President Obama sat down for the his first interview with Fox News since February 2014 and said that while Hillary Clinton may not have been as careful as she should have been with her emails, she did not harm national security while serving as secretary of State. He also “guaranteed” that politics have not and will not influence the ongoing investigation into Clinton and her use of a private email system.
“I continue to believe that she has not jeopardized America’s national security,” Obama said on Fox News Sunday. “What I’ve also said is that—and she has acknowledged—that there’s a carelessness, in terms of managing emails, that she … recognizes,” he added, noting that the issue had to be seen in perspective and Clinton did an “outstanding job” as secretary of State. Obama also assured Fox News’ Chris Wallace that there would be no political influence in the investigation.
“I guarantee that there is no political influence in any investigation conducted by the Justice Department, or the FBI, not just in this case, but in any case,” Obama said. “Nobody is above the law. How many times do I have to say it?” The president did note however that there was often a problem of over-classification and there are some things classified as top secret that “is basically stuff that you could get in open-source.”
Obama also emphasized he had no intention of pulling Merrick Garland’s Supreme Court nomination. “Absolutely not,” Obama said when asked whether he might consider dropping Garland’s nomination before he leaves office.
Asked about his “worst mistake” while in office, Obama said he thought it was “probably failing to plan for the day after” the intervention in Libya.
The president said that his “number one job is to protect the American people” and defended his efforts to fight terrorism. He then went on to give a long explanation on how combating terrorists involves more than just guns:
In the wake of terrorist attacks, it has been my view consistently that the job of the terrorists, in their minds, is to induce panic, induce fear, get societies to change who they are. And what I’ve tried to communicate is, “You can’t change us. You can kill some of us, but we will hunt you down, and we will get you.”
And in the meantime, just as we did in Boston, after the marathon bombing, we’re going to go to a ballgame. And do all the other things that make our life worthwhile. … That’s the message of resilience. That we don’t panic, that we don’t fear, we will hunt you down and we will get you.
