Reporter Asks State Dept Spox: Will This Administration Take Up Investigations Into War Crimes?

2 days ago

During Friday’s State Department press briefing, Spokesperson Tammy Bruce answered questions about investigating war crimes and the allegations of funding cuts to a Yale program tracking abducted Ukrainian children.

Fuel your success with Forbes. Gain unlimited access to premium journalism, including breaking news, groundbreaking in-depth reported stories, daily digests and more. Plus, members get a front-row seat at members-only events with leading thinkers and doers, access to premium video that can help you get ahead, an ad-light experience, early access to select products including NFT drops and more:

https://account.forbes.com/membership/?utm_source=youtube&utm_medium=display&utm_campaign=growth_non-sub_paid_subscribe_ytdescript

Stay Connected
Forbes on Facebook: http://fb.com/forbes
Forbes Video on Twitter: http://www.twitter.com/forbes
Forbes Video on Instagram: http://instagram.com/forbes
More From Forbes: http://forbes.com

Transcript

00:00Yes, ma'am.

00:01And to just follow up on the children and the broader question about war crimes and

00:05investigations which had been undertaken with coordination with the State Department, understanding

00:11that the data has been – the data have been preserved.

00:15Correct.

00:16But does that mean – can we infer from that that investigations will not be conducted

00:22by this government of war crimes going forward, either the crime of kidnapping or the war

00:30crimes that were undertaken, Bruscia, Mariupol, all these other places?

00:35I've cautioned always for us to not place a whole host of issues attached to something

00:41starting or stopping, and that our work and our commitment to the world is on display

00:47every day through certainly Secretary Rubio's commitment, the nature of who he meets with,

00:53what he's done when it comes to summits, negotiations, bargaining, the issue of working

00:58for ceasefires.

00:59It has been a hallmark and remains a hallmark and will be, I have to say, a hallmark of

01:04this administration and of Secretary Rubio's tenure here.

01:07So it is – it would be wrong to say that, in fact, that signals some kind of end to

01:14our work on these issues.

01:16In fact, manifesting through the conversation with President Trump and President Putin,

01:21it was a central part of that conversation that was discussed between those two men.

01:26And I think that shows you where it's placed now and where it will continue to be placed.

01:31Well, here's what I do know, which may speak to that a bit, is that the data is not being

01:36transferred to a storage facility.

01:37It's being transferred to the appropriate authorities.

01:41And I think that can tell us that – the nature of the trajectory of this data.

01:44But also it – I can't speak to what then moves at that point once it's been transferred.

01:51I have a tiny feeling that with all of your investigations and questions that we will

01:57continue to get the details of what happens next.

01:59I'm talking about the crimes that are now underway today, tomorrow, next month.

02:04Is anyone in this government investigating – anyone that, to your knowledge, at the

02:09State Department or connected to it – sorry – investigating crimes current and future

02:16since the data that has been –

02:18Well, first, I'm not going to discuss the details of what the State Department is doing

02:24when it comes to its investigations, when it comes to contemplations or negotiations

02:28or diplomatic decision-making, whether – on any level, with any situation, any case that's involved.

02:38But what I can point to, I think it's safe to point to, is this nation's history of

02:43being involved in making sure that the right thing gets done.

02:46There are a number of other entities of which, of course, we are involved, including the

02:50United Nations and, of course, other – Europe, the nations of the civilized world.

02:57So I would – same with whether it's aid, this argument that we are stopping our aid

03:04and we're out of the – of caring about providing foreign aid, of course, that's not true.

03:10And because one grant dynamic has stopped in this country at one university, that is

03:16not the determiner of the nature of the work of the State Department of the United States.

03:22It is – that's unfair, frankly, and moves people into this idea that everything is contained

03:31in one moment, when there are thousands of moments and work going on around the world,

03:38but – certainly including the nature of what the State Department's doing under

03:42the direction of Marco Rubio, when a commitment of the State Department to solve these problems,

03:50to stop carnage, to find justice.

03:53We want to be safe, secure, and prosperous for ourselves and for our neighbors.

03:57So that would not be an accurate conclusion based on this one particular grant.

04:02Yes, ma'am.

Reporter Asks State Dept Spox: Will This Administration Take Up Investigations Into War Crimes?

Category

Transcript

Recommended