country in the world and wants – and everybody wants to come here, and
40:37that we are able to help the world because that's what this nation is, and that's
40:42going to continue.
40:43And it wouldn't be able to continue if this nation did not look seriously at where the
40:48money was going and the amount of waste and fraud that has existed.
40:51And that's what –
40:52But there were thousands of people who were dealing with this.
40:54Who is actually dealing with it at State Department?
40:56You have the manpower to do it.
40:58There is – State Department, the United States Government, it is – it's a very
41:03big entity.
41:05And there are people not just – I talk about this with the ceasefires and the negotiations
41:12and everything else.
41:13Because you don't see it and it's not in front of you doesn't mean it's not
41:16happening.
41:17It is an operation around the world that is the biggest in humankind.
41:23So I'm going to move on from that, because coming now to each of the briefings would
41:27be good because you would have heard these answers beforehand.
41:29No.
41:30Tammy, can I –
41:31Yes, Andrea.
41:32Let's get to some people in the back who've had their hands up.
41:34Glasses on, please.
41:35Yes, sir.
41:36Go ahead.
41:37Can I just follow up on this?
41:38I have a question back to the West Bank.
41:39I'm wondering if you've seen reports that the director or co-director of the Oscar-winning
41:44film No Other Land was just beaten by settlers and taken from the ambulance from which he
41:51was carrying.
41:52If not on that particular – there's been a spike in settler violence in the West Bank
41:57over the last 15 months.
41:59How concerned is this State Department about what we're seeing in the West Bank?
42:04Well, I'm not – I'm going to check.
42:06Any loss of life or people being harmed certainly we decry, and I'm – that's something
42:11I'm going to want us to go back and check on, and I'll do that.
42:16But obviously, how concerned are we about violence?
42:19By settler violence, I'll say yes.
42:22When it comes to the issue of violence, I think this State Department, this administration,
42:27and as I've been working here, and certainly as an American in general, it's obvious
42:33without my going through a soliloquy again that we care very much about that and want
42:37it to end.
42:38Yes, ma'am, in the back in purple.
42:39QUESTION.
42:40Yes, ma'am.
42:41Thank you so much.
42:42On Israel, Ayshanur Ezgi-Eygi, who is an American-Turkish activist, was killed by an Israeli soldier
42:51on September 6th in the occupied West Bank while attending a protest.
42:57More than six months have passed since the U.S.
43:00Government called on Israel to investigate her killing, but there has been no action
43:07and accountability since – until this date.
43:11So I'm wondering if the administration pursuing justice and accountability for Ayshanur and
43:18other Americans who were killed by Israel, and would you support an independent investigation
43:25into her killing as demanded by Ayshanur's family?
43:29You know, again, because of the world we live in, often I have to say we decry the harming
43:35or the injury or the killing of anyone.
43:39When it comes to the nature of what Israel is doing, obviously I'm not going to speak
43:43to the nature of the choices they've had to make in what is clearly one of the most
43:49difficult times in their history and the history of everyone in the region.
43:53But what I will do – let's go back.
43:56Let's make sure we follow up, Heather, on that particular issue, and we'll take it
43:59from there.
44:00That's where we're going to go.
44:01And in the back, did I hear JFK?
44:03Because interestingly, no one – we haven't brought that up yet, so let's give that
44:07a try here.
44:08Who is – JFK.
44:11So who keeps saying JFK?
44:12Excellent.
44:14In the back?
44:15All right.
44:16Let's do it.
44:17JFK's assassination is obviously back in the news, and Jefferson Morley of JFK Facts
44:19was on Bill O'Reilly's show analyzing some of the documents that the Trump administration
44:23has released.
44:24One of the revelations that he discussed was the fact that James Angleton, the CIA counterintelligence
44:28chief, had relied on Israelis as part of his intelligence-gathering operations, which included
44:35monitoring Oswald prior to the assassination.
44:39As you may be aware, JFK in the summer of 1963 was deeply concerned with Israel acquiring
44:43nuclear weapons.
44:46He had sent a series of letters to Ben-Gurion, Israel's founding prime minister, demanding
44:50that Israel allow inspectors.
44:52Ben-Gurion resigned just when he was pressed on the issue by JFK.
44:55All right.
44:56I've got something I can say to this.
44:57Yeah.
44:58Yeah, I do.
44:59I do.
45:00You want me to say something?
45:01I've got a question for you.
45:02All right.
45:03Israel continued stalling inspections, and JFK was, of course, assassinated in November.
45:05Every president since has adopted Israel's policy of refusing to acknowledge the existence
45:10of Israel's nuclear arsenal.
45:13My question to you is, will this administration finally do so?
45:18Boy, that was – we went from JFK from – and then to now Israel's nuclear arsenal.
45:22Will you acknowledge Israel has nuclear weapons?
45:24No, I understand.
45:25I understand.
45:26What I – here's what I will tell you about the JFK files, is there's about 80 – excuse
45:33me, sir.
45:34Yeah, please.
45:36About 80,000 pages of unredacted records related to the Kennedy assassination are currently
45:41being released, and I think that they've finished at this point.
45:45By order of President Trump.
45:47We know that also, as I've been asked before, if there was any other material anywhere,
45:52this is it.
45:53This is all the material.
45:54It's out.
45:55And again, unredacted.
45:56And so that's good news.
45:58For my generation, this is also good news, certainly as you grow up with that kind of
46:03a dynamic that happened in this country.
46:04And now, of course, we're happily – we happily can say that Robert F. Kennedy, Jr.
46:09is contributing to the nature of our nation and making a difference as well.
46:13As far as the speculation and conspiracy theories about what was happening regarding
46:18that assassination and in the decades that followed, I have no comment for you, nor am
46:23I going to speculate or comment on that.
46:25But I appreciate you being here and asking that.
46:28At the end – yes, sir.
46:29Go ahead, please.
46:31Go ahead.
46:32Thank you so much for Bangladesh.
46:33Please, please.
46:34Let's keep going.
46:35You're –
46:36Thank you, Tammy.
46:37On Bangladesh, I have two questions.
46:38First, how is the U.S. government addressing the unlawful imprisonment of journalists under
47:00Mohammad Ibn's government and working to uphold press freedom in Bangladesh?
47:05Yes.
47:06Well, these are questions that we deal with a lot.
47:07I think that we go back to what's most important in the nature of how we handle other countries,
47:14what we expect of them, if we consider them our friends, the diplomatic scenario.
47:18Fortunately, we have an administration and a Secretary of State who is completely committed
47:24to diplomatic resolutions, to face-to-face conversations with our friends around the
47:28world, and certainly the impact, hopefully, of our strength and our President, who is
47:35known for taking things seriously, to know that we expect every country, certainly Bangladesh
47:42and others, to say the least, to follow the rules of human rights and to be cognizant
47:51and fair regarding the behavior and what their own citizens expect from their government.
47:57So I think that's a North Star for any nation.
47:59And I'm going to move on.
48:00We'll get one more in here.
48:01Yes.
48:02Right here.
48:03Right here.
48:04Go ahead.
48:05Go ahead.
48:06Second Lady Ushavanz's planned trip to Greenland later this week.
48:08Greenland's Prime Minister called the visit a sign of American aggression and said that
48:12we're now at a level where it can in no way be characterized as a harmless visit from
48:16a politician's wife.
48:17Do you have a response to those comments, and do you see the relationship between the
48:21U.S. and Greenland as having deteriorated over the course of the past couple months?
48:24Well, I can't tell you about the Second Lady's trip, so we'll start there.
48:28As the White House has announced, Second Lady Ushavanz will travel to Greenland with her
48:33son and a United States delegation to visit historical sites, learn about Greenlandic
48:39heritage, and attend Greenland's national dog sled race.
48:44The delegation will depart for Greenland on Thursday, March 27th, and return to the United
48:48States on Saturday, March 29th.
48:51And when it comes to, I think, the details of the relationship between those two countries
48:57in particular, I would refer you to the White House for that.
49:01All right.
49:02I think that's it.
49:03All right.
49:04We're good.
49:05We're good.
49:06Thank you, everyone.
49:07I'm glad we got as much covered as we did.
49:09And no doubt I'll be back on Friday, so we will be here Friday.
49:14And I'll see you then.
49:15Have a great rest of your day.