CNN Asks If Sequester 'Put Lives at Risk' at Navy Yard
Three times on Tuesday morning, CNN mentioned sequester cuts as a
possible culprit behind the security breach at the Navy Yard that led to
Monday's shooting there. A CNN headline actually read "Did Government Cuts Put Lives at Risk?"
This came after a former Navy commander warned on CNN that blaming the
sequester was "very premature." And just before noon, correspondent Dana
Bash reported that "what I've been told is the answer is absolutely
not" as to the sequester having a role in the security breach.
[Video below. Audio here.]
Anchor Carol Costello twice cited D.C.'s Democratic mayor who said the
sequester could have led to decreased security at the Navy Yard. "I want
to ask you about sequestration. Because D.C.'s Mayor came out and said sequestration is partly to blame for this. Do you agree?" she asked Rep. Mike Turner (R-Ohio).
"[Y]ou heard what the Mayor said. He said security might have been a
little lax because of cost cuts due to sequestration. You represent all
the people in this great city. Have you heard that from them?" Costello
asked D.C. council member Vincent Orange.
Earlier on CNN's New Day, former Navy Commander Kirk Lippold
told co-host Chris Cuomo, "I think at this point to say the sequester
may have had a role in this very premature. And I would advise people at
this point, don't make that jump to conclusion."
Later during the 11 a.m. ET Legal View, correspondent Dana Bash upheld that reasoning:
"[S]ome of the things that I've been hearing sort of chatter about, is whether or not the sequester, those forced spending cuts that start at the beginning of the year, if that contributed at all to this. And you know, what I've been told is the answer is absolutely not because contractors have been used for years and years, really since the end of the Clinton administration. That's when it started to expand. So it's a security system in particular, not necessarily who was getting through the system, meaning if it's a Pentagon employee or a contractor."
However, during the 9 a.m. ET hour, law enforcement analyst Tom Fuentes said sequester blame was "possible" and launched into a lengthy discourse about agencies cutting funding at a bad time: "I think a lot of agencies are cutting costs right now with sequestration and just regular budget cuts, and nobody seems in a hurry to resolve any of these issues," he said.
"I think it ought to be ringing alarm bells that Congress needs to be looking at itself as well as anybody else," he added.
After CNN's Chris Cuomo interviewed D.C. Mayor Vincent Gray on New Day,
CNN cut off Gray's words in a clip of him that played during the 9 a.m.
ET hour, which made Gray sound even more like he blamed the sequester
for the deaths at the Navy Yard.
Here are Gray's words on New Day first:
"But certainly, as I look at, for example, sequestration, which is about saving money in the federal government being spent, how we somehow skimp on what would be available for projects like this, and then we put people at risk? Obviously 12 people have paid the ultimate price for whatever was done to have this man on the base."
Note how Gray is still ambivalent as to the ultimate cause of the shooting, using "whatever" to describe the cause. But in the second clip, his "whatever" phrase is left out and it sounds like he definitively blames the sequester for which the victims "paid the ultimate price":
"But certainly as I look at, for example, sequestration, which is about saving money in the federal government being spent, how we somehow skimp on what would be available for projects like this, and then we put people at risk? Obviously 12 people have paid the ultimate price."
Later on during the 1 p.m. ET hour, TIME magazine reporter Zeke Miller told CNN that cuts to security at Naval bases described in a Pentagon IG report actually took place before the sequester. "That's actually the big takeaway, that this is pre-existing to sequestration," Miller told CNN during the 1 p.m. ET hour of Newsroom.
"So it can't be blamed on the sequester?" asked CNN's Jake Tapper. Miller answered that "this isn't the sequester." (H/T Mediaite)
Below is a transcript of the segments, which aired on September 17:
NEW DAY
[6:48 a.m. EDT]
CHRIS CUOMO: And as you're saying, there are excellent investigators
there. If they find out he didn't shoot his way in and that on top of
what we know about him getting clearance, there will be some big
questions about how money is spent and how policy is applied to keep
these facilities safe.
Commander KIRK LIPPOLD, former Navy commander: Absolutely. I think at
this point to say the sequester may have had a role in this very
premature. And I would advise people at this point, don't make that jump
to conclusion. Let these investigators, these true professionals at the
FBI and local law enforcement, Navy Criminal Investigative Service, do a
thorough investigation. Because then we're really going to understand
how did it happen, why did it happen, and we need to do that first and
foremost for the families that lost loved ones, that are going to want
answers into how their loved ones came to die.
[7:15]
CUOMO: In one respect, there's more definable politics surrounding this
clearance issue. The gun debate's going to go on. We know that. But
we've had people say this is the sequester. This is trying to do things
on the cheap that shouldn't be done on the cheap. This is private
contractors vetting, not the government vetting. How real will this be
going forward in terms of a political fix?
JOHN KING: Both on the vetting issue and on, because of spending
priorities, have they reduced security levels at installations like
this? We have a mix of military personnel and a mix of contractors.
You're going to see a lot of congressional attention and other public
attention on both of those questions. Number one, contractors vetting
people who have access to sensitive information, Edward Snowden for
example. Or access to sensitive installations like this. And then the
bigger question of, access, can anybody now – post-9/11 as the years
have passed, have we dropped the level of scrutiny when you walk in with
a car or walk in with a bag?
[7:37]
CUOMO: What's your best explanation at this point? Is this about some
private contractor not doing their job well? Is this about policy? Is
this about money? What do you think? Because this is not one of these
random events where, could his mental health have been better? Could we
have kept him out of the general population? This is about a process
where he got the access that he shouldn't have had. What's your best
chance?
Mayor VINCENT GRAY (D), Washington, D.C.: It's hard to know. We'll
continue with this investigation. But certainly, as I look at, for
example, sequestration, which is about saving money in the federal
government being spent, how we somehow skimp on what would be available
for projects like this, and then we put people at risk? Obviously 12
people have paid the ultimate price for whatever was done to have this
man on the base.
NEWSROOM
[9:07 a.m. EDT]
COSTELLO: So many questions surrounding what you just said. There's a
huge spotlight into security inside the Navy Yard. And already some in
Congress are demanding answers. Republican Congressman Michael Turner
has actually sent a letter to the acting Inspector General of the
Department of Defense demanding more information about the results of a
Navy security audit. He writes – the Congressman writes, "It is my
understanding that the IG report indicates the Navy may have implemented
an unproven system in order to cut costs. I also learned that
potentially numerous felons may have been able to gain restricted access
to several military installations across the country due to
insufficient background checks, increasing the risk to our military
personnel and civilian employees."
CNN law enforcement analyst and former assistant director of the FBI,
Tom Fuentes, is on the phone right now to talk more about this. Good
morning, Tom.
TOM FUENTES, CNN law enforcement analyst: Good morning, Carol.
COSTELLO: Is it true, what the Congressman says? Has the Navy cut costs surrounding issues like background checks and security?
FUENTES: Well, it's possible. I think a lot of agencies are cutting
costs right now with sequestration and just regular budget cuts, and
nobody seems in a hurry to resolve any of these issues. From what I've
heard, law enforcement agencies as well as the military are cutting
costs and trying to get as much done as they can with a lesser amount.
Nobody has talked about this in recent times. It doesn't appear that
many people care about it. Even right now, the FBI has a hiring freeze.
We're told they are going to be laying off 3,000 people next year and
have extensive budget cuts. And this is in the aftermath of the Boston
Marathon bombings, and constant array of attacks and people conducting
violent acts such as this. So I think it ought to be ringing alarm bells
that Congress needs to be looking at itself as well as anybody else.
[9:33]
COSTELLO: We're talking a lot about what happened here yesterday, the
tragic events, and one of the questions being raised about yesterday's
shooting rampage, did government cuts put security at risk? D.C.'s Mayor
Vincent Gray addressed that issue head on in an interview with CNN's
New Day anchor Chris Cuomo. Listen.
[HEADLINE: Did Government Cuts Put Lives at Risk?]
(Video Clip)
VINCENT GRAY, (D) Mayor, Washington D.C.: We'll continue with this
investigation. But certainly as I look at, for example, sequestration,
which is about saving money in the federal government being spent, how
we somehow skimp on what would be available for projects like this, and
then we put people at risk. Obviously 12 people have paid the ultimate
price.
(End Video Clip)
COSTELLO: I'm joined now by D.C. councilman-at-large Vincent Orange.
Thank you so much for being with me. I appreciate it. Okay, so you heard
what the Mayor said. He said security might have been a little lax
because of cost cuts due to sequestration. You represent all the people
in this great city. Have you heard that from them?
VINCENT ORANGE (D), D.C. city council member: I have not heard that
from them. That may have been a factor. But it appears as though Mr.
Alexis had the proper identification to enter the Navy Yard. And I think
we may have to at some point re-examine the protocol that was in place
at the Navy Yard.
[10:13]
COSTELLO: And I want to ask you about sequestration. Because D.C.'s
mayor came out and said sequestration is partly to blame for this. Do
you agree?
Rep. MIKE TURNER (R-Ohio), Armed Forces Committee: I think it's one of
the issues we have to look at. I can tell you that the Inspector
General report does cite cost pressures on the Navy for the decision
making that put this system in place that may have caused the risk. But
the report itself specifically says that people at these facilities
remain at risk as long as this system is in place. That's certainly what
Congress is going to have to check on when we get back.
LEGAL VIEW
[11:52 a.m. EDT]
ASHLEIGH BANFIELD: The rampage yesterday came just after the Pentagon's
Inspector General was wrapping up what we've been talking about, this
audit of Naval base security. Specifically costs and who gets in and who
stays out. One lawmaker who's seen this audit says it's pretty
disturbing.
(Video Clip)
Rep. MIKE TURNER, (R) Armed Services Committee: It said in the
Inspector General report that the people who worked there were at risk
and in fact cited 52 felons who had been able to get through the system
inappropriately. It said that the system that was currently utilized by
the Navy did not meet federal or DOD standards, and it actually made a
recommendation that the system that the Navy was deploying immediately
cease to be used.
(End Video Clip)
(...)
DANA BASH: You know, one of the questions that was asked of him in
addition, and some of the things that I've been hearing sort of chatter
about, is whether or not the sequester, those forced spending cuts that
start at the beginning of the year, if that contributed at all to this.
And you know, what I've been told is the answer is absolutely not
because contractors have been used for years and years, really since the
end of the Clinton administration. That's when it started to expand. So
it's a security system in particular, not necessarily who was getting
through the system, meaning if it's a Pentagon employee or a contractor.
— Matt Hadro is a News Analyst at the Media Research Center. Follow Matt Hadro on Twitter.
