Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Speaker 1 (00:00):
It is Colorado's Morning News. The Trump administration, the president
himself planning to accept the luxury jet donated by the
Katari government to use as Air Force One, raising some
security concerns.
Speaker 2 (00:09):
Joining us now on the KWA Commons Spirit Health Hotline
with the latest is ABC News consultant and former counter
terrorism coordinator at DHS. It's John Cohen. John, thank you
so much for your time. As always, now, the debate
overform gifts is one thing, but many people are expressing
what we see when it comes to the security concerns.
If President Trump accepts this Katari jet, what are some
(00:30):
of those risks that we could see in the plane itself.
Speaker 3 (00:34):
Yeah, it's great to be with you all. So when
you look at air Force One, or any aircraft or
vehicle that's in the fleet that transports the president, it's
important to remember that these aircraft are designed to not
only transport the President and his key advisors and senior
government officials comfortably but safely as well. And Air Force
(00:58):
one is fitted with a number of highly sensitive, highly
sophisticated capabilities that protect the president's life from physical threats,
but also protect the president's communication and one issue of
concern that would arise in taking this gift would be
(01:19):
that the military and the Secret Service and the intelligence
community would have to make sure that in the construction
of this aircraft there are no devices that could be
used to eavesdrop on the president's communications on the plane
and the president's electronic communications from the plane. So basically
(01:39):
what that means is they're going to have to strip
this plane down to its airframe. They're going to have
to look at every nook and cranny in that pipeline.
They're going to have to remove and replace all the
electronics on that plane, and that before they even go
in and start putting in the advanced communication and countermeasure
technologies that will be necessarily So it's going to take time,
(02:00):
and it's going to be expensive.
Speaker 1 (02:01):
I was going to say, John, doesn't tell me much
of a gift if we have to tear it apart
and put it back together. Setting that aside, though, and
setting aside the emoluments issues that people in our government
are supposed to abide by. Are you somewhat shocked or
surprised that people in your space, the military and security advisors,
are even contemplating accepting this and thinking about this as
(02:22):
a gift.
Speaker 3 (02:24):
Yeah. I mean, obviously I'm not involved in any of
those conversations, but I'm sure there's a lot of concern
If the national security advisors, you know, the Secretary of Defense,
the Attorney General, the heads of the intelligence agencies are
doing their job, they should be raising these concerns with
the president so that the president can make an informed
decision and when he's making public statements, can use the
(02:47):
information that's provided to him by those national security by
his national security team to be fully transparent with the
public regarding if they choose to do it, the taking
of this gift.
Speaker 2 (03:00):
So when you talk about stripping the plane down and
having to look at everything before even repairing and replacing
and removing the electronics to advance it and make sure
it's ready to be air Force one, is the hassle
not worth it?
Speaker 1 (03:13):
Or are there any other.
Speaker 2 (03:14):
Ways this plane could be used? Maybe not as air
Force one.
Speaker 3 (03:18):
Yeah, that's a great point. I mean, it could be
used for transporting officials and equipment of lesser stature than
the president. But you know, there's an interesting story that
goes back to nineteen ninety one which I think is
really illustrative. Here is that the United States was building
a new embassy in Moscow during the Cold War, and
(03:40):
the construction that was done was performed by local construction companies.
Before the US government took custody of that facility, they
found that listening devices and video devices had been planted
throughout the entire building. And essentially what happened is it
not only delayed the US removed into their brand new embassy,
(04:02):
but in some you know, it actually resulted in the
US not moving into that embassy because of the costs
that would be required to go back and retrofit it.
So it costs a significant delay in the US having
a state of the art, modern embassy. So you sort
of have the same situation here. You have Qatar, which is,
(04:22):
you know, a country that we do a lot with
who is providing this plane. But Qatar also has a
close relationship with Russia, China, Ran The president is a
high value intelligence target. We have, you know, multiple trade
negotiations going on, we have military conflicts across the globe.
It is a top priority for these foreign intelligence services
(04:43):
to gain as much insight and much information about what
the president's thinking, what he's saying to his key advisors,
what he's communicating with the military about from the plane,
and so this would be a top priority for those
hostile foreign powers to find a way to introduce collection
capability in that plane. That's what his national security team
has to deal with. They're going to have to make
(05:04):
sure that before the president uses that plane and flies
on it, that it is safe for him to do so,
because the countermeasures are in place to protect him from
physical attack. And then secondly that they have to be
absolutely one hundred percent sure that any communication he's having
on the plane or from the plane is secure as well.
Speaker 1 (05:22):
And in that vein, John, I was going to ask
you this, You've alluded to it a little bit here.
Is it also problematic because it's the Katari's offering the plane.
It's not the Brits, it's not the French, it's not
the Canadians, right, So that I would think is a
little problematic, knowing as you pointed out Tatar's history and
their alliances and the like.
Speaker 3 (05:41):
Yeah, I mean absolutely. I mean I remember when I
was the acting under Secretary of Intelligence at Homeland Security.
You know, if I would meet with you know, my
counterparts from different countries, every gift that I was given.
I mean I was given a plaque once and it
had to be taken by security and X ray and
look that. But obviously, you know, if if the plane
(06:03):
was coming from a close ally like like the Brits
or the French, that would give a little bit more comfort.
But you know, I think it's also important to point
out that even our friends spy on us. So you know,
this is why aircraft such as this are that are
going to be used by the president or top leaders,
you know, are constructed under very rigorous screening by trusted
(06:26):
contractors who typically are required to get security clearances as
they are engaging in this type of you know, contractual activity.
So you know, the fact that it's coming from a
foreign country is disconcerting. The fact that it's coming from
a foreign country that has extensive relationships with some of
our key adversaries as more concern.
Speaker 2 (06:49):
ABC News consultant and former counter terrorism coordinator at DHS,
It's John Cohen. What are your thoughts? You can share
with us on our social media poll question do you
think President Trump should exist accept this Katari jet? You
can engage with us on our platforms or leave us
a talkback on the iHeartRadio app,
It is Colorado's Morning News. The Trump administration, the president
himself planning to accept the luxury jet donated by the
Katari government to use as Air Force One, raising some
security concerns.
Speaker 2 (00:09):
Joining us now on the KWA Commons Spirit Health Hotline
with the latest is ABC News consultant and former counter
terrorism coordinator at DHS. It's John Cohen. John, thank you
so much for your time. As always, now, the debate
overform gifts is one thing, but many people are expressing
what we see when it comes to the security concerns.
If President Trump accepts this Katari jet, what are some
(00:30):
of those risks that we could see in the plane itself.
Speaker 3 (00:34):
Yeah, it's great to be with you all. So when
you look at air Force One, or any aircraft or
vehicle that's in the fleet that transports the president, it's
important to remember that these aircraft are designed to not
only transport the President and his key advisors and senior
government officials comfortably but safely as well. And Air Force
(00:58):
one is fitted with a number of highly sensitive, highly
sophisticated capabilities that protect the president's life from physical threats,
but also protect the president's communication and one issue of
concern that would arise in taking this gift would be
(01:19):
that the military and the Secret Service and the intelligence
community would have to make sure that in the construction
of this aircraft there are no devices that could be
used to eavesdrop on the president's communications on the plane
and the president's electronic communications from the plane. So basically
(01:39):
what that means is they're going to have to strip
this plane down to its airframe. They're going to have
to look at every nook and cranny in that pipeline.
They're going to have to remove and replace all the
electronics on that plane, and that before they even go
in and start putting in the advanced communication and countermeasure
technologies that will be necessarily So it's going to take time,
(02:00):
and it's going to be expensive.
Speaker 1 (02:01):
I was going to say, John, doesn't tell me much
of a gift if we have to tear it apart
and put it back together. Setting that aside, though, and
setting aside the emoluments issues that people in our government
are supposed to abide by. Are you somewhat shocked or
surprised that people in your space, the military and security advisors,
are even contemplating accepting this and thinking about this as
(02:22):
a gift.
Speaker 3 (02:24):
Yeah. I mean, obviously I'm not involved in any of
those conversations, but I'm sure there's a lot of concern
If the national security advisors, you know, the Secretary of Defense,
the Attorney General, the heads of the intelligence agencies are
doing their job, they should be raising these concerns with
the president so that the president can make an informed
decision and when he's making public statements, can use the
(02:47):
information that's provided to him by those national security by
his national security team to be fully transparent with the
public regarding if they choose to do it, the taking
of this gift.
Speaker 2 (03:00):
So when you talk about stripping the plane down and
having to look at everything before even repairing and replacing
and removing the electronics to advance it and make sure
it's ready to be air Force one, is the hassle
not worth it?
Speaker 1 (03:13):
Or are there any other.
Speaker 2 (03:14):
Ways this plane could be used? Maybe not as air
Force one.
Speaker 3 (03:18):
Yeah, that's a great point. I mean, it could be
used for transporting officials and equipment of lesser stature than
the president. But you know, there's an interesting story that
goes back to nineteen ninety one which I think is
really illustrative. Here is that the United States was building
a new embassy in Moscow during the Cold War, and
(03:40):
the construction that was done was performed by local construction companies.
Before the US government took custody of that facility, they
found that listening devices and video devices had been planted
throughout the entire building. And essentially what happened is it
not only delayed the US removed into their brand new embassy,
(04:02):
but in some you know, it actually resulted in the
US not moving into that embassy because of the costs
that would be required to go back and retrofit it.
So it costs a significant delay in the US having
a state of the art, modern embassy. So you sort
of have the same situation here. You have Qatar, which is,
(04:22):
you know, a country that we do a lot with
who is providing this plane. But Qatar also has a
close relationship with Russia, China, Ran The president is a
high value intelligence target. We have, you know, multiple trade
negotiations going on, we have military conflicts across the globe.
It is a top priority for these foreign intelligence services
(04:43):
to gain as much insight and much information about what
the president's thinking, what he's saying to his key advisors,
what he's communicating with the military about from the plane,
and so this would be a top priority for those
hostile foreign powers to find a way to introduce collection
capability in that plane. That's what his national security team
has to deal with. They're going to have to make
(05:04):
sure that before the president uses that plane and flies
on it, that it is safe for him to do so,
because the countermeasures are in place to protect him from
physical attack. And then secondly that they have to be
absolutely one hundred percent sure that any communication he's having
on the plane or from the plane is secure as well.
Speaker 1 (05:22):
And in that vein, John, I was going to ask
you this, You've alluded to it a little bit here.
Is it also problematic because it's the Katari's offering the plane.
It's not the Brits, it's not the French, it's not
the Canadians, right, So that I would think is a
little problematic, knowing as you pointed out Tatar's history and
their alliances and the like.
Speaker 3 (05:41):
Yeah, I mean absolutely. I mean I remember when I
was the acting under Secretary of Intelligence at Homeland Security.
You know, if I would meet with you know, my
counterparts from different countries, every gift that I was given.
I mean I was given a plaque once and it
had to be taken by security and X ray and
look that. But obviously, you know, if if the plane
(06:03):
was coming from a close ally like like the Brits
or the French, that would give a little bit more comfort.
But you know, I think it's also important to point
out that even our friends spy on us. So you know,
this is why aircraft such as this are that are
going to be used by the president or top leaders,
you know, are constructed under very rigorous screening by trusted
(06:26):
contractors who typically are required to get security clearances as
they are engaging in this type of you know, contractual activity.
So you know, the fact that it's coming from a
foreign country is disconcerting. The fact that it's coming from
a foreign country that has extensive relationships with some of
our key adversaries as more concern.
Speaker 2 (06:49):
ABC News consultant and former counter terrorism coordinator at DHS,
It's John Cohen. What are your thoughts? You can share
with us on our social media poll question do you
think President Trump should exist accept this Katari jet? You
can engage with us on our platforms or leave us
a talkback on the iHeartRadio app,
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