New Questions about Benghazi Talking Points; Interview with Sen. Kelly Ayotte; Interview with Sen. Richard Durbin
BLITZER: Breaking news tonight on the Libya mess. A new allegation that the Obama administration still cannot get its story straight after so much time, even as recently as this morning. Ironically, this latest charge flows directly out of an attempt at damage control. U.N. Ambassador Susan Rice's trip to Capitol Hill, she and the acting CIA director, Michael Morell, meeting with Republican senators John McCain, Kelly Ayotte and Lindsey Graham, who were not pleased with what they heard.</s>SEN. JOHN MCCAIN (R), ARIZONA: It is clear that the information that she gave the American people was incorrect when she said that it was a spontaneous demonstration triggered by a hateful video. It was not. And there was compelling evidence at the time that that was certainly not the case, including statements by Libyans as well as other Americans who are fully aware that people don't bring mortars and rocket-propelled grenades to spontaneous demonstrations.</s>BLITZER: In a statement after the meeting, Ambassador Rice said that neither she nor anyone in the administration intended to mislead the American people. But the breaking news concerns the part in her Sunday talk show statements that substituted the word "extremists" for al Qaeda. Remember, the administration said she was working from edited talking points. The question is, who did the editing? Today, the senators say that Acting Director Morell told them the FBI did. They say they later heard from the CIA that Morell had, quote, "misspoken, and the CIA was, in fact, responsible. So what's going on here? CNN intelligence correspondent Suzanne Kelly has been working her sources. She's joining us now. Suzanne, you just got a statement from the CIA. What are they saying?</s>SUZANNE KELLY, CNN INTELLIGENCE CORRESPONDENT: Well, actually, you know, I've gotten a statement from an intelligence official who told me that it was in fact the CIA that made the changes which is more or less what the intelligence community has been saying from the beginning, that this was a collaborative effort within the intelligence community to get their language straight and that the reasons they were doing it had to do with, as you know, Wolf, classified sources. I can read you what the U.S. intelligence official has just told me. There were literally just coming in on my phone. "There were several valid intelligence and investigatory reasons why that was changed. The information about individuals linked to al Qaeda was derived from classified sources and could not be corroborated at the unclassified level. Those links were tenuous therefore it made sense to be cautious before naming the perpetrator." So that's kind of the reasoning behind it, Wolf. It doesn't necessarily go far enough to explain why Acting Director Morell perhaps misspoke is what it looks like this afternoon but that the CIA had made efforts as you reported to clarify the record with the senators on the hill.</s>BLITZER: A spokesman for the director of National Intelligence told CNN a week ago, Suzanne, that it was the DNI, in fact, who removed those references to al Qaeda. Now today the story has changed not once, but twice. This is getting awkward.</s>KELLY: It is getting awkward and difficult to manage. I think -- but I have definitely heard from intelligence sources who tell me that the DNI did not change those talking points, that this was a collaborative process and I think we're starting to see now some of the mess that's created when all of these different agencies were affected by this, the FBI, the State Department, the director of National Intelligence, the CIA, that sometimes it's even difficult for them to get these points straight. And I think that's why you're seeing the senators get so frustrated, Wolf, but again, from the sources I've spoken to inside the intelligence community, the DNI never changed those talking points, that the CIA, in fact, made those changes and took out the references to al Qaeda, because they said it would have compromised an ongoing investigation at that point.</s>BLITZER: Well, I just want to be precise because a week ago the spokesman from the DNI said that the talking points had been edited to protect sources in the investigation. Now, at least according to these senators, the CIA can't say why those talking points were altered.</s>KELLY: Well, again, from this source that I have been speaking with and what I'm reading to you off my phone right now is that there were reasons that the individuals linked to al Qaeda, that was in fact derived from classified sources, so that's consistent. And that it could not be corroborated at the unclassified level. So that's the other issue with trying to tell the details very early on in this story that a lot of that information you get in those very early hours and days is classified, so there's a process that they have to go through in order to declassify that information and of course, also, it is an ongoing investigation. They are still trying to round people up at that point and the Libyans, as you know, the Libyan government rounded up quite a few suspects at that point. They now have people that they're talking to. But, you know, the timing of this is what's so interesting, Wolf, and how everything happened so quickly and people were demanding such specific answers early on that I don't think people really had to give them. And that's my opinion.</s>BLITZER: Yes, and I'm surprised, though, at today's meeting they apparently screwed up once again. They're trying to fix it right now. Suzanne, thanks very much. As we said, all this just broke a few moments ago. A short time before that, I spoke with one of the three senators in that meeting today, Senator Kelly Ayotte.</s>BLITZER: Senator, you say you are more troubled now after your hour-long meeting with Ambassador Rice and acting CIA Director Mike Morell. Why is that?</s>SEN. KELLY AYOTTE (R), NEW HAMPSHIRE: The big concern that I have is there was an impression left and I certainly went into the meeting with this impression that the unclassified talking points, that is what she relied upon, and certainly that's in part what she said on each of the major networks, but as part of her duties as ambassador to the U.N. she also reviews the daily intelligence briefings, including the classified versions. It's already been reported, Wolf, that the classified version, of course, said that individuals with ties to al Qaeda were involved in the attacks. That was then removed from the unclassified version. So if you had reviewed those and then reviewed the classified, why would you want to go on and represent and leave out the al Qaeda portion? And what's particularly of concern is that in the interview with "Face the Nation" and "Meet the Press" not only did that fact get omitted but also she said that al Qaeda had been decimated. So it really unfortunately left a misleading impression to the American people about what happened at the consulate in Benghazi.</s>BLITZER: The intelligence community analysts or whatever, they were suggesting they -- they deleted the reference to al Qaeda because they were afraid that could give a tip-off to al Qaeda about some sources and methods and compromising the sources and methods. That's why they took that line out about al Qaeda from the declassified talking points. You don't buy that?</s>AYOTTE: I think it's really troubling because it left a misimpression to the American people. It's very different when you tell someone that individuals with ties to al Qaeda are involved in an attack and you omit that, and I just don't understand how -- who they were trying to protect with the reference to al Qaeda. I mean we're tipping al Qaeda off? I think that al Qaeda knows that we certainly have pursued them around the world and so I just -- this doesn't make any sense to me.</s>BLITZER: Is it your opinion, assessment, Senator, that Ambassador Rice deliberately on that Sunday morning misled the American public?</s>AYOTTE: Well, certainly she misled the American public. I think that she would say that. She'd have to say that because she began our meeting today admitting that representations about the video and the protests were wrong and the impression left with the American people was misleading. You know, I don't know that I am in a position to question her motives but it's deeply troubling to me that someone of that important position would go on every major news network knowing that she had obviously previously reviewed other classified reports that left a different impression with the omission of the important reference to al Qaeda. So -- and also saying on those shows that al Qaeda had been decimated.</s>BLITZER: Bottom line, Senator, if the president nominates Ambassador Rice to be the next secretary of state or some other cabinet level position, do you -- do you intend to do whatever you can to block her nomination?</s>AYOTTE: Bottom line, Blitz, is where I'm left is I'm still digesting what she has told me today. I have deep concerns but when you and I have talked about this before, I'll certainly hold the nomination until we get a full and complete picture of what happened here, and some of those questions have been answered today. But she has not been nominated yet. I will certainly listen to additional information, but I'm very concerned. So that's where I'm at but I haven't prejudged it.</s>BLITZER: Senator Ayotte, thanks very much for joining us.</s>AYOTTE: Thank you very much.</s>BLITZER: Coming up, "Raw Politics." The fiscal cliff debate shifts to capitol campaign style tactics. The president planning to hit the road to tout his tax plan. I will speak with lobbyist Grover Norquist and Senator Dick Durbin about what hangs in the balance. That's next.