Transcripts For CSPAN Treasury Secretary Mnuchin And FBI Dir

Policy beth williams. Assist at that particular time attorney general williams was sworn into the department on august 21st, 2017 after unanimous confirmation in the United States senate. As the head of the office of legal policy, assistant attorney general williams overseas the policymaking functions and serves as the covice chairman of the attorney general on religious liberty. A. A. G. Williams served as special council for the United States Senate Committee on the judiciary. Worked in private practice and served as a law clerk to richard c. Wesley of the United States court of appeals for the second circuit. Please join me in welcoming to the stage assistant attorney general beth williams. [applause] thank you, john, for your kind introduction. Im honored to be here to fa still tate a instruction of the administrations effort to ombat antisemitism. Also want people to worship freely. One important way that the department protects those rights is by investigating and prosecuting hate crimes. But of course, the department supports americans in other ways. Its place to wordship initiative has increased enforcement of a federal law that protects places of worship including synagogues in the zoning and landmarking process. This april, attorney general barr welcomed an administrativewide rule that protects federal employees to take time away from work for their religious observation advances. Then attorney sessions outlined the protections under federal law for religious freedom. As the head of the office of legal policy and as the cochair of the task force, i help ensure that the department continues to protect the constitutional and statory rights discussed in the memorandum. That work has been a distinct privilege. As it explains, religious liberty is not only a right to personal religious belief and worship in a sacred place. No one should be forced to choose in living out their faith and complying with the law. Im honored to be joined on stage who are two leaders at the forefront to protect the freedom of worship and to combat threats to that freedom. Secretary treasurey Steve Mnuchin and crist yea ray. They will each give an address and we will conclude as both have other engagements but were incredibly thankful to both for taking time out of their schedule to be here today. Secretary mnuchin was the 77th secretary on february 2013, 2013. He responsible for the u. S. Treasury Whose Mission is to maintain a strong economy, foster Economic Growth and create Job Opportunities by promoting the conditions that enable prosperity at home and abroad. Hes responsible for strengthen National Security by combating economic threat and protecting our financial system. Last year, he helped lead the delegation that opened the u. S. Embassy in israel. His program has been an certainly element in our countrys fight against terrorism. Thank you so much for joining us, secretary mnuchin. [applause] thank you, beth, for that introduction and for the director for welcoming me to the department of justice. I was giving a conference on crypto currency and the debt ceiling. And i got asked about antisemitism. I gave a little bit of an advertisement for my speech today. D. O. J. I will speaking on on antisemitism. A few months after being treasury secretary, i traveled to the middle east on the first time. I went to israel and visited the holy sights. It was a profoundly moving experience to light a candle and tour yad vashem, the world holocaust caust remembrance center. It is a place that commemorates the life and deaths of 6 million jews were victims of the holocaust. That is an atrocity that we must never forget and fight to prevent every single day. Last year, i returned to the middle east. I had the great honor of being part of the president s delegation in traveling with ivanka trump and Jared Kushner to open the embassy in israel. Theent was 23 years in the making. The 1995, the 104th United States Congress Passed with enormous bipartisan support the historic Israel Embassy act. Yet for more than 20 years the promise went unfulfilled by administrations of both parties. Many critics said it could not be done or it should not be done. President trump did it. And it was my great honor to be there for the ceremony to help fulfill the promise to the Jewish Americans and israel that was passed by congress. Last month i returned to the middle east in bahrain. It was a successful event that outlined the incentives for strategic economic investments that will lead to peace and stability that has been known for conflict. Unfortunately, we are seeing the rise of antisemitism beth home and abroad. At times that antisemitism takes the form of violence. In october, i traveled with president trump, the first lady, ivanka and jared to pittsburgh following the tree of life synagogue shooting where 11 innocent people lost their lives. Amidst the tragedy and profound sadness, we found inspiration in the community, the support people showed for one another and the bravery of the First Responders who saved so many lives. Recognizing the need to continue defeating hateful ideology, i would like to discuss some of the work we do at treasury. At secondary, i encourage my german counterpart to increase funds for the conference on wish material claims against germanashy in new york. I am pleased with what they currently provided. Receiving 23,000 pensions and health care and this goes toward vital needs including food and medicine. At a time when antisemitism is rising, Holocaust Education is also important. The claims conference devotes millions of dollars per year for education which supplements its decades of experience as a voice for survivors and other jewish people around the world. Finally, i want to mention treasuries work in the financial intelligence. Im glad we use our economic authorities including sanctions to disrupt funding and isolate human rights abusers. In february, we sanctioned new horizon for Holding International conferences supporting the revolutionary guard corps. They were recruiting, galt erring intelligence and promulgating antisemitism and antiholocaust denial. Im pleased to join you to discuss this important work of combating antisemitism. All of us have the tools defeat it. It is up to us in this room and their wider audiences we collectively reach to fight for safety, equality and justice for the jewish people. I am honored to be here with you today. Thank you very much. [applause] thank you so much for your remarks, secretary mnuchin. Ill now introduce director ray. Christopher ray back director in 2017. He has included positions as an assistant attorney general, Deputy Attorney general and assistant attorney general of the Criminal Division where he supervised the sections that later became the national scurelt division. As the head of the f. B. I. He is head of the hate crime and terrorism investigation. The f. B. I. Has spearheaded efforts to protect places of worship from violence including trainings on out to make them more secure. Thank you very much for being with us here today, director ray. [applause] thanks, beth. On april th, of 1968, a day after this assassination of dr. Martin luther king jr. , Robert Kennedy lamented what he called the mindless menace of violence in america. He said that whenever we tear at the fabric of life that people have woven for themselves and their families, the whole nation is degraded. And he called on americans to remember that those who live with us are our brothers and sisters who seek and i quote nothing but the chance to live out their lives in purpose and happiness. And in many ways we still confront that same mindless menace of violence. We still confront people who trade in hatred, people who seek to harm others because of where they come from, how they worship, what they look like, or who they love. And thats why shining a spotlight on antisemitism is so important. At the f. B. I. , our mission is simple, but profound to protect the American People and uphold the constitution. And battling hate crime is one of our priorities because hate crime strikes at the very heart of who we are as a society. It strikes at the heart of every individual targeted because of who they are. Its no secret that our society has become more divisive. Everybodys got an opinion. And we cherish that freedom of speech even when we dont agree. But words can quickly turn to violence. And hate can quickly become hate crime. And were determined to bring those who would act on such hatred to justice. People like james fields who received a life sentence for killing heather higher in charlottesville in 2017, people 30 ismer coach sentenced months for beating a man believing he was jewish in 2017. Most hate crime investigations are reactive. In other words, we get involved after the fact. But were also working hard to identify and prevent hate crime. Were coordinating with our Law Enforcement partners because we learn more when we work these cases together. Second, were working together with civil right and minority groups and with faith facilities to build trusted relationships. As they say the best time to patch the roof is when the sun is shining, not when the bad weather comes. And we shouldnt be meeting for the first time in the wake of a crisis. Third, were training our partners both in Law Enforcement and the communities we serve so that everyones got a better understanding of what hate crime is and how we can help. We also confront a growing domestic terrorism threat. And though, we talk sometimes about hate crime and domestic terrorism as separate challenges, the reality is theyre not mutually exclusive. And were taking a whole of f. B. I. Approach to those threats. So we investigate individual who is take or plan to take violence or criminal action in furtherance of an ideology like racial or religious bias or antigovernment center. Were concerned about lone offenders like the man who attacked the synagogue, individual who is act without a clear Group Affiliation and without guidance, making them that much more difficult to identify, investigate and disrupt. Were also worried about racially motivated violent extremists just to pick one example. Just last november, an individual talked about attacking a synagogue to incite a socalled race revolution. In june, we established the domestic terrorism hate crimes fusion cell. Our fusion cell brings together experts from both our criminal investigative and Counterterrorism Divisions. Theyre not just focused on current attacks. Theyre focused on what we havent yet seen in some cases what we havent yet imagined and what we need to do to stop that. But we know we cant do it alone. And through our jtcf, our joint Terrorism Task forces, we get the local perspective on whats happening in the communities. But we also have to work closely with our community partners. We have Community Outreach specialists who work with the Jewish Community to explore how we can help even better. A number of our f. B. I. Field offices have hosted active shooter exercises and what we call protecting houses of worship presentations with local synagogues to build awareness. We just finished just last month hosting a faithbased summit at f. B. I. Headquarters representatives of jewish christian, muslim and other religious groups. That kind of communication, those kinds of relationships are so important to the work we do. Ill pick one example. In march of 2017, we investigated just in that one month more than 287 threatening phone calls an emails including bomb threats to Jewish Community centers and the antidefamation league. Multiple f. B. I. Offices investigated those threats bringing together experts from ur siber, criminal and Counterterrorism Division as well as technical and Behavioral Analysis divisions. We met in person with jewish Group Leaders to explain what we were doing to find the person responsible. And with the help of our counterparts in israel we encountered a hacker who smead similar threats in the u. K. , in canada, new zealand and australia. And in june of last year, a Tel Aviv Court sentenced the guy to 10 years in prison. Ases like that and they make you feel vulnerable, targeted. And that can be physically, emotionally, and psychologically taxing. We want to help you understand those threats from our perspective and to give you the tools we need to protect yourselves. Also, i want to highlight one of the ways were working with the Jewish Community to be better what we do. We require as some of you know all new f. B. I. Agents and analysts to visit the Holocaust Museum through the enforcement and society program. And we do that because we believe that all our folks need to know and understand our con straints. We have to live it and breathe it. We recognize that the f. B. I. s own history hasnt come without missteps but we take those mistakes and we learn from them. And thats why programs like that are so important to our institutional wellbeing. They give us a closer look at who we can become as Law Enforcement officers and as people if were not constantly safeguarding and advocating for civil rights and civil liberties. Every day, we remind ourselves that there is nothing more important than the work we do, the people we do the work with and the people we do the work for. And its that last element that i want to turn to for just a moment, the people we do the work for. Were working every day to stop hate crime. But when we cant prevent a hate crime, our agents and analysts will move heaven and earth to find those responsible. F. B. I. Victims specialists across the country will do everything they can to help heal the victims, their families, and their communities. After the attack on the tree of life synagogue in pittsburgh, the f. B. I. s Victims Services Response Team sets up a family assistance center. They provide what the community needed most from things on the one hand like food and clothing to on the other hand grief counseling, Financial Assistance and onestop shopping for federal resources. Victim specialists understand the emotional impact on victims and their families and they took special care to gather and clean personal effects from the kipas in college the victims were wearing but things like car keys, the most mundane. Our victims specialists hosted a preparedness brief for jewish communities around the country and the hope that no other Jewish Community would have the live through that kind of horror. Were going to keep doing everything question to help for the people who need it the most. Because the way we look at it, were not just Law Enforcement, were part of the community. And were in this together. When we face stark contrast in the way we view the world, and when we face something so shocking, we cant wrap our brains around what just happened and why. We need to remind ourselfs that there is, in fact, still good in the world. And that most people are, in fact, rational, lawabiding citizens. It can be disheartening to realize deep down that theres always going to be somebody out there who will seek to harm others out of hatred or racially motivated violent extremism. Doesnt make sense. But hatred isnt grounded in logic. So that just means that we need to stay vigilant and work even harder to counteract the hatred and the violence and the discontent. We cant eradicate hate. We cant end prejudice, but we can stand together. And everybody in this hall stands on the side of the good and the just. We stand on the side of fairness fairness and equality and the freedoms on which this country was founded. Thank you for working with us to keep our community safe. [applause] i want to thank the secretary and the director for having joined us and for their leadership. We are grateful to both of them. We think the moderators, panelist, and speakers who joined us today, including director ray, Deputy Attorney general rozen, secretary devos, secretary minutia, and attorney general secretary mnuchin, and attorney general barr. To exit the building, make your way to the staircase, head downstairs. Staff members are standing by to assist you. Thank you for everything, and good afternoon. [applause] [captioning performed by the national captioning institute, which is responsible for its caption content and accuracy. Visit ncicap. Org] announcer in 1979, a Small Network with a strange name had a big idea. Let viewers make up their own minds. Bringing you unfiltered coverage of congress and beyond. A lot has changed. Is more relevant than ever. Cspan is your unfiltered view of government so you can make up your own mind. Brought to you by your cable or satellite provider. New cspan pole shows a 78 of americans view nasa favorably. 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