3 weeks ago
The pursuing is simply a transcript of an question and reply pinch Sen. Mark Warner, Democrat of Virginia, that aired connected April 21, 2024.
MARGARET BRENNAN: We statesman coming pinch nan president of nan Senate Intelligence Committee, Mark Warner. Good morning, and bully to person you here.
SENATOR MARK WARNER (D-VA): Thank you, Margaret.
MARGARET BRENNAN: So- Senator $61 cardinal successful assistance to Ukraine, astir 60% of that stays arsenic an finance into nan US business base, arsenic I understand it. President Zelenskyy said this greeting connected different network, it's important that they get important agelong scope artillery, for illustration onslaught comms, is that what this money will salary for? And if so, erstwhile will they really get them?
SEN. WARNER: Well,the awesome news is, this is yet happening. It should person happened six months ago. The adjacent champion clip is correct now, this week. We've seen nan Ukrainians overperform. If you measurement backmost for a infinitesimal and deliberation astir nan truth that for astir of my life, astir of America's defense forces were focused connected Russia. Now and nan past 2 years, pinch little than 3% of our defense budget, 2 years running, pinch nan Ukrainians person eliminated 87% of nan Russians pre existing crushed forces, 63% of their tanks, 32% of their armored unit carriers, without a azygous American worker lost, because of nan courageousness of nan Ukrainians, and nan instrumentality they've received from us, and from our European allies. Getting this further instrumentality arsenic quickly arsenic possible- I dream erstwhile this gets to nan President by Tuesday aliases Wednesday, that these shipments will beryllium virtually launched pinch that longer scope ATACM--
MARGARET BRENNAN
-- By adjacent week?
SEN. WARNER: I dream erstwhile nan President signs, we've been told that location is it is nan President signature, making judge Congress does its occupation that these materials will beryllium successful transit by nan extremity of nan week. And connected that schedule, what it will do is it's intelligibly been nan lawsuit that nan Ukrainians morale has been great, but it's been undermined complete nan past mates of months, erstwhile they person been virtually fixed retired rationed bullets, 8 to 10 bullets a day. And connected artillery shells, Russians 10 to one, you can't underestimate that Ukrainians' grit, determination, but if they don't person nan materials, they can't transportation this conflict to nan Russians.
MARGARET BRENNAN: Will they get those agelong scope artillery?
SEN. WARNER: Yes
MARGARET BRENNAN: Not conscionable ammunition?
SEN. WARNER: The ATACMS- I judge nan management was prepared complete nan past mates of months to hole aliases to supply ATACMS. It is written into this legislation.
MARGARET BRENNAN: Gotcha. So you talked astir rebuilding nan business guidelines and what this does, okay. According to nan State Department, China has helped Russia rebuild its defense business base, which has an effect connected nan battlefield arsenic good here. How person they been capable to conscionable rustle done US sanctions aliases defy them to thief nan Russians, who are fighting Ukraine?
SEN. WARNER: Well, if we look backmost again, I deliberation we would each admit that nan sanctions authorities has not been arsenic tight, arsenic we for illustration to see. China being nan worst offender pinch nonstop subject support. India, a state I'm very supportive of, but India successful position of purchasing Russian lipid and giving that difficult rate to Russia, for them to spell retired into nan marketplace and get arms. It's 1 of nan reasons why I deliberation this package, which nan House conscionable passed, we will return up this week, that says, we person to beryllium fresh to beryllium prepared for our nationalist information interests, not only successful Ukraine and Russia, besides successful position of subject assistance to Israel, but pinch further humanitarian assistance for nan Palestinians who are successful specified awesome challenges. And there's astir 8 aliases $9 cardinal for nan Indo Pacific region because of nan interest that we person astir China's aggressiveness towards Taiwan. Clearly, nan Chinese linkage to Russia, mixed pinch nan truth that nan Iranians are- are providing drones, for example, for Russia and nan outlier nation, North Korea. I cognize nan terminology utilized to beryllium Axis of Evil, this whitethorn beryllium nan 2024 Axis of Evil operation of nations.
MARGARET BRENNAN: And Speaker Johnson has utilized that language. One of nan different things that nan House voted to do was move this TikTok measure through. So this would unit nan Chinese ain genitor institution ByteDance, to divest it- to waste it, but they person nan amended portion of a twelvemonth to do so. The Chinese authorities says they're not going to let that. ByteDance doesn't want to waste it. So if this conscionable gets stuck successful nan courts isn't nan reality that TikTok is not going away?
SEN. WARNER: Well, what we've done and I've been arguing this lawsuit for well, complete a year, I had a wide bipartisan measure that said, let's look astatine these, not conscionable Chinese, Chinese, Russian exertion companies successful a broader ground wherever they person a time successful court, but if they airs nationalist information risks, I mean, a mates years back, it was nan Chinese telecom institution Huawei. We- galore American telcos bought them and we're now spending American payer dollars to rip those instrumentality retired because location are nationalist information risks. Huawei- I- TikTok, 170 cardinal Americans a day, 90 minutes a day--
MARGARET BRENNAN: -- Right.
SEN. WARNER: That's frankly, much than nan powerfulness of eyes that your web reaches connected a regular basis. And that accusation and galore young group connected TikTok get their news, nan thought that we would springiness nan Communist Party this overmuch of a propaganda instrumentality arsenic good arsenic nan expertise to scrape 170 cardinal American- cardinal Americans individual data, it is simply a nationalist information risk.
MARGARET BRENNAN: It is simply a nationalist information risk, according to US intelligence community, that has a nonstop effect perchance connected US elections. TikTok accounts--
SEN. WARNER: -- On US elections this year--
MARGARET BRENNAN: -- Yeah- targeted candidates from some governmental parties during nan midterm rhythm successful 2022. That's nan Worldwide Threat Assessment--
SEN. WARNER:-- This is a--
MARGARET BRENNAN: -- TikTok is not going distant earlier November.
SEN. WARNER:--Well, present is the--
MARGARET BRENNAN: --so that intends it's an progressive threat.
SEN. WARNER: There is plentifulness of productivity connected TikTok, location are group that make their surviving disconnected of TikTok arsenic societal influencers. I don't want that to spell away. I simply want to make judge that nan individuals pulling nan strings are not yet functionaries of nan Communist Party of China.
MARGARET BRENNAN: I understand, But moreover pinch this important bill, nan timeline is specified that it doesn't return it distant arsenic a consequence for nan election. And it seems nan US authorities is truthful constricted successful truthful galore ways erstwhile it comes to these predetermination power efforts.
SEN. WARNER: The timeline of giving– this committee a analyzable transaction, to springiness it up to a afloat year, I deliberation conscionable from a business standpoint, makes sense. The 1 point we do person successful place, and I'm not putting a full batch of solace successful this but I was astatine nan Munich Security Conference earlier successful nan twelvemonth receptor erstwhile each 20 of nan awesome societal media companies, including Tik Tok, including Twitter, X, including Facebook, Google, Amazon, you sanction it, they person each said they would person a voluntary statement astir disinformation and misinformation and elections because pinch artificial intelligence, nan expertise for group to spot this our images here, possibly having words that we don't speak-
MARGARET BRENNAN: Right.
SEN. WARNER: Is out- scare nan dickens retired of each of us. And nan truth is, you know, these 20 companies person a guaranteed voluntary agreement, they'll return connected watermarking, which will bespeak it ultra-ultra content, beryllium consenting to return this contented down, but nan impervious is gonna beryllium successful nan pudding. The parliamentary elections successful Europe commencement successful little than 60 days. So we are going on pinch our European partners to opportunity each right, companies you promised, show america what you're doing.
MARGARET BRENNAN: So this different measurement that was approved arsenic well, Section 702, it's a cardinal surveillance tool, was reauthorized for 2 years alternatively of five. Take a perceive to what nan CIA head told my workfellow Norah O'Donnell Friday astir really his agency is utilizing this authority.
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BILL BURNS, DIRECTOR OF THE CIA: It's reauthorization, its passage, I think, is simply a important instrumentality to conflict fentanyl because thing for illustration 70% of each nan successful disruptions of fentanyl postulation moving into nan United States that we've been a portion of person travel straight from intelligence derived from 702.
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MARGARET BRENNAN: So these changes to 702. How does it thief conflict nan trafficking of fentanyl? What quality is there?
SEN. WARNER: Let's retrieve what 702 is. It is nan expertise for nan United States authorities to surveil, perceive in, connected non Americans foreigners who are abroad. And galore times nan fentanyl supplier cartels are being tally retired of Mexico, galore times supplied pinch basal equipment retired of China. And this expertise to perceive successful connected nan bad guys' communications is extraordinarily powerful. Matter of fact, nan President gets a regular little of each of nan intelligence hotspots astir nan world. Sixty percent, Sixty percent, of what he sounds each day, is worldly that comes retired of nan 702 program. Now, fto maine beryllium clear, location person been times successful nan past wherever peculiarly nan FBI didn't moreover travel its ain rules connected making judge that a overseas individual, overseas violent that mightiness beryllium talking to American, that we put due protections connected that American
MARGARET BRENNAN: That led to immoderate of this Republican criticism.
SEN. WARNER: What independent of immoderate of nan statement connected nan bill, and I was proud to be, arsenic president of nan Senate Intelligence Committee, nan personification starring nan complaint connected nan bill. But 5 years ago, nan FBI itself was screwing up connected 30% of their queries, conscionable gathering their ain criteria. We put successful spot reforms. The screw up level has dropped from astir 30% to little than 1%. We put requirements truthful that you tin nary longer do batch queries. We sewage to make judge FBI agents person to show a nationalist information purpose. If a journalist aliases a governmental fig aliases a belief figure, were moreover to beryllium query- query about, you person to get support from me, nan director, nan lawman director, aliases head, nan National Security Division. We deliberation we've sewage a very beardown betterment bill. It's why it passed nan Senate 60 to 33. And- but I besides request to opportunity that the- nan folks who are against this, they have- they person a right. We request to person nan benignant of strict oversight. We request to perpetually beryllium wary of nan government's misuse aliases overuse of these tools. And I deliberation we had a bully spirited statement connected Friday night.
MARGARET BRENNAN All right, Senator, truthful overmuch to talk to you astir bully to person you present successful person.
SEN. WARNER: Thank you, Margaret.
