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Steven Emerson,
Executive Director
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December 31, 2015
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Hoekstra:
New Spying Scandal Biggest of Obama's Presidency
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(Video Clip)
Benjamin Netanyahu: We must all stand together to stop Iran's
march of conquest, subjugation and terror.
Hayworth: Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu speaking
before Congress earlier this year. Seems the Obama administration was so
concerned he might change some lawmakers' minds about the Iran deal, the
National Security Agency was allowed to spy on him, and in the process
netted some private communications between Israeli leaders and members of
Congress. To understand why this is causing concerns inside the Beltway and
beyond, we're joined by the former chairman of the House Intelligence
Committee Pete Hoekstra. Pete, we appreciate you coming on. Also, he's the
author of a book called Architects of Disaster: The Destruction of Libya.
He joins us now via Skype from Michigan.
Pete, again, thanks for being here.
Hoekstra: Good to be with you, thank you.
Hayworth: All right, so, the president didn't want Netanyahu to
speak. The president then – because he said he didn't tell the NSA to spy
on him [Netanyahu], but somehow they started spying on him. First of all,
what's worse, the president allowed them to spy or eavesdrop on a head of
state, something he promised to curtail a couple of years ago, or that they
recorded members of Congress? Which one?
Hoekstra: That he recorded members of Congress. Spying on our
allies, whether they're in Europe, whether they're in Asia, the Middle
East, it's something that all spy agencies and all countries do. They spy
on each other.
Hayworth: Would the NSA, Pete, do you think the NSA would have
done this on their own, or do you think a high-level person in the
administration said, 'yeah, wink-wink, nod-nod, go do this'?"
Hoekstra: Well, when the NSA gets an assignment to go spy on a
certain country or a certain individual, they're a national treasure.
They're really good at what they do. They're the best in the world. So they
go in and they vacuum clean up all of this information. And, of course, in
that there's going to be conversations – in this case, between Israeli
government officials and American citizens and members of Congress. NSA
needs to do what they call 'minimize.' Actually, they just need to take
that information and they need to trash it.
Members of Congress, American citizens, they are protected by the
Constitution. NSA can't get this information. When they collect it
inadvertently, they should destroy it.
Hayworth: It's Congressman Pete Hoekstra. You know, Pete, I've
got to ask you, what's the problem that this president has with Netanyahu,
or his problem with Israel? Or is it both? Because there seems to be a
strained relationship now for seven strong years.
Hoekstra: Well, it's a strained relationship because the prime
minister in Israel doesn't agree with this president's foreign policies. He
believes that the foreign policy of this administration jeopardizes the
very existence of the State of Israel. He's doing everything that he can to
protect his nation-state. That's his assignment as the head of state in
Israel.
Hayworth: House Speaker Paul Ryan's office looking into this, but
what can or should Congress even do?
Hoekstra: Clearly, they should have the intelligence committees
do oversight hearings. They should demand an independent investigation
through the IG – inspector general – of these different agencies. They need
to find out exactly what happened. I think what happened is this
information went from NSA, went to the White House, and the White House
then used it to formulate and to push its political agenda on Capitol Hill
with this inside information.
It is absolutely outrageous and it's probably the biggest scandal of
this president's administration.
Hayworth: I couldn't disagree with you. I want to move on quickly
to another subject – less than a minute left – we seem to be having a good
deal of success targeting leaders of ISIS lately, as well as Iraqi forces
retaking Ramadi. So, is this a turning point in the fight against terror,
and is President Obama's foreign policy actually working?
Hoekstra: No. We're seeing some progress but to say that we've
reached a turning point, no way. When you see all the different kind of
attacks that are being thwarted around the world, ISIS is still a very,
very potent force. We have not turned the corner on ISIS yet.
Hayworth: And by the way, al-Qaida is starting to pop its head up
again in Afghanistan and elsewhere. We didn't see that coming, did we?
Hoekstra: Probably not. This administration – [it] doesn't fit
their narrative. Al-Qaida is over as far as their concerned.
Hayworth: The name of the book is the Architects of Disaster: The Destruction of Libya.
Former Congressman Pete Hoekstra, thanks so much for your time today.
Hoekstra: Hey, great, thank you. Happy New Year.
Hayworth: Right back at you.
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