| Speaker | Time | Text |
|---|---|---|
|
unidentified
|
So they're going to, a jury would have to decide that, but it's also worth noting that historically the role of criminal jurors has encompassed a lot more than just deciding guilt. | |
| Jurors, as I mentioned earlier, were the conscience of the community. | ||
| So it is entirely plausible that a jury in Wisconsin and Milwaukee, Wisconsin could believe that even if she is guilty and even if they can satisfy the elements of the offense beyond a reasonable doubt, that this is not something that they, as members of the community, think should be prosecuted, and they have the historic power and prerogative to acquit against the evidence. | ||
| And the Sixth Amendment to the Constitution contains something called the Vicinage Clause, and that is expressly there to make sure that these types of trials occur in front of similarly situated people. | ||
| In other words, her trial would occur. | ||
| We'll leave this here to take you live to the State Department, where spokesperson Tammy Bruce is speaking to reporters. | ||
| Live coverage on C-SPAN. | ||
| Did I come in too quickly? | ||
| Maybe I did for a change, but not too quickly, technically. | ||
| Obviously. | ||
| Busy day. | ||
|
unidentified
|
Great. | |
| Hi, Roman. | ||
| Hello. | ||
| All right. | ||
| Thanks for being here. | ||
| And for everyone watching at home, thank you very much. | ||
| And for C-SPAN covering this, always live, which I appreciate. | ||
| Alrighty, so obviously a little bit of an announcement. | ||
| Happy 100 days. | ||
| I know this was on your calendar, wasn't it? | ||
| It should be. | ||
| Happy 100 days, everyone. | ||
| Just hours after President Trump took the oath of office, Secretary of State Marco Rubio was confirmed in a historic bipartisan vote of 99 to 0. | ||
| From day one, he got right to work, and I can certainly attest to that. | ||
| As I said in my first briefing, Secretary Rubio promised to deliver a foreign policy grounded in President Trump's vision, one that would make America stronger, safer, and more prosperous. | ||
| 100 days later, that promise is being kept. | ||
| Secretary Rubio has returned the Department to the fundamentals of diplomacy, engaging in the persuasion and power of face-to-face meetings around the globe, reminding our partners that being friends with the United States brings benefits that improve the quality of everyone's lives. | ||
| Here at the State Department, we are rewarding performance based on merit, demanding accountability for every tax dollar spent, and ensuring every policy serves the interests of the American people. | ||
| To restore integrity and results-driven foreign assistance, the Department and U.S.AID have saved the American taxpayers billions of dollars by ending outdated and misaligned foreign aid programs. | ||
| Instead, we are prioritizing core U.S. policies. | ||
| That includes the life-saving response in Uganda, where more than 75 American experts worked hand in hand with local officials to officially end Uganda's 2025 Ebola outbreak, a tremendous global health achievement. | ||
| The Secretary has traveled extensively, and don't I know it, to 15 countries, deepening U.S. diplomatic ties and securing major foreign policy wins. | ||
| From Panama's decision to withdraw from China's Belt and Road Initiative to his leadership in bringing Ukraine and Russia to the table to discuss a path towards peace, leading the nations closer to peace than ever before. | ||
| His efforts to protect our homeland are having a global impact. | ||
| We've designated six violent Mexican cartels, along with TDA and MS-13, as foreign terrorist organizations to block their financial networks and bar their entry into the United States. | ||
| Our border is more secure than ever, and illegal crossings at our southwest border have dropped by 95% since 2024. | ||
| This is due to President Trump's leadership and Secretary Rubio's historic action to secure agreements with Guatemala, Panama, and El Salvador to intercept and deport illegal aliens who enter their territories. | ||
| And to further build regional peace, Secretary Rubio signed a Declaration of Principles between the Democratic Republic of Congo and Rwanda, launching a pathway to stability in the region. | ||
| In the Middle East, he is actively working with Israel, Arab partners, and the European Union to shape post-war governance in Gaza and lay the groundwork for Arab-led reconstruction efforts, aligning with President Trump's long-term vision for peace in the region. | ||
| He also has reinforced the United States as the premier strategic partner for Gulf allies, resulting in two landmark investment commitments from the United Arab Emirates and Saudi Arabia for technology, defense, and infrastructure. | ||
| Those deals total $2 trillion in investments. | ||
| We've also brought Americans home. | ||
| Through diplomacy, we've helped secure the release of dozens of unjustly detained U.S. citizens, bringing them back to their families where they belong. | ||
| We've reinstated Cuba as a state sponsor of terrorism, sanctioned Iran's shadow oil fleet and Houthi financiers, as well as designated the Houthis as a foreign terrorist organization. | ||
| These steps send a clear message. | ||
| Under this administration, there will be consequences for supporting terrorism. | ||
| 100 days in, the results are undeniable. | ||
| This is American diplomacy. | ||
| The American people deserve decisive, accountable, and unapologetically America first. | ||
| And I do believe that you may have some questions. | ||
| Andrea Mitchell. | ||
| Who is now surprised? | ||
|
unidentified
|
Andrew. | |
| Hi, good afternoon. | ||
| Andrea Mitchell. | ||
|
unidentified
|
It was all set up. | |
| She is, well, she was thinking she had some extra time. | ||
| But this morning, today, this afternoon, it's morning somewhere. | ||
| In Los Angeles, it's the morning. | ||
| In Hawaii, it's very early. | ||
| What can I do for you? | ||
| Or would you want, should I ask? | ||
| I will go to Matt Lee first. | ||
|
unidentified
|
I'll start. | |
| No, I'm. | ||
| Shall we? | ||
| Finally, I'm asking the questions. | ||
| All right, here's what we'll do. | ||
| We will go with Matt, and then I will come back to you. | ||
|
unidentified
|
I just have two very briefings. | |
| You set that up, as who said that. | ||
|
unidentified
|
I did not. | |
| All right, sir. | ||
|
unidentified
|
Wait a second. | |
| And now I've missed you. | ||
| Everyone missed you. | ||
| It was notably different here in the room with you gallivanting around London for some reason. | ||
| But here we are now. | ||
| We're also. | ||
|
unidentified
|
Secretary, you never showed up. | |
| But anyway, so listen, since last week, since I was away last week, and I know this came up last week, but I just want to try and get a fun point, put a fine point on it, which is that tomorrow is the 50th anniversary of the fall of Saigon and the end of the Vietnam War. | ||
| There have been reports that the U.S. has told instructed or otherwise advised diplomats, U.S. diplomats in Vietnam not to attend commemoration ceremonies. | ||
| Is that true? | ||
| Because the answer that we keep getting is that the U.S. and Vietnam are strong partners and this and this, and they invited people, but there's no decision one way or another. | ||
| So is it correct that they've been told or advised not to attend? | ||
| Well, you know, as well as most people here, if not even better, after decades, that I'm not going to discuss conversations that we've had with our diplomats here or overseas. | ||
| But I will, in the event people are curious about the answer you expect, I will provide you an answer, and everyone else as well. | ||
| The United States and Vietnam have a robust bilateral relationship, and we are committed to deepening and broadening those ties. | ||
| We look forward to working with the Vietnamese government and the people of Vietnam to address shared challenges and opportunities. | ||
| And considering, again, half a century ago when that ended, we now, of course, have a generation, my generation, that it is amazing to be able to say that, to have this relationship with Vietnam as a good relationship and one that is bilateral and robust. | ||
| So that is a very good example of what can happen over the time of about 50 years. | ||
| Did you have a second question? | ||
|
unidentified
|
Well, yeah, but just on this. | |
| I mean, so are U.S. diplomats going to be participating? | ||
| You know, I'm not going to answer that question. | ||
| I'm not going to discuss what has been suggested or not suggested or communications with our allies or our diplomats in foreign countries. | ||
| Yes, sir. | ||
|
unidentified
|
Thanks. | |
| I have two questions. | ||
| The first, there's reporting today that 4,000 visas for students with criminal records were revoked in the first 100 days of the administration. | ||
| That's a number that's higher than we've seen before. | ||
| So I wanted to see if I could get more fidelity on that. | ||
| And then I had a different topic. | ||
| Well, I know that Consular Affairs and the State Department do not discuss the details of visas. | ||
| We do not provide statistics. | ||
| We do not discuss numbers. | ||
| And so I would just remind people that certainly I wouldn't comment on a number that has been printed somewhere. | ||
| What I can tell you is that it's something that we don't provide. | ||
|
unidentified
|
And then separately, there's reporting that Iraq has arrested an ISIS suspect linked to the New Orleans terror attack on New Year's. | |
| Just do you have any comment on that or any participation? | ||
| I spoke with the Secretary a little earlier. | ||
| I did not ask him about that. | ||
| So let's take that back. | ||
| And I certainly would hope to speak with him again and can ask him that, and we'll get that back to you, certainly. | ||
| And now, Andrea Mitchell. | ||
| Yes? | ||
|
unidentified
|
I wanted to ask about Ukraine. | |
| Okay. | ||
|
unidentified
|
Russia has continuously been bombing Ukraine, Kyiv the other day, more bombing overnight, after calling for a ceremonial ceasefire, a three-day ceasefire next week to honor so they can celebrate and honor their World War II victory. | |
| But they have still not agreed, I believe, almost 50 days since it was first proposed to the ceasefire, the 30-day ceasefire that Ukraine has accepted. | ||
| And now, as well, Foreign Minister Labrov in an interview has said that the Russian position includes the demilitarization. | ||
| He says denazification, which is a false statement, but the demilitarization of Ukraine as part of their agenda, as well as the lifting of sanctions, withdrawing lawsuits, canceling arrest warrants, and the like. | ||
| First of all, the U.S. reaction to the continual bombing in Ukraine by Russia. | ||
| And second of all, the Russian demand for demilitarizing. | ||
| Would the U.S. ever consider requiring the demilitarizing of Ukraine as a condition of a peace plan? | ||
| Well, you know, I can't and would not discuss what the options were or what's on the minds of our diplomats. | ||
| And I understand, and I hear from people outside of this briefing room, and certainly from all of you, and it's your job to ask. | ||
| But that is not something we can do. | ||
| It's harmful to get ahead of what our experts, what our diplomats, what the Secretary of State, what the President of the United States, the most powerful people in the world meeting to find a resolution to this, and discussing it or speculating does not help. | ||
| It increases, I think, fear and confusion. | ||
| So I won't do that. | ||
| But I do have something I can tell you that the Secretary said to me about the situation just a short time ago, Andrea Mitchell. | ||
| We are now at a time where concrete proposals need to be delivered by the two parties on how to end this conflict. | ||
| How we proceed from here is a decision that belongs now to the President. | ||
| If there is not progress, we will step back as mediators in this process. | ||
|
unidentified
|
Well, he said on meet the press that this week was going to be pivotal. | |
| Oh, sure. | ||
| This sounds like a pivotal statement to me. | ||
|
unidentified
|
Yeah. | |
| So is there some sort of a timeframe? | ||
| Well, he said now. | ||
| He said now is the time where concrete proposals need to be delivered by the two parties in the conflict. | ||
| And if there is not progress, which we leave, of course, I'm not going to speculate on what that timeline means to the President or to the Secretary. | ||
| But that is a very distinct statement from the Secretary. | ||
| Both the Secretary and the President are very transparent men, and the American people have been watching this process openly, which itself is kind of a new experience. | ||
| But that is what he said to me just a little bit ago. | ||
|
unidentified
|
Can you speak to his level of frustration with the press? | |
| As it seems to me, well, I will not channel the Secretary. | ||
| He, again, is very available, and he has been. | ||
| Again, you saw him this weekend on television, and he's a very clear, often unguarded, transparent man who cares about the nature of what is transpiring on this planet in a very unique position to make a difference. | ||
| And that is what he wants to do. | ||
| Yes, sir. | ||
|
unidentified
|
Thank you, Tami. | |
| Just to follow up on what the Secretary has said, you quoted him as saying concrete proposals need to be delivered by both sides. | ||
| Proposals on what? | ||
| Well, obviously, to end the conflict. | ||
| I mean, clearly, it's about what they've been working toward is a ceasefire, a complete, full, durable ceasefire. | ||
| Right? | ||
| Not a three-day moment. | ||
| So you can celebrate something else. | ||
| A complete, durable ceasefire and an end to the conflict. | ||
|
unidentified
|
Does this mean that the proposals that the United States had on the table, is it off the table now that you're seeking? | |
| I'm not going to speculate on what the statement that's been made here means about things that have existed or have been discussed before. | ||
| It's just what he has said today, and I think it's clear. | ||
|
unidentified
|
Fair enough. | |
| And my second question, on North Korea. | ||
| They acknowledge, finally, that they apparently have sent their soldiers to fight for Russia in Ukraine. | ||
| Does this change your approach, your view to the conflict at all? | ||
| And any response that you could come up with? | ||
| Well, we know this is pretty simple. | ||
| North Korea is not being helpful. | ||
| They're not being helpful. | ||
| There are other nations that also are facilitating this carnage, and their actions make it possible to continue. | ||
| Third countries, like North Korea, have perpetuated the Russia-Ukraine war, and they bear responsibility for it. | ||
| We continue, North Korea, I'm speaking about North Korea, and other third countries, like North Korea. | ||
| We continue to be concerned by North Korea's direct involvement in the war, North Korea's military deployment to Russia, and any support provided by the Russian Federation to the DPRK in return must end. | ||
| Russia's training of North Korean soldiers directly violates Security Council Resolutions 1718, 1874, and 2270, which collectively impose a broad prohibition on providing or receiving military training or assistance to or from the DPRK. | ||
| All right. | ||
|
unidentified
|
Go ahead. | |
| Yes, sir. | ||
| On the Middle East, UN Rights Chief Volka Turk today called for concerted efforts to end the Israeli blockade of the Gaza Strip, and Amnesty International accused Israel of committing a live-streamed genocide against Palestinians. | ||
| We heard President Trump on Friday acknowledge the suffering of people in Gaza and the need for aid to go in. | ||
| What is the Department's view of the ongoing blockade, and will the Secretary push to lift it? | ||
| And I have a second question. | ||
| President Trump said just a few days ago that there is a very big need for medicine and food, regarding, of course, Gaza and Gaza aid, and that we are taking care of it. | ||
| And again, within the framework of the negotiations, the actions, the efforts, as we've discussed, I think every briefing, which is appropriate, I think the President of the United States making that statement makes clear that action is being considered and taken and that the President is working on it. | ||
|
unidentified
|
So we are taking care of it. | |
| How will that translate to actual activities? | ||
| Well, we'll find out. |