On Monday, ABC's Good Morning America and NBC's Today
failed to air any full reports on the continuing inquiry into the
terrorist attack on the U.S. consulate in Benghazi, Libya, and mentioned
the issue only in passing. CBS This Morning did devote a full
segment to the dispute between the State Department and CNN over their
use of a Ambassador Chris Stevens' personal journal, but didn't mention
President Obama or Secretary of State Hillary Clinton by name.
Matt Lauer vaguely referenced the "new wave of anti-Americanism"
in the Islamic world during an interview of Tony Blair, but it took the
former British prime minister to specifically point out the "tragic
death of your ambassador" in Libya. During a report on the presidential
race, ABC's Jake Tapper did briefly note how the President "described
some of the events as bumps in the road. The Romney campaign saying that
the death of four Americans, including the U.S. ambassador in Libya, is far worse than a bump in the road."
CBS anchor Norah O'Donnell turned to correspondent Margaret Brennan on how "the
State Department is blasting CNN for revealing details from the
personal journal of Ambassador Chris Stevens, who was killed in Libya
earlier this month." Brennan first reported that the
Cabinet-level agency claimed that CNN's reporting "defied the wishes of
Stevens' family - to go ahead and report on what was inside the
journal." She continued that "according to CNN, they had to report some
of the information, including the thought from Ambassador Stevens that
he was on an al Qaeda hit list. They say the State Department is
shooting the messenger here."
O'Donnell replied by actually acknowledging that is "pretty explosive...if Ambassador Stevens had suggested, in his personal journal, that he thought his personal security was at risk." The CBS journalist then spotlighted how "the
State Department won't answer any questions about that attack. What
happened there, they say, is off-limits, because it's an intelligence
matter....the FBI...isn't even in Benghazi yet. They have not
secured that site, which is how journalists can wander through, and have
picked up, as CNN did, items on the site."
The full transcript of the Margaret Brennan segment from Monday's CBS This Morning:
NORAH
O'DONNELL: President Obama heads to New York today with other world
leaders for the opening of the U.N. General Assembly. The President
speaks at the U.N. tomorrow. And this morning, the State Department is
blasting CNN for revealing details from the personal journal of
Ambassador Chris Stevens, who was killed in Libya earlier this month.
Margaret Brennan is with us, and Margaret, we have foreign policy on
the front page today, because more than a hundred leaders gather here in
New York for the U.N.G.A. But this specific story, Libya - a big story
this week - and what's going on now? What happened? What was CNN
reporting that the State Department says was absolutely out of bounds?
[CBS News Graphic: "Diplomatic Diary; State Dept. Spars With CNN Over Stevens' Journal"]
MARGARET BRENNAN: They say it's disgusting. What happened is that CNN found a journal of Ambassador Chris Stevens-
O'DONNELL: His personal journal-
BRENNAN: His personal journal on the site of the consulate attack.
Now, according to the State Department, this defied the wishes of
Stevens' family - to go ahead and report on what was inside the journal.
O'DONNELL: And what did the journal say?
BRENNAN: Well, according to CNN, they had to report some of the
information, including the thought from Ambassador Stevens that he was
on an al Qaeda hit list. They say the State Department is shooting the
messenger here, and criticizing them for taking that information,
reading it, reporting on it, and then, returning the journal to the
family.
O'DONNELL: Which is pretty explosive is – if Ambassador Stevens had
suggested, in his personal journal, that he thought his personal
security was at risk.
BRENNAN: And that's the thing, because there's a debate we can have
about journalism, and then, there's a debate we can have about the
information there, and whether they were compelled to report on it. What
we know is that the State Department won't answer any questions about
that attack. What happened there, they say, is off-limits, because it's
an intelligence matter-
ROSE: Well, speaking-
BRENNAN: According to the FBI – the FBI, Charlie, isn't even in
Benghazi yet. They have not secured that site, which is how journalists
can wander through, and have picked up, as CNN did, items on the site-
O'DONNELL: Wow-
ROSE: But the New York Times is reporting today – the New York Times
reporting today, in a major column – a major story, [the] attack in
Libya was a major blow to CIA efforts, that that was an important place,
and they were watching some important terrorist activity, and those CIA
agents have been compromised, in terms of their ability to do what they
wanted to do.
BRENNAN: Well, there – I'm sure – are many agencies active in that
area. The responsibility for security for the ambassador and his staff
falls on diplomatic security, which is part of the State Department,
which is why they are under fire, and why there's so much pressure to
fill in some of the blanks. Journalists are trying to do that. What we
know is that the State Department has to produce a report in 60 days to
Congress. But it's not clear how detailed some of that information is
going to be.
O'DONNELL: We'll have a lot more news this week. Margaret, thank you – good to see you.