'I Heard You Just Blame Biden!': Cory Booker Lambasts Mike Waltz For Deflecting Blame For Signalgate

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During a Senate Foreign Relations Committee hearing on Tuesday, Sen. Cory Booker (D-NJ) confronted former National Security Advisor Mike Waltz about Signalgate.

Transcript

00:00Congressman Walts, I've watched this hearing, and I've been really disappointed in what's been

00:08troubling to me about your nomination from the beginning is your failure to just stand up and

00:12take accountability for mistakes that you made and that all Americans know that you've made.

00:18Everyone in this room, every one of us has made mistakes, but what America expect from leaders,

00:24especially leaders who are tasked with our national security or could be tasked with the

00:30position for what you're nominated for, is for people to stand up and just take responsibility,

00:35take accountability. But I heard you just blame Biden. I've seen you not only fail to stand up,

00:44but lie. You said about this person when you were involved in the sharing of sensitive information

00:51about imminent military operations. I've listened to you now for weeks and months. You said this

00:57journalist intentionally infiltrated that signal chain. You said that he was sucked in. You denied,

01:07deflected, and then you did something that to me really lacks integrity is that you sought out to

01:12demean and degrade that very journalist in crass and frankly cruel ways that made him a target.

01:19That's not leadership when you blame people that tell the truth. That's not leadership when you

01:25can't say the words, I made a mistake. I could have done better. I learned valuable lessons from this

01:32experience. Instead, at a moment where our national security was clearly compromised, you denied,

01:39you deflected, and then you demeaned and degraded those people who objectively told the truth

01:45and criticized your actions. Smearing people, attacking folks, singling them out just furthers,

01:52it compounds what I think is disqualifying about you for this position. It also to me just shows

01:57profound cowardice. You should step up right now. I heard Senator, I heard Senator Coons. I heard you

02:07being asked by Senator Cain again and again to simply say, I was wrong. I made a mistake. I take

02:14responsibility for my actions. Unfortunately, what you're doing to me is perfectly in line with the way

02:22this administration as a whole has operated. I've never seen an administration that has made no mistakes,

02:29can't learn constructively from things they did wrong, has no sense of self-interrogation or integrity,

02:36and should they be criticized legitimately, they go on the attack. We have too much of that rhetoric,

02:42that divisive, demeaning, degrading, cruelness that's being elevated and celebrated by this

02:48administration that you seem to fall in line with. I just watched with great disappointment that even

02:56after weeks, if not months of reflection, you couldn't sit before this committee and take some

03:01responsibility and talk constructively about what's learned. Instead, you do what seems to be yet

03:08another creative tool that people are doing, which is, hey, let me just blame Biden.

03:14I want to take another moment to discuss concerns I have with this administration's approach

03:21to the United Nations and its dealings with African countries.

03:24I want to take another moment to discuss this.

03:32This administration has fired over 1,350 staff at the State Department, including

03:42whole offices that spearheaded multilateral affairs. Sub-Saharan Africa alone, the member states, have 49 votes.

03:48I've watched how China has done everything they can to court support at the United Nations and how we

03:55wonder why are so many countries voting against us. And I truly believe, and I've said this to the

04:00Secretary of State, that we need to start prioritizing African nations, start focusing

04:08on what I believe is urgently within our national interests, if not our national security interests.

04:15It seems to me that we are ceding and surrendering sub-Saharan Africa to China, who is stepping up

04:21more and more and filling in the void of our leadership. So I have no questions for you, sir. I have

04:27nothing but deep disappointment in what I consider a failure of leadership on your part. God, America

04:35needs now more than ever, forget the partisanship, just people to step up and show heart and integrity and

04:42honor. When you lie, defer, deflect, demean and degrade journalists. To me, it's absolutely unacceptable.

04:53I have no questions. I cannot support your nomination. I think you've shown a failure of

04:57leadership at a time that America especially needs people of honor to stand up and show what leadership

05:03actually is. Senator Scott.

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