Transcript for February 26

And I have to disagree with the senator. I don’t believe CFIUS did really look at this. For instance, they didn’t speak to anyone on the 9/11 Commission to find out if the people who tipped off bin Laden are still in the government. Are they in the government?  Do they have any involvement with this company?  That any of those who strongly urge recognition of the Taliban, are they still in the government?  That’s why this alliance could be an alliance of convenience. Obviously we have to work with UAE and other moderate Arab states, but still in no way a democracy. It still is anti-Israel.

So, this is a government, right now they’ve decided for their purposes right now that they will side with us. But just as they were siding with the Taliban before, they could shift back. And I just don’t feel we should give them this carte blanche that so far they’ve gotten. And that’s why I think all these issues have to be looked into. And just because they’re an ally doesn’t mean we can overlook the fact that there could be an emir or a relative of an emir who was very close to al-Qaeda, who is still in the government and involved with this company. That has to all be looked at. It has not been looked at. It’s a matter of national security that it be looked at.

MR. RUSSERT: You mentioned moral equivalency. I want to show you something the president said. Let’s listen.

(Videotape, Tuesday)

PRES. BUSH: I think it sends a terrible signal to friends around the world that it’s OK for a company from one country to manage the port, but not a country that has—plays by the rules.

(End videotape)

MR. RUSSERT: You told Laura Ingraham on her radio show that’s the equivalent of the president playing the race card.

REP. KING: Yes, when the president suggests that people are questioning this because it’s an Arab nation or because it’s a Muslim nation, that was the implication, that was wrong. And nobody has more regard for President Bush. I’ve supported him down the line, but on this issue it’s really wrong. And I thought it was inappropriate to say that a person like myself—who lost over 150 friends, neighbors and constituents on September 11--is questioning the United Arab Emirates because of its past record, and instead implying that I’m doing it because they’re Arabs and Muslims. That’s wrong. There are real issues here, and the White House should realize it.

This is not—there’s no demagoguery. This is a very, very serious, involved issue, and we have to set a protocol as to how we’re going to deal with nations like this as we go forward. I don’t believe you can treat the United Arab Emirates the same as you treat Great Britain. We certainly treat them better than other countries, but not like Great Britain or Australia or other countries who’ve stood side-by-side with us from the beginning. Not just, you know, Johnny-come-latelies.

SEN. WARNER: Tim, who—there comes...

MR. RUSSERT: Senator, do you think there is anti-Arab bigotry in this?

SEN. WARNER: Tim, here’s my approach to this thing. I think we’ve got to show the chairman and others strong leadership in the Congress in this next 45-day period and try to dispel any concept of bigotry, recognize the sincerity of the feelings across the country for our losses, our continuing losses, but recognizing in the broader context of our global relationships of our country, future business deals with other companies. This is going to establish a precedent, and it’s got to be done in a way not to choke off other opportunities. So I’m confident if we show that strong leadership in the Congress—and Bill Frist and I discussed it late into the night last night, and he’s prepared to do it—then I believe we can make a persuasive case that the government review the first time with the second review, justifies what the president said, this deal should go forward.

MR. RUSSERT: If you’re satisfied that this will be an aggressive 45-day investigation, will you hold off any legislation to try to block the deal?

REP. KING: Yes, I will. I don’t see any purpose to go forward and force a confrontation with the president, because the main purpose of the legislation was to bring about this 45-day investigation. If that—if that occurs, if when we see details, it’s a full investigation, yes, there’s no need at this time to go ahead with any legislation.

MR. RUSSERT: Senator Hillary Clinton of New York said that airports in the United States are controlled by local authorities. She doesn’t think that there should be foreign ownership of any port in the United States. Do you agree with that?

REP. KING: No, I don’t think we can make that statement across the board. First of all, there’s any number of ports in the country that are controlled by foreign companies now, certainly a lot of this began under the Clinton administration itself. But I think we do have to, in the post-9/11 era though, see what companies we’re going to be dealing with, what countries we’re going to be dealing with and if additional protocols have to be put in place. But I would not say, no, we can’t say across the board no foreign ownership of ports.

MR. RUSSERT: Let me—let me ask...

SEN. WARNER: Tim, you got to—you got to stop using this foreign ownership. They’re not buying the port. That remains in domestic control, whether it’s a municipality, the state or private. They’re just getting leases to operate the terminals—the cranes, the handling, the transportation...

MR. RUSSERT: The operation and management.

SEN. WARNER: That’s correct. So this—it’s wrong, we got off on the wrong foot, that’s why I held that hearing last week, put everybody up there, we’re not selling our ports to the foreigners.

REP. KING: But they do have access to what goes on inside the ports, and that is significant.

MR. RUSSERT: I—gentlemen, the Democrats have—are saying very loudly that they have tried repeatedly to put more money into port security. Benny Thompson, Democrat on your committee, Congressman, he tried to increase spending by a billion dollars, he wanted to double the number of oversea port inspectors, he wanted to put radiation portal monitors. And every time, the Republicans said no, you voted no. Do you regret now opposing some of those measures to improve port security?

REP. KING: Tim, we have voted to increase port security dramatically, it’s gone up almost $2 billion since four years ago. Almost 100 percent is screened, it’s not actually examined. But even, you know—people use a number that only 5 percent of the cargo is actually examined. Even Senator Clinton the other day, said 15 is maximum. So it’s between 5 and 15, we do have to do more. I support doing more. In fact, my committee is holding hearings next month, Congressman Lundgren, Congresswoman Harman are holding hearings on the issue of port security. More does have to be done, but a lot has been done also.

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