SECRETARY FOR THREAT PREVENTION
AND SECURITY.
SO I HAD A CHANCE TO TALK TO YOU
DURING THE REPUBLICAN CONVENTION
AND CAME BARRELING OUT OF THE
GATES WITH HOW DID YOU STAY WHEN
SOME OF THE MOST HEINOUS AND
HEART WRENCHING POLICIES WERE
COMING OUT OF YOUR DEPARTMENT.
YOU ANSWERED IT VERY CALMLY, BUT
I WANT TO ASK WHAT MADE YOU
LEAVE?
THAT WAS THE STAYING SIDE.
WHAT PUSHED YOU OUT THE DOOR
ONCE AND FOR ALL?
>> THANKS FOR HAVING ME BACK ON.
I THOUGHT IT WAS A FAIR QUESTION
YOU ASKED, AND ONE THAT NEEDS TO
BE ANSWERED IN ORDER FOR VIEWERS
AND PEOPLE TO UNDERSTAND THE
PERSPECTIVE AND WHY I’M SPEAKING
OUT NOW.
BUT IT WAS PROBABLY SOME TIME
AROUND SEPTEMBER, OCTOBER OF
LAST YEAR WHEN WE HAD FINISHED
PUTTING THE STRATEGY TOGETHER TO
COUNTERTERRORISM AND TARGETED
VIOLENCE WHICH IS THE FIRST
STRATEGY THAT THE FEDERAL
GOVERNMENT HAD ISSUED BY ANY
DEPARTMENT OR AGENCY THAT CALLED
OUT WHITE SUPREMACY AND
ANTI-GOVERNMENT EXTREMISM AS A
RISING THREAT ON PAR WITH ISIS.
THE FBI LATER AGREED WITH US
ABOUT SIX MONTHS LATER, AND NOW
THANKFULLY THE COUNTERTERRORISM
COMMUNITY IS GOING AFTER THIS
THREAT.
AT LEAST AT THEIR LEVEL.
BUT AROUND THAT FALL, I FINALLY
HAD TIME TO LOOK UP.
WE HAD MADE SOME PROGRESS.
SOMEONE ASKED, ARE YOU GOING TO
VOTE FOR HIM AGAIN AND IT CAUSED
ME TO REALIZE VERY QUICKLY, NO,
I CAN’T VOTE FOR HIM AGAIN.
SO IT MADE IT CLEAR TO ME I
NEEDED TO FIND A WAY TO DEPART
GRACEFULLY HAVE A TRANSITION
PLAN.
WE RAN A NUMBER OF IMPORTANT
PROGRAMS AND WE NEEDED TO MAKE
SURE WE’RE CONTINUING AND
PROPERLY STEWARDED.
SO THAT’S WHEN I DECIDED I
NEEDED TO LEAVE.
>> AND THE FBI IS ALSO
DETERMINED THAT WHITE
NATIONALISTS DRIVEN DOMESTIC
TERRORISM IS THE GREATEST
TERRORISM THREAT, NOW ALMOST
EXACTLY 20 YEARS AFTER 9/11.
I WORKED IN AN ADMINISTRATION
WHERE IT WAS FOREIGN PLOTS THAT
WERE THE GREATEST THREAT.
AND I CAN’T IMAGINE BEING A PART
OF AN ADMINISTRATION THAT WAS
ROWING IN THE DIRECTION OF THE
PEOPLE WHO THREATEN US.
IT SOUND LIKE YOU’RE SAYING
PRESIDENT TRUMP IS MESSAGEWISE
AND IDEOLOGICALLY ALIGNED WITH
SOME OF OUR GREATEST THREATS.
IS THAT RIGHT?
>> YES.
I MEAN, THIS IS COMPLEX.
IT’S HARD TO DO IN A TWO-MINUTE
SEGMENT, BUT I WORKED WITH YOU,
NICOLLE --
>> TAKE YOUR TIME.
IT’S IMPORTANT.
>> SO I REMEMBER WHAT IT FELT
LIKE TO BE SO UNIFIED IN OUR
FOCUS ON AL QAEDA, DESCRIBING
WHAT THE THREAT WAS, EXPLAINING
IT TO THE AMERICAN PEOPLE AND
BEING HONEST ABOUT WHERE OUR
FAILURES WERE IN GOVERNMENT AND
DESIGNING, UPDATING OUR POLICIES
OR LAWS OR TOOLS TO BE ABLE TO
GO AFTER THAT THREAT.
WHEN WE CAME IN IN 2017, WE WERE
STILL FOCUSED ON ISIS.
AND IT TOOK US AWHILE TO REALIZE
THAT AS STEVE QUOTED THAT
CHARLOTTESVILLE WAS MORE THAN A
BLIP.
CERTAINLY THAT CHARLOTTESVILLE
MOMENT WHEN YOU HAD PEOPLE NOT
HIDING IN THE SHADOWS ESPOUSING
THIS IDEOLOGY BUT OUT WITH THEIR
FACES UNCOVERED AND HAPPY, PROUD
TO ESPOUSE THIS HATEFUL
IDEOLOGY, IT CERTAINLY CAUSED
ALL OF US TO PAUSE AND SAY
SOMETHING SHIFTED.
SOMETHING IS DIFFERENT HERE.
AND OVER THE COURSE OF THE NEXT
FEW YEARS WE AT THE DEPARTMENT,
MANY SECRETARIES, WE’VE HAD FIVE
IN THE LAST THREE YEARS, BUT
STARTING WITH SECRETARY KELLY,
THEN NIELSEN, SECRETARY M
McALEENAN.
ALL OF THEM WENT TO THE WHITE
HOUSE AND SAID THIS IS
IMPORTANT.
WE NEED TO ADDRESS THIS.
FOR A VARIETY OF REASONS WE WERE
REBUFFED.
IT WASN’T EXACTLY CLEAR WHY WE
WERE REBUFFED.
SOME OF IT MAY JUST BE, AS YOU
CAN APPRECIATE, THERE ARE MANY
POLICY PRIORITIES ON THE
NATIONAL SECURITY COUNCIL’S
AGENDA.
COUNTERING IRAN WAS IMPORTANT.
DEFEATING ISIS WAS IMPORTANT.
SO THERE MIGHT HAVE BEEN SOME
LEGITIMATE REASON YES WE WERE
INITIALLY REBUFFED.
BY THE TIME YOU GET TO THE
ATTACK IN PITTSBURGH IN OCTOBER
OF 2018 AND THEN EVEN MORE
STUNNINGLY THE CHRISTCHURCH
ATTACK IN MARCH OF 2019 AND WHAT
HE HAD FEARED WHAT WE KNEW WAS
INCREASINGLY GLOBALIZED WAS ON
THE WORLD STAMGGE.
IT’S A GLOBALIZED WHITE
SUPREMACIST MOVEMENT.
THE U.S. IS AN EXPORTER OF THIS
MOVEMENT, AND THE WORLD WAS
COMING TO US AND ASKING US AND
THE U.S. TO DO SOMETHING ABOUT
IT BECAUSE WE WERE MAKING THEIR
COUNTRIES LESS SAFE.
AT LEAST AT THAT MOMENT, I WOULD
HAVE EXPECTED THE ADMINISTRATION
TO HONE IN ON THIS AND FOCUS ON
IT WITH THE SAME AMOUNT OF
INTENSITY THAT THE FEDERAL
GOVERNMENT HAD FOCUSED ON ISIS
AND AL QAEDA BEFORE IT.
BUT I DIDN’T SEE THAT HAPPEN.
AND I’M GRATEFUL THAT WE HAD
STRONG LEADERS AT THE
DEPARTMENT, AT FBI, AT THE
NATIONAL COUNTERTERRORISM
CENTER, AND WE WORK THIS ISSUE
AT MY LEVEL AND AT LEVELS
HIGHER.
WE DROVE PROGRESS.
WE ARE SAFER TODAY BECAUSE OF
THE WORK THAT’S BEEN DONE OVER
THE LAST FEW YEARS.
BUT THERE IS NO MISTAKING WHEN
YOU FACE A GRAVE THREAT LIKE
THIS, IT IS IMPORTANT FOR THERE
TO BE CLARITY FROM THE TOP.
AND THE FACT THE PRESIDENT WILL
NOT CALL IT OUT, I FIND IT
HUGELY IRONIC THAT HE’S HAPPY TO
USE THE TERM DOMESTIC TERRORISM
WHICH HE REFUSED TO USE LAST
YEAR AFTER EL PASO.
NOW HE’LL USE IT WITH REGARDS TO
ANTIFA WHICH I WORKED FOR THREE
YEARS, RECEIVED INTELLIGENCE
BRIEFINGS EVERY DAY.
NEVER ONCE WAS I TOLD THAT
ANTIFA WAS A GRAVE NATIONAL
SECURITY THREAT.
THAT DOESN’T MEAN THEY’RE NOT A
PROBLEM.
THAT DOESN’T MEAN THAT THEY
DON’T HAVE A PROPOSE A RISK IN
CERTAIN COMMUNITIES THAT LOCAL
LAW ENFORCEMENT NEED TO FOCUS
ON, BUT THEY WEREN’T AT THAT
NATIONAL LEVEL WHERE WE WERE
CONCERNED THAT THEY WERE GOING
TO CAUSE WIDESPREAD, LETHAL
VIOLENCE AGAINST PEOPLE, WHICH
IS A THREAT WHEN YOU LOOK AT
HISTORIC DATA OF THE RIGHT WING
EXTREMIST MOVEMENT.
THAT IS WHERE WE SEE THE MOST
PEOPLE BEING KILLED.
PEOPLE WITH AN ANTI-GOVERNMENT
OR WHITE NATIONALIST VIEWPOINT
