Tammy Bruce (00:01):
Thank you, sir. Hi. All right. How are you?
Matt Lee (00:10):
Doing well-
Tammy Bruce (00:12):
Matt Lee,
Matt Lee (00:12):
How are you?
Tammy Bruce (00:13):
I see Andrea Mitchell here again. Thank you ma'am. I'm here after rather big trip. All right, so we're set? Everybody good? Great. So I'm going to start with a little bit of a statement here today. Welcome aboard everyone, [inaudible 00:00:28] nice to see you. During my first briefing, I said that under President Trump, peace through strength is back. That was clear from day one under this administration, the 11 days since my first briefing have further proven it. In an important advancement for peace, America's top diplomat, Secretary Marco Rubio and National Security Advisor Mike Waltz traveled to Jeddah Saudi Arabia to meet with the Ukrainian delegation. As a result, Ukraine expressed readiness to accept the US proposal to enact an immediate interim 30-day ceasefire to the Russia-Ukraine conflict. The ball is now in Russia's court, and even more advances have been made after envoy Witkoff's visit there as well.
(01:15)
Following this historic meeting, Secretary Rubio traveled to the G7 in Canada where our partners expressed support for a swift end and a durable end to this conflict. And as we pursued peace, our nation also showed strength. Under the President's direction, this administration invoked the Alien Enemies Act of 1798 to initiate the removal of hundreds of dangerous members of the Tren de Aragua, a vicious, violent, foreign terrorist organization which has been threatening our nation, conducting irregular warfare, and terrorizing Americans. We express our sincere gratitude to President Bukele of El Salvador for playing a pivotal role in this transfer. As Secretary Rubio said, "Once again, president Bukele has shown he is not only the strongest security leader in our region, he's also a great friend of the United States."
(02:11)
In our fight against terrorists, President Trump ordered the launch of decisive and powerful US military deterrence operations against the Iranian-backed Houthi terrorists in Yemen. Following the strikes, secretary Rubio noted that the President quote, "Sent a powerful and clear message. These attacks on US vessels and global shipping must stop, and we will hold you accountable, we will protect our people and freedom of navigation." In furtherance of President Trump's maximum pressure policy on the Iranian regime, last week the State Department announced sanctions on Iran's oil minister, and shadow fleet that facilitates Iran's illicit crude oil trade. These actions were taken to stop the flow of revenue to the Iranian regime that uses to fuel conflict in the Middle East, advances its nuclear program, and supports its terrorist proxies.
(03:05)
In addition, the State Department will consider revoking the visas of foreigners who have supported Hamas and unleashed anti-Semitic harassment, intimidation, vandalism and violence on America's college campuses. As Secretary Rubio said on March 6th, those who support designated terrorist organizations including Hamas, threaten US National Security. And we intend to use the Department's broad authority to revoke visas when information comes to light indicating a visa holder may be inadmissible or ineligible under US immigration law.
(03:39)
Here's the bottom line. Secretary Rubio's State Department remains committed to advancing the national interests of the United States, peace through strength is back. Not that we have a lot of things to discuss, and I see it all on your faces. But it is good to be back, I've been away for, I don't know, 10 days now or so, but I'm looking forward to answering your questions. We will begin again with Matt Lee.
Matt Lee (04:05):
Thank you Tammy. I had three processy kind of questions, but for the sake of my colleagues, I know there's a lot to ask, I'll break it down to two, they'll be very brief.
Tammy Bruce (04:16):
All right.
Matt Lee (04:17):
One, I'm the South African ambassador who the secretary declared PNG on Friday.
Tammy Bruce (04:22):
Sure.
Matt Lee (04:22):
The South Africans seem to be a little bit miffed that they learned about this from a ex-post. And I understand there was a meeting at which a formal diplomatic note explaining this handed [inaudible 00:04:39]-
Tammy Bruce (04:39):
Yes.
Matt Lee (04:40):
What day was that, the meeting?
Tammy Bruce (04:43):
Well, it was the same day to the announcement.
Matt Lee (04:45):
So Friday?
Tammy Bruce (04:46):
Yes. So after Secretary Rubio made his decision, our senior-level diplomats convoked the South African embassy staff for an in-person meeting at the State Department. At this meeting, our officials delivered the official notification of Ambassador Rasool's persona non grata status, and it was done.
Matt Lee (05:07):
Okay. And I understand that his privileges and immunities expire today, and that he has to leave by Friday.
Tammy Bruce (05:14):
That's right. So for these three days that passed, he's had his privileges, but those did expire today. And technically it's a week from the notice, and so that expires now on Friday. He'll need to be out of the country.
Matt Lee (05:32):
Okay. And then my second one is what you mentioned before on the AEA, the Alien Enemies Act. As you know, as this building certainly knows, there are several provisions that, or several criteria that have to be met in order to invoke this. One, is there being a declaration of war with the country in which this force is from, or that the invasion or incursion, or however you want to call it, is being orchestrated or influenced by a sovereign state? Does the US now regard Nicolas Maduro as the legitimate head of state of Venezuela? And secondly, if you do, or even if you don't, are Maduro and the state of Venezuela are now covered by the Foreign Sovereign Immunities Act?
Tammy Bruce (06:26):
Just before I came up here, my colleague Caroline Levitt had a great deal to say about this, this belongs at the White House. This is a dynamic that's happening out at the White House.
Matt Lee (06:35):
This is a legal determination-
Tammy Bruce (06:36):
Well, but I also, in addition to that fact of referring you back to the White House and to DHS regarding this, this is in the courts. And as you know, I'm not going to pontificate on, or guess, or muse about what's going on with the courts at this point. So it clearly, the White House has been very transparent. Caroline was very clear this afternoon about their approach. Clearly they feel that this is something they want to litigate, and they're going to. And for the good of the American public, it's an important thing to do. Everything we know that the Trump administration is doing, certainly President Trump himself and his team is in the interest of the United States.
Matt Lee (07:14):
I understand but-
Tammy Bruce (07:15):
And that's why he was elected. People are excited about the nature of the actions that we are taking swiftly and this is one of them, and we will see it play out in court. And that's the extent of what I will be saying.
Matt Lee (07:27):
Okay. Well, my question is not about what-
Tammy Bruce (07:28):
So now there's a third section, I thought you said you were going to forgo the third part.
Matt Lee (07:31):
No. No, I'd just like to have an answer to the first question.
Tammy Bruce (07:34):
Sure. Sure.
Matt Lee (07:35):
Does the US consider Nicolas Maduro to be the legitimate president of Venezuela and is-
Tammy Bruce (07:37):
Well, I'm not going to discuss with you again a national issue that belongs both with the White House and the Secretary himself. So I'm not going to be able to remark on that. All right.
Matt Lee (07:48):
All right.
Tammy Bruce (07:49):
Based on the same dynamic here, I guess for the Americas, the situation, Andrea Mitchell, please.
Andrea Mitchell (07:55):
This is related to immigration issue-
Tammy Bruce (07:58):
Sure. Sure
Andrea Mitchell (07:59):
… and peace through strength.
Tammy Bruce (08:00):
Sure.
Andrea Mitchell (08:01):
Does Secretary Rubio believe that if Afghanistan is among the countries that are, they're on a list, a draft list to be banned, that legitimate SIVs who were approved by the State Department during the fall of Afghanistan [inaudible 00:08:21] should be a carve out? And that these people who help the State Department, the CIA, the DOD, can come and have refugee status? And I do have a follow-up.
Tammy Bruce (08:33):
Well, first of all, there is no list. What people are looking at over these last several days is not a list that exists here that is being acted on. There is a review as we know through the President's executive order for us to look at the nature of what's going to help keep America safer in dealing with the issue of visas and who's allowed into the country. But what has been touted is something that is an item through the State Department, it just simply isn't the case. So the premise, I have to say I certainly can't speak to because it's not accurate. When it comes to the nature of Afghanistan and those who've helped us, the arrangements we've made already in the past, getting as many people from that conflict here, certainly those who have assisted us and worked with us. That's been a policy and a dynamic that we've worked on from, certainly even the previous administration, working to try to get that happening. So that's not something that, certainly, I can talk about regarding something that doesn't exist. But certainly when that review is done, we'll have something that we can discuss.
Andrea Mitchell (09:43):
Okay. Then let me ask you also-
Tammy Bruce (09:44):
Yes.
Andrea Mitchell (09:45):
… about your view or the Secretary's view about the legality of a foreign country holding an American citizen from Iowa who has not been charged with any crime, and holding his passport and not
Andrea Mitchell (10:00):
… not permitting him to return home. In the case of what's happening in Punta Cana and the Dominican Republic where this young man and his family and his lawyers say that he has not been permitted to leave the Dominican Republic, that he has been a cooperating witness, he's not charged with any crime. Does the State Department have any view about the rights of that US citizen?
Tammy Bruce (10:27):
Well, I think what's appropriate here is for me to not … And this is unfortunately the nature of the State Department and what we do. When it comes to diplomatic efforts, whether they exist or not, the nature of legal frameworks for individuals, the privacy issues involved, that's not something I can get into any detail about.
Andrea Mitchell (10:46):
He has spoken publicly and his family have. Does he have consular access?
Tammy Bruce (10:54):
I think all of us have a right to speak and to be known, but we have a standard and a protocol here that we won't discuss a private situation, a private case, certainly when it comes to diplomacy, diplomatic relationships between one country and another, I'm not going to go into those details. All right. Sean?
Speaker 2 (11:12):
Thanks. Can I go back to South Africa, the ambassador?
Tammy Bruce (11:15):
Sure.
Speaker 2 (11:16):
The secretary, of course, had his X posted on Friday. Could you explain a little bit the reasons? It's quite an extraordinary step. I was looking back, I mean, if I'm not mistaken, even in the height of tensions with Russia, there was no expulsion of the ambassador and no PNG there. What is it? I mean, essentially this is remarks that the ambassador made at a think tank or at conference-
Tammy Bruce (11:35):
That's correct.
Speaker 2 (11:35):
… that were critical. What I'm getting at is, should other ambassadors be on alert? Can they not criticize President Trump without fear of being expelled?
Tammy Bruce (11:45):
Well, I think it's not about criticism. This was the equation of the president and the country with white supremacy. It was an allegation that casts such an awful light on the nature of the country, on individuals. I mean, if we don't have a standard about the nature of someone who is in this country, who is supposed to be a diplomat to help facilitate the relationship between two countries, and that this is the standard of it, we deserve better.
(12:20)
We've had a decent level of diplomacy with South Africa, there are some challenges, but you want people in each embassy who can actually facilitate a relationship. And these remarks were unacceptable to the United States, not just to the president, but to every American. They were pretty much obscene when it came to the nature of what was alleged. And so, that is, I think at the very least what we should expect is a standard of some respect, basic, low-level respect, if you're in a position that is going to help facilitate any kind of diplomatic relationship with another country.
(13:06)
This particular individual certainly didn't meet that standard. And it is a message to people of what America expects, what the president expects, what the secretary of state expects, what this whole administration expects when it comes to treatment of the nation itself and as a result of the people in this country. And so, that's why it was done.
Speaker 2 (13:26):
Sure. You can just expand on that. South Africa today said that it wants to have a better relationship with the United States. Are you open to that? I mean, the secretary stayed away from the G20. Are you of the view that South Africa can repair the relationship despite the criticism that's come from this building-
Tammy Bruce (13:42):
Well, I think both the president and the secretary of state have made it clear what the problems are and what they have an issue with when it comes to South Africa. The unjust land expropriation law, as well as its growing relationship with countries like Russia and Iran. That's what prompted the serious review of our South Africa policy, which continues to be underway. They have taken also, the South African government, aggressive positions toward the United States and its allies, including accusing Israel, not Hamas, of genocide in the International Court of Justice, and reinvigorating its relationship with Iran to develop commercial, military, and nuclear arrangements.
(14:24)
So, this isn't one just of demeanor or decorum, however they add into it. This is a matter of a nation that is, we've again made it very clear, taking steps that are not in the best interest of providing a safe, secure, more prosperous America, let alone world, when it comes to the decisions they're making. So, all of this is under review, but obviously part of it is, within the diplomacy of it, is to encourage a change in policy and posture. Of course, that would be the point. The point is to encourage a change.
(15:02)
What I've seen with the trips we've made with the diplomatic adventures, of course, as well as the G7 summit in Canada is the nature of the secretary of state is to make things better for people. It is not to punish or to target people or countries. It's the nature of changing policy and creating better environments for all of us. And I've seen that in motion in every dynamic, and that's the case here with South Africa as well. Nadia? Yes.
Speaker 3 (15:34):
Thank you so much, Tammy. Good to see you. I have a couple of questions on Yemen first. What is the US strategy regarding Yemen? Is it degrading the capabilities of the Houthis that they don't pose a threat to US interests? Or, is it destroying them completely? Because there's conflicting statements from US officials saying, "We're not going to interfere with the civil war in Yemen."
Tammy Bruce (15:57):
Well, what we've seen, of course in the past when it comes to the Houthis, it was a tit-for-tat strike. If the Houthis would be sending missiles or attacking both commercial and military ships, what the previous administration did is they would do one strike as a tit-for-tat dynamic.
(16:17)
What's happening now is a complete shift when it comes to the nature of why it's going on, which is to stop the assault on the maritime traffic in that area. And up to this point, there's about 174 attacks on American naval ships, which is an extraordinary number of attacks. And this isn't a situation that should be managed. It has to stop. So, the message to the Houthis is, this will end when you end the attack on both commercial and military ships in that region. So, it's a maritime issue and it's meant to completely change the posture of the Houthis, and of course, in conjunction in that dynamic, with Iran. That the days of pinprick responses where we allow that to occur is over. That's, I think, a pretty clear statement from the administration as a whole as well.
Speaker 3 (17:16):
And on the visa thing-
Tammy Bruce (17:17):
The visa. Sure.
Speaker 3 (17:18):
Is the area clear when it comes to revoking visas for foreign students? Are you revoking visas for students who clearly support Hamas and shows literature that supporting Hamas? Or, is it also include students who support Palestine or they say the freedom of the Palestinians, or showing sympathy with civilians in Gaza? Is that area very clear?
Tammy Bruce (17:44):
Well, what Secretary Rubio has been saying on a number of different interviews is that this is about, when you think about someone applying to come into the country to get a visa, if you were to say everything that he ended up doing would be his goal upon entering the country, we would never have issued the visa. So, you have that dynamic, whereas if there's going to be certain kinds of actions that you're going to undertake that we don't accept that. Every country has a right to control its borders and to determine who's going to come into the country.
(18:18)
So, in this particular instance, there's also, I know a freedom of speech argument, but this is not about speech. It's about actions. It's about things that were done. And of course, I don't want to go further because also this is within a court dynamic. America's got the best court system in the world, and there will be arguments on both sides, no doubt, regarding this. But it has to be argued, it has to be litigated. But the actions that we take and the decisions we make are not about content. It's about actions that are occurring, and certainly in that particular case. Yes?
Speaker 1 (18:53):
Can I-
Tammy Bruce (18:53):
Go ahead.
Speaker 1 (18:55):
Can I-
Speaker 4 (18:55):
Hi, Tammy.
Tammy Bruce (18:55):
Hi.
Speaker 4 (18:56):
Thank you. Just a follow-up on the Houthis question. So, President Trump said every shot fired by the Houthis will be looked upon as a shot fired by Iran. So, we're wondering if Houthis don't back down, is the United States prepared to attack Iran or give Israel to do so?
Tammy Bruce (19:14):
I think you're referring to President Trump's Truth Social tweet, and I'm sure you all have it on your phones. You should, because I'm going to refer you right back to that tweet. It speaks for itself.
Speaker 4 (19:25):
Right. Just a follow-up on a different topic-
Tammy Bruce (19:27):
Sure.
Speaker 4 (19:27):
… in that case. So, Voice of America and Radio Free Asia is one of the outlets under Voice of America. They have written extensively on the oppression of Uyghur Muslims by Chinese authorities. Actually, their reports have raised awareness about the plight of Uyghurs, and this is a topic that the secretary feels strongly about as well. We've just seen him last week impose sanctions on Thai officials over deportation of Uyghurs to China.
Tammy Bruce (19:57):
That's right.
Speaker 4 (19:58):
What does he think about the shutdown of this
Speaker 5 (20:00):
… this outlet. Does he support this decision?
Tammy Bruce (20:02):
Well, what you're referring to I think is the VOA and some other outlets involved with the current… some budgetary changes and actions that have been taken. What I can tell you, like with all the aspects that are happening in this shift, is that it's a fluid situation, and I look forward to watching it unfold, as you do. I know you're all reporters, and some reporters here in the bullpen have been affected. But the fact of the matter is this is serious business. It's the business of government using taxpayer dollars. So the same standard applies here. And of course, it's just happened. Kari Lake, as essentially the envoy within this framework, is someone that Americans know and trust, and I look forward to seeing how this unfolds. But right now it's new, it's a fluid situation, and we'll have more for you as it unfolds.
Speaker 5 (20:55):
When you say fluid, could it be overturned?
Tammy Bruce (20:57):
All right. Please go ahead. All right, go ahead.
Speaker 6 (20:59):
Can I just follow up on Yemen and your assessment of civilian casualties? Because you'll know there have been reports of several. And what's your assessment on that?
Tammy Bruce (21:08):
On civilian casualties? Well, under no situation does anyone want that. This is a horrible dynamic. At the same time, the Houthis are pirates who have commandeered an entire country, in addition to attempting to commandeer and to threaten and harass shipping in the maritime area there. So when we think about this dynamic, we certainly, America seeks to avoid that situation, but we are now in a position where it has become untenable. And America's position in this kind of a regard, it's an unfortunate framework of war and of tensions and conflict like this. But of course, we lament… I think this country of all countries and what we've done and what we've accomplished, we lament the loss of life. That's the aspect.
(22:02)
Let me… Because I think this is part of the real story. All of the aspects of what the Trump administration, what Secretary Rubio, and everyone now in this new administration is focused on -- and maybe it surprised people, it shouldn't have -- is peace. Is to stop the wholesale slaughter of people. Is to stop the chaos that reigns through certain regions. Is to make sure, especially with certainly Ukraine and Russia, is to make sure… and every place where there's conflict, that the people that are alive today might be alive tomorrow.
(22:33)
And it's imperfect. It's not something that any of us can sometimes predict the end result of, but this is an administration and a president and a secretary of state who's made it clear that if there is a hallmark, the hallmark is fighting for peace and an end to this kind of chaos that has destroyed Yemeni's lives and it destroys obviously too many lives around the world.
(22:56)
Now, yes, sir. You've been waiting patiently. Yes, sir.
Speaker 6 (22:58):
Can I just follow up-
Speaker 7 (22:59):
Two quick questions on the Palestinian issue. One pertaining to Gaza. Aid has not been allowed in since the 2nd of March. The situation is very dire. I was wondering if you are really concerned about this. And especially, this coincided with the beginning of Ramadan as well, where people need food and water and so on. I mean, is starvation used as a method to pressure people, isn't that a war crime of some sort internationally?
Tammy Bruce (23:30):
Well, for the horrible suffering of the Gazan people, we know where that sits. It sits with Hamas. We know that within the ceasefire and why we fight for the ceasefire and want it to continue is in fact to allow, to make sure that food and aid is moved into that region. The United States has led the way in that regard.
(23:54)
We also know that at this point, when it comes to the nature of what envoy Witkoff has worked on and what all of us still focus on is in fact what your concern is. Making sure that there's a situation on the ground that allows food to get to the people who need it, that allows aid to move through to the people who have been suffering because of the choices that Hamas has made throughout the years. And that is what we continue to work on. So everyone, certainly it's a concern, and that is why we continue to work to make sure that aid can get to the people who need it.
Speaker 7 (24:28):
Can I-
Tammy Bruce (24:28):
Yes, sir. Go ahead.
Speaker 7 (24:29):
Can I follow up on that?
Speaker 11 (24:32):
Question on Syria. The Syrian interim authority last Thursday approved a new constitution. It has granted likely no rights for the minority, like Kurds and Druze in Syria, and has been rejected by these minorities, labeling it's against the democracy. What's the U.S. view on that constitution? And does anyone in this department connected with the new Syrian interim authority, do you have any engagement with them?
Tammy Bruce (24:57):
Again, when it comes to diplomatic engagements, situations as fluid and as situational like that one, that's not something I'm going to be able to answer.
Speaker 11 (25:06):
What about-
Tammy Bruce (25:08):
I will see what we can do when it comes to the specifics of what you've asked for.
Speaker 11 (25:12):
What about the-
Tammy Bruce (25:13):
Yes. All right, go.
Speaker 12 (25:13):
Syria. Syria.
Speaker 11 (25:14):
I have another question on Iraq.
Tammy Bruce (25:16):
All right.
Speaker 11 (25:16):
Yeah. This administration, including Secretary Rubio himself, has called the Iraqi government to resume the Iraqi-Kurdistan oil export and solve the U.S. oil companies' issue that are working in Iraq. But this hasn't happened. What's the U.S. view on that? Are you urging the Iraqi government to resume the oil export?
Tammy Bruce (25:37):
Again, at this press briefing, I'm not going to go into international negotiations or diplomatic negotiations or thoughts that might be held by the secretary of state. But we'll see, when it comes to actions on that, it'll be, I think, abundantly clear. Yes, ma'am.
Speaker 12 (25:54):
Syria. Thank you, Tammy. So Syria's new government along with regional countries, such as Türkiye, Jordan, Qatar, and others, have been calling on the U.S. to lift the sanctions that was put in place during the Assad regime, and many view these sanctions as a significant barrier to stabilizing and rebuilding the country. Is the administration considering removing or maybe easing these sanctions?
Tammy Bruce (26:22):
Well, again, when we think about the administration, I think of President Trump and their posture and point of view regarding Syria, and the fact that when it comes to the department, the State Department, and the secretary, these are things that would be negotiations that would have to be contemplated, and I'm not going to do that right here from this podium.
Speaker 12 (26:43):
Is this off the table? Can we get-
Tammy Bruce (26:43):
Yes, sir.
Speaker 9 (26:43):
Thanks so much, Tammy. I appreciate you taking the question. Over the weekend-
Tammy Bruce (26:44):
Depends on what the question is, but go for it.
Speaker 9 (26:46):
Sure enough. Over the weekend, the U.S. deported a Lebanese citizen who was a doctor at Brown University. I was wondering if you might be able to elaborate why.
Tammy Bruce (26:56):
That, I would say, when it comes to that kind of action on everything we might discuss, that's the Department of Homeland Security. So that would be them.
Speaker 9 (27:04):
And on violence, escalating violence in the West Bank. I guess, are there any concerns at the State Department over what we're seeing in terms of Israeli actions in the north, in Jenin, in Tulkarem?
Tammy Bruce (27:16):
Well, the United States' position, certainly the State Department, is that we stand steadfastly with Israel. Israel has seen certain security concerns that they have, and they're taking actions regarding those security concerns. And we stand with those decisions and what the Israelis choose to do in that framework. Yes, sir.
Speaker 10 (27:36):
Thank you. Two questions, changing subject to South Asia. A few days before the elections, President Trump then as a candidate had spoken about, expressed concern about attacks on the Hindus in Bangladesh. Now that secretary has been here for about 60 days, what is his assessment about the situation of Hindus in Bangladesh and what steps he's taking to address-
Tammy Bruce (27:58):
President Trump?
Speaker 10 (28:01):
No, Secretary Rubio.
Tammy Bruce (28:02):
Well, again, you're talking about President Trump in certain aspects, about how the nation or in how his administration views the nature of what's happening in another country.
Speaker 10 (28:13):
In Bangladesh, yeah.
Tammy Bruce (28:14):
And Secretary Rubio, of course, follows through with his vision and the nature of the choices that are made in that regard. But when it comes to, again, negotiations, diplomatic considerations and the conversations that those involve and what might happen, I don't want to presume here what the outcome will be. You don't want me to either. I think that the best thing to do would be to-
Speaker 10 (28:37):
Can I reframe the question?
Tammy Bruce (28:39):
I'm sorry?
Speaker 10 (28:39):
Can I reframe the question?
Tammy Bruce (28:40):
Well, no, no, because I'm not… What I'm not going to answer is diplomatic considerations from government to government or attitudes and approaches when it comes to what's happening in a certain country that belong within a diplomatic kind of conversation that clearly I can't speak on, or would I hypothesize about what might happen. So, yes. Yes, ma'am.
Speaker 10 (29:03):
Second question. I have one more question.
Tammy Bruce (29:04):
Go ahead. Go ahead.
Speaker 8 (29:05):
Thank you, Tammy. Just to follow up quickly on what Hamara was saying about USAGM, Radio Free Asia-
Tammy Bruce (29:11):
Sure.
Speaker 8 (29:11):
[inaudible 00:29:11] news broadcasters, because I think you're going to get a lot of questions about this.
Tammy Bruce (29:15):
Oh, I expect it. I just got back into the country over the weekend. I thought, well, this will be discussed.
Speaker 8 (29:20):
As you mentioned, it's affected colleagues we know in the bullpen.
Tammy Bruce (29:22):
Yes.
Speaker 8 (29:25):
Can you just clarify, when you say that you're watching this unfold, do you know if this is something that could be reversed in terms of what they're doing with USAGM?
Tammy Bruce (29:34):
You want me to speculate.
Speaker 8 (29:35):
No, no-
Tammy Bruce (29:36):
And I know you know I can't. And I know I come from a background where that's mostly what I did for a very long time. That I can't do here.
Speaker 8 (29:45):
Okay. So my next question is about something different. The State Department, according to some reporting by the New Republic, terminated a contract to the Yale School of Public Health's Humanitarian Research Lab. They were tracking
Speaker 8 (30:00):
Evidence of the Ukrainian children that have been abducted by Russia since Russia's invasion of Ukraine. Some of that evidence was about to be… From their work, it was about to be transferred to European law enforcement officials. Can you comment at all on whether it is true that this grant was terminated and whether you have any other comment?
Tammy Bruce (30:22):
Well, I can't confirm that, but obviously I'll take it back and I'll get back to you. We can get some details in that regard. Yes, sir.
Speaker 13 (30:34):
Thank you so much. I also have question there. Before that, let me follow up on radio free Europe quickly from different angle. This administration last month secured one of the reporters jailed in Belarus was working for radio free Europe and I won't give you credit for that. Now given how strongly you feel about their cases, can you assure us that you will continue securing the release of radio free Europe reporters, part of them in other Bajan and other countries, even if you end up defunding them?
Tammy Bruce (31:01):
Well, that's not something I can answer here, again, when it comes to the nature of the choices that will be made. But what I can tell you is that this is a country that has led the way from the very start of radio of making sure that voices are heard everywhere, that this is something this country can be proud of and it sits within the framework of what matters to us. At the same time, this nation has to look, and I don't think it's anything to be ashamed of, look to the nature of how America is going to be able to remain strong and safe and secure and more prosperous so that we can continue to move through with foreign aid, with facilitating voices that normally other parts of the world would not hear.
(31:45)
It is a part of democracy, and of course you want every nation to have that kind of commitment as well when it comes to who's able to be heard. So that's a commitment that stands. It is the heart of this nation and certainly that's not going to be ending. The framework of certain things might change or how we facilitate them, but certainly not that commitment and I think we've done a good job of that and we should all be proud of it as well. How are we doing?
Speaker 13 (32:12):
Question on Russia, Ukraine point actually, in that of my original question.
Tammy Bruce (32:15):
I've clearly lost the bucket of issues here as we've gone from a few things back, but go ahead.
Speaker 13 (32:21):
Very quickly, can you comment on reports that the United States pulled back from international group investigating Russian crimes. What is the strategy there and what message are you sending to Russia who continues actually committing crime as we speak?
Tammy Bruce (32:35):
Yeah, look, we're going to be looking into a number of different things, that's anecdotal. The nature, I'm not familiar with the nature of what happened, so I'm not going to be able to speak to that. Yes, right down the middle here. Yes, sir.
Speaker 14 (32:48):
Thank you so much.
Speaker 15 (32:49):
Think it was me.
Tammy Bruce (32:49):
I think. Yeah, the gentleman in front of you, sir. Go ahead.
Speaker 15 (32:52):
Thank you. Thank you. Tommy [inaudible 00:32:54] Seven Italian TV and prime time media. So we both were the G7 the last week.
Tammy Bruce (33:02):
Yes, we were.
Speaker 15 (33:02):
And the focus was Ukraine. So today in Europe, there was European council, they met the foreign minister and they discussed about Ukraine and the European Union proposals. So it seems like there are… Europe is very divided right now, like Italy, Spain, I mean, Gary and then Slovakia are more aligned to Trump proposal, not proposal, but plan. And the other ones, more lefties are like, want to keep giving aids, military aids to Ukraine.
Tammy Bruce (33:37):
Sure.
Speaker 15 (33:40):
What do you as a state department, how do you guys will interact with the European right now? Are we going to go for the Trump plans or the European ones?
Tammy Bruce (33:49):
I think we're going to go with the Marco Rubio approach, which is to talk to everybody, which is to put out the new ideas, which is to argue for them on the merits of those ideas. That's what happened at the G7. What happened at the G7 was a collection of people who have very different points of view, some big disagreements, but a direct specific decision mentioned by the Canadian Foreign Minister Jolie that we're going to focus on what we do have in common, what we can get done together, and really the importance of the gathering itself and what we can do together. There's a lot of people I think, that would prefer us to be distracted by the disagreements, but what I've seen Secretary Rubio accomplish is remarkable and in different environments, environments where there's negotiations between countries attempting to stop war, a minister's meeting where they're all aligned in some fashion or another and want to work together but have disagreements.
(34:51)
I can say this, fortunately having been there, is that it's been his voice and I'm proud as an American that it happens to be the American Secretary of State. It's his voice that has brought conversations together, that has brought groups of people together. And we know this is why you need a State department and why you need diplomats, because everybody's going to have different ideas. Everybody's going to think there's a better way, and we all have investments in the nature of the outcome. America is the strongest country in the world for a reason. All the combination of things we do, but mostly because we are a nation of merit and arguments and speech and the ability for people to be heard and for all of us to have an open mind.
(35:35)
That is what Marco Rubio brings to this debate, especially in Europe where there are disagreements. We will and he expects to when people over based on the merits of the arguments that we continue to make every day. And I'm going to leave it there, everyone. I'll see you Wednesday and Friday this week, if you didn't get enough. There'll be more to talk about. Thank you everyone, I appreciate it. Have a great day.